Microskiff Build...help!?!

To remove the wood from the transom, cut the inner skin of fiberglass off and then you will have easy access to remove and repair the transom. Don't cut the outer off.

 

Great. Now you need to grind all the crap off down to good glass. Then cut a template and then cut your wood and put them in place.

There is a tutorial on here somewhere how to do it.

 

Plastic?? How will you glue it to the outer skin? Most plastics don't glue well and this is not the place to experiment with a guess.

Marine plywood. Use epoxy and coat every piece before installing and it will last many years.

Also while you are grinding, grind off any remaining tabs from where you cut the inner skin off so it won't interfere with making a template or installing the new pieces.

 

No good. The glue probably won't last and the glass won't hold then you will be left with a piece of plastic between two broken pieces of fiberglass.

3/4 weights around 75 lbs per sheet. That is 150 lbs of weight in a 12 foot boat that weighs less than that amount of wood. Then you also have a couple gallons of resin adding another 15 lbs. Also adding that much weight would drastically change the center of gravity - potentially causing an unsafe situation.

 

Wood.

You are going to have to plan your build around a safe platform.

Think of it this way. Go stand up in a canoe and then stand up in the same canoe but this time stand on the rails. Notice how tippy it got?

That is what is going to happen to this little skiff. Every inch you raise the center of gravity the hull becomes exponentially more unstable.

If I were building I would make a removable deck for the front and back that I can take out if I were not fishing. Keep the boat very similar to original.

Put a bench seat(s) back in but in a position that is more convenient and can be used to store gear or be a livewell. Glue a rail onto the gunnels that the deck can rest on and remove them when in motion.

I feel if you try to build something like the one in your post, you will not be happy. Yea, it looks cool but it has a much larger hull and a lot of planning went into that hull to get it like that. If you really want that design, look around at other 12 foot skiffs and see if you can find that style to get ideas - 12 is just too small for that type of design.

Remember, these are just my opinions.

 

That one is a completely different story. That one is close to what I described except those decks are attached.

Use 3/8" marine ply to build the decks. Attach a piece of wood to the sides and then glue the deck down to them like the picture. In the back you may need to add an additional couple of strips to the underside of the deck to keep it from flexing.

That design is do-able.

 

First and foremost, replace the transom and get it floating.

Don't get hung up on cheap. Focus your time and money on doing high quality work in one area at a time. The cost of good materials is very reasonable if you don't buy everything at once. Marine ply and epoxy are significantly more expensive than exterior ply and Bondo, but they are worth the cost IMO because of their increased strength and durability. There are some awesome composites out there, but the real world return on investment vs marine ply and epoxy is a frequent subject of debate here.

Make your deck height decision after you experiment a bit. Once it is in the water, throw a 2x12 across the bow where you propose installing the deck, stand up on it, cast a few times and see how unstable you feel. Use the same technique in the stern. After that, repeat the process while standing on the seats. You may find that while the decks flush with the sheer are too squirrelly, a deck built level with the seat tops feels pretty stable.

It looks to be a cool build. Have fun.

Nate

 

Nano - you are hijacking bugzy's thread. Please start your own.

 

You can use 1" Divynal cell to core your transom.  It will hold a 15hp motor. It will be way lighter, but 3x the cost.