JEM Watercraft

I think it is also easier to push a boat through thick water plants like hyacinths than to try to pull through, as with a paddle, and that may be another reason they are used in the swamps.

Some more pics, I decided to turn the boat up on it’s side to sand the inside of the gunwale and while it was there I decided to do a little more sanding inside the boat to touch up some areas and just kept on sanding. I only managed to get both gunwales shaped and half the inside sanded so I didn’t get any epoxy on. Tonight I will sand some more.


It is really starting to look pretty good. I can’t wait to get this thing on the water. Sorry for the crummy photos.

She is really startng to come together. How heavy does she feel?

I was kind of pleasently surprised but it doesn't feel real heavy. At this point I am going to guess at less than 50 pounds. I intend to add 2 more layers of glass to the outside of the hull and of course the seats and a twart. I am thinking of making a box for the front seat to put the battery in. It doesn't need to be in a box, of course but, a box would conceal the battery and double as a seat and add stiffness. The box would stiffen the boat and I would not need a second twart I think. I am making the boat heavy with the extra stuff I am doing but, it doesn't need to be if a builder wants it to be light. I will weigh it tonight with a bathroom scale.

G'day Steve,

Your boat is looking brilliant!!

I think a box seat up the front will tie everything in nicely mate.

You mentioned on another post about a moveable seat for the back. I knocked up a couple of these and strapped sit backers on top. They work a treat and are really comfortable.

Thanks Mick I already got myself 2 of those sit backers. I will have to make the lid of the battery seat/box so that it will accommodate the sit backer. The aft seat I am planning on mounting on a wood rail with some stainless bolts and wing nuts that will allow me to easily remove the bolts and slide the seat forward or aft if need be.

Well I weighed the boat and it is a lot heavier than I thought. It currently weighs in at 80 lbs (36 kg). That is the hull only with the front deck and a layer of glass on the inside and the outside and the gunwales. I used ¼” (6 mm) luan plywood and the transom is ¾” (3 layers) thick. It does not include the seats or thwarts. So you could add maybe 8 or 10 pounds if you want, for a total gross weight of the finished boat. I am sure the boat could be made lighter with lighter ply wood but I don’t think it will get much lighter.

I wasn’t shooting for light anyway. I intend to mount a electric motor and battery and will make a cart so that I can wheel it by hand from the truck to the water. Currently I still plan to load it into the back of my truck and hopefully I will not have to resort to a trailer. I am also still planning on adding another layer of glass cloth and glass matt to the bottom and of course the graphite power epoxy finish. So it will probably be pushing 100#s when done.

Of course add a cooler a tackle box, a half dozen fishing poles, a bait bucket... geez, I am going to need a bigger boat.

yea the 6mm luan is what got you on the wieght.

Well I got the final layers of glass on the bottom this week end, I will be putting on some extra layers of epoxy for the next couple of days and then I will put on the graphite. Doing the epoxy at night results in many bugs stuck the next day and is very frustrating. I hope to splash this thing by the end of the week or the first of next week. It will only be a test run though.

Mick, I have thought about your idea a little with the seat and I am starting to like it and I think I am going to do it that way. A lot easier since there is no installation and can be moved anywhere in the boat. If I don't like it I can always do it the way I was planning later.
Thanks

Okay, I am back and I have been working on my boat a little at a time. I flipped it over and applied another layer of fiber glass plus a 3rd layer on the bottom only. So that means I have 3 layers of glass on the bottom and 2 layers on the sides plus one layer on the inside. Probably a little bit excessive but I am hoping that the glass will never be compromised no matter how rough the terrain. Here I am applying the additional layers of glass.

Finally I have the bottom all layered up and now it is time to apply the graphite epoxy coat. I masked off what I wanted.

Here I am applying the black goo. I put down three layers sanding between each layer with 220 wet/dry sand paper. The wet dry sand paper really works great and takes it down fast. You have to be careful with that stuff. The final results were great.

While I was working on that I went ahead and made up the seat. I borrowed Mick’s idea as he suggested and I really like this. This particular seat however was made from some scrap pine boards that I had laying around so I will make a better seat later. In the mean time it let me test the design and the boat.

Getting ready for the water test. I put the battery in the front and the seat and I also took my paddle and push pole to try out. I am planning on making a compartment for the battery that will double as a seat and I wanted to see how it floated with the proper load on board. There are some thins missing like the motor and the cooler but this should give me a good idea on the set up.

K-Splash! Okay, she floats! And very well too.

A little more ballast, I am about 5’ 9” tall and weigh about 185#, this set up looks like it will work just fine. It floats very high and drafts nothing, less than my 12’ plastic kayak does.

Very stable when standing. I am very pleased.

Poling will take a little getting used to and I found that if I moved as far back as possible it was easier to control while poling. That is another plus for the seat not being fastened down in one place. I can easily shift my weight as needed. The rounded bottom does allow the boat to be pushed sideways when poling and that was why moving to the back helped.

The boat paddled easily and maintained a straight line with no effort and seemed to be very fast too, must be the graphite. It would also turn on a dime very easily.

I also tried a little drifting in the breeze although there was only a very slight breeze while I was testing the boat it is obvious that like any canoe there is a high profile and the wind will blow me around a bit. But that was to be expected. For the little bit that I had the boat in the water it appeared to sit in one position very well. A motor on the stern will probably change a lot of things like the way it drifts but so far I am very pleased with the way it performs. Now I am working on the front seat/battery box. The other problem is will it fit in the back of my truck? This is my father in laws truck but he has the same size bed as mine it is 6' with the tailgate down it measures 8'. I have a tool box in my truck that I am going to have to raise a little in order to get the boat to fit but it will fit. Thank goodness. I also have to work on a dolly to get it from the truck to the water.

Hopefully the next time she hits the water she will be loaded with fishing gear and there will be plenty of fish to show for it. This is typical of the areas I like to fish.

Thanks for looking.

Sweet!

Gotta get those plans cut loose soon.

Thanks again Matt. I had my doubts about the stability but after I stepped into it I soon realized it is very solid and stable. The paddle I was using is a little short but worked okay. When I add the battery box/seat I am hoping that I can live without the thwart, I can walk forward and backward easily. I can't wait to take it fishing.