January-February 2015

It's a new year and I'm ready to make some progress on the boat.  The weather is the only thing keeping me back.   I have competed two layers on one side and half way through the second layer of the other side.  Finishing this layer will mark the half way point in this phase of the project which started July 1, 2013.  By this account, I should finish the lamination of the hull by July 2016.  A good goal and plenty of time to save for the next phase which is fiberglassing and painting the hull.  Never pays to get too far ahead in this kind of project though.

January 11, 2015

It's now January and mostly too cold to work with the epoxy.  I have determined that 50F is the minimum working temperature although the epoxy requires 40F in order to cure properly.  Below 50F, the epoxy is just too thick to spread efficiently and metering out of the container takes a long time.  Being that I'm located in Alabama, there are opportunities to work during the winter, so I work when I can (See January 2016 where I have figured out a way to make this a little easier).

February 28, 2015

I've found a little time to work on the boat while the temperature is barely above 50F.  Actually there is no way I could do any major work on the hull because the epoxy is still very cold.  I did, however, do a bit of catch-up sanding on the hull and was able to scarf together some more strips in anticipation of warmer weather.  Things are going to get spring-like in Huntsville Alabama very soon in spite of the 10 inches of snow that fell a few days ago.  Here are some pictures to bring you up to date on the build.

This is a slightly skewed image but I was trying to get a picture of the scaffolding that I work off of on the starboard side. These are 10 inch boards about 10-12 feet long.  I will need to build scaffolding for the port side as well and this is on the do very soon list.  

Just another view of the bow from the top of the bottom of the boat.  Notice the scaffolding on the left side of the image.

The latest work looking toward the stern.  This is layer 3 of 4 on the starboard side.  I've just given the last three strips a good sanding today.  There is no need for the nail boards or nail pads anymore since the hull is now thick enough to fully bury 5/8" long staples.  I do not need to remove them from the work as long as they are stainless steel.

Another view but further back.  The new layers are on the right.  I'm trimming the pocket for the keel filler strake as I go.  

A view of strips being scarf joined together from the top of the bottom of the boat.

November 2014

Work continues on the hull.  I now have two complete layers on one side and one layer on the other.  I have stainless steal staples on order and need to build scaffolding for the other side (port) of the boat.  In the mean time I have been doing a lot of finishing touches such as making sure that the planking meets the keel just right so the filler strake will fit.  I have also trimmed the planking along the starboard gunnel.  There was faring that needed to be performed along the bow and I managed to get that to a point where I was happy with the results.  Other minor efforts included filling open spaces where the planking met at the bow.

The starboard side that I just almost finished is on the left (boat is upside down).   In this photo I had not completed the sanding of the second layer.

January 11, 2015

It's now January and mostly too cold to work with the epoxy.  I have determined that 50F is the minimum working temperature although the epoxy requires 40F in order to cure properly.  Below 50F, the epoxy is just too thick to spread efficiently and metering out of the container takes a long time.  Being that I'm located in Alabama, there are opportunities to work during the winter, so I work when I can.  One third of the starboard 3rd layer has been installed.  

May/June 2014

May has seen the first layer of the hull completed.  Only 3 more layers to go.  I need to take some time off from the boat construction to build some scaffolding around the hull so that I can get to all of the surface.  Those longitudinal battens where great to climb on but now they are covered.

I have a few places that will need to be faired and some light sanding to do.  But, there is no changing the hull now, it's fixed.  The subsequent layers will pose new challenges, no doubt, but it feels good to have the difficulties of laying the first layer behind me.  No more edge gluing.  No more making sure the plywood edges line up and are fair.  No  more blocks of wood screwed and stapled across strips (well there will be different blocks of wood, probably scrap plywood squares around 2").

A view from the keel.

The last few pieces are put into place.

April 2014

Hull construction continues as I finish up the rear half of the port side first layer.  I have decided to start a tool section of this blog since I know people are curious about the tools I use and how well they hold up.  Hopefully I'll get something started in the next few weeks.  More pictures of a few more strips on the hull seem kinda boring to me.  I'll continue posting pictures of mile stone events and difficult sections.

February/March 2014

This month I tackled installing the keel bolts.  These are stainless steel threaded rod with nuts on both ends that run through the keel and floor boards.  They are to be installed on all floor boards that are not getting bolts for the ballast keel.  The ballast keel will be installed latter and it will have its own bolts.  Drilling a straight and true hole 20 inches deep is tricky.  You can not rely on your ability to hold the drill at the correct angle.  To get this right I made a jig at every hole to help me drill straight.  The following images will give you an idea of the procedure.

The first thing I needed was a vertical reference.  I clamped this square stock in place and made sure it was vertical with a level.  Make sure to check two orthogonal sides.  This requires an iterative approach because when you adjust one angle, the other invariably is effected.   

I then take two small pieces of wood, one shown above, and place one end on the centerline of where the hole will be.   I then mark where it intersects with the vertical square stock shown on the left.  I make two of these.

I, then, clamp the small pieces of wood to the vertical square stock, one a few inches above  where the hole will be and the other 6-8 inches further up.  Make sure that the pieces are clamped so the mark aligned with the vertical square stock.

With the drill bit in the drill, I can align the bit with the small pieces of wood.  The pieces of wood do not actually touch the drill bit but I can site along them keeping a constant distance between the wood and the drill bit.  You will have to check at an angle so you can keep the space between the bit and the wood constant at the same time you keep the two spaces the same.

Carefully start drilling.  Take your time and clear your bit often.  What I mean by clearing your bit is lifting the bit out of the hole so the wood chips are removed.  If you do not clear the hole as you drill, the bit will bind and will not cut clean.   It will also be harder to keep your alignment.

I also finished the first layer of the cold molded process on the port side.  The following images detail the final stages.

Here, I am getting excited about finishing this side.  The changing hull shape in the last section makes fitting the strips a little tricky at times but the ready access (no ladder or climbing) makes the work go quickly.  I've started marking the strips where they end at the stem and precutting them.  I get a much better result this way.  I lay a pencil flat against the opposite side of the stem and make a mark across the strip after it is clamped in place.  This way I cut the strips where they would meet when the other side is installed.  This will actually result in too sharp of a point at the step bit it gives me the liberty later to decide how to shape the underside of the stem.   I also put a few lines across the previously installed strip onto the clamped strip to ensue that I can easily and quickly align the strip once I lay the epoxy down.

Working on the bow has other challenges as well.  The longitudinal baton twist and change shape radically at this point.  They do not necessarily have the same shape on both sides due to the fact that the lumber cut from different logs with different grain have different properties.  Having two batons laminated does mediate this a little since you end up getting contribution from both although the first baton seems to dominate since it is fixed.  This has required me to laminate thin pieces of wood onto the batons where they do not quite match from port to starboard as well as perform some radical sanding of the batons.  It won't be perfect but it should not be noticeable or affect performance.

I've used quite a few blocks to make sure the hull is fare in the bow.  I also resorted to a few other tricks to ensure the hull is fare such as screwing temporary blocks to the underside to take out bulges and dips in the strips.  I've left the last few strips uncut because they were awkward to place.  This allowed me some freedom in the installation.  Notice how the strips get narrower as the curves get more aggressive.  

Blocks removed, stem cut to shape and some rough sanding performed.

And I've started to make progress on the starboard side of the boat.

Well, I have made some progress on the starboard side of the boat.  Unfortunately there is a wall a few feet away from the gunwales  that prevents me from getting good pictures but I'll try to keep the readers updated.

January 2014

It's another year and time to get back to building the dream.  At the end of last year my focus was finishing an addition onto my house.  Most of January was focused on my wife's surgery recovery and making extra money on the side to see us through.  Now that I know that the light at the end of the tunnel is not a train, it's time to start working on the boat again.  I have not been idle all this time though.  I have put in a few hours here and there and that enabled a leap forward in the planking phase.  85% of the port side has the first layer of plywood.  She really is starting to look like a boat.

Finishing the first layer of planking to the transom on the port side.  Notice the large number of temporary short boards holding the plywood flush.  These are necessary when the hull is changing shape in complex ways.  I could have elected to install narrower strips but the wider strips make a farer hull in this case.  

October 2013

It's been a slow month for boat building.  I have managed to get a few good days of work in but I have not been able to work on the boat at my leisure (which to tell the truth would be all the time).  Even though actual work has been slow, I have made progress in other areas.  I've worked forward in my head how the next few steps will occur.  Sometimes I can get on a role and forget a few steps in the process.  Then I'll have to go back and figure out how to fix something that would have been easier to do earlier.  Anyone remember the frames on the transom issue.  Turns out I was just about to overstep myself again.  Before I complete the first layer of the hull, I needed to determine how I was going to create a surface to attach the ballast keel and add dead wood to the stem.  On the first point,  I have decided to go ahead make the first layer of the ballast keel from plywood and mark where the keel bolts and the floor timber bolts belong (so they do not interfere with each other).  I can then use this as a pattern to cut the hull material to the right shape at the hull/keel junction.  On the second point, I am adding two layers of plywood to the underside of the stem.  I am having to score the plywood (every inch for 20 inches) around the upper part of the stem where the curvature is most severe in order for the plywood to bend.  I'll then plane the edges of the plywood down to the shape of the hull.  This will give me a continuous mounting surface along the stem for the hull material as well as help bring the hull to a small curvature around the front of the stem.  I'll have pictures soon to illustrate.  Friday I'm going on vacation with my wife to the Florida/Alabama coast on the Gulf of Mexico.  I will dream of sailing, drink beer and not worry about life for a week.

Back from a well needed vacation in the Gulf.  I met Joe Shelby who is building a nice catamaran and is quite along on the project.  We managed to have a good time talking about building boats and drinking a little beer.  When I got back home I started working on the bow.  Dead wood needed to be added to the stem so the hull material can be attached and so that the bow will come to a nice curved front.

Two layers of 3/4" Meranti plywood attached to the bottom of the stem with epoxy and stainless staples.  This will be carved to the shape of the bow once the epoxy cures.

This is a close up of the bottom of the bow where I've added the material.  The filler boards end in a stagger where they will later taper down to the existing keel.

In this picture I have started to carve the stem filler wood to shape.  An electric hand planer is used to remove the majority of wood while a belt sander with 40 grit sand paper is used for the finish work.

Another close up of the stem showing the finished work.  

I've also checked the fairness or the bow.  This is a critical part of the hull and its also where the wood battens undergo the most radical changes.  I'm trying to ensure that not only is the hull fair but the same on both sides.  I have needed to change the angle of the face of a few of the longitudinal battens as well as add material in one spot.

Back to installing the plank strips.