It was a very dark day in 2003 when I accepted money and sold my fishing boat. Never will I do that again. It has been 10 years of wandering in the wilderness, and no matter what, I will never do that again until another is ready and at hand.
Last Christmas, one of our employees gave me a $25 gift card from Amazon. I looked at what you could purchase for that amount, and briefly considered a two-year supply of toothpaste, when I saw Ultrasimple Boats Anyone Can Build, by Gavin Atkin, for $17.00. I bought it. After careful reading, I chose the simplest boat in the book, one with no curves. And I built it. Atkin is a physicist and a fiddle player in the UK. His design reflects the boat's weight at 100 lb, displacement at 625 lb, and a capacity of 525 lb. including gear and battery and tackle, and so forth.
I have no previous woodworking skills, and it shows, but I learned quickly that fiberglass covers up almost anything lightly, strongly, and it is waterproof. I followed the designer's directions closely. He strongly recommended making a paper model out of the plans to orient the pieces. I did. It helped, really. I used epoxy, polyurethane glue (mostly), and a heck of a lot of fiberglass. It isn't pretty, but it seems to float. I took it out and stayed in the water for about five hours with no leaks whatsoever.
I was originally thinking I would build two boats, knowing full well that I was going to make a bunch of mistakes. I did, but after that afternoon in the boat on the river, I came to kind of appreciate this boat. I don't think I am going to relinquish it anytime soon (and I have already had two people wanting to buy it).
Putting in the river out of a truck bed is not graceful, but not all that hard. The boat weighs 100-125 pounds. I restricted myself to paddle power, as it is not yet registered. Honestly, I could have put that boat wherever I wanted to with a paddle. I was cautious, worried about TVA spilling a bunch of water and ending up in Alabama. I had plenty of room, the boat was very stable, rode high in the water, and fairly skated across the water with a paddle. It was wondrous. I am one of those people who just like to be there, regardless of catching fish. That day I was there. In a boat I built. Ha!
I did fish a bit, but I was afraid to go where I know they are. I didn't catch anything, but I didn't care. I know where they are.
I have applied for a hull number from TWRA, which will enable me to obtain a Tennessee Registration. It takes longer when you are the manufacturer. Until then, I am supposed to be paddling.
I did buy a trailer because I kept dropping the boat, and a trolling motor and battery. I also bought a battery charger. My boat looks funny, but it floats and I have about $300 worth of material in the boat!
Until the next tale,
Tight lines.
Ted R. Wells
tennesseeted@hotmail.com