Building Ray Sargent's sport runabout

[Dale R. Hamilton]

Finally I'm committed to building this sweet little 15' mahogany runabout with Sabaru power (see WB 134:52. I ordered $1500 worth of Khaya, Okoume, Sepele and Fir plywood, plus the lumber. Then just today I found a source for a completely rebuilt Subaru 1800 cc fuel injected mill. I found the Hurth ZF15M transmission that it requires- new and rather pricy, so I'm still looking. Would like for find a rebuild.

This is really a S&G plywood project, but I have in mind cold molding 2" wide 3/16" mahogany strips over the plywood using those Talon nylon brads that fire from a pneumatic gun. When dry you just sand off the heads and the rest of the brad will never rust- they are brown in color too.

Another idea- you have to build a strongback of course- to support the boat while building. It occurred to me, that if each end of the strongback were bolted to an engine stand- then the whole assembly could be rotated at will- to facilitate cold molding on a flat surfact.

So, I guess its time to buy one of those digital camera's so I can post pictures of my progress- or maybe my problems.

[John Meachen]

I think it might be wise to try the process of using the plastic nails on a piece of scrap before you start the boat.There has to be a possibility that the point will go through and cause some unsightly splintering,just as a metal nail might.

[Chadd Hamilton]

Dale, what's the source for that Subaru?

Chadd

[Dale R. Hamilton]

Chad- Its Don's Automotive, P.O. Box 90633, Nashville, Tn. 37209. I don't want to quote you a price- but it was damn reasonable- and this is for a complete running engine- not a long block.