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T's GF12

Posted: Sun Jun 19, 2011 12:32 am
by Prarie Dog
Got the plans today to build T's GF12 and gave them a look. Looks like a simple straightforward build. Got one problem, the transom and frames on this boat are half inch ply and the only half inch I can get here is Okume. I can get Meranti in all the other sizes but the supplier is out of half inch. Do you guys think the Okume is a good choice for the transom and frames or should I wait until I can get the Meranti. The supplier thinks he'll have it in August. If I needed much wood I would buy it from Joel but the freight is a killer on 6 sheets.

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Sun Jun 19, 2011 7:03 am
by stickystuff
Well. the cost of okoume is higher but it is the top quality of all boat building wood. If your budget allows it I would get it. This will also make your hull a little lighter. Beautiful wood to work with. Its a shame to cover okoume up with paint. Love the natural finish of it.

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Sun Jun 19, 2011 11:10 am
by gstanfield
Are you going through Straight up in Denver? They had some 1/2 meranti when I talked to them last, but that was a few months ago and I have no clue how steady their supplies are.

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Sun Jun 19, 2011 12:03 pm
by Prarie Dog
Yes. And they are out. They said they won't get more until late August

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Sun Jun 19, 2011 12:05 pm
by gstanfield
Well that sucks, but Okoume is good stuff from all I've read so you'll still be in the good :wink:

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Mon Jun 20, 2011 12:11 am
by hockey52
T's thinking he needs to register on the forum so he can post stuff on this boat. :help: I could've swore I saw a post about there was no rush to build the GF12 and now they're disappointed they can't find the meranti. :doh:

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Sat Sep 24, 2011 11:44 pm
by Prarie Dog
Went up to Denver Friday morning and picked up the ply for this boat, they still didn't have any half inch meranti so we sucked it up and bought Okume. After cutting and working with Okume this afternoon I believe it's all we'll be using in the future. It is very good stuff, worth the money. Thought we'd try to do a good job documenting this build, it will be a little different. We are going to build a small console behind the center seat, instal a tunnel and extend the sides to incorporate two sponsons behind the stern. Very much like what Uncle D's done on his build. We also plan to instal a 60hp Yamaha----------just kidding :lol: , a 25 hp, remote steer mounted on a jack plate. Should run way to fast, if I have any money left we will instal a small K top. Because the motor is larger than the transom is designed for we doubled the transom and will instal motorwell sides that run forward to the rearmost frame. It will have a third layer on the transom between the motorwell sides for a total thickness of 1.5". Got a good start today.
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Re: T's GF12

Posted: Sat Sep 24, 2011 11:52 pm
by gstanfield
25HP on a GF12 8O 8O :D

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Sun Sep 25, 2011 12:15 am
by Prarie Dog
gstanfield wrote:25HP on a GF12 8O 8O :D
We were planning on mounting one of these on the K top. :lol:

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Re: T's GF12

Posted: Sun Sep 25, 2011 1:23 am
by gstanfield
That'll work. Might increase draft a little though :lol:

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Sun Sep 25, 2011 10:41 am
by mechdave
Ya'll are gonna have a blast building together. I can't wait to see a photo of the finished boat in the back of that pick-up. :D

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Sun Sep 25, 2011 8:05 pm
by Prarie Dog
Thanks Dave, we're having some fun. :D
We made some more progress today, got all the frames cut and finished splicing the panels this morning, did a trial assembly on the hull this afternoon and it all fits. Jaques did a good job laying out this little hull. the forward middle seat frame is a half inch high but that's a minor problem. Been trying to figure out some dimensions for the sponsons on the back of this hull. I intended to hunt up a small scooter or other hull that uses them and do some measuring during the builders meet. Didn't get her done so now I'm in Colorado trying to figure it out. Do any of you guys down on the coast have access to one of these small boats and a measuring tape. I would really appreciate some help with this, there's a bunch of these little boats down there with sponsons. Thanks in advance.

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Re: T's GF12

Posted: Mon Sep 26, 2011 8:08 am
by Cracker Larry
Dang, 2 days work and she's almost a boat 8)

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Mon Sep 26, 2011 9:39 am
by wegcagle
Nice work 8)

Will

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Mon Sep 26, 2011 11:51 am
by Prarie Dog
Thanks guys, with T and Mr Prudhomme helping it's moving right along. :)

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Mon Sep 26, 2011 12:05 pm
by Uncle D
Looks great Paul. email sent

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Tue Sep 27, 2011 7:54 am
by Aripeka Angler
You guys don't mess around when you take a notion to build a boat :) Looks great! Looking forward to following this build...
BTW Paul, thanks for the CD! We appreciate it very much :)

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Tue Sep 27, 2011 2:16 pm
by Prarie Dog
Aripeka Angler wrote:You guys don't mess around when you take a notion to build a boat :) Looks great! Looking forward to following this build...
BTW Paul, thanks for the CD! We appreciate it very much :)
The build went well this weekend but next weekend there's two hockey games, one in Denver, and other stuff going on, we're fixing to look real lazy. You're very welcome on the CD, something SWMBO put together for the Texas Meet that we didn't get to listen too. :)

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Sat Oct 01, 2011 3:59 pm
by Prarie Dog
We came home last night and glued the transoms in the little dawg.
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This morning we went out and stitched and glued the floor on her.
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Time to go to Denver for a Hockey game. Squeezing a little work in every so often will have to do.

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Sat Oct 01, 2011 4:02 pm
by Prarie Dog
As it turns out T doesn't like Little Dawg, he wants to call her "Mini Muncher". :lol:

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Mon Oct 03, 2011 12:24 pm
by Uncle D
You guys don't even look like your breaking a sweat. lookin' good guys!!

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Mon Oct 03, 2011 11:05 pm
by gstanfield
Glad to see I'm not the only one using wire for stitching. I used the zip ties on my FL14 and they worked out OK, but then I used safety wire on my tug-bed and SUP and loved it on those. It was worth the extra cost for me 8)

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Tue Oct 04, 2011 1:36 am
by cali123
Man, you guys are smoking :!: I thought about wire but decided to use high quality zip ties and a tool to tighten them. Worked great. :D

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Tue Oct 04, 2011 8:45 pm
by Prarie Dog
Wire is the only thing we've ever used but it's nothing special, just some good ol knock your shorts off, electric fence wire. I would probably use zip ties if there were enough of them in the shop when we get around to stitching one together. No pics, but we got the stringers cut out Sunday, going to put an elevated sole in this boat and a small center console. :)

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Sun Oct 09, 2011 9:46 pm
by Prarie Dog
We built some fillets and seams today. This is the first time we've used the fillable caulk tubes to build fillets with, they work great. We're a little rusty at mixing to the right consistency but it worked out okay and got the inside seams built. I discovered something building this hull that should be in the build notes. When stitching the bottom to the hull sides and transoms it really helps the fairness of the hull if you glue the sides and leave the bow transom just stitched, after the sides set you can then take some pressure off the bow transom stitches and it relaxes the bottom and the lower bow transom. It can now be glued and the bow transom and the front of the hull bottom is fair. Doing it all at the same time results in the bottom being low in the middle and pulls the BT back at the bottom. Took a bunch of quickfair to fix this on my GF18. Here's a few pics.
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Re: T's GF12

Posted: Mon Oct 10, 2011 9:30 am
by tech_support
nice work.

I also like those tubes for making inside fillets. It saves a ton of time.

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Mon Oct 10, 2011 12:16 pm
by bernd1
One question....have you decided to build the GF without the midseat ?
BTW the boat looks nice...

Bye
Bernd

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Mon Oct 10, 2011 12:19 pm
by Uncle D
You guys are doing nice work, Paul. I have some of those tubes but have never used them. I always seem to go back to cake decorating bags. I guess cause I just throw it away when the bag is empty.

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Mon Oct 10, 2011 2:36 pm
by Prarie Dog
bernd1 wrote:One question....have you decided to build the GF without the midseat ?
BTW the boat looks nice...

Bye
Bernd
Yes Bernd, we are building it without a middle seat. We are installing stringes 5" tall and a sole, leaving the midseat frames 3" on the sides. Jaques is right in saying these mods turn a simple build into a more complex build but we have, what we feel, a good reason. We fitted the hull on my worktable and it's very hard for my wife or I to step over the middle seat. Additionally we wanted to go with a small remote steer outboard which complicates the boat some more. We'll have to see how it all works out.

Uncle D, Joel has a very reasonable price on the fillable caulk tubes, we used two yesterday and will probably use two more installing the frames, the nice thing is there is almost no waste, you lay a bead down the seam then come back with the shaping tool, didn't even come close to having anything cook off in the tube. It was 55degrees yesterday and we used medium hardener.

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Tue Oct 11, 2011 2:16 pm
by Uncle D
Prarie Dog wrote:It was 55degrees yesterday
I'd have to crawl in the ice box to enjoy those temps. :roll:
I'll have a lot of fillits to do now that the boat is upright. Temps are still in the 90's but I'll give the tubes a try. With the slow hardener I have, it might be all good. Build on. Don

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Fri Oct 14, 2011 2:01 am
by JohnC
Hey Paul and T,
You two are moving right along over there, looks like a fun project! :D I do have one concern, T's white t-shirt is way too clean :doh: , he's gonna give the rest of us a bad name.
John

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Fri Oct 14, 2011 1:18 pm
by bernd1
....I'm interesting how it works without the midseat....please send enough pictures.

Bye
Bernd

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Fri Oct 14, 2011 2:46 pm
by Prarie Dog
JohnC wrote: I do have one concern, T's white t-shirt is way too clean
John, he's growing so fast right now that we have to replace his wardrobe every two months, his mother jumped him twice for the new looking shirt and he told her it's all I have. :D

Bernd, will do plenty of pictures. I was a major slacker on my GF18 build with respect to pics and documentation, have every intention of showing all the details on this one.

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Fri Oct 14, 2011 3:06 pm
by hockey52
Actually the shirt has a CU logo on it and he wants to ruin it!! :lol:

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Fri Oct 21, 2011 2:35 pm
by Prarie Dog
This probably isn't the place to post this pic, but it does impact the GF12 build in the sense that we haven't been working on it. We just got back from an Antelope hunt in Wyoming and had a good ol time, we had SWMBO, T, a recently retired Special Forces Guy and his two kids, a daughter 15 and a son 13. We also met up with George in Chugwater, and had a nice lunch and visit, he's quite a guy.
There were several fellows at the Texas Builders Meet that were impressed with T's ability to catch, clean, and cook his fish. Last week he graduated to harvesting, field dressing, and quartering up an Antelope. The pic below is of him helping a friend with his, the next day, he did his own with very little help. 8) As a parent, I'm sure you guys that have been there are surprised at the things you inadvertently teach your kids. In T's case, he started cleaning fish by accident. I was trying to teach him to be a catch and release fisherman, so I told him one day if you keep that little trout you'll have to clean him. Grandpa showed him how and here we are. :lol:

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Re: T's GF12

Posted: Fri Oct 21, 2011 2:54 pm
by gstanfield
Glad to hear that T got his goat, all it took was getting you away for a couple of hours :wink: It was a pleasure to meet you guys, hope to meet up again someday 8)

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Sun Oct 30, 2011 8:55 pm
by timoub007
Not sure if you're looking for input on putting a tunnel in a GF, but if so you might learn from my build thread.

Sponsons are going to be dictated by the swing of the motor from lock to lock. On the small transom of the little GF's I don't think you can make them very wide. You can also put an angle on the inside surface to make more surface area near the transom.

There are several ways to build them. Either with an angled bottom as they progress aft or by putting a step of an inch or two where they mount to the transom. If you build them flat with the hull bottom they will act more like a permanent trim tab and not allow the bow to be raised when needed.

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Sun Oct 30, 2011 9:06 pm
by peter-curacao
Prarie Dog wrote:
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Happy Halloween PDog! and yet he's already looking for Easter eggs! :P Little deeper to the left PD, there's a pink one with yellow dots and a chocolate surprise inside 8)

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Sun Oct 30, 2011 9:40 pm
by Prarie Dog
Happy Halloween to you Peter, the rest of it :doh:.

Tim thanks for chiming in on the thread, I think George was able to figure out the dimensions on your tunnel. I printed some pics and used a scale after reading your build thread. George had some different numbers, so we talked about it and decided to bust a move on it. We built the tunnel yesterday and installed it today and glassed the inside of the hull. Here's a few pics.
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Fitting the glass.
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Mr Prudhomme wetting out the glass around the tunnel.
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A side view of the finished tunnel. Hope it's the right dimensions. :D
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Re: T's GF12

Posted: Sun Oct 30, 2011 9:44 pm
by peter-curacao
Prarie Dog wrote:, the rest of it :doh:.
Sorry :oops: it looks like you are searching for something inside there

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Sun Oct 30, 2011 10:57 pm
by timoub007
Looks pretty good from where I'm sitting. How long is it from fore to aft? And how tall is the outlet at the transom?

What thickness ply is the top piece made of and do you plan on venting it? I picked up some 1.5 inch SS 90 degree thru hull fittings for a project I was working on that didn't have enough thread on them for that project. I need to measure them but might be able to save you a dollar or two if you're interested in one of these for the vent.

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Sun Oct 30, 2011 11:29 pm
by Prarie Dog
Tim, I'm almost afraid to give the dimensions, don't feel like changing it. :lol:
It's 24" long, 14.5" wide at the front, 1.25" step at front, 4" tall at outlet, 6" wide at top of outlet and 9" wide at the bottom. You had most of the dimensions in your build thread, the others were scaled from prints of your build, hope you don't mind me pirating your design. :)

The plywood top of the tunnel is .5" and I do plan on venting it, you said that you had a baffle in your tunnel but I can't see it, tried to PM you and couldn't get a response so I did a little research and decided to vent the top just aft of the front, where did you put yours? If that fitting is long enough I could sure use it. Thanks for the offer.

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Sat Nov 05, 2011 2:04 pm
by hockey52
The boys are out gluing in the stringers before heading to T's hockey game. Pics to follow.

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Sun Nov 06, 2011 8:01 pm
by Prarie Dog
Hit some pretty good licks on the GF12 this weekend. Only got a few hours in Saturday, had a hockey game in Denver, but did real well today. Glued the stringers in Saturday morning.
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Had to get the boatbuilding dawg involved this morning, think he has a little epoxy on his foot, he's been biting at it all afternoon.
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Tabbed the stringers down this morning and glued in the frames this afternoon.
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An overhead shot of the tunnel, stringers, transom and rear frame, should be pretty strong.
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Re: T's GF12

Posted: Sun Nov 06, 2011 8:21 pm
by gstanfield
Well I was wondering if you guys were ever gonna get back to boat building :lol:

Smart ass comments aside, she's looking good pard 8)

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Sun Nov 06, 2011 9:12 pm
by hockey52
gstanfield wrote:Well I was wondering if you guys were ever gonna get back to boat building :lol:
This is what has been getting in the way of boat building. :lol:
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Re: T's GF12

Posted: Sun Nov 06, 2011 9:21 pm
by gstanfield
Paul was telling me about how you've been all over the place with that kid. He's fortunate to have parents that support him like you guys do :D

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Mon Nov 07, 2011 2:36 pm
by Prarie Dog
Thanks George, we like the boat and the kid. :)

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Mon Nov 07, 2011 4:52 pm
by hockey52
Thanks George. We have fun with it. The hockey season is so long (Aug-March) that most of the families get to know each other pretty good. Especially after several seasons together! :help:

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Tue Nov 08, 2011 12:48 pm
by Uncle D
I know T will appreciate everything you guys do for him. He's a great kid. Enjoyed meeting him and his friend in POC for what little time I was there. You too Paul. :lol: :wink: J/K amigo.

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Sun Nov 13, 2011 5:22 pm
by Prarie Dog
We got a little done on the GF12 this weekend, we tabbed in the frames Saturday afternoon and cut them out this morning.
Here's a pic ot T standing on the sole with a box for sort of a CC mockup.
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We took it off the table to weigh it and SWMBO took a pic of the transom with the BB Dawg posing.
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A pic of it stood up on its nose. The reason we wanted to take it off the table was to weigh it. The scale reader, on the right, said it weighed 140lbs.
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A shot of the decks and sole fitted in place. We have some gaps on the sides of the sole that will require us to use some wide cleats and epoxy and woodlour to fill the gap.
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Re: T's GF12

Posted: Sun Nov 13, 2011 5:25 pm
by gstanfield
Pretty nifty GF13 :wink:

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Mon Nov 14, 2011 2:58 pm
by Prarie Dog
Thanks George, we're having fun with it. :D

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Mon Nov 14, 2011 8:08 pm
by wegcagle
I like the pic of the GF13 on its nose. You know you've got a STRONG and LIGHT boat when you can do that with 2 people 8)
Nice work.

Will

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Tue Nov 15, 2011 10:00 am
by Cracker Larry
The boat looks great! Sure wish I had a shop that big 8) Love the boat building dog too. It's hard to build a boat without a dog.

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Tue Nov 15, 2011 10:40 am
by Prarie Dog
wegcagle wrote:I like the pic of the GF13 on its nose. You know you've got a STRONG and LIGHT boat when you can do that with 2 people 8)
Nice work.

Will
Thanks Will, we were surprised a little at the weight, was guessing 120.
Cracker Larry wrote:The boat looks great! Sure wish I had a shop that big 8) Love the boat building dog too. It's hard to build a boat without a dog.
Thanks Larry, she's coming along good, we like the dog pretty good too, he's a card--likes getting his picture taken.

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Thu Nov 17, 2011 10:37 pm
by timoub007
PD,

I've been busy killing deer, so sorry I have been offline again.

I put my caliper on the threaded portion of the fitting and think it will work just fine for you. Shoot me an address and we'll work something out. toubre "at" gt "dot" rr "dot" com

T

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Fri Nov 18, 2011 11:48 am
by Prarie Dog
Tim
Email sent. :D

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Mon Nov 28, 2011 2:26 pm
by Prarie Dog
Well, we took T to a hockey tournament in Phoenix, Thanksgiving weekend. While we were there, we went to see Larry B's "Tequila Sunrise" :D , nah, Arizona Sunset, which BTW is an inspirational build and saw a Cabelas on the way. T insisted that we stop there on the way back to our Hotel and lo and behold we found a Yamaha F20 ESR in the bargain cave. It was heavily discounted so we bought it. (they still have two of these motors in stock) :doh:. When we got home last night SWMBO helped me set it on the Mini Muncher. I think you guys will agree that it looks like it belongs there. :)

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Re: T's GF12

Posted: Mon Nov 28, 2011 3:26 pm
by Mad Dog
Congrats on the great find. Sometimes it pays to be lucky. The engine looks good on the hull but you're going to need a jackplate. The cave plate lines up with the original bottom but is a bit low to take advantage of the tunnel.

MD :wink:

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Mon Nov 28, 2011 3:33 pm
by Prarie Dog
Mad Dog wrote:The cave plate lines up with the original bottom but is a bit low to take advantage of the tunnel.
You hit the nail on the head Mad Dog. Does anyone have a suggestion on what kind of jackplate and where to get it. I know Joel sells Bobs but I wanted to use something that didn't have a seperate pump. I'm also open to suggestions on how much clearence it should have around the planer fin, between it and the sponsons and also, should it have a hydrofoil that blocks the flow off the top of the tunnel and where could I get one of those? :doh:

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Mon Nov 28, 2011 4:31 pm
by hockey52
Good thing the boys didn't take their golf clubs to Phoenix, don't think we would've had room to bring everything home. 8O :help: Might've had to leave T and his hockey gear behind to catch a ride with one of the other families. :lol:

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Mon Nov 28, 2011 4:38 pm
by Cracker Larry
I don't think you'll need a hydraulic jackplate, just a manual one that you can set for optimum performance with some trial and error, and then forget. After all, it is a GF12, not a high performance hull. My friend Raymond builds some real nice low hp manually adjusted jack plates for micro-skiffs and such. He will be building mine for the FS18.

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Mon Nov 28, 2011 5:13 pm
by Prarie Dog
hockey52 wrote:Good thing the boys didn't take their golf clubs to Phoenix,
That's no joke, we would have been playing golf and NOT found that motor, not to mention get a look at Larry B's ride.
Cracker Larry wrote:I don't think you'll need a hydraulic jackplate, just a manual one that you can set for optimum performance with some trial and error, and then forget. After all, it is a GF12, not a high performance hull. My friend Raymond builds some real nice low hp manually adjusted jack plates for micro-skiffs and such. He will be building mine for the FS18.
Thanks Larry, T wanted me to get Raymond to build a poling platform for this rig may have to do both. He's also talking about having a display like Uncle Davids, but he's going to have to do without that. :D

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Mon Nov 28, 2011 8:45 pm
by timoub007
If you want to go with a hydraulic unit, this is one of the newest for this type of application:
http://www.boatownersworld.com/thmarine ... jacker.htm

It is half the weight of the Panther I have on my GF-16T, but mine is rated for 300 hp. I got a good deal on it so I couldn't pass it up. Couple that with the heavy outboard I bought and I have a weight problem. Ha ha

I may sell the one I have and get one of these when I finish my FS-14 in a couple of years.

For reference, I think my prop shaft is about even with the bottom of my hull (give or take an inch).

I would recommend raising the transom up like I did on my GF. You can start w/o a jack plate that way and if you're thinking about going with a manual anyway, this will save money and weight.

For a cavitation plate, all you need is a little plate aluminum. Just cut out for the lower unit and trim around the edges. Knock the sharp edge off with a file and maybe bend up the front end a bit. You may not need one at all with the sponsons.

Speaking of, since you've got it hanging on the transom just take some measurements at full lock on each side to see how much room you need to turn it. Mark these on the transom so you can draw out the sponsons.

I'll get the fitting in the mail in the next day or two.

Tim

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Wed Nov 30, 2011 8:55 pm
by JohnC
Hey Paul and T,
Let me get this straight, you went to see a hockey game in the desert and bought an outboard? :doh: This BBV sure has some strange side effects! :D :wink: BTW, how was the hockey? As the Phoenix Coyotes will tell you its "The Coolest Game In The Desert".
John

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Wed Nov 30, 2011 10:31 pm
by Prarie Dog
JohnC wrote:Hey Paul and T,
Let me get this straight, you went to see a hockey game in the desert and bought an outboard? :doh: This BBV sure has some strange side effects! :D :wink: BTW, how was the hockey? As the Phoenix Coyotes will tell you its "The Coolest Game In The Desert".
John
You got it John, we went to the desert to watch a bunch of hockey games and bought an outboard too. :doh: The hockey was great! T's team prevailed in the Championship game winning 7 to 2. T got the first goal ripping a slapper from the right point, it tipped off a defensmans stick and knuckled over the goalie and in. He's still pretty stoked about the tournament, the motor, well it's just an outboard. :D

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Fri Dec 02, 2011 2:52 pm
by JohnC
Hey Paul and T,
That Yamaha looks great! :D Ya might wanna finish the boat first though 8O . BTW, I think I found a good deal on a Yamaha 2.5 for the FL14. Glad T did well at the hockey tournament.
John

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Sat Dec 10, 2011 8:37 pm
by Prarie Dog
JohnC wrote:That Yamaha looks great!
Thanks John.

We made a little progress on the Muncher today. Made some decisions about how to cut out the sponsons and did so and then made the sides and the rear pieces and got them glued, we then glued on the rubrails. You guys may notice the boat is in a different shop, it is, we had to move it from the big shop into the small garage next door so we could heat our work area, winter has arrived in South Colorado. Here's some porn.
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Re: T's GF12

Posted: Sat Dec 10, 2011 8:46 pm
by gstanfield
well it's about time you made some progress! :wink:

Looking good :D

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Sun Dec 11, 2011 10:00 am
by Aripeka Angler
The boat is looking nice PD 8) T will be ready to float that puppy before the pond thaws out.
BTW, glad you like your new tool! Mirka sure makes a fine finishing sander. Tough to wear one out too :wink:

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Sun Dec 11, 2011 10:31 am
by Larry B
PD, glad to hear you found a motor. Did you find it in Phoenix?? If it was a deal you found the only deal this year for outboards in Phoenix, these people think they are made out of gold :doh:
Btw, boat is looking great. It's good you found heat up there :wink:

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Sun Dec 11, 2011 6:40 pm
by Prarie Dog
Aripeka Angler wrote:The boat is looking nice PD
Thanks Richard, we're having fun with it.

:D
Aripeka Angler wrote:T will be ready to float that puppy before the pond thaws out.
Don't know about that, but it is progressing real well, we were talking yesterday and figured out that, as of yesterday evening we had parts of 8 days in it. Two of those are half days, with three guys working.
Larry B wrote:PD, glad to hear you found a motor. Did you find it in Phoenix?? If it was a deal you found the only deal this year for outboards in Phoenix, these people think they are made out of gold :doh:
Btw, boat is looking great. It's good you found heat up there :wink:
Larry, believe it or not we found three of those F20ESR's in the Bargain Cave at Cabelas. The salesman says that it was some kind of screw up they were shipped there. :doh: They were discounted $700 bucks from their regular price. So in the future I'll say if your looking for an oddball outboard look in Phoenix. :lol: Thanks for the positive comments on the build!!

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Sun Dec 11, 2011 7:47 pm
by Larry B
PD, did you buy all three of them :help:

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Sun Dec 11, 2011 7:51 pm
by hockey52
No room in the car for 3 of them and I had the credit card. :lol:

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Mon Dec 19, 2011 12:09 am
by Prarie Dog
We built a small console for the Muncher today. Looking at it in the boat it looks kinda BIG, it passes the bucket test, when viewing the pics remember it's sitting up about an inch and a half because of some clamps on the base. What do Yall think :?:
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Re: T's GF12

Posted: Mon Dec 19, 2011 9:12 am
by Dougster
Maybe it does look just a little big to me PDog :doh: When it drops down the inch and a half I bet that helps. Maybe take another inch and a half off the width? How does it look when you back of 20 feet or so?

Watchin' you go Dougster

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Tue Dec 20, 2011 8:41 am
by JohnC
Hey Paul and T,
What type of helm chair are you planning on using? My concern would be getting the CG too high while operating the boat, other than that the console looks good! :D
John

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Tue Dec 20, 2011 12:33 pm
by AdamG
This thread gives me some ideas for restoring my old GF12....I always wanted to set it up with a small remote setup and a 15hp. Never thought of the sponsons, but that is a great idea, along with the pocket. with a light load, it would run really shallow.

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Tue Dec 20, 2011 2:25 pm
by Prarie Dog
Dougster wrote:Maybe it does look just a little big to me PDog :doh: When it drops down the inch and a half I bet that helps. Maybe take another inch and a half off the width? How does it look when you back of 20 feet or so?

Watchin' you go Dougster
Thanks for the comments Dougster, thinking we'll take the clamps off, put it flat on the sole and wheel it outside and look at it.
JohnC wrote:Hey Paul and T,
What type of helm chair are you planning on using? My concern would be getting the CG too high while operating the boat, other than that the console looks good! :D
John
Thanks John, The helm seat will be a 100 quart igloo with a cushion top on it. Was thinking about a Yeti till I priced 'em. :help:

Adam, hoping to give you a ride on it at next summers meet. We'll see how it goes.

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Wed Dec 21, 2011 8:37 am
by bernd1
.....for me the CC looks really big - in my opinion too big.

The proportion boat CC does not fit. I would install a much smaller CC - as small as possible - but take a look that you could work easy with the steering/ remote control.

I read somewhere that the smallest steering wheel has a diameter of 30cm -that would be my choice.

Keep everything in proportion - you win also space between the CC and the sides to walk through.
Just ask yourself why such a big CC. You just have to install the steering wheel, remote control, fishfinder...maybe navigation lights.

Play with cardboard to create a smaller CC.

Overall, a really nice looking boat - you did a good job :wink:

I played with some left over material: pvc pipe, cardboard, pipe insulation, duct tape ...I created a steering wheel with pipe insulation and small pcv pipes sticked together with hot glue..just to have a idea how it looks.
My idea is to install a CC in my GF16 with as much space as possible.

The pipes at the sides and at the top could be made from stainless steel or from carbon/glass with a "pool noodel" inside (Mybe this works in the same way as shine supported the poling platform on his FS17)

At the moment my CC looks too tall....cutting pvc pipes is easy :lol:

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Bye
Bernd

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Wed Dec 21, 2011 2:31 pm
by Prarie Dog
Thanks for the opinions guys. I don't think I posted the dimensions on the console. It is 32" tall and 24" wide. Our thinking is to have the steering wheel at 32 to 34" so that no one would have to stoop to drive it standing up. It will be more comfy to drive sitting down. The angles I took the pics from make the console look bigger than it really is except for the back view. Those of you that are photographers understand how this works.

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Thu Dec 22, 2011 12:26 am
by AdamG
You want your console sturdy. If it gets rough out there, or you hit something underwater, that console is going to be what the driver, and perhaps others, are hanging on or slamming into.

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Thu Dec 22, 2011 4:44 am
by bernd1
Adam,

the idea of my CC is no new idea - it is just a kind of copy some inflatable boats have.
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Bye
Bernd

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Thu Dec 22, 2011 11:54 am
by AdamG
I know, I've seen similar ones. I was offering an opinion based on experience that sturdiness is a factor in rough conditions. I'm sure that it is possible to make a sturdy frame console.

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Sat Dec 24, 2011 5:53 pm
by Prarie Dog
Thanks for the ideas guys.

Had another question on the sponsons. I know sponsons aren't standard on these boats so we're kind of winging it. We're fixing to glue the tops on the sponsons after having taped the seams this morning. We plan on putting a cleat on the transom to make a good bonding area there but wondered if we need to put cleats all the way around the top of them before gluing the top on. Here's a pic of the sponson and the cleat, we plan on taping the top down to the sides and back and wondered if that's enough or is it nescessary to cleat it all the way around.

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Re: T's GF12

Posted: Sat Dec 24, 2011 6:27 pm
by gstanfield
I'd make them as strong as possible because someone, someday is going to use that as a step :wink:

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Sat Dec 24, 2011 6:58 pm
by JohnC
Ditto what George said, refer to the previously mentioned "bucket test" :D
John

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Sun Dec 25, 2011 4:56 am
by bernd1
George, John....I agree. Nice steps :lol:

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Sun Dec 25, 2011 6:32 am
by thb
Looks like they would make nice little diving platforms to get in and out of the boat with. Cleats on mating surface of top all around are not going to do much for the bending moment they will get from 200+ lb person standing on them. Would help with the support of the top surface so I would probably add them. Diagonal cleats along the sides would help with bending moments. Are you planning on filling them with floatation foam to keep water out?
Great looking project.
Regards
Tom in Steinhatchee :)

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Sun Dec 25, 2011 10:02 am
by bernd1
....In my opinion...foam in it.
Cleats around...yes.

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Mon Dec 26, 2011 9:30 pm
by Prarie Dog
Thanks for the suggestions on the sponsons. If they're left hollow will water accumulate in them? I suppose they will accumulate condensate, I had planned on putting a small plug in the back of each one. I have one foam kit that I planned on using under the sole to help support it, it's quarter ply.

We managed to cut the floor and back of the baitwell. It's under the seat on the front of the console, we cut the holes for the fill and drain and trial assembled these pieces in the well.

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Re: T's GF12

Posted: Tue Dec 27, 2011 10:05 am
by gk108
Thanks for the suggestions on the sponsons. If they're left hollow will water accumulate in them? I suppose they will accumulate condensate, I had planned on putting a small plug in the back of each one.
If they are sealed, the only condensation that collects will be from the 1 cu. ft or so of air trapped in them. Seal them when the humidity is low and that won't be enough to matter. Rather than putting a small plug in each one, I'd seal them up and put a 4" deck plate on top, similar to the way it's done on expensive outboard brackets. That gives you room to inspect, fix or dry out the inside in case of problems.

If you want to go with foam, I'd suggest filling them and trimming off the muffin top before putting the top on. 8)

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Tue Dec 27, 2011 10:16 am
by Mad Dog
I would save the foam for the sole and put screw lid inspection ports in the top of the sponsons. That leaves all your options open.

MD :wink:

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Tue Dec 27, 2011 10:23 am
by gk108
Oh yeah, I almost forgot, get the fully threaded type of inspection port cover. There are ¼ turn bayonet thread types available, but on a sealed compartment you need the threads to break the seal on the lid. I learned this the hard way after using them on my Cheapie. :wink:

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Sat Dec 31, 2011 10:12 pm
by Prarie Dog
Thanks for the tips guys. We're thinking we have enough foam to fill them and do what we need under the sole too. The inspection plates are a good idea also. :doh:
We had a whole day today and four guys ready to go so we got going this morning and moved it back in the big bay, flipped it and radiused all the corners to tape them. We hadn't seen the bottom with the tunnel and the sponsons and were pretty stoked at how it looks. Let me know what ya'll think.

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We also cut a hole through the ply down to the glass on the inside so we could fill with glass and epoxy for our shoot thru the hull transducer setup. Here's a pic of T fitting glass circles to fill the hole.

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We then rolled her back in the small (heated) workshop and fit glass and cut tape. We taped all the seams tonight and will glass it tomorrow.

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Re: T's GF12

Posted: Sat Dec 31, 2011 10:38 pm
by gstanfield
wow, that's a lot of progress for a day :D

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Sat Dec 31, 2011 10:47 pm
by Prarie Dog
Thanks G, Happy New Year!

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Sun Jan 01, 2012 12:06 am
by Cracker Larry
It looks great, Paul. Can't wait to see how it it works.

Happy New Year to all :!:

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Sun Jan 01, 2012 12:59 am
by Prarie Dog
Thanks Larry, we cant wait to run it to find out. Happy New Year :D

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Sun Jan 01, 2012 1:18 am
by Aripeka Angler
Sweet :!: Y'all are doing great job. It's also way cool that T is doing a lot of the work 8)

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Sun Jan 01, 2012 1:22 am
by Prarie Dog
Thanks Richard, T's focus wanders a bit but we're working on keeping it there. Happy New Year.

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Sun Jan 01, 2012 7:42 am
by Uncle D
Awesome job Paul. Nice to have help.

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Sun Jan 01, 2012 8:06 pm
by Prarie Dog
Thanks Uncle D, it is nice to have help. :)

We glassed the bottom today, This hull is complicated at the back and we had some loose ends at the back that don't completely cover the transom. We decided to do it like this, then after putting the tops on the sponsons fitting a solid piece to cover the transom. Couldn't figure out a better way.

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This is a shot of a sunspot, no it's the transducer spot glassed in place, SWMBO took the pic laying on the floor while I held a flashlight shining thru the hull from the top, it's surprisingly clear.

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Re: T's GF12

Posted: Wed Jan 04, 2012 12:17 am
by Prarie Dog
Had a nasty discovery tonight on the glass job. We have about three feet of air bubbles on the chines. Some of these bubbles are two or three inches long. We saw them when we were glassing the hull and thought we had them squeeged out but they're still there. We were having trouble getting the glass to wet out because the epoxy was cold. It was in the house Saturday night in the laundry room sitting on the floor across from the return air duct for the furnace. I don't know for sure but it must have been in the high 40's when were trying to work with it. I think we should have warmed it some before trying to work with it because it was real thick. It seemed like the film strength was too strong to allow air to escape. It's nice working epoxy when it's not trying to kick real fast but apparantly there are some drawbacks. :(

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Wed Jan 04, 2012 7:55 pm
by TRC886
:( :(
Will you be able to drill holes and use a syringe to fill them with epoxy, or will you have to grind them out and re-do them :?:

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Wed Jan 04, 2012 9:01 pm
by Prarie Dog
Looks like I'm going to have to grind them out, some of them are probably a half inch across and an inch long along the chine. Thinking we'll sand the heck out of the chine then lay a piece of tape full length, it sucks, but it is what it is. :(

For those of you that dream of moving to Colorado, let me share some facts with you. I live at appx 5k feet on the front range of the rockies. It is high desert at the foot of the mountains. In August of 2010 when we were building the GF18 it was over 100 degrees in the shop with less than 10% humidity. You could use slow hardener and it would sometimes kick within a few minutes of mixing, ditto using quickfair. Now, four months later it gets down to about 10 at night and sometimes up in the sixties during the day. The ground is mostly frozen, so if you set a jug of epoxy on the shop floor, in a few hours it's molasses, and not Seth's good stuff. We're going to have to use our heads to build boats year-round here. :doh:

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Sun Jan 08, 2012 8:06 am
by hockey52
What is it about going to hockey and bringing home boat stuff? :doh: :roll:

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Sun Jan 08, 2012 2:07 pm
by AussieBoater
hockey52 wrote:What is it about going to hockey and bringing home boat stuff? :doh: :roll:
You have been sprung Paul... You have to hide the boat stuff for a while and then act dumb when it's found...

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Sun Jan 08, 2012 8:00 pm
by Prarie Dog
AussieBoater wrote:You have been sprung Paul... You have to hide the boat stuff for a while and then act dumb when it's found
She was in the showroom shopping for a new ride when I bought a few parts. Kinda interesting how things work out. I shopped for this stuff from a boat shop in Texas and was quoted retail prices for it. The place here in town is difficult to deal with, can't speak with anyone that has a clue etc.. So we were in Denver for a hockey game and found a store called Great Lakes Marine that had a parts guy that had a clue and had most of what I needed in stock. Wasn't any cheaper than the place in Texas but didn't have to pay freight. :D
Also stopped by the woodworking shop and found some Forstner bits at a fairly good price.

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Re: T's GF12

Posted: Sun Jan 08, 2012 8:14 pm
by Cracker Larry
She was in the showroom shopping for a new ride
Did she buy a new ride at the hockey game too 8O

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Sun Jan 08, 2012 8:19 pm
by Prarie Dog
No, she did find one she liked cause it had a potty. :) After telling me that she said if someone other than a smurf tried to use it they would have to be soaped to get out of there. :lol:

Her comments are purely entertainment, she likes fishing and fishing boats but the next one has to have a real potty on it. 8O

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Sun Jan 15, 2012 9:19 pm
by Prarie Dog
Had a question for you guys. I took one of the pics of the back of the hull and used paint to put lines on it that are pretty close to where we were thinking of putting strakes on this boat. Having said that I'm not sure they're needed because of the tunnel but I do have a flatbottomed boat with two strakes on it that tracks a bit weak so we think this one should have them too. There are several criteria that need to be addressed, the tunnel needs to draw water from as much of the hull bottom as possible and the thru hull sensor needs to have undisturbed water too. I don't know if they will be enough to have it track okay or even for sure if they need to be on there. What do ya'll think?

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Re: T's GF12

Posted: Sun Jan 15, 2012 10:52 pm
by Cracker Larry
Paul, I'm not sure the best place to put them with the mods you've made, but I do think you'll need strakes and/or a skeg to keep it tracking in a turn. On a standard GF, 2 runners 8' long are required for longitudinal structural purpose and also needed for tracking, but with yours having a sole and stringers ,they probably are not necessary for structural support. Where you have them drawn is probably as good as any other choice you have. Tell T he just has to slow down in a turn :wink:

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Sun Jan 15, 2012 11:21 pm
by Prarie Dog
Thanks Larry, Grandpa figured the location and I can't disagree with him or you. What shape do you guys think they should have? I like the looks of the strakes Ken Owens put on the Phantom last year but don't have access to any of that high density foam. I can get Douglass Fir and just glue them on. If I glass them down they will need to have a radius which probably reduces how effective they are. Do you guys think they should be rounded and tabbed down or made sharp, glued on and considered sacrificial?

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Sun Jan 15, 2012 11:38 pm
by Cracker Larry
Do you guys think they should be rounded and tabbed down or made sharp, glued on and considered sacrificial?
In my opinion, the only things sacrificial on a boat should be the beer, ice, bait, food and a reasonable amount of tackle. And the sacrificial zincs. Plus the occasional odd crew member :help: If you're going to build anything on the bottom of the boat, build it permanent. Once the boat is built out and rigged, flipping again to replace something is almost an impossibility. Zincs are sacrificial. Strakes are not.

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Mon Jan 16, 2012 7:47 am
by TRC886
Move them forward, stopping them a foot or so ahead of the tunnel :!:

Boats steer from the back end, like a combine or a forklift. I don't want anything behind the motor that tries to keep the boat tracking straight :!:

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Mon Jan 16, 2012 10:59 am
by Uncle D
Paul, I think you will have to keep them as shown unless you move the transponder location. That said I used an 8 ft. 1 1/2" x 1 1/2" alum angle from the box store, applied release, a layer of cloth then mixed epoxy, milled fibers, silica and I laid in a length of 1/4 round in the middle so I wouldn't use so much epoxy. If you are going to use graphite on the bottom then I'd mix it in also. I forgot to do that on mine.Then I glued them down.

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Before

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After

Oh, plus I have a reverse chine that should help too.

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Sat Jan 21, 2012 10:43 pm
by Prarie Dog
TRC, think we may take your advice, we're still thinking about it.

Got some work done today, we ground out bubbles on the chine, in the morning we'll mix some woodflour and epoxy up and fill the holes and add a layer of tape on the chine. We glued the tops on the sponsons and taped those corners then we glassed the transom. We have some sanding to do then fairing.

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Re: T's GF12

Posted: Sun Jan 22, 2012 8:57 am
by topwater
Prarie dog not to change the subject but i noticed the defence long pole lacrosse stick in the corner of the shop.
My son also plays defence and will be playing at the denver shootout tournament this summer and was wondering
if you will also be there.

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Sun Jan 22, 2012 5:22 pm
by Prarie Dog
Topwater, T played Lacrosse for three years and decided to play baseball instead. That D stick makes a good pole to put a roll of 12 oz. on.

Hope you guys have fun at the tournament, it's usually held at Dick's sports complex, pretty good setup. :D

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Wed Jan 25, 2012 2:03 am
by flyfishingmonk
PD - are you needing a form for some strakes? Somebody told me you might but I don't know what good it will do you way down here in Dallas. However, I have it if you want it. Or I can tell you how I made it. It was pretty easy.

Casey

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Wed Jan 25, 2012 3:07 pm
by Prarie Dog
Casey, appreciate the offer, I stopped by Fastenal the other night and, thinking about the tab, must have bought out the store. We got home with some alluminum angle to use for a form. I understand they can be lined with box tape to keep the epoxy from adhering. I had a 30 minute running argument with my cobuilder about why we couldn't just screw those angles to the bottom of the boat, "it would look real cool, Dad". :D

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Wed Jan 25, 2012 4:49 pm
by flyfishingmonk
Awesome! Hey, the more cool stuff you can bolt on the better! :lol:

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Sat Jan 28, 2012 9:11 pm
by hockey52
So here we go again. Off to Boulder for a hockey game and coming back with boat stuff. :roll: Maybe I should drive? :wink: And we have to go back! Couldn't bring back everything they bought! :help:

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Sat Jan 28, 2012 10:31 pm
by Prarie Dog
:D

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Sun Jan 29, 2012 9:40 am
by JohnC
I never realized hockey was such an expensive sport!? :D
John

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Sun Jan 29, 2012 11:03 am
by flyfishingmonk
Try getting addicted to salt water fly fishing. You'll burn through $5,000 with your eyes closed. =\

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Sun Feb 05, 2012 9:28 pm
by Prarie Dog
We got a little bit done this weekend did some fairing and worked on the console a little bit. I have a couple of pics of the console and had a few questions. Does the gauge layout in pic one look good? In this arrangement the gauges would go in the opening between the binnacle and the steering wheel with the tach in the middle, the water pressure gauge on the left and the fuel level gauge on the right. Any thoughts or ideas would be appreciated!!

Image

In this second pic we're fitting the glass to cover the console, does this look correct or not? Thanks for any and all comments. :)

Image

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Sun Feb 05, 2012 10:06 pm
by Cracker Larry
The gauge layout looks fine. I would tape the seams on the console first. Build it just like the boat.

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Sun Feb 05, 2012 10:15 pm
by Prarie Dog
Thanks Larry.

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Mon Feb 06, 2012 10:17 am
by Uncle D
Just wondering Paul but is the console a little low for T the way he's bent over while standing? :doh: I'm guessing he's still growing too.

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Mon Feb 06, 2012 11:34 am
by Prarie Dog
Uncle D, it is built low on purpose. Charles pointed out that, for safety reasons, this boat should be driven while seated because it's narrow and has a flat bottom. If the console is low you pretty much have too. If I'm standing I have to stoop a bit to steer but for around the ramp or dock that's fine. :)

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Mon Feb 06, 2012 12:54 pm
by Doc_Dyer
Prarie Dog wrote: Any thoughts or ideas would be appreciated!!
if the steering wheel blocks the view of the water pressure gauge, I would switch with the fuel gauge
I would want the water pressure gauge to be the most visible :wink:

just a thought

Bradley

oh, looks great by the way 8)

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Mon Feb 06, 2012 2:28 pm
by Prarie Dog
Doc_Dyer wrote:if the steering wheel blocks the view of the water pressure gauge, I would switch with the fuel gauge
I would want the water pressure gauge to be the most visible
Good catch Doc, we'll switch the water pressure and fuel gauges. Just looked at that pic again, think T might be stooped over like that 'cause he poked himself in the, ugh boys. :lol:

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Sun Feb 26, 2012 12:11 am
by Prarie Dog
We rolled her outside this morning and did a round of sanding before another round of fairing. While it was outside I took a few pics that give a good view of the hull. It's hard to take good pics with it in the shop.

Image

Image

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Mon Feb 27, 2012 9:36 pm
by Doc_Dyer
looks great,
a bit deceiving but it looks warm :wink:

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Mon Feb 27, 2012 10:31 pm
by Prarie Dog
Doc_Dyer wrote:looks great,
a bit deceiving but it looks warm :wink:
Thanks Doc, it was in the low 60's when it was out there, nice but windy. :)

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Tue Feb 28, 2012 9:12 am
by Mad Dog
Looking good Paul! Let the sanding continue...

MD :wink:

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Thu Mar 01, 2012 12:32 am
by Prarie Dog
Thanks Mad Dog, we have plenty of sanding to do although the Mirka makes short work of it.

Today Mr Prudhome went to Denver and picked up our trailer. A few months ago I was searching for a Yamaha dealer that had a clue and found one in Littleton (south Denver). This particular store is a Boston Whaler dealer, among others, and a Yamaha dealer, the guys were real helpful with stuff for rigging and had this trailer sitting out back. Seems they have the contract to supply to our local DOW and have a bunch of their boats in the shop for work, new ones for rigging etc. Several months ago they supplied some sort of shallow water flat bottomed boat for use by the enforcement guys during duck season. The boat was delivered with this trailer but the trailer didn't fit the specs the state had provided. They want a steel trailer painted in the appropriate colors and didn't like this fancy alluminum trailer. I got a deal on this baby I still can't believe, the only drawback is it's about a foot wider than necessary but we don't think 6" on each side will look too bad. What do ya'll think?

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Re: T's GF12

Posted: Thu Mar 01, 2012 1:32 am
by cali123
It looks like a keeper to me.

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Thu Mar 01, 2012 2:23 am
by flyfishingmonk
Very cool.

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Thu Mar 01, 2012 9:05 am
by Mad Dog
Paul, just use the extra width to add some guide posts and you're all set. :D Looks like that trailer might be able to make the trip from Colorado Springs to Sargent. :P

MD :wink:

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Thu Mar 01, 2012 9:15 am
by Cracker Larry
I'd take it off your hands, if you don't like it :D

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Thu Mar 01, 2012 9:28 am
by Prarie Dog
Thanks Guys, Mad Dog it has guide posts that are stowed tied to the frame and 13" wheels so it'll handle North Texas in July at 80. The cool thing about this trailer is all the stuff on it, foldaway tongue, spare tire mount, guide poles, torsion axle. It's a nicely equipped trailer bought cheap. :D

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Sat Mar 03, 2012 8:38 pm
by Prarie Dog
Well guys, we were going to sand this morning and had to fix a sewer line. It's really funny how much of this stuff comes up when you're trying to work on a boat. :(

Image

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Sat Mar 03, 2012 9:23 pm
by hockey52
The worst part was the darn wind chill! :help:

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Sat Mar 03, 2012 11:08 pm
by gstanfield
you ain't kidding Lady! Up here the temp was pretty nice, mid 30's for a high today but the wind was ripping through at 30+ sustained with gusts to 50+ :help:

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Sun Mar 04, 2012 1:45 am
by cali123
Life and weather does seem to get in the way of boat building . Bummer. I had to replace a water main in the middle of my build. :help:

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Sun Mar 04, 2012 9:53 am
by Prarie Dog
You got it Cali, during my Gf18 build lightning struck the main power line to the workshop and barn. There we were, trying to glass something and the lights won't come on etc.. We had to dig the whole thing up and replace it.

I shouldn't complain, in the pic the slight older guy is Mr Prudhomme. I told him yesterday that this was going to have to be done this weekend so Instead of taking a day off he showed up this morning with a pick and shovel, extra gloves etc. so we could get this done and get on to boat building. Another friend showed up right after we started digging and commented that it looked pretty hard, then asked "do you want a backhoe?". I asked him "do I look stupid? Hell yes I want a backhoe, do you have one?" He called another guy that showed up in just a few minutes with a hoe, just cost us a few hours, what a deal. The backhoe guy asked for fifty bucks when I offered to pay him. :D

The ground up here frost heaves and sometimes sewer lines will settle out and get a bow in them, we had about a 6 incher about 5 feet from the tank. A water line did this right up the street a few years ago in the middle of the night in subzeero temps, it unplugged a joint because the ground heaved. I felt sorry for those poor guys wading in that mess in -10 temps. They looked like they had it handled so I stayed in the house and watched 'em. :D

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Sun Mar 04, 2012 12:13 pm
by cali123
We can all be thankful for good friends and backhoes . Good deal. 8)

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Sun Mar 04, 2012 10:21 pm
by Prarie Dog
We have managed to get a bit done on T's GF. We squared the chine and have made a few passes at fairing. I'm trying out a product that is a roll on fairing compound, not sure if we like it or not. We're getting real close to primer hope to do that in a few weeks.

Image

Image

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Sun Mar 04, 2012 11:14 pm
by Prarie Dog
We got our fuel tank in for the T's GF it's a cute little tank, a one foot cube, they say it holds 7 gallons.

Image

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Sun Mar 04, 2012 11:25 pm
by Cracker Larry
I've never seen a red one. What brand is it?
a one foot cube, they say it holds 7 gallons.
1 ft³ = 7.48051 gal. Probably 6.5 useable. That will take that boat a long ways 8)

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Sun Mar 04, 2012 11:27 pm
by Prarie Dog
Larry, it's a Moeller tank that is listed in their catalog under OE tanks. They call it a test tank but it can be permanently installed.

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Mon Mar 05, 2012 6:25 pm
by TRC886
I've just realized, this thread title is wrong 8O It should be GF12-ST (Sponsons & Tunnel) :P

It looks like you're coming along nicely on it. What did you decide to do about the strakes?
I shouldn't complain, in the pic the slight older guy is Mr Prudhomme. I told him yesterday that this was going to have to be done this weekend so Instead of taking a day off he showed up this morning with a pick and shovel, extra gloves etc. so we could get this done and get on to boat building. Another friend showed up right after we started digging and commented that it looked pretty hard, then asked "do you want a backhoe?". I asked him "do I look stupid? Hell yes I want a backhoe, do you have one?" He called another guy that showed up in just a few minutes with a hoe, just cost us a few hours, what a deal. The backhoe guy asked for fifty bucks when I offered to pay him.
Neighbor helping neighbor, that's the way America is supposed to work and what made it so great! And if the government inspector happened to stop by, the best thing to do is just send him on down the road. It ain't none of his business what you're doing :!:

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Mon Mar 05, 2012 11:03 pm
by Prarie Dog
TRC, this is what we decided to do on the strakes, they're small, 3/4" tall and about the same width, the outer faces are vertical and the inner faces are appx. 45 degrees. Don't know how this'll work but the whole thing is an experiment. :D

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Re: T's GF12

Posted: Sun Mar 18, 2012 8:24 pm
by Prarie Dog
Took a little time today and put the Muncher on our new trailer. It's pretty close, the bunks are too tall and the bow stop is a bit low. We pulled the bunks and ripped 4" off of the top of them, think it'll fit better now.

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Another good example of the beauty of this method. When we first cut the frames the top of the rear frame was notched out so that the rear deck sat about 3" below the gunwale tops. We decided to put a flush deck on the back of the boat and had to fill the notch. Couldn't find the peice we cut out of it but we did have a scrap we cut a filler out of, a little glue some tape and epoxy and it'll be good to go.

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Re: T's GF12

Posted: Sun Mar 25, 2012 8:53 pm
by Prarie Dog
Got a few good licks in this weekend. We put cleats in for the sole and built a partition for the anchor locker. We also had a question about leaning post's. Does anybody have an opinion on having one with a removable back or a fixed back or no back. Larry's friend, Raymond, asked me which would we prefer and I don't have a clue. Any and all suggestions gratefully recieved.
Cleatage.

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A look at the tunnel with the motor in place. I told Raymond that we wanted a jackplate that would raise the motor six inches. After hanging the motor on there the propshaft is only two inches below the bottom of the boat. I tried to take the pic level but didn't do very well. Anybody have an idea about how much it should be raised for a starting point. Raymond's jackplates are adjustable but I don't know how much it should be raised initially and how much range to ask for.

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A different angle of the motor and tunnel.

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Re: T's GF12

Posted: Sun Mar 25, 2012 9:30 pm
by Larry B
looking real nice there Prarie Dog :D

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Sun Mar 25, 2012 9:39 pm
by peter-curacao
Larry B wrote:looking real nice there Prarie Dog :D
You really think so?

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Mon Mar 26, 2012 12:09 am
by Prarie Dog
Larry B wrote:looking real nice there Prarie Dog :D
Thanks Larry, we're getting there, working only on the weekends makes it go slow but it's coming along nicely.
peter-curacao wrote:
Larry B wrote:looking real nice there Prarie Dog :D
You really think so?
Thanks, Peter.

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Mon Mar 26, 2012 11:11 am
by Uncle D
Prarie Dog wrote:Raymond's jackplates are adjustable but I don't know how much it should be raised initially and how much range to ask for.
Image

Paul, you guys have it looking good. It looks to me that the tunnel might be a tad small for the prop size but that could the pic. But you might have to run the motor a little lower to keep it from cavitating , then just raise it from there.. I'm just guessing here so don't hold me to it.

I don't even know where I'll need to run mine once I get it in the water but I'll have to get a hydraulic JP anyways.

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Mon Mar 26, 2012 12:15 pm
by Cracker Larry
That's probably a good starting point and about where I ran it on my GF16 without a tunnel. I think I'd mount it where the lowest position puts the anti-vent plate just below even with the bottom.

I think you'd want 5 or 6" of adjustment range. Since you are the innovator of this design, you're just going to have to use trial and error. Anything else would just be a guess :lol: Does that engine mount allow different height adjustments also, or will you only have the jack plate to make adjustments with?

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Mon Mar 26, 2012 2:34 pm
by Prarie Dog
Uncle D wrote:Paul, you guys have it looking good. It looks to me that the tunnel might be a tad small for the prop size but that could the pic. But you might have to run the motor a little lower to keep it from cavitating , then just raise it from there.. I'm just guessing here so don't hold me to it.
Thanks Uncle D, the tunnel is almost exactly the same size as the prop, the pic is misleading.
Cracker Larry wrote:That's probably a good starting point and about where I ran it on my GF16 without a tunnel. I think I'd mount it where the lowest position puts the anti-vent plate just below even with the bottom.

I think you'd want 5 or 6" of adjustment range. Since you are the innovator of this design, you're just going to have to use trial and error. Anything else would just be a guess :lol: Does that engine mount allow different height adjustments also, or will you only have the jack plate to make adjustments with?
Thanks Larry. I was thinking that we might go at it pretty much like what you suggested, your right there is going to have to be some development work done. I see redrilling and filling transom holes in my future. :lol:

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Mon Mar 26, 2012 3:16 pm
by Cracker Larry
Nothing but a thing :lol:

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Mon Mar 26, 2012 10:00 pm
by wegcagle
Looks like an awesome project PD 8) What a cool boat. Looking forward to seeing you get her wet. This could be an AWESOME duck hunting boat for me in the future :!:

Will

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Mon Mar 26, 2012 10:08 pm
by hockey52
If T has his way he'll probably try it out as a duck hunting boat too. :lol:

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Tue Mar 27, 2012 2:39 pm
by Prarie Dog
wegcagle wrote:Looks like an awesome project PD 8) What a cool boat. Looking forward to seeing you get her wet. This could be an AWESOME duck hunting boat for me in the future :!:

Will, we're hoping it works out. I've spent a good bit of time trying to figure out a camera to take video of the tunnel in action and how it works. I'm getting a bit concerned with weight but it's probably not that big a deal, we were thinking it was a two large guy or three average guy boat. I may have to go on a diet, :D we'll see.
hockey52 wrote:If T has his way he'll probably try it out as a duck hunting boat too. :lol:
We've spent a little time talking about where we could take it duck hunting, although we do need to stay in protected water. It can get very windy around here in about half a shake. We don't know the areas around cause we haven't done it but with this ride we should be able to do the river etc. We are going to need a large camo net to cover up sublime green and all the shiny stuff Raymond is going to build for us. :D

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Sun Apr 01, 2012 9:44 pm
by Prarie Dog
We hit a few licks this weekend, installed the chase tubes, a few more cleats and foamed the bottom. Here's a shot of foam boy in action.

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Re: T's GF12

Posted: Sun Apr 01, 2012 11:04 pm
by chicagoross
This 12' boat has all the complications and details of a 20 footer! :D Looks great!

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Sun Apr 01, 2012 11:07 pm
by CraigLam
I'm gonna need some foam in the future. Can you tell me under what name it's sold and can I buy direct? I live in Long Beach, Cal. I can get the spray type, but, can't find the "mix yourself" type. Thanks.

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Sun Apr 01, 2012 11:13 pm
by Prarie Dog
chicagoross wrote:This 12' boat has all the complications and details of a 20 footer! :D Looks great!
Thanks Ross, we were talking today and we are agreed that it's over the top but still hoping it works.

Craig, they sell the foam here on the site, just go to the store and order it. Real easy to use, kinda fun actually. :D

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Mon Apr 02, 2012 2:06 pm
by CraigLam
I didn't know that. Thank you! :D

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Wed Apr 04, 2012 8:57 am
by JohnC
The boat looks Great! :D I'll agree with CR, you have alot going on for a 12 footer. I can't find the "foam boy" option on BBC ( and I am still worried about those clean t-shirts 8O )
John

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Wed Apr 04, 2012 9:45 am
by Prarie Dog
JohnC wrote:The boat looks Great! :D I'll agree with CR, you have alot going on for a 12 footer. I can't find the "foam boy" option on BBC ( and I am still worried about those clean t-shirts 8O )
John
Thanks, John, you guys are right, it is getting complicated and a little heavier than we wanted. It is now on a permanent diet. T really gets a kick out of foaming a boat, as far as the clean t shirts are concerned they are shirts from a sports team that he dislikes or from a tournament that his team played poorly in. He insists there is a method to his madness, he's now fourteen, and if the old folks can't figure it out then they need some :help: . :D

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Wed Apr 04, 2012 9:55 am
by Cracker Larry
I can't find the "foam boy" option on BBC
http://boatbuildercentral.com/products.php?cat=56


Looking good Paul, can't wait to hear how it runs.

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Wed Apr 04, 2012 10:34 am
by Prarie Dog
Cracker Larry wrote:Looking good Paul, can't wait to hear how it runs.
Thanks Larry, we're having a hard time waiting too.

ONE THING I'VE FAILED TO DO IS TO THANK WHOEVER FIGURED OUT THE TRICK OF USING HOT GLUE ON THE ENDS OF CLEATS BEING GLUED INSIDE THE HULLSIDES AND WHERE A GUY CAN'T CLAMP THEM. THAT WORKS FANTASTIC AND TURNS A PITA INTO A SNAP.

THANKS :!: :!:

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Wed Apr 04, 2012 10:40 am
by Cracker Larry
ONE THING I'VE FAILED TO DO IS TO THANK WHOEVER FIGURED OUT THE TRICK OF USING HOT GLUE ON THE ENDS OF CLEATS BEING GLUED INSIDE THE HULLSIDES AND WHERE A GUY CAN'T CLAMP THEM. THAT WORKS FANTASTIC AND TURNS A PITA INTO A SNAP.
That was me. You're welcome :D

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Wed Apr 04, 2012 11:56 am
by hockey52
JohnC wrote:The boat looks Great! :D I'll agree with CR, you have alot going on for a 12 footer. I can't find the "foam boy" option on BBC ( and I am still worried about those clean t-shirts 8O )
John

I've got the "foam boy" for rent if you want. :lol: Stock up the pantry though! :help:

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Wed Apr 04, 2012 2:17 pm
by Uncle D
hockey52 wrote:'ve got the "foam boy" for rent if you want. :lol: Stock up the pantry though! :help:
I'll use him then send him on to Sargent. :lol:

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Sun Apr 08, 2012 11:41 pm
by Prarie Dog
We managed to get the sole fitted over the chase tubes and got the final cleats glued in for the fore and aft decks and cut out the rear deck. Here's a series of pics that show the proportions well and an out of focus pic of the Boat Building Dawg.

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Re: T's GF12

Posted: Mon Apr 09, 2012 4:59 pm
by gstanfield
Looking good Paul 8)

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Mon Apr 09, 2012 10:48 pm
by Prarie Dog
Thanks G. For those of you that saw T in July you should know he's about 8" taller now than he was then. He's now wearing 11 EEE shoes, try finding some of those. :help:

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Tue Apr 24, 2012 3:00 pm
by Prarie Dog
We've managed to get a few things done on the GF. We decided to elevate the transom a couple of inches. I recieved a pm from Timoub007 that explains that a bunch of guys in Lousiana run these tunnels and are pretty much agreed that the best way to have it setup is to not use a jackplate, which keeps the motor close to the transom, (no setback) then elevate the motor until the planer fin is above the tunnel. (experimenting will reveal how much) The next step is to make a hydrofoil that goes forward until it is almost touching the transom, this traps the water coming out of the tunnel and feeds it down to the prop. It's going to be fun seeing if it works. Here's a few pics.

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We also got the sole glued in place.

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Re: T's GF12

Posted: Tue Apr 24, 2012 3:08 pm
by jacquesmm
Put a Doelfin on the cavitation plate. That should do the job.
I'm interested in how all this is going to work.

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Tue Apr 24, 2012 3:30 pm
by Uncle D
I have the same set-up as you guys, Paul. I have plans for a Jack plate but may forgo it and try just the Doelfin. I have one anyway that I had planned on using. If I decide to use a jackplate, I'll order a low water pick-up too from Bob's. BTW, boat's looking great!!

Don

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Tue Apr 24, 2012 10:25 pm
by Dougster
Man this is an interesting project. I really hope to see this guy in action some day. I say guy 'cuz that bad boy just looks like, well, a bad boy. Truth is, I really respect what you are doing with your son.

Says build on Dougster

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Tue Apr 24, 2012 11:59 pm
by Prarie Dog
jacquesmm wrote:Put a Doelfin on the cavitation plate. That should do the job.
I'm interested in how all this is going to work.
Jaques, we thought about a Doelfin but one won't clear the sponsons, the template laying on the planer fin is as big as it can be and still clear. Like you we're really interested in how it'll work.
Uncle D wrote:I have the same set-up as you guys, Paul. I have plans for a Jack plate but may forgo it and try just the Doelfin. I have one anyway that I had planned on using. If I decide to use a jackplate, I'll order a low water pick-up too from Bob's. BTW, boat's looking great!!

Don
I'm really interested in how your's works too, you have the standard tunnel. Thanks for the comp's. :D
Dougster wrote:Man this is an interesting project. I really hope to see this guy in action some day. I say guy 'cuz that bad boy just looks like, well, a bad boy. Truth is, I really respect what you are doing with your son.

Says build on Dougster
Thanks Dougster, David and My's dad built cars, rifles and all kinds of cool stuff with us when we were kids, those times spent with him and the enjoyment of having a "one of a kind" are among our fondest memories. Trying to keep the faith.

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Sun Apr 29, 2012 2:18 pm
by hockey52
The boys are putting graphite on the bottom now. 8) Pics to follow.

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Sun Apr 29, 2012 2:35 pm
by gstanfield
Glad to hear they're back to work :D

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Sun Apr 29, 2012 10:05 pm
by Prarie Dog
We flipped her again and had a sanding party yesterday. Mr Prudhomme and T showed up and we found a few more low spots, (about half of them), did some filling with quickfair, then this morning some more sanding then some graphite. It isn't perfect but it is better than the first one. :D

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Re: T's GF12

Posted: Mon Apr 30, 2012 7:38 am
by topwater
Looking good :!:

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Mon Apr 30, 2012 7:49 am
by wegcagle
Great job. Looks solid from here

Will

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Mon Apr 30, 2012 9:52 am
by Uncle D
Looks great guys!! Is the "Mini" gonna make Port A??

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Mon Apr 30, 2012 10:47 am
by cali123
Good job :!: 8) 8)

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Mon Apr 30, 2012 2:17 pm
by Prarie Dog
cali123 wrote:Good job :!: 8) 8)
Thanks, Cali, it has some orange peel but other than that it's pretty good.
Uncle D wrote:Looks great guys!! Is the "Mini" gonna make Port A??
Thanks, Uncle D, the Mini won't make Port A this year, we can't come. I've been wanting to go to the keys and a SE meet for several years, this is the year we get to do both at one time. That's why I haven't been involved in the Texas Meet thread. We can't afford the money or time commitment to do both. Next year we'll bring the GF18 and the Mini Muncher to wherever we have the Texas meet. I hope all you guys attending this year have a good time.
wegcagle wrote:Great job. Looks solid from hereWill
Thanks, Will!
topwater wrote:Looking good :!:
Thanks, Topwater, we really appreciate all the compliments!!

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Mon Apr 30, 2012 3:18 pm
by Cracker Larry
Looking good! Just out of curiosity, what kind of roller are you using, and are you tipping it? Looks like you are, is that just a disposable chip brush?

I'm going to be rolling graphite in about 30 minutes. Already got it sifted and ready to mix. Came inside for a heat and refreshment break. Summer is early this year :!:

I've only done 1 boat with graphite and I've probably forgot most of what I learned then, but I know it takes 3 or 4 coats, and sanding it aint no fun :lol:

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Mon Apr 30, 2012 3:43 pm
by nc_robbie
Looks good, love the look of fresh epoxy and graphite, and its tough as nails too….Rob 8)

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Re: T's GF12

Posted: Mon Apr 30, 2012 5:38 pm
by Prarie Dog
Cracker Larry wrote:Looking good! Just out of curiosity, what kind of roller are you using, and are you tipping it? Looks like you are, is that just a disposable chip brush?

I'm going to be rolling graphite in about 30 minutes. Already got it sifted and ready to mix. Came inside for a heat and refreshment break. Summer is early this year :!:

I've only done 1 boat with graphite and I've probably forgot most of what I learned then, but I know it takes 3 or 4 coats, and sanding it aint no fun :lol:
Thanks, Larry, we're using the West Systems, yellow rollers and I thought about tipping with the chip brush but it doesn't work. Once the stuffs starts to tack up it can't be tipped and when it outgasses it makes a bunch of little bubbles. When I looked at it this morning it has a million or two tiny bubbles right at the surface and is a little orange peely. I'm going to run a sander over it and knock the tips off of the bubbles and call it good. We also tried a foam brush to tip with and it doesn't work well either, leaves chunks of foam in the surface. We all have to remember that this is the part of the boat that is hardly ever looked at closely. LOL

The surface of Robs looks better than any of mine has ever looked, maybe he has some ideas.

Just looked at his and he has those little bubbles too. Dawg!!

edit. I forgot to say we do have the mix ratio down pretty good. If you put three heaping teaspoons full in 6 oz's of epoxy it only takes two coats to cover.

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Mon Apr 30, 2012 6:00 pm
by Cracker Larry
Well, I got her done before you replied 8) I mixed a 12 ounce batch of epoxy and added 1/2 cup of sifted graphite. Used a Whizz foam cabinet roller, no tipping. Came out pretty good for the first coat, I think.

Image

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Mon Apr 30, 2012 6:40 pm
by Prarie Dog
Looks real nice Larry, sorry I was late with the reply. :oops:

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Sun May 06, 2012 8:21 pm
by Prarie Dog
Got in several good licks on T's boat this weekend. We finished elevating the transom and used the Craker design on the rear plate. We also tabbed in the sole and finished applying tinted epoxy in the lockers and glued on the front deck. This evening we put on a couple coats of primer. Other than all the sanding this is the best part of building a boat, the end's in sight and you can tell what it's going to look like. :D

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Re: T's GF12

Posted: Mon May 07, 2012 12:24 pm
by Uncle D
That's a lot of cement. 8O

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Mon May 07, 2012 12:36 pm
by Prarie Dog
Uncle D wrote:That's a lot of cement. 8O
Yes, it's a lot of cement. That sheet of okume was warped a bit and it took that much to get it down on one side. :doh:

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Mon May 07, 2012 12:58 pm
by Cracker Larry
Drywall screws? :wink:

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Mon May 07, 2012 2:14 pm
by Prarie Dog
Cracker Larry wrote:Drywall screws? :wink:
Its got some of those in it too. :D

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Mon May 07, 2012 2:37 pm
by Cracker Larry
Lag bolts :P

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Sun May 13, 2012 5:54 pm
by Prarie Dog
We got in our steering and control cables and decided to make the cutouts for the steering box and try the cables to see if they are the correct length. It looks like everything is going to fit. We've also been doing some priming, fairing and sanding which isn't really picture worthy.

Image

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And a picture to remind you guys there's a kid invloved.

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Re: T's GF12

Posted: Sun May 13, 2012 8:33 pm
by Cracker Larry
Yall both look a little disgusted about something in that first shot :lol:

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Sun May 13, 2012 8:44 pm
by Prarie Dog
Cracker Larry wrote:Yall both look a little disgusted about something in that first shot :lol:
I'm looking at the wheel (too big) and T is being told, for the 500th time, by his mom to smile for the camera. Ya'll might remember what it's like to have a 14 yr old around, peaceful ain't it. :help:

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Sun May 13, 2012 8:49 pm
by Cracker Larry
Enjoy it while you can, Paul. My son Chris moved 1,000 miles away last month. Peaceful can get empty, quick :wink: And the wheel looks good from here 8)

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Sun May 13, 2012 9:13 pm
by Prarie Dog
Cracker Larry wrote:Enjoy it while you can, Paul. My son Chris moved 1,000 miles away last month. Peaceful can get empty, quick :wink:

Larry, didn't know he moved, sorry man, he'll probably come home some day.

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Mon May 14, 2012 10:57 am
by tobolamr
My oldest is now 9, as of last weekend... And I think she's getting more and more fun! I agree that teens can get... trying after a while. But man, I have a lot of fun picking on my teenage nieces and nephews... And the teens at church... And the teens around town... :lol:

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Sun May 27, 2012 9:51 pm
by Prarie Dog
We got in a few good licks today. First we fit the rub rail.

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While the rubrail was on the boat we countersunk the holes for the screws and drilled a small starter hole with the countersink bit. We then overdrilled all the holes to 3/8". After that we fit the inwales.

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We then glued the cleats in for the inwales and filled the holes we drilled for the rubrail. We used Joel's method for this. Put the woodflour epoxy mix in a fillable caulk tube and squirt it in the hole, then someone slaps some tape over the hole until cured. It was fast and easy, although a little messy. Need to work on caulk tube control a bit. Here's a pic of some filled holes pre tape.

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Re: T's GF12

Posted: Sun May 27, 2012 11:39 pm
by hockey52
Must of been some hard work. T was asleep before 8:00 tonight. :lol:

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Mon May 28, 2012 9:18 am
by Uncle D
Was that so they can get an early start Mon.?? :doh: :D

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Thu May 31, 2012 2:51 pm
by Prarie Dog
In the past, a lot of us that are interested in tunnels have had a lot of discussion about vents and their location and a baffle that Timoub007 talked about putting on his GF16 that we never figured out. This morning I ran across a build thread on another forum that's on a "Unnamed Skiff" poling skiff with a tunnel. The pics are interesting because they show the vent location and a BAFFLE that is probably like Tim's. Here they are. I think it's interesting that the tunnel design is like the third evolution that Tim came up with (a Cajun alluminum fabricator told him about it). It's also similar to what is currently being used on several factory hulls. We don't have the baffle on our boat, does it make sense to put it on now??, or let it go?????

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Re: T's GF12

Posted: Thu May 31, 2012 6:30 pm
by cali123
Thats interesting that the vent and baffle are placed at the leading edge of the tunnel. Isn't that tunnel shape opposite from yours? I haven't had mine on the water much but it is apparent to me that a baffle will be necessary for the vent to function properly. I could see a trail of air about 4 inches under the top of the tunnel stream that I think was from the vent. If I were you, I would try it out as you have it built and then experiment after you get some time on the water .

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Thu May 31, 2012 10:39 pm
by Prarie Dog
cali123 wrote:Thats interesting that the vent and baffle are placed at the leading edge of the tunnel. Isn't that tunnel shape opposite from yours?.

Cali, the tunnel shape is identical to what I have except mine has a small step on the leading edge.
edit 1. You're right it is oposite to mine. Funny how something that's reversed looks the same. :doh:
Image

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Fri Jun 01, 2012 1:55 am
by cali123
The more I try to learn about tunnels the more confused I become. :help:

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Fri Jun 01, 2012 9:09 am
by jacquesmm
Don't be confused, keep it simple and build a boat without tunnel!
I design tunnels because people want them. I design them to limit damage: a tunnel will always hinder performance but some less than others.

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Fri Jun 01, 2012 11:34 am
by Prarie Dog
XF20?? :doh:

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Fri Jun 01, 2012 11:50 am
by jacquesmm
Prarie Dog wrote:XF20?? :doh:
The XF20 has an excellent tunnel but as any boat, would perform better without the tunnel.

There is a story behind the XF20: for years, Ken Owens asked me to design a tunnel boat and I refused. One day, he decided to design it himself. He wanted to enlarge a GF16, fit it with a tunnel and do a layout similar to the Microdraft, a boat popular in his area.
Seeing how decided he was about it, I designed the XF20 based on his specifications and advice but if Ken had not pushed me, I would not have designed another tunnel boat.

(The previous tunnel I designed was a Pursuit 27. It started as my idea but ended up as a boat designed by a committee. It was a failure.)

After the success of the XF20, I designed the PH15 with a tunnel. It works too but I prefer clean simple hulls without a tunnel.

The XF20 works because it is a no compromise boat: every feature is about shallow draft: very wide beam, tunnel, low freeboard, light weight.
Since the boat is all about shallow draft, the tunnel makes sense.

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Fri Jun 01, 2012 11:36 pm
by Prarie Dog
Jaques, Cali already built an XF20.

Would like to reiterate that this GF12 is an experiment. If it works or flops we're prepared to take the credit, either way it works out. It is in no way a reflection on Jaques.

Jaques, if you find the boat offensive I'm truly sorry.

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Sat Jun 02, 2012 1:31 am
by cali123
[quote]a tunnel will always hinder performance but some less than others./quote] That is exactly what I am trying to learn. I built my XF tunnel per plan and it will probably work out well for me since I have mostly short runs in very shallow water. Flats (or swamp) boats don't exist here so I cannot poke around and find out what works well in the way of tunnels. Keep up the good work Prarie Dog.

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Sun Jun 03, 2012 9:26 pm
by Prarie Dog
We got in a few good licks this weekend on the GF12. Our hatches came in this week so we made cutouts, marked and over drilled the holes. We then filled them using the fillable caulk tubes. If ya'll haven't tried them you should, it makes filling holes a snap.

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We then made a cutout in the side of the console so we could get to our livewell plumbing, then overdrilled and filled those holes. We also glued cleats in the livewell after doing a final sanding on it. Today we coated it with the first coat of tinted (blue) epoxy. It looks a little dark, may have to dial it back by blending in some white.

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We also managed to get the gunwale tops cut and fit.

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Re: T's GF12

Posted: Sun Jun 17, 2012 8:42 pm
by Prarie Dog
While T and I were in Florida, Swmbo decided the boat building shop was in a mess. We had stuff like this going on.

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And this

.Image

So she picked up a rolling shelf unit at Sams and asked me to straighten it up. So Saturday we cleaned up the shop, surprising all the stuff you find that you thought you might have to buy.

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Today we got in several good licks on the GF. Pretty much finished cutting holes for switch panels and controls in the console, also got the tackle center mounted in the front, and cutout the opening for the baitwell hatch, and a finish coat on the baitwell, using blue tinted epoxy with some white blended in. We think the console looks pretty good now, a few weeks ago we cut 2.5 inches off the bottom which put the seat level with the gunwale tops, really helped the proportions.

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Kinda hard to cram all this stuff in a little console but we think it's all going to work. :D

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Sun Jun 24, 2012 9:17 pm
by Prarie Dog
Had a pretty good weekend on the Skiff. We glued the top on the baitwell after applying the blue tinted epoxy, Here's a pic of the top after rounding over the corner, right before we glassed it.

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After glueing on the inwales Saturday today we glued down the gunwale tops. Next weekend we'll trim the top with a routher and roll over the edge and glass it down.

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Re: T's GF12

Posted: Sun Jun 24, 2012 9:56 pm
by wegcagle
Looks great from here. That's one big 12' boat 8O 8)

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Sun Jun 24, 2012 10:17 pm
by Prarie Dog
Thanks, Will. All that stuff makes it look bigger but I assure you it's a 12 footer with about 16" sponsons on it. Don't think we'll run across Hawk Channel to the reef in it, don't think anybodys cajones have recovered from running it in the 18. :lol:

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Mon Jun 25, 2012 11:27 am
by Uncle D
Hey Paul, is brother David gonna bring the sled to Port A??

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Mon Jun 25, 2012 12:55 pm
by Prarie Dog
Uncle D, he's moving to New Hampshire this summer, don't think he's going to make it. :(

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Mon Jun 25, 2012 1:07 pm
by Cracker Larry
Paul, Raymond tells me you are next on his list :D

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Mon Jun 25, 2012 3:19 pm
by hockey52
Cracker Larry wrote:Paul, Raymond tells me you are next on his list :D

Yippee! 8) T will be excited to hear that. :lol:

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Tue Jun 26, 2012 1:42 am
by Prarie Dog
Cracker Larry wrote:Paul, Raymond tells me you are next on his list
Thanks Larry, we're closing in on needing to put backing plates in for all the goodies he's going to build us. T Top with tower, :lol: Nah, just kidding, but he's going to build a mini leaning post, mini poling platform--specially designed for old fat dudes to fall off of :wink:, a windsheild and a grabbar. Hope all this stuff don't make it too top heavy. :D

Can't imagine what a rod holder in the bootie feels like if you clip one on the way off of a poling platform. Anybody out there know :?: Just about augered in climbing out of the boat onto the stepstool last night, kinda makes a guy think about poling platform possibilities with a rocking boat :doh:

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Sun Jul 01, 2012 8:00 pm
by Prarie Dog
Got in a few good licks this weekend. Saturday morning we ran a trim bit in the router around the gunwales, then hit them with a rollover bit. Saturday afternoon we glassed the front and rear decks and the gunwales. This morning we trimmed the glass before sanding.

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This afternoon we put two part fairing compound on everything we glassed yesterday. It's kinda hard to work with anything epoxy due to the temperature. It was 113 in the shop yesterday afternoon, don't think it was quite that bad today but it was damn hot. The compound would start to kick about the time it was spread out. Didn't get real uniform coverage but we can work with it.

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The front deck.

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Re: T's GF12

Posted: Mon Jul 02, 2012 12:20 am
by gstanfield
When's the launch? I'd love to ride down and see her in action :D

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Mon Jul 02, 2012 12:30 am
by Prarie Dog
Don't know for sure G. We're shooting for sometime in early August but don't know for sure. I was trying to order electrical stuff tonight but still have to figure a few things out. We'll let you know and if you can, come on down.

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Mon Jul 02, 2012 2:04 am
by gstanfield
Sounds good Paul, I'll try my best to come down. There's a chance I'll be going back to GA the first of August, but that's still in the "possible" category.

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Mon Jul 02, 2012 10:34 am
by Uncle D
Hey Paul, just a tip I'm sure you know but if you refrigerate your epoxy products, you get a lot more working time. I take what I'm going use to give it a chance to warm a bit. The epoxy is hard to pump unless you do so.

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Mon Jul 02, 2012 9:31 pm
by Prarie Dog
Thanks Uncle D, we had the Marine Epoxy in the shop fridge. The one gallon can of the fairing compound won't fit in my shop fridge. Swmbo likes boat building but I think she would draw the line at a one gallon can of fairing compound in the house fridge. Might get a little chilly if you know what I mean. :help:

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Mon Jul 02, 2012 9:42 pm
by Pro Wader
Paul,
You have got her looking good. I'm trying to catch up with you.

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Mon Jul 02, 2012 9:47 pm
by Prarie Dog
Pro Wader wrote:Paul,
You have got her looking good. I'm trying to catch up with you.
Thanks Charley, you guys have a little less heat than we do but way more humidity. Real tough conditions to build in. It isn't a race, take your time and build a nice boat, the last pics I saw of yours looked real good.

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Sun Jul 08, 2012 11:35 pm
by Prarie Dog
Made good progress this weekend. We got a little relief from the heat, it was in the 80's both days this weekend, Dick asked me if we didn't need to fire up the heater so we'd feel normal. Didn't happen, it was nice working with epoxy that behaved normally instead of like TNT. We tabbed down the console Saturday, then had a sanding party and fairing and some more sanding. Took a break and used the "Cracker Method" to mount our shoot through the hull transducer.

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A pic of the console tabbed in place.

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Re: T's GF12

Posted: Mon Jul 09, 2012 10:33 am
by keysrat
Took a break and used the "Cracker Method" to mount our shoot through the hull transducer
I missed the thread on the transducer mounting.
How is this done?

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Mon Jul 09, 2012 12:07 pm
by Prarie Dog
keysrat, I don't remember if there was a thread or not or if it was a part of a build thread. I did take pics of the process and will post them and all the steps tonight when I get home.

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Tue Jul 10, 2012 12:26 am
by Prarie Dog
On a shoot thru the hull transducer mount you can use the standard transducers that mount on the stern of the boat. The nice thing about mounting it inside is you can pick a spot that has clean, non aereated water flow. On a bateau build it means that you have to make an area in the hull that is all glass and epoxy. Wood has air in it and the transducer won't work shooting through wood. On our build we glassed the inside of the hull first so when we flipped it we used a router and cut a hole 6" in diameter through the wood but not through the inner layer of glass. There were a few small peices of wood that had to be removed by hand using a sharp chisel. Once all the wood is cleaned out of the area we cut discs out of 12 oz cloth to fill the hole and wetted them out until we had replaced the thickness of the ply. Appx. ten for quarter inch ply. Here's a pic of the dry discs sitting in the hole.

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A shot taken from under the hull looking up through the filled area after wetting them out. There's a flashlight shining down on the area from the top. You can see there are no air pockets in the laminated area.

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Now that we're near the end of the build process it's time to mount the transducer. In this pic you can see the transducer and a butter dish that has the bottom cut off. The dish is a form for the epoxy to be poured in and the transducer to be pressed into place. We took some 150 grit and roughed up the slick plastic on the outside of the transducer.

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Next we taped the form (dish) in place over the spot we prepared that has no wood.

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We then mixed 6 ounces of epoxy and woodflour pretty thin and poured it in the form. Next we pushed the transducer down into the mixture until it's touching on the inner glass of the hull. It didn't want to stay put inline so I put a peice of tape over the top to hold it until it could set.

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I think I covered it fairly well, if I left something out could someone straighten me out? :D

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Tue Jul 10, 2012 3:02 am
by dbcrx
What happens if the transducer ever packs up and you need to change it?

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Tue Jul 10, 2012 10:02 am
by wadestep
dbcrx wrote:What happens if the transducer ever packs up and you need to change it?
10 minutes with a flush-cut vibrating saw and re-epoxy a new one.

Looking good - that's how I'm installing my transducer also. Only difference is I cut the wood out before any glassing, then used a piece of plastic-wrapped ply as a backing to fill it, then glassed over. Exact same result.
wade

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Sat Jul 14, 2012 4:21 pm
by kjackson
If the additional epoxy/wood flour isn't structural, you can just use a marine silicone to glue the transducer in place. I've done that in the past and had no discernible reduction in signal. The only thing you have to watch for is making sure you have no pockets or air bubbles between the transducer and glass.

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Sat Jul 14, 2012 8:23 pm
by wildbill
I have a question? If your transducer has temperature capabilities will it work like this? or does it need to contact the water to be accurate? :doh: :doh: :doh:

Sorry for the late response

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Sat Jul 14, 2012 10:01 pm
by Prarie Dog
Good question Bill, don't have a clue except the hull should be very close to water temp.

Kjackson, will remember that tip about the silicone, could come in handy in a pinch.

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Sat Jul 14, 2012 11:07 pm
by Cracker Larry
Bill, the temp gauge still works pretty well, but it does have a lag time of a couple of minutes which isnt great if you are lookin for an exact temperature break line, but it's mighty close. Last month in the keys I was able to tell when we were in the Gulf Stream or not by water temp, give or take maybe 3 minutes.

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Tue Jul 17, 2012 1:19 am
by Prarie Dog
This is one of those what we didn't get done on the boat this weekend posts. T was recruited to play on a high school freshman team for the Colorado Springs Summer league. His new school didn't have a team so he decided to play for a rival school across town. This team is comprised of six kids the coaches cut from the tryouts and a twelve year old, two thirteen year olds and T and three other fourteen year olds. I was a bit disappointed at the first practice but liked the coach, he's a real firey guy that played Division one college ball. Their improvement was dramatic going 12 and 4 in the regular season and went into the championship tournament as the two seed. They went 4 and 0 this weekend and outscored the oppisition 43 to 14, the high school doesn't know what to think because the scrub team won the whole deal and team one didn't even make it into the tournament. Funny stuff. Here's a pic, T's in the pile somewhere, he hit 600 this weekend, a triple, three doubles and a single. We went to all the games and did no boat work, think the sacrifice was worth it. :D

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Re: T's GF12

Posted: Tue Jul 17, 2012 7:06 am
by topwater
Thats great for T and the boys , everybody loves it when the underdogs win :!:
Wont even go into the politics of youth sports. Boat building is second to all family stuff.
I know exactly how it is i just got back from Long Island NY lacrosse tournament .

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Tue Jul 17, 2012 9:53 am
by hockey52
T is on the left side, 2nd hat from bottom. Nobody wanted him on the top! 8O

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Tue Jul 17, 2012 10:19 am
by Uncle D
That is absolutely awesome guys!!! Love to hear stories like this. Maybe a movie deal?? 8O WTG big "T"

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Tue Jul 17, 2012 12:42 pm
by cali123
Great picture. We have been doing baseball/softball with our grand kids. It takes a lot of time but is definitely worth it. That boy is a keeper. :D

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Tue Jul 17, 2012 12:46 pm
by Aripeka Angler
Awesome photo Paul! Great job T, did coach play you at third base? Thanks for sharing that pic, it brings back great memories :wink:

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Tue Jul 17, 2012 2:08 pm
by hockey52
Through the tournament the coach put T at 3rd, 2nd, 1st, Centerfield, catcher. Sunday the coach used 2 catchers, in 1 inning sit next inning. There was a possibility of 4 games that day and it was about 95 degrees out there :help: Glad the boys took care of business and didn't go 4 games. :lol:

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Tue Jul 17, 2012 4:44 pm
by Cracker Larry
That's getting the job done right there 8)

Be careful with all this off topic chatter though, you might offend someone like I did on my FS18 thread :lol: :lol:
There is sooooooo much chatter on this thread that does not even come close to being pertinent that it seems a waste of electrons to even follow this. This could have been a very informative topic and build and it should have only been a couple dozen pages for the amount of actual material in this thread.

:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Tue Jul 17, 2012 4:46 pm
by Doc_Dyer
ill waste a few more electrons also

outstanding :wink:

now get back to work on the boat :cry: :roll:

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Tue Jul 17, 2012 5:21 pm
by hockey52
Building a boat is a lot like Christmas. :roll: We get home at night and there is a box on the porch with goodies in it. :lol:

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Tue Jul 17, 2012 7:10 pm
by wildbill
Thanks' Dog and Larry. It does look like a nice set up.

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Sun Jul 22, 2012 10:51 pm
by Prarie Dog
We've been having a fairing party for the last few working weekends. Most of this stuff isn't really picture worthy but we're closing in on finishing the deal. We probably have to do one or two more small smears on the inside of the hull but the outside is finished except for a couple of pinholes and a small area that needs a little putty. We put three coats of primer on the outside of the hull today and pulled the tape that's been on the graphite protecting that edge. I need to do a little work on the edge before final paint but it's real close. Can a guy apply sterling in a shop that's 110 degrees?

Image

Image

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Mon Jul 23, 2012 10:30 am
by Uncle D
Prarie Dog wrote: Can a guy apply sterling in a shop that's 110 degrees?
I gotta read the can but I'm thinking fall will be the best time. One thing though, if you can it will dry fast. Less chance for dust and such.

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Sun Jul 29, 2012 9:29 pm
by Prarie Dog
Uncle D, we decided to paint early in the morning.

Got in a few good licks this weekend. We got far enough along that we decided to prime the cockpit and decks. It looks pretty good. In between coats we used a product called Kombi, made by Sillkens, to repair pin holes and small areas where a little weave was visible etc.. Looking at the pics you can see some areas on the console that have some of the putty on them, standing on the ground we couldn't see them but after the primer dried we decided to do some rigging on the baitwell and install some thru hulls that are in the graphited area low on the hull. I gotta tell you guys, that dawg Murphy is still hanging around my shop. Dick and I looked for a thru hull fitting for about an hour and couldn't find it. Without the fitting I didn't want to open the 5200, thinking about killing a couple good working hours it occured to me that that particular thru hull was made on the bait tank pump. Duh, we got her done. LOL

Bait tank, sorry about the pic, couldn't get the light right.

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Image

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Re: T's GF12

Posted: Mon Jul 30, 2012 12:41 am
by cali123
Looking great. Love that hull. 8)

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Mon Jul 30, 2012 12:19 pm
by Uncle D
That look's GOOD guy's!!!

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Mon Jul 30, 2012 2:55 pm
by Prarie Dog
Uncle D wrote:That look's GOOD guy's!!!
Thanks Uncle D. Hard to see all the whoyahs in that pic. :D
cali123 wrote:Looking great. Love that hull. 8)
Thanks Cali, we're praying she works. Installed the tunnel vent fitting yesterday too.

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Mon Jul 30, 2012 5:50 pm
by Dougster
If you ever bring that sweetheart to a builders meet, you'll never get to fish her. Everyone will want a ride. I sure would.

Says thumbs up to you and T Dougster

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Tue Jul 31, 2012 12:38 am
by Prarie Dog
Thanks Dougster, We plan on coming next year. That should give us enough time to work the kinks out. T will be happy to give rides. :D

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Wed Aug 01, 2012 3:00 pm
by wegcagle
Nice work PD. 8) You boys sure pay attention to the small details. That boat's a looker for sure.

Will

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Thu Aug 02, 2012 1:08 am
by Prarie Dog
wegcagle wrote:Nice work PD. 8) You boys sure pay attention to the small details. That boat's a looker for sure.

Will

Thanks Will. We're into the slowest part of one of these builds. The good old sand and fair, sand and fair that seems to stretch on endlessly. That's not really the case, just seems that way. Thanks for the compliments. :)

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Thu Aug 02, 2012 9:01 am
by Dougster
Prarie Dog wrote:
Thanks Will. We're into the slowest part of one of these builds. The good old sand and fair, sand and fair that seems to stretch on endlessly. That's not really the case, just seems that way. Thanks for the compliments. :)

Well with me I think it's really been the case :lol: I think I've been fairing the cockpit, off and on, for two months 8O Called it good 'nuff yesterday though. Then promptly saw two little spots needing touch up. I just said no. You're sure right about it being one of the slowest parts of the process, but you guys are sure gettin' close.

He's movin' on Dougster

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Sun Aug 05, 2012 11:50 pm
by Prarie Dog
Thanks, Dougster. After looking at our cockpit today we may need to fair on it for another month or two. We did get the first coat of Sterling on yesterday evening. Didn't go very well, we had trouble tipping it without getting brush drag marks. Looking back at what we did I think we were trying to put it on too thick and we had the paint thinned too much. We're going to do some sanding and make some adjustments. This stuff is tricky to use. We took a 20 foot pic so you can't see the roller stipple, the color is pretty though.

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Today we glued in a bunch of blocks for the battery switch and circuit breaker and all that stuff that makes the lights and baitwell pump work. Plumbed the baitwell, pump and drain and tested the tank and plumbing. No leaks, we have a nice pic. of it taking its first whizz.

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Re: T's GF12

Posted: Mon Aug 06, 2012 10:59 am
by Uncle D
That's a healthy boy!!

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Mon Aug 06, 2012 6:15 pm
by tobolamr
LOL I have to show that pic and that last comment to my wife... :lol:

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Wed Aug 08, 2012 12:34 am
by Prarie Dog
Hope I don't wind up in trouble with everyone's wife. :D

Saturday evening SWMBO got this pic of the junior boatbuilder/baseball player kipped out after a day of boatbuilding. Does anyone wonder what he's dreaming about. LOL

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Re: T's GF12

Posted: Tue Aug 21, 2012 12:37 am
by Prarie Dog
Got in a few good licks this weekend on the GF. We had to sand off most of the first coat of Sterling we applied a few weeks ago. After studying the instructions on the Sterling site we had another go at it with much better results. Tonight we put on the third coat and it looks pretty good. It's not as good as a sprayed on finish but it's pretty good, T thinks if we catch someone looking too close we can just wack em with a fishing rod. LOL

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A sideview taken tonight after the third coat.

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T with a Bullsnake he caught making a frontal assault on the boatbuilding barn while Dick and I were waiting for the first coat to induct Saturday. This was a nice snake, he wasn't cranky at all, T carried him out in the middle of the field and turned him loose, they're good mousers. When T was a baby we had one that hung around that was an 8 footer, this big ol snake would take over the carport and get real cranky if anyone wanted to leave in a car.

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Re: T's GF12

Posted: Tue Aug 21, 2012 7:26 am
by Aripeka Angler
Nice looking work men 8) Sterling has a bit of a learning curve, but it looks like y'all have it down pat :D

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Tue Aug 21, 2012 7:40 am
by wadestep
From here, the paint job is looking good. I promise to stay outside of whacking distance, though... :lol:
wade

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Tue Aug 21, 2012 8:01 am
by Cracker Larry
That looks great, Paul. I told you there was a learning curve with the Sterling :D

Nice snake 8)

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Sun Aug 26, 2012 8:04 pm
by Prarie Dog
Thanks for the compliments guys, making a little progress. :D

Raymond sent us some bling to dress up the Muncher. It is topshelf work, very impressed with the quality of the grab bar and the windsheild. Raymond has someone do the windsheilds for him who looks to be as good as Raymond is at metal work. A few pics. We'd been holding off on mounting the filler and vent and some other stuff that required trial assembly number whatever but it all looks like it's going to fit. When it's all plumbed and wired looks like it'll take a jackhammer to put a business card in this console. It's crammed full of stuff.

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A front view.

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The BB Dawg likes it too.

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Re: T's GF12

Posted: Sun Aug 26, 2012 8:10 pm
by wegcagle
Looks awesome from here :!: Raymond sure does good work. That's gonna be the coolest toy a young man could ever want. 8)

Will

Edit: With the exception of something easy on the eyes from the opposite sex that is.....

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Sun Aug 26, 2012 8:13 pm
by Cracker Larry
That's got to be the baddest GF12 ever built :D

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Sun Aug 26, 2012 9:55 pm
by peter-curacao
Prarie Dog wrote:
Image
what's her name ? Mr or misses?? :D
Image

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Sun Aug 26, 2012 10:36 pm
by Prarie Dog
Thanks, Will and Larry, we'll just have to see how all this works out, it does look cool. Raymond matched the angle on the grabbar to the angle on the windsheild. He pulled this off by laying it out on cardboaard on his shop floor. Pretty cool. 8)


peter-curacao wrote:
Prarie Dog wrote:
Image
what's her name ? Mr or misses?? :D
Image
Peter, T named her the Muncher, think he means the Swamp Muncher but don't really know, kids use all kinds of words in ways adults just don't understand. :doh:

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Mon Aug 27, 2012 6:27 am
by topwater
That is a very cool boat, cant wait to see it on the water 8)

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Mon Aug 27, 2012 9:18 am
by JohnC
Hey Paul and T,
The windshield looks great! :D CL's right, that's going to be one bad GF12. I see the dog has his/her spot already picked out, is that a Yellow Lab? Can't help on the name Muncher, I got a text from a friend the other day so abbreviated I had to call them to find out what they were saying. :doh: Guess I'm getting old...
John

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Mon Aug 27, 2012 6:50 pm
by t-dog 21
Thanks for the comments everyone, it's coming along slowly but surely.
JohnC wrote:Hey Paul and T,
The windshield looks great! :D CL's right, that's going to be one bad GF12. I see the dog has his/her spot already picked out, is that a Yellow Lab? Can't help on the name Muncher, I got a text from a friend the other day so abbreviated I had to call them to find out what they were saying. :doh: Guess I'm getting old...
John
Thanks for the comment John the dog's name is Rockey, He won't stay on a boat within about twenty feet of shore. When you get that close, then he jumps out of the boat and forgets how to swim, so he spends more time is the net than fish do. He is a Jack Russel Terrier that was born with four brain cells, 1 for eating, 2 for growling and 1 for barking, swimming doesn't have a brain cell so he forgets to use his back legs so he just goes in circles. :lol:

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Mon Aug 27, 2012 6:55 pm
by Aripeka Angler
He is a Jack Russel Terrier that was born with four brain cells, 1 for eating, 2 for growling and 1 for barking, swimming doesn't have a brain cell so he forgets to use his back legs so he just goes in circles.
:lol: :lol: That's funny right there :lol:

Very good job on the boat guys!

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Mon Aug 27, 2012 8:34 pm
by Cracker Larry
:lol: :lol: :lol: I'm laughing too hard to reply to that :lol: :lol: Will try later :lol: :lol: :lol:

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Tue Sep 04, 2012 12:00 pm
by Doc_Dyer
Image

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Tue Sep 04, 2012 1:35 pm
by Prarie Dog
Didn't post this pic, it's not really picture worthy, but her it is. We had three days of sand and fair and sand and fair and pull some wires and then prime yesterday afternoon. Think it's the last time we have to prime, it looks nearly perfect but, you guys know how that goes. I think we're going to paint the inside next weekend then rig it and splash it. We can't wait.

Image

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Tue Sep 04, 2012 5:17 pm
by Doc_Dyer
8) 8) 8) :wink:

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Tue Sep 04, 2012 10:21 pm
by Mike_B
Beautiful Boat. I don't see anything other than the boat :D Looks great.

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Wed Sep 05, 2012 12:10 am
by Prarie Dog
Thanks, Doc and Mike. The compliments are appreciated. :D

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Wed Sep 05, 2012 12:33 pm
by Uncle D
Paul and T, you guys are doing great!! You might need to refine those skills here in Texas after you finish the "Muncher". :lol:

Don

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Sun Sep 09, 2012 6:31 pm
by Prarie Dog
Uncle D wrote:Paul and T, you guys are doing great!!
Thanks Don, don't know about going to Texas to work, we usually go their to party and fish. :D

We slapped some paint on the inside of the hull. after the second coat it's looking pretty good.

Image

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Sun Sep 09, 2012 8:37 pm
by flyfishingmonk
Prarie Dog wrote:We slapped some paint on the inside of the hull. after the second coat it's looking pretty good.


That's good looking paint slappin.

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Sun Sep 09, 2012 10:08 pm
by Prarie Dog
flyfishingmonk wrote:That's good looking paint slappin.
Thanks Casey. I failed to mention that most of the paint was rolled on from the outside by me, Mr Prudhome did all the tipping. In two coats of tipping he's been in poses that look like something on a Kung Fu show and has never touched his pants or shirt on anything that has already been painted. His body control is very good, considering he's over seventy, it's nothing short of amazing.

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Sun Sep 09, 2012 10:31 pm
by flyfishingmonk
Sounds like a good friend to have around!

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Sun Sep 09, 2012 11:09 pm
by Prarie Dog
flyfishingmonk wrote:Sounds like a good friend to have around!
He's the best. He's one of my customers at the shop. He was in there a couple years ago when the plans came in for my GF18. I was looking at those plans when he walked up to the counter. He asked me if they were boat plans and I said they were. He looked them over and asked me if I was going to build it, I told him I was. He then asked if he could help and told me that he had experience. He's been here everyday we've been building since. He was here the whole time on both builds, the GF18 and the 12. Dick, has been to the wood boat building courses and has built three small boats. He just loves to build boats. Perfect example of a terminal case of BBV!! Man we're glad he's got it. :D

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Mon Sep 10, 2012 9:08 am
by wadestep
Man, I need to meet someone like that!

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Mon Sep 10, 2012 9:14 am
by Mad Dog
wadestep wrote:Man, I need to meet someone like that!

Ditto. I am much more motivated to engage in the work when I have engaged help.

MD :wink:

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Mon Sep 10, 2012 11:16 pm
by Prarie Dog
Mad Dog wrote:
wadestep wrote:Man, I need to meet someone like that!

Ditto. I am much more motivated to engage in the work when I have engaged help.

MD :wink:
Very astute statement Mad Dog. Me too, I am always amazed at the ability of an individual to finish a build solo in a year or two of nights and weekends or even some guys that take three years. If I didn't have some help to build momentum, don't know if I could finish one. It's just so much work, it wears a guy down. Not having one to work on wears a guy down too. Maybe in another life we'll figure this deal out. :doh:

We're already planning the next build after a little time out to do some work around the house. It'll be a Plyak with a tunnel and a 115 Merc. stay tuned. :lol:

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Mon Sep 10, 2012 11:29 pm
by cali123
That Plyak with a 115 should be fast and run skinny too. :lol: :lol: :lol:

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Tue Sep 11, 2012 10:26 am
by Mad Dog
Not to hyjack your thread but your relationship with Mr. Prudhome reminded me of this verse Eccl. 4: 9-10, "9) Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor: 10) If either of them falls down, one can help the other up. But pity anyone who falls and has no one to help them up."

MD :wink:

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Tue Sep 11, 2012 12:10 pm
by Cracker Larry
Yall just summed up what I've been going through with these cleats. Sure wish I had a Mr. Prudhome too. Nobody here to talk to except the dog and he doesn't say much. It's hard to keep the momentum going. I walked away from it yesterday and didn't even look at it. Back on it now though :D
Eccl. 4: 9-10, "9) Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor: 10) If either of them falls down, one can help the other up. But pity anyone who falls and has no one to help them up."
I like that 8)

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Tue Sep 11, 2012 2:52 pm
by Prarie Dog
Mad Dog wrote:Not to hyjack your thread but your relationship with Mr. Prudhome reminded me of this verse Eccl. 4: 9-10, "9) Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor: 10) If either of them falls down, one can help the other up. But pity anyone who falls and has no one to help them up."

MD :wink:
I like that verse, right on the nut. Thanks, Charles and Larry

Yesterday evening Mr P picked me up at work about 4 pm. We charged to the BBB (boat building barn about 40 miles away) and did some sanding, prep work then put on another coat of yellow. We finished up about 8 and had some supper, Dick apologized for eating and running, then left. He had a 45 mile drive to get home, is he a great guy or what? :D
Think we get better after each coat, it's looking pretty darn good now.

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Tue Sep 11, 2012 9:28 pm
by Dougster
This thread is a good read for sure. There's no Mr. P for me, and 5 years into the build, solo 8O I know exactly how much a guy like that would mean. For me, you folks on the Bateau site have been my Mr. P. Maybe it's a little silly but I have often been down in that shop working and imagined conversations with you guys. Mine is a solo build, but I haven't built her alone.

Down here in Texas Dougster

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Wed Sep 12, 2012 1:04 am
by Prarie Dog
Thank you for being you Dougster, you're pricless, not to mention, one of the guys I thought of plugging along alone. I had no idea it's been five years.

WOW :!: :!:

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Wed Sep 12, 2012 7:13 am
by Rmarsh
You guys are doing a fantastic job. T is one lucky young man to be involved in something like this.

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Sat Sep 15, 2012 11:42 pm
by Prarie Dog
Rmarsh wrote:You guys are doing a fantastic job. T is one lucky young man to be involved in something like this.
Thanks Rmarsh, he's enjoying the process

Got in a good day on the skiff today. we mounted the rub rail, some cleats and hatches and put her on the trailer. We think we're going to need to build a bow mold on the trailer to support the front of the hull. In the pic you can see a block we have to support the front.

Image

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Sun Sep 16, 2012 12:29 am
by whosmatt
Dougster wrote:This thread is a good read for sure. There's no Mr. P for me, and 5 years into the build, solo 8O I know exactly how much a guy like that would mean. For me, you folks on the Bateau site have been my Mr. P. Maybe it's a little silly but I have often been down in that shop working and imagined conversations with you guys. Mine is a solo build, but I haven't built her alone.

Down here in Texas Dougster
It's not silly at all. They say in football that a good home crowd is the 12th man on the team.. that's how this board is.

The boat looks great.

M

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Sun Sep 16, 2012 11:30 pm
by Prarie Dog
Thanks Matt!!

Had a pretty good weekend. We managed to get it mostly rigged. Those of you that live thirty miles from town know what it's like rounding up all the terminals and junk needed to rig one of these things. SWMBO made several trips to town for us and we still wound up short on bullet terminals, go figure. Rounded up some tonight and will try to finish wiring tomorrow night. You don't realize how much stuff you have to go on one of these things until you start putting it on there. Wow. Does anyone know where the fitting for a water pressure gauge goes on one of these motors?? F20 ESR. Sorry about all the junk on the decks but a few pics.

Image

Image

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Sun Sep 16, 2012 11:47 pm
by Larry B
Love the colors, boat is looking fantastic, The console looks great.

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Mon Sep 17, 2012 7:04 am
by Aripeka Angler
Beautiful :D T, you are a very lucky young man 8)

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Mon Sep 17, 2012 11:12 am
by AMC
Prarie Dog wrote:Thanks Matt!!


Image
Your info says your in Colorado, But those look like Oregon Duck colors to me! Very nice choice.
(maybe add some chrome and carbon fiber to complete the look?)

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Mon Sep 17, 2012 11:27 am
by Cracker Larry
When ya get done with Mr. P, send him to me, I'm wearing down over here :help:

The boat looks great 8)

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Mon Sep 17, 2012 1:31 pm
by hockey52
[/quote]Your info says your in Colorado, But those look like Oregon Duck colors to me! Very nice choice.
(maybe add some chrome and carbon fiber to complete the look?)[/quote]

The yellow is too pale to be Duckie colors. :lol: The chrome is being added. Lots of bling going on this little boat. 8O

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Mon Sep 17, 2012 7:27 pm
by wegcagle
Nice work T and PD. That little GF12 is one tricked out boat. 8) I can't wait to hear how she performs.

Will

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Mon Sep 17, 2012 11:17 pm
by Prarie Dog
AMC wrote:Your info says your in Colorado, But those look like Oregon Duck colors to me! Very nice choice. (maybe add some chrome and carbon fiber to complete the look?)
We got more bling coming, Larrys buddy, Raymond, is building a leaning post and poling platform. The Ducks :doh: :D
Cracker Larry wrote:When ya get done with Mr. P, send him to me, I'm wearing down over here :help:

The boat looks great 8)
Thanks Larry, I'll ask Mr P if he wants to come to Savannah. Sounds like you need about five days of fishing. :D
wegcagle wrote:Nice work T and PD. That little GF12 is one tricked out boat. 8) I can't wait to hear how she performs.

Will
Thanks Will, we can't wait to see the performance numbers either.

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Tue Sep 18, 2012 8:09 am
by topwater
Boat looks great :!: When you look at the pic's you think you are looking at a much bigger boat,
then you look at the title on top of the page 8O T's going to have a blast with it , that is if he can get his dad
out of it :wink:

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Tue Sep 18, 2012 10:36 am
by AMC
question regarding the sponsons. Does the length they add get added to the legal length of the boat? The reason I ask, in some states there are different licensing and registration requirements (and prices) for boats of different lengths.

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Tue Sep 18, 2012 1:16 pm
by cali123
All of you guys are thinking this tricked out boat will be used for hunting and fishing . I'm thinking that "T" will be using it as a chick magnet instead. :lol: :lol:

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Tue Sep 18, 2012 1:45 pm
by Aripeka Angler
cali123 wrote:All of you guys are thinking this tricked out boat will be used for hunting and fishing . I'm thinking that "T" will be using it as a chick magnet instead. :lol: :lol:
That's hilarious and true :lol: Ask me how I know :lol:

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Tue Sep 18, 2012 2:55 pm
by Prarie Dog
AMC wrote:question regarding the sponsons. Does the length they add get added to the legal length of the boat? The reason I ask, in some states there are different licensing and registration requirements (and prices) for boats of different lengths.
AMC, here in Colorado they asked me how long it was and who the Kit supplier was, and which shop built it and that's all the questions they had. The license, registration and HIN was $35.20 which is exactly what it costs to license a four wheeler here for public land use. I thought it was a good deal, anytime you can get in and out of a state licensing anything around here without dropping a bill or two you're doing good. :D
Aripeka Angler wrote:
cali123 wrote:All of you guys are thinking this tricked out boat will be used for hunting and fishing . I'm thinking that "T" will be using it as a chick magnet instead. :lol: :lol:
That's hilarious and true :lol: Ask me how I know :lol:
cali123 wrote:All of you guys are thinking this tricked out boat will be used for hunting and fishing . I'm thinking that "T" will be using it as a chick magnet instead. :lol: :lol:
There could be something to what you guys say, but I just read the regs for the lake here in town and it says a kid has to be 16 to pilot a boat. Sounds like his chaperone may interfere with the chick hunt for about 18 months. :lol:

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Tue Sep 18, 2012 3:02 pm
by Prarie Dog
topwater wrote:Boat looks great :!: When you look at the pic's you think you are looking at a much bigger boat,
then you look at the title on top of the page 8O T's going to have a blast with it , that is if he can get his dad
out of it :wink:
He wonn't have much trouble getting me out of it once he's old enough to operate it. That's some time off. Thanks, for the compliments. :D

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Sun Sep 23, 2012 10:18 am
by t-dog 21
Geting ready to take the boat out for the Splash. :D :D :D

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Sun Sep 23, 2012 10:25 am
by peter-curacao
Very exited to see some (action) pics on the water! 8) Have loads of fun!! 8)

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Sun Sep 23, 2012 10:43 am
by jorgepease
second that

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Sun Sep 23, 2012 5:10 pm
by gstanfield
Pssstt....

Image

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Sun Sep 23, 2012 6:35 pm
by peter-curacao
LOL George you are a tease! :lol: :lol:

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Sun Sep 23, 2012 7:57 pm
by Prarie Dog
We splashed the Muncher today. It all went real well, motor ran great, floats, no leaks etc.. The only problem we have is we have is that after doing the 2K RPM break in for an hour we discovered we have way too much prop. The motor will only turn about 3600 rpm with this prop and it won't plane. Monday will get on the phone with Jeff Whidden and we'll get a prop for this beast. Several pics.

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Sun Sep 23, 2012 8:23 pm
by wegcagle
Awesome 8) what a cool little boat. You've gotta be pretty pumped T. You boys will getthe prop figured out. Can't wait to hear how the tunnel performs once she gets on plane

Congrats

Will

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Sun Sep 23, 2012 8:25 pm
by peter-curacao
Nice!!! 8) 8)

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Sun Sep 23, 2012 10:06 pm
by robbiro
Superb JOB!!! Nice fit and finish. Enjoy :!:

Keep on Buildin'
Robbie

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Mon Sep 24, 2012 7:40 am
by Cracker Larry
Sure looks good on the water 8) Sweet !

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Mon Sep 24, 2012 10:09 pm
by Prarie Dog
robbiro wrote:Superb JOB!!! Nice fit and finish. Enjoy
Thanks Robbie!!
Cracker Larry wrote:Sure looks good on the water 8) Sweet !
Thanks Larry, we're really pleased with how she looks. A smartass at the Marina asked us if we had any room in there for a beer. :lol:
wegcagle wrote:Awesome 8) what a cool little boat. You've gotta be pretty pumped T. You boys will getthe prop figured out. Can't wait to hear how the tunnel performs once she gets on plane
Congrats
Will
Thanks Will, we'll keep you guys posted on how it works, been on the phone today with Power Tech about a prop.
peter-curacao wrote:Nice!!! 8) 8)
Thanks Peter

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Mon Sep 24, 2012 10:32 pm
by Aripeka Angler
Beautiful work guys, your build is a work of art 8) Awesome that the whole family got inolved too 8) I will be interested in what powertech suggests for the prop.... And just curious, do you plan the weigh the Muncher?

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Mon Sep 24, 2012 10:46 pm
by Prarie Dog
Richard, the guy we've been using at Powertech is gone. I talked to a guy named Micheal today that wanted some pics and dimensions of the back of the hull. I just finished putting that email together and will wait to see what he comes up with. I did look over the stern when we were trying to get it to plane and there's a nice stream of water that is shaped just like the tunnel outlet hitting the lower unit well above the prop. I weighed the trailer and boat but haven't been able to weigh the trailer without the boat on it. Will try to get that done soon. I'm thinking it weighs 650 but not sure. :)

Thanks for the compliments on how she looks, the DOW lady at the boatramp was pretty wowsered at the boat, couldn't believe it was home built.

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Mon Sep 24, 2012 10:49 pm
by Aripeka Angler
Paul, did you splash the boat with a powertech prop?

Edit, the prop looks like a factory prop from a few pages ago...

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Mon Sep 24, 2012 10:54 pm
by Prarie Dog
Richard, we used the prop that came on the motor. It is a 9.25 X 12 pitch that is way too much. I read some of the Yamaha performance bulletins on the F20 and the only boat that tested out with that prop is a lightweight jon with one guy in it. Most of the other hulls required a 10 pitch. I think they put that prop on all the F20s because most are tiller steered and mounted on skiffs without a tach. They're probably trying to keep people from overreving the motors. The skiff that tested out with the 12 pitch would run 28 mph.

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Mon Sep 24, 2012 10:58 pm
by Aripeka Angler
Interesting report...The 20 should have PLENTY of power once you get it dialed in. Good luck :)

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Mon Sep 24, 2012 11:41 pm
by Larry B
Paul and T, Boat looks great. You guys did a mighty fine job on her. Waiting to see how she does with a different prop??
btw, is there room for a beer in there??? :lol:

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Mon Sep 24, 2012 11:50 pm
by Prarie Dog
Larry B wrote:Paul and T, Boat looks great. You guys did a mighty fine job on her. Waiting to see how she does with a different prop??
btw, is there room for a beer in there??? :lol:
Thanks Larry, we can't wait to try a different prop on her.

For the record, there is room on there for a beer or three. :D

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Tue Sep 25, 2012 8:47 am
by topwater
Very cool boat, " T " is one lucky boy 8)

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Tue Sep 25, 2012 11:54 pm
by Prarie Dog
topwater wrote:Very cool boat, " T " is one lucky boy 8)
Yes he is. He's got a lot of grass to cut to square this one up. :D

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Wed Sep 26, 2012 2:42 pm
by JohnC
Hey Paul & T,
The boat looks amazing! :D Nice job and congrats on the splash! I know you will get the prop figured out soon enough. Just one question, who gets to use the boat while T is cutting all that grass? 8O :D
John

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Wed Oct 10, 2012 2:29 pm
by Prarie Dog
Thanks John. Think we'll both be using the boat.

Update. We've had her in the water twice, ran it the first time breaking in the motor and then tried to run it to plane. It wouldn't go on plane, too much prop. Since then I've been in touch with a man in Port Lavaca Texas that is regarded as the master at propping shallow water tunnel boats on the Texas Coast. His name is Jack Foreman. We decided on Monday to pull the trigger on an 8" pitch prop that is double cupped and has something done to the rake to help it spin up fast. This is considered important on smaller 4stroke motors since they make their power at higher rpm's. It is a custom stainless prop made cast by someone that supplies him with the blanks to build the finished prop. We will also be building a Cavitation, or if you will Compression, plate that is pretty aggressive. Jack thinks we can run the propshaft on the same level as the top of the tunnel which will leave appx an inch of the skeg sticking below the hull bottom. He thinks the limiting factor will be getting cooling water with the boat sitting at rest. Will keep you guys posted with progress on the development and testing of this rig.

A pic of the leaning post being built by Larry's friend Raymond. The stuff he's built that I've seen is more like jewelry than boat stuff, it is absolutely topshelf work. :D

Image

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Wed Oct 10, 2012 4:06 pm
by Cracker Larry
That's why my new T-top hasn't got started yet :lol:

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Thu Oct 18, 2012 2:58 pm
by Prarie Dog
Cracker Larry wrote:That's why my new T-top hasn't got started yet :lol:
Sorry Larry, :D

Here's a pic he sent us last night of where he is know on the LP. The rod holders he had were too big to match the proportions of the seat, he ordered these and they look really good on there. Between these and the rod holders in the gunwales we should be able to put out a good Sailfish spread. :lol:

Got a report from our prop guy in Texas the other day and he has our prop in and he's modofied it some to more suit our needs. As luck would have it we're going Antelope hunting next week so the boat will be backburnered until we get back. We'll probably get her going good just in time for everything up here to freeze up. May have to drag her to Texas to try her out.

Image

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Thu Oct 18, 2012 3:05 pm
by hockey52
Antelope hunting next weekend and Nashville for a hockey tournament Nov 1-4. :roll:

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Thu Oct 18, 2012 3:10 pm
by Uncle D
If you guys do come to Caney Creek, let Julie and I know. I'd like to see you guys and check out T's Boat in person.

Don

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Thu Oct 18, 2012 3:30 pm
by Prarie Dog
Uncle D wrote:If you guys do come to Caney Creek, let Julie and I know. I'd like to see you guys and check out T's Boat in person.

Don
Uncle D, If we can figure out how to make that happen we'll sure let you know. Maybe we can take the Muncher and the Poppin" Cork out and have a good time. We have caught some really nice Sheepsheads that time of year. Not much for eating but a lot of fun to catch.

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Thu Oct 18, 2012 4:22 pm
by Cracker Larry
That leaning post is sweet 8)

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Thu Oct 18, 2012 7:31 pm
by TRC886
Cracker Larry wrote:That leaning post is sweet 8)
I believe it's the nicest one I've ever seen :)

Prarie Dog wrote: We have caught some really nice Sheepsheads that time of year. Not much for eating but a lot of fun to catch.
I've never eaten one, nor caught one either, but I've heard/read that they are excellent tablefare :doh:

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Thu Oct 18, 2012 9:58 pm
by Cracker Larry
Cracker Larry wrote:That leaning post is sweet 8)

I believe it's the nicest one I've ever seen
I've known Raymond and worked with him for quite a few years, and I still say that about everything that he makes. He is amazing 8O He's never turned out anything that wasn't the nicest that I've ever seen. The man is an artist. He is not the cheapest, nor the fastest, he only has a 2 man shop, just him and a helper, and has more work than I would ever want to do, but he does it 8)

Jeez, just look at that jig he built so that it would fit the modified GF12 properly ( my plywood, I think :lol: )...this man don't fool around :wink:

Image

He can't fish worth a crap though (I'm saying that in case he's listening, don't want him to get a swelled head :wink: )

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Thu Oct 18, 2012 10:21 pm
by Cracker Larry
Prarie Dog wrote: We have caught some really nice Sheepsheads that time of year. Not much for eating but a lot of fun to catch.
I've never eaten one, nor caught one either, but I've heard/read that they are excellent tablefare
They eat pretty good here. Firm white meat, fairly mild, as good as redfish or trout.

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Thu Oct 18, 2012 11:30 pm
by Boater45
We have them here in Oklahoma, Freshwater Sheepshead (AKA: Drum) they are pretty fishy, most people catch them and use them as cut bait and cut out the bone in their head...see below.

Freshwater drum have particularly large otoliths, stonelike objects found in the ear of many animals. The otoliths help the drum to sense when it is oriented vertically in water too cloudy to see clearly. These otoliths, which can be more than one inch in diameter, have been used by humans for currency, jewelry, and good luck charms.

http://fish.dnr.cornell.edu/nyfish/Scia ... nidae.html

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Thu Oct 18, 2012 11:40 pm
by Cracker Larry
Interesting that there is a freshwater species also. Ours are saltwater only. There are quite a few fish in the saltwater drum family, red drum (redfish), black drum, sheepshead, croaker and some others, but I didn't know that there were related fresh water species. Learn something new every day 8) Our saltwater drum are not real fishy tasting, they are a mild fish. I don't like fishy tasting fish, if that makes any sense :lol:

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Fri Oct 19, 2012 10:58 am
by Boater45
Caught this spring in Mississippi.....they are very tasty!!!
Image

Sorry about the hijack... :oops:

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Fri Oct 19, 2012 11:37 am
by Cracker Larry
It looks just like our sheepshead, but ours have teeth like a human. Does that fish have teeth?

Image

Nice picture :!:

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Fri Oct 19, 2012 12:31 pm
by Prarie Dog
Looks like the same fish we have in Texas. They do have a mouth full of teeth, to which the kid in the boat can attest. :D I tried to eat some smaller ones we caught years ago and the weren't any good. May have to give it another shot. Don't sweat the thread Hijack, we can even talk football or better yet CHEERLEADERS. :lol:

Image

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Fri Oct 19, 2012 12:35 pm
by Larry B
Cracker Larry wrote:It looks just like our sheepshead, but ours have teeth like a human. Does that fish have teeth?

Image

Nice picture :!:
Dang, Larry I thought you were showing off your new dental work :lol:

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Fri Oct 19, 2012 1:56 pm
by Cracker Larry
I need some. I wish my teeth looked that good :lol:

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Fri Oct 19, 2012 2:14 pm
by Prarie Dog
Cracker Larry wrote:Jeez, just look at that jig he built so that it would fit the modified GF12 properly ( my plywood, I think )...this man don't fool around
:lol: YOUR PLY WILL PROBABLY WIND UP ON MY TAB :lol:

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Fri Oct 19, 2012 3:41 pm
by Cracker Larry
Naw, I gave it to him. I'll get even 8)

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Mon Oct 22, 2012 3:13 pm
by Cracker Larry
Paul, here is your leaning post, in Raymond's gheenoe :lol:

Image

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Mon Oct 22, 2012 5:40 pm
by Uncle D
Man, that thing looks like an easy chair. Need a slide out ottoman.

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Mon Oct 22, 2012 6:43 pm
by Cracker Larry
It's probably got one :lol: Wait until you see the upholstery work.

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Mon Oct 22, 2012 6:56 pm
by AtTheBrink
That is some fine aluminum work! 8O How do I get ahold of this guy? I'd like to at quote for a poling platform.

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Mon Oct 22, 2012 7:02 pm
by Cracker Larry
I ain't giving his number to anybody else until my new T-top gets built :D

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Mon Oct 22, 2012 7:07 pm
by Cracker Larry
Just kidding :D

Raymond Martin
Martin Marine Design and Fabrication
Hardeeville, SC
843-784-6110
lunker@hargray.net


Tell him I sent you, I'll get a better discount on my top :D

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Mon Oct 22, 2012 8:44 pm
by AtTheBrink
Cracker Larry wrote:I ain't giving his number to anybody else until my new T-top gets built :D
8O
:lol:

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Mon Oct 22, 2012 10:07 pm
by Prarie Dog
Larry, thanks for posting that pic. Kinda looks like Raymond might be trying it out in his Ghenoee to see if it'll work. I understand he builds a bunch of accesoies for those little boats, might be a new product for him. Here's a pic of the upholstry for the backrest. T and SWMBO think it looks awesome, I'm so bad with colors don't have a clue. LOL

Image

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Mon Oct 22, 2012 10:13 pm
by AtTheBrink
Looks purdy yella.

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Mon Oct 22, 2012 10:20 pm
by Prarie Dog
Here's a pic of the interior color of the boat. I think the upholstery is a too dark. The color on the boat is Sterling "Lemon Mist".

The upholstery would match the key chain float. :D

Image

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Mon Oct 22, 2012 10:30 pm
by Cracker Larry
Yeller ain't my color either, but it ain't my boat. You'll like the quality, if not the color :D
I understand he builds a bunch of accessories for those little boats,
To say the least. If you want to see some of them, check out his little gheenoe rebuild that he plays with for design ideas and fun in his spare time. Thread is here, at customgheenoe.com. This is page 1 of 7. Scroll through them to see some really amazing work. He also has a lot of his work on microskiff.com

http://www.customgheenoe.com/forum/view ... sc&start=0

Just an example. Through bulkhead rod tubes and drain fittings... 8O

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Bow eye backing plate, powder coated, of course.

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Tiller extension

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Trim tabs

Image

And lots more, jack plate, trolling motor mount, rod holders, stake out brackets, he never stops. Makes me tired just to talk to him :lol:

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Mon Oct 22, 2012 10:39 pm
by Prarie Dog
Larry, it just demonstrates how awesome his stuff is. In addition to that stuff he repairs towers on large sportfishers that have been damaged in a variety of ways. A month or two ago he told me about welding on a tower 40 feet in the air wearing a safety. For those of you that haven't ever welded at any height it's all good till you close the helmet, then it's more than a little wiggy. His work is perfect up there too. Quite a guy!!

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Mon Oct 22, 2012 11:01 pm
by Cracker Larry
Yeah, most of his money work is on mega yachts in the Hilton Head area. Towers, tops and rails. I recently helped him with a bow rail that was over 30' long. Helped in that I held one end while he did everything else :lol: But he likes building the little micro-skiff projects when he has time. It's just filler between the real jobs.

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Mon Oct 22, 2012 11:53 pm
by Mike_B
This guy's work is amazing. It would take a truckload of metal and 6 months for me to make a weld as clean as his. :D Also alot of great tips added to my notebook.


Mike_B

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Tue Oct 23, 2012 12:22 am
by AtTheBrink
Prarie Dog wrote:Here's a pic of the interior color of the boat. I think the upholstery is a too dark. The color on the boat is Sterling "Lemon Mist".

The upholstery would match the key chain float. :D

Image
Thats a lot of "Lemon Mist"...
That is the color I have been planning on painting the hull of my FS-18, topsides matterhorn white...
It's good to see a good picture of the color in a sunny setting.

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Wed Oct 24, 2012 12:31 am
by Prarie Dog
AtTheBrink wrote:Thats a lot of "Lemon Mist"...That is the color I have been planning on painting the hull of my FS-18, topsides matterhorn white...It's good to see a good picture of the color in a sunny setting.
Looking at the pic it's hard to keep in mind it's a 12 ft boat with sponsons on it. We bought one quart of the stuff and have put three coats on the interior except for the floor. We've been waiting on the leaning post to paint the floor because we have the no skid additive to put in the paint and want to mask around where the feet of the LP go. I think we have enough to do that too. One quart of green painted the hull sides four times and I think there is still almost a pint left. It goes a long ways. FWIW find some white primer to use for the last couple of coats, the Lemon Mist doesn't want to cover the S3 grey very well.

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Wed Oct 24, 2012 12:39 am
by Prarie Dog
BTW we got the prop in today, too bad we're leaving to go hunting tomorrow or we could try it out this weekend. It is a Powertech prop that is PN SRT3R8PYM15 with something done to the rake. It isn't a standard prop for them and they had to cast it. If it doesn't work we can buy a heavy silver chain and wear it for jewelry, it ought to really stand out in the hood. :D

Image

Image

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Wed Oct 24, 2012 10:58 am
by AtTheBrink
Prarie Dog wrote:
AtTheBrink wrote:Thats a lot of "Lemon Mist"...That is the color I have been planning on painting the hull of my FS-18, topsides matterhorn white...It's good to see a good picture of the color in a sunny setting.
Looking at the pic it's hard to keep in mind it's a 12 ft boat with sponsons on it. We bought one quart of the stuff and have put three coats on the interior except for the floor. We've been waiting on the leaning post to paint the floor because we have the no skid additive to put in the paint and want to mask around where the feet of the LP go. I think we have enough to do that too. One quart of green painted the hull sides four times and I think there is still almost a pint left. It goes a long ways. FWIW find some white primer to use for the last couple of coats, the Lemon Mist doesn't want to cover the S3 grey very well.
I had heard that Sterling painp goes a long way, great info! And thanks for the heads up on the primer issue. I guess I'll use Sterling primer, it is a buff color isn't it?

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Sat Oct 27, 2012 9:41 pm
by Prarie Dog
Mike, I don't know what color the sterling primer is. Joel could probably answer that one for you.

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Sat Oct 27, 2012 11:46 pm
by Prarie Dog
Was going through Emails, we've been out of town for four days and Raymond sent some pics of the leaning post. The email is really cool in that he shows the steps he takes putting the cushions together, yes he does that, in addition to the metal work. Pretty impressive stuff. Should I start a thread on that stuff on Anything Else??

Image

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Sun Oct 28, 2012 8:55 am
by topwater
Thats a real nice leaning post... 8)

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Sun Oct 28, 2012 9:32 am
by Swamp Skiff
Prarie Dog wrote:Was going through Emails, we've been out of town for four days and Raymond sent some pics of the leaning post. The email is really cool in that he shows the steps he takes putting the cushions together, yes he does that, in addition to the metal work. Pretty impressive stuff. Should I start a thread on that stuff on Anything Else??
I'd be interested!

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Thu Nov 08, 2012 6:03 pm
by Cracker Larry
Paul, Raymond just left my house and told me that he shipped your leaning post out yesterday. You can probably build the next boat from the crate he built to pack it in 8O

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Wed Nov 14, 2012 2:43 pm
by Prarie Dog
Thanks Larry,
Alicia got home last night and the freight guy had unloaded the crate in the driveway where we park cars. T and I stayed in town for two hockey practices the last was over at 11 pm. :( T suffers from the too many teams syndrome, if a kid is playing for a team that has 110 touches, then he should try out for another team that has another 60 or so. So he tried out for and made his high school team and many of their practices are LATE!!

So, not wanting to leave it in the drive Alicia, couldn't pick it up, fires up the tractor and uses the loader bucket to haul it to the BBB. She then sent me a pic of the crate in the barn.

Did I mention, I love farm girls. :D

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Wed Nov 14, 2012 3:36 pm
by Cracker Larry
That's a good woman right there 8)

I'm glad he finally finished your stuff so he can get back to mine :D He's building a new T-top for my OD18 :D He doesn't like the one I have.

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Wed Nov 14, 2012 5:11 pm
by AtTheBrink
Thats a good looking seat you got there! He does some fine work. Looks comfortable.

Larry, I need a friend like that!

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Wed Nov 14, 2012 5:23 pm
by Cracker Larry
Larry, I need a friend like that!
Everybody needs friends like that :D I'm blessed in having quite a few of them :D

A woman who will load a crate with a tractor, I ain't got. It would still be sitting in the driveway, waiting on me to move it :lol:

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Wed Nov 14, 2012 11:17 pm
by Prarie Dog
We uncrated the leaning post tonight and set it in the boat. Looks like it belongs there. It's really nice ordering stuff like this from a pro, fits perfect. He must have spent a couple of days building the crate, good thing too because it looks like some knucklehead stuck a forklift fork through the side of the crate, missed everything but the crate. 8O

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Re: T's GF12

Posted: Wed Nov 14, 2012 11:44 pm
by flyfishingmonk
That looks awesome!!!

I really want to build the FS18 and something like that, with a small platform behind it, would be perfect.

Casey

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Wed Nov 14, 2012 11:59 pm
by Prarie Dog
Thanks Casey, Raymond is truly skilled!! We originally thought of putting a platform on the back of this boat but decided not to, if it were a FS18 it would have to have one.

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Thu Nov 15, 2012 12:14 am
by cali123
WOW, thats beautiful Paul. Now to make a mount up front for the chain saw to cut the ice so you can try that beauty out. :lol: :lol:

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Thu Nov 15, 2012 9:29 am
by Swamp Skiff
Very impressive! Not just the leaning post!

Swamp

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Thu Nov 15, 2012 9:46 am
by Cracker Larry
Paul, you didn't show off the cool storage box under the seat. It's amazing what he can do with starboard too :!: The yellow in the seat came out real close to the boat color. Raymond was worried about that, as the choices of yellow fabric is very limited.
Looks great, as expected :D

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Thu Nov 15, 2012 11:01 am
by Prarie Dog
cali123 wrote:WOW, thats beautiful Paul. Now to make a mount up front for the chain saw to cut the ice so you can try that beauty out. :lol: :lol:
You're right Cali, it's fixing to get real cold here and we're too busy to spend any time with it. It may be spring before we're able to get back too it.
Swamp Skiff wrote:Very impressive! Not just the leaning post!

Swamp
Thanks Swamp, Raymond does some awesome work, the beauty of using his stuff is it stands out and folks don't look at the boat build too close. :D
Cracker Larry wrote:Paul, you didn't show off the cool storage box under the seat. It's amazing what he can do with starboard too :!: The yellow in the seat came out real close to the boat color. Raymond was worried about that, as the choices of yellow fabric is very limited.
Looks great, as expected :D
You're right Larry, didn't post a pic of the storage box but plan too when I do the thread on this seat build. Emailed Joel this morning and he said it was fine to do so. Will have to get Alicia to take some pics of this seat with her nice camera so we have some good one's to post up. We're very pleased with the yellow and the seat, almost had a heartattack looking at the hole in the side of the crate, had visions of a mangled leg or something but it's all good.

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Thu Nov 15, 2012 11:30 am
by Cracker Larry
almost had a heartattack looking at the hole in the side of the crate, had visions of a mangled leg or something but it's all good.
Alicia didn't fess up about her tractor driving skills :?: :lol:

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Thu Nov 15, 2012 3:12 pm
by hockey52
Careful there Larry! :x :lol: The hole doesn't match anything on the tractor anyway. :wink: It wasn't that hard to take care of, I just didn't want to leave it out in the drive and knew it was going to be midnight before the boys got home from hockey practice. :help:

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Thu Nov 15, 2012 4:32 pm
by Cracker Larry
:lol:

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Thu Nov 15, 2012 7:16 pm
by wegcagle
That boat is absolutely awesome 8) Dang, T must be one heck of a son to deserve a present like that. Only thing left to do now is to enjoy it huh?

Will

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Thu Nov 15, 2012 11:37 pm
by Prarie Dog
Thanks, Will. Guess we spoil him more than most kids but we're having fun with it.

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Thu Nov 15, 2012 11:49 pm
by wegcagle
Nothing wrong with that. I just got finished spending almost $100 on ballet clothes for my 3yo 8O The way I figure, if you keep them busy; you keep them out of trouble.

Will

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Thu Dec 13, 2012 8:33 pm
by Levelland65
The boat looks amazing.

With the new cupped prop your planing issues should be a thing of the past. Jack Foreman is a master prop guy and is one of the few prop technicians who understands prop needs for tunnel hulls. Most of the issues encountered with tunnels are more about the wrong prop and have little to do with the tunnel.

If you run into cavitation issues try a quality cavitation plate. I have used Shallow Baster cavitation plates on several tunnel hull boats. My last 16ft tunnel had a Stiffy cavitation plate — it made a huge difference. I had less prop blowout, better whole shots, better reverse and no overheating alarms.

Here is a link to the Stiffy cavitation plate:
http://stiffypushpoles.com/shawwing-cavitation-plates

Can't wait to see more photos and some video!

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Thu Dec 13, 2012 9:31 pm
by AtTheBrink
I'll back up Levelland on the Shaw Wing cavitation plate. I know Kevin personally and he knows what he is doing when it comes to boats and fiberglass. He makes boats as well as cavitation plates and pushpoles.

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Fri Dec 14, 2012 9:37 am
by Prarie Dog
Levelland65 wrote:The boat looks amazing
Thank you Levelland. We really are trying to test this prop but it seems like we're in a weather cycle that jacks up the weekends. Got up this morning to a Blizzard alert on my phone. Don't think it's happening this weekend, :( we do have three hockey games though. :)

I've called a couple of places down there to buy a cav plate and have struck out. The F20 has a small gearcase, different from the old 25 2 stroke, and haven't found any one making that plate, did order material to build my own. Jack says to build one that looks like the Boatright.

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Mon Dec 17, 2012 7:14 pm
by Hope2float
That is a nice clean looking boat. Great looking leaning post.
Dave

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Mon Dec 17, 2012 7:21 pm
by Prarie Dog
Hope2float wrote:That is a nice clean looking boat. Great looking leaning post.
Dave
Thanks Dave, Raymond did a great job on the leaning post. :D

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Sun Jun 02, 2013 9:02 pm
by Prarie Dog
We tried out our new prop a few weeks ago and it wants to blow out before it goes on plane. This is a fairly common problem on tunnel boats and is usually dealt with by adding a plate on the planer fin of the lower unit. We can't find anyone that builds one for this 20 horse motor so I ordered some sheet aluminum --.125 6056, and am building one. Here's a few pics. the plate shown will go below the planer fin and a top plate sandwiches the planer fin to hold the whole deal in place.

Image

Image

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Sun Jun 09, 2013 9:40 am
by Prarie Dog
To continue, we took the plate in to town to have some fellows break the sides with a sheet metal break. You can see from the picture that it broke a little too good. :doh: The alloy I selected for the plate is too hard and doesn't break well so we looked through their scrap pile and found some material that would break and made another plate.

Image

Image

Here's the finished piece on the motor, we're going to try to test it this afternoon. If anyone is wondering why this is taking so long, T is playing two kinds of baseball this summer and two kinds of Ice Hockey. If anybody would like to come drive him to all this stuff, I'll be happy to buy the gas. :D

Image

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Sun Jun 09, 2013 9:42 am
by Cracker Larry
That should work good Paul. Raymond made one almost identical for his tricked out Gheenoe and it does great. About time you got back to work :lol:

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Sun Jun 09, 2013 9:54 am
by Prarie Dog
Cracker Larry wrote:That should work good Paul. Raymond made one almost identical for his tricked out Gheenoe and it does great. About time you got back to work :lol:
We're hoping it works. I talked to Raymond about making one of these and he told me to make a cardboard mockup of it and send it to him and he'd build it. I took a couple of shots at that, then it occurred to me that just building it would be very little more trouble. If I hadn't had my head in my, you know what, I wouldn't have picked the wrong alloy. It says right on the metal suppliers website that the stuff I bought doesn't bend well. :doh:

We have been working, on SWMBO"s hobby room. Those of you that know her understand that I married a saint. I told her five years ago that I'd build her a hobby room, well, two boats later she's still waiting. We busted a move on it a couple of months ago and are making good progress. Thinking about doing a thread on it, it has a knotty pine ceiling and beaded oak paneling on the walls. I'm going to build the cabinets out of maple, and hope not to drive Richard nuts calling him with too many stupid questions. :lol:

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Sun Jun 09, 2013 11:35 am
by gstanfield
Looking good Paul, and good job working on the hobby room. My wife too is pretty patient gal, but sometimes I have to remind her that when I say I'll do something that I will do it, there is no need for her to remind me every six months... :wink:

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Mon Jun 10, 2013 3:21 pm
by hockey52
Not so sure about the saint part but I did say no more boats until I get my room. :wink:

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Mon Jun 10, 2013 3:34 pm
by Cracker Larry
Please don't tell Mrs. Cracker that :help: :lol:

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Mon Jun 10, 2013 8:14 pm
by Aripeka Angler
We have been working, on SWMBO"s hobby room. Those of you that know her understand that I married a saint. I told her five years ago that I'd build her a hobby room, well, two boats later she's still waiting. We busted a move on it a couple of months ago and are making good progress. Thinking about doing a thread on it, it has a knotty pine ceiling and beaded oak paneling on the walls. I'm going to build the cabinets out of maple, and hope not to drive Richard nuts calling him with too many stupid questions. :lol:
That would be a short drive for me :wink: Give me a call if you have cabinet questions :)

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Mon Jun 10, 2013 9:56 pm
by Prarie Dog
[quote=That would be a short drive for me :wink: Give me a call if you have cabinet questions :)[/quote]


Thanks Richard, will call, probably after the mistake. :lol:

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Sun Aug 18, 2013 4:28 pm
by Prarie Dog
It's been a while since we've been able to do anything on the skiff. We finally got our cupped prop back and after water testing it we don't have enough motor. The problem Jack pointed out to me is that with the F20 small gearcase motor the props are small and don't have much area. He says this causes the cupping, pitching process to be very touchy because a little bit too much cup causes the motor to load up and a little to little causes it to blow out. The problem isn't just one thing, it's two, too little horsepower and too little prop area.

I've pretty much decided to do one or the other of two things.
1. Fill the tunnel and remove the sponsons.
2. Find a Yamaha 30 2Stroke, they used to make some that had the larger gearcase and weighed about 5lbs more than the F20 we now have. This allows us to use the larger props, and; if what I'm told is correct, will give us about twice the usable power we now have. The prop guys tell me that the older two strokes made their power a lot earlier in the powerband and were much better in these applications.

I'd be very interested in any thoughts or ideas anyone has. In particular, where I can find one of those motors. :D

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Sun Aug 18, 2013 8:48 pm
by Cracker Larry
I'd be very interested in any thoughts or ideas anyone has.
Paul, Jacques is a dang good boat designer, he knows what he's doing. You are a dang good mechanic, among other things :D But he ain't a mechanic and you ain't a boat designer :wink: There is no reason in the world that a GF12 needs 30 hp to act right 8O My GF16 was fast enough to scare people with a 25.
1. Fill the tunnel and remove the sponsons.
There is your answer, it is a very good boat as designed and will run great with 15 or 20 hp.

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Tue Aug 26, 2014 3:02 pm
by Prarie Dog
Image

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Tue Aug 26, 2014 3:09 pm
by jacquesmm
Cracker Larry wrote:
Paul, Jacques is a dang good boat designer, he knows what he's doing. You are a dang good mechanic, among other things :D But he ain't a mechanic and you ain't a boat designer :wink: There is no reason in the world that a GF12 needs 30 hp to act right 8O My GF16 was fast enough to scare people with a 25.
I missed that but it is correct when it comes to outboards. I can calculate what the boat needs but you are better off reading the reports of other owners. I also tend to be very careful for liability reasons. :wink:

BTW, that's for outboards. I know inboards. I worked for Cigarette as an engineer and I can rebuild a Yanmar diesel with one hand tied behind my back but I am not an outboard specialist.
And Jack the prop guy is not me, it's another Jack.

Your tunnel creates drag. No tunnel boat will ever work as well as a plain good nice straight hull. And the sponsons may also be part of the problem.

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Tue Aug 26, 2014 11:11 pm
by Prarie Dog
jacquesmm wrote:Cracker Larry wrote:Paul, Jacques is a dang good boat designer, he knows what he's doing. You are a dang good mechanic, among other things But he ain't a mechanic and you ain't a boat designer There is no reason in the world that a GF12 needs 30 hp to act right My GF16 was fast enough to scare people with a 25.
You may be right with your comments Larry except the comment about me being a boat designer. I've never held myself out as one nor have I ever said that. I am a boat modifier as are a lot of guys on the forum. It's fun to make it your own and if it's your time and money who's harmed except, perhaps yourself.

jacquesmm wrote:I missed that but it is correct when it comes to outboards. I can calculate what the boat needs but you are better off reading the reports of other owners. I also tend to be very careful for liability reasons.
I absolutely get this.
jacquesmm wrote:Your tunnel creates drag.
It certainly does.
jacquesmm wrote:No tunnel boat will ever work as well as a plain good nice straight hull
It won't be as efficient for sure. But when you're looking at several miles of flats with a foot of water on them, and need to run to plane, an XF20 looks a lot better than a PH18.
jacquesmm wrote:And the sponsons may also be part of the problem.
The sponsons reduce the draft at rest. We have video of the water flow at the back of the hull, the sponsons don't seem to disturb the water flow at all. It is prone to porpising which may be caused by the sponsons but my GF18 did it some too until we put the tail on the planer fin, got the right prop, and set the motor height where it is now. :D

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Wed Aug 27, 2014 5:05 am
by jorgepease
Don't know the performance your trying to get out of it but Mowdy makes a small tunnel with sponsons, I think they have them starting at 10' long. http://mowdyboats.com ...

Also I don't know why sponsons would cause porpoising ... if anything I would think they would eliminate it.

... I'd keep playing with the prop before I got rid of the tunnel and sponsons.

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Wed Aug 27, 2014 9:26 am
by Prarie Dog
jorgepease wrote:Don't know the performance your trying to get out of it but Mowdy makes a small tunnel with sponsons, I think they have them starting at 10' long. http://mowdyboats.com ...
The S10 is one of the boats I was thinking about when we built this hull, good catch!
jorgepease wrote:Also I don't know why sponsons would cause porpoising ... if anything I would think they would eliminate it.
Good point, they are in a way, built in trim tabs that should make the boat run flat.
jorgepease wrote:... I'd keep playing with the prop before I got rid of the tunnel and sponsons.
We need to move the motor forward and up some, this motor is longer than the transom was designed for, once we get this done we can go to work on the prop and possibly a compression plate. :D

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Wed Aug 27, 2014 9:40 am
by jacquesmm
It's not because they advertise it that it works. :D

Sponsons can provoke porpoising if they are not a perfect extension of the running surface. It looks like they were built properly here.
In this case, I think we mostly have a bottom pressure problem because of the tunnel. There is a mix of lift and suction, turbulence in the tunnel and water that stalls then flows then stalls etc.
That's a tunnel, always messy.
The builder must have understood that intuitively because he added a wide cavitation plate.
He was on the right track there.

It started with a good idea but on the wrong boat. The builder wanted a tunnel and understood that it would reduce the lift area therefore he added surface with the sponsons.
It didn't work because the boat is too small and too narrow.

Jack the outboard man mentioned above proposed to solve it with brute force. It may work, it probably will not work. A bigger heavier engine will push us further in the vicious circle of adding power then need more power because we added weight and changed the trim.

The GF12 is a great little boat as designed but they are too narrow for a tunnel. Try to stay away from tunnels.

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Wed Aug 27, 2014 9:44 am
by jacquesmm
Prarie Dog wrote:
We need to move the motor forward and up some, this motor is longer than the transom was designed for, once we get this done we can go to work on the prop and possibly a compression plate. :D
Wait, do you mean that the prop is too deep? Is the cavitation plate below the bottom?
Motor height may be a factor. You may be able to get a better flow by playing with motor height and that could improve the behavior.

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Wed Aug 27, 2014 3:08 pm
by jorgepease
The prop does look a bit buried in the pic of you running but looked about right on the trailer. Here is a pic of the mowdy tunnel, 4" height according to a post on the 2coolfishingforums ... rated up to 50 hp I believe.

They are small for sure but since I have seen a couple of other scooters about the same size pull it off, I think you might be able to resolve your problem with a little fine tuning. Try loading extra weights up front to see if that helps.

... great little boat, heard they started making them again. Good Luck! I don't think you will find anyone that talks bad about them.

Image

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Wed Aug 27, 2014 4:53 pm
by Prarie Dog
The earlier pictures in this thread were with a Yamaha 20 we had on the boat, the new motor is a 30hp Etech, and yes, I didn't want an Etech but it's the lightest 30 I could find. In the pic you can see I put a manual jackplate on the boat and it's too low, the planer fin is about centered up on the tunnel. I need to raise the motor and get the clamp pretty much centered on the transom to get the prop as close as possible to the tunnel outlet. We will then try to get it to work well without a plate by working with the prop, if that isn't enough we will make a compression plate for it. The boat performs pretty well rigged like it sits, but it does porpise with one person and having the motor that deep defeats the purpose of the tunnel. We drove to Texas last Thursday, they hung the motor on Friday, we played with it a little bit on Saturday and Sunday and drove back up here on Monday. Made about a 35 mile run on Sunday and it burned about 3.75 gallons of fuel. Pretty stingy. :D


Image

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Wed Aug 27, 2014 8:49 pm
by jorgepease
Cool, I love it.

Check out these vids of the Chiquitas running super skinny, prop is just about completely out of the water! I bet when you raise the motor a bit your probs will be solved, that helps with propoising !!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_jb5D-VMVfU

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9jcRltJrJ0Q

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Wed Aug 27, 2014 9:30 pm
by Prarie Dog
jorgepease wrote:Cool, I love it.
Thanks Jorge, if we can make it work we'll love it too.
jorgepease wrote:Check out these vids of the Chiquitas running super skinny, prop is just about completely out of the water! I bet when you raise the motor a bit your probs will be solved, that helps with propoising !!
Great videos, thanks for posting the links, I've seen several videos of Chiquitas but not those two. :D

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Wed Aug 27, 2014 9:52 pm
by Cracker Larry
I've seen several videos of Chiquitas but not those two. :D
:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Sat Oct 11, 2014 4:39 pm
by Prarie Dog
Here's a link to several clips that SWMBO put together for me. They were taken with my phone so the quality isn't that good but a guy can see the progression in changes we made to the setup on the motor. The only way we could find a motor that was electric start and remote rigged was to buy a long (20") motor. I had a plate made to raise the motor and it isn't high enough nor is it at the right angle to get the prop close enough to the transom. We're going to do some mock up on the setup this winter and have a bracket made that will accomplish what we need to do. Here's the video.

http://youtu.be/DR7Z7Q8Ek_k

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Sat Oct 11, 2014 7:34 pm
by Cracker Larry
Wow, 30 hp on a GF12 8) :lol: From the looks of that video the motor does need to be raised considerably, then it's really going to haul ass :lol:

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Sat Oct 11, 2014 10:03 pm
by Prarie Dog
Cracker Larry wrote:Wow, 30 hp on a GF12 8) :lol: From the looks of that video the motor does need to be raised considerably, then it's really going to haul ass :lol:
That's what we're hoping, think it's running about 25 right now at full throttle but having the motor as deep as it is, is causing a lot of drag. We did make a run that was 35 to 40 miles and it used a tick over 5 gallons of fuel. Mr Prudhome got to go saltwater fishing for the first time, we have a convert. :D He caught a bunch of average sized reds and trout and asked me if I'd ever seen the fishing better, I told him yeah, sometimes everything you catch is half again bigger than what he was catching, he was pretty wowsered.

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Sun Oct 12, 2014 8:33 am
by terrulian
I'm not a power boater or fisherman so that kind of leaves me out of a lot of these discussions but I eavesdrop anyway to see if I might discover something. The word "wowsered" may be the most important thing I've learned so far. Going right into the vocabulary.

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Sun Oct 12, 2014 8:42 am
by Cracker Larry
think it's running about 25 right now at full throttle but having the motor as deep as it is, is causing a lot of drag.
Yes, it should do a lot better than that. I'm guessing it should run about 40. My GF16 would run 35 with a 25 hp merc. 2 stroke.

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Sun Oct 12, 2014 12:58 pm
by Noles309
I'm guessing its the tunnel, sponsons and all the extra weight since a 30 hp is triple what is recommended for the boat.
Very pretty boat though.
Im hoping to get around 30mph out of my 20hp 4s on my gf16...

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Sun Oct 12, 2014 5:32 pm
by Jim_Davisson
This will be one fun boat to run. Even if the fishing isn't so good, getting back to the ramp will make up for it.

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Sun Oct 12, 2014 8:30 pm
by Prarie Dog
Noles309 wrote:I'm guessing its the tunnel, sponsons and all the extra weight since a 30 hp is triple what is recommended for the boat.
Very pretty boat though.
Im hoping to get around 30mph out of my 20hp 4s on my gf16...
I'm thinking you'll be doing good to get 25 out of your 16 with a 20 4 stroke. If you read the performance bulletins published by Etec and Yamaha on their motors on a variety of different boats you'll see what I mean. The 4 strokes are overrated and the 2 strokes are often under-rated. I think the reason is it's easy to make power with a 2 stroke and much more difficult to make similar power in a similar package, weight being the enemy. After doing a lot of research on the topic I've discovered that the 20hp 4 stroke yammy's make about 17 horsepower at sea level, where I live deduct another 12% for the altitude and that caused my problem with the Yamaha. The boat doesn't feel overpowered or dangerous in any way with the 30 ETEC on it, if you do the Coast Guard Calcs from their tables with the differences we made in this boat, added length with the sponsons, raised sole with stringers, remote steering etc it comes in at 29 hp and change, thus the thirty. I'm not looking to get hurt nor have my kid get hurt with it.

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Sun Oct 12, 2014 8:41 pm
by Prarie Dog
Jim_Davisson wrote:This will be one fun boat to run. Even if the fishing isn't so good, getting back to the ramp will make up for it.

It is pretty fun to run, even with the deficiencys with the current rigging. Running in the intercoastal doesn't require any steering inputs, all you have to do is put a foot on a gunwale and push down to get a course change. I was pretty surprised that it will plane with the baitwell full, the fuel tank full, and a 6 gallon backup tank on the boat, 2 up. The two of us weigh about 380.

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Mon Oct 13, 2014 10:55 am
by Noles309
Prarie Dog wrote: I'm thinking you'll be doing good to get 25 out of your 16 with a 20 4 stroke. If you read the performance bulletins published by Etec and Yamaha on their motors on a variety of different boats you'll see what I mean. The 4 strokes are overrated and the 2 strokes are often under-rated. I think the reason is it's easy to make power with a 2 stroke and much more difficult to make similar power in a similar package, weight being the enemy. After doing a lot of research on the topic I've discovered that the 20hp 4 stroke yammy's make about 17 horsepower at sea level, where I live deduct another 12% for the altitude and that caused my problem with the Yamaha. The boat doesn't feel overpowered or dangerous in any way with the 30 ETEC on it, if you do the Coast Guard Calcs from their tables with the differences we made in this boat, added length with the sponsons, raised sole with stringers, remote steering etc it comes in at 29 hp and change, thus the thirty. I'm not looking to get hurt nor have my kid get hurt with it.
Good points. Cedarock was telling me he got 27mph out of his GF14 with a Suzuki 15 4s. I am hopeful, but that zuke is really light though, like 90lbs or so. My Nissan/Tohatsu is 124lbs with electric start.

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Mon Oct 13, 2014 3:30 pm
by jaydillyo@yahoo.com
Here are some boat tests for the yamaha F20 that I also have.

http://yamahaoutboards.com/sites/defaul ... f20esh.pdf

http://yamahaoutboards.com/sites/defaul ... f20tlr.pdf

26.7 mph out of a 14 foot boat with 833 lb total weight doesn't seem too bad to me. If I can manage 20 mph with a passenger in my FS14 I'll be happy.

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Mon Oct 13, 2014 5:03 pm
by Prarie Dog
jaydillyo@yahoo.com wrote:26.7 mph out of a 14 foot boat with 833 lb total weight doesn't seem too bad to me. If I can manage 20 mph with a passenger in my FS14 I'll be happy.
Going by what I experienced with mine and what months of looking for a 30 here's what I discovered. The 20hp 4 strokes are available used all over the place because they have a deserved reputation for not being very powerful. According to the guys at Bridge City Prop, the problem with the F20 is it has the same gearcase as the 10HP. It doesn't have much gear reduction nor does it have room to swing a very big prop, so what happens is they are tough to prop in marginal applications. If the hull is slightly overloaded or has a little more drag for a variety of reasons the boat won't run to plane. I have a 9 pitch blade for my F20 that had the cup changed three different ways and it would never plane. The guy told me when I first called that I didn't have enough motor for the boat/gear reduction/prop blade area etc. He also told me that the F20 was considered a dawg by guys that were experienced with the old 25HP 2 strokes. These guys aren't happy with current regs that have put us in this place. Longer wider boats that will handle the weight of the heavier 4 strokes don't suffer as much as smaller narrow hulls.

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Mon Oct 13, 2014 8:22 pm
by jaydillyo@yahoo.com
I hear ya. If the F20 doesn't do it, I'll have to sell her... or build another boat that it can power.

Should I need to get something else, I have my eyes on the new Suzuki DF30A. 30hp, electric start, ptt, 158lbs. I'm anxious to see some actual reports. I'm going to stick with 4 stroke as I'll be doing a lot of canal cruising at slow speed. Of course I want to get the boat up on plane with a passenger though.

http://www.suzukimarine.com/Product%20L ... DF30A.aspx

So ends the thread hijack.

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Sun Dec 28, 2014 11:36 pm
by timoub007
Hi PD,

Been a long time. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. Let me know how this thing is running and if I can offer any insights. I'm way behind on reading these boards so I don't have a clue where you are other than seeing you got a "better" motor. (I put a 25 ETEC on my GF16T)

Tim

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Sun Jan 04, 2015 2:26 pm
by Prarie Dog
Hey Tim, Happy Holidays to you too. The GF 12 needs to have the motor raised and perhaps a wedge. I had a small manual jackplate built for it that doesn't have enough height to get the job done, that plate also has some setback that isn't good for this setup. I recently bought a cherry picker to hold the motor at the right height so we can get some good numbers on exactly what we need so I don't build another plate that's unsuitable. In addition it's been very cold here so the shop isn't exactly a nice environment to work in. When the weather warms some we'll get back on it. The 30 Etech is nice. :D

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Sun Jan 04, 2015 11:20 pm
by jacquesmm
timoub007 wrote:Hi PD,

Been a long time. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. Let me know how this thing is running and if I can offer any insights. I'm way behind on reading these boards so I don't have a clue where you are other than seeing you got a "better" motor. (I put a 25 ETEC on my GF16T)
This is about a heavily modified GF12: a tunnel with what looks like a step in it has been added and also sponsons.
It does not mean that a regular GF12 needs that much HP: I have seen one planing easily with a 10 HP.
I don't want people to think that a GF12 needs such a big engine.
This is an experimental boat and I wish they'll get the boat running but I can't help much.

Re: T's GF12

Posted: Fri Jan 23, 2015 1:16 pm
by deuce_454
erhm... im sorry to be the one to suggest this... i have a s suspicion that im not the only one to think this.... and i mean no offence by this... but how about building different boat ?

even just a GF14 built with emphasis on keeping the weight low will in my humble opinion fit your bill much better than your experiment ... it looks heavy as is and adding a bigger engine will make it sit even lower... negating all the work with the tunnel...

im not trying to piss anyone off and it looked like you are having a blast building this thing.... but it looks like it has gone thru a lot of design iterations and my suggestion is to build a 2.0