Julia Hunckler Plywood Boat

What to do during quarantine? Build a boat!

Like many, this pandemic has been quite the interruption to our daily lives. I took this interruption as an opportunity to do some things I have been wanting to accomplish for some time!

I am sharing the boat I made from plywood, pine wood, and lots of sealing epoxy!!

At first, I needed to figure out the design and look of the boat and how I was going to build it. I ended up building a small dinghy. I built a small replicate boat out of cardboard so I had a good idea before making the real boat. I drew my measurements for the boat with chalk as a visual for myself before building.

The next step was to build the sides of the boat. I ended up using strips of plywood. I nailed and glued every layer to create a sturdy side for the boat. With every layer, the boat became more rigid and less flexible. Using a pneumatic compressed nail gun, I was able to really create strong sides for the boat with no gaps. I attached the two sides together at the bow of the boat.

The next step I needed to do was creating cross sections that would act as support for the boat. This step also helped create the shape of the boat. This was an interesting step because the sides were much harder to bend than I had originally thought. With much rope, I was able to pull the sides together to form the shape I had hoped for.

The next step was to cut the bottom of the boat. To do this, I traced the boat onto a large OSB wood board and went at it with a saber saw. After that, I nailed it to sides of the boat... creating the hull.

To finish the boat, I cut wood for the stern. After the shape of the boat was completed, I stained the boat with a nice natural color and started the sealing process. I used water proofing caulk, flex seal, epoxy resin, and every other sealer I could find. After I was certain there were no leaks, I took my boat down to the river. It floated with no leaking!