devlin scaup suggested changes

Colin Wheeler

Active member
I am new to this forum so i thought i would say hello and happy turkey day from NH. I am planning to build a scaup this winter. Just wondering if anyone had any feed back on sugested changes or modifications. I saw that a page (on building devlin's scaup) that was set up for these suggestions, but nothing is displayed.
 
I just finished building one, well a couple months ago. I wouldn't change a thing, as far as the basic design. I did add a few small mods:

Added a hatch to the bow to better acess the front storage area
Installed the battery up front for better weight distribution
Installed three LED lights on each side under the decking
Installed running lights on the bow, suck a lot of juice, but makes it alot easier to see where you are going.
 
thanks for the info. A buddy built one two years ago. he added L E D lights along the under side of the rails and said it was a nice add on. did you look into a custom gas tank for the front opposed to the battery in the front? what pros or cons do you see? any pics?
 
No custom gas tank. Bass Pro shop has a good selection of tanks, but the one I wanted when I was building was out of stock, so I used the old stand by. I should have added, I also installed a small screw out "hatch" to acess the gas tank.

I was also concerned about cables for the batter back to the control panel and motor heating up. The heaviest gauge cable I could find for the money was a pair of long jumper cables.


The running lights I picked up from Fleet Farm, an aftermarket accessory for a car, looked for the cheapest, sealed, lowest power draw ones I could find, about $20.

Sorry no pics of either, will take some over the weekend and post on Monday.

Having thought more about possible changes. I would now like it to be about 2 foot longer and somewhere around a foot wider, with a 60hp on the back. We normally hunt three guys out of the boat, across the side. The guy closes to the bow, cann't stretch out his legs straight. And little longer would offer more room for stuff.
 
I spaced the grass rail the exact distance of a decoy from the combing. I can hold 22 decoys on each side of the boat on the deck. they are held in place by a a rachet strap across the top and by blocks in the front and back. Use these for long lines. I keep the lines attached and settin them is a snap.
 
Marty that is a great idea, do you have a pictures of the system? I have been dreaming up a rack system, but that beats everything I have thought of so far.

Andrew
 
No Picture., but i'll get one. Right now I'm in the middle of moving. Sold my house and didn't have a new one lined up. Living in an apt right now and the boat is in storage(nowhere to keep it.) I'll get one though.
 
I built my Scaup in 1999. I think this was the second Scaup completed after Eric Patterson's. I have been very happy with the boat. The only change I would make would be to double up the thickness of the bulkheads in the middle and at the forward end of the cockpit. Both these bulkheads have some sections with very little material where they join the bottom. I have had to repair cracks in these several times. You could probably also increase the fillet size in these areas.

I built this boat to use in Narragansett Bay in Rhode Island. Thinking about hitting a rock in the dark some January morning, caused me to sheath the hull up to the gunwales with kevlar rather than fiberglass. I'd do the same thing again.

The boat is still in RI and I'm sure my son would show it to you if interested.
 
When I built my scaup I omitted the center cockpit bulkhead and used knees like a black brant. Bad decision that resulted in some damage. I ended up modifying those knees to be two cockpit bulkheads. Much much stronger. If I were building another I'd use these stronger bulkheads and bond the floor in. I did this with my BBII making it much stronger.

scaup_repair2.jpg

fit20.jpg

floorbond2.jpg
 
Guys, thanks for all the wonderful feedback. I am very happy that all you are willing to share your take on different aspects of the boat. I am keeping a note book with suggestions so if you think of any more please share. I am not planning to start this boat until after this duck season(Jan 12). I will keep you all updated during the construction process. I am sure i will have more questions as i progress, hope you all will be willing to lend some more advise. One more questions what powers this boat for all of you 25HP or 40HP?
 
By all means use a 40HP. I wasted alot of $$'s trying a Honda 25 and a two stroke Yamaha 30 before finally getting a Yamaha 4 stroke 40 HP. With a couple of guys, dogs, etc, at times I had trouble getting the boat to plane off when running in 3'-4' chop. Safety in any amount of seaway in this boat depends on having the power to control the boat speed and bow attitude. The rocker built into the bottom allows you to change the bow height with the application of power. The low freeboard that makes the boat a joy to hunt from can make it very scary in any serious chop unless you have total control over the boat's running configuration.
 
By all means use a 40HP. I wasted alot of $$'s trying a Honda 25 and a two stroke Yamaha 30 before finally getting a Yamaha 4 stroke 40 HP. With a couple of guys, dogs, etc, at times I had trouble getting the boat to plane off when running in 3'-4' chop. Safety in any amount of seaway in this boat depends on having the power to control the boat speed and bow attitude. The rocker built into the bottom allows you to change the bow height with the application of power. The low freeboard that makes the boat a joy to hunt from can make it very scary in any serious chop unless you have total control over the boat's running configuration.

Eric

I'm going through a similar process with a Scaup I built in 2000. I just pulled a 25HP four stroke Suzuki because the performance suffered when I added a 2nd man. I had hoped a 30-35HP two stroke would be the answer in that I would drop at least 75lbs off the back of the boat and add a little HP to the mix. Maybe not though. Is it your feeling that the weight is less of an issue than lack of HP? My suzuki tips the scale at about 230 lbs. Also, when you talk about getting the boat to plane off in a 3'-4' chop, I'm have to admit to being a little confused. When the boat planes out the bow comes down. What am I missing here? Thanks.

Steve
 
When I tried the 30 2 stroke I also hoped the weight would make enough difference --- Wrong. Dropping weight helps but it's not a replacement for HP. I'd go straight to a 40 HP. Another issue I had with the 2 stroke was the fuel economy. I have a built in tank in the bow that holds about 7 gal. I actually ran out with the 30 hp 2 stroke after having used a 4 stroke due to the much higher fuel use. You're right about the bow dropping when the boat gets on plane. The issue in running in chop is the ability to pop the boat onto a plane versus wallowing. When we run the boat in serious chop its always an exercise of speed up, slow down, dodge bigger waves, skate down into the trough, etc. All this variation takes enough power to be able to put the boat into the configuration you want, when you want it. Nothing feels more scary than trying to climb up the face or backside of a swell and just be wallowing with the boat sitting deep in the water and unmanuverable. With enough power you can also trim the bow up and still get on a plane.
 
Wheeler
I too built a Scaup several years ago. I made one major change. I added four inches to the side height. It makes for a ton of room under the deck. I also added a couple of inches of crown to the decks. I bonded the floor in place but did not out any hatches in the floor for inspection. I will do that this summer. I do not think I have any structural problems in the boat but I sure wish I could look and see for myself. I would also put hatches in the fore and aft floatation compartments and just leave them full of air instead of the foam. It would be a handy storage place for things that you never use except in an emergency AND you could look at the interegity of your craft ocassionally.

Amy other questions just ask. I can post pictures if you want.
Fred T
 
Thanks for the explaination. It makes sense. I sent Joel at Devlin an email telling him I was thinking of moving the transom on my scaup completely aft to pick up some space in the cockpit. I was also looking for info on how it might affect performance. I got a reply from Sam asking that i give him a call to talk about it. He mentioned that he's had some good luck doing this on a Cackler. If anybody has done this mod., please share your experience. Also, if anybody is interested in what Sam has to say I'll post his comments.

Steve
 
Hope these pictures post. I saved these from years ago on the old forum. Maybe David will add his thoughts about what changes he made. I think these show the full transom without the well and the blind frame he built.



DDuckyscaup3.jpg


DDuckyscaup2.jpg


DDuckyscaup13.jpg
 
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It was a phone conversation with David Clark that got me thinking about doing this. I called him regarding his dodgers. He was very helpful. Then we started talking boats and he told me about how he took a chainsaw to his Cackler and cut the transom out. Man, that took some bawls. Though I guess when you've got Davids skills a project like that isn't so intimidating.

I had the opportunity to take a tour of Davids shop about five years ago when he was located on Cape Cod. I have to say , the guys work is phenomenal. Talk about a perfectionist... I would love to have one of his Estuarys in the fleet for those days when you hunt alone.

Steve
 
Fred T.

I too was considering the idea of raising the height of the gunwales. How much additional plywood did this require? Did it effect the transom height? Did you have to use a long shaft motor? I love the idea of additional storage. We all know how important this is. i would love to see any pic ypu can post. i appreciate the feed back
happy hunting
thanks
colin wheeler
 
Wheeler
Here are some pictures of the boat that were taken seemingly a lifetime ago. The date on the Kodak cd is dec99 so the pics were taken the fall prior to that. I hope the upload thingy works

010_4.JPG
 
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