Construction of Two Portuguese Style Dinghies (Small Boats)

Step 18 Ok, Let's See How They Do.

I've not seen an Instructable this long before. This is the end. I promise. (My first Instructable)

First photo is a comparison of the purchased oars versus the home made ones.

The last weekend of June, 2006 we took the boats out to Stanley Lake in Denver (Westminster). I strapped the boats to the top pf the Jeep with those handy straps I have. (I have 4 purchased from JAX in Fort Collins...or any army surplus store. Thye have been handy millions of times.)

Got to the lake. I first tested my oars and they worked wonderfully. Nice, long, strokes. Got deep into the water and had a lot of thrust. I then tried the store bought oars. Total dissappointmet. In fact, I was out on the water and my oar lock was too loose. bloop. One of the nuts in the oar lock came off and sank to the bottom of the lake. I made it to shore and found some nice people with tools and a spare nut.

(Lesson: take some basic tools and spare hardware. This is a low tech boat, yet still has mechanical parts.)

We had a great time in the boats. The smaller one was intentionally made that way to nest inside the bigger for transportation and storage. I have some video I may put up later of the boats in action. The smaller boat did tend to be a bit unstable if you lurched to one side or the other. Just stay balanced.

That's it. Happy Boating! And thanks Hannu!

Comments

[ginchi1739]

I built two of these several years ago out of regular 1/4 inch ply. Actually I used two layers of plywood. The finished product wasn't a great deal harder to handle than a one ply boat, and I could get both boats in the back of the pickup (turned on their sides). They will also work well with a small trolling motor, or a regular motor up to about 5 HP. The boats lend themselves easily to modifications. I am in the process of building another that I hope will be stronger and speedier than the other two.

[SIRJAMES09]

This looks a wee bit small for fishing, but then again, I'm claustrophobic.

I like the boat! you explained it well, the pics helped tie together any loose ends, & the safety tips, I love it!!!

this is a good boat for toying around in the water, I think maybe you could even add a 3.5 HP outboard (I would NOT go any larger than that tho). This was an enjoyable read.

I think it would be very easy to build a bigger boat based on what you have done here....

You did good!! TY for sharing.

Oh Yeah, if I came across a wee bit harsh about BPS, I appologize. It's just that BPS is my "go to" Store for all my fishing gear.

[weinberg_m]

this inspired me to join, i'd love to build one of these over break. couple of questions: how long did it take you to build one, and what would be the average costof making one?

[rook999]

I worked on these boats over a couple weekends. So the first was a solid Saturday and Sunday. The next weekend I painted the first boat. I started the second boat the next weekend and worked a solid Saturday and Sunday. I guess I would say 5 solid days. Maybe a little more touch up work after that. Really, not too long! Cost is hard. I reused some material. I would estimate $400 give or take $50 for two boats. I guess the most expensive material is the plywood and fiberglass. Assuming you have the tools at least available. (borrowed, rented or owned.) Anything you can scrounge is free. Thanks for your enthusiasm! Be sure to check out Hannu's site for additional details.

[diablopero]

When building pirogues I use carpet seam tape and a heat gun instead of duct tape. You can leave it in and glass over it for more strength.

[f-22]

what lake did you go to?

[rook999]

Stanley Lake in Denver, CO

[kporter]

I am in the middle of building one of these right now with a buddy. We used the marine grade that we got at a regular lumber yard, which cost us about 50 bucks a sheet for quarter inch. It bent very nicely yet seemed a lot more rigid and intact than the stuff at home depot. Great instructable.

[rook999]

TheThompsonFive, you make a great point. Someone else had mentioned Marine Plywood. I did just use plain 'ol Home Depot 1/4" ply. I do suspect that Marine ply would bend much better. Though cost is definitely a factor. For this boat, I wanted to keep the costs as low as possible. And since this was a first attempt, I knew that the first go would be rather sloppy with no experience. I know Marine ply would work better. I'm not sure where one would find any though. Maybe a specialty wood store. I expect that near the ocean or large boating areas it would be a fairly common material. Thanks for the posts!

[shocksystems]

What a great instructable. Very inspiring project. Great work. Pat yourself on the back.

[TheThompsonFive]

I don't know why I bother asking anything when there is the Wikipedia.
And I quote:

Advantages of marine plywood

• Durability - small scratches through painted plywood may expose the interior to water. Inexpensive plywood may not last long when it is damp
• Strengh - marine plywood is stronger and has consistent mechanical properties: no voids.
• Workability - marine plywood is usually easier than fiberglass to cut and bend
• Resistance to Warping - marine plywood (with the exception of Fir-based plywoods) will resist warping or check
  

[edit]

Disadvantages of marine plywood

• Cost - Marine plywood is much more expensive than standard plywood. Costs for a typical 4 foot by 8 foot 1/2 inch thick board is roughly $75 to $100 US or around $2.5 per square foot. This is about three times as expensive as standard plywood.
  

End Quote

I think I may spring for a couple of sheets and see if it saves me some of the aggravation you experienced.

[TheThompsonFive]

Great job! Thanks for taking the time to make this. I've been considering giving this a go since I followed that same link to Hannu. I noticed that in boat #2 you still had some problems with the plywood cracking. I assume that you used regular 1/4". I wonder if marine grade would hold up any better. Maybe I'll ask Hannu himself.