August 2020

August 2,

I really got in quite a bit of work over the weekend.  There was a lot to work out and I've made good progress.  

Time to buy a new dovetail saw.  I had to work way too hard keeping the cuts straight.   That poor saw has cut way too much oak already.  

The cut is a little messy.  I actually had to redo this and managed to do a much better job but I did not get a picture.  Notice how the cut is off the line at the top.  

Not too bad.  Needs a little cleaning up with the chisel.  This is also one that I ended up redoing.   I really wish I would have taken a picture of the actual one I installed.  It was much nicer.

It fit perfectly with only a slight tap of the wood mallet.  This is the second time I installed this beam.  If you look at the top right in the photo, you will see where I had to cut it out an move it.  I installed it in the wrong place the first time.  Lost about 3 hours of work but like I said above, I did a much better job this time.  Practice makes perfect or near enough.

That's a pretty tight joint.  

One of the corners where the cockpit narrows forward of the wheel station.  A nice 3" (7.5 cm) radius.

This is where this will actually go.  Checking fit.

Everything is tacked together with sheetrock screws as I temporarily build out the cockpit.  The horizontal plywood in the center will eventually be a sealed but removable hatch for installing and removing the engine.  Maintenance access is elsewhere.  There is an 8" step from the rear cockpit to the forward cockpit.  That odd looking piece of plywood sticking out is a spacer and will be replaced by the rear cockpit floor at some point.

The removable engine hatch temporarily put together with drywall screws.  I've rounded the  edge in front because that will be the top corner of a step.

Aug 9.

Some more progress this weekend.  A lot that wasn't particularly picture worthy but basically I'm working out the cockpit framing.  

Top of bulkhead framing,  Now that it fits tight, I'll mark and cut the curve for the top to match the bulkhead.  I've cut down the corner blocks and notched them for the framing.  

Sometimes you come across a piece of wood so pretty that you put it aside to use on the interior where it can be enjoyed.  This burly white oak is too tough for my plainer.  The burl is still rough.  I'll have to sand to finish.  It's a 5/4 board about 6 1/2 feet long and near 8 inches wide and burly most of the length.  Not sure where I can use it but I'll find a place.  

My next task is to complete the cockpit framing and temporarily install the plywood sides and bottom.  Temporarily because I want to be able to remove all of that obstructing material in order to build the rudder controls and bore for the rudder post that will come up aft of the bulkhead shown in the middle of the photo below.  The wheel shaft will power the rudder post via a simple worm gear.  No chain and rope complications.  The downside is that there will be no feedback through the wheel.  Some would call this a plus but I'm more use to tiller steering and like to feel what the boat is doing.  With no feedback, I will have to rely on wheel position to know how much weather helm I have.  The self-steering vane will have to be an auxiliary rudder type off the transom.  On the plus side, the self-steering vane can double as an emergency rudder.   It's a tight cockpit, but everything will be within hands reach for single handling.  This is a very important safety measure.  I want to make sure that if one of us is unable to sail, the other will be able to handle the boat at minimum with the staysail and main (both self tacking).  

The rear of the cockpit.  The port side longitudinal is installed.  The starboard on is just laying in place.   The cockpit is a shallow "T" shape with the top bar of the "T" aft and 8" lower that the forward part.  You can see the step and the forward part in earlier photos.  It is all removed here so I can get around better.  The aft part will have to be actually installed first.  I needed to work out the forward part first in order to figure out what I want.  Everything in a boat is connected and you have to be very careful in the assembly order or you'll make yourself a lot of extra trouble.

Aug 12,

I got that starboard longitudinal notched in and glued.  It went fairly easily.  My dovetail saw that I use for those notches is starting to cut a little crooked.  Seems like one side might be a little dull or the kerf is off.  It's too small and too inexpensive to sharpen and it's time for a new one.   I have two and the other is too dull to use.  I might have hit a screw with it and thats the real issue, I don't want to spend money on an expensive one (100$) because I might hit a brad or screw.  The ones I have are made by Stanley and work really well but no one in my town carries them anymore.  The closest I can get is offset handle flush cut with shark tooth teeth.  I guess I'll have to order one.   This is the one I ordered: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001V9KOFA/ref=ppx_od_dt_b_asin_title_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I'll let you know how it works.

Addendum October 12, 2020:  That dovetail saw above has a handle that will not fit my hands.  I ended up reshaping that handle to something a bit more uniform.  It still turned out to be a very marginal saw and a waste of money.  I guess I'm going to have to spend the big bucks and buy a real saw... another $100.  

I also worked out the main cockpit and made the framing members that define its shape.  The sides are angled just so that the angle between the deck and sides are 90 degrees.  The front and back are straight.  The front being the bulkhead shown above and the rear will mostly be the helm seat and foot rests.  I'll have all this temporarily put together shortly and I'll be able to sit where the helm will be and see how the site lines are.  From what I can tell so far, I'll have a clear view over the cabin deck house and can easily see the entire bow.  

The is the cockpit section of the boat.  The hanging frame off the curved beam in the middle is the aft end of the cockpit.  I've secured the joint temporarily with square gussets.  Later a beam will run from the hull framing across to the other side and locate and secure that framing and also act an attachment point for the 3/4" plywood that will make up the cockpit.  You can see the framing duplicated on the bulkhead to the right.  

I've added the structural beam across the bottom of the cockpit attached to the hull with a short pice of wood spanning two of the hull longitudinals.  The temporary gussets are removed. The piece of pine in the middle of the image temporarily holds the framing at exactly the right place.

Same as above but starboard side.

looking at the rear cockpit framing from above.  

This will almost be my view from the helm.  The camera misses a bit but I can see most of the deck forward of the cabin deckhouse even when the deckhouse is finished.  The deck house is surprisingly low for minimum windage.  The more I learn about boats the more I anticipate this boat being a real nice sailer.  

August 16,

Worked on the deck framing at the aft end this weekend.  

A right angle drill to get between the floor boards and drill limber holes to let bilge water through.  I suspect this will come in handy in other places as well.

Most of this is temporarily put together with drywall screws.  You can see I put back the forward cockpit area.  I have to make the side rails which will double as a seat hatch bracing. 

I spent some time planning my next project this morning.  I'm putting together a new laminated beam that will go just forward of the bulkhead at the top of the figure.  The one I made is 5" (12.5 cm) too short.  I had assumed it went between the carling supporting the deck house but on close inspection, the carling actually goes through it.  It is an extra large beam 2"x5" (5 cm x 12.5 cm) that will support the aft end of the deck house.  I'm going to use the too short one for the back of the very same bulkhead.  The beam stops to the left and right of the narrow cockpit area so being too short is not a problem since I'm cutting out a big middle piece. 

I'm trying to proceed carefully, I've just caught myself about to make a few mistakes.  I do not like making mistakes, they cost time and money.  So far, I'm very happy with how everything is proceeding and I'd like to remain happy.  

August 23,

Fitting the last full length deck beam.  This is 2" x 5" laminated full length beam that I'll try to dovetail into the sheer clamp.

More complicated than I thought.  You can not fully cut out the dovetail because it does not got all the way through the beam.

You can see why it was a bit more complicated here.  Looking good so far.  A little clean-up and this should work well.

Success!  

Another angle.

Nope, there is never a square cut on a boat.

The other side is done as well.  Now I just have to cut the female matching side in the sheer clamp.  The lines above the dovetail are reference lines.  It's doubled here.  I used an electric saw to cut the mostly down the end.  This is a compound cut and I cut it long the first time to make sure the angles were correct.  Actually, one of them was a little off so after making an adjustment, I used the correct reference line and was able to cut the compound angle perfectly.  Well the skill saw used could not cut it all the way so I had to finish it with a hand saw. 

August 26,

I used a 3x5 index card to make a pattern for the dovetail.  I also measured and those are the lighter lines.  The pattern is more correct.  

The dovetail required a little clean up with the chisel but by the time I was done, it was a very tight joint.

Nice fit.

Not too bad for the most difficult joint I have ever made in my life.  

The epoxy actually acted as a lubricant to help me pound this joint together.

The finished beam.  You can't tell from this perspective, but the crown is 1/2" (1.25 cm) higher than the one directly aft.  This will allow water to flow away from the cabin deckhouse which starts right on this beam.

August 30,

The inboard carlings are made up of three 4/4" laminations about 3" wide and are 30 feet long.  They will support the inboard part of the deck and the deck house.  They also determine the rake of the deckhouse sides so there is a camber of about 17.5 degrees cut on one side and the width of each layer are 1/4" shorter than the first.  The real strength will come from the 5/4" 6" wide strake attached to the carlings at the angle of the deckhouse sides.  That along with 3/4" plywood sides should be plenty rigid.

After laying them all out so I can use the natural curve of these pieces to good advantage, I've glued up the 1:12 scarf joints of the first layer of carling.  This one is for the port side.   Note at the very far end how the wood curves to the right.  There is an almost matching set for the starboard side.  It should help me get that fairly difficult bend at the forward end of the boat.

July 2020

July 13,

This is not my first post this month but the first one actually about working on the S.V. Wren's Reward.  Yep, in case you missed it, she finally has a name.  My wife says that the Wren is my spirit animal.  Always busy and needing to get something done.  Maybe the Wren will find his reward one day.

The shoulder is still healing and I'm not suppose to do very much with it but this weekend I was able to make some good progress on the boat.  I've worked out the side floorboards with ventilation and I'm finishing off where the transom meets the deck.  I'm putting in some serious structure there.  Pictures coming soon.  

I've figured out how I'm going to manage flooring the interior.  I'm going to install 1/4" strips of wood perpendicular to the longitudinals and screw in light wood slats with a gap or vents at the top.  This should allow plenty of ventilation.  Here I'm basically bending in dead wood in order to attach the 1/4" batons.  In order to bend the wood to the hull contour I've used a bar clamp and hammered in a wooden wedge between the bar clamp and the dead wood.

July 19,

Time to finish framing the transom.  I'm using 5/4" oak sawn to shape.  Once this piece is properly fitted, I'll fill in behind and install this piece last.

                                    

Cutting this rather complex joint.  My first one in awhile,. I actually screwed it up and had to redo.  Luckily, the piece already had the curve on top and I used it as one of the pieces to fill in behind.

Checking the bevel for the deck with a stiff baton.  I was able to use a skill saw on these with good results.

Another view of checking the bevel with the baton.

The first piece is screwed in with #10 1 3/4" silicon bronze screws.

The second piece is screwed in with #10 1 3/4" silicon bronze screws.  The part of the frame sticking up above where the deck will be will be cut out and removed later.  The nice curve on the transom will be better established and finished.

Finally the last piece is embedded with thickened epoxy and bolted in with hot dipped galvanized bolts to the transom frames and #14 silicon bronze screws and #12 stainless steel pan head screws.  Obviously, I ran out of silicon bronze screws.  I think the stainless steel pan heads are not as good but I've really gone overkill on this one so I think I can get away with them.  Once the epoxy is cured, this will be as strong as a solid piece of wood.  Next task is to chisel out the transom frames that stick out above the deck.

July 26,

I spent the weekend epoxying in some of the framing members that I had temporarily installed.  I'm out of screws but I have more on order.  I also worked out a bit of the cockpit framing and started to make up a new athwart laminated beam for the rear of the cockpit.

I've removed the frames above the deck.  Chisel, drill, sawzall, electric sander and almost used my teeth.  It was quite a chore to remove that section of the frame.  I had screws, stainless staples and epoxy holding it all together.  It's a bit rough in those corners but I'll fill the imperfections with thickened epoxy. 

This nice laminated beam will transverse the cockpit where the pilot seat will be and mark the edge of the deck-cockpit transition.

June 2020

June, 1

I've been continuing with the interior framing starting at the bow and moving aft.  The last project was roughing out the vee berth and attached settee below.  The bulkhead under the berth supports the stem attachment to the keel so I took the opportunity to add strength to that section by tying it to the bulkhead aft via the settee.  That is 3/4 plywood on the sides.  The back is the actual bulkhead as well as the foot of the seat.  If you look in the seat you will see the last floor timber on the aft side of the bulkhead.  This timber is bolted into a notch in the stem with the bulkhead in between.  The stem is also bolted to the keel via a long taper.  Nothing is glued yet.  It is all put together with temporary drywall screws.  When I'm happy with it I'll take it all apart, apply glue and put it all back together with silicon bronze screws.  The drywall screws are nice because they are thin and have a high pitch on the thread.  These will not weaken the holding strength of the fatter, finer pitched bronze screws.  All joints are backed by white oak strips.  You can't see them in this picture due to the lip of the vee berth being 2" (5 cm) higher than the bed (not installed yet) of the berth.

In the center is the seat between the 'V' of the vee berth.  I've use 1" oak for the supports and to back the plywood joints.  For the horizontal supports that cross the seam in the bulkheads, I've used 2"x1" lumber to support the butt joint.  All the butt joints in the bulkheads will eventually be backed by plywood or white oak.  It's a good idea to wait to put the permanent backing wood in after all the cut-outs are made.  The seat will have 1/2" (12 mm) plywood with a hand hold so that it is removable.  The seat will have tow positions: one as a seat and one up even with the berth to fill in that hole.  Below the seat there will be a large drawer.  There will be a locker to the left and an entrance to the head on the right.  I've used the 3/4" plywood for the seat sides to structurally connect these two bulkheads.  It is the only place I am planning on using 3/4" plywood in the interior.

June 7,

Well. I went in for minor shoulder surgery that turned into repairing two tears in the rotator cuff.
No boat building for the next 4-6 weeks.

July 2,

Healing slowly.  I still need to give my shoulder another week before I can do any work.

July 9,

I'm going to try to restart the work this weekend.  I'm moving slow.  

May 2020

May 3,

Working on the bow framing that will support the deck and general structure of the bow.  The strongback down the center is a 2 inch (5 cm) by 6 inch (15 cm) member made up of two layers of 1 inch (2.5 cm) by 6 inch white oak.  The bowsprit (6 in x 6 in) will match the strongback width and extend over the bow a good ways.  

The strongback notched into the forward bulkhead with a pocket notch in the near horizontal deck beam.

A close up of the horizontal deck beam showing the detail on the exposed bottom of the beam.  This detail will continue for all the horizontal deck beams and deck house roof beams.

A close up of the pocket where the strongback connects to the deck beam.  The strongback will have to have the slight curvature of the deck.  I'll use the belt sander for that later.

This is how the strongback mortises into the stem in the bow.  The bulwark at the tip of the bow will be cut out to accommodate the 6 x 6 inch bowsprit.  It's a little messy up there right now but all that will be cut out and cleaned up later.  

May 10,

Happy mother's day to all the mothers out there.  This son worked on his child over the weekend.

These pockets can be made with a router.  There is enough room for the guide.  I've made two of these guides, one for 3 and one for 6 inch pockets.  I make three passes with the router to get the 1 inch (2..5 cm) depth I need.

The router leaves a bit of a curved corner...  

...which can be cleaned up quickly with a chisel,

This pocket must be cut by hand.  There is no room for a router.  Unfortunately, this is  the situation with most of the pockets on this boat.  I start with marking the outlines of the pocket and then making the diagonal cuts about a centimeter apart.  I can even hand cut the tapper which is not done here but I did do that on the second one I made.  Luckily, my technique and skills improve with every task.

Now I just rough cut out those triangle with a chisel.  It looks ugly right now.

I carefully chisel along my lines taking out a little at a time.

Finally, the pocket is complete.

The entire set of pockets and notches for the framing member.  The notch is started with cutting the sides partly with a hand saw.  Finishing to almost full depth with the SawZall (reciprocating inline saw).  I then use a skill saw to rough cut the middle.  Then it's all chisel work.  I leave it a bit shallow until I check the fit to get the bevel correct on the bottom.

I've dry laid them in for now.  I'll glue and screw them all in at once.  Time for the left side.

May 17,

And now the other side:

It looks fairly nice.  Next, I'll need to drill the holes for the screw.  

All epoxied in.  This proved to be very messy.  I had to stand in between those members in order to be able to drive the big screws.  I got epoxy everywhere but mostly on myself.  I've since sanded all that nasty epoxy away (not on me but the boards) and taken off the 'squareness' of those board so they don't interfere with the fairness of the deck.