Welcome to the Black & Tan blog!
Thanks for checking out our site! We have just begun construction on a Mckenzie River Style drift boat that we have affectionately named the Black & Tan, which will be her ultimate color scheme. It is no coincidence that she shares her name with one of the greatest adult beverages of all time. We have chosen this proven design because we are confident it will serve us quite well in the waters we fish most, which include the The Housatonic and Farmington Rivers of Northern CT, The inshore waters Long Island Sound, and most recently the Great Lakes Tribs and the wonderful St. Lawrence River waterway, a place that Mack calls home. We obtained the boat plans online, similar plans are available through Rivers Touch. She will be 14 feet long with a relatively wide beam and bow rocker for safely navigating the rapids but she will also have a high and wide, slightly rockered, transom which can accomodate a up to a 10hp motor should we decide to venture out into the brackish bays and estuaries of Long Island Sound. Unlike most traditional drift boats, this boat can be used both as a flat bottom motor skiff and a rowing dory. Our project has just begun, and we are full of enthusiasm. The design and finish concepts change every day, who knows what the final product will look like, but thats half the fun! We hope you enjoy our site, we will try to update it weekly if possible. Thanks for stopping by!

For more info on the Rapid Robert Mckenzie River Skiff we are building, Click Here or better yet, Here

Wednesday, April 17, 2013

Glassin The Hull

Another busy week.  Its getting harder and harder to remember all the steps in our process, but last saturday we glassed the topsides and bottom.  First off, all the seams were taped to ad reinforcement using 105/205 and 6 oz 4 inch fiberglass tape.  Next, we started on the sides, the hull was wetted with west system 105/205 epoxy and then blanketed with 6oz fiberglass cloth. The cloth was wetted out using rollers, i mixed as Mack rolled.  We taped the bottom along the corners with 4 inch tape as well in order to fill in the gap between our 38inch cloth and our 44 inch beam.  Then we glassed the center of the bottom with the 38 inch cloth.  The port side went flawless, starboard had some difficulties but we managed to keep our cool, and the bottom went on pretty easy although we did come down to our very last drop of epoxy at the end, talk about cuttin it close!  After a short visit from the Fire Cheif we were on our way, thankfully he didn't shut us down.....


 













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