September 2020

September 1,

 And the progress continues.  I've actually had a very difficult time sourcing seasoned white oak.  The saw mills are only selling green white oak if any at all.  I'm not sure what is going on but I've had sawmills tell me that they don't sell kiln dried white oak when  I have receipts for kiln dried white oak from them.  They would not let me even talk to the Peanut who I've done business with before.  So much for my favorite sawmill in Elora Tn.   Luckily I have a acquaintance who owns a professional tree service company, Lee Haymes, who has seasoned white oak at a very good price.  I'm buying 300 bf this weekend and I'll let you know what it looks like.  

My new stash of white oak.  The pieces in front are 12 footers.  The rest are 9 footers that are somewhat quarter sawn.  There are 14" wide boards there.   The checking of the 12 footers is due to the lack of any sealant on the ends.  Always paint or seal the ends of green wood before you rick for drying.  I'll still get 10-11 ft board out of these though.  This is around 300 bf.

I've temporarily fit the first layer (actually it is the last layer going from  bottom to top but the wides layer needs to be fit first) of the inner carling.  It will be three layers of 1x3" tapered to the deck house side cant.  I also wanted to make sure I could bend those pieces.   If I can bend the widest one, I can bend the rest.

Here is the only bulkhead (Actually upon further inspection there is one more that required such treatment.  It was hidden.)  that does not go far enough up to meet the sheer clamp.  This is in the settee so we will use the 3/4" gusset matched to the 5/4" white oak short beam.  You can see where the pencil lines are where I will cut it out to receive the three laminations of carling.  I might replace that plywood gusset with a laminated steam bent piece later.  I made one and it's in a previous post.  I'm not sure yet but my options are open until I glue it.

Here is the carling running along the side of the future deck house.  The space between the sheer clamp and the carling is the walking space along the deck.  It really is pretty narrow (16" aft) but widens up considerably forward (24").  

Another view showing the fairly tight radius this piece must be made to make.  I'm glad I used the bent wood to my advantage.  It really is a tough bend.

I needed to make 12 of these short beams that go between the sheer clamp and the deck house carling.  I figured they wouldn't really take that long.  I ended up spending an average of an hour a piece on these. They all had to be custom fit and there were a lot of compound angles.  You can see quite a few reference lines drawn in pencil.  The "x" is the piece that will be removed.  I've clamped a piece of straight plywood to act a fence for the circular saw as I cut the bevels.

I finish the cut with a hand saw.  

Is this enough angles for you.  What's worse is that the bevel on all three cuts is different.

I messed one up.  I cut the bevel at the top the wrong way even though I put reference lines everywhere.  Which one is cut wrong?  Check out the pencil marks.  By the way, remaking this one piece only took 15 minutes since I already had all the measurements.  The new one fit like a glove.

The inner deck house carling's top piece (there are three) will go through this beam and mortise into the one behind while the bottom two will fit into the pocket.  I was very pleased with this bit of chisel work.

The other end of the carling where it ends in a forward beam.   I only made a 3/8" mortise for the first two layers to preserve the integrity of the beam.  

I'm working on notching them all to accept the three layers of carling.  The top layer is shown set to one side for now.

On labor day, I labored.  I'm now ready to start installing the laminated port carling and I have the beam mortised on the starboard side.  I'm going to put that together during the week in my spare time.  This is about as far as I'm going to go before starting the interior in earnest.  I'm sourcing the 17 foot long 5" wide steel "H" beam that the ballast keel will bolt to.  It will also act as the main mast step.  Once installed, I can start working out the flooring.  

September 11,

I did not document fitting the first layer mainly because it fit pretty darn sweet.  There were a few adjustments for angle (forward and back) and depth but they were minor.  I hope the starboard side goes as easily.

Dry installing the second layer of the carling.  It gets one screw at the end and one screw every 6" alternating to the left and the right.  I use a few bar clamps to make sure that both layers line up perfectly.  Once all three layers are dry fit and I'm happy with everything, I'll take it all apart and use epoxy to put it all back together again.  

Dry installed the second layer of the carling, a view a bit forward.

The second layer joins a forward beam right on top of the first layer.  The last layer will overlay both and I'll be able to screw it directly into the 'step'.  

At the aft end, the second layer also sits right on top of the first.  The last layer will go all the way through to the next beam.  

September 13,

There was not much work performed over the weekend.  I was busy building a wheelchair ramp for a rental house I co-own.  The young daughter of the women who we rent to loss the use of her legs at age 20.  The prognosis looks favorable with a full recovery but she will be wheelchair bound for nearly a year.  A tough thing for a young lady to go through.  Although no work was performed on the boat, I did manage to get the steel "H" beam that the ballast keel will bolt to as well as act as the mast step.

That is a 5" steel "H" beam 20' long and weighs 400 pounds.  

September 17,

The second layer of the carling dry laid in.

Sweet joint.  The only thing I'd like to avoid is having those two meet at the same place.   That beam is over 5 inches thick so it probably doesn't matter and offers thrust support.

It is coming along nicely.  The interior is well defined along the sheer and carling.  I have the "H" beam to install which will define the sole.  Getting closer to cabinetry. 

September 21,

I spent the weekend pulling the engine out of my wife's 1971 Fiat Spider.  The clutch was rusted solid.  I got everything back together and she test drove it for the first time in 5 years.  We had a little brake problem and the steering box needs replacing.  The brake line had previously been welded poorly and it failed.  I'm getting a new brake line and steering box.  We'll have it running again in no time.  

My wife helping me out on the little Fiat.  She's handy with her small fingers.

Meanwhile, I did do a little bit of work early this morning before my day job.

I cut and laid in the plywood sides of the forward section of the cockpit.  I also did some  odds and ends in the main salon.  

September 26,

All the carling layers were glued and screwed together.  It really is amazing how stiff those three layers of wood are after they are epoxied and screwed together.  

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.