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John Forney's Wooden and Skin-on-Frame
W Boat Designs
John is an prolific small-boat designer and builder from Texas, who's built fifteen boats in recent years, including designs in wood, composites and skin-on-frame.
John says: -"My interest in boat building had waned somewhat, primarily because I couldn't crack the nut of fishing comfortably from a small paddle craft. The W concept has completely reinvigorated my interest in boat building."
John first W boat is 12 feet long and 30 inches wide, and it weighs 74 lbs. It can take two large size fishermen with all their fishing and camping gear.
-"Standing up in this boat is as
natural as breathing. One just doesn’t get the sense that
anything
will go wrong." he says.
John's next project is a
ten footer skin-on-frame W boat:
-"This
is a closeup of the tubing skin on frame boat I’m building. Right now, I’m using scrap wire to hold the
frames into place:
My friend Peter is taking part in this project. This W boat will be about 10 1/2 feet long when done. Note the strongback "Yost’s style" here:
This
is a closeup of the connection between gunwale and
keel. Yost bends a strip of 1/16th
aluminum plate, then rivets the connector to the keel.
It's simple, strong, and fast. I’ll
bolt the two gunwales together through a
hole in the plate:
View of one end - I’ve scalloped the frames into a U-shape at the ends.
I hope this creates a clean connection when I sew the skin over it:"
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John Forney
John took upon himself to be the first to design and build a wooden W
boat, and he did it.
Bennett Crow christening John’s 12 ft W boat.
"I’m on the Brazos River
with my wife this day. I painted the boat Navy Blue Marine
Polyurethane paint on the outside, with white Marine paint on the
inside."
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