Question about the Hybrid Rubber Style Boat?

Rob Taylor

Rob Taylor

New member
I purchased a set of plans of the The Kara Hummer from Rob Leonard and also have been looking at the hybrid rubber. Now having the plans for the Kara I have layed them out side by side and find a 14" against a 10" there is a lot of difference as the 14" will need to have a trailer but the 10" would go on top of my decoy trailer.

Is there anyone on this site that may have just built a rubber? As I am now thinking the smaller option would be better as I currently don't have a gun dog trained or in training at the moment.

I am thinking of building it out of red cedar as I am a joiner cabinet maker by trade. I know when I talked to Rob about the cedar he was concerned about knots. But the cedar I will be using has no knots in it. I am thinking of the weight facter (no I am not interested in building a foamer).

Rob
 
I don't know if your NZ cedar is similar to our western red cedar in the states, but I will assume so. It should work fine for the frame as long as you pay attendtion to the grain direction. You may have to wet the cedar or steam bend it for the side pieces, so that it does not snap. That is a common problem with the KARA Hummer. It should work for the rest of the boat where solid wood is used. If you can machine it in your shop you could even use strips rather than plywood for the deck and hull.

Off topic south pacific wood question: A friend was given a carved croc from some pacific island nation. Neither know what one. However, the wood it was carved out of is the lightest wood I have ever held besides balsa. It has a pronounced grain like red cedar or old growth fir, with the grain being a deep dark brown and the materila between being a dark reddish brown. It is very strong since the tail of the croc will not bend. It is waxed so you can't smell it. Any ideas?
 
Rob
I'm in the process of building a Kara Robber. I actually started it last winter, got the frame done and the bottom on and then it sat all summer. Just started working on it again. I built the frame from red cedar, but used pine for the sides because it was all I could fine without knots. The sides are deffinately under a lot of stress. I am using luan for the hull and deck. I also installed the hole for a stabilizer pole. I think that it is going to exceed by target weight of less than 100 pounds. As it is now I can still put it on the roof rack. I'm planning on using as light of fiberglass as I can. Probably 4 oz cloth.

I am looking for a light weight boat that I can transport into remote beaver ponds to us as a layout. It doesn't take ducks long to learn to stay away from the shore and I'm hoping to increase my success rate by laying out in the center.

25Dec06 027 ol.jpg25Dec06 030 ol.jpg
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hey darrin, in the bottom pic, lower left hand corner, is that 2 screws sticking out. not to point out faults or anything.

because i am curious. i built a cara, about 12 years ago, and i used cypress. held up great, till hurricane katrine, took it from me... anyone up north,finds one in a tree , it is mine
i used, 16 guage wire to hold mine together nad then removed it laterand filled viods, with epoxy
 
Rob,
I designed the Robber just for the reasons you listed. I built the first one out of white pine and 1/4"exterior AC plywood and 6oz. fiberglass cloth. It weighed in around 100-110lbs. I'm sure there are some places you could shave off a few pounds. The majority of the weight comes from the fiberglass and plywood so those are the areas I'd look at first. As for what types of wood to use it really doesn't matter. The gunnels are the most difficult part of construction and without clear wood (I've even had clear wood explode) you're wasting your time. If you have any questions about design or construction changes feel free to shoot me an email.
mrschupp@hotmail.com
 
Thanks for posting Mark. I too am looking at these two boats. I will be using a kayak paddle and wondered how well the robber tracks. I will not be able to use a motor and many sections are too deep to pole. Thanks again for the input.
John

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Randy,
That's not screws, it's glue. I didn't bother cleaning it up because no one will ever see it once the deck is on. I do have some screws that poked through though. Mostly where I screwed the decking down along the center. I plan on cutting them all off with a dremel after the fiberglass is on. I've got A LOT of sanding to do. Fiberglass will patch almost all mistakes and once you put some paint, grass and mud on it, no one can tell. If you look at the bottom, I just could not get the one piece to stay down. I ended up putting a relief cut in it so I could get it attached. I epoxy and tape on the inside and with the glass on the outside it should be fine.
 
John,
Of the 4 marsh boats that I have (MoMarsh DP, Kara, Poleboat, Robber) I would have to say the Kara tracks and glides the best of all of them. Then the Poleboat and DP and last the Robber. This is only due to its short length and smaller displacement. If you put deeper runners on it (this would make it more difficult to pull through the weeds or mud) I'm sure it would track better but nothing short of turning it into a Kara would help it glide any better. Each of these boats has a specific niche they fill so unless you want to build all of them (which has been a lot of fun BTW) you'll have to compromise on some aspect when you try and use it for your sole use boat.
 
My dog is the most important part of my hunt and wondered if there is room for him? I have a couple Tollers and got into them to save room in the boat. They only weigh 35 and 50#each so they don't take much room.
Thanks
 
There is some room on the back deck of the "Robber" which could be modified to make it more useful for a dog or like the case of the MoMarsh Fatboy turn the boat around and have your dog sit on the front deck and face the rear. The other option would be to have them lay between your legs? The cockpit is only 5'8" long so there isn't much room for a lot of extra stuff.
 
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