JEM Watercraft

G'day Steve,

The one posted by Mick (Cracka) is a Southern Bream. They grow to about 3 or 4 pounds and are much sought after for food and sport.

There is a booming bream Tournie circut here now and these wily little critters will take live and dead baits, hard and soft body lures, topwater gear and fly, and pound for pound, are just about as tough as they get to land. Great fish!!

Surfman.

Like Mick said, that fish is a Black Bream, average size. They are what I target mostly on hard bodies and soft plastics. There are a few species of Bream, Black, Yellow and I think Pikey Bream up north where Mick hails from.

Here are a few from a session.

Like Mick said we have a few different Bream competitions running over here at the moment which are very similar to your Bass comps, (5 Bream bag limit to be weighed in and released alive). They are gaining momentum and prize money.

This is my PB Bream, 44cm fork length, about 46cm overall, which is a pretty good size fish for this breed. It is estaimated that Bream of this size is about 25 years old.


Thanks
Mick

Got the rigging tubes and rod tubes installed Saturday.

I need to order some two part foam and the main floor will be ready to go in...still thinking about using composite foam on the front and rear decks.

Couple more pieces and some rough sanding and we will be ready for some paint.

Rigging tubes - top two are for fly rods and the bottom is for a regular rod (no larger than 7'6") - I didn't feel comfortable drilling a hole in the bottom of the bulkhead, so it's a shorty. Used a small hole saw to make a donut and screwed it to the bulkhead to support the short tube.


Rigging tubes


Shot down the boat

Just lookin at the piccies of those fish made me jump up and realize I've been catching some real exotic guppies here in Iowa!
The biggest difference is that we call 'em "sheep-head carp", or "drum"
They're the bain of all the fishermen here who are trying to catch a good eatin' fish, like a catfish, or walleye.

Lee

Nice job Chalk although I don't think the hole in the bulkhead would have hurt a thing. Are you planning on foaming down the center? I notice you have a drain hole in the bulkheads. I can't wait to see this boat complete. Looking good. I am in th process of adding some rod holders to my rig too. I will post some pics when I get it done.

Thanks - I plan on adding foam to the sides, the middle will be open all the way to the bilge. Does anyone think I should paint that area all the way to the bilge?

I used 1.25" thin wall PVC for the rod and rigging tubes...got it at the irrigation supply house....couldn't find it at local plumbing stores

You'll be wave jumping with that bad boy soon. I don't see how paint would hurt anything. A nice smooth glossy surface is a lot easier to clean too. I painted the bilge in my power boat with a marine epoxy paint and it makes cleaning up mildew and stuff a lot easier.

Quick update - I got the floors cut out and in place for the middle part and forward hatch areas . I also tacked the last bulkhead and motorwell suppots in place. I hope to tape them in tonight.

I need to take a picture to show this, but the transition from the floor to the sides will need some filling in areas. First thought is I could use some foam and glass over it, or cut some wood pieces to fit (PITA) or what? I thought I could just fill it with filler and glass over it...but was worried about weight. Any thoughts? I'll take a picture tonight and post it.

Trying to decide if I want to build the bench in the middle of the boat or just leave the middle open....I do not live bait fish, so a bait or live well is not a concern. Thinking of just putting a removable cooler in the middle and be done with it.

I do not have enough plywood for the front and rear deck, so I'm probably gonna order some Last-A-Foam and try it...They use it on planes, so I figure it and a couple layers of 1200 and it will rock solid. Saw some real slick hatch ideas on microskiff.com, gonna try and incorporate them on the decks. I halfway pondered on just making the top of the boat flat, like a flats boat, but decided to stick with it as designed.

I'm already dreaming of poling up to a redfish in some ultra skinny water with this thing, can't waint til she's done (she's waiting on me )

Here's the picture of the floor

I was thinking I could rip the floor down the middle and push it apart to fill the gaps and just fill the center piece. Whatcha think

I guess it is wider than 48"? I think I would just make a seam down the middle. If the bottom is 54" then rip 2 pieces one at 27" wide. Rip the second one at least 2" wider than the 27" one and when you get them both fit into place trace a line from the 27" board to the other and rip down the wider one and you should have a good close joint. What about that?

Or make the seam line up on one or both of the stringers. I would use a splicing block under the floor if you go down the middle though.