The Tropic 14 makes it an unbeatable choice for the fisherman who wants a serious boat that is easy to trailer, yet delivers the absolute best in safety, reliability, and angling adventure.

Think of a place you want to go on the water and the "Tropic 14" can get you there. Whether you're fishing, diving or just having fun, the Tropic 14 is an ideal 
mid size family/ multi species fishing boat. Easy on the pocket and packed with features left only to your imagination, the Tropic 14 maximizes it's space with a wide beam, stable hull and an open and roomy interior for loads of storage and fishable cockpit space, whilst out on the water.

The heart and soul of the Tropic 14 lies in its modified-V hull, designed for the tough demands of fishing or family excursions, whether your running the estuary's of the Gulf or fishing the freshwater river backwaters and lakes. But the real beauty of the Tropic 14 is its wide beam and shallow draft, enabling you to navigate across shallow flats, up coastal rivers and even into tidal creeks. Overall, it's the perfect all rounder that's easy to handle, easy to trailer and more importantly...easy to build.

Construction

Built from marine or boatbuilding plywood and completely fibreglassed in an epoxy matrix both inside and outside, the Tropic 14 is designed for very easy building: no compound curves, no unnecessary complications, ease of construction, easy maintenance and a long life.

The 1/4" (6mm) panels, cut flat from our expanded plates dimensioned drawings, are bent around the 3/8" (9mm) frames and fastened to the transom and bow with stitches

The plans show all dimensions needed for each method: accurate expanded plates dimensions and all bulkheads and transom dimensions with spacing for building on strongbacks if desired.

With no lofting, beveling or scarfing required, the sides and bottom panels are cut from standard 8x4 plywood (1.2m x2.4m) and joined with a simple fiberglass butt block. All seams are then taped with fiberglass and epoxy (see our "Boatbuilding Forum " section for details.) As these epoxy joins are much stronger than the plywood, the assembled hull is then completely fibreglassed for extra strength and easy maintenance, resulting in a boat with less maintenance and a better finish than a production fiberglass hull.

Required Skills:

All our stitch and glue boats are easy to build. No woodworking skills or special tools are required. The plans include all dimensions and patterns to cut all the hull parts flat on the shop floor.

Materials

The following list of materials is approximate and intended for calculation of approximate costs. We offer no guarantees of accuracy. The list is for all timber in the construction of hull, deck and interior, including building stocks, temporary bracing etc. Allowance has been made in the quantities for about 10% wastage. These figures allow for building with 1/4 in (6mm) Marine Ply for the hull and side deck, 3/8 in (9mm) plywood for the bulkheads and joinery and 1/2" (12mm) for the cockpit sole. Resin & glass quantities are only approx.

GABOON /OKOUME MARINE PLYWOOD
6mm (1/4") - 6 sheets
9mm (3/8") - 6 sheets
12mm (1/2") - 3 sheets
 
RESIN & GLASS (for coatings and reinforced areas)
FGI (R-180, H-180) Epoxy resin & Hardener - 36kg
450g/sq.m Biaxial fabric - 34 sq.m 
3 kg glue powder (Cabosil-FGI)
3 kg Q-Cells (fairing powder)