Nothing exciting.
Transom, port side panels, port hull panel at the bow. Should finish the hull tomorrow, chines and the fairing. Then one more sanding with 150 and a thin coat of slightly thickened epoxy and we're ready for the bottom graphite and spray rails.
3 Hours
Wednesday, November 30, 2011
Sunday, November 27, 2011
Day 73 - I hate sanding...
'Nuf said.
The starboard side was sanded today. Went through six sheets of 60 grit sandpaper and probably should have used more. After sanding, for a break, I went to Home Depot to buy another box of sandpaper, a long paint edger to use for fairing, more 2 1/2" screws and seven 2x3's to cut up to use for spray rails. They're really wet so I screwed them down side-by-side to the floor. Hopefully that will help them dry straight.
After getting back from Home Depot I started fairing the low spots from the sanding. I made up small batches of epoxy, mixed in a little bit of microballons for color (it's purple) and a whole lot of cab-o-sil (a very fine silica powder to make a very smooth, but thick mixture that I then spread on the hull in the low spots and used the long edger to smooth it over.
Here's what the hull looks like tonight.
The sides are pretty good except at the scarfs and the hull needed a whole lot of help. :-) I'll start sanding and fairing the other side tomorrow. Once that's done I'll apply a thin coat of epoxy.
I'm waiting for graphite powder to arrive. The graphite will be added to the epoxy and painted on the hull to the waterline. Obviously graphite is black so that will provide the first color to the hull, plus it's very tough to help provide protection from scratches and dings.
8 Hours
The starboard side was sanded today. Went through six sheets of 60 grit sandpaper and probably should have used more. After sanding, for a break, I went to Home Depot to buy another box of sandpaper, a long paint edger to use for fairing, more 2 1/2" screws and seven 2x3's to cut up to use for spray rails. They're really wet so I screwed them down side-by-side to the floor. Hopefully that will help them dry straight.
After getting back from Home Depot I started fairing the low spots from the sanding. I made up small batches of epoxy, mixed in a little bit of microballons for color (it's purple) and a whole lot of cab-o-sil (a very fine silica powder to make a very smooth, but thick mixture that I then spread on the hull in the low spots and used the long edger to smooth it over.
Here's what the hull looks like tonight.
The sides are pretty good except at the scarfs and the hull needed a whole lot of help. :-) I'll start sanding and fairing the other side tomorrow. Once that's done I'll apply a thin coat of epoxy.
I'm waiting for graphite powder to arrive. The graphite will be added to the epoxy and painted on the hull to the waterline. Obviously graphite is black so that will provide the first color to the hull, plus it's very tough to help provide protection from scratches and dings.
8 Hours
Saturday, November 26, 2011
Day 72 - On your knees!
Ouch. Mine hurt. On them all day. Literally.
The epoxy I put on the hull yesterday wasn't nearly cured enough to work on so it was on to the next task I'd been dreading; the inside-the-hull shelves-to-sides joint. Coincidentally, just yesterday there was a discussion about whether or not to fillet and tape this joint, and again it was split 50-50. I decided to do it just because having it done make me more comfortable. So I cut a bunch of three inch wide strips of 7oz glass left over from doing the sides, moved my epoxy station under the hull and got to work. After working all day on it, this is the result.
That long brown line is the result of mixing lots of small batches of epoxy, six ounces at a time, keeping a cup of straight epoxy and a cup of peanut butter going all the time. First you paint the shelf and the side with a coat of epoxy, then you trowel in a fillet of peanut butter, then you lay the fiberglass over the fillet and then you put enough epoxy on the glass to fill it in and then move on to the next strip of glass. The strips of glass were no longer than two feet (and sometimes less) keeping them manageable, and too, it takes a lot of peanut butter to make that fillet so I didn't want to have too long a line to manage. Plus there was a lot of back and forth as the resin, hardener, microballons and sawdust were kept at the transom area as the triangular braces for the jig made a convenient work area.
Anyways, I think there's about 55 feet of joint that got done today, plus I did most of the joints where the framing meets the shelves. Tomorrow I'll finish the three I didn't get done tonight and then it's back to sanding.
Oh, by the way, this is the 3M 7500 series respirator I'm wearing to handle the fumes and dust I'm making. Pretty comfortable as I can wear it all day, like today, without any problems. I sound like Darth Vader when I exhale through the mask though. :-)
8.5 Hours
The epoxy I put on the hull yesterday wasn't nearly cured enough to work on so it was on to the next task I'd been dreading; the inside-the-hull shelves-to-sides joint. Coincidentally, just yesterday there was a discussion about whether or not to fillet and tape this joint, and again it was split 50-50. I decided to do it just because having it done make me more comfortable. So I cut a bunch of three inch wide strips of 7oz glass left over from doing the sides, moved my epoxy station under the hull and got to work. After working all day on it, this is the result.
That long brown line is the result of mixing lots of small batches of epoxy, six ounces at a time, keeping a cup of straight epoxy and a cup of peanut butter going all the time. First you paint the shelf and the side with a coat of epoxy, then you trowel in a fillet of peanut butter, then you lay the fiberglass over the fillet and then you put enough epoxy on the glass to fill it in and then move on to the next strip of glass. The strips of glass were no longer than two feet (and sometimes less) keeping them manageable, and too, it takes a lot of peanut butter to make that fillet so I didn't want to have too long a line to manage. Plus there was a lot of back and forth as the resin, hardener, microballons and sawdust were kept at the transom area as the triangular braces for the jig made a convenient work area.
Anyways, I think there's about 55 feet of joint that got done today, plus I did most of the joints where the framing meets the shelves. Tomorrow I'll finish the three I didn't get done tonight and then it's back to sanding.
Oh, by the way, this is the 3M 7500 series respirator I'm wearing to handle the fumes and dust I'm making. Pretty comfortable as I can wear it all day, like today, without any problems. I sound like Darth Vader when I exhale through the mask though. :-)
8.5 Hours
Friday, November 25, 2011
Day 71 - Itch, itch, itch...
Maybe the reason I dislike sanding fiberglass so much is because it make me itch. :-( I wore a short sleeve shirt today and won't do that again when I'm sanding, long sleeves only! Anyways, one of the problems with sanding is it shows one just what one missed when applying epoxy. Even with all the work I did to squeegee the excess epoxy out of the fiberglass some still ran out and down the sides and the sanding made this painfully obvious.
High spots are white, low spots are not. This is after sanding with 60 grit sandpaper (do like that new sander!) and then wiping it down with a mixture of hot water and ammonia. After washing and drying I applied another layer of epoxy over the entire hull to fill in the weave in the glass and provide a smooth layer to protect the fiberglass.
5 Hours
High spots are white, low spots are not. This is after sanding with 60 grit sandpaper (do like that new sander!) and then wiping it down with a mixture of hot water and ammonia. After washing and drying I applied another layer of epoxy over the entire hull to fill in the weave in the glass and provide a smooth layer to protect the fiberglass.
5 Hours
Thursday, November 24, 2011
Day 70 - Today I declare...
it's a boat. It'll float and it won't get waterlogged.
At least I think it'll float and it won't get waterlogged. :-)
I put the last piece of fiberglass on the outside today and with that the massive pieces of fiberglass work are finished. Here's a shot of the transom.
Yee haw! And tomorrow I start sanding.
I hate sanding. Did I ever say that? Yep, it ranks right up there with painting it does. I think it's because there's so little physical progress. Oh well, so what's a guy to do?
Buy a new power tool of course! Women buy shoes, men buy power tools. Only fair says I. :-) I bought a larger orbital sander, should make things go a little faster and make for less long board sanding, which reminds me...
Anyways,
3 Hours
At least I think it'll float and it won't get waterlogged. :-)
I put the last piece of fiberglass on the outside today and with that the massive pieces of fiberglass work are finished. Here's a shot of the transom.
Yee haw! And tomorrow I start sanding.
I hate sanding. Did I ever say that? Yep, it ranks right up there with painting it does. I think it's because there's so little physical progress. Oh well, so what's a guy to do?
Buy a new power tool of course! Women buy shoes, men buy power tools. Only fair says I. :-) I bought a larger orbital sander, should make things go a little faster and make for less long board sanding, which reminds me...
Anyways,
3 Hours
Wednesday, November 23, 2011
Day 69 - Flippin' Ridiculous!
The past week we've gotten almost two feet of snow and tonight we're suppose to get another foot. Why does this matter to my boat building? Because I keep having to stop working to go sweep the snow off the shed. Going to be a long night. Sigh.
Anyways, the second side was was fiberglassed today.
Yes, it was still raining, but not nearly to the extent it was yesterday. That may change as it's supposed to warm up towards the middle of next week.
The only thing left to fiberglass is the transom, and I'm planning to do that tomorrow. It's relatively small compared to the sides so it should go quickly.
I spent a lot of time today sitting under the hull planning ahead. Not for what's next; that's obvious, flip the hull, glass the chines and stringers, build a forward flotation tank; but what's next-next; things like plumbing, wiring, where to put fuel and water inlets, batteries, fuel tanks and layout among lots of other things. I'm building a mental picture of what I want and then I have to mentally plan the steps.
Less book and more customization. :-)
5 Hours
Anyways, the second side was was fiberglassed today.
Yes, it was still raining, but not nearly to the extent it was yesterday. That may change as it's supposed to warm up towards the middle of next week.
The only thing left to fiberglass is the transom, and I'm planning to do that tomorrow. It's relatively small compared to the sides so it should go quickly.
I spent a lot of time today sitting under the hull planning ahead. Not for what's next; that's obvious, flip the hull, glass the chines and stringers, build a forward flotation tank; but what's next-next; things like plumbing, wiring, where to put fuel and water inlets, batteries, fuel tanks and layout among lots of other things. I'm building a mental picture of what I want and then I have to mentally plan the steps.
Less book and more customization. :-)
5 Hours
Day 68 - One side
is on!
After a day of doing a whole lot of nothing; a stop by the paint store, a stop by Don Abel, putting up more ribs inside the shed (gonna have a plumbing shop by the time I'm done ;), I finally got some work done. Sanding the sides and the transom was first on the list, then I cut the tips of the sides off at the bow. Can't be gluing them to the floor now can I?
I was still chasing drips, but it had slowed down enough that I thought I could get the first side on. I cleaned up all my tools and buckets, getting rid of all the old hardened epoxy, in general just getting everything organized. Then the show was on!
I've finally come up with a system for doing a really good job of laying in the fiberglass. First I used a brush to coat the chines. Then I started pouring epoxy on the sides using a roller with the shortest nap I could get to spread the epoxy out; if there's not enough epoxy then the roller sounds like a zipper as it pulls away, if there's too much then the roller doesn't roll. Once the epoxy was on, then I rolled on the fiberglass. Now the fiberglass was 48" wide, but I only needed 40", so after I rolled it on I went back with a pair of scissors and cut off the excess. Then I started at the transom, gently pulling and pushing the glass as I worked towards the bow getting rid of the bubbles, smoothing out the wrinkles and rolling the glass into the epoxy. Back to the transom I worked on the chine, rolling the fiberglass down into the epoxy, wetting out the dry spots and tightening up the corner. Once more back to the transom, pouring epoxy on the sides and using a plastic spreader to sweep back-and-forth spreading the resin into the dry spots; first with a light touch allowing the epoxy to soak in, then with a firmer touch, pushing the glass into the epoxy up against the plywood and sweeping the excess epoxy off the top of the glass leaving just the right amount of epoxy behind.
After cleaning up the inevitable drips it looked really good! Tomorrow will be the other side and then the long work of sanding and fairing will begin. Not looking forward to that but,
"Ya gotta get it started if you want to get it done." - Aaron Tippin
8 Hours
After a day of doing a whole lot of nothing; a stop by the paint store, a stop by Don Abel, putting up more ribs inside the shed (gonna have a plumbing shop by the time I'm done ;), I finally got some work done. Sanding the sides and the transom was first on the list, then I cut the tips of the sides off at the bow. Can't be gluing them to the floor now can I?
I was still chasing drips, but it had slowed down enough that I thought I could get the first side on. I cleaned up all my tools and buckets, getting rid of all the old hardened epoxy, in general just getting everything organized. Then the show was on!
I've finally come up with a system for doing a really good job of laying in the fiberglass. First I used a brush to coat the chines. Then I started pouring epoxy on the sides using a roller with the shortest nap I could get to spread the epoxy out; if there's not enough epoxy then the roller sounds like a zipper as it pulls away, if there's too much then the roller doesn't roll. Once the epoxy was on, then I rolled on the fiberglass. Now the fiberglass was 48" wide, but I only needed 40", so after I rolled it on I went back with a pair of scissors and cut off the excess. Then I started at the transom, gently pulling and pushing the glass as I worked towards the bow getting rid of the bubbles, smoothing out the wrinkles and rolling the glass into the epoxy. Back to the transom I worked on the chine, rolling the fiberglass down into the epoxy, wetting out the dry spots and tightening up the corner. Once more back to the transom, pouring epoxy on the sides and using a plastic spreader to sweep back-and-forth spreading the resin into the dry spots; first with a light touch allowing the epoxy to soak in, then with a firmer touch, pushing the glass into the epoxy up against the plywood and sweeping the excess epoxy off the top of the glass leaving just the right amount of epoxy behind.
After cleaning up the inevitable drips it looked really good! Tomorrow will be the other side and then the long work of sanding and fairing will begin. Not looking forward to that but,
"Ya gotta get it started if you want to get it done." - Aaron Tippin
8 Hours
Monday, November 21, 2011
Day 67 - It's raining...
inside. :-(
It warmed up today above freezing and all the moisture that had frozen to the inside of the tarp above the fiberglass batt thawed, ran through the fiberglass and drip, drip, dripped all over everything. I had my collection of paint buckets, trays and towels all over the boat trying to keep the water off.
The water on the hull is not a problem per se, I just really didn't want it on the uncured epoxy and bare plywood. I cranked the heat, fans and dehumidifier up and by about 7pm tonight it had quit. I took my roll of fiberglass in the garage and measured out two lengths for the sides that I'll hopefully put on tomorrow. I've got help coming so that will make it easier to manage I think. Ran some errands and called it a day.
2 Hours
It warmed up today above freezing and all the moisture that had frozen to the inside of the tarp above the fiberglass batt thawed, ran through the fiberglass and drip, drip, dripped all over everything. I had my collection of paint buckets, trays and towels all over the boat trying to keep the water off.
The water on the hull is not a problem per se, I just really didn't want it on the uncured epoxy and bare plywood. I cranked the heat, fans and dehumidifier up and by about 7pm tonight it had quit. I took my roll of fiberglass in the garage and measured out two lengths for the sides that I'll hopefully put on tomorrow. I've got help coming so that will make it easier to manage I think. Ran some errands and called it a day.
2 Hours
Sunday, November 20, 2011
Day 66 - Smokin'!
Today was awesome!
I started by working on the filleting and the fiberglassing of the port side chine. Of course, that went more quickly than yesterday and I was done in nothing flat. Then I taped the transom. One layer of 10oz 8" wide glass went from one corner, up the side, all the way across the transom and back down the other side.
Switched back over to the other chine and scraped the excess epoxy from yesterday. Because it's been so cold, the temperature in the shed had dropped to 45F this morning so the epoxy was pretty gooey. Made it easy to scrape off.
Now on to the hull. That's one big area, so I made up several batches of epoxy, pouring them on the hull and spreading them with the roller. Once the entire starboard side was done I climbed up on the hull with the roll of fiberglass I cut yesterday and keeping the edge of the fiberglass on the fairbody I rolled it out towards the bow.
That's a lot of glass!
I trimmed the excess at the bow, rolled the glass into the epoxy, added more to fill the dry spots and one side was done.
I wasn't going to do the other side tonight, so i was cleaning up to head home when a friend stopped by the chat. She stayed for about half an hour and as I was headed out I touched the chine I had worked on and discovered it was barely tacky. Whoo Hoo! So I took my coat off and got to work on the other side of the hull. As usual this side took less time that the first and in an hour and a half the hull was done!
Tomorrow I'll start on the sides. This will be a challenge as I only need a piece of glass 40" wide to do the side and wrap up over the chine, but my fiberglass is 60" wide. So I either cut a single long piece that I then have to cut to width, or I can cut multiple pieces and overlap as I go along the hull. I'm leaning towards the latter, but we'll see what tomorrow brings.
9 Hours
I started by working on the filleting and the fiberglassing of the port side chine. Of course, that went more quickly than yesterday and I was done in nothing flat. Then I taped the transom. One layer of 10oz 8" wide glass went from one corner, up the side, all the way across the transom and back down the other side.
Switched back over to the other chine and scraped the excess epoxy from yesterday. Because it's been so cold, the temperature in the shed had dropped to 45F this morning so the epoxy was pretty gooey. Made it easy to scrape off.
Now on to the hull. That's one big area, so I made up several batches of epoxy, pouring them on the hull and spreading them with the roller. Once the entire starboard side was done I climbed up on the hull with the roll of fiberglass I cut yesterday and keeping the edge of the fiberglass on the fairbody I rolled it out towards the bow.
That's a lot of glass!
I trimmed the excess at the bow, rolled the glass into the epoxy, added more to fill the dry spots and one side was done.
I wasn't going to do the other side tonight, so i was cleaning up to head home when a friend stopped by the chat. She stayed for about half an hour and as I was headed out I touched the chine I had worked on and discovered it was barely tacky. Whoo Hoo! So I took my coat off and got to work on the other side of the hull. As usual this side took less time that the first and in an hour and a half the hull was done!
Tomorrow I'll start on the sides. This will be a challenge as I only need a piece of glass 40" wide to do the side and wrap up over the chine, but my fiberglass is 60" wide. So I either cut a single long piece that I then have to cut to width, or I can cut multiple pieces and overlap as I go along the hull. I'm leaning towards the latter, but we'll see what tomorrow brings.
9 Hours
Day 65 - Overly optimistic
I was yesterday. I thought I'd have most of the fiberglassing done today. No such luck.
The day started out fine. A run to the paint store to get rollers and a pan for spreading lots of epoxy in a hurry. Then a stop at Don Abel to get some wood slats and then off to the shed.
I used the wood slats to help hold some of the insulation in place that's been coming loose when the wind blows which leads to drafts of cold air. It's hard enough to keep the temperature up inside with single digits that it all helps.
Then it was time to start sanding the hull and the epoxy at the chine-to-side joint. I got most of one side done and all of a sudden the sandpaper started moving around on the sander. The sander pad has velcro hook on it and the sandpaper has loop and the hook side was wearing out. Finally, I had a sheet go Whoop! sailing off and it was time to deal with it. So off to Home Depot I went to get a replacement pad. Well, they didn't have any on the shelf, but they had 11 in a container, but the gentleman who helped me said they didn't have enough people to unload their containers. That left me in a real sour mood, because every time I'm in the store I'm amazed by the number of people they have standing around doing nothing. Not enough people? Baloney.
So I bought some sticky back velcro and headed back to the shop. Cut it in strips, stuck it to the pad and trimmed the edge and the holes and went back to sanding. After almost three hours I was done. I think my sander and I will be best friends for a while. :-)
Next I cut a sheet of poly and started cutting fiberglass. First were two pieces of 10oz long enough to run the full length of the hull. Then I cut strips of 4", 6" and 8" wide. I've got some left, hopefully enough to finish the inside chine-to-side joint when I get to that point.
Made some epoxy and started work on finishing the keel. I laid down the 4" first from the scarf to just beyond where the chine meets the bowstem. Then I laid down the 6" from the scarf all the way to the tip of the bow. And finally the 8", but only forward about three feet from the scarf as the fiberglass for the hull will start to overlap at this point.
The epoxy I put in the chine-to-side joint on the starboard side last night slumped meaning I was going to have to fill it in again. I made some really thick peanut butter and filled it in, grabbed the heat gun to apply some additional heat to get the epoxy to start to set up and headed off to dinner.
After dinner the peanut butter had set up enough to allow me to gently shape it with my fingers. I made some more epoxy and painted the starboard chine with a thick coat. Made more peanut butter, put in a fillet in the valley between the hull and the chines and laid two layers of 6" and 8" wide 10oz fiberglass.
By the time I got done it was midnight, so I called it good and headed home.
12 Hours
The day started out fine. A run to the paint store to get rollers and a pan for spreading lots of epoxy in a hurry. Then a stop at Don Abel to get some wood slats and then off to the shed.
I used the wood slats to help hold some of the insulation in place that's been coming loose when the wind blows which leads to drafts of cold air. It's hard enough to keep the temperature up inside with single digits that it all helps.
Then it was time to start sanding the hull and the epoxy at the chine-to-side joint. I got most of one side done and all of a sudden the sandpaper started moving around on the sander. The sander pad has velcro hook on it and the sandpaper has loop and the hook side was wearing out. Finally, I had a sheet go Whoop! sailing off and it was time to deal with it. So off to Home Depot I went to get a replacement pad. Well, they didn't have any on the shelf, but they had 11 in a container, but the gentleman who helped me said they didn't have enough people to unload their containers. That left me in a real sour mood, because every time I'm in the store I'm amazed by the number of people they have standing around doing nothing. Not enough people? Baloney.
So I bought some sticky back velcro and headed back to the shop. Cut it in strips, stuck it to the pad and trimmed the edge and the holes and went back to sanding. After almost three hours I was done. I think my sander and I will be best friends for a while. :-)
Next I cut a sheet of poly and started cutting fiberglass. First were two pieces of 10oz long enough to run the full length of the hull. Then I cut strips of 4", 6" and 8" wide. I've got some left, hopefully enough to finish the inside chine-to-side joint when I get to that point.
Made some epoxy and started work on finishing the keel. I laid down the 4" first from the scarf to just beyond where the chine meets the bowstem. Then I laid down the 6" from the scarf all the way to the tip of the bow. And finally the 8", but only forward about three feet from the scarf as the fiberglass for the hull will start to overlap at this point.
The epoxy I put in the chine-to-side joint on the starboard side last night slumped meaning I was going to have to fill it in again. I made some really thick peanut butter and filled it in, grabbed the heat gun to apply some additional heat to get the epoxy to start to set up and headed off to dinner.
After dinner the peanut butter had set up enough to allow me to gently shape it with my fingers. I made some more epoxy and painted the starboard chine with a thick coat. Made more peanut butter, put in a fillet in the valley between the hull and the chines and laid two layers of 6" and 8" wide 10oz fiberglass.
By the time I got done it was midnight, so I called it good and headed home.
12 Hours
Friday, November 18, 2011
Day 64 - Preparation
Very little to report tonight. I spent a couple hours cleaning in preparation for tomorrow. The shop vac got a good workout getting as much sawdust off the floor and boat as possible.
Then I worked on putting layout lines on the boat for lining up the various layers of fiberglass to be applied tomorrow. After sanding the epoxy that I applied yesterday (it hadn't fully set up by tonight as the temperature in the shed has been a little cool with the single digit temps we're having) I'll be applying epoxy and fiberglass in the following order.
1) A fillet and a strip of fiberglass along the inside shelf-to-chine joints. I'll also paint the bottom of the shelves with epoxy.
2) Continue the three layers of fiberglass along the keel. Remember I stopped just before the scarf between the 1/2" and 1/4" plywood waiting for the second layer of 1/4" to be laid down.
3) A strip of 10oz fiberglass along the hull-to-transom joint running fully from side to side.
4) Three layers of 10oz fiberglass along the chine overlapping the chine-to-hull joint and the chine-to-side joint.
5) A single layer of 10oz fiberglass on each half of the bottom of the hull stretching from the keel to over the chine-to-side joint.
6) And finally the sides with a single layer of 6oz fiberglass.
I don't think I'll get it all done tomorrow, but certainly should have it done by Sunday evening. Then the tedious task of fairing will begin. Hopefully I'll be starting out with a hull that's in pretty good shape (it looks like it is, but until the straightedge is applied...), but we'll see after the fiberglass goes on.
I've decided to install the spray rails, but further thought is required on how far to extend them along the hull from the bow as well as their size.
3 Hours
Then I worked on putting layout lines on the boat for lining up the various layers of fiberglass to be applied tomorrow. After sanding the epoxy that I applied yesterday (it hadn't fully set up by tonight as the temperature in the shed has been a little cool with the single digit temps we're having) I'll be applying epoxy and fiberglass in the following order.
1) A fillet and a strip of fiberglass along the inside shelf-to-chine joints. I'll also paint the bottom of the shelves with epoxy.
2) Continue the three layers of fiberglass along the keel. Remember I stopped just before the scarf between the 1/2" and 1/4" plywood waiting for the second layer of 1/4" to be laid down.
3) A strip of 10oz fiberglass along the hull-to-transom joint running fully from side to side.
4) Three layers of 10oz fiberglass along the chine overlapping the chine-to-hull joint and the chine-to-side joint.
5) A single layer of 10oz fiberglass on each half of the bottom of the hull stretching from the keel to over the chine-to-side joint.
6) And finally the sides with a single layer of 6oz fiberglass.
I don't think I'll get it all done tomorrow, but certainly should have it done by Sunday evening. Then the tedious task of fairing will begin. Hopefully I'll be starting out with a hull that's in pretty good shape (it looks like it is, but until the straightedge is applied...), but we'll see after the fiberglass goes on.
I've decided to install the spray rails, but further thought is required on how far to extend them along the hull from the bow as well as their size.
3 Hours
Day 63 - 60 grit
sandpaper is your friend when you're taking off a lot of material.
Today was really just a continuation of yesterday. I spent at least an hour with the sander working on the bow. I may spend a little more time working on it, but it's pretty close to where I want it.
The transition from the hull through the chines and to the sides looks pretty good!
I made a stop tonight at Home Depot before going over to the shed to pick up new filters for the fans and also look to see if I could find an adapter to hook the shop vac up to the sander. There wasn't anything specific, but they had a hose kit that I thought might work so I brought it home. Sure enough, it had enough parts so I was in luck. It made the sanding much more pleasant by keeping most of the sawdust out of the air.
And a lot of sanding will be a part of this project methinks. After working on the bow I did some sanding on the chine-to-sides joint that was epoxied last night and the 1/4" plywood scarf. Then I made some really smooth peanut butter for fairing and worked on building up enough material in the chine-to-sides joint to be able to sand a nice round curve for the fiberglass to run over.
I also used some of the peanut butter to smooth and fill-in the other plywood scarf joints in preparation for final sanding.
Tomorrow will be spent sanding all the epoxy from tonight and then I'll draw the lines on the hull that will help me place the fiberglass for the sides. Renn also calls for a spray rails (used to deflect water and spray from coming up the sides). I'm of mixed feelings about installing the spray rails. It seems other builders are about 50-50 about them.
4 Hours
Today was really just a continuation of yesterday. I spent at least an hour with the sander working on the bow. I may spend a little more time working on it, but it's pretty close to where I want it.
The transition from the hull through the chines and to the sides looks pretty good!
I made a stop tonight at Home Depot before going over to the shed to pick up new filters for the fans and also look to see if I could find an adapter to hook the shop vac up to the sander. There wasn't anything specific, but they had a hose kit that I thought might work so I brought it home. Sure enough, it had enough parts so I was in luck. It made the sanding much more pleasant by keeping most of the sawdust out of the air.
And a lot of sanding will be a part of this project methinks. After working on the bow I did some sanding on the chine-to-sides joint that was epoxied last night and the 1/4" plywood scarf. Then I made some really smooth peanut butter for fairing and worked on building up enough material in the chine-to-sides joint to be able to sand a nice round curve for the fiberglass to run over.
I also used some of the peanut butter to smooth and fill-in the other plywood scarf joints in preparation for final sanding.
Tomorrow will be spent sanding all the epoxy from tonight and then I'll draw the lines on the hull that will help me place the fiberglass for the sides. Renn also calls for a spray rails (used to deflect water and spray from coming up the sides). I'm of mixed feelings about installing the spray rails. It seems other builders are about 50-50 about them.
4 Hours
Thursday, November 17, 2011
Day 62 - No bucket needed
The big things part of the boat building project have given way to little things. Tonight was the start of little things like filling and fairing.
I started out by climbing inside the hull to tape the gap between the chines and the sides. Now you'll remember that last night I swept a section of the floor under the side and crawled under. Tonight was time for one of those duh! moments. I walked by the transom and realized that there was a nice cutout (for the outboard) just waiting to be used to get inside. Duh!
During this process I was able to get rid of most of the tabs, retaining only two on each side. This is a good thing as it allows the sides to flex into a more fair shape making for less work later. That gap in some places got a little wider and some got a little narrower. Not a big deal, epoxy solves all!
But before the epoxy, I needed to do some work on the bow. Because of the way the plywood for the lower hull bent, there's a convex shape meeting the straight bowstem and that looks darn peculiar. But because the bowstem reaches so far into the hull I could shave off a lot of plywood allowing me to really smooth that line. I also worked on the chines where they meet the sides meet the bowstem to smooth those lines as well. This area will get a fair amount of work over the next couple days I suspect, trying to get it all to look good.
The last thing I worked on was filling the gap between the chines and the sides. Made some epoxy and coated the edges of the plywood, then made several batches of peanut butter, liberally filling the gap. I didn't try to get fancy with it tonight, tomorrow I'll work on making it pretty and functional.
Oh, and it'll be watertight (though not waterproof!) tomorrow, so no bucket needed to keep it afloat! Yay!
4.5 Hours
I started out by climbing inside the hull to tape the gap between the chines and the sides. Now you'll remember that last night I swept a section of the floor under the side and crawled under. Tonight was time for one of those duh! moments. I walked by the transom and realized that there was a nice cutout (for the outboard) just waiting to be used to get inside. Duh!
During this process I was able to get rid of most of the tabs, retaining only two on each side. This is a good thing as it allows the sides to flex into a more fair shape making for less work later. That gap in some places got a little wider and some got a little narrower. Not a big deal, epoxy solves all!
But before the epoxy, I needed to do some work on the bow. Because of the way the plywood for the lower hull bent, there's a convex shape meeting the straight bowstem and that looks darn peculiar. But because the bowstem reaches so far into the hull I could shave off a lot of plywood allowing me to really smooth that line. I also worked on the chines where they meet the sides meet the bowstem to smooth those lines as well. This area will get a fair amount of work over the next couple days I suspect, trying to get it all to look good.
The last thing I worked on was filling the gap between the chines and the sides. Made some epoxy and coated the edges of the plywood, then made several batches of peanut butter, liberally filling the gap. I didn't try to get fancy with it tonight, tomorrow I'll work on making it pretty and functional.
Oh, and it'll be watertight (though not waterproof!) tomorrow, so no bucket needed to keep it afloat! Yay!
4.5 Hours
Tuesday, November 15, 2011
Day 61 - If I had a bucket
Today continued the weather challenges, and as such not much got done. However...
That's the last panel! If I had a big enough bucket it would float!
Tomorrow starts the forming and sanding work. There's a lot of work to do up at the bow and some clean up work at the transom, plus I need to get in underneath and tape all the holes from the screws in the 1/4" panels and a strip along the gap between the chines and the side panels. Then I can fill that gap with peanut butter in preparation for fiberglass.
2.5 Hours
That's the last panel! If I had a big enough bucket it would float!
Tomorrow starts the forming and sanding work. There's a lot of work to do up at the bow and some clean up work at the transom, plus I need to get in underneath and tape all the holes from the screws in the 1/4" panels and a strip along the gap between the chines and the side panels. Then I can fill that gap with peanut butter in preparation for fiberglass.
2.5 Hours
Monday, November 14, 2011
Day 60 - Gettin' close
Today was a struggle for a completely different reason. We've had a good size storm blow in and we got about nine inches of snow at my house and about six inches at the shed. I got up early this morning only expecting the two inches they called for last night, and boy what a surprise! I got down to the shed to find the roof significantly depressed with about four inches of very wet snow on top. I pulled out the ladder, put an extension on the floor broom and pulled it off and the roof popped right back up. Had to sweep it again at lunch. Supposed to get more snow tonight, I may have to make a middle of the night run to deal with it.
Anyways, on to boat building. Tonight I pulled all the screws and washers from the second 1/4" plywood panel. Then I started work on the front side panel on the port (or left) side of the boat. I moved all my jig pieces over to the other side and drove some screws into the right hand shelf so I could get my clamps back. Then using the cut-off corner from yesterdays work I traced and cut the corner on the forward side panel.
Now there's no way to carry the panel around the boat, so up and over the hull it went. Clamped it to the shelf at the rear, screwed it to the bowstem at the front and traced the shelf and chine and then back over to the first side for cutting and sanding. Next I sanded the panel I installed yesterday at the bowstem to match the angle of the bowstem. Then back up and over the hull went the cut panel. I made a batch of epoxy, liberally coated the bowstem, shelf, vertical support and the panel. Turned the spare epoxy into peanut butter and liberally coated the bowstem. Put the panel in the rear jig and bent it around to meet the bowstem and screwed it down. Put a clamp at the rear, screws in the tabs, then screws in the shelf from the bow to the rear.
All that's left is to fit and cut the rear panel and with a big enough bilge pump it'll float! Well, maybe not quite ;-), but it's pretty close!
4 Hours
Anyways, on to boat building. Tonight I pulled all the screws and washers from the second 1/4" plywood panel. Then I started work on the front side panel on the port (or left) side of the boat. I moved all my jig pieces over to the other side and drove some screws into the right hand shelf so I could get my clamps back. Then using the cut-off corner from yesterdays work I traced and cut the corner on the forward side panel.
Now there's no way to carry the panel around the boat, so up and over the hull it went. Clamped it to the shelf at the rear, screwed it to the bowstem at the front and traced the shelf and chine and then back over to the first side for cutting and sanding. Next I sanded the panel I installed yesterday at the bowstem to match the angle of the bowstem. Then back up and over the hull went the cut panel. I made a batch of epoxy, liberally coated the bowstem, shelf, vertical support and the panel. Turned the spare epoxy into peanut butter and liberally coated the bowstem. Put the panel in the rear jig and bent it around to meet the bowstem and screwed it down. Put a clamp at the rear, screws in the tabs, then screws in the shelf from the bow to the rear.
All that's left is to fit and cut the rear panel and with a big enough bilge pump it'll float! Well, maybe not quite ;-), but it's pretty close!
4 Hours
Sunday, November 13, 2011
Day 59 - Blue air
Onward ho!
And we're off for another busy day of boat building. First thing was to pull all the screws and washers from the first section of 1/4" ply. Then I got to put almost all of them back in on the other side. :-) Not much to tell here. Pretty much the same thing as yesterday; a little more trimming to get the second piece to fit around the first piece, and I did a better job of putting in the screws and washers so I used less of them. Yesterday I ran a line of screws up the scarf, another along the shelf, a third along the fairbody, a fourth in between and then filled in the hollows, of which there were many. Today I ran a line up the scarf and then installed the screws in a diagonal pattern; three across the shelf, two across the middle, one at the fairbody and then advanced that diagonal line down towards the bow. That worked much better with very few hollows to tighten down.
Now it was time to start installing the sides. Urgh. I really wasn't looking forward to this as I had a strong suspicion that it was going to be a bear. And I was right.
First I had to haul one of the long scarfed sides outside, turn it around and haul it back in. Another one of those long range planning boo-boos. Next was to cut off one corner at the bow so the panel would sit low enough that when you wrapped the panel around the shelves and chines you would have some panel below and above both to allow for trimming.
Now Renn would have you use an 8d nail to hold the panel in place at the bow, but I was looking at this and going "No way Jose'" so I decided to do it a little differently. I decided to screw some 2x4s to the floor to catch and hold the bottom edge of the panel, giving me something to really torque against.
This was my first try (two long 2x4s and two short 2x4s on each side), but I discovered that I had the blocks too high so I got rid of the long 2x4s.
Next I measured back along the curve of the shelves one foot less than the length of the scarfed long panel and clamped the floating jig piece down to the main jig and then clamped spacers to the floating jig piece so that I could rest the lower edge of the panel just below the bottom edge of the shelf. I screwed a vertical scrap piece of plywood to the ends of the spacers. This gave me a way to trap the back end of the panel. Then it was just a matter of setting the panel on the jig at the rear and then bending it around the curve of the hull, trapping the forward lower corner on the 2x4s and then pushing really hard on the forward upper corner and driving a long screw to hold it in place.
Now this sounds easy, but believe me it took several tries, a scraped up shin and some cussing before I figured this all out. How in the world Renn gets things to stay in place with a single 8d nail I have no idea.
Ahh, but the saga isn't over. After getting the panel set up the first time, I clambered inside the hull and traced the chines, the bottom of the shelves and along the bowstem.
Then I got to take that panel off, cut it to size and reinstall it to make sure it fits correctly.
Take it off for the second time and sand it real well. This is the last time it will be flat, so this is the prime time for sanding. Mixed up a batch of epoxy and liberally coated the face of the shelf, the vertical support and the panel where it will be in contact with the former. Do it again to make sure everything has lots of epoxy. Took what was left of the epoxy to make a thick batch of peanut butter to spread on the bowstem and install that panel for the last time.
Up at the bow it took a lot of effort to force the 3/8" plywood into place and I put four screws in just to make sure it would stay there.
Those screws will stay until I absolutely have to remove them as there is a huge amount of stress on that joint.
Then it was on to the rear panel. Much easier as this was on the straight stretch of the hull so I hauled the panel outside to turn it around (again). I clamped two 2x4s under the shelves to prop the panel on, set the panel on the 2x4s and discovered that the scarf went the wrong way. Hmmm... Oh well. Clambered inside the hull and marked where the scarf needed to be, took the panel off the 2x4s, cut the new scarf with the planer and set it back on the 2x4s. Climbed inside again to mark the chines, no need to do the shelves as they already line up and marked the transom. Set the panel on the sawhorses and cut everything.
Then it was more epoxy, more peanut butter in the scarf, screws in the verticals, clamps on the shelves and nails along the edge of the transom and Voila'! One side is done!
Tomorrow I'll start on the other side. Don't think I'll get it done, but it should go faster with the lessons learned from today. On the other hand, those panels will have to go back and forth over the top of the hull so that'll be a challenge. :-)
11 Hours
And we're off for another busy day of boat building. First thing was to pull all the screws and washers from the first section of 1/4" ply. Then I got to put almost all of them back in on the other side. :-) Not much to tell here. Pretty much the same thing as yesterday; a little more trimming to get the second piece to fit around the first piece, and I did a better job of putting in the screws and washers so I used less of them. Yesterday I ran a line of screws up the scarf, another along the shelf, a third along the fairbody, a fourth in between and then filled in the hollows, of which there were many. Today I ran a line up the scarf and then installed the screws in a diagonal pattern; three across the shelf, two across the middle, one at the fairbody and then advanced that diagonal line down towards the bow. That worked much better with very few hollows to tighten down.
Now it was time to start installing the sides. Urgh. I really wasn't looking forward to this as I had a strong suspicion that it was going to be a bear. And I was right.
First I had to haul one of the long scarfed sides outside, turn it around and haul it back in. Another one of those long range planning boo-boos. Next was to cut off one corner at the bow so the panel would sit low enough that when you wrapped the panel around the shelves and chines you would have some panel below and above both to allow for trimming.
Now Renn would have you use an 8d nail to hold the panel in place at the bow, but I was looking at this and going "No way Jose'" so I decided to do it a little differently. I decided to screw some 2x4s to the floor to catch and hold the bottom edge of the panel, giving me something to really torque against.
This was my first try (two long 2x4s and two short 2x4s on each side), but I discovered that I had the blocks too high so I got rid of the long 2x4s.
Next I measured back along the curve of the shelves one foot less than the length of the scarfed long panel and clamped the floating jig piece down to the main jig and then clamped spacers to the floating jig piece so that I could rest the lower edge of the panel just below the bottom edge of the shelf. I screwed a vertical scrap piece of plywood to the ends of the spacers. This gave me a way to trap the back end of the panel. Then it was just a matter of setting the panel on the jig at the rear and then bending it around the curve of the hull, trapping the forward lower corner on the 2x4s and then pushing really hard on the forward upper corner and driving a long screw to hold it in place.
Now this sounds easy, but believe me it took several tries, a scraped up shin and some cussing before I figured this all out. How in the world Renn gets things to stay in place with a single 8d nail I have no idea.
Ahh, but the saga isn't over. After getting the panel set up the first time, I clambered inside the hull and traced the chines, the bottom of the shelves and along the bowstem.
Then I got to take that panel off, cut it to size and reinstall it to make sure it fits correctly.
Take it off for the second time and sand it real well. This is the last time it will be flat, so this is the prime time for sanding. Mixed up a batch of epoxy and liberally coated the face of the shelf, the vertical support and the panel where it will be in contact with the former. Do it again to make sure everything has lots of epoxy. Took what was left of the epoxy to make a thick batch of peanut butter to spread on the bowstem and install that panel for the last time.
Up at the bow it took a lot of effort to force the 3/8" plywood into place and I put four screws in just to make sure it would stay there.
Those screws will stay until I absolutely have to remove them as there is a huge amount of stress on that joint.
Then it was on to the rear panel. Much easier as this was on the straight stretch of the hull so I hauled the panel outside to turn it around (again). I clamped two 2x4s under the shelves to prop the panel on, set the panel on the 2x4s and discovered that the scarf went the wrong way. Hmmm... Oh well. Clambered inside the hull and marked where the scarf needed to be, took the panel off the 2x4s, cut the new scarf with the planer and set it back on the 2x4s. Climbed inside again to mark the chines, no need to do the shelves as they already line up and marked the transom. Set the panel on the sawhorses and cut everything.
Then it was more epoxy, more peanut butter in the scarf, screws in the verticals, clamps on the shelves and nails along the edge of the transom and Voila'! One side is done!
Tomorrow I'll start on the other side. Don't think I'll get it done, but it should go faster with the lessons learned from today. On the other hand, those panels will have to go back and forth over the top of the hull so that'll be a challenge. :-)
11 Hours
Saturday, November 12, 2011
Day 58 - Chickenpox!!!
Well, not really, but my boat looks like it has it. :-)
First day back working after five days off and I was raring to go!
I have to admit, I was pretty nervous about adding the second layer of 1/4" plywood to the bow. Don't know why, maybe I was afraid it wasn't going to fit. But after putting the two pieces of plywood together, cutting them to match the scribe line and laying the first one on I could see my worries were completely unfounded.
This panel only required a little bit of shaving along the bottom edge, and some more out by the tip of the bow and down it went! I pulled the four locator screws, mixed up a couple batches of epoxy (back to the big quantities!) and liberally coated the two pieces of plywood, made a batch of peanut butter for the scarf and up along the fairbody (keel) and started putting in screws and washers.
And more screws and washers. And more... Well you get the idea. ;-) After using most of the washers I started using a hammer to tap the hull listening for gaps between the two pieces. Where they touch there's a "thud" sound. Where they don't the hammer literally bounces back. Where it bounces you add another screw and washer. I ran out of washers so I made some of plywood, about half a dozen before I stopped.
See? Chickenpox! Tomorrow I'll do the other side. I'll pull all these screws and washers, clean up the scarf and then I'll have to do some work on the fairbody before I can lay the second piece in.
Next I needed to do some sanding on the hull. All of the edges of the fiberglass along the fairbody needed to be sanded down as well as the drips and runs of epoxy.
After that I went to work on the transom. As you'll remember, I had cut the hull off, but had left it about 1/2" long. I grabbed the planer and very carefully started trimming it down. It was a little tricky where the stringers stuck out, but with a gentle touch I was able to trim them down too. The sander was next with a new piece of 60 grit sandpaper and then it was just a matter of gently applying pressure and waiting for the sander to do it's job. Back and forth and back and forth... Almost zen like.
Looks good! I rounded off the edges, again using the sander, as the angle is wrong for using the router. I cut some of my scrap pieces of fiberglass, a four inch wide 10oz piece to run from stringer to stringer, an eight in inch wide 10oz piece a little shorter, and a ten inch wide 4oz piece to run from chine edge to chine edge. After more epoxy and putting down the layer of glass it looked like this.
I used the last of the epoxy to coat some of the vertical supports and then drove and countersunk 8d nails in the holes left from the screws used while attaching the stringers.
Last I made a run to Home Depot. I've been looking again and again at the vertical supports and I'm not sure I can trust my small level. Those supports just don't look right. If they're wrong it'll be a pain to fix, but it needs to be done now. Once the sides go on it's too late.
Oh, here's a picture from where I was this week. Enjoy!
8 Hours
First day back working after five days off and I was raring to go!
I have to admit, I was pretty nervous about adding the second layer of 1/4" plywood to the bow. Don't know why, maybe I was afraid it wasn't going to fit. But after putting the two pieces of plywood together, cutting them to match the scribe line and laying the first one on I could see my worries were completely unfounded.
This panel only required a little bit of shaving along the bottom edge, and some more out by the tip of the bow and down it went! I pulled the four locator screws, mixed up a couple batches of epoxy (back to the big quantities!) and liberally coated the two pieces of plywood, made a batch of peanut butter for the scarf and up along the fairbody (keel) and started putting in screws and washers.
And more screws and washers. And more... Well you get the idea. ;-) After using most of the washers I started using a hammer to tap the hull listening for gaps between the two pieces. Where they touch there's a "thud" sound. Where they don't the hammer literally bounces back. Where it bounces you add another screw and washer. I ran out of washers so I made some of plywood, about half a dozen before I stopped.
See? Chickenpox! Tomorrow I'll do the other side. I'll pull all these screws and washers, clean up the scarf and then I'll have to do some work on the fairbody before I can lay the second piece in.
Next I needed to do some sanding on the hull. All of the edges of the fiberglass along the fairbody needed to be sanded down as well as the drips and runs of epoxy.
After that I went to work on the transom. As you'll remember, I had cut the hull off, but had left it about 1/2" long. I grabbed the planer and very carefully started trimming it down. It was a little tricky where the stringers stuck out, but with a gentle touch I was able to trim them down too. The sander was next with a new piece of 60 grit sandpaper and then it was just a matter of gently applying pressure and waiting for the sander to do it's job. Back and forth and back and forth... Almost zen like.
Looks good! I rounded off the edges, again using the sander, as the angle is wrong for using the router. I cut some of my scrap pieces of fiberglass, a four inch wide 10oz piece to run from stringer to stringer, an eight in inch wide 10oz piece a little shorter, and a ten inch wide 4oz piece to run from chine edge to chine edge. After more epoxy and putting down the layer of glass it looked like this.
I used the last of the epoxy to coat some of the vertical supports and then drove and countersunk 8d nails in the holes left from the screws used while attaching the stringers.
Last I made a run to Home Depot. I've been looking again and again at the vertical supports and I'm not sure I can trust my small level. Those supports just don't look right. If they're wrong it'll be a pain to fix, but it needs to be done now. Once the sides go on it's too late.
Oh, here's a picture from where I was this week. Enjoy!
8 Hours
Monday, November 7, 2011
Day 57 - Customization
Renns book says on the cover "Build a better boat than you can buy." One of the reasons behind this is because when you are building this boat, beyond the basic hull, what goes inside is completely up to the builder. True, I've made some customizations beyond the book like a longer hull and the change in the angle of the transom, but those are fairly common. Tonight the true customization has started.
I pulled all the screws in the hull and the stringers first thing today, except for the ones all the way forward. I really wanted to give that area time to cure since there was so much stress applied yesterday.
The next step should have been laminating the second layer of 1/4" plywood on the hull but with the screws in the way that couldn't happen, so on to the framing.
There are two pieces of wood on each side of the hull that span the gap between the chines and the shelves. They do two things; one is to provide support for the sides to keep them from flexing and two is to keep the spacing between the chines and shelves constant. Normally these are spaced so that one is about two and a half feet from the transom and the other is about half way from there towards station 6 (station 6 is the magical point 10 feet from the bow where the hull transitions from the curve coming from the bow to the straight run to the transom).
And this is where the customization really starts. I've decided to place mine differently. I placed one at station 6 for the front bulkhead of the cabin, and one at the rear bulkhead of the cabin. Further back towards the transom I've provided additional support plus the start of a pocket shelf on each side for storing things along the sides.
You're looking at what will be the starboard (or right hand side) of the boat. The vertical piece of wood nearest you is at station 6. The next one back is at the rear bulkhead for the cabin. And the two verticals and one horizontal at the back are the rear support framing. (You can also see two flaps of poly hanging off the edge, we'll get to those in a second.)
Those five pieces of wood look pretty simple, and they are, but a lot of planning and work went into their placement. First I took off all the clamps, screws and supports at the rear of the boat so that everything was floating freely. Then I confirmed that the chines were still level from front to back and started working on getting the shelves level. A block here, a shim there, a clamp there and after about an hour I had a straight, flat run from station 6 all the way back to the transom on both sides. Then I started cutting wood pieces, mirroring dimensions for both sides, and dry fitting and screwing things together. When all the pieces on both sides were done, I took them all apart, mixed up some epoxy and peanut butter and put them back together. When I looked at the lines of the shelves things looked just ok, but not really fair (a fair line is a smooth continuous line that is pleasing to the eye without any abrupt transitions). So I pulled the rest of the clamps and Voila'! all the lines cleaned right up!
Now, about those pieces of poly. When you install the sides on the boat, you do so by attaching them to the outside face of the shelves, then climbing inside and tracing the shape of the chines against the sides then cutting to that line. You then put three layers of fiberglass overlapping the chines and the sides. But how do you keep the sides from flexing in under the shelves? In the places where there's framing, it's not a problem as the framing provides support, but in the larger spans you screw wooden "tabs" to the chine to provide that support. The poly is hanging over those tabs. Wouldn't want to glue the sides to those temporary tabs now would we? :-)
I pulled the last of the screws in the hull and did some clean up and called it a long night. I'm out of town working for the next few days, so no progress reports for a while.
This project leaves me with a smile every night when I go home!
8 Hours
I pulled all the screws in the hull and the stringers first thing today, except for the ones all the way forward. I really wanted to give that area time to cure since there was so much stress applied yesterday.
The next step should have been laminating the second layer of 1/4" plywood on the hull but with the screws in the way that couldn't happen, so on to the framing.
There are two pieces of wood on each side of the hull that span the gap between the chines and the shelves. They do two things; one is to provide support for the sides to keep them from flexing and two is to keep the spacing between the chines and shelves constant. Normally these are spaced so that one is about two and a half feet from the transom and the other is about half way from there towards station 6 (station 6 is the magical point 10 feet from the bow where the hull transitions from the curve coming from the bow to the straight run to the transom).
And this is where the customization really starts. I've decided to place mine differently. I placed one at station 6 for the front bulkhead of the cabin, and one at the rear bulkhead of the cabin. Further back towards the transom I've provided additional support plus the start of a pocket shelf on each side for storing things along the sides.
You're looking at what will be the starboard (or right hand side) of the boat. The vertical piece of wood nearest you is at station 6. The next one back is at the rear bulkhead for the cabin. And the two verticals and one horizontal at the back are the rear support framing. (You can also see two flaps of poly hanging off the edge, we'll get to those in a second.)
Those five pieces of wood look pretty simple, and they are, but a lot of planning and work went into their placement. First I took off all the clamps, screws and supports at the rear of the boat so that everything was floating freely. Then I confirmed that the chines were still level from front to back and started working on getting the shelves level. A block here, a shim there, a clamp there and after about an hour I had a straight, flat run from station 6 all the way back to the transom on both sides. Then I started cutting wood pieces, mirroring dimensions for both sides, and dry fitting and screwing things together. When all the pieces on both sides were done, I took them all apart, mixed up some epoxy and peanut butter and put them back together. When I looked at the lines of the shelves things looked just ok, but not really fair (a fair line is a smooth continuous line that is pleasing to the eye without any abrupt transitions). So I pulled the rest of the clamps and Voila'! all the lines cleaned right up!
Now, about those pieces of poly. When you install the sides on the boat, you do so by attaching them to the outside face of the shelves, then climbing inside and tracing the shape of the chines against the sides then cutting to that line. You then put three layers of fiberglass overlapping the chines and the sides. But how do you keep the sides from flexing in under the shelves? In the places where there's framing, it's not a problem as the framing provides support, but in the larger spans you screw wooden "tabs" to the chine to provide that support. The poly is hanging over those tabs. Wouldn't want to glue the sides to those temporary tabs now would we? :-)
I pulled the last of the screws in the hull and did some clean up and called it a long night. I'm out of town working for the next few days, so no progress reports for a while.
This project leaves me with a smile every night when I go home!
8 Hours
Sunday, November 6, 2011
Day 56 - Squeeze out
is a good thing if you're a boat builder! Squeeze out is the excess epoxy that is pushed out when you push two pieces of wood together. It's kind of like putting a ball of Play Dough between your palms and pushing them together. The Play Dough will spread out, filling the gaps between your hands, with the excess going out the sides.
But back to the beginning. I had to start at the bowstem today as the position of the hull is set off it, and the stringers are then set off the hull. So I pushed the hull up snug with the bowstem and then used a compass to trace the inside line of the hull on it. Went to the back and put two screws in the hull to tie it to the transom to hold the position. Went back to the front, got under the hull, lifted it up with my shoulders and then propped it up with a 4x4 and started planing the bowstem to fit.
I thought I'd be spending most of the day working on just the bowstem, but I got it right on the first pass! Cleaned up the bottom edge and using a spare piece of plywood and the planer I cut a little more angle in the shelves to make a little better fit as the angle is a little shallower up near the bow. Then I put a couple screws through the hull into the bowstem to hold it in place.
Next I went to the back and pushed the stringers forward in their slots until their tips just touched the hull up near the bow, marked their position at the transom, slid them back and cut them off. Made up a small batch of epoxy and peanut butter and glued the stringers in place. Then I cut the hull to length and put in two locator screws to hold it in place.
Then it was up to the horse at station 6 and some pulling and pushing to get the hull centered on the stringers. Underneath I went and two blocks were set flush to the stringers and screwed to the hull so that when the hull was picked up and then set back down it would return to its centered location.
A screw was driven up through the hull at the tip of the stringers and then again at station 6. One more screw was driven at the transom for the edge of each stringer and a string was pulled tight and a line drawn on the hull.
Then marks were made the full length of the hull at eight inch intervals. These marks will be used when I drive screws to pull the hull tight against the stringers. But the next step was to prop up the bow, spread epoxy on the top of the stringers and the hull, then made significant quantities of peanut butter and spread it on top of the stringers. Once I'd reached the point where I couldn't easily get to the top of the stringers, I set the hull down on the bowstem, reinstalled the screws and then did the same at the transom end of the hull.
And now it was time for the test. I set up the ladder at the transom and carefully climbed up on the hull. While kneeling astride the center of the keel I drove two screws on each side into the stringers. Things felt a little, uh, squirmy (that's a technical term :-), but as I worked my way from the transom towards the bow alternating sides and driving screws I could feel everything stiffen up.
Why drive the screws while kneeling on the hull? My weight helped to push the hull down in contact with the stringers, and the closer that contact, the better the ultimate strength of the joint.
Also, up near the bow, the 1/4" plywood was significantly humped up away from the stringers so my weight was necessary to push it down. The screws alone would not have been able to pull the plywood in contact with the stringers.
Even still, I had to drive additional screws to pull everything into place on one side.
And then to that squeeze out. I climbed under the hull and was pleased to find squeeze out along the length and both sides of the stringers, the inside and outside of the transom! Yay!
Then it was back to the transom to put in some more screws and nailed in some 6d nails. All of the screws in the bowstem, hull and transom will be removed tomorrow.
I pulled all the stray locator screws in various places around the jig, stringers and framework, did some cleanup and called it a night.
9 Hours
But back to the beginning. I had to start at the bowstem today as the position of the hull is set off it, and the stringers are then set off the hull. So I pushed the hull up snug with the bowstem and then used a compass to trace the inside line of the hull on it. Went to the back and put two screws in the hull to tie it to the transom to hold the position. Went back to the front, got under the hull, lifted it up with my shoulders and then propped it up with a 4x4 and started planing the bowstem to fit.
I thought I'd be spending most of the day working on just the bowstem, but I got it right on the first pass! Cleaned up the bottom edge and using a spare piece of plywood and the planer I cut a little more angle in the shelves to make a little better fit as the angle is a little shallower up near the bow. Then I put a couple screws through the hull into the bowstem to hold it in place.
Next I went to the back and pushed the stringers forward in their slots until their tips just touched the hull up near the bow, marked their position at the transom, slid them back and cut them off. Made up a small batch of epoxy and peanut butter and glued the stringers in place. Then I cut the hull to length and put in two locator screws to hold it in place.
Then it was up to the horse at station 6 and some pulling and pushing to get the hull centered on the stringers. Underneath I went and two blocks were set flush to the stringers and screwed to the hull so that when the hull was picked up and then set back down it would return to its centered location.
A screw was driven up through the hull at the tip of the stringers and then again at station 6. One more screw was driven at the transom for the edge of each stringer and a string was pulled tight and a line drawn on the hull.
Then marks were made the full length of the hull at eight inch intervals. These marks will be used when I drive screws to pull the hull tight against the stringers. But the next step was to prop up the bow, spread epoxy on the top of the stringers and the hull, then made significant quantities of peanut butter and spread it on top of the stringers. Once I'd reached the point where I couldn't easily get to the top of the stringers, I set the hull down on the bowstem, reinstalled the screws and then did the same at the transom end of the hull.
And now it was time for the test. I set up the ladder at the transom and carefully climbed up on the hull. While kneeling astride the center of the keel I drove two screws on each side into the stringers. Things felt a little, uh, squirmy (that's a technical term :-), but as I worked my way from the transom towards the bow alternating sides and driving screws I could feel everything stiffen up.
Why drive the screws while kneeling on the hull? My weight helped to push the hull down in contact with the stringers, and the closer that contact, the better the ultimate strength of the joint.
Also, up near the bow, the 1/4" plywood was significantly humped up away from the stringers so my weight was necessary to push it down. The screws alone would not have been able to pull the plywood in contact with the stringers.
Even still, I had to drive additional screws to pull everything into place on one side.
And then to that squeeze out. I climbed under the hull and was pleased to find squeeze out along the length and both sides of the stringers, the inside and outside of the transom! Yay!
Then it was back to the transom to put in some more screws and nailed in some 6d nails. All of the screws in the bowstem, hull and transom will be removed tomorrow.
I pulled all the stray locator screws in various places around the jig, stringers and framework, did some cleanup and called it a night.
9 Hours
Friday, November 4, 2011
Day 55 - Bigger and smaller
Hooray! A group of friends came over today to help put the hull on top of the framework. Thanks to Jerry, Chip, Gary, Daniel and Jon! Chatted a few minutes, explained what I wanted to do and in nothing flat it was done. 20 seconds maybe? Awesome!
I spent a few minutes trimming the fiberglass and epoxy from the work last night. Then I pushed the stringers forward to their final location and pulled the hull back till it just touched the bowstem and climbed underneath to take a look.
Pretty cool! There's a lot of work tomorrow on getting the bowstem to fit, but the first thing to fix will be at the transom. You will note however, that once the sides go on the only way inside will be by crawling underneath the shelves. That should be fun. :-)
That gap is there because the transom needs to be trimmed a little lower where the chines land. With the change in the angle of the transom leaning forward a little more than the original design that changes the layout of the lines on the transom not accounted for in the plans. Not a big deal, just a few minutes work to fix.
Oh, and the bigger and smaller? The shop feels bigger as parts and pieces are removed from the sides, but it feels smaller as everything consolidates in the middle.
1 Hour
I spent a few minutes trimming the fiberglass and epoxy from the work last night. Then I pushed the stringers forward to their final location and pulled the hull back till it just touched the bowstem and climbed underneath to take a look.
Pretty cool! There's a lot of work tomorrow on getting the bowstem to fit, but the first thing to fix will be at the transom. You will note however, that once the sides go on the only way inside will be by crawling underneath the shelves. That should be fun. :-)
That gap is there because the transom needs to be trimmed a little lower where the chines land. With the change in the angle of the transom leaning forward a little more than the original design that changes the layout of the lines on the transom not accounted for in the plans. Not a big deal, just a few minutes work to fix.
Oh, and the bigger and smaller? The shop feels bigger as parts and pieces are removed from the sides, but it feels smaller as everything consolidates in the middle.
1 Hour
Thursday, November 3, 2011
Day 54 - Building a skeleton
Another big day doing big things and little.
Started by taking the stringers outside, swapping them end-for-end and hauling them back inside. One of those really long range planning boo-boos, oh well. :-) Set them up with one end on the horse and the other end in the slots in the transom. Both of them were proud (above the surface) of the transom edge so I got out the jigsaw and cut the slots a little deeper. The stringers aren't quite level, they're a little high at the bow end, but trying to shave a 1/16" off the legs of the horse just isn't worth the potential for screwing things up so I'll leave them be.
Next was cleaning up the fiberglass work from last night, trimming the excess and then pulling all the screws, blocks and clamps. Mixed up some epoxy, split it to make some peanut butter, cut some strips of 4 oz glass and at the transom put in a fillet with two layers of glass.
Did the same on the back side of the bowstem.
Then it was clean up and prep time for tomorrow. Swept the floor, put everything away, and moved stuff away from the end walls and the side wall with the hull leaning on it. Tomorrow will be another big day as the hull will be placed on the jig! Hopefully I'll have a big crew of guys to help; the hull isn't heavy, but it's big and awkward and managing it while maneuvering around the jig and boat pieces will be a challenge.
Finally, I sanded the inside of the hull to knock down the high spots and then wiped it down with water and ammonia.
Put extension strings with washers on the ends on the light pull strings as I wouldn't be able to reach them otherwise and called it a night.
5 Hours
Started by taking the stringers outside, swapping them end-for-end and hauling them back inside. One of those really long range planning boo-boos, oh well. :-) Set them up with one end on the horse and the other end in the slots in the transom. Both of them were proud (above the surface) of the transom edge so I got out the jigsaw and cut the slots a little deeper. The stringers aren't quite level, they're a little high at the bow end, but trying to shave a 1/16" off the legs of the horse just isn't worth the potential for screwing things up so I'll leave them be.
Next was cleaning up the fiberglass work from last night, trimming the excess and then pulling all the screws, blocks and clamps. Mixed up some epoxy, split it to make some peanut butter, cut some strips of 4 oz glass and at the transom put in a fillet with two layers of glass.
Did the same on the back side of the bowstem.
Then it was clean up and prep time for tomorrow. Swept the floor, put everything away, and moved stuff away from the end walls and the side wall with the hull leaning on it. Tomorrow will be another big day as the hull will be placed on the jig! Hopefully I'll have a big crew of guys to help; the hull isn't heavy, but it's big and awkward and managing it while maneuvering around the jig and boat pieces will be a challenge.
Finally, I sanded the inside of the hull to knock down the high spots and then wiped it down with water and ammonia.
Put extension strings with washers on the ends on the light pull strings as I wouldn't be able to reach them otherwise and called it a night.
5 Hours
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