After some convincing by Cracker Larry, I got the plans for the GF14 from http://www.bateau.com. I want to build it for inshore fishing and beating around and whatnot so she’ll get a work boat finish. My epoxy and fiberglass just got here and I’ve got my work space set up. I’ve even got van bench seats for the ladies to come hang out and watch me work. I recently got a fancy camera and am itching to use it so expect quite a few pictures.
Those are the study plans for the boat I’m building. I just picked up some odds and ends at Home Depot today and am getting the wood for the cleats, runners, rub rails and spray rails tomorrow. After much delibaration on where to put the battery, run the chase tubes, mount the lights and speakers and do it all while making sure nothing gets too exposed to saltwater, I’ve decided I’m going to keep it simple and do without an electrical system. I’ll have some clamp on lights for when I’m running and fishing at night and rechargeable, waterproof, work radio that I can remove when I’m done. I’ll save weight, money and time by not worrying about all that because after all, it’s just a jon boat so I may wait until I build a bigger boat for all that fancy dancy electrical business…
The transom will be cut for a short shaft motor (~17" depending on make) and I’ll be looking for a 15-25 hp 2 stroke late model outboard when I come back to SC.
There are a lot more 20" motors available than 15", especially electric start. Good luck on your build.
This is true and I’m going to hope I can find a short shaft motor but am not ruling out the option of a longer shafted motor. I’ve got the plans for a small, lightweight, aluminum jackplate in the event I have to go with a 20" (~21+" actual length) motor.
Had a dear old friend with a Malibu in the very early 80’s…had a lot of fun and learned a lot about inshore fishing in it from him, brings back some wonderful memories.
Checked out the plans and BOM for the bateau…I’m excited about watching the progress of this build and thank you for sharing it with us.
I bet it turns out great, can’t wait to watch.
Edit: Pix of the ladies on the van seats watching will be appreciated.
Chris, ideally you should settle on the motor first and build the transom to fit it. I’ve found that 15" shaft motors can actually be 16 or 17, and that 20" shafts can be 21 or 22, depending on brands. Or you might even get a deal on a 25", like I did.
Better at this point in your build to let the transom run high. You can cut it down later a lot easier than you can build it up. I had built this one at 20", but ended up with a 25" shaft motor and had to raise the transom. Trust me, it’s easier to shorten it than it is to raise it
quote:I've got the plans for a small, lightweight, aluminum jackplate in the event I have to go with a 20" (~21+" actual length) motor.
Just making suggestions, I know you know boats, but I know this one. It won’t be happy with a jack plate because of the set back of weight. As I mentioned in the Bateau forum, these boats are already light in the bow and need some weight forward. Any setback will magnify that. Better to build the transom at 22 now rather than adding height with a jack plate.
The boat will run best with the AV plate about an inch above the bottom so allow for that, also.
That’s a good point Larry, I will build the transom at 22" and then see what motor I end up with.
Does anyone have a good source for a rubber rub rail? I’ll build a 1 1/2" X 3/4" rub rail along the gunwales, but I know that fiberglass/wood rub rail won’t hold up against oyster shells and dock pylons for very long.
That’s a good point Larry, I will build the transom at 22" and then see what motor I end up with.
Does anyone have a good source for a rubber rub rail? I’ll build a 1 1/2" X 3/4" rub rail along the gunwales, but I know that fiberglass/wood rub rail won’t hold up against oyster shells and dock pylons for very long.
My plywood came in today and I got to measuring quickly after work. I cut the stern panel of the sides with a fine tooth blade on a 7 1/4" circular saw and found out quickly the blade was dull. I’m not very happy with the cuts but I have no doubt I’ll be able to remedy that issue when I start putting everything else together. I then switched to a different blade and the cuts were much better.
My rub rails, spray rails, runners, and cleats all ripped to the correct width. I used 1" x 4"s and 1" x 6"s of Southern Yella Pine and ripped them to the specified widths for each piece.
I’m using Meranti BS6566 and got 4 sheets of 1/4" and 3 sheets of 1/2".
My bow floor all measured out and ready to cut.
My side panels stacked, measured, marked and ready to cut.
This is when I cut the bow side panels. I fine toothed blade was dull so it made cutting hard and I got some pretty crooked and nasty cuts. I figure that with all the extra epoxy and whatnot I ordered, I’ll be able to fill it in to the point it’s 100% structurally sound and when it’s all done, no one will know but me (and you…) about the crappy cuts. I switched over to another sharper blade for the rest of the cuts. I’m not impressed with using the bigger saw and will try to get a smaller one for the rest of the cuts even though I’m pretty much done with most of the curved cuts.
Ha right now, it’s only a few of us staff members here and we’re just getting the camp ready for the kids to come. The new staff arrives this weekend so my attention will be halfway diverted from the build in the evening times.
I tried chiseling it off but wasn’t pleased with the job I did. I got the new side panels cut and the new butt blocks glued on this evening. Tomorrow I’ll start assembling the pieces of the puzzle and hopefully they’ll fit!
I did a much cleaner cut on the side panels this time and am pretty happy with the way they turned out. Also found another good 5 gallon bucket washed up on our island today.
