|
A little over a year ago I
made the decision to build my own duck boat instead
of purchasing one because of several factors,
namely; I wanted to demonstrate to my two young sons
that not everything comes from the store, I wanted
the experience of crafting my own boat , something I
have dreamed about for many years, and, finally, I
wanted a design that was classic in shape and style.
I thought that the search
would be simple. I fell in love with the Barnegat
Bay Sneakboxes that I saw down in southern New
Jersey, which is where I learned to hunt ducks. The
problem is that the BBSB’s were one man + dog
crafts, moreover, the truly good ones did not get up
on plane.
My criteria were as
follows:
1) carry at least three
folks + dog.
2) handle the big water of
our Narragansett Bay here in Rhode Island, the best
hunting was smack in the middle of the bay where
constant north east winds whipped the incoming tide
into a frenzy on the water. Above all, I was looking
for a safe, dry boat.
3) Handle the shallows of
Southern New Jersey marsh hunting where I hunt
around Christmas time.
4) Must be a planing hull,
however, it must be safe (see #2).
5) Must have a classic
look to it, as opposed to a production boat look to
it.
I researched duck hunting
forums and fortunately found “duckboats.net” where I
found some amazingly generous folks who guided me to
both your company and specifically to the Snow Goose
design.
I ordered the study plans
and spoke to a couple of people who had built and
operated the Snow Goose and discovered some very
good things about it. The boat building part was a
difficult hurdle for me. I lacked the confidence in
my skill and knowledge of how to build something
with not a single straight line , or nail!
My four principal
confidence builders were the Sam Devlin book, the
folks at Devlin Boat builders inc., Eric Patterson’s
treatise on how he built his Devlin Scaup (which
went through a step-by-step process of an actual
duck boat under construction) and the fellowship and
generosity of the contributors of duckboats.net.
I was ready to begin. The
scarfing step was naturally daunting, however I
discovered that it was actually one of the easier
parts of the process. I was fortunate to have
learned my “how not to’s” early in the epoxy
process. I used super fast hardener when I should
have used super slow – I never did that mistake
again. My first scarf joint was a bust. The second
and third joints were perfect and I never looked
back.
I discovered that the boat
building process is actually an amalgamation of
several individual projects and steps. I researched
each step and developed the confidence and patience
to do it right. A good boat can't be rushed, and
patience is not my virtue. I made it my policy to
use nothing but the highest grades of wood, hardware
and epoxies. After all, my family will be boating
with me.
|
