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Steven Todd
Ms. Tillery
British Literature
14 October 2011
Building a Wooden Flat Bottom Boat
Building boats have been around forever to transport people and their cargo from place to
place down rivers and even across the seas. Within this paper, it will go over how to build a
wooden flat bottom boat and what all is needed to build the boat. Also it is about the ability to
take low costing material and hardware to build a wooden watercraft to enjoy spending time on
the lakes and rivers. Some people even to this day still carve a canoe out of old logs, which is a
long progress to complete. "But A good building plan should take you through the whole process
of it step-by-step."(Ezine articles)
When building a wooden boat there are several things that must be considered and
thought about before starting the project. For an example, space is needed throughout the whole
project from the time the supplies all arrive, till the time when the project is done. The space
must be big enough to put all the wood and supplies, yet still have room for the frame of the boat
while the wooden flat bottom boat is being built. Also the work area must be able to not only
store everything, but the work space needs to allow any adhesives and paints to dry. That way
the wood will be treated properly. Also being able to take the boat outside would be helpful,
when the wooden boat is all built and ready to fiberglass since most of the adhesives and paints
are all really flammable.
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Although the space might be provided there still are many different tools that will be
needed to complete the boat building project. "Tools needed to rip the plywood into the various
parts, (table saw, skill saw, jig saw or hand saw)." (Uncle John). "The sander (a random orbit
sander like the DeWalt is very handy, a belt sander or pad sander works well)." (Uncle John).
Those are the main tools needed most of the other tools are common tools that everyone has
especially when considering building a boat. Also a low pressure nail gun will work good if at
some point in the process of building the boat epoxy and fiberglass are planned on being used.
Many of the sanders are used on the boat to smooth out any spots where the wood is connected
together because each end of the wood has to be sanded down all the way on the edge so the ply
wood is like two triangles meeting together to make a square.
"The stiffness of wood and it’s natural buoyancy has made wood the traditional building
material although others are routinely used such as metal and plastic." (DIY boat plans). The
different types of wood are very important when building a wooden Jon boat. The different types
of wood are treated to not rot when they absorb some water and the different adhesive glues that
holds the wood together to make a ply wood sheet. "Many small boat builders use Lauan
Mahogany plywood Lauan is which is actually five millimeters thick. Lauan is pretty, easy to
work with and very economical." (Uncle John). Yet Plytanium can also be used and is found at
any Lowes or Home Depot for around $20 dollars. Depending on the size of the size of the
wooden boat will depend on how many sheets will be needed. When building the wooden flat
bottom boat if the boat is being built to be around 12 feet then get a 1/4inch or a little thinner
thickness plywood. Only the longer wooden boats that will take a great amount of abuse needs
the thicker plywood. But when using the thinner plywood the boat will stay lighter for easy
travel and are quicker on the water. Also using two by fours will help add support to the wooden
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boat and lie them going across the floor to hold the sides of the boat in place. "Depending on the
plan utilized for the construction of the Jon boat, the total cost can range from two hundred to
five hundred dollars."(2020 Site).
Fiber glassing all the cracks and seems where the wood meets is highly suggested to help
keep the wooden boat water tight and keep the boat afloat. Using fiberglass can be very tricky
and hard to do. The epoxy which is the glue that hardens to hold the fiberglass tape in place can
be fairly expensive and messy. Epoxy and fiberglass can be found at Lowes or Home Depot and
the epoxy runs for about $100 dollars a gallon and the fiberglass is cheaper, it just depends on
what size and length is used. The fiberglass will not only make the wooden boat waterproof, it
will also strengthen the boat and joints. “Make sure the fitting of the fiberglass is dry before
fixing it with epoxy to the boat.”(IQIO). "The smarter step will be to epoxy the runners in place
and maybe coat them with some epoxy for protection."(Father and son). So be sure to build it all
first then fiberglass the boat. "Composite boats—wood boats covered with fiberglass resin—now
mean that a wood boat can last as long as one made of aluminum or steel." (Mad Man).
So first off once all the supplies have been bought, figure out what size and width the
boat is going to be built. For a ten foot flat bottom boat with a width of approximately 33inches
wide these are for the steps following below. Know that the wider the boat the more stabile it
will be when standing up and moving around. If the boat is all planned out correctly the wooden
boat/exterior wood should be able to be built with only two sheets of ply wood. Then once it is
all planned and drawn out on the ply wood start to carefully cut the wood, yet pay close attention
to what piece goes where so the same piece does not get cut twice. Once all the pieces are cut
start putting all the side together first. Then attach the bottom sheet starting at the front of the
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wooden boat working it all the way back and be sure to put liquid nail down and nail the bottom
of the boat up to the sides of the boat. After the exterior wood is all pieced together start
measuring some of the sides to add a frame and support the boat from caving in. When adding a
bench or platform, they too well help had a decent amount of support across the boat.
When all the ply wood is being put together to make the hull of the boat, go along the
edges of the wood with liquid nail to help bond the ply wood and help water tighten the wooden
boat. During the process of turning two sheets of ply wood into one whole sheet sand the edges
down to meet flush together. Once the two sheets are being put together apply some liquid nail
across the two boards where they well come to meet together and use C-claps to squeeze them
together till the adhesive glue dries and possible put a couple of little screw to help hold them
tight together. For inside the boat when the frame is being put together using small nails and or
staples to hold the frame to the hull to strengthen the boat. If any staples or nails are used to help
hold any exterior wood together the make sure to put some kind of sealant on the spots where the
nails were inserted so they will not let any water through. That is also why fiber glassing all
seems and joints inside and outside of the wooden boat is a great idea to help prevent any
leaking.
By now the boat should have taken shape and is almost done. Looking at the interior to
add seats, take a measurement of the width of the boat at the bottom then top so when the sides
of the seats go in they fit correctly with no gaps. For putting a platform in the front of the boat to
fish off of or throw duck decoys from measure how big it is needed to be and cut it out. When
installing it run a little strip of wood around the edges for the sheet of wood to lie on. When
making this platform, thicker wood might be helpful and try to put some two by fours from the
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bottom of it running to the floor to help support your weight. Also on the stern where the motor
will be mounted, try to double up the wood and have a triangular piece of wood running from the
center of the stern going toward the bow of the boat. Building a strong transom on the boat will
allow you to add a motor to help cross the lake.
Finally the last step is painting the wooden boat. Before painting, make sure there are no
leaks in the boat. Once that is completed the wooden boat may be painted with any color and
pattern. Be sure to use an outdoor waterproof paint that will stick to the wood. "If you wish to
stain the boat don't use an oil-based product, make sure it's alcohol or water-based, and allow it
to dry before applying any finish and paints that work well on a wooden Jon boat are 100 percent
acrylic exterior latex water based paint."(David Flask, Ehow).
When the boat is done being built the coast guard recommends that the wooden boat be
placed in the water and fill the wooden boat up with water, counting every gallon poured in to
the boat till the top of the boats walls are level with the lake water. Once that is complete
multiply the number of gallons by 8 lbs. then multiply that by 0.3 to determine the safe weight of
the wooden boat. When trying to determine what size motor is recommended take the width
times the length to find out what size. If it 35ft^2 or less then the boat needs a 3hp motor, 40ft^2
can use a 5hp motor and soon up the chart. Also once the boat and frame is all built and the
process of starting to add a platform and benches inside of the boat depending on what the boat
will be used for. Once they are started to get built fill the space of underneath the bench and
under the platform with Styrofoam so the wooden boat will not sink.
