First wooden boat built

[bowgarguide]

How about some of the builders that have several boats in there life describe there first boat.
What it was built from, pics if they have them
I will start this of ,my first build ,a 4 ft bye 8 ft 1/4 plywood airboat. It had chine logs to hold the hull together . The motor was a 10 horse single cylinder mower engine, fan cage was 1/2 condant
Built the rudders from foam and fiberglass. Laminated 1+4 pine and carved my prop,even turned the hub for the prop on a lath.
I had a ball with that little boat and learned a lot.
Ron

[DarrellS]

Mine is on the Freshwater Forum. Search DarrellS & Pirogue.

[gerald]

Mine was an 8' X 16" 3 panel. Fir plywood, 2 X 2 frame, solid stems. This thing would have supported an elephant if it had sit on it. I loved that little boat. I used a two part powdered elmer's water proof glue, coated it with Thompson's Water Seal. A friend and I built one for each of us. It was a little tippy at first. I use to balance it over the handlebars of the bicycle and ride about a mile and a half to the Pecos River. The paddle was made out of a 1 X 6 yellow pine board. Let's see--that was about 1959 or 60.
The next door neighbor kid chopped a hole in it with an axe one day. I patched it and eventually traded it for a new bicycle. I've built a few more boats since then...

[picaroon]

My first boat was a "Sun Fish" Sailboat..........came out real nice. Built when my wife and I were dating over 50 years ago. I built a 4'x10' plywood scooter, an original Mansfield scooter with a fixed 15hp Evinrude moter. You steered it with your weight like you steer a motorcycle. That was in about 1965..........also built an Airboat useing the Banks-Maxwell plans out of Ft. Worth.

Helped my father build and repair/paint class C and D hydro back in the 50's.............

Right now I want to build something. Probably a stripper canoe..........the juices are flowing........

[gerald]

Hey...I remember something like that scooter you're talking about. I bought some plans off the classified pages of Popular Mechanics, I think, for a little boat like that--can't remember the name. Sounds like that might have been it.

I also use to get those Banks-Maxwell catalogs and dream about building an airboat. Didn't do it though. Went the way of the jet pump. First on a 25 horse Johnson outboard, then later we upgraded to 6" Berkley pumps and snowmobile engines. Oh man...lot of water down the river since then.

[AyJay]

My first boat was as a kid, a tiny jonboat made using a wood frame and 1 sheet of plywood. It actually held 2 or 3 kids if you didn't get too rowdy with it.

My first real boat was a few years ago, a 12 foot stich and glue jonboat. It was fun to run it with my little 6hp 2 cylinder mercury outboard. You could literally "surf" the boat: stand up in it with the tiller extension, facing starboard or port like standing on a large surfboard, and use your lean to steer the boat, with minor adjustments to the tiller.

[barditch]

Mine was a 15 ft floundering skiff. Ugly thing...followed some local instructions, but that was before the internet was a gleam in anybody's eyes...and the computer, too, for that matter! Powered the thing w/a 15 HP Wizard (Mercury) OB motor. Ran all over San Antonio Bay, down to the POC jettys (but not out!). It finally died a natural death on an oyster reef, and I salvaged the motor for other future uses.

[4x4kayak2112]

mine is still in pieces!!!!! im only on 2nd base!!!!

[larry long shadows]

Mine was from that Uncle John kit it is in my avatar..But my first ride was in my dads homemade wood john boat with a 2hp out board that my dad would have to start with a pull rope. We would have to duck in front and hope he did not whip you with that dang knot on the end of that starter rope. Aint that right Johnny (my brother who reads TKF post)