Hey Guys! So after some research online about how much a large scale boat would cost, (and after almost falling out of my chair) I decided to take on the challenge of building a boat myself... little did I know this was going to be a MUCH bigger project than I thought.
So after finding blue prints online, going to a print store to get them printed on 5 ft wide paper, going to get wood and epoxy at Lowe's, and heading home to the garage, I calculated my cost at approx. $65. Not bad so far...
I already had the electronics, 26cc engine, and tools.
It took me a while to cut out the ribs and stringers. Lots of cutting with the jig saw. Here are some pics...
I then cut out the sides/bottom. I ended up ripping one piece of bottom and one whole side off because I wasn't happy with how they matched up. (A LOT harder than you think!)
Deconstruction of one side.
To make the bow, I had to use a steamer to increase the flexibility of the wood. I used a clothes steamer and it worked suprisingly well.
To add interest in the project, I was getting the wood out of my shed and dumped 75-100 baby spiders on myself by accident... Still have no idea where/what the mother was but it has been 3 days now and I'm not dead... hahaha.
After fixing the holes with epoxy I sanded it down to make it smooth and decrease the drag. Here are some pics of that.
The bow tip had to be made with epoxy, as the pieces of wood were not lazer cut and did not match exactly. Here is a photo of the tip.
I just finished sanding the bow and have placed the top on. Here's what it looks like now, waiting for the top to be epoxied down...
If anyone has any boat rudders, props, or shafts, let me know and I'll happily buy them from you. If not, I'm headed to Ebay. Any comments or suggestions or off the wall ideas would be great! Feel free!
Thanks!
