AK XF20

[Ankle Deep]

I posted a photo of my XF20 and a canoe I built on another member's thread and several members asked some follow-up questions. Out of respect for the author of original thread I thought it best that I start a new thread.

Here are a couple of photos:







I completed the canoe in June 2004 and the XF20 in June of 2009.

[Ankle Deep]

what are the stats on that canoe? interesting boat. - fishin

I love that canoe as well! More info please! - welyjr

The canoe was a custom design. The plans consisted of the station forms and the bow form. No information on strips, weight of cloth, gunwales, transom, seats etc. It was my first build and I didn't have clue. I read several books and searched the internet and gave it a go. I'm sure it's overbuilt, probably heavier than needed. I wish I had built the XF20 first as the bateau techniques would have been helpful.

24 feet long, 57 inches wide, mid-ship depth is 29 inches. The designer says "if you load 4000 lbs in this boat it will draft 13 inches. If you load 1000 pounds in this boat you will draw less than 5 inches". I once carried a pick-up load of dimensional lumber in the canoe and it did fine.


Strips are 3/8" local white spruce. Gunwales, seats, keelson, keel and bilge keels are ash (keel and bilge keels are covered with UHMW). With overlaps the outside bottom has 4 layers of 6 oz cloth, remainder has 2 layers of 6 oz cloth plus lots of epoxy.

I wished I had at least painted the outside of the hull. The bright finish is not very practical and I do my best to protect the finish from UV when out of the water

[gstanfield]

Did you use a pray in bedliner in that XF20? I always thought that would be a good workboat finish for a fishing boat. Either way she's hot, don't see girls painted that color much, but I like it a lot

[gstanfield]

Ok, just a couple more questions:

What size motor are you using and how fast will she go?

Thanks,
George

[cape man]

The canoe reminds me of boats in the Cayman Islands and Jamaica.

[Ankle Deep]

Did you use a pray in bedliner in that XF20? I always thought that would be a good workboat finish for a fishing boat. Either way she's hot, don't see girls painted that color much, but I like it a lot

Thanks!....The product is Zolotone (http://www.zolatoneaim.com/palette.php). I used their two part epoxy primer followed the #20-72 silver gray. A couple of boat shops in the area use this product on the interior of the aluminum river boats and it has a good local reputation. I was tired of sanding and fairing the interior and was looking for a product that would cover the remaining imperfections. It did the job. BTW... I'm really impressed with the quality of the boats I see on this forum....better finishes than production boats. I just didn't have the patience for that kind of work.

What size motor are you using and how fast will she go?

35 hp, 17 mph on GPS.....I'm spoiled by my 30 HP Honda and I really hate that old smokey , noisy, 35 hp 2 stroke, and boy does it guzzle the fuel. I have not spent much time or effort to obtain the optimum prop combo so it may be possible to get more speed out of that outboard. Kids and life ( and ice) have got in the way and I have not been able to use the boat as much as I originally planned. It's my goal to upgrade to a larger 4 stroke someday.

The canoe reminds me of boats in the Cayman Islands and Jamaica.

....not sure the canoe is a match for that boat, the bow tends to punch through the big waves.....

[gstanfield]

Thanks for the info, I always see guys on here throwing huge engines on their XF20's and the study plans call for 25+ so I always wondered how it would do with an engine that's closer to the low side.

George

[Ankle Deep]

...the 17 mph is lightly loaded, 17 doesn't cut it when fighting a 5-7 mile an hour river current.....hoping for a 20 - 25 cruise...someday

[gstanfield]

Yeah, I was actually expecting it to get around 20+ with that small motor. Makes me wonder just what it would do with the recommended 25hp. I'd bet a good Evinrude 40 or anyone's 4 stroke 40 would be nice on the back of that boat.

[stickystuff]

The original plans as described was for a bare minimal description as shown.The very first Xf20 built had a 25HP Johnson on it.I saw the boat run at our second Rendezvois in jacksonville. It was not fast but did the job. The owner wasn't satisfied with the speed and up graded to I think a 40HP. This design was for a tiller steered engine. No extreme decks, no flooring and only two stringers. It was extremely light and had a 1" draft. You can't get much shallower than that. Next came people wanting more rear deck, longer front deck and add a floor so their wouldnt be any tripping over stringers. Thus two more stringers were added, center consols were added, chase tubes , live wells etc,etc. So, Now we have fully rigged XF20's with bigger engines, bigger fuel tanks, towers, dual steering ,lots of toys, power poles and more horsepower to push the extra weight.The biggest engine that I know of was an old Evinrude V4 with 110 HP. Oh yeah, I forgot trolling motors. So here we have it, All the weight starting to add up. They still run as designed even with all the weight but not as shallow as the original design.Its your call to add whatever you like. Modifications are one mans dream over others. The best thing about custom boats is just that, Custom. You cando all you want within reason but the designer will not take responsibility for foolish designs and reduce the safety of the craft.

Life is good. Just be careful with your decisions.