Dan's DK18

[davaodan]

I unscrewed the supports on the strongback and turned the boat for the first time. She looks good, capacious and ready to modify.

This bow front seat is a full meter long giving me room to make multiple storage compartments and flotation. Room for anchor, rope and more.
And the storage at the stern is large too. The motor well can be devoted to flotation so the stern seat can be all storage. It is .5 meter long and 1.3 meters wide. Lots of room in there. I would like help in deciding how to divide this room up, and how to access it. Hinged seats or making access ports in the vertical frames?
And then there is the middle seat, even wider than the stern seat.

And when the seat tops are on it makes it look so much better.

I will be out of town quite a bit for the next several weeks so I have a chance to think about my options.

Dan in Davao

[hairymick]

G'day Dan,

This is a stunning design and build mate. i have been meaning to post here for some time but been to tied up in my own stuff. Sorry mate.

I think you will need deviders in your very big seats. they will not only support the seat lid but also seperate the area into seperate compartments for you. I would install the lids in the seat tops

I can picture this boat here as a very good flats and bass boat.

[davaodan]

Yes Mick I will be dividing the seats up between storage and flotation. I did some rough calculations on needed flotation and I am surprised how much volume (more than 1/2 cubic meter) I will have to devote to flotation so I will need to carefully design the storage for ease of use and maximum space with supporting dividers. I am going to have trouble locating stainless hinges for the seats here in the Philippines so I might have to have them shipped in. Expensive. Another option I just thought of is a hinge of nylon strap or something similar. Hmmm, don't rust, and they are cheap.

I can picture this boat here as a very good flats and bass boat.

I also chose this design for it's high freeboard. It is quite high and I think it will handle the roughness of the sea quite well. I picture a bass boat as having a low freeboard so it will not blow around too much in the wind, still it might work for bass fishing. Unfortunately there are very few bass lakes here, none that I know of in Mindanao.

I have been busy building a seawall and boat house on my Samal Island property so I haven't been able to work on this boat for several weeks. However I have had time though to think about how to finish the inside and I do not regret the building time loss.

Dan in Davao

[Derek Bowen]

Hello Dan, İ also looked for stainless bits n pieces. İ had to go to Manila for SS wood screws. Later İ found every thing İ needed in solid brass in Cebu city. Sorry İ cant remember a specific place but Cebu,s engineering district isnt very big. Have you thought of using brass instead of SS ??. You may even find brass things in Davao. Check the Chinese hardware shops mate. İts a great way to spend a hot afternoon, Aye.

[davaodan]

I think if you do some more reading about brass screws you might find that they literally fall apart when in salt water and subject to electrolysis. Bronze would be much better. I have never encountered bronze or brass here in Davao although there should be non-ferrous casting shops around. I saw what I thought was a brass foundry and when I had more time to look I could not find it anymore. It's sometimes like that here in the Philippines. There are some stainless screws and bolts available at the Davao Bolt Store and one store where I found SS shafting that I used on my Puddle Duck Racer. Thanks for the tip though.

Dan in Davao

[john the pom]

Been watching this thread religously, but am getting withdrawal symptoms. Come back Dan! The other stuff is not important I have had plans for the fifteen ft dinghy for a while now. Shelved the plans but keep peeking at them. Its on the big side for me but has soooooooooooo many possibilities. Have/am considering cutting it down to make it car toppable, I reckon fourteen foot would be about perfect for my needs. I'm not in a particularly rocky area but would now definitely add skegs, both because of what you've mentioned, and Mick has said earlier they would improve overall stiffness, and prevent "sliding" if I were to use a lighter ply. One bonus of a boat this size, stand up fishing!
I particularly liked the reasoning behind the hand holds and SS strip. I can envision lots of floatation surrounding and insulating an esky compartment in those huge voids you have to work with. Plus you'd still have enough room to fit in enough gear for an extended trip with all but the kitchen sink. Hmm kitchen sink???
Great work, keep it up.
Regards John.

[davaodan]

Hi John,

Thanks for the comments, they inspire me to make a built in ice box, maybe lengthwise using half the middle seat space. Is that what you mean by "esky compartment"? I just glassed the inside of the bow yesterday and tomorrow I need to go back to the island preparing for its future home. Got the seawall almost finished and the boathouse too, but this will further delay work on the boat. Necessary evil but it gives me time to make good decisions about how to use all that space.

Your 14 footer sounds very nice. I am not totally pleased with the engine well as it occupies a lot of space. I should have put in a center console with remote steering. I am going to have to reach way back with an extension on my outboard to steer and shifting will be troublesome. A center console is difficult to rig here in the Philippines as there is no store here in Davao for steering wheels and cabling. I have seen some nice designs for self bailing center consoles but this design is not suitable. It is what I can afford though.

Dan in Davao

[john the pom]

Thanks Dan, mate with the "ice compartment" esky thing you are really spoilt for choice you have so much storage potential available. My point was that the insulation could double as floatation. Win/win Either end, or in the middle, leaving the most appropriate areas free to put to the best use for YOUR needs.
Regards John.

[davaodan]

That is a good point about the insulation. Also a gas tank that is tied down or secured under a seat can be flotation.

Dan in Davao

[davaodan]

Another reason I like the boat is that it is light enough to tip on it's side and drain after rinsing.

I've been able to make some progress glassing the hull. I bought 5 kilos of cloth in one continuous piece and that helps with minimal seams. I put three pieces of cloth on the bottom allowing multiple layers of cloth over the bottom areas exposed to coral abrasion.

Also shown is with one coat of microspheres over the cloth. It shines! I'll add one more coat later.
I also put the first coat of epoxy covering all the interior surfaces.

I am working now on the motor well area. You might also notice I put no cloth covering on the transom, simply because it is not exposed to coral. The transom cutout is crooked, I just did a rough cut.

Dan in Davao