just finishing my first boat!

[coopershooter]

i am almost done with a 19ft skiff with a flat bottem and a short tunnel, or pocket. it should fly with a small engine. and should go in pretty shallow water. i life in citrus county florida and i mostly play in the shallow fresh water spring fed rivers here. this boat has more room than i thought it would. to much room has never been the problem!
 it's marine plywood, and fiber glass. it;s been a fun project.
  think i'll build a wide 14 footer next.

[Cap'n Jon]

If you can take a few pic's of it so we can see it!  If you don't know how to post pic's just e-mail me the pic's and I'll post them for you!  

There are a few guys up here who make cedar strip canoes or skiffs and Jon boats like yours.  Its pretty cool when you make it too! :grin:

[coopershooter]

OK I'LL TRY TO SEND YOU THE PIX. NOT SURE HOW BUT I'LL GET IT SENT.

[rockbilly]

There is nothing like building your own.  While I was in Spain I built one and helped several other people build boats. The Spanish government had some weird rules on boats, but they didn't apply to homemade.  I found a set of plans in a magazine for a sail boat called a "My Buddy".  I made a few modifications and ended up with a 12 foot boat that would take the roughest weather,  The government also had some weird rules on motors, the largest we could use was a 9.9 HP.  You couldn't buy one in europe so I had my father go to Sears and buy a motor, separate the head from the foot and mail it to me.  It came in, head in one box, foot in another and 6 gallon tank in another.  During the four years I was there I caught more bass out of that little boat than I have ever caught out of one of the high dollar bass boats I have owned since.
 Enjoy your boat, you will make memories that will bring a smile for many years to come.    

[coopershooter]

i took the allygator (my boat) out for the first time today. 18 ft. 6in. with an 87 in. beam,out for the first time today. we had a blast!
 i had to use a 6hp johnson. with three boys, my wife and i, we went  just under 8 miles per hour. the funny thing is that the same motor, on a light 12 aluminem v-hull, only goes 10 mph.
 the boat is very light for its size. i'm guessing it's about 500 lbs.
 i have an 18 hp. that needs some work. but i'm guessing it will go 15 to 18mph.
 wish i had a 40 hp. tiller motor!

[coopershooter]

i bought a used 25 hp jonson. it goes 20 mph with two people in the boat.
 thats fast enough to get me out to the flats pretty quick!
 i'm very happy with the boat. and so is my wife!!!

[bud340]

Here is a picture of my boat.  It is a 24 ft. cedar strip with 4 layers of 10 oz. cloth and 11 gal. of west system resin.




Started out with a 9.9 Merc, now I use a 30hp. Johnson.

It is nice you are not stopping at one boat like I did.

[coopershooter]

my family and i have been using the boat alot! mostly in fresh water rivers, swimming and fishing. and i went trout fishing a few times, in salt water.
 i,m setting up for night time gig fishing. i have the generator and lights, i'm just putting a few gigs together.
 this weekend was supposed to be our first family scalloping trip to stienhachie fla. but friends in that area say the scallop count is not good yet, so we might not go.
 the boat is very good for all around boating. it has a ton of room, is stable, and goes in very shallow water. i would like to build a top for it, but i dont want it to look bad. any ideas?

[coopershooter]

i bought a 40hp evenrude for my boat! i cant wait to take it out. i had to put a console in for the helm and controls. i think it's going to fly! going from tiller steer to a wheel is also fine with me! and electric start and power tilt. i also bought two marine batteries. as i want to start gigging fish at night.

[coopershooter]

it goes 32mph (gps) on smooth water! now i need to put some fins on the bottem, as it wont steer at speed.

[bilmac]

Dittos on the pleasures of building your own. I made a 13' dory with a wide stern so it planes easily with a small motor and rows like a dream. Later I added a centerboard, rudder and a sail and have even more fun. I can't decide what made me happier building it or using it. 

Bud  looks like you made a copy of the grummen sport boat which to me is their freighter canoe with about 5' chopped off to give a square stern so that it doesn't squat when the boat is empty. I have used a couple of these and it is hard to find a nicer all round boat for the hunter fisher on small water. I'll bet she is as light or maybe a little less than the grummen.