Boat destruction

A few years ago I built a small 12 foot scow called an Ooze Goose. We hauled it all over the place, Florida, Texas, Missouri, Kentucky, and back to New England. It was loads of fun. The boat rowed well and moved right along with an electric trolling motor. I had plans to put sails on it but never got around to it.

Well, last fall I got sick and didn't get a chance to properly cover it for the winter. Water got into the boat and did a number on it. I knew it had some damage, but Saturday I really got into it and discovered how bad the damage actually was. It was bad. Everything built with the heavier 3/8” plywood was in good shape. The 1/4” panels all suffered delamination.

I could have replaced all the 1/4” plywood, but instead decided to disassemble most of the boat. The cabin, and the sides were the worse. The bottom, bow and stern pieces were of heavier plywood and are fine. If I threw on some new side panels and some seats, it would make a pretty good rowboat. That's been moved to the back burner.

All the hardware and gear was salvaged off the boat. The current plan it to build a slightly bigger boat next year The 12 foot boat was a great learning experience. My lovely wife and I figured out what worked and what could be improved. We are seriously looking at Dave Zeiger's 16 x 4 Triloboat.

One of the problems with the Ooze Goose was with the cabin. It was physically big enough for two people to get in. However, it made the boat very bow heavy. The stern popped quite a ways out of the water. The Triloboat's cabin is in the middle of the boat, so the balance is better.

The boat is designed to maximize standard lumber and is supposed to be a quick build. Dave claims 3 days to a week for two people. That does not include the sail. I should be able to knock one out in 2 or 3 weeks easily. Barge type boats have a lot of carrying capacity and the flat bottom makes it a perfect beach cruiser.

While it hurt a bit to take the Goose apart, I now have an opening for a new project boat. That project can wait until the spring.

-Sixbears