Building a drift boat

[Chuck289]

The sample layup turned out fine. The mold release works great. We got a much better finish than I expected.






We had a small delay ordering more fiberglass. Hopefully it will be here early next week and we can start laying up the hull.

[Mambo Dave]

Waiting for the shipwreck.

[Drif10]

Don't forget Mary-Ann on the cruise.

[Chuck289]

Originally Posted by Mambo Dave

Waiting for the shipwreck.

Oh ill be sure to get it on video

[ducnut]

Originally Posted by Chuck289

Oh ill be sure to get it on video

Be sure to get Mary Ann in the video, too.

[Chuck289]

So we did a little more prep work. More sanding and cleaning.
We started cutting out fiberglass but we are still waiting on another order to show up next week so we can cut the rest and start the layup of the hull.







We made templates out of old bed sheets

[Corytrade]

Where will the .50 cal be mounted?

[Chuck289]

Today was the big day. Today we did the layup of the fiberglass to make the hull. The extra material arrived this morning. We immediately got to work cutting out the last of the fiberglass. We had 4 layers of 9oz fabric and 2 layers of 20z fabric. While that was going on, others were putting a final layer of Partall paste (wax mold release) on the mold. Then for extra security we sprayed the entire mold with PVA liquid mold release.

We then mixed the resin and starting racing to get the fiberglass cutouts in place. We probably had about 12 people helping at one point. It was really cool to see how many people wanted to come help us with this project. It was a rush, and a lot of fun. We had a few snags in the beginning but we got the hang of it and I think it turned out pretty damn good.

More wax


Then lastly a good coating of PVA liquid mold release, sprayed at 80psi






The yellow fabric is aramid (kevlar). We added some for extra protection on the nose and the chines. We also beefed up the bow with extra patches of 20oz glass.


So now we'll just keep an eye on it and sometime next week we will pop the hull off of the mold. The next step will be the transom.

Sorry about the crappy cell phone pics, didn't have a camera with me. Others had cameras today so I will try to get some more pictures to post up.

[Chuck289]

Originally Posted by Corytrade

Where will the .50 cal be mounted?

Right next to the beer keg

[Chuck289]

[Chuck289]

Success! We got the hull off the mold! It took a little persuading, but after an hour of prying and hitting it broke loose and came off clean.





A little bit of the plaster from our patchwork stuck to the fiberglass. Not a big deal, it scraped off easily








Yeah, we think it's pretty f-ckin cool


Check out that little piece of carbon fiber reinforcement! Im not sure how that got in there



Next step is to glass in the transom, so we're figuring out how exactly we want to do that. We also got more material in for all the reinforements, seating, trays, decking etc.






Now it really feels like the project is moving along

[ducnut]

That thing's nuts, as I've never seen such a project. About how much does that weigh, as it sits?

[Chuck289]

Originally Posted by ducnut

That thing's nuts, as I've never seen such a project. About how much does that weigh, as it sits?

Two of us picked it up, our rough guess is between 100-150 lbs right now.



Here's a CAD model showing some ideas for the interior of the boat.

[Fe Man]

I think you're F'n up! Why not use it as a mold?

Get a chop gun, some gel-coat, some glass and turn out a couple; make a profit!!!

Some advice:
Level floors at fore and aft fishing positions
Time to plan an integral anchor system with rope management!
Fuel tank storage and plumb lines
10 foot rod tubes (some of my nine foot rods don't fit in nine foot rod tubes), look how Hyde does their rod tubes
a place to store/hide a boat net
maybe scallop the sides to make ingress and egress easier...

[Chuck289]

Originally Posted by Fe Man

I think you're F'n up! Why not use it as a mold?

Get a chop gun, some gel-coat, some glass and turn out a couple; make a profit!!!

Some advice:
Level floors at fore and aft fishing positions
Time to plan an integral anchor system with rope management!
Fuel tank storage and plumb lines
10 foot rod tubes (some of my nine foot rods don't fit in nine foot rod tubes), look how Hyde does their rod tubes
a place to store/hide a boat net
maybe scallop the sides to make ingress and egress easier...

Profit would be nice . I dont think we have a chop gun, but I'm not sure. We were joking about making another, the mold release is good for 3 to 5 layups.