The Bumble Bee design is a sporty looking craft. The Bumble Bee is designed for lake, river and protected water usage. The motor well is in the middle rear deck. It can be modified to accept a combustion engine but is designed for a trolling motor power.
The Bumble Bee is designed to be built from standard lumber without a frame. The pro-type was built from white pine and ext plywood ¼”. This can be upgrade per the builders desires for better characteristics of the lumber.
Figure 1
To begin construction, you do not have to build a building frame. The side panels are 1”X12”X10'. The shape of the panel is laid out by drawing a grid of 2” squares
Not To Scale
Figure 2
When cutting the shape of the side panels c-clamp them together so the shapes match on both side panels after cutting. This will allow you to only have to do one layout setup.
Figure 3
The side panel length is 7 feet 9 inches, with the curves an ¼”X4X8 sheet of ext. plywood will leave about 1 1/2 inches to two inches to trim on length. The rear panel is cut from a 1”X12”X6' shaped to your preference. The boat I built I put an arch shape so the panel was a ½ inch above the rear deck. The height of the rear panel is determined by the angle of the rear curve on the side panels. The height on the model I built was 7 3/8” on the side panels angle and 8 ½” in the middle for the arc.
Figure 4
In figure 4, you can see the framing taking shape. I counter sunk all screws. I used 1”X#8 Flathead screws for the framing and a good waterproof glue. The bow frame is mounted on the inside of the side panels and the rear panel is mounted on the ends of the side panels. All other framing is mounted on the inside of the side panels. I used minimum framing for the basic assembly of the boat. You can use a wall to get the first framing started then stand the boat frame on its side to complete the framing making sure everything is square. Assembling the rear panel first and the bow frame which has to be shaped first to the curve of the bow. The bow frame is a 2X4 cut to shape and length. The width on the finished model was 45 3/8” X 7 feet 9 inches.
Figure 5
In figure 5, shows the general location of the framing, which can very as you are building the boat with in limits. Once the basic framing is in place (figure 4) you can then smooth the curves and apply the bottom plywood.
Figure 6
Figure 7
Figure 7, the bottom plywood is installed and glued with screws spaced every 2 to 3 inches. When you lay the plywood on the frame make sure it is square with one side of the frame. The hang over on the other side can be marked with a cut line, which you should leave some material for fairing on the cut side. You will need to apply glue and start screwing (1X#8) the plywood bottom from the center out. When I got to the bow I used 1 1/2” #8 screws to pull the plywood down to the bow frame edge (figure 7 A). You will have extra material which you can fair off. In figure 6, make sure you install the back bottom frame piece across the back before you put the bottom plywood on. The back frame will help pull down the rear plywood to the stern of the boat. This is the hardest part of the assembly process so if you have an extra hand available you will need the assistance for an easier application of the bottom of the boat.
Figure 7A (Front view)
Figure 7 B (Rear view)
Figure 7 C (Inside View)
Figure 8
In figure 8, the rear framing for the motor well and the rear compartment framing is installed vertical instead of horizontal. You cannot see the frame that is mounted vertically along the stern at 90 degrees to the side frame. This frame is needed to install the back decking against the stern for deck strength so have it against the stern.
Figure 9
Figure 9, shows the rear deck with the access ports. The access ports are framed with 1X2's attached to a sub-frame to the size you want the ports to be. The model I build was 13”X9 ½” inside dim. and outside dim. of 14”X10 ½”. You have to add the framing for the access ports before you add the deck. Measure in from the side frames to get the width and the length is set by the framing for the motor well. The decking behind the seats is ¼” plywood cut to size and screwed on to the framing of the motor well (fig. 8).
