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Plywood to boat!

Since last weekend I have sanded the entire hull so that it looks fairly good to my untrained eye. I am agonizing over how to paint it, what to paint it with, etc, etc. The choices are endless it seems. The different points of view vastly different. It is hard to figure out what to do. I have been reading Sam Devlin’s excellent book, Devlin’s Boat Building, and he follows about a 15 step process on his boats…but his boats are likely to be in the water far longer than my boat ever will, he is a commercial builder and his clients expect a professional finish…and I am an amateur whose boat will not be in the water for more than a few days at a time…if that. I am building this boat for my boys to enjoy and have fun in…and that won’t involve worrying too much about running into rocks. As my friend Terry Dopson said yesterday when I explained my predicament to him….”It’s not a Ferrari.” But, I still would like to do a job that looks at least half decent. So, I vacillate back and forth on what to do. I search on the internet for information….and winter draws ever closer.

Today I did a couple of small things just to get them out of the way while I stew about painting. I mounted the piece to hold the lower gudgeon for the rudder cheek, routed out a hole in the rudder for the lead sinkweight, cut out the rudder cheek where the tiller will rest, rounded off the cheek to follow the radius of the tiller’s movement up and down and mounted a u-bolt in the mast step for the downhaul on the yard. I’ll need to pay Terry a visit to cut down the U-bolt but I think what I have decided to do will work quite well. I’ve been reading David Nichols’ book called “The Working Guide to Traditional Small-Boat Sails”, trying to educate myself as to how to set up the rigging for the balance lug sail I am using. It’s a good thing I did as setting up the U-bolt the way I did will make it very strong…better than using a cleat screwed into the mast step with a couple of screws.

I really like the rudder work as I set the router to leave about 1/8″ of plywood…the plan being that this way I don’t have to clamp metal on the bottom to keep the lead in when I pour the molten stuff in to make the sinkweight. The screws are there to keep the lead from falling out.

Maybe tomorrow I will have decided how to proceed with my paint job.

In the last four days I have finished glassing the bottom, covered everything with Quik-Fair to fill the weave and smooth things out, attached the keel strip, stem and transom and sanded half the boat to nearly be ready for a coat of primer!!!!!!

Glassing the second side was more work than the first. Because the cloth wasn’t wide enough to cover the bottom from seam to seam I cut it in half and did just one side first to be sure I would be able to keep up mixing epoxy, etc.

I glassed down the largest piece, let it get just tacky and then I covered the remaining gap with two pieces cut roughly to shape.

The next morning, I put a coat of epoxy down the middle where the keel strip is going and then put Quik-Fair on the rest. In retrospect, I think using Quik-fair for this was a mistake and I think that using some thickened epoxy would have done a good job of filling the weave, dried smoother and been MUCH harder. Oh well, too late now.

My next project was to install the keel strip. I decided to install the stem first so that I would be able to trim the ends of the keel strip layers to butt up against the stem before installing them. The stem went on pretty easily using EZ-Fillet after a coat of epoxy.

Then it was time for the keel strip. I used EZ-Fillet to join the two surfaces. I had Patty help me by pushing down on the strip as I drove screws into it from inside the boat. I was only using 3/4″ screws but they were enough to grab it and pull it against the hull.

After letting that set up I got the second layer ready. I laid it on top of the first layer, trimmed the angle against the stem by running a Japanese saw blade down the end as I held it against the stem. Then I predrilled and countersunk several holes. After that, I mixed up some thickened epoxy, put it into a baggie and squeezed it onto the two surfaces. Spread that around with a piece of wood and then put the strip on by myself. Cleaned up the squeezeout and let it harden.

Next up I attached the transom with lots of thickened epoxy. Nothing special to report there…I shoved the bolts through and then wiped their threads clean with an acetone soaked paper towel before attaching the nuts and tightening them. Used 7 clamps and left it overnight.

Yesterday and today I trimmed off the excess stem and keel strip, scraped excess epoxy away and sanded. My neighbour, Dan – who knows an awful lot about refinishing cars…among other things – loaned me a long sanding block used by body shops and showed me how to use it. I have been using that and the random orbital sander to smooth things out. One side of the hull is looking pretty good after several hours of sanding to day. If I can get the other side ready tomorrow I’ll be ready for a coat of primer on Tuesday!

The last few days have been full of filling, fairing and sanding and getting the bottom ready to glass.

I have been nervous about doing this job and waiting for cooler weather so that I don’t have to worry about not being able to keep up.

I decided to do 1/2 of the hull and then do the other for the same reason so today I laid the cloth on the hull, laid the keel strip down the centre, weighted it down with a couple of toolboxes and trimmed the glass to the edge of the keel strip.

Then, I went around the hull and masked off where I want the bottom of the glass to end and also taped saran wrap to the sides to catch the inevitable drips. I also masked the underside of the gunwales.

This evening at 8:30 I finally took a deep breath and went for it. An hour later 1/2 of the bottom was glassed. It actually went quite well. I had no trouble with bubbles thanks likely to taking the time to prepare the bottom quite well. I started in the middle by painting on some epoxy to tack the cloth to the hull. I left the toolboxes at the ends holding down the cloth. Then I painted on epoxy and poured it on and used a spreader to work it into the weave and wet out the glass. I worked from the middle of the bottom towards the joint between the bilge panel and the side and then worked towards each end, alternating ends to keep a “wet” edge. It went very well…messy as I had lots of epoxy on my hands from using the spreader but I am quite happy with the result.

I went around with a brush to smooth out any runs and also used a fiberglass roller to spread out areas where there was a of extra epoxy. We’ll see how well that worked when I check it in a few hours.

The other half tomorrow, fill the weave with thickened epoxy or Quik-Fair and put on the keel strip if I have time.

Since last post I have laminated the mast halves together, rolled the boat and done a ton of sanding and worked on fine-tuning the rudder leeboard shape. I also tied the sail to the spars just to see what it looked like

Laminating the mast went ok…it is good that I picked up some more clamps as I needed every one of them. One of the boards had a bit of a kink in it and it took lots of persuasion to get it clamped up tight enough to the other board to get good squeeze-out. The finished product has a bit of a curve in it but I will cut the mast out straight so that shouldn’t matter. I will try and find a wood shop somewhere with a band saw that will do the tapering for me. All the options for doing it myself I either don’t like or will take too long.

The last couple of days I have done a lot of sanding on the outside of the hull. I thought it was in pretty good shape but my memory was faulty as it needed a lot of sanding. Most of the joints had been faired with Quik-Fair so it came off pretty easy. I had been thinking I would glass the bottom this weekend but I don’t know if I have enough epoxy left (I ordered some more on Friday) and I sure wouldn’t want to run out partway through glassing the hull. I’ll wait until the new stuff shows up on Tuesday or Wednesday and then get going on it if the weather isn’t going to be too warm.

The hull is looking pretty good. I added some more Quik-Fair in the middle where the butt joints are as there were a few rough spots that would just have resulted in bubbles and hassle if I tried to glass over top of them.

I keep changing my mind on what colour to paint the boat. Today I am thinking white outside of the hull with maybe a green stripe 6-8 inches wide below the gunwales, gunwales varnished, hatch covers varnished, mast and spars varnished, mast step and mast partner varnished and the rest of the decks and interior painted a creamy white just so it isn’t too bright when out on the water in the sun.

I also test fitted the first layer of the keel strip….

Here’s the sail tied to the spars. It was such a fabulous day today, it would have been wonderful to have been on the water. I think the sail and spars look great!

I have to get a trailer happening!

The last three days I have gotten a few things done. I fabricated and epoxied a couple of thimbles to the yard. I finished epoxying the front hatch. I epoxied 1/4 inch ply to the 11 and 13 bulkheads in front of and behind the hatch so that the decking will look continuous when installed.

What’s left:
– Mast
– melt lead into rudder for sinkweight
– cut slot in rudder as a reboarding aid
– epoxy mast step to bottom
– epoxy motor board to transom
– epoxy rudder mounting board to transom
– build tiller
– glass bottom
– epoxy stem after installing U-Bolts which are in transit from Duckworks BBS
– Epoxy and attach keel to bottom after bottom glassed
– Sand and varnish and paint
– Attach all rigging, rudder, leeboard

It’s getting to be a relatively short list! We are leaving on vacation Friday for a couple of weeks. I will be back on August 3rd for a week and hope to get a lot done before I go back to BC to pick up Patty and the boys. As we are going to BC if I can obtain some good lumber out there for the mast I may put it together while I am gone. My buddy Mike, who lives in Duncan would love to do that I am sure….as long as I let him use his chainsaw on the mast at some point in time

Hopefully it will be on the water by the end of August. I don’t want to be learning to sail in September as the lakes are already getting pretty cold by then.

Photos of where things are at right now….

See ya later!!!

I came home from work a bit early and proceeded to epoxy together the rear hatch supports. It went pretty well.

I also epoxied the last piece of the mast partner. Later in the evening I clamped the partner to the bulkhead and drilled holes through the bulkhead.

I also ripped the 2×10 into 3 strips…the centre about 1 1/2 inches which are cracked and scrap….and two pieces off the sides. Except for a couple of bad knotty spots on one of them I would be in business I think. I’m going to look at scarfing the one with the bad spots and see what I would get. Otherwise I’m going to go back and get another 2×10 or a few 2×4’s or 6’s until I get something worth gluing up.

After consulting with Chuck L. I have decided to construct hatch supports for the front bulkhead similar to the rear one. I’ll add a cross member about 1/3 of the way from the front to the rear and then construct supports similar to the ones just finished for the rear compartment. With any luck I’ll have that well under way by the end of tomorrow.

This photo shows approximately where I will add the cross member. The hatch will have an opening of about 14 inches, the same as the hatch at the rear.

I slept in a bit this morning but got up to a cool morning on the edge of rain. It was a nice change from the heat. I started out the day by putting a wrap of 3″ tape around the ends of the yard and boom where holes will be drilled to run lines through to tie to the sail.

Then, I went downtown to the office to pick something up and I headed to the north end to buy some more lumber. Picked up some mahogany and some douglas fir and a big old 16′ spruce 2 x 10 that I am going to make a mast from. If it breaks I’ll try something different. $13.99 it cost.

Got home and had lunch. Terry and Chuck came by to check on the progress and sit in the boat …. on the seats. We had a few laughs before they headed off in one of Terry’s fastidiously restored MGs. Dark British racing green…I like that colour a lot and may use it on this boat.

Then, I decided to do the hatches and decking a little different than what Jim suggests in the plans. I am doing them similar to how Chuck L. does his hatches. Quite a while ago Chuck sent me a link to photos of how he builds his hatches and decks and I decided I liked his way better. I think it will be stronger.

So, I started by measuring out from the centre lines on bulkheads 11 and 13, setting the opening and then laying out where to cut into the bulkhead support pieces. My plan was to cut on an angle from the bottom edge up to the edge against the bulkhead plywood at the top. After making several cuts, remove the waste with a chisel. Then, cut matching angles on the support pieces and drop them in. Sort of like a wedged/dovetail joint. The support piece can’t fall through to the bottom.

That went fairly well. Then I cut pieces to fit of 3/4 x 1 1/2 inch mahogany. After they were in place I cut pieces of douglas fir 3/4 x 2 1/2 inches or maybe it was 2 3/4 inches to use to form a box that fits inside the rectangle formed by the bulkheads and support pieces just installed. I rabbeted the joints using several passes on the table saw using the miter guide with the blade set to 5/16″ high. (One of these days I am going to buy a dado blade set.) Some fiddling to get the pieces running fore and aft to fit and things were close enough to utilize the tremendous gap-filling properties of thickened epoxy.

Then, I pulled out a piece of 1/4″ plywood that was too small to cover either of the bulkheads and cut out pieces to fit on either side of the rear hatch. There will also be enough left over for the hatch cover itself. It will be interesting to see if I will be able to use any of the other cutoff pieces for the front decking and hatch cover.

I also epoxied part of the mast partner together. I had been thinking I would epoxy the mast step into place and then align the partner before drilling holes in the bulkhead supports. Now, I think I will line the partner up to the centre as best I can, drill the holes and mount it and then I will determine exactly where the step should be located and epoxy it to the bottom.

Here are some photos…

Some of the crew returned from Yorkton….

Sunday, June 29th was a HOT day…well for here anyway after the long cold spring we have had. I was in the garage at 7:45 trying to get a few things done. First off I laminated a spar together. Used every C-clamp that I own to keep the joint together and align both halves of the spar.

Next, I fabricated two seat supports from mahogany. I figured this would take no time at all but, as usual, it took me way longer than I expected. I measured where it would go on the bulkhead, how high the 2×4 would be and laid out the tapers. I then clamped this blank to a sawhorse with a piece of 1/4 ply to act as a fence and used the router to trim the tapers. I spent some time sanding and planing the imperfections and then used this blank to cut another by using the router and template bit again.

Then, it was time to lay out the holes for the 1/4″ bolts and to countersink them with a 3/4″ Forstner bit. It took me a while to find the instructions for this drill add-on that has a base and allows you to do a pretty decent job without a drill press. I NEARLY blew it by drilling the countersink holes on the wrong side of the second piece – caught myself just in time…if you are doing something similar, be sure to double check and mark which side the holes get drilled on or you could wind up making a big boo-boo!

Got that done and then fitted the pieces to the bulkheads and the fillets where the bottom joins the bulkhead. Got things lined up and then drilled pilot holes and screwed the supports to the bulkhead.

Painted the mating surfaces with epoxy and then added wood flour and cabosil to the remainder, put that on using a sandwich bag and screwed the support to the bulkhead, smoothed out the joint with my finger and then scooped up any leftover epoxy with a plastic spreader.

Took me most of the day to get the first two made and attached to the boat.

I managed to get the two for the other bulkhead roughed out before leaving for a concert at 4:30.

Monday, June 30, 2008 – Finished shaping the seat supports for the front bulkhead, attached one before going out for supper and then did the second when we came home. It was hot yesterday – 32 Celsius or 90 F, and the epoxy set up pretty fast. When I put the wood flour/cabosil mixture into the sandwich bag it was getting pretty warm to the touch and the lump that was left over hardened up VERY quickly.

Here are some catch-up photos of the leeboard guard/supports and other stuff….

Top support blank before routing out the slot for the leeboard

Top support bolted and epoxied into place

Top and bottom epoxied into place.

Picked up a 5/8″ Forstner bit today to countersink holes large enough for the washers used with the 1/4″ bolts used to attach the upper leeboard guard to the gunwale. I measured the distance from end to end on the gunwale…33″. Then I measured in 1 1/2″ from each end for the two end bolts and then I measured 6″ intervals from the 1 1/2″ marks. I put a tick mark on the edge of the gunwale and then used a square to extend the lines. I used the joint between the two laminations on the gunwale as the centre and marked the location of each hole.

I drilled small guide holes and then used the Forstner bit. I was using an attachment to the drill that allows me to set a stop for the depth and also has a base that makes it more likely that the holes will be perpendicular to the surface. After the Forstner bit was done its job I drilled 1/4″ holes through the gunwales and the upper leeboard guard which I had clamped to the gunwale. SOme of the holes were less than perfectly centered so I would suggest getting a Forstner bit a bit larger than the washers. My bit was exactly the same size as the washer. The tightening forced them down in the holes but I think it would be better had I used a 3/4″ Forstner bit instead of the 5/8″ bit.

After that was done I moved everything to the side to permit us to move the new van into the garage as severe thunderstorms were predicted and we don’t want any hail damage on the new Sienna, thank-you very much!

I then disassembled the upper leeboard guard in order to not have anything in my way for the installation of the lower leeboard guard.

I screwed the guard on and traced around it with a pencil to help lining it up when the epoxy laden pieces are lined up. Then I took it off, mixed some epoxy and brushed it on the lower guard and the hull where it will be installed. I mixed up some more epoxy and thickened it pretty much to the point of fillet thickness. I spread that on both surfaces with a stick very generously as there were some irregularities on the inner surface of the guard and I wanted to be sure of a completely covered and filled joint. I lined things up and screwed the guard from the inside of the hull with 3/4″ screws. I plan to use 2″ long screws to screw through the 3/4″ thick seat support (that will be installed over the 3/4″ screws), through the hull and into the leeboard support….just to tie it together a little bit more.

I radiused the squeeze-out with the end of a mixing stick and removed the excess with a stick and a scraper…and called it a night. I plan to get up early tomorrow, mix up a little EZ-Fillet and put a thicker fillet on the top and bottom and then lay some tape in the fillet and saturate with unthickened epoxy. Likely a bit of overkill but Jim says to make these joints strong so I can’t think of what else to do.