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A while ago I had a member from my boat design group One
sheet Wonders at Yahoo message me that he had tried
to build several designs and they had all ended in failure. So
lets take the head ache away by eliminating - side flair bevels
and have vertical sides like a Bolger`s June Bug, take away framing
bevels, take away the amount of plywood parts to be cut, take
away stitch and glue problems and get back to basics with good
ol glue and nails. Let’s go for the round nose bow idea?
I build my small craft - ROUND BOW, THE U.F.O WAY, THE UNIDENTIFIED
FLOATING OBJECT
Round bow, - punt/kayak design. – THE U.F.O
She carrys 110 kgs and is stable on protected waters. She is
best suited for quite slow rivers and swamps/ ponds and lake shorelines.
For the least cost and building time it’s a good solution
for the first time builder to get the confidence under their belt
and move towards another boat building challenge. U.F.O CAN BE
BUILT AS 10/12/14 FT VERSION BY EXTENDING LENGTH OF THE ORGINAL
PLAN.
So if simplicity and speedy building of a small portable fun
water craft to get you fishing and boating is your goal, then
the round nose bow of the U.F.O Punt offers a 3 piece less material
as easy as it gets 2 hour build. It may take longer for the first
time builder depending on skill level, but I’m confident
that almost anyone can build one of these little crafts. I knocked
the U.F.O up using Polythene glue and stainless screw and nail
in about 2 hours (unpainted) then used a 2 hr sealer primmer latex
house paint system to finish.
Important note's on the build
Using a half sheet of 12mm for 2 sides at 12 in each, then using
half sheet 6mm for the bottom 24 in, is a way of not stitch and
gluing the original one sheet design, so it could be argued that
it isn’t a one sheeter technically.
When screwing, space the nail and screws alternatively, pre-drill
the pilot holes and be careful not to split the sides by spacing
fasteners every 4 inch staggered, not in a straight line, and
let the glue do its work to hold it all together. Trust your glue
- polythene glue for this small boat is more than strong enough
to hold her together. Bottom skids on the Jon boat below are 2
x 1 inch – 3 of them.
When bending the bottom, use a jug of hot water to pour on the
6mm plywood to get the desired curve. Some pine and softer plywood’s
will need very little in the way of assistance to bend. Some hardwood
ply will crack if not bent slowly and patiently with wetting out
the panel and fastening curve alternatively from side to side
until it needs to be attached to bow/transom spreader. Failure
to read this will more than likely end up sending you to the lumber
yard for more plywood!
Round bow – dinghy Jon boat design
The same round nose bow concept can be applied to a range of
Jon-boats similar to a Bolger Tortoise and Skimmer. The rounded
bow vertical side concept is in my opinion easier than having
to fill and cut joins like that of the Bolger square punts. They
make Ideal fishing and hunting stable boats for the family on
protected waters. I’ve been busy making the Dragonfly Jon-boat
N.Z range for a while and have tested and found them to be stable
and fun to build and use with electric motors on protected waters.
The concept came from my original U.F.O plan from the One Sheet
Wonders Yahoo Group and some old books on Jonboats.
Kayak design – 1 and a half sheet as simple as
it gets
If Kayaking is your thing, here is a one and a half sheet design
that is basically an extension of a one sheet wonder design called
the Bojak/Boyak. Its a little harder to build because of the chine
logs, but it could be built with exterior chine logs and no deck
covers if need be.
10 ft 9 in, long – 10 inch / plus 2 inch gunnels sides
– 28 inch beam, spread to 34 inch at top of gunnels.
I believe the U.F.O – THE UNIDENTIFIED FLOATING OBJECT
– Round bow dinghy Jon Boat`s are the easiest and fastest
way of building a row/sail/paddle dinghy for the amateur. If you
want more info on these designs/ free plans/ go to One sheet Wonders
Yahoo group, or my own boat works site Ariawood wooden boats.
Here is the link to the discussion group that Phil runs:
https://groups.yahoo.com/group/onesheetwonders/
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