Bill Burruss
Well-known member
All,
Good evening. I am glad to see the variety of duck projects on this site and that everyone (at least here) does not appear to be going stir crazy from COVID 19 lockdown.
Continuing on with the build, we added strong backs. The Cackler plans only call for a single strong back centered through the bow area, but we walk on the front deck a lot and may use it to strap things like decoy bags or crab traps, so it will see lots of use. Also, someday, the bow may end up supporting a trolling motor or seat for fishing, so we added 2 more strong backs that are lined up on the line the combing will run. I also added strong backs in the sponsons to provide something solid to hold the combing screws. Unfortunately, I had not planned this ahead of time and ran out of wood. At least HB had some straight grained 8ft Doug Fir 4x4s that could be made into nice 1x4s. This gave me a chance to really tune-up the bandsaw, to include buying a new blade and re-adjusting all the guides, tension, and table squareness. Was very pleased with the results, except for the 1 small knot in the picture.
View attachment Strongbacks bo 1.JPG
[strike][/strike]
View attachment Strongback, sponson.JPG[strike][/strike]
[strike][/strike][strike][/strike]
In the first pic you will notice gap between the #1 bulkhead and the middle of the bow strong backs due to the Cackler?s upswept nose. I had not really noticed the upswept nose until this point of the build. This is the only Devlin duck boat I am aware of having this shape. I used woodscrews to pull the center of the strong backs down to their permanent position while the epoxy cured, but had to add the solid blocks of wood to eliminate risk of the screws tearing out of the plywood end grain. Not a pretty job, but once decked, will never see the light of day.
View attachment Stongbacks bow 2.JPG[strike][/strike]
[strike][/strike][strike][/strike]
One area presenting lots of opportunity for customizing was the space between the rear bulkhead and motor mount. Really wanted to deck the area to add seaworthiness, but could not decide between putting the battery there, electrical panel/fuses, or perhaps dry storage. Beauty of building your own boat is you can customize it exactly the way you want. Hard part is not overthinking every little detail. And it helps if you?ve actually used the boat first. Don?t know if it is just me, but the best ideas always seem to come while sitting in the boat drinking coffee on bluebird days.
For the electrical I went with a small panel on the port side to mount the fuse box and switch plate to. Switches are for 2 bilge pumps, running light, accessory plug, and under deck lights.
View attachment Electrical Switches.JPG
Tohatsu calls for an 850 cca battery, which is pretty big. Seem odd as that?s more than my v-8 truck engine needs, but the boat will be used in cold, rough conditions, and the factory says so. The wheelchair battery seen in the pics is my BB2 light/bilge pump power source, but it worked fine to run the tilt up to check engine clearances in all postions. Was thinking of putting the battery box under the panel for convenient access to the battery and short wiring run to the fuse panel, but realized it was a significant obstacle in efficiently getting into the open space in the port sponson. That led to installing the battery on a battery shelf in between the motor mount and rear bulkhead. Installed a group 27 battery tray instead of the battery box as the battery will be protected by the decking and easier to remove/install without the box.
View attachment Battery Box2.JPG[strike][/strike]
[strike][/strike]
Looking through some of the Cackler and Snow Goose pics others posted on Duckboats.net provided the inspiration to use teardrop side mount bow lights. I really like how they are protected and out of the way (especially since having replaced a couple of the bicolor bow mounts that hit something).
View attachment Bow light sockect.JPG
After preparing the holes for the bow lights, I ran all the wiring conduit in preparation for foaming. The conduit is bedded in 5200 to hold it in place and keep water out. Probably overkill, but I had an open tube and it does not stay usable forever.
View attachment Bow Conduit 2.JPG
View attachment Conduit, middle.JPG
The main reason I wanted the engine installed before cutting down the rear bulkhead was to see how much room the motor needed for full travel range, and deal with any interference early. From the pic you can see I never went to shop class and still do not know how to properly use a sabre saw. I was counting on a sabre saw running along a board c-clamped in place as a guide to produce a straight cut. Bad move- the blade bent off course in an arc. After repairing the damage, I freehand cut the line with the sabre saw, then reattached the guide board and used a router with a flush cut router bit to clean up the cut and finish the job right. Always an opportunity to learn new woodworking skills on these things.
[strike][/strike]
View attachment Battery, Bulkhead hole.JPG[strike][/strike]
[strike][/strike]
The really good news was that there is also room in the new compartment for the fuel/water separator (Tohatsu at least used to recommend them on their 4-strokes). I have since drilled a hole though the longitudinal to pass the fuel line from the separator to the fuel tank without having to run it back out and through the cockpit. It also quickly became apparent that the well underneath the battery shelf was an ideal place for a bilge pump, especially since the weight of the motor will probably make water pool there. Plus, it couldn?t hurt to have a redundant pump as this is a duck boat will be used in harsh conditions.
View attachment Fuel Water Seperator.JPG[strike][/strike]
[strike][/strike]
[strike][/strike]
Up next, foaming, bilge pump plumbing and decking.
Have a great evening,
-Bill
[strike][/strike]
Good evening. I am glad to see the variety of duck projects on this site and that everyone (at least here) does not appear to be going stir crazy from COVID 19 lockdown.
Continuing on with the build, we added strong backs. The Cackler plans only call for a single strong back centered through the bow area, but we walk on the front deck a lot and may use it to strap things like decoy bags or crab traps, so it will see lots of use. Also, someday, the bow may end up supporting a trolling motor or seat for fishing, so we added 2 more strong backs that are lined up on the line the combing will run. I also added strong backs in the sponsons to provide something solid to hold the combing screws. Unfortunately, I had not planned this ahead of time and ran out of wood. At least HB had some straight grained 8ft Doug Fir 4x4s that could be made into nice 1x4s. This gave me a chance to really tune-up the bandsaw, to include buying a new blade and re-adjusting all the guides, tension, and table squareness. Was very pleased with the results, except for the 1 small knot in the picture.
View attachment Strongbacks bo 1.JPG
[strike][/strike]
View attachment Strongback, sponson.JPG[strike][/strike]
[strike][/strike][strike][/strike]
In the first pic you will notice gap between the #1 bulkhead and the middle of the bow strong backs due to the Cackler?s upswept nose. I had not really noticed the upswept nose until this point of the build. This is the only Devlin duck boat I am aware of having this shape. I used woodscrews to pull the center of the strong backs down to their permanent position while the epoxy cured, but had to add the solid blocks of wood to eliminate risk of the screws tearing out of the plywood end grain. Not a pretty job, but once decked, will never see the light of day.
View attachment Stongbacks bow 2.JPG[strike][/strike]
[strike][/strike][strike][/strike]
One area presenting lots of opportunity for customizing was the space between the rear bulkhead and motor mount. Really wanted to deck the area to add seaworthiness, but could not decide between putting the battery there, electrical panel/fuses, or perhaps dry storage. Beauty of building your own boat is you can customize it exactly the way you want. Hard part is not overthinking every little detail. And it helps if you?ve actually used the boat first. Don?t know if it is just me, but the best ideas always seem to come while sitting in the boat drinking coffee on bluebird days.
For the electrical I went with a small panel on the port side to mount the fuse box and switch plate to. Switches are for 2 bilge pumps, running light, accessory plug, and under deck lights.
View attachment Electrical Switches.JPG
Tohatsu calls for an 850 cca battery, which is pretty big. Seem odd as that?s more than my v-8 truck engine needs, but the boat will be used in cold, rough conditions, and the factory says so. The wheelchair battery seen in the pics is my BB2 light/bilge pump power source, but it worked fine to run the tilt up to check engine clearances in all postions. Was thinking of putting the battery box under the panel for convenient access to the battery and short wiring run to the fuse panel, but realized it was a significant obstacle in efficiently getting into the open space in the port sponson. That led to installing the battery on a battery shelf in between the motor mount and rear bulkhead. Installed a group 27 battery tray instead of the battery box as the battery will be protected by the decking and easier to remove/install without the box.
View attachment Battery Box2.JPG[strike][/strike]
[strike][/strike]
Looking through some of the Cackler and Snow Goose pics others posted on Duckboats.net provided the inspiration to use teardrop side mount bow lights. I really like how they are protected and out of the way (especially since having replaced a couple of the bicolor bow mounts that hit something).
View attachment Bow light sockect.JPG
After preparing the holes for the bow lights, I ran all the wiring conduit in preparation for foaming. The conduit is bedded in 5200 to hold it in place and keep water out. Probably overkill, but I had an open tube and it does not stay usable forever.
View attachment Bow Conduit 2.JPG
View attachment Conduit, middle.JPG
The main reason I wanted the engine installed before cutting down the rear bulkhead was to see how much room the motor needed for full travel range, and deal with any interference early. From the pic you can see I never went to shop class and still do not know how to properly use a sabre saw. I was counting on a sabre saw running along a board c-clamped in place as a guide to produce a straight cut. Bad move- the blade bent off course in an arc. After repairing the damage, I freehand cut the line with the sabre saw, then reattached the guide board and used a router with a flush cut router bit to clean up the cut and finish the job right. Always an opportunity to learn new woodworking skills on these things.
[strike][/strike]
View attachment Battery, Bulkhead hole.JPG[strike][/strike]
[strike][/strike]
The really good news was that there is also room in the new compartment for the fuel/water separator (Tohatsu at least used to recommend them on their 4-strokes). I have since drilled a hole though the longitudinal to pass the fuel line from the separator to the fuel tank without having to run it back out and through the cockpit. It also quickly became apparent that the well underneath the battery shelf was an ideal place for a bilge pump, especially since the weight of the motor will probably make water pool there. Plus, it couldn?t hurt to have a redundant pump as this is a duck boat will be used in harsh conditions.
View attachment Fuel Water Seperator.JPG[strike][/strike]
[strike][/strike]
[strike][/strike]
Up next, foaming, bilge pump plumbing and decking.
Have a great evening,
-Bill
[strike][/strike]
Last edited: