tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11986705265084274022024-03-13T09:24:23.218-04:00Canoe Yawl... SomedayBuilding a sailboat to Iain Oughtred's Eun Mara design.Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger24125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1198670526508427402.post-56606633338017608152014-01-12T22:12:00.000-05:002014-01-12T22:12:19.263-05:00More Keel Work<p>
Well, the holidays have come and gone. The past busy month and a half have left me with less time for boaty things. For the most time I've dealt with that by neglecting the internet portions of my boating hobby, though the building part has slowed a bit, too.
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<p>
I'd been going back and forth about how to finish the keel. For better or worse, I'm going to go with the center layer of the keel running vertically. With that in mind, I've fit most of the wood needed, and I've started working out a method to drill for the keel bolts. I've discussed the issues involved at length in previous posts, so I'll mostly just show some pictures of how things are going.
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I've left a recess for the lead ballast. The first layer will need to be cut away, too, but I'll leave it in as long as I can to add some strength to what would otherwise be a weak section in the middle. I've been doing my epoxy work in the basement for the last month or two, which involves moving the keel quite a bit. Here's another view.
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I still have some things to work out at the stern. Namely how the outer stern post will fit against the deadwood. The pencil line in this view is a rough approximation of the final shape. If you look closely, you can see where I've drawn a grid on the deadwood. The squares are 3" on each side, which corresponds to 1/4" on the plans. I drew the corresponding grid on the plans, and marked on the deadwood where the curve should intersect the grid lines - well roughly, anyway. It needs to be tweaked a little bit, but it gives a good impression what the finished product will look like.
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Here's a view from a different angle.
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It's starting to come together. The next jobs are to figure out the keel/stern post interface, and glue the first two layers together. After that, I think the third layer should go very quickly, with relatively few pieces whose shapes can be found by tracing the already glued-up layers.
</p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1198670526508427402.post-30301125046083707432013-11-18T13:25:00.001-05:002013-11-18T13:25:27.776-05:00Working on the Keel. Decisions, Decisions.<p>
With the stem epoxied in place, I began to work on the keel. I wasn't quite sure how to go about this, and as I was feeling my way through, I didn't take pictures for the most part. I began by crawling under the hull and marking the locations of the floors. (In a house, these would be called "joists", and the floor would be laid on the joists. In a boat, the "sole" is laid on the "floors." Just one of those nautical things.) Their locations are found relative to the "stations" which are the locations of the molds which give the hull it's shape as the planks are hung.
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This may seem like a bit of procrastination, but in fact it was not. The keel bolts go through the keel and keelson, and are bolted through the floors. After marking their locations, I drilled a pilot hole vertically through the keelson with a long 1/8" bit. The keel bolts will be 1/2" and 3/8", but I wanted to drill through to find their location on the outside of the hull. That also showed me the location of each station. They are each separated by 29" horizontally, but the curvature of the hull makes it difficult to measure with any reliability on the outside of the hull.
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Next, at each station, I cut the end of a 2x4 so that it would stand vertically when set on the hull. I measured the depth of the keel from the planking at each station, and cut the 2x4's to these lengths. Setting them on the hull shows where the bottom of the keel ought to be. The keel runs in a straight from the 3rd station to the 8th, I was a little bit surprised that they seemed to line up exactly as they ought to.
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As I said, I didn't take many photos as I was working along, but this shot from later in the process shows the 2x4's at the 7th and 8th station.
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I had a nice straight clear piece of sassafras, about 5 inches wide, that I was able to clamp to the 2x4's. With the edge of the board aligned with the tops of the 2x4's, this put the board in just the right position. For most of the length of the keel, it doesn't protrude much more than this from the bottom of the planking. I was able to fill the gap between the hull and the bottom of this board with a two offcuts from the stem, scribed to fit into place. You can see them in this picture, taken after they were epoxied in place.
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At this point, I was a little unsure how best to proceed. The keel is to be three layers of (roughly) 3/4" stock. Is it best to fit one layer, and then add to that, or work "from the front to the back." I'm still not entirely sure, maybe I'll have it figured out by the time I finish with it. In any case, I kind of did both. I was able to scribe three more boards to fill in the deadwood near the stern.
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At the same time, I began work on the second layer. Probably. I say that because I have some doubts about how I will do that. <a href="http://www.geoss.com.au/eun_mara/keel.htm">Some</a> <a href="http://alistego.com/Alistego.com/the-deadwood-1.html">builders</a> of this design have let the grain in the center layer run vertically, perpendicular to the grain of the outer layers. There are a couple advantages to this, but normally this kind of cross-grain construction is not desirable. Wood expands and contracts as it's moisture content varies. As it gains moisture, it doesn't expand uniformly, though. It expands more across the grain than along the grain. Plywood is made of thin sheets of wood, glued with the grain alternating in direction. This makes plywood "dimensionally stable." It's dimensions don't change much with changes in humidity. Construction the keel in this way would make it very stable, and also less likely to warp. Certain aspects of the construction are also simplified with this approach.
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On the other hand, what will happen when the keel absorbs water, as it inevitably will, or dries out over the winter? The builders who have used this method have not had any complaints, but... Well, I don't know.
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To the right, you can see the start of work on the center, vertical, layer. It's quite easy to cut these pieces to the correct shape. There are a lot of them, though, so it doesn't seem to be a time saver, though that was not the purpose. In any case, I'm a little undecided about whether to continue in this way or not. I think now that it may be just as easy to do three layers, all running fore and aft. I'll try to make some progress in other areas while I mull this over...
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Here's another view of the situation.
</p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1198670526508427402.post-19013819419846630092013-11-06T23:00:00.000-05:002013-11-06T23:00:16.195-05:00Project Paralysis<p>
Although this is my second boat building project, I still have difficulty overcoming doubt and uncertainty. How careful do my measurements need to be? How closely do I need to follow the lines? Am I doing this right? Am I building in mistakes today that will only be discovered when I launch her?
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On the one hand, I'm pretty sure that I'm doing a reasonable job. On the other, though, I always worry that I'm about to make The Big Mistake That Ruins Everything. I feel this especially acutely when I'm making major and more or less irreversible changes. Hanging planks has always required overcoming some emotional hurdles, but after doing it twelve times, I wasn't slowed down too much by the thirteenth and fourteenth.
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Now I'm faced with permanently affixing the outer stem to the hull with epoxy. As I contemplate this, I realize... that I have tools spread all over my shop. I really need to straighten up. And wood shavings that I haven't swept up. The most important thing right now is for me to check over the plans and make sure I know what size all the deck beams are supposed to be.
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Honestly, I wouldn't get anywhere if I didn't trick myself into it. Here's how it goes:
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After I hung the last plank, I knew the stem was the next step, and so I bought enough lumber and set it all out. I had the template for the stem, and I set the lumber out to try to find an optimal way to lay everything out. "I'm just laying boards on the workbench. I'm not really doing anything. I can stack them all up again when I'm done."
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When I get things about as good as I think I can, "I'll just mark these positions. I can think about it later, but if I decide to go with this, then I'll be all set.
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The next night I come back, and pick up where I left off. Since I've got the lumber all marked for cutting, I might as well go ahead and see how they really fit together. Once they are cut, I might as well glue them up. Then at that point, whatever my misgivings about how things have worked out so far, there's no reason not to keep working - cutting out the profile and shaping the leading edge. Even if there are problems with it, I might as well use it as practice, right? Then, at last, when I have everything done: "What? Am I going to start all over with the stem? Get more lumber? Waste all that work? No, time to epoxy this to the boat and move on."
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"Just let me organize all my screwdrivers first."
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-YFPfiC-8DUQ/UnsMCOrSjMI/AAAAAAAAAY0/WReE2Gpfdyw/s1600/IMG_3061.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-YFPfiC-8DUQ/UnsMCOrSjMI/AAAAAAAAAY0/WReE2Gpfdyw/s640/IMG_3061.JPG" /></a></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1198670526508427402.post-23152590271321948862013-10-23T23:24:00.000-04:002013-10-23T23:24:55.298-04:00The Stem, Part IIHaving shaped the profile of the stem on the bandsaw, the sides now have to be shaped. The stem tapers from 2 1/4 inches at the hull to 1 1/2 inches at the leading edge. At the sheer, though, the stem must be left square, to receive a fitting for the bowsprit. This requires a transition, like the one shown on the cover of Chapelle's <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Boatbuilding-Complete-Handbook-Wooden-Construction/dp/0393035549/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1382584582&sr=8-1&keywords=chappelle+boatbuilding">Boatbuilding</a>. I've thought about how to do this for a long time, and I've really been looking forward to it.
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First I marked out the width at the front of the stem, and measured back from the front face to about 1/8" from the back. The curve on the front was much more uniform than the back, which was shaped to fit the inner stem - as best I could. The concave face is much harder to shape, especially when it needs to match another surface. In the end, I got all the gaps to within a millimeter or so.
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<p>
Next I marked the profile for the transition on the front face. It is a section of a circle with a radius of approximately 2 1/2 inches. I used a template for the arc, which I traced onto each side. (By "template" I mean the bottom of a can of Raid hornet spray.) After that, it was high school geometry. Using a compass and straight edge, I divided the distance from the edge to the bottom of the arc on the front face into halves and then quarters. I noted where these intersected the arc. Then I used my <a href="http://www.leevalley.com/US/wood/page.aspx?cat=1,42936,50298&p=44836">Veritas saddle square</a> to project their locations onto the side of the stem. Next, I divided the distance between the front and back faces in halves and quarters. I marked the intersections of these lines with the projections from the front face.
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In principle, these marks should lie on an arc of an ellipse. They did not, so I marked a nice looking curve the passed near those points. After all, it's a boat, not a homework assignment.
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Then I sawed down close to the marks to define the area to be chiseled out. I've already started a little bit in this photo. Then, worked my way down to the lines. I worked down most of the stem with my power plane, but it couldn't get in close to this little detail. So I used a hammer and chisel to remove the bulk of the waste. Then I used the chisel by hand to clean things up. Finishing up with a rasp, the smallest plane I have, and then sandpaper. I think it turned out pretty well.
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1198670526508427402.post-26507148524560051642013-10-11T23:32:00.000-04:002013-10-11T23:32:20.292-04:00The Stem<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-LgTdW_Ba920/UlIrImB5QuI/AAAAAAAAAV0/zvU7O5J8Mu4/s1600/IMG_2839.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-LgTdW_Ba920/UlIrImB5QuI/AAAAAAAAAV0/zvU7O5J8Mu4/s320/IMG_2839.JPG" /></a></div>
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With the hull finished, at least for now, I turn my attention to the backbone structure: The outer stem post, the keel, and the outer stern post. The best way to proceed seems to be to begin at the front and work my way backward. I use some long skinny scraps, which I've been holding onto for a <i>long</i> time to mark the profile of the stem. The arrow heads are tacked to a strip of 1-by material with hot glue.
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Then I transfer the marks to a sheet of plywood. The astute observer will notice that the plywood is more scrap leftover from the building moulds.
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After tracing the tips of the arrows, and springing a batten through the marks, The stem template is cut out and tried in place. A little light shows through. After numerous rounds of sanding down high spots, the fit has improved - a bit, anyway. Still there are spots where light shows through, but nowhere is it more than a millimeter off. Good enough for now. I'll still have to shape the stem itself.
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<p>
I'd been feeling a bit jealous of builders like <a href="http://www.geoss.com.au/eun_mara/">Richard in Canberra</a>, <a href="http://www.geoss.com.au/eun_mara/alec_bermagui.htm">Alec in Bermagui</a>, and <a href="http://www.geoss.com.au/eun_mara/ron_sydney.html">Ron in Sydney</a> who have exotic tropical hardwoods, like jarrah, growing in their neighborhood. I'd not heard of this wood before, but I sounds like the perfect wood for keel construction, especially in epoxy based construction, where white oak would be questionable. It occurred to me, though, that jarrah isn't exotic to these builders, and they might view certain North American hardwoods as exotic. Like <a href="http://www.wood-database.com/lumber-identification/hardwoods/sassafras/">sassafras</a>.
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<p>
When I first started building, one of the early decisions I had to make was what wood to use for the keelson and inner stem and stern post. More generally, I was in a quandary about what to use for the interior framing - deck beams, carlins, frames, and such. Ash is traditional, but not rot resistant. Iroko? A bit pricy. I even called Iain Oughtred himself, who was very friendly and answered all my questions. On the subject of what wood to use, though, he basically said, "whatever you can get." Then I was reading my copy of <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Boatbuilding-Manual-Robert-Steward/dp/0070613761/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1381192752&sr=1-1&keywords=boatbuilding+manual+fourth+edition">Steward</a>, who has this to say about sassafras:
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<blockquote>
Weight about 2.4 pounds [per board foot] (light). Moderately hard, moderately weak in bending. Highly resistant to decay... Freshly cut boards are said to have a sassafras odor, if you know what that is like!
</blockquote>
<p>
I do know what it's like. I've seen it described as "spicy" or "like root beer," but that doesn't quite get it. It's wonderful. And it fills the shop every time you cut or sand the wood. <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Fifty-Wooden-Boats-Catalog-Building/dp/0937822078/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1381195145&sr=1-1&keywords=fifty+wooden+boats">WoodenBoat</a>, meanwhile, has this to say:
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<blockquote>
Highly durable; has properties like ash but not so tough; once popular in light skiff construction.
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-hWCtYzew2RY/UlIuzzjZb7I/AAAAAAAAAWU/KrW78igfT8I/s1600/IMG_2907.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-hWCtYzew2RY/UlIuzzjZb7I/AAAAAAAAAWU/KrW78igfT8I/s320/IMG_2907.JPG" /></a></div>
<p>
Well, that did it for me. It's not a major commercial wood by any stretch of the imagination, but if you ask at lumberyards and look around, you can find it here and there. A phone call and a drive to a sawmill about an hour away, and I had the sassafras lumber for the inner stem and stern and the keelson. Now, after years of planking with meranti plywood, it's back to sassafras. At the left, you can see the stock that will become the outer stem.
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<p>
Here's the general setup.
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<p>
I'll use the plywood template to trace the curve of the stem onto the assembly after it is all glued together.
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<p>
And this is the big glue-up.
</p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-OIGUEA-PPu0/UlimV1WqhDI/AAAAAAAAAXI/dlj2hMzZ-0o/s1600/IMG_2918.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-OIGUEA-PPu0/UlimV1WqhDI/AAAAAAAAAXI/dlj2hMzZ-0o/s320/IMG_2918.JPG" /></a></div>
<p>
One thing about sassafras is that the trees do not grow especially large and it's difficult to find nice clear boards. There were a couple knots that I couldn't work around - well, didn't work around.
Before gluing everything together, I cut them out with a hole saw, and used the same saw to cut a plug from a clear section of another board.
</p>
<p>
When I noticed the knot on the back of the board (it didn't go all the way through, so I didn't notice when I laid out the cuts) I ought to have started over. I guess I was in "git 'er done" mode that night. I also could have tried to match the grain in the plug. Too late now. It's enshrined forever as a reminder to be more careful in the future. It may be below the waterline. If it's too glaringly obvious, I can always paint it, but probably not.
</p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-8GMHIawGky8/UlipRf5CXyI/AAAAAAAAAXU/IJJ8sopx34I/s1600/IMG_2920.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-8GMHIawGky8/UlipRf5CXyI/AAAAAAAAAXU/IJJ8sopx34I/s320/IMG_2920.JPG" /></a></div>
<p>
Gluing the nine boards together was a slippery. sticky mess. I typically work pretty pretty cleanly and carefully, but the bottom layer slid a little bit, leaving some gaps. I made the inner stem and stern this same way and, honestly, I can't remember a single thing about it. I remember gluing a copy of the full-size pattern on to cut out at the band saw, but nothing about the guue-up. I didn't have any trouble with misalignment of the boards, though. At least I don't think I did, they've been covered by the planking for a long time now. Did I drill holes through near the edges to stick a nail through while everything was clamped up? That would have been a really good idea. This is why you shouldn't take nine years off in the middle of your project. In case you wondered why more people don't to that. I filled these gaps with unthickened epoxy, which seeped right down in.
</p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-RUVWYBsD_hI/UlirtS6_56I/AAAAAAAAAXg/UaIVV-pc9ag/s1600/IMG_2922.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-RUVWYBsD_hI/UlirtS6_56I/AAAAAAAAAXg/UaIVV-pc9ag/s320/IMG_2922.JPG" /></a></div>
<p>
The next task is to trace the template onto the assembly...
</p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-bYfVL_iHfQo/Uli-z4Yy9vI/AAAAAAAAAXw/aPn0ublS9Zo/s1600/IMG_2925.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-bYfVL_iHfQo/Uli-z4Yy9vI/AAAAAAAAAXw/aPn0ublS9Zo/s320/IMG_2925.JPG" /></a></div>
<p>
...and then take it to the band saw. Not an easy cut to make all by myself, but by hook or by crook, I got the job done. More on that later.
</p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1198670526508427402.post-21551813110617470712013-09-29T16:30:00.000-04:002013-09-29T16:30:43.641-04:00Tall Ships Erie<p>
Tall Ships Erie 2013 took place on September 5-9. Celebrating Commodore Perry's victory in the Battle of Lake Erie on September 10, 1813 during the War of 1812, eight tall ships joined <a href="http://www.flagshipniagara.org/">U.S. Brig Niagara</a> at the port of Erie. Tens of thousands of visitors came to view the ships and get a taste of what life at sea is like. Here are some of the hilights:
</p>
<p>
St. Lawrence II- Kingston, ON:
<br />
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-wvuSVNCN6NM/UjkJEsKP_uI/AAAAAAAAAUk/WrXK9rC5paI/s1600/IMG_2850.JPG" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-wvuSVNCN6NM/UjkJEsKP_uI/AAAAAAAAAUk/WrXK9rC5paI/s320/IMG_2850.JPG" /></a>
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-nHn2azdQrKM/UjkJbgBL52I/AAAAAAAAAUs/mqg6EguUnIg/s1600/IMG_2853.JPG" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-nHn2azdQrKM/UjkJbgBL52I/AAAAAAAAAUs/mqg6EguUnIg/s320/IMG_2853.JPG" /></a>
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-g0qFGVdY868/UjkKdvrcFvI/AAAAAAAAAU4/1KXThasb3ho/s1600/IMG_2848.JPG" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-g0qFGVdY868/UjkKdvrcFvI/AAAAAAAAAU4/1KXThasb3ho/s320/IMG_2848.JPG" /></a>
<br />
Lynx, Portsmouth NH:
<br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-jn3RTXYQLXM/UkY2g00Rf1I/AAAAAAAAAVQ/GkMUAlwASQc/s1600/IMG_2871.JPG" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-jn3RTXYQLXM/UkY2g00Rf1I/AAAAAAAAAVQ/GkMUAlwASQc/s320/IMG_2871.JPG" /></a>
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-SAdgK6AzW4A/UjkKtzKQJtI/AAAAAAAAAVA/ztsoKaAjKYc/s1600/IMG_2860.JPG" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-SAdgK6AzW4A/UjkKtzKQJtI/AAAAAAAAAVA/ztsoKaAjKYc/s320/IMG_2860.JPG" /></a>
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-pP91grgHkAY/UkY20663rTI/AAAAAAAAAVY/v8AMKZYSQ3I/s1600/IMG_2872.JPG" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-pP91grgHkAY/UkY20663rTI/AAAAAAAAAVY/v8AMKZYSQ3I/s320/IMG_2872.JPG" /></a>
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-qOz-fhJklog/UkY2-C0tygI/AAAAAAAAAVg/IsHJTQUJy68/s1600/IMG_2873.JPG" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-qOz-fhJklog/UkY2-C0tygI/AAAAAAAAAVg/IsHJTQUJy68/s320/IMG_2873.JPG" /></a>
<p>
All in all, it was a good event. There were many, many people there. All the parking areas seemed to be full to capacity. (We ended up parking on the street.) The lines to get on each of the ships were long. I think the experience would have been enhanced by have a few crew members on the ships with a two minute talk about... something. Explaining how the ship operates ("These are the halyards, they raise and lower the sails...") or the maintenance that needs to be done. On one ship, one of the crew was repairing a block. She could have told everyone who walked past her what she was doing and why.
</p>
<p>
Then again, I guess they don't have to do that to draw in the crowds.
</p>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1198670526508427402.post-60919765766826760412013-09-05T20:55:00.000-04:002013-09-05T20:55:50.690-04:00Fiberglass: Not a Total Disaster<p>
Labor Day Weekend was my big chance to fiberglass the hull, with plenty of time to lay the cloth and "fill the weave" with a couple more coats of epoxy in quick succession, avoiding the need to sand and ensuring a strong chemical bond between the coats. "The best-laid schemes o' mice an' men," as they say, "Gang aft agley." And oh, agley did they gang! No lasting damage was done... But I'm getting ahead of myself.
<p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Xy6dFyNUp5A/UikE_-8Y0bI/AAAAAAAAATM/WQTlxmO5hhA/s1600/IMG_2819.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Xy6dFyNUp5A/UikE_-8Y0bI/AAAAAAAAATM/WQTlxmO5hhA/s400/IMG_2819.JPG" /></a></div>
<p>
Here we see the bare hull. All the nicks and scratches have been filled and sanded smooth. All the edges and corners have been rounded. Not everything is completely "fair", but everything is <i>smooth</i>, so the fiberglass cloth can easily lay against it.
</p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ie0XpduPOcM/UikF1RUEw9I/AAAAAAAAATQ/QaNywUFEs4c/s1600/IMG_2820.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ie0XpduPOcM/UikF1RUEw9I/AAAAAAAAATQ/QaNywUFEs4c/s400/IMG_2820.JPG" /></a></div>
<p>
Here the first two panels of cloth are laid out. My original intent was to use a single length of cloth to cover each side, leaving only a small lens shape along the keel to cover with an additional sheet. Reading John Welsford's article, <a href="http://www.jwboatdesigns.co.nz/tips/ply/index.htm">Fiberglassing Plywood</a>, changed my mind. Five panels as shown will cover everything except small portions at the bow and stern.
</p>
<p>
Well, that's how it was supposed to go. I've discussed earlier the careful planning I did, <a href="http://canoeyawlsomeday.blogspot.com/2013/06/spring-has-sprung.html">the test piece</a> I made up, how I made sure the cloth could adhere to the curves I'd prepared.
</p>
<p>
Did. Not. Work. At. All.
</p>
<p>
Apparently what works on a 3 square foot trial can not be assumed to work on the entirety of a 20' long, 6'8" beam boat. Or the planets were not aligned, or the gods not appeased, or something. I started at the top to work my way down from there. I moved to the bottom to work my way up. I tried in the middle. Pressing the cloth down on one side of the curve caused it to pop up on the other. Smoothing the cloth on the other side made it bulge on the one. Strong words didn't help. Not even the stomping of feet had any effect. Unbelievable.
</p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-FHAjE2Gou4w/UikgTEnTkjI/AAAAAAAAATg/znJgN9YJdNA/s1600/IMG_2822.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-FHAjE2Gou4w/UikgTEnTkjI/AAAAAAAAATg/znJgN9YJdNA/s400/IMG_2822.JPG" /></a></div>
<p>
In the end, I had to concede defeat. Before the epoxy kicked off, I pulled the glass cloth from the boat, and cooled my heels with an ice cold beverage - extra bitter. Only the one panel of epoxy cloth was ruined, a nice benefit of <i>not</i> doing the whole side at once, one I had not considered. The others can be used when I glass the decks or cabin top.
</p>
<p>
The weekend wasn't a total loss. I put two coats of epoxy on the whole hull, and it looks very nice. It's the first big change I've seen in a long time, so that's pretty satisfying. I'll need to sand out some unevenness, and maybe give one more coat of epoxy before it's ready to paint. First, though, I need to finish the keel and the stem and stern posts. Here is where things stand today:
</p>
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-SiRD4VcWq8Y/UiklxRxRl2I/AAAAAAAAATw/GKyIDleZHRU/s1600/IMG_2837.JPG" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-SiRD4VcWq8Y/UiklxRxRl2I/AAAAAAAAATw/GKyIDleZHRU/s400/IMG_2837.JPG" /></a>
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-nDu6b-1dfGw/Uikl3KaCC7I/AAAAAAAAAT4/V49nLuZ-Ml0/s1600/IMG_2834.JPG" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-nDu6b-1dfGw/Uikl3KaCC7I/AAAAAAAAAT4/V49nLuZ-Ml0/s400/IMG_2834.JPG" /></a>
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Zb3J2QiW7AE/UikmKHSuUWI/AAAAAAAAAUM/JrM38FltPjk/s1600/IMG_2833.JPG" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Zb3J2QiW7AE/UikmKHSuUWI/AAAAAAAAAUM/JrM38FltPjk/s400/IMG_2833.JPG" /></a>
<p>
As for the epoxy soaked fiberglass
</p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-wrRBxoEMHr8/UiknYjxXBAI/AAAAAAAAAUU/QCkunS5d3fE/s1600/IMG_2823.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-wrRBxoEMHr8/UiknYjxXBAI/AAAAAAAAAUU/QCkunS5d3fE/s400/IMG_2823.JPG" /></a></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1198670526508427402.post-843454197610721372013-08-28T20:22:00.000-04:002013-08-28T20:22:21.494-04:00Filling and SandingWell it's been some time since my last update. I have been working, but truthfully - it's not very interesting. Or photogenic. But that is set to change soon, so I thought I'd set the stage.
<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-hRUwGpjZL08/UhviHdO6X7I/AAAAAAAAASM/i7w2O679qBs/s1600/IMG_2428.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-hRUwGpjZL08/UhviHdO6X7I/AAAAAAAAASM/i7w2O679qBs/s400/IMG_2428.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rough surface left by wood flour mixture.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
I began the summer putting fillets along each of the plank edges. I used a wood flour mix in the epoxy to make a make a structural adhesive, but thick enough (peanut butter consistency, or "non-sagging" as the System Three folks say) to hold its shape. I used one of my yellow squeegees to scoop some into the corner between the planks, and then used the corner to make a nice, even, concave fillet.<br />
<br />
You can see the result to the left. The wood flour and epoxy mixture leaves a surface that is rather rough. I went back over it with a fairing compound. This I made by adding "phenolic micro-balloons to the epoxy. These, I guess, are tiny hollow spheres. The resulting mixture sands more easily than the epoxy alone. It doesn't keep the epoxy from running, though, so I also added a little silica thickener, which does sort of the same job as wood flour, but leaves a smoother surface.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-oeVAI0bMfCw/Uh6JbjuSX5I/AAAAAAAAASc/_DWvN6i4rIM/s1600/IMG_2427.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-oeVAI0bMfCw/Uh6JbjuSX5I/AAAAAAAAASc/_DWvN6i4rIM/s400/IMG_2427.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Smoother surface left by fairing compound.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
After that, it's been a matter of sanding everything smooth. Finding all the scratches and dings in the plywood. Filling and sanding. Looking more closely at the scarf joints. Filling and sanding. Looking for all the screw holes. Filling and sanding. <br />
<br />
I made a long sanding block from a 24" sanding belt and some scrap wood. I used sandpaper over the rounded edge of a foam block to get into the concave fillets, and a metal sanding block with a thick felt pad, which I inherited from my grandfather, to sand the rounded edges of the planking. <br />
<br />
I made a frustrating discovery in the course of all this. The sheerstrakes make a bit of a hard turn at station 3. You may recall I had some difficulty getting everything aligned when I first glued the scarfs on the sheerstrake. I had to cut it apart and do it again. I tried, for the first time, gluing the joint on the boat, hoping that would keep everything in place. It did do that.<br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-YApuOWX1des/Uh6PNF5Q-qI/AAAAAAAAASs/P-B8FhCmTPk/s1600/IMG_2613.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-YApuOWX1des/Uh6PNF5Q-qI/AAAAAAAAASs/P-B8FhCmTPk/s400/IMG_2613.JPG" style="cursor: move;" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tools of the trade.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />I had been using the station moulds as a reference for marking the scarf joints, and so all the joints fall right on a mould. Apperently, the thinner wood in the scarf bends more easily. In any case, the resulting join makes a sharper bend at that point. It's not <i>terrible</i>. It's not <i>too</i> noticeable when you just look at it. But you can definitely feel my long sanding block rock back and forth across it. I think when it's painted it will be easy to spot. Hopefully I can coax it back into a fair curve when I install the interior framing along the sheer. <br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-X6jmQ-PZHTk/Uh6RP_fXvwI/AAAAAAAAAS4/SP_ue3uPYOY/s1600/IMG_2611.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-X6jmQ-PZHTk/Uh6RP_fXvwI/AAAAAAAAAS4/SP_ue3uPYOY/s400/IMG_2611.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">See, it's not too bad. Maybe no one will notice...</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
I cleaned up the ends of the planking at the stem and stern with my power plane. Boy was that satisfying. For once I followed my own advice and went ever so slowly. The power plane also helped me plane the garboards down along the keelson. I measured out where the keel will widen from 2 1/2" to 4" for the lead ballast, and planed a wider flat spot there. Once I get the hull glassed, it will be all ready to receive the keel - the next big step in this project.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1198670526508427402.post-62247201365414767612013-06-11T12:18:00.000-04:002013-06-13T11:15:17.308-04:00Spring has Sprung<p>
Well the worst of the cold weather passed with the end of March. April was a busy month, and a good bit of May was spent recovering from April. I did get to do some cleaning up. It's surprising what just a couple months of "I'll just put this here for now," will do. I have things looking much more organized now, but I couldn't get everything cleaned up before the urge to Do Something overcame me.
</p>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-skVKr5KXxsg/UbZKtfRCYMI/AAAAAAAAARM/NJmvWcQQtCs/s1600/IMG_2403.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-skVKr5KXxsg/UbZKtfRCYMI/AAAAAAAAARM/NJmvWcQQtCs/s400/IMG_2403.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Experimenting with fiberglass cloth over the plank lands.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<p>
I'd been thinking a lot about how to finish the hull, and had decided to put a fiberglass skin over the plywood, but I wasn't quite sure how I wanted to do it. Other builders have put fiberglass and epoxy on each plank separately. This protects the faces of the plywood, but less protection to the more delicate edges. It allows the builder to keep the traditional "clinker" look where the planks overlap, but does not add any additional strength to that joint.
</p>
<p>
My main reason for using fiberglass is to protect the edges, so I've been thinking about using a continuous layer of fiberglass cloth to cover the planking. I'm also interested in the additional strength this will add. The epoxy glued overlaps are, in principle, plenty strong. In all my destructive tests, the plywood failed before the epoxy bond. But I know I have a few places where there is a gap between the planks that the epoxy didn't fill completely, though. The angle of my plank land must have been off a little bit. I've gone back to fill these in, but, as I'm planning to use the fiberglass anyway, a little extra piece of mind can't hurt.
</p>
<p>
I don't want to round over the edges of the planking more than I need to, so I made up a test piece from some scrap.
</p>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-aMrRfQh2A3E/UbZM4UBhgOI/AAAAAAAAARk/7xaW5EIUy4k/s1600/IMG_2408.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-aMrRfQh2A3E/UbZM4UBhgOI/AAAAAAAAARk/7xaW5EIUy4k/s320/IMG_2408.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My System Three squeegee makes an appropriately sized fillet. </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<p>
I rounded the corner with either a 1/8 inch radius or 3/16, and made a fillet with either my System Three squeegee or a tongue depressor. I'm using the lightest weight cloth I could find, 4oz., so it would conform more easily to the curves. The 3/16 radius with the squeegee worked all right. It took a little massaging to get the cloth to adhere firmly, but in the end it did.<br />
</p>
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-qNTDiox2LIY/UbZMxIsMsEI/AAAAAAAAARc/XItaD2HOUdY/s1600/IMG_2405.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-qNTDiox2LIY/UbZMxIsMsEI/AAAAAAAAARc/XItaD2HOUdY/s320/IMG_2405.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The cloth clings nicely to both the inside and outside curves.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
The fillet left by the tongue depressor was just too tight. I couldn't get the cloth to adhere. In some places it stuck, but in others it pulled away. You can see the light colored patch in front of the stick. There is a bubble of air underneath the fiberglass cloth.
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-TCgbgwZ5Fwc/UbZOtIgsvXI/AAAAAAAAAR8/F4ZTLh88RGo/s1600/IMG_2409.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-TCgbgwZ5Fwc/UbZOtIgsvXI/AAAAAAAAAR8/F4ZTLh88RGo/s320/IMG_2409.JPG" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The radius left by the tongue depressor is too tight!</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
The cloth did actually adhere to the tighter 1/8 inch roundover, but not without a lot of careful work. The thought of trying to get a 20' long piece of cloth to cling for the full length is not appealing. Indeed, even with the more gentle 3/16 radius, it may be a chore to get everything right. This is compounded by the fact that I plan to use one continuous piece of cloth to cover each side of the boat - all six seams. (Well, except for a lens shaped section near the keel that I'll have to go back and cover after the sides are cured.) This will be two long days of epoxy work.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1198670526508427402.post-65283829850705616462013-02-24T22:58:00.000-05:002013-06-08T14:26:41.871-04:00Cold Weather Work<p>
Well, the worst part of working in a 20 degree (-7C) shop has to be holding on to your 20 degree tools. Anything with a metal handle (I'm looking at you, rebate plane) is right out. Plastic handles are a little better, warming up after a few minutes of sucking the heat out of your fingers.
</p>
<p>
Pennsylvania winters are not so severe, but it's been cold enough to keep me from getting much done. I made a short sanding board from a 24" sanding belt and some scrap wood. With the kerosine heater going, and the effort from sanding, I stayed warm enough to get most of the boat pretty smooth. I've been working mostly on the scarfs. I cleaned them up pretty well before gluing them to the hull, but they still needed a bit of work. They're looking pretty good now, but some of them have some dips that need to be filled. I'll have to wait for some warm weather to make an epoxy fairing compound.
</p>
<p>
I did have a couple warm nights that allowed me to fill the screw holes along the keelson where I screwed the garboard plank in place while the epoxy set up. I used straight epoxy where it wouldn't run out, and thickened the epoxy with wood flour where I needed to.
</p>
<p>
Aside from fairing around the scarfs, I need to finish planing along the backbone so it will be ready to receive the outer stem post, stern post and the deadwood. That can be done in the cold. I can also start making patterns for the posts and the deadwood. That ought to be enough to keep me going. Spring is not too far away.
</p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1198670526508427402.post-38250874578170853742013-02-05T19:14:00.000-05:002013-02-05T19:14:18.639-05:00Why Build a Wooden Boat<p>
When I was a teenager, my parents owned a Catalina 25. We sailed it on a decent sized lake in upstate New York. We also had a Phantom, very similar to a Sunfish, which I sailed on the same lake. I had a great time sailing with my family, taking the Phantom out on my own and, when I was a little older, going out with friends on the Catalina.
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<p>
We docked the Catalina in a narrow inlet. Coming back to the dock we had to motor past a number of other boats until we reached our slip. One day, I remember quite vividly, there was a boat at the end of the dock that caught my eye. I went back down to look at it after tying our boat up. This boat was somewhat smaller than most of the others; I'd guess 18', or maybe as small as 16'. It had a small cabin and was clearly made of wood. It was all painted, no brightwork, and I suppose it could have been said to have a workboat quality finish. Even so, there was something about it that fascinated me. It had been <i>crafted</i>, not <i>produced</i>. I remember thinking "they don't make them like that anymore."
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<p>
I don't know whose boat that was, and I don't remember ever seeing it again. As time went by I mostly forgot about it. Until years later.
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<p>
I did my graduate studies in Houston. Living on a graduate student's salary, one of my favorite pastimes was to browse the shelves of the many mega-bookstores. On one particular day, while looking at books in the sports section, probably for martial arts books, I noticed <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Buehlers-Backyard-Boatbuilding-George-Buehler/dp/0071583807/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1360109453&sr=8-1&keywords=buehlers+backyard+boatbuilding">Buehler's Backyard Boatbuilding</a>. Build your own boat? Such a thing had never occurred to me. Not long after, I discovered WoodenBoat Magazine. Based on the evidence from their "Launchings" section, all kinds of people built all sorts of boats.
</p>
<p>
That is when I remembered that little wooden boat at the end of the dock. I'm fully convinced that was someone's project. I wonder how many years that boat laid out, partially complete, in some fellow's garage. I wonder how many nights he went out there "just to get a little work done before bed." I wonder how many afternoons he sat, looking at his plans, thinking "now how am I going to do <i>that</i>."
</p>
<p>
When I go out to work on my boat, I like to imagine her floating at the end of a dock somewhere. I'd like to hope that someone's eye might be drawn to her. And as that someone looks her over, she will say to him "<i>They</i> don't build them like that. You have to do it yourself."
</p>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1198670526508427402.post-57674524324102535392013-01-23T23:25:00.000-05:002013-01-23T23:25:39.825-05:00Preparing for the Keel<p>
I've ordered 4oz fiberglass cloth, which I will use to sheath the hull. This is meant primarily for surface protection, especially for the edges of the plywood. I will most likely cover each plank separately, which means the cloth will not really add any strength to the hull, but that is not needed in any case. The cloth, and some additional epoxy, should be arriving soon, but as the temperature today is topping out at 13F (that's -10C) I don't know that I'll be doing much epoxy work any time soon. The System Three fast hardener will cure as low as 35F, but I ordered the medium hardener, as I probably will be doing most of this work when it is a bit warmer.
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<p>
In the mean time, I'm starting to get the hull ready to accept the outer stem and stern posts and the keel. Where the planking meets the keelson I've left the overlaps rough. Before attaching the keel I'll have to smooth this out using the power plane. Over to the right you can see the view along the keelson. There are screw holes along the edge of the planking, those will have to be filled in with epoxy - which will also have to wait until the temperature warms up a bit.
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<p>
Here you can see the view down from above the stern. Here also, the plank ends are uneven, and will need to be planed down to make a smooth surface for the outer stern post. The view at the stem is similar.
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<p>
Keeping in mind what I've learned about <a href="http://canoeyawlsomeday.blogspot.com/2012/11/hanging-sheer-strakes.html">using the power plane</a>, I'm trying to take things nice and easy. I'm trying to go slowly, removing about 1/32 inch at each pass, and checking frequently with a level to make sure the surface is even. At first, I'm just taking off enough to make a level reference surface for the bed of the plane. After that, I'll go back and plane down until the width of the flat surface is equal to that of the keel. This will require a bit of thinking. As designed, the keel is 2.5" thick, with a bulge in the center section to accommodate a 4" wide lead ballast keel. I'll want to figure out just how I'll do this before I try to go too far. I'll need to see what kind of timber I can get for the keel before I can be sure how I'll get that done.
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<p>
Where the centerline of the boat curves toward the stem and stern, the level becomes useless, and I use the face of the inner stem and stern posts as a guide. I've planed things down so the edges of the planks protrude just a millimeter or so in front of the inner posts. I don't want to plane past this reference surface until I must. Ideally, I wouldn't remove any of the stem and stern posts, just plane the planking down to it.
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<p>
There is one area that is going to cause some problems. For some reason, which is lost to me now, I didn't recess the plank lands on the garboard at the stern. At the time, I filled in the gap with epoxy mixed with some sort of plastic filler, but making a fair surface for the keel to land on may be a bit of a challenge. Well, that's what makes life interesting, isn't it?
</p>
<p>
Until things warm up a bit, I'll have to look for ways to keep the project moving forward. I can make patterns for the outer stem and stern posts, lay out the pieces and glue them in the basement. I haven't decided whether these will be laminated, or sawn from glued up pieces, but I'm leaning toward the latter. That's what I did for the inner posts. I can also work on sanding the hull, in preparation for fairing and fiberglass. Most likely, it won't be too long before the temperature comes back up. In the meantime, well, it's ski season! Generally, the colder and snowier it gets, the happier I am.
</p>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1198670526508427402.post-29718363864886751292013-01-13T00:28:00.001-05:002013-01-13T00:28:21.973-05:00Cleaning Up the Seams, Continued<p>
Well, several weeks have gone by, with more holidays and more guests. The rebate plane turned out to be a good idea, and made pretty quick work of what I had feared would be a long and painful task. The clearly articulated three step process for cleaning all the squeeze out from the seams was not, in the end, the best approach for most of the boat. As I worked along, I developed a slightly different approach: just do whatever seems to work best.
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<p>
The epoxy that squeezed out had different consistencies, depending, I guess, on how much wood flour I mixed in, and how much it had cured before I got the plank into position. I ended up going back and forth between working toward the plank edge and working toward the face of the next plank. In places where the epoxy formed a convex "bead," everything went pretty smoothly which ever way I approached it. If the epoxy had settled into a "fillet," though, the plane would want to ride up out of the corner. Sometimes I would change directions back and forth, sometimes I would plane down to the wood in one direction, then turn and plane away the rest of the epoxy from the other. In the end, it went pretty quickly, and pretty successfully.
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<p>
I did notice two things as I worked along. This was the first time I had really, carefully, looked over the whole hull since beginning this project so long ago. First, my level of craftsmanship has increased dramatically. The more recent planks have much cleaner edges than the earlier ones, which have some wavy lines. I was able to smooth some of the earlier ones while cleaning up the epoxy. Mostly, though, I figured these will be below the waterline and no one will ever see them anyway. I'll get to clean them up a little more when I round over the edges in preparation for putting a fiberglass skin on the hull.
</p>
<p>
Second, there are a few places where the seam is a little glue starved. I'll need to go back and use a syringe to fill some gaps. I still need to fill a ton of screw holes along the keelson. This will just add a little to that part of the project. The only area I'm concerned about is between the fifth and sixth plank near the starboard bow. There is a 2 to 3 foot stretch where I can see light between the planks. I need to figure out how to get a good bond between those planks. I'm thinking of taping the bottom of the seam and letting some unthickened run into it. Maybe use screws to pull the planks together while it cures. The gap is small - less than a millimeter, but with unthickened epoxy, I guess it's probably better to minimize the gap.
</p>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1198670526508427402.post-249676577026282202012-12-14T00:34:00.002-05:002012-12-14T00:34:42.324-05:00Cleaning Up the Seams<p>Things have been a little slow in the boatshop these past couple weeks. After working hard to get the planking finished, I had to devote some energy to catching up in other areas of my life. Visits from out-of-town guests and Thanksgiving holiday activities filled my schedule. I also have a day job that requires me to do, you know... work.
</p>
<p>
...And... we signed on a new crew member. He made his mark on November 26, with a rating of "Ship's Baby." This has, among other things, thrown off our normal schedule of watch keeping.
</p>
<p>
I've been getting back to work in the shop, though, and cleaning up the glue seams at the plank lands. I was not diligent about taking care of this as I went along, and so now I have a job before me. I cleaned up one seam with a chisel, spreading the work over a couple nights. It went well enough, but was tiring for my fingers and wrists.
</p>
<p>
Tonight, I had the thought of using my rebate plane. I took off all the guides and cutters, so the plane blade can cut cleanly into a right angle corner. I finished a second seam without difficulty. Some areas need more attention than others, and I'm still trying to get the hang of it, but my basic approach is this: (1) clean up the bottom edge of the upper plank, which is facing up, since the boat is upside down, (2) use the edge of the plank as a guide for the plane while working away at the squeeze-out, (3) gradually change the angle of the plane until the blade is parallel with the lower plank. Moving along in this way, the job goes pretty quickly.
</p>
<p>
I'll try to get some photos after I work on this technique a bit more. I've done two of twelve seams. I should be an expert just about the time I finish.
</p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1198670526508427402.post-24168839430485602502012-11-26T00:32:00.000-05:002012-11-26T00:32:41.297-05:00Hanging the Sheer Strakes<p>
With the planks glued up to full length, it is very nearly time to glue them to the boat. There are just a few things that need to be tended to first.
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<p>
First, the plank lands have to be shaped. There is very little angle between the sixth strake and the sheer, so not much has to come off, but it needs to be done. I do this with my power plane; you can see the setup here. I clamp a batten to the moulds, along the sheer. A length of threaded rod is tightened in the hole for a guide rod. The end of the threaded rod has a short length of 1 1/4" dowel with a hole drilled through it's center. The hole is just the right diameter that if the plane and batten are set on a flat surface, the dowel will ride snugly on the batten. Thus, the bottom surface of the batten and the cutting surface of the power plane are in the same plane.
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<p>
It works all right. The position of the rod needs to be adjusted as you go, and it takes some effort to work around the clamps, but it's not too bad. Of course, I always control the plane with two hands. This photo is staged, with one hand holding the camera, and the power plane unplugged. The biggest temptation is to try to take off too much wood too fast. Take it easy, and work carefully, especially on the shallow angle of this last strake. Do I take my own advice? No. But epoxy can hide a lot of things...
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<p>
When I worked on the planking up to this point, I made every effort to keep the two sides of the boat symmetric. Nonetheless, errors crept in, and more on one side than the other.
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<p>
Here you can see the stem, with the planking on the port side about 3/8" lower than the starboard. I had hoped that errors on one side would be balanced out by errors on the other, but it didn't turn out that way. Since the sheer strake has to exactly match the sheer line at the stem and frames, there is no room for slop on this plank.
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<p>
Here you can see a test fit of the port side plank at the stern. Like the bow, it is a little lower than the starboard side. So the port side plank needs to be reshaped a bit to fit into the gains cut into the sixth plank at the stem and stern. Of course the plank has to be reshaped quite a bit along it's length to keep a fair curve. I marked the new edge at the end of the plank, and then used a batten to make a fair curve into the edge of the plank about 5' or so in from the end. This was cut out with a saw, and then brought down to the line with a hand plane. After a few test fits, and checking the curve by eye, everything fit into place. This all had to be repeated at the bow.
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<p>
Next, it is time to cut the gains in the sheer strake. The purpose of these gains is so that the overlapping planking at the bow and stern will lie flat, in line with the stem and stern posts. It is possible to cut these on only one of the two planks but I didn't like the idea of trying to clamp the planks in place without damaging a feather edge on one of them. There is a lot of twist in the first few planks, and a lot of that pressure is on the edges. I've made a practice of cutting the gain through five layers of the plywood on the lower (earlier) plank, and then through two layers on the upper (later) plank before it is glued in place. This seems to have worked pretty well. Here you can see that I cut the gains with my Record rebate plane.
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<p>
These things having been done, it is finally time to glue the planks to the hull. This always takes much longer than it seems like it ought to. It helps to have everything laid out in place and ready for quick application. The real problem isn't the time it takes to clamp things in place, though. The problem is that it takes an awful long time to (1) coat the edge of the plank to be attached with unthickened epoxy, (2) coat the plank land on the hull with unthickened epoxy, and (3) get a good layer of thickened epoxy on the plank land.
</p>
<p>
I begin by doing a dry fit, clamping everything in place, and making sure that the plank is lined up just where I want it. Then I drill a pilot holes for three screws to hold the plank to the stem post and three at the stern as well. These screws are temporary, and will be removed after the epoxy sets. Then I make some register marks - lines on the edge of the plank that continue onto the hull. Once everything is epoxied, matching these lines ensures the plank is in the correct position, or very nearly. Driving in the screws ensures it is just where I had it for the dry fit.
</p>
<p>
I usually begin with a coat of unthickened epoxy on the plank land. I brush it on with a disposable foam brush. It goes on more easily if the epoxy is warmer, but then it kicks off faster, too. I use System Three's "ketchup dispensers" to measure my epoxy. One squirt of epoxy and a half squirt (they have a little clip that limits the dispenser to a half-squirt) of hardener is plenty to coat both the plank land and the edge of the plank. But you have to work quickly, or it will start to gel before you are done.
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<p>
Then I mix up a batch of thickened epoxy. I have a big tub of wood flour from System Three. I find the perfect measuring tool is the scoop that comes with powdered baby formula. For a squirt-of-epoxy-and-half-squirt-of-thickener mixture, one of these scoops of wood flour makes a slightly-runnier-then-honey mixture, two and a little bit will make a thicker mixture that won't run, even on a vertical surface. It takes several batches to cover the whole length of the boat, but I mix them one at a time. The epoxy cures more slowly spread out on the boat than in the mixing bowl. Invariably I end up needing just a little bit more, and end up wasting most of a batch. Oh, well.
</p>
<p>
Then it is time to bring the plank to the boat and get things lined up as best I can. First I get it "close" and attach on C-clamp near the center, at the 5th or 6th station. Then I get the edge lined up correctly and attach another clamp. Then I work my way along, attaching a C-clamp at each station mould, checking the alignment as I go. I screw a small block to the mould to give the clamp something to hold on to.
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<p>
Then I screw the plank to the stem and stern posts, check the alignment again, and begin clamping the joint using plywood clamps and wedges. Finally I check the alignment once more, and go get something to eat.
</p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1198670526508427402.post-64454485038127634942012-11-13T23:13:00.000-05:002012-12-04T14:35:15.240-05:00Gluing the Scarfs<p>
Well, this
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<p>
is where I left things in the <a href="http://canoeyawlsomeday.blogspot.com/2012/10/shaping-final-plank.html">previous</a> construction post. From the start of construction, I had planned to paint the hull. Consequently I had not been concerned with matching the grain or color of the planking stock.
</p>
<p>
Interestingly, the "meranti" plywood I'm using seems to alternate between layers of lighter and darker wood. The lighter wood seems a little less dense than the darker - almost like the ocume plywood I used to build a kayak, once upon a time. Most sheets have the darker wood on the outer face, but some have the lighter. You can see the difference in the pictures that show the hull. The color of the darker plies can vary considerably, too, even on opposite faces of the same sheet.
</p>
<p>
Well, the thought had come to me that I might like to leave the sheer strake finished bright, while painting the rest of the hull. I very carefully chose plywood that had face veneers with matching color, at least on one side. Unfortunately, though, when I traced the patterns for each section of the plank, I didn't pay attention to which side was up. Once I cut out the sections, there was no way to line them up so the colors matched correctly. Oh, well. Paint it is.
</p>
<p>
Now you may have seen in the post about my <a href="http://canoeyawlsomeday.blogspot.com/2012/10/scarfing-jig.html">scarfing jig</a> how I cut the scarfs to join the four parts of each plank together. So, the scarfs having been cut, it is time to start gluing the planks to full length.
</p>
<p>
If you look in the lower right of this picture
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-vpw5Wj9r_VY/UKKeqewFQuI/AAAAAAAAAJ0/uotGVAGHIT4/s1600/IMG_1685.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em"><img border="0" height="240" width="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-vpw5Wj9r_VY/UKKeqewFQuI/AAAAAAAAAJ0/uotGVAGHIT4/s320/IMG_1685.JPG" /></a></div>
you can see a pencil line on the edge of the plywood. This marks the center of the scarf, and, when gluing up, aligning these pencil marks makes sure the plank will fit properly on the boat.
</p>
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<p>
The process is pretty straight forward. First, I coat each face of the scarf with unthickened epoxy. Then I add wood flour to the remaining epoxy until it is about the consistency of honey or molasses. One face of the scarf gets a coating of this thickened epoxy and then the scarf is lined up...
</p>
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<p>
...and clamped into place. The small silver clamps keep everything aligned, while the larger C-clamps put pressure on the joint. Wax paper between the joint and the scrap wood keeps the whole assembly from sticking together, and also leaves a fairly smooth surface that requires only a little cleaning up. First I use the small clamps to hold one side of the joint against a board underneath (with the scarf face up). After applying the epoxy, the other side is lined up, and clamped to the same board, holding the joint steady. Then the larger clamps are added, squeezing the joint between two pieces of scrap large enough to cover the area of the joint.
</p>
<p>
That's the theory, anyway. It's worked beautifully for the first 40 or so joints. Halfway through this final plank, though, something went amiss. I don't know if my pencil line was off, or if the setup slipped while I was gluing it up, but when I checked the next-to-last scarf to see how they fit, they didn't. Aligning the section of the plank with frames 3, 4, and 5 put things out of alignment by a couple inches at the bow. No way to finesse that!
</p>
<p>
So I cut one end of the joint off, shaped another plank-piece using the same pattern as before. (Is there a term for the sections of plywood that are glued up to make the full length plank? It seems like there ought to be.) Recut the scarfs. (It was sort of interesting to cut down to the glue line in the old piece.)
</p>
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<p>
I didn't want to make the same mistake again, so I decided to glue the last four scarfs on the boat, like everybody else does. It wasn't as bad as I feared. It required a little more clamping ingenuity, and a little more effort to clean up the squeeze-out. All in all, though, not too bad. The full length planks seem to have a slight kink around the joint that I had to cut apart, but on the boat it looks pretty fair. I may have to adjust the sheer a little after I turn the boat over. Oh, well. I'm building a boat to use, not a museum piece, right?
</p>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1198670526508427402.post-70510606239166181922012-11-03T12:02:00.000-04:002012-11-03T12:02:35.842-04:00Field Trip: The Nina and PintaI had hoped to have the sheer strakes ready for installation by now. Well... that didn't quite happen. But that's a story for another day. For now, I thought I just show you some pictures of a couple incredible replicas of <a href="http://www.thenina.com/index.html">Columbus' Nina and Pinta</a>. These ships travel around the country, spending a few days in each port. Maybe they are coming to <a href="http://www.thenina.com/schedule.htm">a city near you</a>!
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1198670526508427402.post-76315264047885223092012-10-15T00:41:00.000-04:002012-10-16T14:53:44.621-04:00Scarfing Jig<center>
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-SfJrD_Y892A/UHo2vLq-Q2I/AAAAAAAAAG8/H24KXFaGzD8/s1600/IMG_1676.JPG" imageanchor="1" style=""><img border="0" height="240" width="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-SfJrD_Y892A/UHo2vLq-Q2I/AAAAAAAAAG8/H24KXFaGzD8/s320/IMG_1676.JPG" /></a>
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</center>
<p>
I built this jig to help me make consistent 12 to 1 scarfs for my planking. I made an extra wide base for my router from scrap 9mm plywood leftover from the planking stock. The base is stiffened by two 1/2 inch wide strips set on edge. The base is set into rabbits in the edge strips and glued. Some brads hold things in place while the glue sets. The base of the jig is made from 3/4 inch plywood, leftover from making the building frames. The rails are cut from 2-by stock, cut to a 12-to-1 slope on the band saw and cleaned up with a plane. The rails are screwed through the base into 2-by-fours set on edge. The screws are deeply countersunk, so the base of the router can ride on the sloped rails. In addition to giving a secure base for the screws, the 2-by-fours hold the base off of the workbench, leaving room to fit a clamp under the plywood.
</p>
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<p>
Here is what it looks like when it's set up. You can see the pencil line 4 1/2" from the end of the plank that marks the start of the scarf. Some scraps of wood are stacked on the plank to raise a short 2-by-four high enough to clear the rails. This cross piece is clamped to the base, holding the plank in place.
</p>
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<p>
The pencil line on the plank marking the start of the scarf is aligned with a line on the jig. This ensures the scarf is aligned correctly with the jig.
</p>
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<p>
I cut the scarf with a few passes of the router, increasing the depth gradually to creep up on the line. I find that if I just take out the pencil line, and bring the front edge down to a feather edge, just a little ragged, the joint is pretty easy to clean up after gluing.
</p>
<p>
It's not a perfect setup. If the plank doesn't want to lie flat or has some twist in it, the scarf may not be perfectly even, or the cut may be too deep at the feather edge. In practice, it works pretty well, though.
</p>
<p>
I really was only think of the planking when I made this jig, but it might also be useful in a few other situations. I might find that I want to scarf material together for the sheer clamps, or when I start building spars.
</p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1198670526508427402.post-57154296566715900752012-10-13T21:58:00.000-04:002012-10-13T21:58:13.148-04:00Shaping the Final Plank<p>
Here is where we left things in the last construction post:
</p>
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<p>
The patterns for the sheer strake had been cut out and shaped. Now it is time to get out the marine plywood. This seems like a big step, a momentous occasion. I'm really working on my boat again. When people ask me "How is the boat coming along?" I no longer have hang my head and admit that it is not coming along at all. I can look them straight in the eye and say "I'm working on the sheer strake. After that it's the stem and stern posts and the keel. Pretty soon, I'll be turning it over!"
</p>
<p>
Well, maybe I shouldn't get ahead of myself.
</p>
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<p>
I traced out the patterns onto the plywood. After that I cut them out with my jig saw. I know that lots of people say that the jig saw won't cut a straight line, that it wants to wander. It's certainly true that I can't follow a line as closely with the jig saw as I can with my band saw, but it seems more like my fault than the saw's. It goes where I direct it, it's just harder to direct than the band saw. In any case, I saw about 5-10mm away from the pencil line. The fibers of the top ply tend to chip out, especially when cutting across the grain.
</p>
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<p>
Here we see an "action shot" of my jig saw. I don't know how old it is, but it was my grandfather's before it was mine, and it is a heavy duty piece of machinery. No plastic body on this one! It runs fine, though it gets a bit hot when I run it for a long time, and it takes a while to cut out these planks. In the end, I use the jig saw to separate the planks from each other, and cut close to the line using the band saw. I didn't happen to get any pictures of that, but it you imagine someone using a band saw... that's pretty much what it looks like.
</p>
<p>
Finally, I used my router to trim the planks to the exact size of the pattern. The natural thing would be to use a <a href="http://www.leevalley.com/US/wood/page.aspx?p=30166&cat=1,46168,69435,46171&ap=1">template bit</a> to do this. I don't happen to have one of those. I do have a <a href="http://www.cripedistributing.com/review/product/list/id/1362/">flush trim bit</a>, though. It's basically the same thing, but with the bearing on the bottom instead of the top. It's not quite long enough to cut both planks (port and starboard) at the same time. Oh, well. I like doing this, right? I get to do twice as much. In the end, I have two planks that exactly match each of the four patterns.
</p>
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<p>
Next step... Cut the scarfs and glue the planks up to their full length.
</p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1198670526508427402.post-80252275928111031952012-10-09T14:43:00.000-04:002012-10-09T14:43:37.045-04:00Epoxy Test Pieces<p>
When I began my boat building project, twelve years ago, I ordered two gallons of epoxy and two gallons of hardener from <a href="http://www.systemthree.com/">System Three Resins</a>. I figured that would be enough to get me trough coating the hull.
</p>
<p>
In response to the question "What is the shelf life of your epoxy resin products?" The System Three <a href="http://www.systemthree.com/reslibrary/m_tdf.asp">product FAQ</a> has this to say:
</p>
<blockquote>All solvent-free epoxies have essentially unlimited shelf lives so long as they are stored in sealed containers. The resin may crystallize or the hardener may darken but this does not affect its performance. If the material is more than a year old do a test to satisfy yourself that it cures properly. </blockquote>
<p>
Twelve being more than one, I did just that. I mixed up some epoxy and glued up some test pieces. I mixed a batch of straight epoxy, and a second batch to which I added wood flour (basically sanding dust, much finer than saw dust) until it had the consistency of honey. (The consistency of epoxy mixed in this way is measured on a scale from honey, through molasses, and all the way to peanut butter.) I glued up two test pieces, one of solid wood (pine), and one of the meranti marine plywood I'm using for the planking. In each case, both sides of the joint got a coat of the unthickened epoxy. Then I coated one side with the thickened epoxy and joined the pieces, clamping until there was some squeeze out all around the joint.
</p>
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<p>
A couple days later (it was a little chilly, I wanted to give the epoxy all the time it needed to cure) the epoxy left in the mixing bowls had cured as expected. After some encouragement, I was able to pop out two epoxy disks.
</p>
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<p>
The foam brush and tongue depressor are, of course, permanently embedded in the epoxy. You can see the tip of a tongue depressor in the disk of unthickened epoxy. It wasn't strong enough to break the bond of the epoxy with the plastic bowl. There was a small patch of uncured epoxy - just a thin film less than a square centimeter - left behind in the bowl of unthickened epoxy. I assume it was not completely mixed.
</p>
<p>
But what about those joints? How strong were they? I rigged up a destructive test using my face vise and a pipe clamp. The picture below was taken just after I heard the first "crack" from the joint.
</p>
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<p>
Not long after that, the piece broke, but you can see that the plywood separated between the plies, not at the glue line.
</p>
<center>
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<p>
In the second picture, you can see that the joint in the pine also split along the grain, not at the glue line. I rate this test a success! That's good, because I still have about $200 worth of this stuff. I'd hate to have to replace it, but even worse, how would I throw away three gallons of epoxy and hardener that wouldn't cure? It's hard enough getting rid of old paint. It's good to be able to file this under "Problems I Don't Have to Solve."
</p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1198670526508427402.post-30755563011447561882012-10-02T15:55:00.001-04:002012-10-02T15:55:55.757-04:00Sheer Strake Patterns<p>
With the building frame leveled, it's time to begin work on the sheet strake. I know some folks have had success making full length patterns by running two battens to mark the edges of the plank and attaching cross braces to make a rigid structure. I tried that early on, and it didn't seem to work well for me.
</p>
<p>
The Eun Mara is a 20' long boat. The planks are made from 8' long sheets of plywood. This means that each plank must be built from several sections and scarfed together. Now many people have had great success gluing scarfs on the boat. I never actually tried it. Early on I tried a dry fit this way. It was hard enough getting everything lined up, that I couldn't imagine doing it again with epoxy all over, trying not to make a mess, and hoping to get everything into place before the epoxy goes off.
</p>
<p>
I'm sure both these approaches are very sensible, and that if someone were to show me the correct way, I'd say, "Oh, <i>that's</i> how it's supposed to be done. I didn't have anyone to show me, though, so I had to work out something for myself.
</p>
<p>
I ended up making patterns out of 1/4" plywood, as described in Iain Oughtred's <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Clinker-Plywood-Boatbuilding-Manual-Oughtred/dp/0937822612/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1349203317&sr=1-1&keywords=clinker+plywood+boatbuilding+manual">CLinker Plywood Boatbuilding Manual</a>. But with an extra twist to help get the scarfs lined up correctly. My method is as follows:
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-5ms5xuUyzEg/UGs3CGFmiZI/AAAAAAAAADI/1-QxEISnqog/s1600/IMG_1519.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear:left; float:left;margin-right:1em; margin-bottom:1em"><img border="0" height="150" width="200" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-5ms5xuUyzEg/UGs3CGFmiZI/AAAAAAAAADI/1-QxEISnqog/s200/IMG_1519.JPG" /></a></div>
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A sheet of 1/4" plywood is bent around the boat, roughly where the plank will be. The 1/4" plywood from the home center is <i>much</i> lighter and easier to bend into place than the 9mm (about 3/8") marine grade meranti plywood. I climb under the boat, mark the plank lands at each frame, that is the corners on the frames that mark where each plank ends. These will be joined up with a fairing batten after the plywood comes off of the boat. I also trace the edge of the previous plank. <i>This will not mark the edge of the new plank.</i> The planks need to overlap, so another line, slightly above this one needs to be drawn. I didn't get under the boat to take pictures of this, so hopefully this all makes some sense. I also marked the location of the edge each station along the plywood. This helps with lining everything up correctly.
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<p>
Early on in the construction, I made this gauge to mark the location of the plank lands. Here you can see how it is used to mark the lands on the previous plank, so the edge can be beveled correctly to mate with the next plank.
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<p>
Here you can see the same gauge being used to mark the edge of the new plank. It is placed upside down on the line traced from the edge of the previous plank. You can see the traced line running under the block. Then I make a pencil mark in the same corner as was used to mark the line in the previous photo. I mark several locations, then put a brad in each and lay a batten so it rests against each of the brads.
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<p>
Here is the batten. It's held to the curve of the brads with a couple clamps. It doesn't always want to lie exactly along the brads, and some adjustments have to be made. If it's pretty close (within a pencil line) I wouldn't sweat it. It it's more than that one of the marks may be off. I never had too much difficulty. If you're having difficulty, well, use your best judgement. It's likely to be better than mine!
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<p>
The pencil lines in this photo are a little hard to make out. The lower horizontal line marks the end of this section of the plank. The center horizontal line marks where this plank will lay across one of the station moulds. The upper horizontal line marks where the start of the scarf for this joint. Each end of each plank is marked like this for a 12-1 scarf. Those who know more than I do say that a scarf of 8-1 or 10-1 is sufficient, but 12-1 can't be any worse, and doesn't really use any more material. The two nearly vertical lines mark the edges of the plank. (It looks like there is another nearly vertical stray line.) The center lines, marking the location of the station, are marked onto the edges of the planks after they are cut out. Lining these marks up ensures that the glued-up plank will lay correctly on the boat.
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<p>
After the pattern is outlined, it is cut out. First I rough cut with a saber saw, then I cut close to the line on the band saw. Here are the patterns for the four sections of the sheer strake.
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<p>
Marking the scarfs in this way has one drawback. Because all the scarfs must lay on one of the stations, it limits how the planks can be divided into pieces. Some planks that could have been glued up from three almost-eight-foot sections end up being made from four shorter sections. It's not too much extra, though. I'd say I only ended up making six or eight extra scarfs on the whole boat. And some of the work is easier, involving smaller pieces that are easier to cut out.
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<p>
Next I trace the patterns onto meranti plywood, rough cut them with a saber saw, and use a pattern bin in my router to give them their final shape.
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1198670526508427402.post-55556500596847055172012-09-25T14:35:00.002-04:002012-09-25T14:35:44.635-04:00How it all began<p>
In 1997, I told my wife I wanted to build a sailboat, which I guess must have come as quite a surprise to her. We'd been sailing before. Once. On my parent's Catalina 25. But they sold the boat, and that was the end of it. As far as she knew.
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<p>
Now, at this point in our lives, we lived in a two bedroom condominium in the middle of Houston. Not really the best situation for sailboat construction. It was not really the best situation for building a 20' stitch-and-glue kayak, either, but that's just what I did. My wife was very accommodating of this project, which took up most of our living room and dining area for nearly a year. But then, she is the best. Every man should be so lucky!
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<p>
The kayak was finished shortly before we were to move to Pittsburgh. We paddled some in Galveston Bay. We paddled in Moraine State Park after the move. We paddled a little more in a few other places. But it wasn't <i>sailing</i>.
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<p>
I began looking for plans for a sailboat I could build. I had read <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0071583807/ref=s9_simh_gw_p14_d0_i1?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=center-2&pf_rd_r=1WF2Z18JKY390734P755&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=1389517282&pf_rd_i=507846">George Beuhler's book</a>, and I liked his designs and philosophy quite a bit. I even ordered some of his study plans. But his boats seem mostly to be designed for off shore cruising. Living in Pittsburgh, that just wasn't going to happen.
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<p>
I had a pretty good idea of what I wanted. I expected we would use the boat about like we had used the Catalina 25. Taking the family out for a sail, maybe going out with a couple friends. We never went for extended cruises, but we did spend a couple nights on the boat, anchored in a cove or inlet.
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<p>
So there you have it. A boat that is comfortable for four or so daysailing, able to sleep two with basic accommodations. Able to sleep a few more with mild discomfort. Oh, and one more thing. An "interesting" rig. One of the things I always wished for when daysailing was more <i>sailing</i> to do. Sails to trim, lines to haul, and whatnot. I was looking for a cutter, with multiple headsails. Or maybe a gaff rig, or a yawl or ketch. It had to be a small package, though, to fit on a trailer, and to be a reasonable building project.
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<p>
I looked at some of <a href="http://devlinboat.com/">Sam Devlin's</a> designs. <a href="http://store.devlinboat.com/winterwren.aspx">Winter Wren</a> and <a href="http://store.devlinboat.com/song-wren-21.aspx">Song Wren</a> I think. I dreamed about the McNaughton Group's <a href="http://www.macnaughtongroup.com/surprise24.htm">Surprise 24</a>. But when I saw Iain Oughtred's <a href="http://www.duckflatwoodenboats.com/mainpages/gallery?KID=2">Eun Mara</a>, I was pretty sure I'd found what I wanted.
</p>
<p>
I was in the fortunate situation of going house-hunting just after settling on this design, and so I was able to make "boatshop" a priority in choosing where to live. We found a nice Cape Cod style home with a 30x24 garage. And so in the summer of 2000, I began construction...
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1198670526508427402.post-2382057264695441642012-09-19T14:42:00.000-04:002014-08-13T17:22:37.102-04:00Releveling the Frames<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-BwDYDPIgUCQ/UFi3DX39RyI/AAAAAAAAAB0/Jx4-5vRtIYQ/s1600/IMG_1509.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-BwDYDPIgUCQ/UFi3DX39RyI/AAAAAAAAAB0/Jx4-5vRtIYQ/s640/IMG_1509.JPG" /></a></div>
Over the past week, I've managed to put the building frame back into alignment.
Here you can see the boat set up in the new garage. What you can't really see in the photo is that the floor in the new garage is not level. There are two floor drains (required by the building code) and the floor slopes toward them. The building frame was originally constructed on a flat floor, and so now has a slight sag in the middle.
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When I originally set up the frame, I used a series of holes centered on cross hairs to align the the station moulds. Running a string through these showed that some frames were over 1/4 inch out of alignment. This meant that I needed to go back an realign everything. When I first did this, I used a combination of pipe clamps and a hammer to align everything, and a spirit level, string line, and a piece of plywood cut to exactly 24" width to align everything. The two pipe clamps were reversed to work in "spreader" mode and adjusted the mould vertically on the left and right hand sides. This allowed me to get the correct height and make the frame level. Left and right adjustment was done with the hammer.
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I set up the pipe clamps as before, but this time there was no opportunity to use the hammer. Raising one side of the mould would force it into the sloped hull on that side, pushing the mould toward the other side of the boat. With delicate adjustment of the pipe clamps, I was able to get each frame centered both vertically and horizontally.
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In a perfect world, the moulds would now be level as well. Sadly this was not the case. The problem, as I see it, is that the floor under the building frame is not only low in the center, but also sloped from left to right.
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So... I used my laser level, piles of boxes and scrap wood, a crowbar and shims to make sure each frame is level. By carefully placing the laser level, I could place a laser dot on the two lower corners of a mould, which determine the position of the sheer at that station. Then I used a crowbar to lift the low side and insert a shim (or two (or three)) to make the mould level. I started by making the stem and stern posts vertical, using a small spirit level. Then I worked from the ends toward the middle. Each time I leveled a frame, I checked the others again to make sure they had not been thrown out by the adjustment. After I was done, I had all the frames within 1/16" of level.
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Then, with fear in my heart, I climbed back under the boat to see if the frames were still aligned. Miraculously, they were. At least within one or two pencil-line-widths. I pronounced that good enough, and proudly told my wife what I had done and that I was ready to start building again.
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"Are you sure the moulds aren't tilted fore-and-aft?"
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1198670526508427402.post-29753051884946940772012-09-12T14:47:00.000-04:002012-09-12T14:47:00.576-04:00A New Beginning<p>
Yesterday I worked on my boat for the first time in... nine years. Wow, where does the time go? I have a son who will turn eleven in a few months. That may explain a little bit. There's also another seven year old. We moved to a new house. We <i>built</i> the new house. Well... we had it built for us, but that still involved a lot of effort on our part. Work. Other projects here and there. There's always a reason to not work on the boat - and once you stop, it begins to accumulate... Stuff. You can pile things on it as if it were a table, but without even taking up valuable table space. At some point, cleaning things up to where you can even begin working is a project in and of itself.
</p>
<p>
Two years ago, we began building a tree house. (Add that to the list of distractions!) So for the last eighteen months, there has been a pile of construction lumber keeping me away from the pile of odds and ends that were too heavy or awkward to be piled on top of the boat. I suppose I should have taken a picture, just to document the depths to which the project had sunk, but maybe it's just as well that I did not. This summer the tree house is complete. (Well, nearly so.) With the pile of lumber gone, I decided it was time to get back to work. After two weeks of cleaning up, throwing out, dusting off, and finding places for things, the boatshop (okay, it's a two car garage) is ready.
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<p>
When I began construction in the summer of 2000, I imagined a boat that I would someday enjoy with my kids. Lately it has come upon me that if I don't get things moving again, my kids will grow up before it's finished. I don't imagine I'll find a lot of Big Work Days. My plan is to fit in an hour here, a couple hours there. Time that would otherwise be spent in frivolous pursuits - like reading Horatio Hornblower novels for the third time. Slow and steady progress is the goal, and eventually things will take shape.
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<p>
As with nearly all of Iain Oughtred's designs, construction begins with a building frame. Station moulds are cut out and assembled on a strongback. I spent a great deal of time and effort making sure everything was square and level. Then the keelson, inner stem and stern posts are assembled, and the planking is formed around the moulds, and glued to the backbone with epoxy. At the time of our move, I had completed six of the seven strakes.
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<p>
In the beginning phases of construction, the boat is upside down. After the hull and keel are complete, the boat is turned over, and the interior is fitted out. Now, if I had been clever, I would have made sure that the time of our move coincided with the time to turn over the boat. Alas, it was not to be. After the move, the building frame is not quite square, and not quite level. There is no difference to the naked eye, but running a string line through the holes I used to align the frame twelve years ago reveals that some moulds are up to 1/4 inch out of alignment, and some have a slight twist as well.
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<p>
Well, finding this problem - that's the work I did. Does that count as work? After a nine year hiatus, I'll take it. Fixing the problem? That's a job for another day.
</p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0