Do a model first

Where to begin? I bought the plans for the Elegant Punt and one of Payson's books. I studied both and telephoned Payson with a couple questions. He answered my questions and referred me to the Message Board section of his website where I could find discussions that might provide answers to other questions and opinions from other boat builders.

I am old enough and wise enough to know that typical surface knowledge on any subject is just enough to get you in real trouble. In most cases the danger is that "you don't know what you don't know". It didn't take long for me to realize there were several subjects where my knowledge is less than adequate, so I have begun collecting material from the web and studying on the following:

-- Working with epoxy and fiberglass
-- Marine Paint
-- Plywood
-- Trolling motors
-- Marine Batteries
-- Wood glue
-- Boat trailers
-- Fasteners

My first stumbling block was where to put the battery. The plans assume you are going to row this critter. They do acknowledge adding a motorboard to the rear transom so that the boat can be proplled by a motor but that is the end of it. My first thought is to raise the thwart (seat) high enough to accomodate the battery underneath. I took this question and proposed answer to Payson's website and got some good feedback.

Alan Speakman is the moderator of the Message Board and he gave me three pieces of advice which I have taken to heart -- 1) Don't mess with the plans 2) Make a model 3) Practice with epoxy on something you can throw away, not your boat.

Another builder (who is also building the Elegant Punt) came in with the comment "I too intend to propel this boat with a trolling motor and have not even given a thought to battery placement. Geeez". He later came back with the thought that he will cut a rectangular hole in the thwart so that the battery can be easily put in and removed from above. I like that idea.

Another item that you can't leave laying around the floor of the boat is the anchor and its rope. If you are fishing in a lake or pond or even a river for that matter, you will want to be able to anchor. Most nautical books recommend an anchor scope of 10:1. That means if you want to anchor in 10 feet of water you need a 100 ft anchor line. That takes some serious space.

My current plan is to finish the inside with clear varnish and to do the outside in sky camo to make the boat less visible to the fish against the sky. So learning how to do camo patterns is on the "learn list".

I have/will take Alan's advice -- I'm not messing with the plans, I have built a model (maybe just the first), and I will practice working with epoxy on something other than my boat. My model is made to scale from cereal box cardboard and balsa wood. Here are some pictures.

A Few Elegant Punts

The Dictionary defines a Punt as "An open, flat-bottomed boat with squared ends, propelled by a long pole and used in shallow waters." There is no mention of a definition relating to the use of the word in football terminology.

I used to own a big boat -- 20ft Glastron trihull I/O with a Chevy V-8 engine. I used it mostly for pulling water skiers. The few times I used it for fishing, it proved itself to be a real misfit. When the kids were grown and gone I got rid of that boat and set about redefining what I wanted for a fishing boat. Shopping around gave me a major case of sticker shock. I couldn't believe that a small jon boat with a 5-10 hp motor were going for over $10,000. My God, what has happened to this world!

During the summer of 2010 I took a long trip (that was intended to be mostly a fishing trip) to the northern rockies which included some of the world's most famous trout waters. I had no boat, so I did a lot of shore fishing and walk and wade. I knew then that I had to have a boat. I thought a lot about my requirements:
-- Small.
-- Light enough to be carried and manhandled by one person (under 100 pounds).
-- Carrying capacity in the range of 400 - 500 pounds.
-- Stable enough to stand up in so I can refresh the blood circulation in my legs without having to return to shore -- no canoes or kayaks.
-- Capable of being propelled by oars or a trolling motor.
-- Inexpensive -- in the water for less than $1,000

My initial web searches were discouraging to say the least. So I stopped searching for "boats" and started searching for "boat plans". It didn't take long to discover Harold "Dynamite" Payson. The cover of his book says it all "Take plywood, cut to shape, smear on glue, drive nails, stir paint, and presto -- you have built an Instant boat.

Philip Bolger, a smallcraft designer from Glouster, MA, and Dynamite Payson set about designing, building, and testing a series of small boats intended for the inexperienced builder whose fundamental desire is to get out on the water. They settled on designing a series of boats that required no lofting, no jig, and no material that could not be procured from a local building supply store. The result was the original fleet of six boats labeled "instant boats". Subsequently that fleet has grown to 35. The Elegant Punt is one of the original six and it caught my eye as a boat that would meet my requirements.

You can learn more about Payson and his "Instant Boats" here.

Here are a few pictures of the Elegant Punt as built by other people. Disclaimer: These are NOT MY BOATS NOR MY PICTURES. I have unabashedly stolen them from the web.