paddleboat

"Waterbug"sidewheelerBy W. CLYDE LAMMEYDesigned by ROBERT WOOLSON

For ponds or wading pools,this sidewheeler boat is

safe as the Queen Mary.And it's easy to build

yourself with these tips

a kid's • SAFE AS ANY HULL afloat, Waterbug won'tflip over frontwards, backwards or sidewards. Itcan ride out a rough "sea" in a fair size pond,and it can be launched in any wading water that'sover ankle deep. Just about every part neededexcept the bike-pedal cranks, handlebar gripsand the oarlock fixtures that serve as bearingsfor the paddle wheels are available from yourhandyman supplier.

One good look at the details and you havea clear idea of the construction of Waterbug.Note at the outset that the original Waterbugwas equipped with a "glass" bottom window forsub-surface study of marine life such as craw-fish, chance salamanders, minnow schools andthe like. It's made by cutting an opening in thebottom and screwing clear plastic over it in abed of caulking compound. Be sure to round anysharp edges with a file.

There are several points in the constructionwhich should be noted before you cut stock:First of all, the stem, or nosepiece, the deckbeam, seat and transom should be cut to pre-cisely the same length and square at the endsso that you get a true fit of the joints. The seatboard can be cut about 1/16 in. less for easierinstallation, if desired. The details at the top of

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paddleboat

sidewheeler, continued

Do a careful job of fairing in deck and bottom toassure water-tight joints. Even a slight offset ata joint may produce a leak

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page 1813 give the finished lengths of the sideplanks and fenders. When rough cutting to thepatterns, saw these parts a trifle over, about 1/8in., so that you have stock left for fairing in toget a good fit of the bottom panel, the deck andtransom at the joints. This is quite important asotherwise you may come up a trifle under espe-cially when fairing the top and bottom edges ofthe side planks to obtain a true curve and a tightfit of the parts. The sectional size of the stemand deck beam is given in the details, and youplot the curves of the beam and transom asshown on this page.

Good waterproof bottom and deck joints weremade in the original Waterbug simply by layinga bead of caulking compound on one joining sur-face. The same waterproofer is used in the tran-som joints to the side planks. Such joints willnot leak if the fit is true along the length. How-ever, if you prefer you can use a dry-mix(powdered) waterproof resin glue instead of

If you prefer, small machine screws with nuts may beused to draw up the window tightly in a bed of caulk-ing instead of tapping the holes in the plastic

Handles attached to the nosepiece forward and tothe sternboard aft provide for easy transport,launching and beaching of the Waterbug

the caulking compound. Again make certain be-fore joining that the meeting surfaces are prop-erly faired to give a true, tight joint. Join theparts immediately and drive the screws home.

Note in the pulled-apart view that the fendersare joined to the side planks with lagscrews.Only two are shown in the detail but four lag-screws are required for joining each fender, theholes being located approximately as indicated.The location of each fender on the side plank isshown in the top detail, page 1813. The bumperand runners should be made from hardwoodsuch as oak, and attached with flathead screws,the heads countersunk flush. Installing the cock-pit fairing, the cockpit and fender trim and the

four lift handles finishes the hull ready for thepaddle wheels. These are duplicates, each havingsix paddles located on 60-deg. centers. Thepaddles are cut from 1 x 4 stock and each set ofsix paddles is joined to two 10-in. disks of 1/8-in.tempered hardboard with waterproof glue andscrews. Two points to watch when assemblingthe wheels are uniformity in width of the paddlesand the spacing. Also, one must make sure ofthe projection of the paddles so that the outerends describe a true circle when turned.

Note that the paddle-wheel shaft has a flatfiled near one end to take the draw pin whichlocks the bike pedal crank in place. The cranksare assembled with handles which turn. Each

Hardwood bumper strip is attached to the nosepiecewith heavy screws. The top edge of the bumper ex-tends 1/8 in. to form a rabbet

Check the fit of the deck before installing it per-manently. Screw holes should be uniformly spaced; besure there are no skips in caulking

paddleboat

Paddle-wheel shaft turns in a bearing adapted from anoarlock fixture. The latter is attached with screwsand bolts. Below, under some conditions, water maybe splashed inboard by the paddle wheels. Install aguard, as shown below, screwing it to side planking

consists of a handlebar grip (bike replacementpart), a carriage bolt, a metal sleeve—or asleeve made by center-drilling a length of dowel—which fits tightly inside the handlebar grip, awasher and two square nuts. When assembledas indicated the grip should turn freely on thebolt but to achieve this you may have to grindoff the squared section under the head of thebolt and also grind down the bolt head slightlyto assure its turning freely inside the grip. Whenattaching to the crank (also a bike replacementpart) you run one nut down on the threads overthe washer, insert the threaded end of the boltthrough the smaller hole in the crank, run on thesecond nut and tighten it.

Paddle-wheel bearings are oarlock fixturesadapted to the purpose. You will have to reamout the slightly tapered hole to take the 5/8-in.-diameter wheel shaft. The adapted bearings areattached to the side planks, each with two boltsand two lagscrews. The outer ends of the wheelshafts fit into 3/8-in. pipe flanges, the threads be-ing reamed out to take the shaft ends in a snug,sliding fit. The hub of each flange is tapped fora hollow setscrew.

When the paddler is going all out in a breezethe paddle wheels may lift a little water into thebilge. This can be largely prevented by installingwheel guards as shown. This feature is optional.

Fenders are edged with aluminum rub strips. Use aluminum screws spaced about 6 in. apart for best results

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