It’s been a little dead around here on the boards. Its either people are catching fish and not posting, or the fishing just sucks. Lately its been all about the Shad and stripers. For me the stripers have been tough, the shad a little easier. But the flows and cold water are really putting a hurtin on those 2 species. Well with the cold weather the past few days the fishing was been beyond poor. Downright miserable. But with the sun comes active fish, and hopefully some boils. And sure enough we found some on the American today. But the real reason for this post is my new project that I picked up today, that I will be updating on a regular basis until it is completely redone. I bought a 16ft Greg Tatman wooden drift boat today, and gave it its maiden voyage on the AR today too. What a popping of the cherry. No better way than with a beautiful 20lb Striper on the FLY. Finally after countless hours on the water, searching for the one, I finally got her. So not only have I fallen madly in love with striper fishing, but the wooden drift boat is unexplainable. Even in its not so great condition, it really sets the tone of the trip. Gives you a sense of how it was in the older times before aluminum and fiberglass. Its majestic, it’s..........almost a Romantic feeling on the water. Something about it I just can’t explain. But what I will do is continually upload photos as it is a work in progress and till it’s all done, and looking like new. Here are a few pics to start you off from today’s trip.
Fishing isnt about catching fish, its not about who caught the most, or who caught the biggest, its about the experience that you have on the water, and the life long bonds you make with others on the journey to becoming a better person inside.
Congratulations Brian! I know it will serve you well with many good times for you and the clients. Thats so cool . a used drift boat ! Congratulations
Nice looking boat. God I would love to build one of those. I've seen plenty of kayak bulds on the forums I look at but no drift boats yet. Basic construction techniques should be about the same though.
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Winter eats heat the way darkness swallows light. The terrors of failed power and frozen stems are stymied with fire, smoke and white ash.
Lighfoot, they are about the same. If you are looking to start from scratch. Which I HIGHLY recommend, go to Gregboats.com. You can buy the full on kit, ready to put together with plans, instructions and everything. I also HIGHLY recommending not going cheap on the wood. There are 3 types of kits, cheap wood, better wood, and the best you can get. Get the better or best would if you can. Then starting from scratch you know exactly what has been done and hasnt. You can put epoxy in areas that you would like and wouldnt, you can stain the boat if youd like or just leave the wood natural and let it turn what ever color it wants with the varnish.
As far as the project goes, I have skip a few days posting about it, but everything is fully pulled out of the boat, and as of yesterday night it is fully sanded down. The black accent pieces were sanded down and painted black again. The only thing to do to day, is hit a few spots of the boat with 220 grit, and I will be putting varnish on by noon. Ill definitely get some pics today before the varnish and after I have put some on. Again work in progress but will be done very soon.
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Fishing isnt about catching fish, its not about who caught the most, or who caught the biggest, its about the experience that you have on the water, and the life long bonds you make with others on the journey to becoming a better person inside.
3 ply marine grade ply is around $35 a sheet, 5 play under $50. No idea on hardware costs but I'd think an entire build would be under a grand.
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Maybe I'm missing something or too many pain meds? I'll keep looking for a project/plans and see where it leads. I'm in no hurry...lol meaning I'll probably never get to it. But if one is going to dream, might as well dream on a grand scale.Â
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Winter eats heat the way darkness swallows light. The terrors of failed power and frozen stems are stymied with fire, smoke and white ash.
Its not to bad, there are other options, pretty much doing what I am doing, buying one that needs some work and putting a little bit of time into it and making it look like new again. There are minor restorations or a complete. I am doing a 3/4 restore and as you can see by the pics is coming out very nicely. Just keep looking around you can either find a boat cheap, pic up plans even cheaper or something else might pop up.
Heres a little update. This project is actually coming along very well and quickly. Guess if it doesnt float then I missed a step or 2 somewhere. As of today, there are 2 coats of Gloss Varnish on the exterior which will be getting 2 more coats. The interior has 2 gloss coats on one side, 1 coat on the other side (ran out of day light). The interior will get 2 complete coats of gloss, then atleast 2 coats of semi gloss which will keep down the glare. Ive also replaced the very small and danty lean bar in the back with a much higher placed and heavier duty lean bar that I trust sitting on. This is brand new wood so it will need atleast 4 coats of my choice. I am hoping to get it done by Tues since it will be in the low 90's that day. But who knows.....only time will tell. Enjoy the pics. Will have more up soon.
Fishing isnt about catching fish, its not about who caught the most, or who caught the biggest, its about the experience that you have on the water, and the life long bonds you make with others on the journey to becoming a better person inside.
"Three-fourths of the Earth's surface is water, and one-fourth is land. It is quite clear that the good Lord intended us to spend triple the amount of time fishing as taking care of the lawn." - Anon.
Been very busy. 12 hours a day since 6/8, and as of today she is put back together. A few minor things that need to be done. Mainly the lean bar in the back. Its all cut out with one side stained. Going to put 2 coats of stain then 2 coats of varnish then onto the boat it goes. The other thing is putting on the, what i call, "Its Skirt". the black runner that goes along the bottom of the boat. The another last coat of gloss varnish on the exterior, then it will be a waiting game for everything to cure. 2-3days minimum. But with it hitting 90 on Tues, it might be sooner than that. But it will be ready for travels by the Fundraiser. Figured id bring it out and leave it hooked up in the parking lot for those that would like to check it out.
Here are some new pics, the ones with the boat having nothing in it was from last night. The rest are from today.
Fishing isnt about catching fish, its not about who caught the most, or who caught the biggest, its about the experience that you have on the water, and the life long bonds you make with others on the journey to becoming a better person inside.
Thanks for all the great comments guys. Thank you James helping me out with all my questions I had.
So here is the skinny. As of this evening, it is completely back together. Front lean bar in, side skirts on, 2 more clear varnish coats on the exterior. Only thing that is not making it 100% done is the back lean bar. Right now there are 2 coats of stain, and I am thinking that will match perfectly to the existing wood on the boat. So tomorrow will be 2 coats of clear satin varnish, then put the leg braces on the lean bar, then put it on the boat.........
There are a few things you will notice with the boat that I did or should I say didnt do. Like the floor boards. I didnt sand them down or do anything with them. I wanted it to stay rustic and old looking. Same with the hand rails. Now i did sand them down but not completely. There are wear areas on the rails that I wanted to keep as well as some of the originaly varnish flaws and what not. As well as using as much as the old hardware as possible. Ofcourse new exterior decking screws, but the old rusty bolts that had varnish on them, left um, couldnt see changing out little things like that. I want it to be my boat but with some of its old ways and character.
Then a 3 day cure time, and Im off to the races. More like off to the PCT Fundraiser. But I think Monday will be the maiden voyage for "BRUCIE". And ofcourse Ill post about the day with some nice water shots. The yard and trailer do not do this boat justice.
Here are some more pics, you can see the color of the lean bar and how well it will match the boat. Enjoy.
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-- Edited by brian clemens on Monday 13th of June 2011 09:52:25 PM
Fishing isnt about catching fish, its not about who caught the most, or who caught the biggest, its about the experience that you have on the water, and the life long bonds you make with others on the journey to becoming a better person inside.
Really cool looking drift boat Brian . Now you need a place to keep it safe . Hey I know . You can store it in my driveway ! LOL . That thing looks really nice .you might think about getting it insured or getting a storage locker for it. no joke . Anyway back to the boat. looks like those 12 hr days paid off . Plus you have the satisfaction and bragging rights of all the work you put into itÂ
Thanks Richard. Ive already looked into gettin it insured. Wont be but a few dollars more on the insurance and funny thing is they are insuring it as a 4500 dollar boat and trailer. Cant complain there. The only thing that sucks is no garage room for the boat. So its gonna have to stay outside and covered at all times. Im also looking into a wheel boot/lock, I will still have the hitch lock, but the one that goes around the wheel is much safer and reliable and cant be cut off by lock snips.
As of today, I have sanded down the original wooden oars, put some marine epoxy on the tips and 2 coats of varnish, as well as the lean bar. Im bringing the 3man pontoon that I have been using back to my buddies house in San Ramon early in the morning, then back to the boat I go to put the last and final piece on the boat. The Rear Lean Bar. And it will be done. Im thinking I may take it out as early as Friday, if not definitely Sunday or Monday on the American for some Striper Action.
So I will have the final pics tomorrow after noon. Inside and out. Then on its maiden voyage I will have some water shots as well.
See ya at the funderaiser.
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Fishing isnt about catching fish, its not about who caught the most, or who caught the biggest, its about the experience that you have on the water, and the life long bonds you make with others on the journey to becoming a better person inside.
We;ve lost him to the strippers  LOL . I mean Strypers  either way stripper stryper ? screw it you know what I mean  He;s a goner . We;ll never see him fish for steelhead or trout again ! That sucks . lol
What kind of hitch lock do you have? Is it just a pad lock? You should get one of those hitch locks that are a ball that go into the tongue. I have one of those on my boat and there's no way anyone is breaking that off.
Right now i just have a pad lock. Looking into the wheel donut lock. But I will also look into this ball lock as well. Thanks for the heads up.
Well put the lean bar back on and leaned on it and broke it. Thought I bought solid shelving, guess what it wasnt, it was 1x4s put together to make shelving. How well. I think ill just redo the lean bar I have and call it good. Until someone complains.
Maiden Voyage maybe as soon as tomorrow. But for sure by friday. Ill makes sure I get some pics.
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Fishing isnt about catching fish, its not about who caught the most, or who caught the biggest, its about the experience that you have on the water, and the life long bonds you make with others on the journey to becoming a better person inside.
Bob, I didnt even think of calling you and gettin some varnish. Didnt even cross my mind. Well if I am needing some more for repairs I will give you a call for sure.
As far as the varnish that I used, I went with Blackclouds suggestion. I used the same stuff he used on his pram and that thing came out sweet. I will find out shortly if the boat floats. They do leak slightly, which I can take care of with some epoxy if there are any bad areas. As far as the varnish, I can always go over the varnish on the boat with something else, sand it down a lil bit and add onto it. LOL. Sanding the whole boat again just isnt gonna happen unless it really needs to happen.
-- Edited by brian clemens on Thursday 16th of June 2011 09:56:29 AM
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Fishing isnt about catching fish, its not about who caught the most, or who caught the biggest, its about the experience that you have on the water, and the life long bonds you make with others on the journey to becoming a better person inside.
So how are you liking the boat so far? Opinions, likes, dislikes?
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I've been doing a lot of research online for kits and plans. Tatmans is just of the many sites available to drool over.Â
To be honest I really don't fish much any more but with the kids growing older I think things are going to be on the upswing. I just wish I had a little bit of seat time to figure out what I might or might not like to add/change/delete in a boat.
The main thing that bugs me though is I have no trailer and will either have to tow with a Honda Fit or a slightly modified Jeep. I can build the trailer if need be or find a craped out one on craigslist that should work, but a dedicated tow vehicle isn't in the cards.
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Winter eats heat the way darkness swallows light. The terrors of failed power and frozen stems are stymied with fire, smoke and white ash.
Well there are a few things I would change but not much. Its light, it rows awesome and you can believe how much time I have spent at a gas station with people asking questions or taking pics or just wanting to look at it. The best way to figure out what you like or dislike it so know someone with a dorry and row it and test it out. I can tell you the things I would change but its very minor changes but will make a huge difference in how it rows and definitely how it balances out with more than a rower and fisher up front. These boats way nothing so ive thought and in the process of putting a tow hitch on my 98 mitz mirage that is a inline4 max 100hp. It will tow it just fine. Cant do the yuba need 4x4. but the feather, lower sac american will be handled without a problem.
Yes lots of sites and lots of different plans. but all come down to the basic shape and structure which are all about the same. If your in my neck of the woods hit me up, we can float the AR and you can ROW. LOL. we can float it and you can get a feel. Who knows I might sell mine very very soon for a really good price boat and trailer, Ive already got my sites on a new boat on the market that kicks the pant out of any hyde, clacka glass or alum.
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Fishing isnt about catching fish, its not about who caught the most, or who caught the biggest, its about the experience that you have on the water, and the life long bonds you make with others on the journey to becoming a better person inside.
Me and sarah did a drift on the Yuba for my b/day july 3rd  . we had a blast  but sarah caught all the fish  . waaaa  It was still a lot of fun  thanks brian sarah was really empressed  foot note,  I lost my glasses over board while fishing if anyone sees them grab um up  they have a black frame and are byfocols and where really exspensive  ha haÂ
You 2 are very welcome. Im glad you guys had a blast, and it was a blast guiding you guys down the Yuba. I do look forward to our next outting, tell Sarah I promise that it wont be to cold when I guide yous 2 for steelhead. I PROMISE.
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Fishing isnt about catching fish, its not about who caught the most, or who caught the biggest, its about the experience that you have on the water, and the life long bonds you make with others on the journey to becoming a better person inside.
