Finished my drift boat caught a trout! yehaw!

[depthcharge]

So,

I have always dreamed about building boats. I finally made it a priority, bought some plans on the internet, rounded up the parts and put it together. I have never enjoyed building something so much in my life. I am guessing it took about 80 hours, but the coats and coats of fiberglass, epoxy, layers of primer and paint, and all the sanding were a lot of work that could only be done after things cured so it took a few months. I put a graphite epoxy slurry on the bottom to make it slick and tough. I went all out on bronze fasteners, marine ply, and white oak gunnels and chine caps. Overall it weighs about 175 pounds and fits perfectly in the back of my truck so I don't have to have to worry about a trailer.
I finished just in time to beat winter too, I had to break through about twenty feet of skim ice on the lowest of the uinta lakes to try it out, and it is frozen over now. This drift boat is detuned, with a less rocker and lower sides so that it rows better, and the wind doesn't catch it as bad, but still rated for class 2-3 rapids.
I put it in and paddled around with my two year old son. Just for kicks I let him pick out a lure and tossed it out behind the boat as rowed across the lake. We didn't drag it for two minutes before a nice cutthroat grabbed it and we broke the boat in right! Pretty good omen to catch one on your first cast from the new boat!
This boat is a z-drifter, designed by Dave Zelinsky, I bought the plans from river's touch. I had so much fun building this boat that I am itching to start on the next one. If anybody would like to buy this one to fund my next one, send me a pm, though I have all kinds of plans for the green river below flaming gorge, desolation canyon, the provo, utah lake catfish, and I would even like to clamp on a motor and try to troll for wiper with it in willard bay. Anyway, thanks for all the posts and good reads on here.
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[Fowl-Hook]

Post up some pictures I would love to see your creation.
Congratulations!!
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[depthcharge]

actually I tried, not sure why they aren't there...
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[depthcharge]

okay I think they are there now. Great with a saw, questionable with a computer...

thanks
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[SkunkedAgain]

Nice job, that looks like a fun project... Thanks for posting it up for us to enjoy as well... Later J
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[StillHuntin]

Congratulations! Well done and a great christening too!
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[utwalleye]

very nicely done, looks a lot like the one my friend built when I was in high school. it was also a drift boat.
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[Majja]

Very nice looking boat. I have thought about building a layout duck boat for a few years. where did you find the Marine Grade ply at?
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[depthcharge]

It is really hard to find, but after driving to casper wyoming a couple of times to get it at Menards, I found a fantastic selection right down town in SLC at McBeath's Hardwoods, two different kinds in all the sizes you could want, plus they have dimensional doug fir, sitka spruce, and about a million other kinds of wood that you could get wet! I used fir on this one for its strength, might use something else on the next one, not sure yet. I think a layout duckboat would be a lot of fun to build, there are some great plans out there for them. I really like the one at spira international. I have built one of his boats and it was a great build. We sure have been skunked this year on the Bear River Bird Refuge in our sea eagle. Maybe we need a sneak boat!
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[T-DOG91]

Do you have an approximate cost to build? That looks like fun to build
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[depthcharge]

Well,

depending on the building techniques you use (epoxy vs. oil, mahogany ply vs el cheepo birch, bronze fasteners vs. zink or stainless, hardwood or exotic softwoods vs cheap pine, bronze oarlocks with spruce oars vs plastic walmart oars, real boat paint vs deck paint from home depot) you are in it between $800 and $1700 or so. I went all out on mine, ordered most of the materials from Annapolis, Maine, where they take boat building pretty seriously. I have went the cheap way before and it was functional and utilitarian, but I wanted to make something I could really be proud of this time! Either way, its a great diversion from the stresses of life. I got up about five every morning and worked on it for an hour or two before work and it was some kind of zen for me. I think maybe I like making them even more than using them! Until I lay into that thirty inch brown on the C section of the green anyway!!! When I dropped that thing in the water for the first time and it floated high and dry like a duck it was the greatest feeling of accomplishment.

The book Driftboats and River Dories by Paul Fletcher ($35 or so on amazon) is the best place to start. He walks you through building the boats step by step with fantastic illustrations, and even includes plans for a dozen or so boats in the back. Just the plans themselves are gorgeous, I am going to wallpaper the shop with them as I build the different boats.

Cody

Thanks everybody for all the kind comments
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[Majja]

thank you for the info. There are just so many cool looking sneak boats out there, that I think the hardest part would be picking the one you want to build.
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