To Build A Boat

I've decided to build a boat. Why build a boat? Well...actually, my wife asked me that too. I'm going to start with a pirogue, which is basically a flat-bottomed canoe. She pointed out that we could probably buy a decent canoe on Craigslist for less than $100. Sure, but its not a pirogue. And the plans say this pirogue, at 14 feet weighs less than 40 lbs. That opens lot of possibilities. I'm expecting to build a couple of them, so my kids and I can fish and/or duck hunt out of them.

Just the other day, after much research, and a ton of deliberation, I ordered up a set of cajun pirogue plans from Uncle Johns. The plans look great, and I'm anxious to get started on building the boat, although I suspect it may be awhile. My brother Brian is going to cut out the stems for me since he has really nice woodworking equipment, and he is probably the best woodworker I've ever met.

My current plan is to make the pirogue out of 1/4" Luan plywood, with 10" sides and about 14 feet long. I want it to be light, but durable, so I'll use 3" 6oz fiberglass tape on the inside seams, and glass the entire outside with 3.25oz cloth. I'll coat the whole works with several coats of resin, and paint it with flat exterior paint. I'm planning on possibly coating the floor inside with roll-on truck bed liner. I've got a couple other tricks, but we'll see how it goes.

I'll put updates and photos here as I make progress.