Before you start building a wooden boat, you need to prepare the main part of such a structure - the sides. To do this, you need to take the most even, long, wide enough boards that are made of spruce or pine.
Look at the photos of homemade boats and you will see that there are no boards on its sides that have knots - this is very important. The boards for this part of the boat should be in a dry place under slight pressure for at least one year.
Choice of boards for work
Before you start production, you need to make sure once again that the boards are absolutely suitable for the job. Next, for each board, you need to measure the desired length and carefully cut them off at an angle of 45 degrees. These boards will go to the bow of the boat.
After that, it is necessary to plan them and check that the boards connected to each other have no gaps. Then treat the ends with an antiseptic.
The next step is to prepare the bow of the boat, and a triangular bar serves them. It should be one and a half times longer than the width of the sides. The beam is also planed and covered with a layer of antiseptic.
Further instructions for making a boat with your own hands is to choose a suitable board for the stern of the boat. Do not neglect the stock, because it is better to cut off the excess later than to look for and start all over again.
Boat assembly
When the elements of the wooden boat are assembled, you need to start assembling the product. You should start with the bow. Both sides and a triangular bar must be connected to each other using self-tapping screws. It is advisable to immediately cut off the protrusions from above and below so that they do not interfere in the future.
The next step is very important and responsible, as it is necessary to give the future boat a shape. It is necessary to determine the width of the boat and put a spacer in the middle. Choose a spacer board the size of the height of the boat, so your sides will not burst.
When the strut is properly installed, you can begin to shape the boat, call a few people for help or stock up on ropes to hold the structure.
Use the drawings and adjust the dimensions of the stern for the manufacture of the boat in such a way that there are no gaps and cracks when connecting the back wall and sides.
When the backdrop is installed, cut off the excess part from the bottom, and on top you can make an element in the form of a triangle. Next, we deal with the struts that will constantly maintain the shape of the boat, as well as the seats that are installed on top of the struts. You can determine the number, as well as the location of these elements yourself, so it can be one, two or more places.
We align everything on the lower part in one plane and treat the entire surface with a protective layer. When the glue dries, start making the bottom of the boat.
The best option for the bottom will be a galvanized sheet of metal. Try to find one that matches the size of the boat.
How to make the bottom of the boat with your own hands
Put the future boat on a sheet of metal and circle its borders with a marker, do not forget to grab a margin of a few centimeters just in case, you can always trim the excess.
The next step is to cover the connection of the boat with its bottom with a special silicone sealant along the entire length in one line. On top of the sealant, until it dries, a cord is laid in several rows - all this is necessary so that the bottom of the boat is airtight and does not let water in.
When this process is completed, we proceed to the connection of the bottom with the frame. Carefully lay the bottom of the boat over the bottom of the boat. Use nails or screws to connect.
Start connecting from the middle and move to the edges of the boat. Do the work as slowly and carefully as possible, as this part is very important.
We cut off excess metal that sticks out more than 5 mm from the edge of the boat, and bend the rest with a hammer. It is also important to protect the nose of the boat from external factors with the help of the same metal. Cut out a rectangle of tin according to the size of the boat.
Everywhere where wood and metal are connected, it is necessary to walk with sealant and lace. By this time, before you start "wrapping" the nose with metal, you need to treat the entire boat with an antiseptic.
Be sure to make a mount on the bow for the chain. This will help if someone wants to steal a brand new boat, as on the pond it will attract special attention due to its novelty.
Before you build a boat, think through and review all the ideas of what you can make a boat out of. Perhaps you will choose for yourself a special material with which it will be more convenient for you to work, or maybe you need special protection or massiveness.
Do not forget to cover the bottom with a special paint on the reverse side, since galvanized metal collapses over time upon contact with water. And the wooden parts of the boat must be covered with several layers of special impregnation and, as a result, the boat should be left to dry in the shade.
For convenience, a wooden flooring can be laid out inside the boat at its bottom. So the bottom will not rattle when you move along it.
This will complete the boat. Read more articles on how to make the best homemade boats with descriptions to find out some other nuances that may be useful to you in future buildings.
DIY boat photo
4. Portable boats
The main characteristic of ships of this type is transportability, i.e., the ability to carry and transport by any mode of transport. The resulting size and weight restrictions force rowing boats to be preferred, but larger boats are also produced, designed to install an outboard motor, which, when disassembled, are placed in the trunk or on the roof of the car.
4.1. Collapsible boats
Folding hunting boat (Fig. 4.3)- one of the simplest in design collapsible boats. Designed for the solo angler. From it you can throw spinning while standing. The hull of this folding boat is made of duralumin sheets 1.5 mm thick, interconnected by means of a rubberized belt 2-4 mm thick with rivets. In a ready-to-use form, the stern of the boat is held by two spacers made of duralumin pipes.
"Taimen" (Fig. 4.4) - a mass-produced kayak. One-, two- and three-seater "Taimen" are designed for tourist voyages along routes of high complexity. Contours with smoothly trimmed stems, a large collapse of the frames provide the necessary qualities for this. All elements of the collapsible frame are made of duralumin.
Floodability is ensured by six thermal packs - one in the bow and in the stern and four on the sides with a total volume of 130-140 liters, which is enough to keep a completely flooded kayak with one rower afloat. Places for rowers on two- and three-seater kayaks are removed from the midship, which significantly increases the maneuverability of the boat. In the middle of the hull, a special cargo compartment is allocated, in which one more person can be placed for short-term exits.
LR-01 (Fig. 4.5) - motor-rowing boat, which, like collapsible kayaks, has a collapsible frame and a soft rubberized shell. The duralumin sheet transom with plywood trim is designed to accept a 1 kW (2 hp) outboard motor. Transverse cans made of plywood and foam plastic increase the rigidity of the hull, and together with thermal packs placed in the bow and along the sides, provide emergency buoyancy.
In terms of seaworthiness, the boat is not inferior to non-separable vessels of the same dimensions, it has a good move on oars and with a motor.
Sectional canoe (fig. 4.6) can be used for long-distance tourist voyages and walks in versions with oars, an outboard motor or a sail. The boat project was awarded the 1st prize at the NTO competition named after. acad. A. N. Krylova (boat project for self-build). Dimensions and weight of the boat allow its transportation on the top trunk of any car.
The relatively narrow hull of the canoe has an almost flat bottom with small radius chines, which ensures good stability and satisfactory performance under power. Raising the keel line at the extremities improves agility, which is especially important when passing rapids. The shift of the greatest width to the stern reduces the trim that occurs when sailing under the motor alone.
The hull is a non-stacking fiberglass structure, divided into three sections with paired watertight bulkheads at the joints. Molded in the middle part of the boat on a flat bottom, two corrugations serve as stiffeners and at the same time protect the hull from abrasion. The division of the hull into three sections of unequal length and its asymmetry relative to the midsection not only simplify packing (the bow section is inserted into the aft section and, together with it, into the middle section), but also allows it to be assembled in several versions. From the bow and middle sections, for example, a planing motor boat is formed for a motor with a power of up to 15 kW (20 hp).
