Building a Wooden Jon Boat..pt.6

Today the boat is assembled! I finally got a break in the weather and managed to make some decent progress the past few days. When it is cool outside it can take a full 12 hrs or more for the epoxy glue to dry. This slows down progress considerably.

I glued the side panels together with a butt splice and then glued the side panels to the frames that have been mounted on the strongback. You have to take some careful measurements and double check everything to make sure the frames are mounted square to the centerline and make sure the boat is square and not racked or twisted in anyway. Once the side panels are glued the boat holds it’s shape permanently and so now is the time to check all of the dimensions.

After waiting overnight for the epoxy to dry on the chine logs, I was able to position and glue down the floor of the boat. So far I have used two gallons of Raka Epoxy on everything. In the areas of the glue joints I mixed the epoxy with silica to make a thick paste. This gives the epoxy considerable strength and keeps it in place during the gluing operation.

It looks like rain next week so I will cover the boat with a tarp and let everything cure good and wait for the next weather break so I can begin to fiberglass the hull.