Hi, new here

[Lee Young]

Well, hi! I'm super green when it comes to boats. I've driven plenty across the years, but that's about it. Wife has been wanting a boat to pull around a tube, and ride around in. I'd like one to do some casual fishing in. I have access to some wood, and I have about 50 sheets of 44"x44" 1/2" plywood. I've been toying with the idea of building a small boat to accomplish our needs/wants, but no clue where to start.

Browsed some of the posts, but a lot of them are specific topics. Anyone point me in the right direction on gaining some more knowledge? Anything I should know about? Will my plywood be acceptable for building a smaller utility (I think it's called) boat? I'm thinking I'd like to do something similar to the bass boat conversions people do on jon boats, but still have it be able to pull inflatables.

Thanks for the replies in advance!

 

[bajansailor]

Welcome to the Forum Lee.

Quite honestly, for your given 'Statement of Requirements' -

" Wife has been wanting a boat to pull around a tube, and ride around in. I'd like one to do some casual fishing in."

Your best bet would be to go on to boat brokerage sites like www.yachtworld.com and look for something suitable secondhand. It will most probably be much cheaper than building it yourself, and it will be a proven design that works.

Re your "50 sheets of 44" x 44" x 1/2" plywood" - I think that that the best use for this is probably to keep it for building furniture or shelves, as I doubt that it is marine grade (?).
And I am baffled re the size - normally plywood is 96" x 48"?

If you REALLY want to build a 'small' speedboat, your best bet would be to buy a set of plans - the cost of the plans will be a tiny fraction of the cost of building the boat.
Here is a typical example of the wide range of boats available from one designer - do any of these take your fancy?
Spira Boats - Wood Boat Plans, Wooden Boat Plans https://spirainternational.com/hp_wood_boats.html

Or the Candlefish designs from Sam Devlin?
Fishing Boats https://devlinboat.com/shop/fishing-boats/

Or even something like a Sea Sled? Dog Cavalry (who posts on this Forum) is currently building a larger (25') Sea Sled to his own design.
Texas Sled 18 (TX18) - Study Plans https://bateau.com/studyplans/TX18_study.php?prod=TX18

Or designs from the other side of the Atlantic?
Motor Boats up to 16' http://www.selway-fisher.com/Mcup16.htm

 

[tpenfield]

Considering 'super green' and your stated purposes . . .

You would be better served to buy a used boat to learn boating, find out what you actually want in a boat, and understand how boats are made. The material you have (being 44" square) really is not big enough to build a decent boat. You would need/want longer sheets of plywood. Also any plywood should be either 'exterior' or 'marine' rated. . . not sure if that is the case.

You could also get some plans for various boats, if you want to build one in the future. Also, make sure you have lots of money, building a boat is not a money-saving proposition.

Boating itself is dangerous, (it only looks like fun. . . ) so if you are inexperienced, take a boating safety course before you venture too far into it.