Today I am beginning to build my "Perfect 10" Mini-Tug. It will be built using the plans from Berkeley Engineering.com. So far the best name I have come up with to name the boat is "Lil Bump". Any other great ideas would be listened to.
I will add pictures of the building process as soon as I begin.
Up to this point, I have already bought most of the plywood, the stem piece, some Douglas Fir, and the visor material, which is made of tempered masonite. The plywood I will be using is an Arauco brand plywood with exterior glue in 1/2" and 1/4" sizes, and it is made from Radiata Pine. The stem could be made from Douglas Fir, but I chose to use White Oak, which will be very strong and has very good rot resistance.
The motor choices can be from 2 HP to 30 HP, but I have some time to decide on that. I currently have a 2 HP Honda 4-cycle outboard, but I don't believe it will be near enough power.
Above is a picture of what it may look like in the future. Not sure about the colors, but I do like the Coast Guard design. Hopefully, I can have this completed by this summer to take out and fish and have fun!
The drawing is my first order of business. This is the keel of the boat and will be built before anything else. I am completing this in my basement, as my garage is quite full. Maybe a picture of that later! This keel consists of the stem, again White Oak, with plywood sides, spacers, and bottom with the 2x2's of Douglas Fir.
The White Oak I have is approximately 3/4" thick, so I will cut out two pieces and laminate them together with epoxy. Afterwards, I will then cut the laminated piece to exact dimensions needed for the complete stem.
Time to draw them out on the plywood and start cutting!
Todd, any idea how much epoxy you used during your build? I'm about to order a batch and was curious. ~RJ
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