The Power Plant

I've been doing some research on marine outboard engines particularly the tillers. I’ve looked at Mercury, Honda and Evenrude. However, I don’t think Evenrude makes a 20HP tiller. Yamaha is next on the list to research.

I’m not quite sure what size engine I should use so a little more consulting with Jeff Spira, the designer, may be in order. I’m not looking for speed. I am looking for reliability and some giddy up and go power if the weather suddenly changes and I have to head back to the marina or the bay.

Building the Transom

TRANSON BUILDING NOTES:

What ever plans you use, I recommend using butcher paper to draw out your angles and cuts. I had no butcher paper so a good garage expedient method was using the back of some old wrapping paper. Just roll it out on the table and draw out your measurements from the plans on the white side. (I thought you would like that.) Lay out the right half of the transom on your paper and follow the directions from your plans. Remember measure twice and cut once. I then laid out the left side but reversed the angles on the saw. (That was a tip: Key word "reverse.")

While at the beach, we decided test the waterproof glue we were using. After immersing 2 pieces of glued 2x4 scraps for nearly six hours in salt water, the glue held! We used Gorilla Glue HOWEVER, I am not sure if this is the best glue to use for this project. I will need to research this a bit further.

This is the almost fisnished transom. Once the clamps and straps come off, a little light sanding may be in order. This will remove any splinters from the wood and the excess glue that squeezed out from the joints.

Let's get it going!

This Memorial Day weekend was a good opportunity to get started. It would also brush me up on my old wood working skills. We started to build the transom and yeap, my wood working skills were rusty and in need of some polishing.

Here is the information on the boat:
Boat Type: Carolina Dory Vee-Bottom
Model: Alamitos
Lenght: 15 feet
Width: 7' - 3/4" feet at the widest section
Transom Width: 5' - 1 1/4"
Stern Height: 1' - 10 1/4"
Bow Height: 2' - 9 3/8"
Designer: Jeff Spira / Spira International, Inc.
Webpage: http://www.spirainternational.com

After months of researching web pages and plans, I found that Jeff's web page had the best information and the study plans he offers for each boat seemed relatively easy to understand.

If you can't buy it...Build it!

I've been wanting to own a boat as far back as I can remember. The only problem was that the prices were way out of my range. So many years back, I created item number 9 on my bucket list: Own Boat. I've managed to scratch off many items on the bucket list and there are still plenty to go. However, old #9 sticks out since items 1-10 have been crossed off. For many years, I've always said that next summer, I'm going to have a boat. But that summer came and went and I had no boat. Here I am years later with old #9 on on the bucket list staring at me.

One frustrated day while looking at some boats, I wondered if I would ever own one. Suddenly it hit me. Why not build one! Could it be done? Has it ever been done? To my surprise there are people out there that actually built their own boats! So after months of of researching, I was confident that I could build one. I was as confident as knowing that my wife of 20 years was the right girl.

I plan to share all my boat building adventures with you. Some of you that are planning to build a boat may find my blog useful. Keep in mind, I don't know anything about building boats. I don't even know the terminology of the parts of a boat except for the bow and stern and port and starboard. It will be a great learning experience for me and my two boys. I can't put a price on the adventure we’re about to take. Even at the end, if the boat sinks in the marina, the experience, fun, and memories I will share with my family will last forever.