Build Plans
OneUglyBoat
construction sequence
Thanks for your inquiry and consideration of purchasing the
OneUglyBoat Deck Boat.
This is me – the designer of oneuglyboat. I’ve been
designing and building boats for over 50 years. In all that time, I’ve never been
on the water in a boat that is as sweet handling and stable as this one. It is
designed to be very safe, easy to assemble, and “bull strong”. Once you make
one for yourself, I know you’ll keep it for the rest of your life. It’s that
kind of boat, an heirloom. I’m also
sure you have been researching other boats before you make your decision. If
so, I’m confident that you have found that any boat coming close to this one
costs at least twice as much. It’s just the best boat for your buck that you
will ever find.
If you have specific boating needs, get in contact with me and together we can design the boat
arrangement to meet your unique requirements. I’m always glad to talk to you by
email. Please feel free to contact me for your questions or comments. I’m sure
that we will become friends when you assemble your own uglyboat. I’m looking
forward to that. That’s the fun part of this business for me.
To help you in your final decision making, I can send you sample pieces of the metal sections
of marine grade aluminum used in the building of the boat. Once you receive
these metal samples, I know that you will be impressed by the strength of the
boat that is offered. These boats will be around for 50 years, giving safe
enjoyable boating services.
Also, if you want me to mail you the drawing shown for
construction, email your request and I will get them in the mail to you.
Good luck in your boating adventures in the future. Stay
safe – wear your life jacket.
Harold Duffield
The construction will be done in three stages:
- assembly
of the trailer - assembly
of the boat on top of the trailer - final
finish and rigging
Tools
- standard
hand tools including wrenches, screw drivers etc - Small
71/2 inch chop saw with carbide blade for cutting aluminum items square. - small
table saw with carbide blade. (optional but nice to have for wood work) - circular
skill saw with carbide blade. For cutting aluminum plate on the boat. - battery
powered 3/8 inch drill, and ¼ inch, 3/8th inch, 7/16th
inch, drill bits - safety
googles - leather
gloves
before you start
Assembling the oneuglyboat and trailer is not rocket
science-it’s very doable for anyone who has basic tool skills. The first
priority must be safety. Be sure to wear safety goggles any time you cut
aluminum for any reason. Also be sure to wear safety glasses at all other
times.
Take your time and work along at a comfortable pace. The
assembly of the boat and trailer can in fact be very fun. If you can include
others, all the better. Keep in mind that these observers must wear the same
safety equipment that you wear.
assembly of the trailer
parts;
(2) longitudinal main frames
(5) 3” x 54” channels used as cross braces and tongue assembly
braces
(1) 3” x 48” channel used as cross brace for front
(1) 2×2 x3/16 x 3 ft angle used as front cross frame on bow
support winch base
(2) 2×2x3/16 x 3ft angles used as extenders for side tank
supports
(1) 3×3x1/4 x 4ft square tube used as tongue
(1) tongue frame assembly pre-welded
(1) bow support-winch base assembly pre-welded
(1) axel frame assembly pre-welded
(1) torflex axel
(1) winch
(1) 2” ball coupler for 3” square tube
(1) package of stainless steel fasteners for bolt assembly
Step one in building the trailer:
First make a table from a 5/8 inch 4×8ft plywood sheet using
the above table drawing. You will be using this table in the construction of
all the boat and trailer components, so make it right from the get go.
The trailer features longitudinal frames that act as a fore
and aft framing function, and also act as a guide for launch and retrieval of
the boat from the water.
The long. Frames are bent from a 28 x 144 sheets of 1/8th inch
aluminum plate formed to function as a base
support for the side tanks, and as an on-off guide for alignment of the center
tank.
Step two:
Put the long. Frames across the table on the 3ft side and
align square. The front of the frame is tapered. Put the taper on the outside
of the frames. Place the pre-welded axel frame assembly in its location and
clamp in place. Do not bolt the axel frame assembly in place at this time. Keep
it clamped for now. The axel frame assembly should act as a width spacer and
also set the long fames in a proper alignment. You will need (2) 6 inch
“C” clamps to go over the frame structure.
Clamp on the back and front channel cross frames to
establish the width. To assure that the frames are parallel, use your high
school math and use the 3-4-5 technique for making a 90 degree angle so that
the frames exactly aligned with each other. Put a diagonal brace to hold the
frames in a square alignment. Keep this diagonal frame on until the complete
assembly is finished.
Step three:
Bolt the 54” and
48” angles on the front and back ends.
Use only one bolt on each channel end
and align cross trailer first. Then recheck your diagonal brace to make sure
the frames are exact for and aft and then drill and place the second
style=”mso-spacerun: yes”> bolt on each end. The front end has the taper. Mark the location of the other
channel frames and axel assembly as
indicated on the drawing. Drill and bolt the remaining channel frames onto the
long. Frames. You will have (3) frames at 54” and the front frame at 48”.
You should now have a base on which to permanently attach
the axel frame assembly and the tongue
assembly.
Step four:
Mount the pre-welded tongue assembly
style=”mso-spacerun: yes”> per the drawing. Make sure the assembly is
right on in the center of the trailer frame assembly. Measure from the front
outer edge of the long frames to the center of the tongue to make sure it is
the same distance and square. Bolt on the 5 ft tongue diagonal channel frames
being sure to place them on top of the base of the long frames. Bolt through
the diagonal frame, the long frame and the front cross frame with 7/16 bolts.
Mount the 3×3 square tongue per the drawing.
Step five:
Now double check the axel frame assembly for final alignment
and final bolting. If the axel frame is
not exact, it will cause the tires of the trailer to scrub, and you will wear
the tires excessively. To make sure the axel frame alignment is exact,
measure from the front outer edge of the axel frame assemlby to the center of
the front end of the tongue. The measurement for both sides should be the same
for the axel to be exact. If so, you are on you way in having the trailer pull
properly without the wear on tires described. Permanently bolt the axel frame
assembly to the long frames.
Mount the torflex axel to the axel frame assembly. Be sure
to use 7/16 bolts for this mounting. Put two bolts in each end and use only
nylon insert nuts. These nuts are
known as “greer nuts” use these nylon
insert nuts for all your assembly for both the trailer and the boat. Then put
the wheels and tires on the beast!
You should now have your trailer ready to go on the ground.
Congratulations – you trailer builder! To put the trailer on the ground, slide
the unit back on the table until it is
off balance, and have an animal or two lift up the front end slightly. Slide
the table forward from side to side gradually working the table up to a
position where the back of the trailer rests on the ground. Then, gradually
move the table forward until it is near the front of the tongue. At this point
when you lift up the tongue, you will be lifting only 50% of the trailer
weight. Take the table away and you are in business.
Step six:
Put on the 2” ball coupler, coupler safety chains, tongue
jack, and running lights.
Mount the bow support and winch base pre-welded assembly.
The boat is winched onto the trailer using an eye in the center of the
front 2×12 cross beam. This eliminates
getting under the bow to attach the winch hook to an eye below the bow front.
Never did figure why they do it that way. It’s so much easier to attach the
winch from the boat and crank that puppy up from the deck, instead of standing
in the water.
Finally, put the
wood rails onto the frames as shown in the drawing. Be sure to put some cheap
carpet on the wood rails to protect the boat from any scratching. You may also
want to mount fenders, but because the boat sits out over the wheels in may not
be necessary to have fenders. Keeping it on the rugged side gives you macho
class! Remember when you were a kid and took the fenders off your bike? . I
called my bike a “hot rod” back then.
Couldn’t wait till it rained so I could go in the mud with my hot rod. If you
want to be civilized, put on some fenders. You can get them from the boat
dealer in your area, or we can send you some.
Step seven:
Get the trailer licensed as a home built trailer. The
requirement for licensing a home built trailer varies from state to state.
Time required will vary, but it should be about 6-8 hours
for two people, unless someone watches. If so, it could take days to complete,
but then, why not enjoy.
Assembling the boat
Parts:
-
- (1)Center
tank - (2)
Outer tanks - (1)
center tank nose - (1)
center tank stern piece - (2)
outer tank noses - (2)
outer tank stern pieces - (3)
bow nose angles for tanks - (2)
side deck middles 32” x 135” - (2)
side back decks 32”x 48” - (3)
front deck pieces 32x 48”
- (1)Center
Step one:
if you are using the un-welded program, take the hull tanks,
nose pieces, stern pieces, and nose angles to welder and have welded. The
welding on the complete boat on the site costs $435. done by a certified
welder.
Step two:
Put the center tank welded assembly upright on the trailer.
Then turn the outer tank in the upright position and fill to the top with 2”
foam. It will take 7 layers to fill the tank to the top. Be sure to include
foam in the nose. If the foam does not reach the top of the tank add a layer of
thin foam board to be sure the foam come all the way to the top edge. This foam
acts as a stiffener for the deck plates and prevents distortion when walked
upon.
Be sure to use pink foam for the bottom half of the tank.
Pink foam does not absorb water if left submerged over a long time. White foam
does.
Then place the middle side deck in place and bolt the middle
deck plate to the outer lip of the tank. ( important- The aft end of
the middle deck plate is mounted 40”
fwd of the stern of the outer tank.)
Use a single bolt on the front and back end on each side.
style=”mso-spacerun: yes”> Bolt the back deck plate onto the upturned
lip of the middle deck end and also on the aft end angle of the outer tank
using only one bolt on each corner. Be
sure the outer edge of the decks aligns with the outer edge of the tank flange.
(do not bolt the front deck plates
on yet)
Clamp a piece of
plywood across the nose of the outer tank to prevent the foam from falling out
when you turn the tank. Turn the tank with middle and aft deck plates in place
upside down and drill and bolt the decks onto the outer tank flanges on 9”
centers using 1/4th inch bolts and greer nuts.
Repeat process on the other outer tank.
Step three:
Place the outer tank and deck in place on the trailer and
clamp the inner deck edge to the lip of the center tank. (Important, Be
sure to align the stern of the outer tank
24” aft of the stern of the
center tank.) Then bolt the decks to the center tank lip flange on 9”
center using ¼ inch bolts and greer
nuts.
Do the same on the other side.
You should now have the boat on the trailer with the center
tank in place and the side tanks in place with the middle and aft deck bolted
to the center tank and the outer tanks.
Step four:
Bolt the front deck plate’s 1-1/4th inch upturned flange to the middle deck
plates 1-1/4th inch upturned flange. . Don’t
worry if the front deck plates pieces seems to long. Be sure to align the 1-1/4th
inch upturned lips on the middle deck plate and the front deck plate. Then bolt
the outer lip of the outer tank nose onto the front deck plate. (do not bolt
the front side deck plate onto the nose of the center tank)
Do the same on the other side
You should now have the boat on the trailer with the center
tank in place, the side tanks in place,
with the middle and aft decks bolted to the center tank and the outer
tanks. You should also have the outer front deck plates in place and bolted to
the middle deck plate upturned lip, and also to the lip on the outer tank
nose piece.
Next, overlay the middle front deck plate onto the two outer front deck plates. Be sure to
center the middle front deck plate on the center tank. The center plate will
overlap the outer plates. Bolt the center deck plate through the lip on the
center tank and the side front deck plates. The assembling should now be
complete except for trimming and wood work.
Step five:
Mark the angles for the front deck edges and cut with skill
saw and carbide blade.
Cut the front overhang material to align with the nose angle
of the center tank. The front of the boat should now be 42” inches wide as seen
on the drawing .
Mark the angles for the back deck inner edge and cut with
skill saw and carbide blade.
Cut the aft overhang material to align with the stern plate
angle lip of the outer tank. The aft end of the deck should now be 24” wide.
There you go! You are a boat builder and you didn’t even
know it!
Step six:
Mount the motor bracket, the 2×12 wood cross planks, the
outer wood rails. If you are including a counsel use the counsel drawing and
mount the counsel
It will actually be
easier to make the boat
than the trailer. However, the boat
will take longer because you will be constantly stepping back to look at
your progress. Time required will be about 15-20 man hours for the basic
assembly described, plus any time to finish off the boat.
The assembled boat should look like this before final
finish:
Step seven:
Register the boat with the state and get a home built title
for the boat.
The final finish for the boat will be determined by what
model you have chosen. If you have chosen an open model without a steering
counsel, all you need to do is install the motor mount received with the boat.
Motor mounts are custom built by the company to fit the size
and brand of motor used. When you order your boat, we will require this motor
information and then will construct the needed mount. The company will not ship
any motor mount for motor sizes that exceed the Coast Guard specifications for
the boat.