by MJ Logan

Created on: November 08, 2008

Building a small boat to use in a pond or small lake is easier than most people think.

The easiest method of boat building is called "Stitch and Glue". Stitch and Glue building uses very few fasteners, goes together quickly and results in a boat anyone would be proud to point to and say, "I built that."

Begin with choosing a design. If this is your first boat, choose a simple and inexpensive boat design for two or three people. There are a number of on-line companies that provide plans and kits that are very affordable. Total cost of small pond boat can be as little as $250.

Stitch and glue designs rely heavily on two materials, plywood and fiberglass. When viewing plans and kits, consider purchasing the fiberglass kit for the plan you decide upon. You will receive enough fiberglass and resin for the boat plan and not have to worry about what to buy or how much to buy. The plans will give you a bill of materials for the types and sizes of plywood to buy.

If you have some experience cutting plywood, you can purchase good quality AB exterior grade plywood or use marine grade plywood. Marine grade is more expensive and may last longer. Since the entire boat will be covered with resin, exterior grade plywood will work just fine and reduce your cost. If you don't want to cut out the patterns, you can purchase the entire boat kit. Then all you have to do is assemble the boat.

A word of caution about exterior grade plywood; if the plan calls for a lot of bending, consider using marine grade plywood instead. Marine grade plywood is guaranteed to be free of internal voids which can cause cracking and splitting while bending.

Once you have purchased your plan and materials, you start by laying out the patterns on the plywood and cutting them out using a jigsaw or circular saw. Although you should try to make the cuts as perfect as possible, some deviation from the lines is permissible. Any gaps that appear during assembly will be filled with putty.

After the plywood panels and pieces are cut, you can begin assembly. For most plans, this means joining the two sides with the transom and bulkheads. Bulkheads are pieces that fit between the sides between the bow and stern. On boats with a pointed bow, the two sides are simply stitched together to form the bow. It is often easiest to use a few drywall screws to temporarily hold the parts together. The bottom panels will go on next.

The plans will tell you how much of a gap is allowed between the sides and bottom panels. Ten millimeters

• 1
• 2
• Next Page >>