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| BigDaddy
BigDaddy is a gussied up, stretched Crawdad - a 15' 4" x 4' slab-sided, flat-bottomed knockabout assembled from 2 sheets of 4x8x1/2, 4 sheets of 4x8x3/8 (1/4 optional), 1 sheet of 4x8x1/4, and a few 2x4's ripped into various strip sizes. There's a simple motor well with enclosure to help reduce motor noise, a canted stern with tall hips to ride following seas and provide greater freeboard in a small boat's most vulnerable quarters. A jeep-style fold-down windscreen and a folding stern crutch support a simple tarp to provide shade for a day's cruise. An enclosed cabin offers snug shelter for two for a weekend of camping. Add side curtains and the cockpit provides enough shelter to weather a messy day in relative comfort. The boat is basically a rectangle with boxy lines relieved by painted contours and a sisal rope rub strip. All materials, including sisal, can be had at a Lowe's, Home Depot or similar building supply. Dry hull weight should come in at no more than 300 pounds and power should be no more than 15 horsepower. With a decent 15 and light loads, speeds of 18-23 mph should be attainable. Construction is simple and straightforward with the flat bottom providing a platform to build from the bottom up. A few bulkheads and formers provide a structure around which the sides are wrapped after joining at the stem. Chines are glued with PL polyurethane adhesive and held in place with drywall screws. No epoxy is necessary anywhere in this boat unless glass-cloth sheathing is desired. With a little scrounging, the boat should come in under $300. Never pass a dumpster, a construction site, or a Habitat for Humanity outlet without a quick look. Habitat frequently has a large selection of free paint. Shantilly
Shantilly is all dressed up and plenty of places to go. This shantyboat's faux lines are all smoke and mirrors. The hull is a plywood box. The sheer is a combination of paint and sisal rope used for a rub strip, along with fiddley-bits of plywood here and there to extend the impression of sheer and keep your beer bottles from rolling off the bow and stern. Utilla-T
Utilla-T is a 4x8 insert for your boat trailer. It nibbles two pieces of 4x8x1/2 ply, 11 or 12 2x4's, a few eye-hooks, bolts, latches, drywall screws and glue for a total of $40-50. When not actually in service, it slides easily off the trailer and lurks quietly in a corner of your backyard. In its first week of existence, Utilla has worked its little assets off by hauling away a derelict metal shed and hauling in the fixin's for a new shed. As you can see, I've got way too much stuff in such a small trailer (it's filled from the bed all the way up), about 800 - 900 lbs. of 2x4's, 1x6's, 1x4's, two treated 4x4x16's, concrete blocks, tin and more. It was a short trip home; Home Depot was closing so I tried to get as much stuff home in the first trip as possible. Utilla groaned and sagged a bit under the load (the distortion in the picture is from a 28mm wide-angle lens) but nothing broke, a tribute to the strength of building with drywall screws and polyurethane construction adhesive.
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