Building

It is claimed that you can build this boat in about six hours not including drying time. And they're not wrong as long as you don't take into consideration the 21 months I spent "thinking" about the project. Well you do have to do these things properly. After I'd finished thinking about it, total building time was about 20 hours.

O.K. so what do you get for your $49.99 (£30.00) I hear you ask? 2 pre-cut Cyprus stems, 3 sets of pre-cut and bevelled Cyprus ribs and 1 A3 set of plans and an A4 page for the FAQ found on Uncle John's website.
The whole thing was sent surface mail from Sulphur, Louisiana and took a couple weeks to arrive. Not bad when you consider the distance and the fact it had to come through our Customs system. It was very securely boxed and had a very satisfying weight to it when handed over by the postman.
To complete the kit you will need 2 sheets of ¼ inch plywood, some 2x1 inch pine, ¾ and 1 inch screws, waterproof glue, paint - primer and topcoat, glass fibre tape or cloth and some resin either epoxy or polyester.

When using the kit it is possible to built a boat small enough to hold one adult (12') or to take the whole family (15'8") but to achieve even the modest length of 12' you need to join your ply together. To do this Uncle John recommends using a scarf joint however, if like me you think this sounds a little technical you can always use a butt joint. The difference is simple; a scarf joint is made by sanding the ends of the ply so they form an overlapping joint. Whereas a butt joint is made by butting the 2 sheets of ply end to end and gluing an additional piece of ply over the top. Not as pretty but just as effective and a tad easier.

Once you have your sideboards cut to the required length and have cut the ends at a 45° angle its time to glue and screw sides to stems.
I'd suggest that you pre-drill at least 2 holes in both ends of both boards and likewise with the stems so everything lines up. If you can get a spare pair of hands for this it can make the process much easier as you're not trying to bend, glue, support and drive screws in at the same time. Once you have completed this task you should have something that looks... Boat-Shaped!

So now you have something that is boat shaped it's time to fit the ribs. The largest of the 3 goes in the middle and it doesn't matter which way round. The 2 smaller ribs are bevelled so will only fit one way. The ribs are secured using 1" screws while the glue sets, they can be removed later if you so desire but I thought that I'd leave mine in.
Just in case, I wasn't paranoid about my boat building skills; honest.
When the glue has set its time to bevel the bottoms of the sideboards. This is so there are no gaps between the bottom of the ribs, the sideboards and the bottom when they are all fitted together. As you can see in the 'bevel' picture this is a doddle to do. Secure two sheets of 80 grit sandpaper to a straight piece of timber and rub away until everything is level. For the two ends just use one sheet in the centre of the wood.

Now it's time to add the rub rails to the top of the sideboards. This adds protection to the boat when in use and makes it far more rigid. By this point I'm starting to believe that I might just have a Pirogue at the end of it all.
The longest lengths of 2"x1" pine I was able to find were only 10' long so the meant have to join 2 lengths together. Do this in whichever way gives you the most discreet join possible, worth taking a bit of time over again as if not it'll stick out like a sore thumb.
Maybe not to anyone else but you'll know it's there and it'll bug you, it does me.

So now it's time to convert your plywood submarine into a proper plywood boat. First of all turn the boat upside down and then place the bottom on top and weight it down so it doesn't move. Once you're happy that it isn't going to go anywhere draw round the sides giving yourself a spare ¼ inch all the way round.
Now cut it out, you can build this kit with hand tools but if you have access to a Jigsaw now is a good time to go and get it I'll wait :-). When I got the waste trimmed off roughly I put the bottom back on the bottom of the boat and redrew my line but this time tight to the sideboard. This is when the Jigsaw comes into it's own, a Coping Saw will do the job but the power tools win hands down. Its quick and accurate, this will not only save you time but also your sanity.

This is where the problem with Butt Jointing the bottom turns up. On the sideboards you sand their bottoms (ow!) level with the ribs and the side of the Butt joint is levelled in the process. That said it's not exactly difficult to get round it just takes a few minutes to solve. All you need is a straight edge / Steel rule, a craft knife, a mallet or hammer and a chisel or two. Ten minutes later you should have something that looks like... this!
Ten minutes later I had something that looked like "that" and was able to get on with the final cut, finally.

At the end of this stage you should have a boat that will float, it may not yet be waterproof but it will float (for a while at least). Anyway you get to make it watertight in the next section. Uncle John suggests tacking the bottom with 1" brads (small nails) here then un-tack one end and working from the centre glue and tack from the centre out. Then doing the same to the other half of the bottom.
I'm fairly cack-handed at the best of times so I didn't fancy trying to nail into ¼ inch ply without splitting it so I used a variation on John's theme. When I had the bottom lined up correctly I pinned it at each end then marked out the ribs inside the boat then flipped it over. I then drilled through the bottom so the holes lined up with the centre of the ribs, flip it over again so it's right way out and countersink the holes and line the whole lot up again. Once you're happy drill into the ribs through the holes in the bottom making pilot holes for the 1" screws you're going to use to attach the bottom to the ribs. These small screws and wood glue will not ultimately provide the strength in the boat so don't worry about them being inadequate for the job.
Apply glue to the centre rib and about 6" each way along the bottom of the sideboards and secure the bottom to the boat by screwing it to the rib. Now work your way towards the end of the boat gluing and stacking as you go. (This made the job easier!) Again at the next rib glue across and make sure everything is secured using 1" screws. At the very end of the bottom I used a 2" brass screw to secure the end just because I had some otherwise use the 1" screws again. Now you have one end attached do the other end while I go and put the kettle on and have a smoke.

In John's plans he mentions the lack of keel strip. The original from which the plans were taken didn't have one but as John says it's not difficult to add on and it will aid in the tracking. A couple of the builders also mentioned this on their pages so I thought if I'm going to add one do it now rather than find I want one later on. After giving it a couple of coats of "looking at" I opted for two short keel strips rather than one long one. I did this as I figure I will be usually using this boat alone so it should protect the bottom better than a single strip by lifting the entire boat off its bottom onto the two rails rather than rubbing on one rail and one of the two sides.
As an added bonus I found that once I'd fixed the rails on and the glue had cured it made a substantial difference in the stiffness of the floor of the boat, mainly round where I'll be sitting. (and with my weight that has to be a good thing.)

You should by this point have a grin so large that there is a real possibility that the top of your head may fall off or you're banging it against a wall. Chances are you'll be smiling and so you should be, you've just built one of the prettiest little boats you're ever likely to see. Those Cajun's know a good thing when they see one and this is a good thing. Trust me. ;-)
Now you want to be thinking about starting on filleting and taping the seams. This will provide the real strength to your Pirogue, it's already a solid little craft but once the glass and resin work is completed you will have a boat that will give you years of fun and enjoyment.

Epoxy: A Black Art