Epoxycraft
Menu
  • Home
  • About
  • Epoxy Basics
  • How To
    • DIY
    • Artists
    • Board Sports
    • Woodworking
    • Boat Building
  • Trade Secrets
  • Projects
    • DIY
    • Artists
    • Board Sports
    • Woodworking
    • Boat Building
    • Motorsport
    • Aviation
    • Architecture
  • Meet The Maker
  • News
  • Contribute
  • Contact

Projects: How to build a mouse boat with epoxy and Oarsome Chance
20th May 2019

How to build a mouse boat with epoxy and Oarsome Chance

Back to basics

Wessex Resins and Adhesives is a proud sponsor of the charity Oarsome Chance, where disadvantaged and school-excluded young adults learn how to build and repair boats and use them on the water. Instructor Nick Hart describes the making of a ‘Mouse Boat’.

Nick Hart has a passion for building boats and passes his enthusiasm on to those who join the Oarsome Chance programme. When not instructing, he spends his time building the charity’s fleet of own-design rowing skiffs, one of which is taking shape behind him.

The Mouse Boat

The Mouse Boat can be made from just one sheet of plywood. The image shows the plans with the measurements given in both imperial and metric.

“It is amazing how many basic skills people can learn from this project,” Nick explains. “They have to measure accurately, mark-up, draw both straight and curved lines, make calculations and follow instructions. We are there to help them but the students do the bulk of the work themselves. Some have never handled any type of hand tool before, nor had the need to draw or measure anything.”

The raw materials are supplied by Robbins Timber and Wessex Resins and Adhesives. Here is one of the single sheets of 2m x 1.5m 10mm ply that will make up one complete Mouse Boat. Additional pine battens are used to create reinforcements and cross beams within the hull itself.

The workshop is well equipped with workbenches and a wide selection of tools, all neatly stored on highly visible pegboards. Although electric bandsaws and table saws are available, the instructors actively encourage the use of hand tools and assist the students to make accurate cuts in a variety of timbers.

The Mouse Boat has a curved bottom. Students achieve this by deflecting a wooden measuring batten in the middle to get the right amount of curve. They then draw along the batten and later cut the line, smoothing imperfections with a hand plane. This boat is half completed and is being seen from the underside. The pine battens have been cut and glued into place with a mix of WEST SYSTEM 105 Epoxy Resin and 205 Fast Hardener, held with screws as it cures.

The instructors don’t expect a perfect finish, just a functional one. This close up shows a detail of the battens cut and assembled by an 11-year-old student.

“We teach the kids from the outset how to use WEST SYSTEM® epoxy,” Nick says. “They learn about ratios, how to decant and how to mix. We emphasise the safety element and always insist they wear masks and gloves when doing practical jobs.”

A finished boat. The seams are filled with thickened epoxy and reinforcement tape is used along the lower hull joins.

“Sometimes we will coat the wood with epoxy – sometimes we’ll just paint it. The aim is for the student to build their boat from scratch into something they can use. It gives them great pride to actually launch and paddle something they have made with their own hands, although watertight integrity isn’t always 100%. But then sinking is part of the learning curve too. They discover where they went wrong and we’re always there to rescue them.”

Other projects

The students are taught some basic techniques that can be used for other tasks. Here is a selection of the items they make using a variety of basic joinery techniques, including butt and dovetail joints. The objects range from a wooden heart made from a single square of pine to a complex bird box.

Seeing what tools can achieve can often fire the imagination. Here one student has experimented with WEST SYSTEM 505 Blue Pigment to make a coaster. He has routed out a channel, filled it with pigmented WEST SYSTEM epoxy and then sanded and coated the result. This first coat of WEST SYSTEM epoxy will be sanded back and built up before being finished in a gloss varnish.

More advanced work

Out in the yard, the part-completed Secret 20 kit boat donated by Practical Boat Owner magazine is taking shape. The older and more skilled students get to work on her in readiness for displaying the boat at the Southampton Boat Show in September 2019. Note the laminated battens that will be used to support the cabin roof. Volunteer instructor and professional shipwright Jesse Doyleis seen working on the cabin.


Share on


Back to projects

Subscribe to our newsletter
Our unique epoxy knowledge and experience, delivered straight to you

Events

Future dates TBC

What is epoxy?

Epoxy Projects

UK Chandleries Open – January 2021

As England, Scotland and Wales enter another lockdown, you may have started work on those home projects. Whether it’s boat maintenance and repairs, a restoration or a brand new build,

Creating an Artisan Gold Ring with Canadian Maple and Epoxy

You may be surprised to learn that the UK is home to some of the finest gold around. Mark discovered this as a child when his father, Edward, would take

Heritage 9.9

Castagnola Launch Heritage 9.9

Castagnola Shipyard has launched the elegant, custom-made Heritage 9.9. Able to reach a cruising speed of 34 knots, the 10.91m custom-built luxury yacht is a fine example of what happens

Nick Zammeti Gets Creative with Epoxy and Liquorice Allsorts

What happens when you give Youtuber Nick Zammeti lots of epoxy and bags of Liquorice Allsorts? You get one incredibly funky table! Nick is well-known and loved in the industry

Meet the Maker – The Resin Reserve

Resin artist, alchemist, resin-gineer. Kate Ede of The Resin Reserve has always kept us in awe of her marvellous and beautiful creations. Inspired by patterns in nature, Kate is a

Split Film Festival Trophies

Creating the 2020 Split Film Festival Trophy

The Split Film Festival is one of the oldest film and video festivals in Croatia, showcasing new films and radical works of all styles, themes and genres. The festival celebrated

Hot Box

How to keep your epoxy warm in winter: build a hotbox

Winter is a challenging time for epoxy products. Warmth is needed to keep the resin fluid enough for dispensing pumps to work well and cold ambient temperature can greatly reduce

How to Work With Epoxy in Cold Weather

The frosty mornings and dark evenings are drawing near. There are projects that need finishing, but what do you do when epoxy and cold weather don’t get on too well.

Mas Snowboard

Snowboard Enthusiasts Taking On The World With Incredible Designs

To many a holidaymaker, Turkey is a haven of golden sand beaches, historic landmarks and party towns. However, it’s not just those looking to top up on their tan that

Class Xero Yacht

Class Xero Combines Coffee and Epoxy in Sustainable Yacht Design

Image credit: Alec Smith - https://www.imagemundi.com Craig Palmer, based in Worthing, is looking at opportunities to bring the marine industry together in a collaborative way. In the middle of building

Craobh Woodwork

Bringing a New Lease of Life to Reclaimed Scottish Timber

Tucked away in the highlands of Scotland is the small village of Culbokie, home to Craobh Woodwork and artisan Bruce Neill. Specialising in producing bespoke timber products from the highest

Final Bar Design

Cheers! Leeds Furniture Maker Creates a Bar Worth Celebrating

James McKay has been a creator since his early years. His fascination for creativity guided his interest into art, design and technology during his school years. James went on to

  • Home
  • Epoxy Basics
  • Projects
    • DIY
    • Artists
    • Board Sports
    • Woodworking
    • Boat Building
    • Motorsport
    • Architecture
    • Aviation
  • Trade Secrets
  • How To
    • DIY
    • Artists
    • Board Sports
    • Boat Building
    • Woodworking
  • News
  • Privacy Policy
  • Contribute
  • Contact
West System
Pro-Set
Entropy Resins
Subscribe to our newsletter
Copyright © 2021 Epoxycraft | Website by MAA