Messages

1

General Discussion about the Great Alaskan / Re: Cost?

« on: April 15, 2024, 09:50:43 AM »

I didn't track cost of my build but I am guessing somewhere in the ballpark of $80k for my 29' kodiak, with yamaha digital engine/controls/steering, garmin 1243xsv, 24" garmin radar, pacific edge 80 gallon dual bait tank, 2x 200Ah kilovault lifepo4 house batteries, rebel ez5 anchor puller, and a 10k gvw custom built trailer from west coast trailers being the main spends. I started on a shoe string budget and just purchased a couple gallons of epoxy and some plywood and glass to start tooling around, and just purchased things little by little as I needed them. It helped me get invested into the project before I got my wife's hackles up and then I was committed so there was no turning back lol. The boat has been a ton of fun, my new project is getting my son up to speed so I have a partner in crime to adventure with... We went out to backside of Catalina the other day and got him on a couple calicos for his first bendo sesh.

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Announcements / Re: Previously-Recommended KiloVAULT Batteries now OUT OF BUSINESS!

« on: March 31, 2024, 11:35:48 AM »

Ugh... This is so lame. Thanks for the heads up Brian.

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General Discussion about the Great Alaskan / Re: Peel Ply

« on: March 18, 2024, 10:25:42 AM »

I think peel ply is beneficial whenever you use it (at least in my experience) but I don't know that it's going to save you from having to fair seams with as much glass as the major seams have. You are still probably going to have noticeable relief where the layers end and have to fair/fill with a fairing compound. It's nice though that it creates a surface that you can directly adhere to though without having to sand/clean prior to doing so. I found the best way to save time on fairing was to go heavy with the fairing compound so that you don't have to repeatedly hit it when you didn't put enough on the first time and left voids. I didn't use a lot of peel ply on my build because of the expense but it is nice when doing touch ups or repairs because it definitely helps get things more fair from the start.

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Projects - Glacier Boats of Alaska boat projects / Re: GA28 in Bakersfield California

« on: March 11, 2024, 09:54:51 AM »

Nice, boat is looking great, keep it up! I heard about someone being swept away on the San Gabriel recently on the hike to bridge to nowhere, that river can be deceptively dangerous... Good to hear you got some tho.

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Projects - Glacier Boats of Alaska boat projects / Re: Bob from Olympia, 28 GA build

« on: February 05, 2024, 09:59:50 AM »

Dang! You almost don't even need to get your trailer wet. That thing is pretty sweet, definitely looks easier than hand cranking for sure.

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Projects - Glacier Boats of Alaska boat projects / Re: Bob from Olympia, 28 GA build

« on: January 28, 2024, 10:26:18 AM »

Thats a great deal!  It looks like you drill a hole in the transom and slide it in. 

Ya, really sweet looking ladder if I can make it work. I am gonna try, I think I have the right spot for it...

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Projects - Glacier Boats of Alaska boat projects / Re: Bob from Olympia, 28 GA build

« on: January 26, 2024, 12:47:12 PM »

Great info, thanks Rbob! Lindy, I sent you a DM...

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Projects - Glacier Boats of Alaska boat projects / Re: Bob from Olympia, 28 GA build

« on: January 25, 2024, 06:55:55 PM »

Rbob, have you tried your boarding ladder yet? I need something better than the rope one I have (it's not safe in a man-overboard scenario when it's stowed), and still looking for a minimal solution. Curious what you bought to mount that (they have additional brackets, not sure if I need one or not, they are an extra $50) and if it's actually ok to get in and out of the water with, since your swim step is about the same height as my swim step. Thanks!

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Projects - Glacier Boats of Alaska boat projects / Re: Bob from Olympia, 28 GA build

« on: December 22, 2023, 09:41:20 PM »

What?s your top speed with your twins Grady?

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Projects - Glacier Boats of Alaska boat projects / Re: 13 Bananas New Jersey Kodiak

« on: December 08, 2023, 10:41:01 AM »

I am really interested to see your sea keeper integration if you do go that route. That was on my list but I eventually tossed it to just keep things a bit more simple. Also going to be interesting to watch the weight distribution. That problem is a bit of a thorn in my side that I am still working out.

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Projects - Glacier Boats of Alaska boat projects / Re: GA28 in Bakersfield California

« on: November 21, 2023, 08:59:59 PM »

It's on the other side of LA from you but I got the vast majority of my wood from Forest Plywood in La Mirada. They had a great selection of meranti in both the hydrotek and aquatek flavors, also joubert okoume in a lot of thicknesses too, and I think a lot of AA and AB fir as well. Almost all of the wood I have bought from them was also in very good shape (flat and not all marred up around the edges from forks and straps), which isn't the case in some of the other vendors nearby here.

Your boat is looking good, keep it up!

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General Discussion about the Great Alaskan / Re: My Official build thread. 27 1/2’ GA

« on: October 20, 2023, 11:10:58 AM »

Your boat looks killer Todd. That trip looks like it was awesome and boat looks like it was rigged great to spend some time out there.

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General Discussion about the Great Alaskan / Re: Electric boat winch

« on: October 20, 2023, 11:09:36 AM »

The silicon spray has made a world of difference for me. I gouged the keel on the front bunks the first time I pulled it with my new trailer, so got a can and spray the front of the front bunks down while I am locking up before I get underway. Pulling it now has been at most a firm crank and no more damage to the fairbody.

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Projects - Glacier Boats of Alaska boat projects / Re: Bob from Olympia, 28 GA build

« on: September 18, 2023, 04:47:48 PM »

The no lift brackets from Bob's combined with a jack plate moved my motor down by maybe an inch, and when combined with the setback I think that was pretty much all I needed to get my prop on the right level.

https://bobsmachine.com/product/fixed-setback-brackets-no-lift/

I am not sure if that combo would be effectively the same as just an 8" jack plate, but since there is no lift and the transom is 14° or so angled down it lowers the jack plate as a result. When I look at the jack plates on their site they all look like they have lift integrated into them, although I am not 100% sure.

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Projects - Glacier Boats of Alaska boat projects / Re: Bob from Olympia, 28 GA build

« on: September 17, 2023, 06:08:55 PM »

What about a 6" manual jack plate?  See any of those? 

I *think* my issue was the rigging tube started interfering once I got past 4". 4" put the rigging tube above the step, but didn't let the steering clear. I think once I got to 6" I started running into issues with the rigging tube. At 10" I still have some issues with the rigging tube but I just try to keep the motor turned hard to port when I am putting the motor all the way up and it clears when I have it like that. For that reason I don't think I really considered a 6" jack plate.