Being fortunate enough to have a Grandfather living on the Muskoka river, I have always watched boats of all kinds pass by. I was enthralled with the wood boats but for ever and a day thinking that they were out of my reach. Going to the boat shows got me thinking I would like to build a boat. I started to look on the net for a few simple runabouts. I almost settled on the glen-L boat "TNT", however this was a little to simple. My search continued and I saw an ad in Wooden Boat magazine for the Rascal. It was a ½" by 1" black and white ad not too clear but it looked like a classic design. I thought I would order the plans and have a look. The plans arrived; I was thrilled with the design. The next thought was, what do all these lines and offsets mean? Not knowing anything about building a boat or even seeing plans for a boat, it was all a little daunting. The more we looked at the plans the more confused I got. So my business partner and I sat down to figure out what was going on. We looked at the plans during lunchtime for a month. During this I also read "Building with Plywood". After that it was time to take the plunge. I went to Noah's purchased some mahogany for the frames and plywood for the transom. The boat is a cold molded hull and deck over spruce frames. I used mahogany instead of spruce for the frames. It was designed in 1989 for a 60 hp outboard, top speed excess of 50 mph. Length 14'10', beam 5'4" hull wt. 450 lbs equipped wt. 750 lbs. Fuel 12 gal. Over the next year I built the boat on weekends and some evenings. The wood part was not difficult. Laying out the frames and then putting on the chine and sheer, I sailed thought it. Until this experience I was a total power tool man. If it did not have a power source it was too slow. However, boat building forced me to learned the benefit of hand tools and now appreciate that sometimes there is no better way to go, its also made me a much better carpenter. I now have a whole new appreciation for the hand tool and have several new planes and chisels in the shop. Being that this was my first attempt at building and having no one to ask about it , I got a lot of help on glues and other needed chemicals from the people at Noah's. I also was able to talk to the designer Ken Bassett about questions I had. I did not have a lot of questions, the biggest was, I wanted to use a four-stroke motor instead of the two-stroke for which the boat was designed. He seemed to think that this would not cause a problem. I continued to finish the boat, I stained and varnish the deck and painted the sides. I purchased the motor and installed it. I then started to install the wiring. There are a lot of wires to my surprise when you add it all up. I went to buy more wire 3 times. I then looked for the needed hardware for the rest of the boat. This took a long time and was difficult as the hardware sold is for modern boats, not new, old looking ones. The launching finally came in May, with a big party. The boat turns well and handles the waves. I always say the boat will last longer then the driver on those rough days. The only problem I had was that at half throttle the boat would porpoise. At higher speeds it would porpoise violently. I added cavitation plates, to correct the problem but this lowers the top speed to less then 40mph. I have since found that the motor was installed to low. With this adjustment I still need the cavitation plates, but the boat runs much better with speeds over 45 mph. I attributed the problem to the heavier 4-stroke motor. I still like the 4-stroke better and would not want to change it. We named the boat "Sam's Smile". During the construction of the boat I always had a big grin on my face when I went into the shop, hence the name. Sam's Smile has traveled to a lot of waters, 4 day trip down the Trent Severn river system, off to the Rideau Canal, way up to the North Channel, However most noted are to Buffalo and Manotick boat shows where she won best Contemporary boat awards. She is currently in the shop for some repairs and a face lift to be at her best to celebrate the year of the outboard. This experience has turned me into a wooden boat nut. I joined the ACBS after I built this boat. With the knowledge I have gained since being a member of this club the boat would have turned out better, however the boat is why I joined. As with most things in my life I ask the questions after I am done. Cant wait to start another one. See you on the water. Happy Boating Chris |
