A few shots of what we do when we're not building boats...

Me and old Cajun Bob got together with some friends for a day of bustin' up some clay.  It goes without saying that we have a good time whenever we get out like this, that is, until we have to carry old Bob out to the truck after he hits the Jack too hard!

Do like us, and have fun with whatever you do,
Henry Corley

Mr. Corley,
I finally built the one-man Gator from the plans I bought from you three years ago. I gave it to my Father-in-Law as a Father's Day present. The attached photo shows him taking it for its maiden voyage in the family pond in Powdersville, SC. He plans on using the boat to fish, hunt ducks & possibly even alligator on some land he recently bought on the Ogeechee River in Georgia.
The plans were easy to follow once I finally started, and the boat looks great. Now I plan on starting the Darkwater Skiff.
Thanks again.
Bill Cole

Bob Bowden
Lakeland, Fl

Well Harry, I said I would send you some more pics when I was finished so here they are. I put foam floatation in both ends of the boat, Then boxed them in with some plywood and cabosil epoxy putty. I painted the whole boat with Valspar exterior latex paint, we will see how it holds up over time. This boat is in for a rough life so I'd say it will be a good test for the latex argument. I floated it on March 6th it was really windy as you can see from my 2 dogs ears. The first time I put in it was a little shaky and the wind pushed me straight into the bank. I got the hang of it pretty quick and was off and paddling around the pond in no time, soon my cousin had to give it a shot so we both went for a spin. It was a little bit of an overload but the pirogue handled surprisingly well. we only had about 4 inches from the water to the gunwales so we couldn't tip it too much. By the end of the day I even took one of my dogs for a spin, that was interesting. So much for the woven seats I had to improvise on the treated 5 quarter board seats just to get something to sit on. They sat so high in the hull I didn't think they would work. After a couple of trips around though they are just fine, it takes a little better balance but is much more comfortable. I may add seat backs later. That’s about it, the Pirogue, I think I will call mine Floater, was a great project thanks for such good plans and a very helpful webpage on SouthernSportingDesigns.com. My next project is a Devlin Pollywog and then I think a Gator Duckhunter after that. It is addicting isn't it.

Dustin

Thanks again
Tom Heath

Henry,
Here is the CROC that Clint Frady and I (Benn Keith) built over the winter months. Clint and I had spoken numerous times at our job at the Caterpillar plant in Toccoa, GA about building a boat. Never in our wildest dreams did we think we could come up with this unique craft. We took our time and came up with a new idea for the front of the boat. We took Advantage MAX-4 HD camo and put it on the front and accented it on the transom braces. To top if off, we bought a brand new 5 horse Briggs and Stratton 4 stroke with the matching Advantage MAX-4 HD camo pattern. It matched up nicely. The boat, named the "CLINKE B" (clinkey bee), is very sturdy and has epoxy and fiberglass on the bottom and epoxy coating on the oak sides. She rides nicely in the water and even took on some waves as we doubled back on our wake during the maiden voyage at Lake Rabun in Lakemont, GA. We hope to build more as we found a really rewarding hobby. You can go and buy a boat and have fun in it, but nothing is like riding in a craft that you actually constructed by your hands. Thanks for the plans, Henry.

Sincerely,
Benn Keith and Clint Frady
Toccoa, GA

To the Folks at Gatorboats:
Just wanted to show a little of the progress we've made on our Croc. It's been fun, and the finishing stage is about to drive us insane, what with the normal time process of it added to by our inexperience/hesitation/corrections, etc. Hopefully the next set of pictures will include fish in the bottom of the boat! Thanks for all the help on the forum.
All the Best,
Bob Bowden/Lakeland, FL

Jeff Franz is a professional boatbuilder from Charlotte, NC.  This is his latest boat, a modified (larger) Bullfrog.  He has a Duckhunter in his shop now that needs a good home, contact him if you're interested in a ready-built version of any of our models...he also does nice gun cases.
jeff@southernsportingdesigns.com  
http://www.southernsportingdesigns.com

This is my first boat so I wanted to start with an easy one. It is a very simple design, I would recommend it to anyone. I have pretty much gone with the plans on the design. I added some seat rails that will hold two woven seats when the boat is finished. I epoxied the whole thing and glass clothed the outside as well as taped the seams. the last pic has bricks wrapped with duct tape, I think there are 50 of them in all. They are holding down the floor boards I glassed in until the epoxy sets up. The Pirogue is about ready for paint now, I will send more pics when it is complete.
Dustin Rockrohr

Henry,
Just thought I'd drop these pictures over to you. I had my first true duck hunt out of the Duckhunter this morning, previously we had only goose hunted and opening day of duck season I took my boat but we hunted out of my buddy's 1860 with a fixed blind, stove and heaters ;)
Anyway, the ducks never knew what hit them.
Thanks again for such great plans. Also I think the knew BBS boards will really help your builders.
Brad
NOTE: Scroll down the page for photos of Brad's Duckhunter construction -Henry

Henry,
Attached is a digital picture of Trudy (Big Mamma).
All she needs is her waterproof coating.
I plan to put her in the water this spring ('04).
Thanks,
Keith Epperly

Hi Henry –
A while back I told you I would send you some pictures of my new Gator Pirogue. Well, I finally found some time to put it in the water and test it out. Everything went great and we had a lot of fun. My son and I learned quickly how to handle a little boat like this. This was a test run so we didn’t stay out long but we did find a creek that we would like to explore later which is exactly the kind of thing this boat will be good for.
Thanks for the great plans and, as usual, your assistance.
Dennis McGinnis

NOTE: Dennis has also built our Duckhunter model, see his photos further down on this page -Henry

    
Gatorboats,
Here are some pictures of my Croc two-man boat that I built. I live on the Guyandott River in Gilbert, WV. I built this boat my last year of teaching in 2001. My classroom was hooked onto the gym, so on my free period I would work on the boat and no one knew about it. I would work on it and when it was time for class to start I would hide it in a water room that was hooked onto my room. One day when I had the plywood outside sawing out the sides and bottom the janitor went by and asked me what was I doing and I told him I was building some shelves. When I got the boat built I took it home and fiberglassed and painted it in my kitchen. I put the camouflage on the sides with a stencil that I ordered from a place called Wings. I have a three HP canoe motor that I put on the boat. I can also oar, paddle and sail the boat. It is a great boat and will turn on a dime. I put three extra coats of epoxy with a black powder in it on the bottom so if I get a scratch it won't show. It is a great handling boat.
Thanks for the plans,
Zane

From Henry of Gatorboats.com;
These photos are of my nephew, he recently decided he wanted to build a boat to use on our "testing grounds" at the family farm.  He wanted to design the boat himself, and did, without using any of our plans or assistance.  My father helped him with the power tools, as he did with me at that age, but otherwise let him do all of the work.  I happened by with a gallon of epoxy that afternoon and laid some tape and helped finish the seat.  It reminded me why I have remained involved with wooden boats over the years.
His design works well, it's very stable for him and he loves it.  It is a youth boat, easy to handle in and out of water.  I see this as an example of how easy it is to pick up some tools and build a boat, and how forgiving the process is if you are off a little here or there in your construction.  If a thirteen year old can do it from scratch, anyone can do it with a complete set of dimensioned plans!
Henry

BLACK SWAMP GATOR
We enjoyed building this gator !

Tommy Dale (picture)
Ernest Berry
Johnny Bundy ( fiberglass)

Belvidere N.C

It originally started out that it would be a "work" boat that
would be painted camouflage. As it progressed, I started getting
a little more particular about the stripping. I may still paint it and
then build another paying more attention to the whole strip layout. All
in all, your plans were very easy to follow and it was an easy design
for a first time boat builder!

Craig VanBuren

Hi Henry-
I have attached some photos of the Duckhunter that my kids and I built (there is a photo of my boatbuilding crew included). We were all very pleased with how it turned out. We did not finish the boat in time for last duck season but plan on giving it a workout this coming season. We have had a chance to take it out several times this summer fishing and just riding around and it works out well for those kinds of activities too.

The boat rides great and is incredibly stable even without any added flotation. I get a lot of stares and a lot of compliments when people see the boat and everyone is usually amazed when I tell them we built it ourselves.

I built the boat pretty much exactly to plan. The only alterations are that I made the opening for the front compartment larger than suggested, I built and installed 2 seats in middle and back of the boat and I added some gun
racks under the decking on the starboard side (see photo). I also built a top to cover the cockpit when stored outside. I am running it with a 6 horse motor right now because I already owned it but intend to find a bigger motor ASAP. The 6 horse is sufficient for now but it is too slow for permanent use.

This turned out to be a great father and children project. Thanks for creating these plans, for making them available to us and for all your help along the way.

Dennis McGinnis and crew (Daniel, Colleen and Blayne)

Jerry T.
Rochester NY

Hi Gator Boats,
I finally got a digital picture of my boat and I'd like to share it with all on your web site. She’s made from cherry and maple plywood and trimmed out in oak and walnut. The seat is made from poplar and stained dark oak. The front deck is 3/4 maple plywood as is the transom. The bottom is 1/2' maple ply and the sides are 1/4' cherry. All together it has a very classic look. the front deck is also decked out with an am/fm/cd and a purhna2 fish finder. I modified the plans here and there and added the U shaped seat. I took her out in the Licking River in Northern KY for the first real test. She performed wonderfully (17" perch and no leaks) I only wish I has a 5 or 10 horse power motor instead of the 36 lb electric motor I am currently using. Again I'd like to thank you for the plans I've wanted to do this for some time and I really enjoyed building her. Thanks again,
William Klingenberg

I am exceptionally proud of this boat and the Dragon Fly as I have never constructed anything of worth in my 62 years. I am a retired college professor and have a bad left arm from a wound I received in combat while in Vietnam.

Your plans made a big difference, I am going to put a 34# thrust MinnKota Trolling motor on this boat.

Richard Dalton
 

Hi Henry,
I finished the "Croc" some time back. A friend liked it so good I had to build another!
Great plan/boat. Here are a few pictures of the completed project before we hit the water.
Thanks,

Dick Faucette

See Attached; Just had to show you this little croc I just finished on 3-31-03.

It is 10' 11&3/4" long, 16" deep and 42" wide.

*Ray also built a very attractive Dragonfly with laminated cedar strip exterior, photos of that boat are further down the page - Henry

Henry,
Just wanted to forward you a few pics of my finished Darkwater Skiff. We modified the plans a bit as you will notice. We added a cypress deck and removable rear seat. We also plan on adding cypress decking as a floor, however in the interest of getting the boat in the water, chose to put that part of the project off for just a bit. The boat was a joy to build. It was a great project and, in my opinion, looks great! Of course, not only does it look good, but it handles very well. I chose not to add the spray rails, may go back later and put them on, but as of yet I have not needed them.

As I communicated before, we do plan on putting in cypress decking for a floor on top of bottom ribs, that will enhance the look a bit...I hope. May also apply a boot strip and different color for "bottom paint" over the winter. No rush though on either.

Thanks again for the plans. I highly recommend the Darkwater skiff to anyone looking for a stable fishing or boating platform in a smaller package. Also the boat plan allows for personal modification and layout to suit all needs.

Take care. Paul Gray

Bullfrog Construction

T.Luscy

Henry,

I hunted out of the Duckhunter all season long.  The boat is great, and we had a fairly decent season.  Unfortunately, we never had a large migration and the birds were few and far between.  I didn't get too many pics of the boat with birds.

The boat handled everything I threw at it.  We hunted anywhere from one to three people from it with no problems.  Three is tight, but it can be done if you're not going very far.  We carried anywhere from one to six dozen dekes at a time.  I have already started making modifications for next season.  

I recently purchased a 3.5hp motor and I'm waiting for the one man version of the duckhunter.  When will it be ready?  I have had an explosion of interest in this boat over the past few days.  I have replied to several e-mails asking about the boat.  You must be selling hundreds of these plans.  Hope all is well.   
    
Chad White

Scroll down to see Chad's photos of construction and testing below.

Hello Henry;

I purchased your Croc 2 man boat plans as a father son project. My 14 year old son has been asking to build something in wood. I have a bunch of power tools from various home projects, and he's been wanting to learn how to use them. I've never built a boat before, and I thought this would be a good project for the both of us and when it was done we would have something to use together. I found the plans to be easy to understand and follow. This was suppose to be a winter project but the boat was so easy to build we were finished building in a couple of weeks in October. I'm going to build another when winter actually gets here! Building the Croc was an easy, fast, fun and very satisfying project.
I kept pretty close to the plans except I couldn't buy the half sheets of plywood called for, so I bought a whole sheet of 4'x8'x½ in AC grade. I used this for the jig; the seats and the stern. I laminated two pieces together, making it 1 in. instead of ¾. This not only saved a few bucks, we got stronger stern. And there was enough left over for the drywell box, although I chose not to add this option. I thought bending the bottom chines would be difficult, but it was really easy with the simple jig in the plans. My son thought this was the cool part , and so did I. For the jig I used the ½ in plywood mentioned above, when I screwed the jig blocks in I didn't go through to the finished side. After I was finished with the jig I removed the blocks, filled the holes and used the wood for the seats, stern and the floor strips. I rough cut two pieces for the stern and laminated the C sides together with glue and clamps. When it was dry I cut it to size.
I used polyurethane construction adhesive as suggested. I liked it because it was thick and stayed were it was applied while assembling the parts. I used Gorilla Glue® to laminate the plywood together. This is an excellent glue but more expensive than the construction adhesive and not as easy to apply. I finished the boat with Pettit one part polyurethane paint on the outside and clear marine poly on the inside, top and rails.  I was able to put on three coats in one day.
My only disappointment was the selection of plywood in my area. The best grade of wood, off the shelf, was not as clear as I'd liked it to be.  Although it was an AC grade it looked more like a BD grade. The A side had plugs and the C side had unfilled knot holes. I'm going to build another Croc and I'll order a better quality wood. We couldn't wait for a special order of wood the first time around, we wanted to get started building. It still turned out pretty good.
Can't wait to launch it. I picked up a used trolling motor from ebay for power. Here in Pennsylvania you have to register a boat if you power it in public waters. So I'm waiting for the registration to get here. This has taken the most time in the project.

I've attached some photos we took during the build process and the finished boat. Feel free to use any on your web site.
Ralph Brescia
Newtown Square Pa.

The boat was built in a small one car garage. I only took it out to
photograph during the building process.

Henry,

After a little work and a small amount of trimming I finally got my new Duckhunter 15 running and tracking properly. I can’t say enough good things about the design. I spent the entire weekend on the river putting the boat through the paces.

Saturday was spent abusing the boat. I wanted to see what kind of handling qualities she had along with the stability of the design. I plan on hunting out of the boat with my seven-year-old son and I wanted no surprises this coming season in freezing water. I felt that if there were going to be any surprises I wanted them to happen in a controlled environment. I know that this is not a high speed design, but I wanted to test the design limitations. Encountering chop was no problem and high-speed slides and turns did not have any tipping tendency. I added stringers to the floor and glassed them in to eliminate floor flexing. After this past weekend in the water I have to say it was a great addition to a wonderfully stable boat.

With me, my best friend, a 115lb motor, 6 full gals of fuel, battery, and 2- 60lb bags of sand to represent gear, the boat would still jump onto a plane and run great. I know this is close to gross weight, but it is a realistic representation of the weight that the boat will be carrying during season. I wanted an accurate idea of how she would handle at gross weight. In all I was happy with the way the design balanced and handled the weight. I can’t imagine any problems with weight.

Sunday was spent scouting for some new duck holes in newly flooded areas along the river. I took the boat into some shallow areas that required me to move about the boat pushing it along with a pole. Standing up, shifting weight, and walking on and about the boat presented no problem whatsoever. The boat had no tendency to tip or become shaky. I love the inherent stability of the design. I have no fear of my son moving about and loosing his balance while hunting aboard.

While I haven‘t build a blind around the boat or tried to cover it, I don‘t think the shape of the boat is going to hamper conceal ability. It looks great shoved into cattails, and blends right in. I have worked the dog out of the boat and he has no problems getting in or out due to the low profile and upward sweeping sides.

The boat catches stares, and I can count on someone asking about it wherever it goes. Most can’t believe that it is homebuilt. It gives you a proud feeling to know that you did in fact, build it yourself. I think it is a great looking, great handling boat that is very stable; and I for one am a proud owner. Thank you for offering a great plan and wonderful design. It has been a pleasure.

Thanks!! Chad White

Henry,

We modified your plans to build what we needed. A combo Sneak/Layout boat. We took 3.5" off the sides and added a enclosed deck with a small cockpit. It is now a great one man or small water two man boat. It handles like a kayak and is way more stable than any canoe I have been in. Nice boat. We also modified the transom to hold only a trolling motor, although for now our plans are to launch it from my bigger boat. The epoxy paint is really the trick for our needs, as we wanted the entire boat in gray. The plans were simple and easy to follow. I studied them for several readings and referred to them to be sure I didn't mess up any cuts-no problems with any boards. My brother and I built this boat with almost exactly the 24 hours of building time-4 @ 6 hour days and never rushed a bit. The drying time on paint slowed us just like you said it would. I am definitely going to order more plans, as it was not only easy, but fun to build. Thanks for a wonderful site and for all the help. I'm sure I will be referring people to you when they see our ducks and our boat.

Larry Helm

I have built a few boats and believe this one was the easiest I have built. My
8 year old son did most of the work along with me.

Thanks,
 Matt

Duckhunter

Gator

Mr. Barnes

Gator

Gator

Mr. Singer

Attached is a pre-finish picture and a completed picture of my Croc. The inside, stern and midrail are finished in Helmsman glossy spar varnish. The outside is finished with Interlux BrightSides polyurethane paint. All seams
are fiberglass taped and finished out with epoxy resin.
With the 7.5 outboard and 3 gallons of gas, I can cruise longer than I can sit. The only thing I would change is to use a lighter weight outboard like a 3.5 hp because the transom weight makes her lie a little too far aft on her rockered bottom. It was completed in three weeks of nights and weekends.  Of course, most of the time was in the finish.

John French

Henry,
Here are photos of my first Dragonfly.  Fabrication time was 22 hours, and two weeks for stain, poly, epoxy and paint.  I rounded over all the interior edges and ran the floorboards to the transom.  Everything else is to plan.  Materials are clear pine, AC ply and birch ply.  I gave this boat to my daughter Chelsea.  At this time I am fabricating two more Dragonflys.  Each of those are a little different.  When they are completed I'm going to order Bullfrog plans.
Thanks for all the advice, i will be in touch................Frank

Don't know if you are interested in getting feedback from people who use your plans but this turned out so neat that others may be interested in taking a look.
My objective was a durable one-man hunting boat for a swampy Arkansas location....sort of a sneak/layout boat. As you can see, I have not yet camouflaged the boat for hunting season this Fall but I will do so with spray paint.
The entire boat is encased in epoxy; two layers on the inside of the boat and fiberglass mat and four layers on the outside. This makes for a very tough boat but does add weight.
I enclosed the front end of the boat for storing items to keep dry and out of sight of ducks. The deck is 3/8 inch plywood and is only screwed on in case that I need to work inside for some reason and is sturdy enough to use as a seat if needed.
I installed a shotgun rack on the right side.
Standard trolling motor shafts are too long for the small boat and low seat. I took the control handle apart, cut 6 inches off the 30 inch shaft and reinstalled the handle.
The wheeled cart is made from a Home Depot two wheel dolly. The frame is plastic and the ends can be unscrewed and a boat carrier mounted to the body of the dolly. I can walk the boat down to the river with one finger.
This was my first attempt as such a project and a second effort would be a lot easier because of the learning process.  A router with the proper bits really helps with the trim work. It was a good winter project and I'm looking forward to duck season.

Doug Proctor

We would like to share these pictures with you. We had fun from start to finish. My name is Watson, the only one in shorts. We plan to start on the Big Mama now. We'll send more pictures.

Watson Anderson , Jamie Anderson , Wayne Anderson

NOTE:
OK, I know you're all thinking, "What do totem poles have to do with boats??"
Answer: They're both handcrafted of wood and need to be properly finished for a long life.  Mr. Psychs sent in these photos with a question on how we would suggest finishing them.  The project looked so interesting, I had to post it!
-Henry

Henry,
I've finally finished the Duckhunter. It was basically built per the plans, however I did make a couple of slight modifications; The doors to the bow and stern compartments are flush for smoother lines and I also ran a piece of 3/4" PVC conduit under the deck at the rub rail junction from the bow compartment to the stern compartment. This will enable me to run a gas line on one side and wiring on the other from the gas tank and battery which are in the bow --- this is an attempt at better weight distribution.
All seams as well as bottom and sides were glassed with 6oz cloth and 8oz tape and the entire boat ( interior and exterior ) got three coats of epoxy. The final coat of paint went on last weekend and I plan to put it in the water for the first time this weekend. I'm going to try a 20hp motor initially and I suspect that it will be plenty. I'll give you another report after "sea trials".

It has been a very enjoyable project-- I'll probably be looking for more plans shortly.
Graves Vann
N.C.

Hello
Just wanted you to know that the construction of the Croc went very well, put it in the water this weekend, no leaks and even caught a couple of modest bass. Got the Plans on May 10 and was in the water on June 25.
The boat is completely done except for some of the bright work.  Could not find the solid brass fittings I wanted so will wait till I do.

Thanks Lee Starnes

Me and my 10 year old son built this boat on the weekends from the plans we purchased from you. You should see the sparkle in his eyes. we worked very hard on this boat and he dearly loves to fish, We did a lot of research on how to paint this and we came up with this, 2 coats of Kop Coats marine paint after the Thompson Water Seal and then roughed it up before applying 2 coats of oil base paint covered with 2 coats of poly. the top has three coats of Helmsman Exterior Poly.
--- Timothy Evans

Henry,
I bought plans for the Croc @ the Georgetown boat show in Oct. I have never built a boat but do have woodworking skills. Boat was very simple to build but the finishing did slow things down a bit. I taped the seams with 3" tape, painted the outside with 3 coats of top quality oil base, left the inside natural and covered the whole thing, inside and out with 3 more coats of spar urethane. I then rigged it with a 53 lb. thrust trolling motor with footpedals and a maximizer for river fishing. I am glad I built the 2 man, (I use it as a 1 man). Croc has 450 lb. capacity but with me, 200lbs, a trolling motor, deep cycle battery, rods, cooler, camera, etc, it is perfect. It will take more maintenance than a fiberglass or plastic boat, but the comments at the river or dock is well worth it. I have not had the boat out once that somebody didn't come up and compliment it. I really took my time with mine and it looks great. It was cheap to build but I did have to add a tin roof off of my shop to store it. (I don't want it to get wet, ha ha ). Thanks again for the plans. I will probably build another one now that its spring.
Happy Fishing, Paul                                     

Hi Henry,

Here are a few pics of my Dragon Fly. I started and spent all day yesterday and then a few hours today. Had to quit 'till I can get some more screws in the morning.
Tomorrow I plan to install the other floor piece and the sides and then fill and glass the whole outside. What a blast!
All in all, I'm pleased with this set of plans. (I'll let you know about the others as I build them!) Heh, hee, hee!

Thank you,
Robert Westbrook

A brief Rest of the Story (with credit to Paul Harvey) - When my wife got home last night about 11PM, I brought her in the front door rather than through the garage - no need to upset her after traveling cross country. While she was going through the mail on the kitchen table (where I had cut the fiberglass cloth to cover the bottom) she noticed a single small strand of fiberglass on one of the kitchen chairs. She picked it up, examined it closely, and turned to me and said, "You built another darned boat didn't you?" She then marched into the garage, turned on the light, and I had to throw myself on the mercy of the court. In the future, I'll make sure there isn't any fiber evidence left around!

Henry,
The boys and I launched boat #2 (Croc) this morning.  I installed two keels on the bottom as last time.  We also added oars and a car radio under the front seat. I call it rowing to the tunes; my boys call it rowing to the oldies. Your boat plans are easy to follow and much less expensive than others I have seen on the Internet. They are sinfully easy to build, small enough to fit in the back of our truck, and tough enough to handle two boys.  They also turn heads where ever we go.  The Gator has been in lakes and rivers in 3 states (Louisiana, Texas, and Oklahoma). Building your boats has truly been an inspiration. I think I'll tackle a runabout next.

Thanks,
James and the Boys
NOTE:  The Andrews boys built the Gator and Croc models