Lightweight plywood boat. Homemade plywood boat

A boat on the farm may be needed not only for fishing, hunting or recreation on the water. In sparsely populated regions with a developed network of waterways, a boat is a basic necessity, and in populated areas the production and rental of watercraft profitable business. Everyone knows how boatmen make money at resorts. However, in trade classifiers, small vessels are not classified as goods whose pricing is subject to regulation. Therefore, the question: is this possible at all, and how to make a boat with your own hands is quite popular. The answer to the first question is clear: yes, and much simpler than is commonly believed. A good, roomy, reliable and seaworthy boat can be made away from the water without a boathouse or slipway, in any room of suitable size. And how - there is this article about this.

In preparing materials for this publication great help provided the books “300 tips on boats, boats and motors” Compiled and scientific editor G. M. Novak L. Shipbuilding 1974, “Boats, boats and motors in questions and answers” ​​Handbook ed. G. M. Novak. L. Shipbuilding 1977 and “Kurbatov D. A. 15 projects of ships for amateur construction” L. Shipbuilding 1986. The author expresses deep gratitude to the authors of these informative manuals. Further in the hints for the illustrations they are designated “H74”, “H77” and “K.”, respectively. As for the years of publication, have the waters and winds changed since then? Today's ships are built and sail according to the same laws, only modern materials and computer technology allow them to be used more fully.

Organizational issues

The reader probably already has some questions: is it really that simple? Build it and float? With your wife, kids, passengers, at sea in a storm? Depending on the circumstances, you may need a wake on your rigid hull boat. documents and supplies:

  1. A boat just for yourself, a small non-navigable body of water - sales receipts for the materials used in case you need to prove that they were not stolen. A small body of water is considered to be a body of water in which the distance from the shore is possible no more than 500 m, and the boat is only for one person;
  2. A boat for yourself, a navigable body of water of any size - additionally a certificate of the right to operate a small boat (analogous to a license for motor transport) and a certificate of its registration. Both are issued local authorities transport (water) inspection. There must be a sign on the side of the boat registration number in the prescribed form;
  3. The same as in paragraphs. 1 and 2, the boat can have free passengers - except for the documents under paragraphs. 1 and 2 also a life jacket for each person on board and a mandatory minimum set of supplies, see below;
  4. Everything is the same, but passengers or cargo are paid - additionally a license for the right to transport passengers or cargo by water;
  5. Everything according to paragraphs. 1-4, sailing boat or sail-motor boat, incl. with a complete emergency sail - in addition, a yacht helmsman’s certificate or other certificate for the right to operate a sailing vessel;
  6. The boat was made for sale, not serial - a license for the right to produce small watercraft.

It must be said that on non-navigable water bodies, violations under paragraphs. 1-3 are widespread, and in sparsely populated areas - endemic. The water inspection has neither the legal nor the organizational and technical capabilities to get there. Therefore, claims against the owner of the vessel arise or criminal prosecution begins only after the consequences of the accident.

What's a yes and a no?

There are countless designs of small vessels, but for a novice amateur when choosing a prototype need to be guided by the following. considerations that a homemade boat must satisfy:

  1. The boat must be built according to a proven design and/or with full consideration of vital important provisions ship theory, shipbuilding and navigation rules, see below;
  2. The boat must be reliable, i.e. strong, durable, stable, spacious in weight and volume, sufficiently seaworthy for the given sailing conditions and at the same time controllable in waves, currents in a river and in a shallow overgrown reservoir;
  3. The boat must be light enough so that the owner can pull it ashore or launch it alone, and load it for transportation with an adult and moderately developed assistant;
  4. The technology for building a boat should not include operations that require special qualifications or production equipment, but must forgive the mistakes of a beginner and the replacement of standard materials and manufacturing methods available in the given circumstances;
  5. It is desirable that the boat can move well and stay on the wave with oars, under a motor and sail - to save fuel and have a complete beneficial rest;
  6. The costs of building a boat should be minimal;
  7. If the boat is stored away from a body of water, it is highly desirable that it meets the requirements for cartop vessels, i.e. allowed transportation on the top trunk of a passenger car.

For the entire set of qualities, except for the price of materials, optimal choice for my first vessel I will have a plywood boat. The boardwalk will cost approx. half the price, but it will be the same number of times heavier and will last much less, except for the option with a thin-walled steel bottom, see below. Homemade fiberglass boats are expensive and difficult to build, although they are reliable and durable. Taking into account all these conditions, the following are not considered further:

  • All-metal welded and riveted boats.
  • Planing ships.
  • Small pleasure catamarans.
  • Foam boats, plastic bottles, pontoon boats and planks of rectangular shape, etc. exotic.
  • Inflatable boat.

The reasons for this “truncation” are as follows. All-metal homemade vessels are not inspected or registered by transport inspection bodies due to the fact that it is technically impossible to ensure their proper reliability in makeshift conditions.

Building a speedboat is not for a beginner. The standard dynamic loads on the planing hull are high, and you can take it on after making sure that your first boat still floats well. Although, I must say, with some experience, at home it is quite possible to build a cartop boat that goes on planing on a small wave with an engine of only 3.5-6 hp, see for example. track. video.

Video: an example of a homemade planing boat and its testing

A small catamaran, let the reader know, is easier to build than a boat of equal capacity, and the restrictions on the choice of materials for it are softer; for example, polystyrene foam can be widely used. On the catamaran bridge (the platform connecting the float hulls) you can stand, walk, tumble as you please, you can put up a tent there and even cook a barbecue. However, a catamaran is not a boat and the issue of homemade catamarans requires separate consideration.

Exotic boats made from scrap materials are simply dangerous. For example, a monohull boat made of foam plastic will turn out to be either something extremely fragile, suitable for swimming only in a fenced “paddling pool”, or an almost uncontrollable raft, highly susceptible to drift by current or wind.

As for inflatable boats, the enthusiasm for them is explained, in addition to the possibility of carrying on oneself, by the fact that in order to register a purchased “rubber” boat on a navigable body of water, it is enough to present a manufacturer’s certificate, and even then the water inspection turns a blind eye to it. However, this in no way applies to homemade inflatable boats.

At the same time, it is enough to look at the patterns of a simple inflatable boat (see Fig.) to be convinced: properly gluing its seams in artisanal conditions is much more difficult than building a more spacious and reliable boat with a rigid hull, and quality materials for a soft plastic boat will cost much more than best plywood and epoxy glue.

But the most important thing: without special equipment, it is generally impossible to reliably (without the possibility of inspection) glue safety bulkheads into the cylinder. A homemade “elastic band” will be single-cylinder: suddenly there is a hole, and you are not wearing a life jacket, it is far from the shore, or the pond is very overgrown - you will only have to mentally take stock of your life. For its end is near.

Note: if you absolutely want to glue your boat, not build it, then it’s better to make it from... scraps water pipes. Such a boat cannot be blown away and hidden in a backpack, but it will be unsinkable. How to make a boat from PVC pipes, see video below.

Video: example of a homemade boat made from PVC pipes


Which one should I do?

There are also many designs of plywood and plank boats that do not require production conditions for construction; People have been swimming since time immemorial. Let's try to decide how a novice shipbuilder/navigator can navigate this diversity. For example, boats such as a canoe (item 1 in the figure), kayak, canoes or domestic boats are very fast, very seaworthy and at the same time are not afraid of overgrown shallow waters. However, managing them requires not just experience, but great art. In terms of the number of drownings among beginners, canoe-type boats are firmly in the top ranking among small boats. In addition, such boats with a rigid skin are technologically complex, because their contours are double curvature.

The Russian fofan boat (pos. 2) is no less legendary in its reliability than the American dory (see below), but it is very stable, roomy, and can be driven by a green newbie. The twisted contours in the bow make the fofan well able to ride waves when fully loaded, and together with the “pot-bellied” hull, gentle contours in the stern and a recessed transom, it is capable of traveling quite quickly, up to 20 km/h or more, under a fairly powerful engine in transitional (semi-planing) conditions. ) mode. But, as we see, the contours of the fofan are also doubly curved, and it is heavy: to move the fofan, you need at least 2-3 strong men.

The Russian tuzik pleasure-fishing boat (item 3; Russian because there is also an American dinghi tuzik boat, see below) is light, but again with double-curvature contours. The same applies to the sea sailing boat, pos. 5, although under sail she stays steadily on course on a 4-point wave, and it is possible to pull her ashore alone.

Bend once!

So, we have decided on one more requirement for a homemade plywood boat: its contours must be single curvature, i.e. The surfaces forming the body must be curved planes. For the quiet little ones inland waters the optimal choice would be a skiff-type punt boat, pos. 5. Scythians in such conditions have proven themselves to be the most reliable ships. In addition, skiff boats are cheap, easy to build, and lightweight: a 4-meter skiff with a galvanized bottom can be lifted and loaded by one person. An additional advantage for these sailing conditions is that the skiffs handle well in currents and in overgrown reservoirs. There is simply nothing for water or algae to grab onto.

Note: Contrary to popular belief, a skiff boat can sail perfectly, see below. But - only on calm water! In rough weather, the skiff, like any shallow-draft punt, becomes dangerous - the wave hits the bottom, knocking the ship off course and trying to capsize.

A little more difficult conditions sailing, in waves up to 2-3 points, a dinghy boat will be optimal. In appearance, dinghies can be easily recognized by the bow transom-forestpigel and the keeled (as they say, having a transverse V) bottom, pos. 6. The latter makes it easier for the dinghy to ride the wave, and the forespire makes the ratio of capacity to overall dimensions and the dinghy’s own weight is almost a record. Thanks to this, the dinghi is the most popular weekend boat among residents of places remote from the water: a 2-3-seater dinghi on the top trunk fits into the dimensions of a passenger car, and can weigh less than 50 kg. Technologically, a dinghy is even simpler than a skiff - it can be assembled by sewing plywood (see below) simply on the floor of an apartment.

The sailing dinghy (item 7) is quite safe, but very nimble, and is therefore an excellent vessel for initial sailing training. Once you have learned how to control one, you can safely move on to the tiller/wheel and sheets of a large yacht. In the USSR, “Goldfish” dinghies were widely used to train teenage cadets in yacht clubs.

Note: in coastal areas you can often find seaworthy, sharp-nosed dingas. Outwardly, they look like a fofan compressed along its length (pos. 8), but in fact the hydrodynamics and mechanics of their hull are almost the same as those of a dinghy with a forespigel.

Finally, if you live by the sea or a large inland lake, know big water and want to finally build a boat for it with your own hands, then the choice should be a dory. Dory boats are truly ocean-going. Newfoundland fishermen have caught and continue to catch fish with them 280 and even 400 km from the coast. The seaworthiness and reliability of the dory are phenomenal: there are many cases where large, reliable ships were wrecked in a severe storm, and the dory then returned home safely in the same waters.

Dory boats are known in 2 modifications: purely rowing and sailing (pos. 9). To drive a bank dory, you need to be a thoroughly salted sailor since childhood, because... their static stability is low. The sailing dory is not so capricious, a beginner can learn to control it, knowledgeable movement of the ship under sail. In addition, it is possible to install a motor in a well on a sailing dory. Equipping a boat with a motor well is, of course, more difficult than strengthening the transom for the motor (see below), but the motor and propeller will be better protected from damage, and repairing the motor on the water will be possible without fear of drowning a part or tool.

Basic truths

To make a boat correctly, you need to choose a technically competent design suitable for the given sailing conditions and available resources. To choose a project, you need to know at least the very basics of ship theory, small shipbuilding, navigation and maritime practice on small ships. So let's start with theory.

Sales rate

The performance of a displacement vessel is determined by the Froude number Fr. Physically, it means that with an increase in Fr, the length of the bow wave of the ship increases rapidly, see figure:

In this case, most of the engine power or sail thrust is spent on maintaining it. The engine goes into “fuel guzzling” mode, at the same time quickly burning its resource, and the sail, as a rule, is not capable of pulling the ship to Fr>0.3. Hence the important conclusion: do not try to increase the speed of the boat by installing an overly powerful motor on it. You will only make sailing more dangerous and waste your money on fuel. If the boat design does not indicate the recommended motor power, it can be determined from the table. on the trail. rice.

Moving at a value of Fr that is too high for a given hull is also dangerous: the boat may seem to be hanging on the crests of neighboring waves, or it will tend to slide back from the bow wave and bury its stern in the water. If, frightened by a wave rising in front of the bow, you sharply release the gas, the boat will be flooded from the stern by the next wave coming in: once formed, the waves move according to their own laws.

The energy consumption of the ship's propulsion for wave formation depends not only on the length, but also on the height of the waves generated. It can be reduced, firstly, by increasing the ratio of the length of the vessel to its width (the “length runs” rule), but at the same time its lateral stability and controllability are reduced. Secondly, the rational construction of the hull contours: its formation along the frames (see below) should be as flat as possible. Thirdly, with overlapping skin (see items 2 and 4 in the figure with types of boats). The ribs of the skin belts turbulize the boundary layer of water, preventing the bow wave from swelling too much. This, by the way, is one of the secrets of the excellent performance of the Viking warships, drakkars and augers. Unfortunately, the sheathing is technologically complex, susceptible to water leakage and therefore requires regular inspection and maintenance.

Stability

The stability of the vessel is distinguished between static (while stationary) and dynamic while underway. The stability of the vessel is determined by the interaction of the capsizing moment, the force of which is applied to the center of gravity, and the restoring moment, the force of which is applied to the center of buoyancy C - the geometric center of the submerged part of the vessel.

The amount of stability is determined by the elevation of the metacenter M above the center of gravity G (see figure). A ship with a large excess of M over G will be very stable, but also very rolly, with a sharp roll, i.e. overly stable. With a continuous increase in the roll angle Θ, the metacenter first “runs away” upward from the center of gravity and then moves back. When M is below G, the capsizing moment will exceed the righting moment and the ship will capsize. Resp. the angle Θ for decked ships is called the angle of decline. The critical list for undecked ships will be that at which the ship draws broadside. Then Θ is called the flood angle.

Stability rules are subject to the square-cube law. For small ships, this is, on the one hand, bad, because a small vessel turns out to be less stable than a large one of the same proportions. If a 5-meter boat sails with a critical list, then the list of a 20-meter schooner in the same wind will not be dangerous, and a 70-meter barque is almost invisible. When in the old days captains of sailing ships, trying to escape from a storm, ordered to “set sails as long as the masts can bear,” they knew what they were doing. But, on the other hand, for the same reason, the dynamic stability of a more or less regular small displacement vessel will be greater than the static one. In order for a boat, stable when parked, to capsize while moving, its designer will have to try very hard in the opposite sense.

Controllability

It is wrong to think that the ship turns by shifting the rudder. The ship turns the oncoming flow of water slanting towards its bow, and the rudder only helps it to stand under it, see fig. on right. There, however, with all due respect to the author of the original source, an inaccuracy crept in: what is designated as the center of gravity of the CG is actually a projection of the center of rotation of the CG vessel onto the main plane (see below). From here there is also an important conclusion: if the boat is poorly controlled, do not sin on the rudder feather being too small. Its optimal area is approx. 3% of the cross-sectional area of ​​the hull amidships, i.e. across at the widest part. Check and, if it does, then either you did something wrong, or you chose an unimportant project.

The position of the CV is determined by the interaction of the moments of forces applied to the CG and C already horizontally. In a perfectly controlled ship without heeling, the CG is located exactly above C, which is what designers strive for. Hence another important conclusion: do not get carried away with the roll. Romantic, but also dangerous, because... The ship's controllability decreases, which increases the risk of capsizing.

Sailing

Yachtsmen sometimes say: a sailing yacht is an airplane, one wing of which is in the air and the other in the water. In general this is correct. For diagrams explaining the principles of vessel movement under an oblique sail, see Fig. From there it is clear why you can sail against the wind. The first thing that is important here is that the CP and the CB are greatly spaced vertically, which creates a significant heeling moment. Hence the conclusion: if the design of the boat does not provide for sailing equipment, do not install a “homemade boat”. As a last resort and under completely favorable circumstances, you can construct an emergency sprint sail from a pair of oars and a cover or clothing. For example, the engine died, it’s a long way to the shore, you’re exhausted from rowing, but the wind is weak and the waves are insignificant.

The interaction of the thrust forces of the sail and the lateral resistance of a properly designed vessel also creates a moment that tends to bring it towards the wind, i.e. turn your nose directly into the wind. On the one hand, this is good, because if the ship turns out to be uncontrollable, it will take the wave on its bow, which is the least dangerous. But on the other hand, if the CPU moves too far ahead of the central steering system, the ship will become difficult to control or even uncontrollable: it will begin to drift towards the wind, no matter how you turn the tiller; It's not far from here to trouble.

The matter is complicated by the fact that when the course changes relative to the wind, both the CP and the central axis shift. If the CPU ends up behind the central station, the ship will begin to fall into the wind (“wants” to become its stern), which threatens disaster. Hence the most important conclusion: do not experiment with sails without proper knowledge of seamanship! You risk making an “overkill turn” in light winds on calm water!

So that a vessel without a large deadrise of the bottom and lines specially designed for sails can carry sailing rigs, lifting keels are used - centerboards - placed in centerboard wells, see fig. on right. If the project has a sail, but no centerboard drawings, we reject it, ignorant. Then, some amateurs try to adapt a flat-bottomed boat for sail by stuffing false keels and longitudinal steps from boards on the bottom, incorrectly called bottom stringers (which are actually parts of the hull). Technically, this is the same as cutting the wings off an airplane or trying to fit them, the tail, and the jet engine onto a bus.

Outlines and drawings

The main dimensions and characteristics of the vessel are given in pos. 1 Fig., and on pos. 2 – the main planes of his theoretical drawing. The midsection plane is indicated by a special squiggle icon. Pos. 3 shows how the theoretical drawing is constructed. Sectioning with diagonals and constructing fish are used in drawings of fairly large ships, carried out on a small scale, to verify the coincidence of lines. On theoretical drawings of small ships, instead of fish, they often give drill lines along the frames, see below.

Just by looking at the theoretical drawing you can estimate at what Froude numbers a given vessel can sail. For example, a boat at pos. 5 – semi-planing. Next you need to check the coincidence of the drawing lines:

  • The distances from the DP to the overhead line waterlines on the half-latitude projection must coincide with the distances from the DP to the frame lines on the hull projection, respectively. levels from OP. Taking into account the scale, because the body projection required for constructing patterns and frame templates is most often given on an enlarged scale (see item 4).
  • The distances from the OP to the buttocks must be equal to the distances from the OP to the lines of the frames and waterlines on the same cutting plane parallel to the DP, also taking into account the scale.

Next, you should evaluate the ship's performance: using the trapezoidal method, determine the cross-sectional areas of the underwater part along the frames and segments, respectively. lengths are laid out along the vertical axis, see fig. The distance between the segments (on the same scale) is one spacing, i.e. distance between sections along frames. The envelope of segments, the so-called. marching along the frames, should form a semi-contour of some streamlined body.

The formation of a formation along frames is similar to the application of the area rule in aviation. But, firstly, in incompressible water its effect affects any speeds, and not transonic ones. Secondly, the ship’s hull is only partially immersed in water and therefore excites gravitational waves rather than pressure waves in motion. Therefore, the formation along the frames should look like half of not a drop, but an ogive-shaped body, like an artillery shell. The flatter the line along the frames, the more efficient the ship will be, and a wide line indicates its good handling. The “tail” at the back indicates the ability to walk at significant Froude numbers, and the “beak” at the front indicates good ability to ride waves, but at the same time a tendency to yaw.

Note: In addition to the frames, the true contour of the inclined transom is built according to the theoretical drawing, see figure:

Materials

Wood and plywood

Basic construction materials for a boat require some pre-processing. To make a wooden boat last as long as possible, wood materials First you need to soak it generously with a water-soluble antiseptic (biocide) for wood. It won't be oily, it won't be exposed to air!

Plywood, incl. waterproof, impregnated in several stages with intermediate drying to avoid delamination. In the latter, only the glue is waterproof, and the wood veneer is as is. Next, in order to fix the biocide and reduce the swelling of the wood, the material is impregnated in the same way 2-3 times with a water-polymer emulsion. Unless otherwise specified in the project, the thickness of plywood for the sides of a boat up to 4 m long should be taken from 4 mm, for the bottom from 6 mm and for the transom from 12 mm; boards, depending on the type and quality of the wood, are three to four times more. The method of correct gluing of wooden parts and the permissible bending radii of the boards are given in Fig. higher. They are different from construction ones!

Sheets of plywood larger than 1550 mm are difficult to find, so they are glued together in advance into strips of the required length using a miter joint, see fig. It is impossible to learn how to accurately and accurately trim plywood from descriptions, so practice on scraps. We can only advise you to rough out the mustache with a plane, and finish it with a grinder or a smooth block wrapped in sandpaper. Glue the sheets with epoxy glue. The quality of the fastening is checked next. way:

  • Cut a strip approx. wide. 10 cm. This is almost always possible, because Curvilinear details will be cut out.
  • The strip is brought into a ring and pulled together until the plywood bursts.
  • If the joint is of high quality, the plywood should crack anywhere except it.

Stacked boat hulls are assembled using red copper nails (you need to drill holes for them), galvanized or conical screws. Red copper nails are bitten and riveted into washers; galvanized ones are bent. Holes are drilled for the screws; their dimensions, methods of working with nails and fastening tables, see Fig.

Note: V Lately Quite a lot of amateurs assemble boats using confirmed furniture screws, using the same technological techniques as when assembling cabinet furniture - cabinets, kitchen corners and so on. For now, these boats are floating, but not for long enough to judge their long-term reliability.

Fiberglass

Fiberglass glued with epoxy glue is widely used in small shipbuilding. But there are a lot of complaints about it: they say, I didn’t swim until the fall - it started leaking. The reason is the wax that is used to coat the fiberglass before it is spun and woven. Paraffin from fiberglass is removed by boiling in water. You can’t burn it, the fabric will become fragile! Boil fiberglass in clean dishes for at least half an hour, then allow the container with its contents to cool completely, remove the paraffin crust from the surface of the water and only then remove the fiberglass.

Techniques for working with fiberglass on fiberglass and wood are shown in Fig. Gluing set parts made of extruded polystyrene foam EPS – effective method increase the rigidity of a wooden hull, slightly increasing its weight, and assembling a plywood boat by sewing with epoxy glue is technologically simple and produces a completely reliable vessel. The staples are made of copper wire with a diameter of 2-3 mm; the pitch of pairs of holes for them is 40-60 mm. Looking ahead, the technology for sewing boats from plywood on epoxy is as follows:

  1. Cut out parts without allowance;
  2. The edges are planed to form a wedge-shaped profile joint with a width of 1.5-2 mm at the base;
  3. If the bottom is keeled, staple its parts together, place the blank on keel blocks (see below) and sew on the sides. The flat bottom is immediately placed on the trestles, the sides are sewn on;
  4. Align the body along the contours (also see below) and fill the seams with glue from the inside;
  5. After the glue has hardened, the seams are also sealed from the inside with 3 layers of fiberglass (see figure above). There is no need to remove the staples: firstly, the seam with them will be stronger, and secondly, the putty holes from the staples are a potential source of water leakage;
  6. When the last sizing has hardened, the transoms (transom) are glued in the same way;
  7. Remove the body from the keel blocks (traces), bite the brackets flush from the outside and cover the seams on the outside with 3 layers of fiberglass;
  8. They glue into the hull the frames, centerboard well, cans (seats), breshtuk (see below), gunwale, fender beam, etc., as required by the project;
  9. They carry out additional equipment and finishing.

How to make a boat?

Sew

In projects of cartop dinghy and skiff boats, patterns of their parts are often given. In this case, the boat is assembled by sewing (stitching) on ​​keel blocks or trestles, see fig. The dry-sewn body is aligned along the contours using templates and temporary mounting spacers. The seams of the sheets, being the most durable, are placed closer to the nose, as it is the most loaded and susceptible to damage.

We are building

The construction of a sharp-chine boat of greater than sewn capacity with single-curvature contours begins with the manufacture of the stem (see below) and the assembly of frame frames. The frames of sewn boats are often simply cut out of plywood (there are only 2-3 of them), but in this case it is uneconomical - too much is enough expensive material will go into retirement. The frames are assembled on the plaza, i.e. on a flat plane onto which the projections of the theoretical drawing on a scale of 1:1 are transferred. If the contours of the boat are simple and there is little space, only the hull projection can be transferred to the plaza. Methods for assembling frame frames, as strength, complexity and weight increase, are given in Fig. The grooves for the keel and stringers are selected in advance.

Next, the frame frames are placed on the frame (item a in the next figure), aligned vertically, along the contours, and the keel beam, stem (see below), fender beam and stringers are attached. After this, the body set is closed with a flat strip (pos. b). The purpose of the malkovka is, firstly, to create cuts in the keel beam, along which it will be planed to a given deadrise; secondly, check whether a section of double curvature has been tucked in somewhere, etc. trim the bottom edges of the floortimbers. Then the skin is applied, starting from the keel (below in the figure). After this, the body is removed from the frame, completed and equipped.

Note: Some amateurs, after the fry, are hacking against the rules of shipbuilding, removing the cutting of the skin from the milled set onto sheets of packaging cardboard. Then there is no need to suffer with geometry according to a theoretical drawing, and the boats float.

Nose

Forteven is the most loaded and important part of the hull set. One of the immutable rules of navigation safety says: if danger cannot be avoided, it must be taken on board. Therefore, the manufacture of a boat stem should be taken with full responsibility.

The designs of boat stems are shown in Fig. Waterstop plugs made of solid, non-rotting wood prevent water from seeping into the housing. In terms of reliability, all these designs are approximately the same. A stem with a false bow is used in cartop boats with a narrow stem.

In rough seas and when hitting obstacles, the stem experiences large dynamic loads that tend to push the hull apart, so it is reinforced with a bridge insert. Amateur shipbuilders often neglect it or do not even know what it is; This is one of the significant reasons that homemade boats last much less than the terms stated in the projects.

Stern

Another rather important part of the set, especially for a boat designed for a motor, is the transom. Transom design for motors up to 10-12 hp. is given in Fig. on right. The total thickness of the transom, with reinforcement, is from 40 mm. Perhaps more: the mounting clamps on some outboard motors do not converge by less than 50-60 mm.

Unsinkability

A radical way to avoid the serious consequences of accidents on the water is an unsinkable boat. It is quite easy to make an undecked vessel with a displacement of up to 0.5 tons unsinkable: they are glued under the cans and along the sides from the inside. foam blocks; then, in the bow and stern, you can fence off the corresponding. forepeak and afterpeak and fill them with foam. Volume of unsinkable blocks in cubic meters. m is calculated by the formula V=1.2W(1+ρ), where W – displacement in t, 1 – density fresh water, ρ – mass density of foam plastic. For example, if ρ=0.08 tf/cubic. m, then for a boat with a displacement of 0.25 tons you will need 0.324 cubic meters. m or 324 cu.m. dm foam plastic. It seems like a lot, but in a dinghy boat 3 m long, such a quantity can be accommodated without any noticeable deterioration in habitability.

Supply

The minimum set of mandatory equipment for a pleasure and fishing boat consists of oars, life jackets according to human capacity, an anchor on a chain or cable, a mooring line and, in case of sailing in the dark, a white bow or masthead (on the mast) all-round visibility navigation light. The latter is often neglected, which is unforgivable in our time: now there are autonomous LED lights the size of a child's fist with a built-in solar battery and battery. Special attention from this set deserves an anchor.

Anchor

Joseph Conrad called anchors “honest pieces of iron,” and no wonder: an anchor may be the last chance to save the ship and the people on it. Small vessels are most often equipped with grapple anchors, but this is far from best option. First, cats often get stuck on rocks. There are grapple anchors on sale with legs that fold back during a sharp jerk, but they are unreliable: the vessel can spontaneously unmoor just when it needs to be firmly held on. Secondly, the cat, like the classic Admiralty anchor, becomes dangerous in shallow water: the ship can sit with its bottom on the arm of the anchor sticking up.

For small vessels, Hall and Matrosov anchors and lightweight Trident anchors with increased holding power are also produced. They are quite expensive, but you can’t make them yourself; you need cast parts. You can make a Kurbatov welded anchor yourself (see figure), it is suitable for boats up to 5 m long. If it is impossible or undesirable to weight the anchor with a chain, on rocky soils a weight is lowered to it along a cable on a pin (thin cable or thick fishing line). ingot 2-3 kg.

What if Kurbatov's anchor gets stuck in the rocks; the pig needs to be lifted before it can be freed. The anchor, which is completely stuck, is released with a strong sharp tug on the cable. In this case, parts 4 and 8 may be damaged, but in most cases they can be corrected right there with the help of a hammer and pliers.

About securing the anchor

During manufacturing, you need to insert an eye into the butt of the anchor - a steel ring that dangles freely in it. The eye is also supplied with the cud-tack - the attachment point for the anchor cable/chain to the hull of the vessel. Eyelets greatly reduce wear on the cable/chain and the likelihood of sudden breakage.

The chewing tack is attached to the outside of the stem. You need to attach the chewing tack lower, above the waterline. In this case, the boat at anchor will be able to play better on the wave, not bury its nose in the water during waves, and the likelihood of the anchor getting stuck is much reduced.

Examples of projects

There are enough good projects of cartop boats, dinghies and skiffs in RuNet and in general on the Internet. Therefore, we will focus on more spacious boat designs.

Scythian

The appearance, data and design of the skiff boat developed by D. A. Kurbatov, suitable for transportation on the top trunk of a passenger car, are given in Fig. Her distinctive feature extremely cheap: the main material is boards, and the bottom is small, i.e. monkeys. If you choose the right boards for the bottom (highlighted in red in the next figure), then the plank bottom will be quite reliable. Moreover, these days the seams between the boards can be caulked with construction deformation cord (used to seal cracks in concrete) and silicone sealant. Of course, the bottom of this boat can also be made of plywood, then its weight will be reduced to 70-80 kg.

On the trail. rice. Drawings of the parts of this boat are given and a method of assembling it is shown, which is also very economical: on a simplified slipway using templates. Under the motor, the transom is strengthened as described above.

Next in Fig. the sailing rig of this boat and drawings of the oars for it are shown. The sail is a rack sail (emphasis on the “o”), you can learn how to handle it in half an hour or an hour, without knowing any theory at all. But – don’t set this sail in a fresh and stronger wind! The CPU of a rack sail is significantly higher, it heels the boat more, and it is a punt!

As for the oars, it is better to make them exactly according to the drawing. Scythian boats move very easily without oars, so to save the rower’s muscular effort great importance acquire the configuration of the oars and the profile of their blades.

About the iron day

Skiff boats are sometimes made with a bottom made of galvanized iron. Firstly, such a boat with plywood sides weighs only approx. 50 kg or less, i.e. you can move it any way you want alone. Secondly, a boat with a steel bottom turns out to be much more durable in reservoirs with an acidic water reaction, of which there are more than enough in the Russian Federation: ions of even very weak acids spoil the glue and protective coatings. Homemade boats with a steel bottom have one disadvantage: it is useless to submit them for inspection for the purpose of registration, and they will not be examined.

Dory

The same author also developed a design for a dory sailing boat made of plywood, see figure; According to the table of plaza ordinates, the sheathing is cut, but, see above. In shallow sea waters with a short, steep “angry” wave (Azov, the north of the Caspian Sea, the Marquis Puddle in the Baltic), this boat showed itself better than a sea dinghy or an Azov longboat.

Below in Fig. Dan construction drawing boat, showing the method of its construction on a slipway, the design of the stem and the method of inserting the longitudinal parts of the set. Wood must be of high quality, without knots or defects, because... wooden parts sets are prestressed during assembly.

On the trail. Figure shows drawings of the dory's sailing rig. Since a dory can be sailed in quite strong winds, provision is made for taking one reef on the sail. Observe the specified dimensions exactly: dory boats are very critical to relative position CPU and central bank!

DIY plywood boat, drawings and stages of its construction.

Let's look at the cross-sectional drawing of the presented model:

Breshtuk – wooden beam 114x60 (mm)
frame – plywood 16 (mm) thick
sternpost – plywood 16 (mm) thick
keelson – wooden beam 30x80 (mm)
bottom – plywood 6 (mm) thick
side – plywood 6 (mm) thick
handle – chrome tube with a diameter of 16…20 (mm)
floor – planed board 20x100 (mm)
deck – plywood 6 (mm) thick

A little about the material used:

Structural plywood
two types of sizes: 6x1500x3000 (mm); 16x1525x1525 (mm)
longitudinal fiber arrangement
quality grade "E"
polished on one side “Ш1” (6х1500х3000)
unpolished “NSh” (16x1525x1525)
classification for moisture exposure “FB” or “BS”

Overall dimensions of a plywood boat

Let's start work with making: a breshtuk; five frames; sternpost; keelson

We will install it on the staple and secure the gap; five frames; sternpost

We insert the keelson into the grooves, having previously lubricated the contact planes with glue, and let the structure dry.

Let's take cardboard and bend it along the plane of the sides and draw the outline of the side.

Let's take cardboard and bend it along the plane of the bottom and draw the outline of the bottom.

After making sure that the contour measurements are accurate, we transfer them to plywood and carefully cut them out. We should get four parts - two left and two right, and the right parts are mirror reflection left.

We start fastening from the bottom.

We use brass or galvanized screws and epoxy glue to secure the parts cut from plywood to the structure frame. After the glue has hardened, smooth out the contour with a sanding machine.

We fasten the sides in the same way.

We fasten the joints of the plywood parts as follows:
1. Drill along the joints, at the same distance, through holes diameter 3 (mm).
2. Insert a nylon cord into the holes.
3. We tighten the parts together.

After the glue has hardened, smooth the contour and joint surfaces with a grinding machine.

From above, by analogy, we will secure the deck. Let's level the joint surfaces.

We will cover all joints with two layers of fiberglass and let it dry.

It won't hurt if you treat the entire body with fiberglass.

We will finish the body and paint it an interesting color.
For structural rigidity, we will strengthen the bottom of the seat wooden blocks at both sides.
We will lay boards on the floor. We will install metal handles on top of the deck.
DIY plywood boat made by:

Using ordinary plywood you can make a strong and well-swimming boat. Moreover, all this can be done with your own hands and practically without outside help. On average, it will take us about 2 - 3 thousand rubles to purchase materials for this invention, which is compared to a good rubber boat(on average the price ranges from 8,000 to 12,000 rubles) is a fairly acceptable option.

Stage 1: Necessary materials And the right tool for boat:
- Sheet of plywood
- Adhesive based on polyurethane, Gorilla type;
- Nails
- Latex paint
- Silicone sealant
- Syringe for sealing seams
- Sandpaper
- Jigsaw
- Paracord
- Screwdriver
- Clamp
- Yardstick
- Drill
- Brush

Stage 2: Preparing parts
We divide the plywood sheet into 3 parts, which will serve as the main parts for the bottom of the boat: 46 cm x 61 cm, 31 cm x 61 cm and 61 cm x 168 cm.

The dimensions of the two sides are 31 cm x 244 cm.

For supports, small bars 2.5 cm x 5 cm x 240 cm are quite suitable. Three of these supports are needed.

To make the bow and stern, we need a block of 2.5 cm x 7.6 cm x 240 cm.

Two bars of 2.5 cm x 5 cm x 240 cm are suitable for the body. They need to be cut into several parts and then fastened with paracord.

Stage 3: Assembly.
We begin to assemble all the main parts of the boat, for this we use nails or pins.

The assembly order is as follows:
1. Fasten left side boats to the bottom.
2. Then the stern - also to the bottom and left side of the boat.
3. We attach the right side to the bottom and stern.
4. And we attach the bow part to the bottom and its 2 sides.


Before fastening the parts with nails, we first use glue.

Stage 4: Surface painting and polishing.
After we have assembled the boat together, we begin to thoroughly clean it from splinters and irregularities using sandpaper ( would be better suited 0 or 1). Then we begin to seal all the cracks with outside that formed during assembly, with silicone sealant. And we leave it in the open air for one day, so it will dry faster.

You will need to paint the boat in three layers: 1 - outside and 2 - inside. You should wait a while before applying a new coat.

Stage 5: First swim.
Well, the time has come to check our “unsinkable longboat”. If something goes wrong with your assembly, I advise you to watch the video of American radio host Derek Didriksen, in which he creates and tests the same version of the boat.

Stage 6: Motor.
If you have a suitable outboard motor, you can slightly improve the resulting boat.

Happy sailing everyone!

Fishing is a hobby for many men. Of course, a boat is essential for this activity. Nowadays, the choice of watercraft in the store is simply off the charts. But many people want to make boats themselves. Some people are not satisfied with the pricing policy of the market, others like to tinker. So: is this possible? The answer is clear: yes, it is possible! As they say, it is not holy pots that are made. Noah did it, but we can do it even better.

Selection of raw materials

First of all, let’s prepare everything necessary to create our “ark”. Let's start with the most basic element - plywood. There are a lot, but only one is suitable for us - this is the so-called “sea” or (thickness 4-5 mm). It is very durable and completely resistant to moisture (if the glue is alcohol-soluble). Since exclusively deciduous trees are used for its production, it will be a product from.

Among different varieties we choose elite (E) or first grade, since the presence of defects in the material will not play into our hands.

Third in line, but far from least important, is glue. Experienced shipbuilders recommend using a material consisting of two components (epoxy resin and hardener) epoxy glue or as it is also called “epoxy”. For reliability, we glue not only the seams, but also the entire surface. Regarding the quality of the glue, we can only recall that domestic manufacturer supplies cheap but lower quality products.

We will need tools:

  • jigsaw;
  • steel wire plastic clamps;
  • sanding machine or sandpaper;
  • drill, screwdriver;
  • screws, wire cutters, clamps (will be used when gluing individual elements of a plywood boat).

Making drawings

First of all, we need to look at the drawings of plywood boats with our own hands and choose the most suitable one. You can view and download individual images of the drawings from us.

To transfer the design onto plywood, you can use patterns (the production of which can be ordered from a special company, although you can do it yourself) or, using your creative skills, draw everything yourself directly on the sheet.

Then we cut out all the elements of the boat using a jigsaw and process the edges with a grinder or sandpaper. We cut off the edges of the parts that will be joined at an angle so that after assembly the gaps are minimal.

If an element consists of several parts of a sheet of plywood, they must be glued together. To do this, we file down the edges that will be joined and glue them together.

Let's get started with shipbuilding

Now let's start assembling. Let's start from the bottom. We lay its parts one on top of the other, fix them with clamps (or other possible way) and drill 3 mm holes along the “bottom” edge. In this case, the distance from the edge should be 2-3 cm, and the distance between the holes 30-35 cm (in bend areas it is better to make the distance between the holes smaller).

We insert wire or plastic clamps into the holes and tighten them, but not all the way, so that the bottom can “open up”.

In the same way, we first connect the right and left sides to each other, and then fasten them to the bottom, using spacers and linings for convenience.

After this, we attach the transom to the future boat in a similar way.

So, the main parts are fastened, but plywood boat I'm not ready yet.

At this stage we putty the seams with inside, coat them with glue, put pre-cut strips of fiberglass on top and coat them with glue too.

After the glue has dried, we turn the boat over, cut off the clamps and perform the same operation with the seams with glue and fiberglass.

In the same photo we see several strips of plywood glued together and curved to the shape of the sides. They will serve as a fender beam. It can be glued to the upper edges of the sides and screwed with self-tapping screws.

Now, between the central frames we place a partition in the center and on all frames we attach support strips under the upper edges. We sew up the gaps between the frames with plywood and get bow, propeller and stern cans.

The feed can can be filled polyurethane foam or polystyrene foam to help the boat float better.

We also putty the plywood joints and glue them with fiberglass.

After this, we attach the keel, longitudinal steps and, after sanding, paint the boat outside and inside.

We hope you have figured out how to make a boat with your own hands. Thanks to the selected material, we got a fairly light boat.

If you are interested in budget fishing boats, our article will help you in making them.

Video tutorial


For a long time, since childhood, I dreamed of my own boat. I had inflatables, a cart was built according to drawings from a magazine, but it was all not the same, I wanted a spacious, fairly roomy, stable boat, and definitely with a 10-15 horsepower motor. Even a motor was bought, but somehow everything didn’t work out with the boat - either there was no money, or there was no place for construction, or there was no time, or everything together...

The decision to build from planks came unexpectedly. I accidentally came across this site, where one of the articles popularly and step by step, with illustrations, describes the process of creating an ordinary boat... and then it struck me - indeed, the building materials are at hand, there is a place in the country, albeit for open air and I can make exactly the boat I want, exactly the way I imagine it.

10 boards were planed using a surface planer to the same thickness of approximately 21-22 mm. , a triangular block for the nose has been prepared. And it began...

It should be noted that, as you can see in the photo, I was too lazy to chamfer the nose of the boards. This fact was added later unnecessary problems, small, but still. So it’s better not to be lazy and not “run ahead of the locomotive”, but to do everything right right away, as described by the author of the idea.

The base is assembled. The transom is set at an angle of 10 degrees. I try on the height of the transom for the correct installation of the motor.

Here I made a mistake again. The fact is that Yamashka’s leg is shorter than Veterok’s leg, I adjusted the height of the transom to the Yamaha, thinking that it would be okay if Veterok sat deeper.

Later, during testing, the need for an extension to the transom was realized in order to correctly install the motor. But I need to use both motors, so a compromise is chosen.

Then we continue construction. I initially did not want to do the bottom of the boat. The iron rattles, and it’s not as hard as it should be. I started making it from boards, as described by Kurbatov, but after the winter such gaps formed that I unscrewed the almost finished bottom and made a new one from 9mm waterproof laminated plywood. Cover plates for the joints of side boards made of 6 mm. plywood.

All joints were filled with construction butyl rubber sealant, which is used for waterproofing joints in panel houses. For me it was the most accessible. So far, nothing is flowing anywhere. Let's see how he behaves next.

The weather this summer was very difficult. Constant rains delayed the launching date. I made a trailer for delivering a boat to a pond. With the help of my brother, I also welded a cart for the motor and an oar.

A keel made of aluminum brand 50x50 was installed. It turned out to be too small. I need to do something different, I haven’t thought of it yet.

Despite all the obstacles, the boat is painted and ready for testing.

In honor of the future designer of swimming, flying and other vehicles, my grandson Roman Nikitich, who was born this summer, the boat was unanimously named Romashka

Here it is - the exciting moment of launching.

Here comes the happy shipbuilder. My wife says that while we were sailing from the descent site to the parking lot, the ear-to-ear smile did not leave my face.

It’s Volgar 15’s turn.

I was very worried about how the boat would behave with this motor, but my worries were in vain, even with a deep-set motor and a non-optimal propeller, the speed was 35-36 km/h.

By installing the Barinovsky high-speed propeller and raising the motor by 30 mm. (I can’t lift it any more without an extension), I achieved an increase in speed to 39-40 km/h. I think that after correct installation motor, the speed will increase further.

The length of the boat along the bottom is 4 meters.
The width at the bottom is 1 meter.
Weight - I can’t say for sure because I didn’t weigh it. It feels like less than 100 kg.

So I'm satisfied with what I got. I'm happy!

If any questions arise, I am ready to answer by mail, but I cannot guarantee an immediate response. Write [email protected]

To summarize what I want to say - don’t be afraid of difficulties, cast aside your doubts and start planing boards! You will succeed! You can make the boat of your dreams! Good luck!