Wooden fishing boat build

Thought this was really cool:

A buddy of mine here in town is 7 months into the build of his fishing boat. It's made from mahogany and yellow pine and some other wood that I can't remember right now. He has a 60hp Yamaha with a jet drive ready to mount. He says it should float, and start off, in 4" of water.

I thought it was way to pretty to fish out of but he swears that's how he is going to use it. I'm thinking of asking him if he will make me a fancy dingy, but I would have to keep it covered somehow or the sun would destroy the finish.

My pics don't do it justice. 23' long. Wood is glassed over. Has stainless steel runners on the bottom so he can beach it.

She's a real labor of love there.

Very nice. I'd love to see more pictures. Is that a spray rail near the bottom?

HopCar said:

Very nice. I'd love to see more pictures. Is that a spray rail near the bottom?

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Me Too!!!!!!!

Yeah. It's a very big spray rail. He thinks it detracts from the looks, but he doesn't like getting wet.

I'll see if he has any pics he took he can share with me.

This dude has mad skills. He also makes beautiful caskets, welds like a pro, rebuilds outboards, designs boats for others with his CAD system, etc etc.

Some pics of other builds I found on my phone...

A cool little catamaran fishing boat:



He did a frame off resto on this Jeep, and installed a marine diesel (Perkins?) he had laying around to make it interesting. I should have bought this one...

Build pics of his recent project:

Who designed the boats? I have a thing for shallow water boats. I really like that tunnel hull. Is it a Texas design?

The boat is beautiful with great lines. Most jets have wider beam to reduce draft. A 60 hp jet does not sound like enough HP for good performance due to the inefficiency of jet power. I have a Snider custom aluminum tunnel jet with a 90/65 2 stroke Yamaha (for best weight to HP ratio)

The catamaran looks like it has high density molecule plastic (the stuff of cutting boards) on the bottom. My Snyder has ½ of it on the bottom helps with the strikes but makes the most difference by sliding off rocks and snags where the aluminum will grab then tear.

He thinks that the jet drive will get him about 25mph. He's usually right. The boat only weighs 850 lbs.

Hopcar:
He designs the boats himself. He has a CAD design system and a computerized cutout table in his shop. He is an old salt and seems to know what works, but he's also very computer savvy.

He also designs boats for a few local boat builders. He will build the boat out of wood then they use that for a fiberglass mold somehow.

Here are some he designed:

A catamaran designed to look like a monohull. They have sold quite a few of these.



Freedom Boats
A small, efficient cat he designed. This is the finished version derived from the yellow prototype in the earlier pics. Running shallow:
http://youtu.be/IDCk1OAWSHY



Just realized he has a website. He rebuilt a cool old Powercat and the build is on this site.
http://www.powercatboat.com/Group/DL_20t/DL_20t.html

I checked out his web site the guy has major talent!

I hadn't picked up on the fact that you were in Texas. It's interesting the different approach to shallow water boats that Texans and Floridians each take. At a guess I'd say Florida boats will float in shallower water but that Texas boats can run in shallower water. I've never run a Texas style flats boat so I can't make that statement with any certainty.

I'm not that knowledgable about fishing on either coast, but I do know the folks here really like to run (and be able to take off) in shallow water. Not much polling along from what I can see. Don't people "pole" their skiffs in Florida flats?

cardude01 said:

I'm not that knowledgable about fishing on either coast, but I do know the folks here really like to run (and be able to take off) in shallow water. Not much polling along from what I can see. Don't people "pole" their skiffs in Florida flats?

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Saw guys poling all the way from Georgetown to Charleston, SC today.

cardude01 said:

I'm not that knowledgable about fishing on either coast, but I do know the folks here really like to run (and be able to take off) in shallow water. Not much polling along from what I can see. Don't people "pole" their skiffs in Florida flats?

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Yes Floridian shallow water fishermen do pole their boats and prize the ability to float in very shallow water. Florida boats also sometimes need to cross open water that can get pretty choppy. I think you've nailed the reason for the difference in shallow water boat design.