1648 Landau Duck Boat "The Dirty Oar"

[DGF]

Boat looks great! I dig the DU logo!

 

[LFTDJEEP426]

So I started the process of putting the "Frog Spit" on yesterday and today. I sanded the bottom with 80 grit on my palm sander. If the pic loaded you can see that someone wanted to help out. Deke, my lab jumps on everything!
So this morning a buddy of mine came over to help mix the stuff while I spray..... Yes I said spray it. My neighbor had a paint gun and said it had a BIG tip for spraying gel coat on boats. Well we mixed the first batch and started spraying. Seemed to not be spraying a ton of material but it was going on very well on the sides, back and 1/3 of the bottom until........ In the course of about 30 seconds (after maybe 5-7 minutes of spraying) it went from nice even spray to chunking to locked up! The stuff set up in the gun! I poured out what was left in the guns can and frantically started rolling the rest out. Well 1/3 of the bottom looks AWESOME but the other 2/3 looked like I furry a couple of handfuls of mulch on my hull and painted over it LOL!!!! Luckily the stuff sanded nicely and even after sanding was still just as slick as what was evenly sprayed. I couldn't believe it. Here is a good pic of the smooth part.

And here is the rough part prior to sanding.

I still recommend this stuff for sure but maybe add a
Little less activator when trying to spray it and be sure there is a BIG tip on the sprayer. I think that was half the problem with my application. I do still have a 1/2 gallon left though.

I finally put the motor together as well. I'm going to try and finish up paint tomorrow and take her out for a test run. I'll snap a few more pics too......

 

[LFTDJEEP426]

Pic

 

[LFTDJEEP426]

Pic

 

[LFTDJEEP426]

Pic

 

[LFTDJEEP426]

Here is a shot of the trailer when the boat was off.

 

[jonjon1648]

That bottom coating looks great! Where did you get it and how much did you order?

I am planning on almost the same color blue but with the grey interior.

 

[LFTDJEEP426]

It's actually black, just looks blue in the light. It's called Frog Spit and you can order it from Ron Porter at bullfrogmarine.com. I got a gallon and used 1/2 to do the bottom. Could have put it on thicker if the gun wouldn't have messed up and probably would have used 3/4 gallon. It is $95/gal which is the same as the steelflex 9xs-2000 (w/ teflon) the regular steelflex is around $47/gal from a company in miami, FL called Fasco Epoxies.

I took her out for her maiden voyage today. Got some pics and a short story (lol). I'll post up in the morning.

 

[LFTDJEEP426]

Built the grab handle and put a few finishing touches on the boat this weekend. Also got the motor put together and finished Camo-ing the outside. As I said a buddy and I took her out for her maiden voyage yesterday. As was expected, she is SSSLLLLOOOOOWWWW, LOL. Probably will eventually try and find a bigger motor for the frame. I'm guessing she cruises about 10mph tops full of gear and two guys. Won't plane out just plows water. I did run it through a small Water Hyacinthe patch and it churned right through it so I was happy about that. Unfortunately about 2 miles into our run one of the keys fell out between the drive shaft and the U-Joint..... time to break out the trolling motor :roll:

It was a good test thought and I'm glad it happened then and not out during gator season. I'll test her out a few more times before season starts. Here are some pics.

I still have work to do but its minor things. Unfortunately when I was drilling the mounting holes in the ribs for the grab handle the bit grabbed and I felt it hit the floor. Didn't think much of it but yes.... it went through so I'll have to patch the hole.... #-o

Next step is to finish out the compartments with a floor and start wiring lights and plugs. Mount the batteries and any other odds and ends...... AND CUP HOLDERS!

 

[LFTDJEEP426]

Got her named!

Also took it out to Blue Cypress Preserve and did a little bass fishing and saw a few lizards..... I'll post pics and a short rite-up as soon as I download the pictures.

 

[LFTDJEEP426]

So as I said, went out for the first "Reel" outing. Caught a few small bass. Nothing was biting. Funny part of the morning. Had been fishing for a little over an hour and finally got a nibble. Was using a lickerish lizard and working the bottom. Re-casted and got a hit. Set the hook and the line broke. I just started using the braded line and initially thought that my knot came untied when I set the hook. Then I look in the water and I can see my line floating (probably 10 seconds has went by after setting the hook). Well I trolled over to the line and wrapped it around my hand and wouldn't you know, the fish was still on! Not big but got my fish and rig back!

Boat worked very well as far as room to walk around. A buddy was with me and we both had room to get around. Probably need a bigger trolling motor if I ever paln to fish in any kind of wind. 40lb thrust was fine though when is was relatively calm.

Mud Motor ran decent, still having float problems. It doesn't want to run unless it is VERY level.


Micropterus salmoides

Your Thoughts?

 

[LFTDJEEP426]

I've seen some of you guy's boats with LED strips for interior lighting. Where are you finding these? I've found some on e-bay but they are cheap cheap.... like $0.99 cheap. Thats a great price but I'd guess the quality is pretty low.

 

[Ictalurus]

Great looking boat man! =D> =D> I like the camo job, will look better with some dried blood!

 

[reedjj]

I cant believe I am just now seeing this build. I am always looking for anything 1648 or builds out of FL! It looks great!

I have a little suggestio for your getting over obstacles such as the airboat jump, logs, etc!

I use a come-along to get over some log jams and sand bars that are just to much to try and blast over in my boat.

You can use an anchor like this... https://www.overtons.com/modperl/product/details.cgi?i=79945&pdesc=Fluke_Style_Galvanized_Anchor_9_lbs&aID=602A3&merchID=4006 ... to grab the ground if there are no tree's or anything solid to hook the cable or chain to.

I live just south of Jax and was planning on doing a lot of hunting and fishing in the Okeefenokee in Ga. BUT I just learned yesterday that you cant have anything over 15hp in the okeefenokee swamp. A small 12 or 14 ft jon set up similar to your boat with a 15 hp mud buddy might be the solution to that!

 

[LFTDJEEP426]

I cant believe I am just now seeing this build. I am always looking for anything 1648 or builds out of FL! It looks great!

I have a little suggestio for your getting over obstacles such as the airboat jump, logs, etc!

I use a come-along to get over some log jams and sand bars that are just to much to try and blast over in my boat.

You can use an anchor like this... https://www.overtons.com/modperl/product/details.cgi?i=79945&pdesc=Fluke_Style_Galvanized_Anchor_9_lbs&aID=602A3&merchID=4006 ... to grab the ground if there are no tree's or anything solid to hook the cable or chain to.

I live just south of Jax and was planning on doing a lot of hunting and fishing in the Okeefenokee in Ga. BUT I just learned yesterday that you cant have anything over 15hp in the okeefenokee swamp. A small 12 or 14 ft jon set up similar to your boat with a 15 hp mud buddy might be the solution to that!

Its still definitely a work in progress and thanks for the suggestions! If you're ever down in my area (3 hr drive from JAX) you have an open inviation to head out to the swamp with me for a test ride. I need the seat time anyways. We have a few HP restricted areas down here which are 10hp and under which is why I went to the Honda 13hp motor. Looks just like the 9hp!
Sneaky sneaky............ :wink:

 

[IRISH56]

I've seen some of you guy's boats with LED strips for interior lighting. Where are you finding these? I've found some on e-bay but they are cheap cheap.... like $0.99 cheap. Thats a great price but I'd guess the quality is pretty low.

Cabelas ... got four on my duck boat (6 LED utility) and am planning on adding one or two more. They've held up for a few seasons with no trouble, mounted under the gunnel on a V-hull.

Boat Lighting - Navigation & Cabin Lighting .... on sale right now actually $9.99 I think!

 

[LFTDJEEP426]

Got the motor stalling issue figured out. The Hondas have a low oil shut-off breaker on them from the factory to limit the chances of you toasting the motor with low oil. I guess when I was taking off it would slosh the oil just enough to trip the breaker, killing the motor. I found this out cruzing a go-cart forum that uses these same engines and have issues with the centrifugal forces in cornering. Another bonus, on the same site they sell a intake/exhaust kit for these that is said to give 2 to 4 HP increase (depending on how dirty/clogged the stock intake & exhaust are) and all for $60! That and another inch of pitch she should make a screaming 12-ish MPH!!!!

On another note, getting ready for gator season I had been looking around at head lamps and decided to save my $120 and build my own.

I was hoping to get some comments/suggestions/criticism on my design.

Here is what I came up with.
I bought a 3' piece of aluminum strap at ACE - $4
4509 bulb at Napa - $13.50 (Called an Aircraft Landing Bulb)
I bought a stainless hose clamp - $2
bought two alligator clamps for the battery - $1.50/ea
20' green extension cord from ACE - $6
I already had a hardhat but they run about - $10
TOTAL - $28.50 ($38.50 if you don't have a hard hat)

I bent the strap to fit the contour of the helmet (2 pieces for top and bottom.) then riveted it to the helmet. I then riveted the hose clamp to the strap. I took a piece of 3/8 hose and cut it on the bottom side to wrap around the bulb to give the hose clamp something to hold to. then wired the bulb with the extension cord and D-O-N-E!

Of course I had to paint it camo..... because you have to paint everything camo.... I used it saturday morning and it worked flawlessly. It is a little heavy up front mostly due to the weight of the bulb but it was fine for the 30 to 45 minutes I wore it. It is super bright but I have no idea what kind of draw it soaks up yet. I'll eventually put a switch on it and wire a trolling motor plug onto it when I wire my boat.....

 

[LFTDJEEP426]

Also, here are a few pics of her running in the water.

Still some bugs to work out. Need to make a front trolling motor mount that is removable..... got to do some more thinking (and searching on here) before I come up with something.

 

[Zum]

wattage/volts will give you your draw(current)
Probably 100/12=8.33amps

 

[LFTDJEEP426]

Is 8.33 amps a big draw? Currently I'm using a 24 series marine battery for all of my electrical. I would like to get an additional so I can run lighting on one and the trolling motor on the other. With that kind of draw, how long (continious use) should I expect to get out of a fully charged battery using that lamp. Same questions if I were to use three of those lamps?