JEM Watercraft

OK so having no idea about what I was doing I have gotten all excited about building a canoe but...

I've just priced it all up.

Prices in Aussie dollars

Ply $160
cable ties $10
paddles pop sticks $10 ($250 if i get them with lollies on )
60L wood flour $8 (this is the smallest bag...)

I've got all the tools I need ('cept for a few more clamps)

Epoxy Resin just a bit less than $350, ouch so I'm building an Epoxy fillet separated by some ply panels boat ...

Now I'm concerned about how easy it will be to stuff it up and also whether I've picked the right design with the DK touring canoe (you get nowt for free)

If I'm spending this amount of money (yes it's much less that a commercial canoe and I'll be able to say I built it) I need to know it will do some of the things it has to.

Basically I'll be using it on inland lakes on very calm days

Be stable enough not to scare the living bejesus out of me, the missus or the 3 kids (no I won't expect to put them all into it at the same time).
To do some fairly light weight fishing with my 9 year old son.
To inspire me to build another so that the 5 of us can go paddling together.

Is the DK too basic? I don't know how I can gauge my ability with boat construction but I don't want to build a canoe that I don't want to play with (plus the missus will kill me if it doesn't work - she wants a canoe too)

Please help...

It's a great first-build. A little more complicated than a pirogue, but manageable for a newbee.

G'day Tor,

A few thoughts mate.

All up, your canoe will cost you around $500.00 give or take a little.

I think the free canoe will be fine for your purposes and way better than just about anything commercially available you can buy in Aus.

If you take your time, read the build instructions and understand them. Think about each step BEFORE you start on that step and then if still not sure, ask here, and then follow the advice, you will end up with a boat you all will be very happy with. It is only wood and epoxy. Just about any mistakes you make can be fixed.

My swampgirl was my first build. I did very few of the things I have just advised you to do and had no end of trouble. I made a lot of mistakes during the build but, it still turned out to be a very good boat.

All you need to do is MAKE THE START.(ya know ya want to) The rest will follow.

If you can post piccies with your build questions we can all enjoy your project with you (and help where we can)

Tor,

Clear this through Matt first, but here's an idea. The lolly pop stick spacers are optional. You can save some weight and money by not using them. No ties, (use stove pipe wire - about $1 a roll and one roll should do you), no spacers, and less epoxy.

BUT, clear that through Matt first; I may have a bad idea here.

Thanks chaps,

Spoke to the missus after I posted and I was taken aback by the support she gave me (not the normal another bl**dy project that won't get finished - which I deserve )

I'm going to rethink the plan and we're going to look at all of the Jemcraft canoes (together) to try to work out what we will use it for (I'm sure we'll get more adventurous once we have one).

We'll try to get the stuff a bit at a time so you won't see much activity for a bit (also won't start until I've been to the wooden boat show in Geelong in March).

So watch out for some questions about how hard some of the designs are to handle.

HairyMick is right (of course who in their right mind would doubt him...) the only things available here are too generic and too pricey.

I'll keep on reading, thanks,

Tor

To be honest I'm a cheap skate and building my Laker has seen some thorough research and used a lot of cost cutting exercises.
8 Litres of epoxy ( Won't use it all I hope) six ounce glass 8, metres
3 ounce glass, 3 Metres cost $180 !
Ply 3 sheets bracing ply $76
Brushes,(cheap nasty disposable) $15 ( You get to pick out loose bristles at no extra charge)
Sand discs gloves masking tape and sundries $15
Cable ties $5
Varnish, donated by neighbour.
Paint, expect to pay about $15
Total $306 Australian.
Oh add $12 for a seat I may or may not use

Feel free to pm me for where bought etc.

Just wanted to say that the expenses of your first build can be spread out over a few months if you have the patience to do it that way.
I bought my plans from Matt last May. I took the summer to gather up the materials, read the plans a hundred times, asked alot of "dumb" questions on this forum, and camped on the Mississippi River. I started my build during Christmas, and one month later, had most of the thing built, working on my lunch breaks.
The cost was spread out over a long enough period of time to make it fit into my budget, without short-cutting on the quality of the build.
I also subscribe to the American Psyciatric Association's motto;
"There is nothing that can be done in a short amount of time that cannot be done just as well in a very long period of time."
Lee

Twas my birthday yesterday (yay for me),

I got two rolls of masking tape, a bag of paddlepop sticks, a few hundred cable ties, a dust/filter mask and a carbide bladed scraper.

Guess who's building a boat, it appears that she who shall be obeyed is quite keen to support this venture and the number of people we've recently met that have built canoes is astonishing.

I'm off to a local lake on Sunday to look at a recently finished boat (unfortunately a competitor the Eureka - apparently pretty but a bit skitish), anyone know where I can find a DK that's been finished, would like to see one in the flesh.

Tor

Happy birthday mate.

For the purposes you describe, I think the DK would be a better choice.

There is an English bloke here somewhere who builds Matt's Iroquois which also looks similar to me. He uses cheaper materials and, I think, poly resin which is much cheaper than epoxy. His boats seem to come together very well.

Just a thought - if budget is an issue.