JEM Watercraft

Hi all,
I have just received my plans for the Sabalo, and before I begin, does anyone that has built one before have any tips, tricks, or "look out fors" that might help with the process.
I am going to build a Mirage Drive into it, and I'm toying with the idea of doing the decks in SS&G. Possibly Cedar. Do you think that this will be too soft, or should I just stick with the ply?
Looking forward to hearing from you all.
Cheers,
Chris

With fiberglass on both sides, cedar should work just fine. I can't wait to see it. I was going to do mine as a stripper, but I was in too much of a hurry to get it into the water for fishing.

If you build up a jig to help assemble the Mirage Drive Well make it slightly tapered so you can pull the Well off the jig without breaking it in half.

cedar plywood is ok if you cover both sides with glass. Check the wood for plies that are of the same thickness.

I will look forward to your build with ineterest. I will be starting my Sabalo build soon as well. Mine will be my first build also, without the mirage drive.

I think I will be at least painting the hull but leaving the deck area natural. I am not sure whether to try some kind of feature work on the foredeck. If I do I will be laying a second laminate of ply in two-tone over the top. I plan to sail my Sobalo (I'm building the pontoons as a learning project at the moment - see here: viewtopic.php?f=8&t=3376) so I think the extra strength will be an advantage if I am going to be standing on the deck at any time.

There are some great Sabalo build logs on this forum to learn from.

Well, let's say that I've made some progress, but not much. I've started marking out the pieces on some 6mm exterior ply that I will use for templates. And my flippy-floppy penguin propulsion device arrived yesterday. Iguess there's no turning back now.
Unfortunately it looks like work will get in the way for a while though. Once I get into the proper build process, I'll post some pics.
Cheers,
Chris

Work has finally given me a small window of opportunity. All of the templates are marked out and half of them cut to shape. Will probably be another 2 weeks before I can do any more.
Chris

Take your time and enjoy the build mate. We are looking forward to seeing the progress. Just wondering where in Oz you got your mirage drive and what kind of money do they charge. I know the Hobies with a Mirage Drive go fast, but I reckon in a Jem hull it would go like a rocket.

Cheers Roger

rodot wrote:Take your time and enjoy the build mate. We are looking forward to seeing the progress. Just wondering where in Oz you got your mirage drive and what kind of money do they charge. I know the Hobies with a Mirage Drive go fast, but I reckon in a Jem hull it would go like a rocket.

Cheers Roger

Hi Roger

I was quoted $800.00 a piece for my 2 but ended up getting them for $750.00 each in Tassie

rodot wrote:Take your time and enjoy the build mate. We are looking forward to seeing the progress. Just wondering where in Oz you got your mirage drive and what kind of money do they charge. I know the Hobies with a Mirage Drive go fast, but I reckon in a Jem hull it would go like a rocket.

Cheers Roger

Roger,
I bought mine from the US when the dollar was up around $1.10. Cost me a smidgen over $500 including shipping. If you are interested, I'll PM you the site.
Like Pete, I was quoted $800 for the unit with standard fins, and then another $100ish for the turbo fins. Whilst I like to support the local guys, in this situation, there's no contest. I've pretty much saved the cost of the kayak by purchasing the drive unit overseas.

Cheers,
Chris