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Click on photos for larger view.
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Here's a blurry photo of my engine. Its a 3.8 litre GM V6 taken from my donor
boat. You can see my angled blocks that I mount the engine to. At the top
left you can see my raw water strainer mounted to the top frame member. They are
usually mounted low but I decided to mount it here so that I could simply lift the motor
box lid and check to see if the water was flowing well. It also would keep the
water pump primed since it is above the pump. After installing it I was worried
that there would not be enough draw to pull water through the strainer since the raw water
intake was so far away. You can see the black elbow from the intake at the bottom
right of the photo. I have run the boat and it works great. I'm really
happy that I did this because it gives me piece of mind to see the water flowing into
the engine.
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Here's a blurry photo from the rear. One of the biggest challenges I had was
getting the exhaust routed from the manifold to a point low enough that it could run
under the floor boards. I ended up building a zigzag fitting from 2 steel
elbows and nipples, connected to the manifold with a short piece of rubber exhaust
hose. You can see it on the left manifold. The exhaust hose was another
surprise as far as cost. Two 6' pieces cost me $140 !
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Here is the bow before the floor is installed. I built a glove box on the left
and storage space in the bow. There will be sliding doors that close the opening.
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This is the steering pulley mounted to the bottom of the last frame before the
transom. I installed the double pulley on top and ran steel cables to my
custom rudder arm. I had to calculate the required pulley diameter so that
one and a half steering wheel turns would result in the rudder moving fully in
one direction. The maximum rudder position allowed is about 35 degrees in
each direction.
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Here is a top view of my rudder arm and pulleys. The white blocks mounted
to the stringers will support the gas tank eventually.
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Here is a front view of the steering.
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This is the interior before the 1/8" mahogany ply was installed on the
interior. You can see the steering cable. Also the butt joint
on the exterior ply. This joint is hidden on the outside by the planking.
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I built in a tow bar support. It is 2x4 steel tubing welded to a piece of
angle iron that is then bolted to the frame. A sleeve of ABS plastic pipe
is then slid into a hole drilled into the 2x4 tubing. This plastic pipe
has been sized to fit tight into the steel tubing and provide a snug fit to slide
the tow bar in. This photo is taken low from the stern, just above the
keel. There is another steel support at the top of the frame. This is
a very strong support. It was important that I had confidence in it since
I didn't want to damage the boat when towing.
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Here is the tow bar support at the top. It is bolted to the top of the
frame member, just below the deck. You can see the tow bar sticking out
at the top of the photo. I cut the hole in the deck with a hole saw so
the deck piece goes back in when the tow bar is not installed. It is
barely noticeable.
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I installed flotation in the boat. I used Styrofoam blocks in the
stern. They will be hidden under the gas tank. I also put
blocks in the bow around the storage area . These are also out
of sight. If something goes wrong I want to be able to tow my
boat to shore rather than kiss it goodbye.
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The hatch doors and trim are mounted as well as the engine box and the rear
facing spotters seats.
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A 12" diameter x 13" pitch Left Hand rotation bronze propeller was installed. It
took about 8 months to find one on eBay. The rudder is not in yet. The dual exhaust
was important to me. I love the look. A single exhaust was not going to work for me.
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Here is the skid fin, mounted just rear of the C.G. I mounted it with
1/4-20 SS bolts into threaded steel plywood anchors. After a few test runs
of the boat the skid fin ripped out due to the large force on it during high speed
turns. I will install another one but I'll bolt it through the hull this time.
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Here is the bow waiting for the cutwater. Notice the lines. It is plywood
sheet construction but due to my stem design and the ratio of length to beam, I think
that it almost looks like it has the compound curves of a cold-molded boat. It
definitely doesn't have the chubby, rounded look of many of the plywood designs.
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Here's my cutwater that I made myself. I made a paper pattern for each side. Then
I cut the stainless steel. I then fit it to make sure it was right. Then I drilled
the mounting holes. I held the two pieces together using a jig made of bent wire
mesh. Then, after lots of practice, I MIG welded it. You can see the wrinkles
at the weld due to my poor welding ability but it doesnt show unless you really look for it.
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Everything is done except the seat and the white bootstripe. I used 1" bootstripe
tape. It is much easier than painting.
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It's time to leave the garage for the last time. Since my trailer is too wide to
fit through my garage door opening, I winched the boat onto my trailer.
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Launch day at the lake. That's my son helping me with the launch.
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She's named, as all good boats should be, after a beautiful woman. In this case,
my wife. I hand-painted the letters using gold leaf paint and then varnished over
it. You can see the speedometer pickup on the bottom right. Notice the
green stripe along the top edge. This is to hide the plywood edges. This
is also done on the interior of the cockpit.
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This shows the interior layout. It is a cross between a runabout and a utility
design. I would say it is most like a 1950's Hacker Craft when they started to
experiment with hybrid styles. I was worried that the space would be too tight
in the rear but it worked out great. The front cockpit is a bit cramped. It
is 33" between the frames. This is typical but I find it a bit too tight. I
had to shorten my front seat and reduce the slant of the seat back to gain a
little extra leg room.
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Here's my dash. I cut a piece of SS to dress up the gauges. It's the same
SS sheet material I used to make my cutwater and the bands at the stern. The
throttle is from the donor boat. It originally had a thumb switch for tilt &
trim. Since I dont have tilt & trim I removed the ugly red switch and added
an oak piece that I made with my belt sander. It is simple but looks very
cool. You can also get a good look at the windshield brackets I made. The
metal ones are crazy expensive. These were simple and not too bulky looking.
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A plaque I had engraved and mounted on the dash reads as follows : Designed
and built by Bruce Taber, Almonte, Ontario, 2007.
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Here's another look at the front cockpit, the windshield brackets and the throttle
lever. I did all the upholstery myself. I purchased the 2" foam, the
marine vinyl, and the special 1/2" foam backing used to make the tuck & roll style. The
vinyl is sewn to the foam backing down each seam. It is then sewn again with the vinyl
folded at each seam. I used a regular sewing machine with the proper upholstery
thread. It turned out really well. I get lots of compliments when people find out
I did it myself. It was a good winter project and I saved about $1,000.
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Here she is moored at the dock at our cottage. The air horn adds a bit of
antique elegance. I also cut a piece of SS to dress up the tip of the deck.
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A high speed pass. It gets up on plane easily. It rides a bit too high in the bow but
that is better than too low which could create problems with the vertical stem catching the waves.
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An artsy shot at dusk.
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Another pretty shot as the sun goes down.
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If you would like to see a short video of my boat during its test run,
click here
I hope you've enjoyed the photos ! Many thanks to Paul for hosting
my build photos. E-mail me
if you have any questions about my project.
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