Easyest boat to build

[NaturesRespect]

Whats a kind of water craft i can build? Im looking for cheap materials, good for fishing in lakes, small enough to be carried in a trunk bed, not hard to build, something that will work as a watercraft to be fished out of.

Im pretty skilled with tools and have taken 2 wood shop classes in school. I dont want the materials cost to be more than $100 and want the process of building it simple and not too complex.

a good example of the kind of model would be something like a john boat or canoe maybe a pontoon float tube style thing

[gn83tm]

When I was in high school I built an 8' long flat-bottomed, wooden boat. I used a plan from a set of books called "The Practical Handyman's Encyclopedia". You could probably find these books at a library, or if you're interested, I could copy the relevant pages. The boat was mostly built out of a sheet of 1/4" plywood. You ripped two 10" wide pieces off the sheet for the sides and the remaining sheet was cut into 3 pieces for the bottom. 3/4" plywood was used for the transom, bow, and seat. 3/4" mahogany boards were used for the gunnels and at all joints. Everything was held together by Elmers glue and a boat-load of brass screws. I think they were 2" on center and that was before there were cordless drills and screw guns. I ended up with a lot of blisters!

All the seams were covered with strips of bed sheets soaked in glue and I painted the boat with some sort of epoxy paint my uncle gave me. The paint was still wet when we drove the 10 hours to East Battle Lake. I built the thing in less than a week using only a skill saw, jig saw, screwdriver, and router. It was a fun project and one I've often thought about doing again.

[Flying_Fort]

I have built a Gator boat mostly out of 1/4" and 3/8" plywood. It is not huge and it is a 1-man boat, but they have different models to choose from. I am currently working on a 2nd Gator boat for a buddy. We mostly use them for duck hunting. They have a jon boat style and the boats should fit into your budget. I bought the supplies for the 2 gators for about $100 from the "save big money" place a couple of years ago. You can just look them up on the internet for plans and prices.

[NaturesRespect]

When I was in high school I built an 8' long flat-bottomed, wooden boat. I used a plan from a set of books called "The Practical Handyman's Encyclopedia". You could probably find these books at a library, or if you're interested, I could copy the relevant pages. The boat was mostly built out of a sheet of 1/4" plywood. You ripped two 10" wide pieces off the sheet for the sides and the remaining sheet was cut into 3 pieces for the bottom. 3/4" plywood was used for the transom, bow, and seat. 3/4" mahogany boards were used for the gunnels and at all joints. Everything was held together by Elmers glue and a boat-load of brass screws. I think they were 2" on center and that was before there were cordless drills and screw guns. I ended up with a lot of blisters!

All the seams were covered with strips of bed sheets soaked in glue and I painted the boat with some sort of epoxy paint my uncle gave me. The paint was still wet when we drove the 10 hours to East Battle Lake. I built the thing in less than a week using only a skill saw, jig saw, screwdriver, and router. It was a fun project and one I've often thought about doing again.

now that i have time i would like to get a copy of those pages just let me know by replyinh to this post and then we can talk and i will give you my email so you can send me them.

[gn83tm]

Send an email to my screen name(gn____) @yahoo.com and I'll send you a copy of the plans. I'll also look through those books to see if there are any other plans that might be good options for you.

[NaturesRespect]

what is a good length to go with if i want to transport the boat in the back of a truck in the trunk? i think our chevy 1500 silverado is a short bed so 6 foot?

[gn83tm]

Depends on how far you want it sticking out. I haul my 10' kayak in my 6' truck bed and have had my 12' yak in there as well. Legally, I think you can have 4' hanging out beyond the tailights before you have to flag it. I've never really seen the need for a red flag with bright yellow and red kayaks. Johny Law following me hasn't either but that probably depends on his attitude. I'd go as long as reasonably possible and wouldn't worry about it too much as long as you can easily secure the boat. That shouldn't be too hard if it fits between the wheel wells.

BTW, how did the plans look?

[LightningBG]

Unfortunately, I think you're better off saving up a little more and buying something.

I had the same idea about 2 months ago. By the time I added up the cost of the materials, it was better for me to just buy a $150 duck boat on craigs place.