Bottoms Up

I laid out the bottom sections yesterday and the day before.  It was cold out, and inside the shop, but I wanted to work on the skiff, so I laid out the remainder of the plywood as directed in the building instructions and traced out the bottom of the boat on the two pieces.
There was plenty of wood to spare and once I had the pattern traced I cut out the 2 pieces leaving about 1" extra along each side and about 4 inches at the bow.  I just used the foot of the jig saw as a guide by putting it on the line as I cut instead of putting the blade on the line.
After I had the wood stove going to heat up the place a bit I cut out the 4" wide butt block  for the scarph to just shy of the inside edges of the bottom, about 1/4' shy of the full width.
Just as I had scarfed the side panels together way back when, I scarfed the 2 bottom pieces together as well.  The main difference is that I haven't put in any fasteners and I am not sure that I will.
I have since learned about how poorly brass does in the water and though it won't be such a problem in the side panels, in the bottom it could be a problem.  Hopefully the glue, the skeg, the grounding pieces will be enough mechanical support if the glue isn't enough.  We'll see.

wale of a good time

The last wale was attached yesterday.  It was the port gunwale lamination and I attached it to the hull the same way I did all the others and the chines, with Gorrilla glue laid on then spread with a putty knife to get good coverage.  I then lined up the marks I had made that located it's position to the hull, starting amid ships and working out to the stern, then going back and working fore ward.  I used 1inch sheet rock screws to attach it to the hull, and then clamped lightly between the screws any place that the joint seemed at all wide.
I will let this sit a day or so and then once the clamps are pulled remove excess glue.  At this point I can flip the boat over and start on attaching the bottom.
The bottom, so I have decided to use the same 4mm luan plywood for the bottom.  What this means is that I will definitely be putting in some framing and floors in the middle.  Along with the bulkheads fore and aft, the skeg and its inner false keel, and the strips of wood to each side of center on the bottom, I think he called them grounding strips, the overall affect should be a light, but strong hull.
I will have to buy one more piece of plywood for the decks.  There goes the budget.  I think that is now $70 invested,  not much considering the fun I have had doing the work so far, the learning, and the possibility that I may have a rowing boat that floats when all is said and done.

New Year

I have started out the new year by taking a little break in the building of the skiff.  Not that I haven't spent some considerable amount of time in the shop looking her over and wondering about things.

Would the Luan be strong enough to use on the bottom of the boat?

Would 1/4 inch ply, if I were to buy some, make the curve at the stern that is a little bit sharper with the mistake in measuring I made?

If I used the 4mm (luan) and installed floors to walk on would that due?

Where exactly do I want to put the bulkheads?

Seat box or traditional risers and thwarts?

Fortunately, I still have things to do before I get to the point that I have to make those decisions.

Actually, yesterday I finished the starboard gunwale installation and did the lamination of the wales on the port side.  That all seemed to go well enough, though I am becoming increasingly aware at my inexactness, or my 'Ce La Vie' attitude about tolerances and measurements.  I am realizing that I am the of the SureForm level of detail rather than the plane level, the pencil width, or there about rather than the micrometer.  I have built most of my furniture at home, but a cabinet maker I am not.  I am the type to look at cabinet makers, luthiers, boat builders, as demi-gods and I a mere mortal.

I did light up the wood stove last night as I was doing the wales.  Made the whole time even more enjoyable.

Flipped!

Once the chines got set, a few days after glueing, I flipped the boat over to make attaching the gunwales a bit easier.  The boat seems so very light.

The gunwales are built in 2 layers, an inner and outer lamination.  The inner has a bevel to make it basically flat, or parallel to the ground/water.  The outer brings it out and adds dimension.

I fastened on the inner gunwale to the hull and let that sit for a day to get used to the shape.  Now I have clamped on the outer gunwale lamination so as to let it take it's shape for a few days.  I am thinking that I will glue up the outer gunwale to the inner, in the proper shape and then attach the laminated piece to the hull.  This will keep me from having to drive screws into the lamination.

Now that the boat is flipped over I have my first chance to see the lines.  The rocker toward the after section of the boat seems pretty severe, but that is where I made the mistake in measurements when cutting the side panels.  The additional 3/4" wouldn't make that much difference, so I am either sensitive to my mistake, or the boat has a lot of rocker aft.

I think adding the skeg as I intend to do is going to require a good bit of wood, an internal keel board/log to attach to on the centerline.
There is still a little movement in the stern section of the boat that I hope will go away when the bottom is attached and the deck and deck beams will are added.  The rest of the boat seems to be getting very strong structurally.

Chines glued up!

Got the chines glued into place and am letting them set for a while.  I will need to go back and replace the iron screws with bronze or galvanized nails at some point, but next it's on to the gunwales.

Reading John Leathers book "Sail and Oars".  Very encouraging and interesting histories of small, human or wind powered boats, and their creators and users.  Great winter daydreaming.

Dry fit of the chines

So, after being away from the project for a few days to work on the car, The chines that had been clamped and jigged in place are now screwed onto the side panels.

Chines with out clamps!

I drilled for a screw at the point where the chine and the stem meet up.  I used one 1-3/4" bronze screw, counter sunk into the chine.  Of course I didn't countersink the first hole enough and split the chine.  A proper job would be to cut off and start over, but since I don't have enough of the chine stock I just drilled out the whole for the screw and clamped the split and will glue, glue glue when the chine gets glued.  The other side went fine.  I have left a clamp setup on the bow while I wait a bit longer for the chine to learn it's new shape before I do the glue up.

jig for stem at chine.

From this point I decided to go ahead and screw in the rest of the length of the chines.  I did so putting a sheet rock screw in every six inches, working from bow to stern and using the long lever of the chine to position the chine for the next set screw.
I found that when I got the the stern, the chine had just about found it's new shape.  It was shy of where it wanted to be about 1/4 of and inch.  I got a pale of hot water and a rag and wrapped the chine in the rag.  After a while I started moving the chine into shape and eventually got it screwed down.

I clamped the chine to so that all the stress of the sprung wood wouldn't rest solely on the fasteners.  I also continued to soak the chine with warm water while I worked the other chine into place.  The starboard chine seemed more willing to make it's shape.  Even so I rigged up clamps and lines to hold the chines in place and got them good and wet while I wait a time before I take them off to glue up the whole thing.
It was rather pleasing to see the length of the boat mostly free of clamps.  I am starting to get a better sense of the lines that the boat will have.

sail

Sometimes I just miss being on the water