JEM Watercraft

I took my freedom to the water today, she is not quite done but I wanted to try her before winter sets in.
I need one more coat of epoxy on the deck ,then a good sanding and varnish.







She weighs 50 pounds which is more than I was hoping for, I learned a lot on this one and the next one will be lighter
Martin

Martin
Great job and fine looking boat I know you will enjoy that boat as much as I do mine
Ron

She's looking real good!

Martin:
What kind of and how thick was the wood you used? Good looking boat and you did a great job.

G'day Martin,

Great job mate! Well done

Beuatufil boat, in lovely waters and countryside. What is not to like?

I learned a lot on this one and the next one will be lighter

Aaaaahh, Welcome to my world mate

Very nice job there, Martin! And great pics, too!

I'm particularly interested in your Freedom build, as I start building one this week, myself. From your pics, it looks like you used thin ply, maybe 3mm Luan (Muranti,) as I'll be using.

In the pic where you were getting in the boat from a dock, when you stepped in, did the bottom seem to flex any?

I sure hope my build turns out half as well as yours did!
(If not, my wife will kill me! It's her boat. )

Mike S.
Spring Hill, FL

Martin:
How do you intend to make the next one lighter? I may be building one and am very interested in how much the freedom weights. Thanks

I used 1/2 a sheet 6mm plywood for the bottom and 2 sheets of 4mm for the rest.
I bought a sheet of 10 dollar plywood and made patterns, i could then layout the patterns on the expensive playwood and arrange them to get the most out of a sheet.
I did some redrawing (sorry Matt) for the deck, I moved the pattern so I could take advantage of the straight edges, I left the curved side a inch wide.After it was glued in place I used a router with a pattern bit to trim the edge.I used a 1/2" mahagony halfround to trim the edge of the deck,which I recommend not doing. I like looks but it is impossible to wrap the glass around.I would have used a rabbet bit to trim the edge but the only one I had on hand would only go as small as a 1/4" which is too big.I then would have trimmed the edge with epoxy goo.
I used way too much epoxy which made the boat heavier.I have learned to goo the joints more efficiently which also uses less epoxy (and looks better.I did a end pour in the front but put a block of wood in the stern which is lighter so the next one will have the wood in the bow.
For my last coat of epoxy I will make sure the yak is nice and warm (when I look outside all the roofs are covered with ice)and the epoxy is at least 90 degrees.I will also go to Noah,s and get a roller with 1/8 nap rather than the 1/4" HD.
Oh ya ,I used baltic birch plywood for the coaming, next time i will use Rons idea.
Martin
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Looks good Martin.