fiberglass

Got the bottom glassed up today.  I used 3 oz. glass clothe which is half the weight of what I have previously used.  I chose this weight because I wanted to toughen up the bottom but wanted the boat as light as possible.  3 oz. is very thin.

3 oz, glass clothe is very thin.

 I masked off the bottom of the boat and fitted the glass to the bottom.  Usually I wet out the wood with epoxy first, but this stuff is so thin I decided to just pour the epoxy right on top and then work it out and thru the clothe.  This seems like it should be fine.
As I was doing this I decided to put grounding keels on the boat.  These will give some small protection when on the ground and will give the frames inside the boat something to rest on other than the thin bottom.  They may also add a bit of directional stability, or tracking.

Glass on grounding keels epoxied and weighted in place.

I am just using epoxy to attach the grounding keels rather than gorilla glue and screws as I have done in the past.
I didn't get a chance to trim the extra clothe when the epoxy was partially cured, as I usually do so I may have to do a bit more sanding after I cut of the excess.  I am busy for a few days so all should have plenty of time to cure.

Ready for Glass Armor

I glued up the gunnels and sanded them all down.

Gunnels On.

cedar floors/seat are 3/8" by 1-1/2" by 24", screwed to frames.

I then decided to make the floors using the cedar stock I had.  That turned out pretty nice I think.

I have finished off any shaping that needed to be done and sanded the whole boat down.  I suppose it is ready to be finished off.

It's a canoe!

Now I can see what the boat turned out to be.

When I was done I walked past a board that was leaning against the wall and I got a wild idea.  I drew out a shape for a greenland style paddle and cut it down to size with a draw knife and a spoke shave.  It isn't a good piece of wood and not very practical but it was fun to do and let me see how it looks on the boat.

Ready to paddle!

I am not sure about the finish.  I'd kind of like to leave it all bright, varnished, but I am not sure how that will hold up.  I was very careful to be neat about pencil marks and scratches this time and it certainly could just be varnished.  I will glass the bottom and then decide.
I think I have decided not to put a keel on it.  I think it will sit deep enough in the water to not need one.  I can change my mind later if it turns out not to track well.

inwales

I started putting in the inwales yesterday.  I decided that rather than have them meet up flush to the thwarts and breasthooks and stem, I'd have them tapper off at their ends.  This makes it a little easier and in the end will look just fine.

the inwales (3/4"x1/4" yellow pine) will be glued in as well as screwed thru to the
outwale with 1-1/4" ss screws.

 These inwales are mainly there so that I can fasten thru them to the out wale and make a sandwich of the plywood sides, for protection and strength and the layers of different wood will look nice when finished.

the small pieces in the bow will just be glued in place

The thick gunnel adds a visual heft to the boat that it didn't have before.

Another rainy day

Another rainy day makes for very leisurely work on the boat.  Today I caulked the seam between the stems and the sides on the inside, so that I might attach the breast hooks and not have to work around them later.

Seams caulked with clear (it dries clear) house caulk.

 I then proceeded to attach the breast hooks that are now shaped and sanded.  They are attached with 4 screws each and G-glue.  I probably should of varnished them before attaching but I do like to do things the hard way sometimes, or so it seems.

breast hook attached.  Note the shape of the stem.  I have since cut
down to the dado.

I also cut the stems down so that they are 2 inches proud of the sheer and matching the sheer line.  The cedar is such a soft wood and shapes easily, but that means it will also get abused easily.

Almost ready.

I guess next I will put in the inwales.  I decided to do them in sections so each side will have 5 separate pieces.  Once that is glued in place I will screw thru it to the gunnel.  This will keep the plywood and cedar sandwiched between the tougher yellow pine.

Inside job

Today was a rainy day, just right for working inside, on the inside of a boat.

the thwarts and floors and breast hooks all
being test fitted

I tried to make use of some scrap for the floors but I think they may be a touch to thin.  They are a bit flexy.  I might try 'em anyway.  The thwarts are 36 inches apart, far enough apart, I hope, to not make it hard to get in and out of the boat.

It is really starting to look the real canoe, I think.

Nice bottom!

Woke up this morning eager to take the clamps off.  Immediately started cleaning up the edge with a plane and sureform. I rounded over the bottom edge of the plywood to make a softer turn for the fiberglass that will cover the bottom and up to the chine.  This is the way I did it on WHISP and that worked out pretty well.

Bottom on and planing down to the chine.

The plywood on the bottom has some spots where it has delaminated.  I think this is a result of stress and moisture or, it could be a quality control issue.  I am not worried as that area will have an added layer of fiber glass to protect the bottom and the epoxy should help with the plywood lamination as well.

The cedar floor frames are a bit beefy but they are light.

 This is the point when I get really happy.  It is actually a boat now and can float if I wanted to put it in the water.  How cool is that?  I built another boat, and of my own design!?  It is very gratifying to look at it.  Can't wait to see Liz in it and  to see how it floats and paddles.

Liz's boat.  I think I may leave the stems proud like they
are.  It kind of helps it look not so short.

While having my coffee this morning, I came up and idea for a kayak style boat I'd like to design and build.  It would be about 12 or 14 feet long, about 2 foot 6 inch beam and be kind of an unsinkable boat.  It is like a sit on top but a little bit more husky.  One of the things I don't like about my glass yak is that the cockpit is very small and getting in and out is not so simple as just standing up.  I also don't like that I can't relax, lie back and enjoy the surroundings easily.  That is something about kayaks in general that I am not so thrilled about.  But my idea is a light weight, roomy, double paddle boat that I might be able to carry on my HP challenged Vanagon, to nice, warm blu water and feel comfortable in.  Liz's boat could do it but it is not meant for that kind of water.
I think I will build a model.  I guess I should order a pizza so I can use the box to build the model ;)

"Rudder, we don't need no stinking rudder!"

Took the skiff to the lake today for an evening sail.  I love this boat.  This was the first sail since the mast partner mishap and repair.  The new set up is great so far.
It took a few minutes for my body to remember how to sail this boat.  It is more like surfing than sailing in some ways.  Steering with my body position and, or, weight combined with mainsheet trim takes not thinking about how it works and just doing it.
What  I am coming to believe is that the boat has lee helm because of it's slight underbody all being aft in the skeg.  This explains all the other tendencies that come with moving about to one side or the other or fore and aft.
Though it may just confuse things I think I will build the rudder I had thought to build.  I'd like to see how that works out.
For now, I am just glad to be sailing again, and ecstatic that it is in a boat I built.