[cylis007]

Building the Transom

Completed the transom today. The transom is the back section of the boat where I'll mount the 250hp Mercury outboard. (Just kidding).

Transom is 1" thick black cherry. I choose cherry because I like it and I have a lot of it from a tree I milled a few years ago.

Here is the glue up with epoxy. Joints are splined with pine. Straightfoward so far.

This next part gave me a headache for awhile. The edge around the transom is a compound beveled edge and the entire transom itself will also be tilted at about 12 degrees. The angle of the edge gradually changes depending on how the planking will meet the transom at any point. At first, this seemed like a very difficult problem until I realized (after checking several books) that it's just a matter of lofting an "inboard" and "outboard" profile view representing the face on the inside and the outside of the boat respectively. I then used the same methods as lofting the mold stations to transfer the profile view to the half-breadth and body plan views. Once I did this, the measurements were easy to tick off from the lofting directly to the cherry blank. To do this, I drew a grid on the blank that lines up with the grid on the lofting. I transfered the measurements onto the blank grid and then used a batten to bend around the points to draw a fair curve. One trick I picked up in the book "Building Sunshine" is to draw both profiles on the same side of the blank (see photo below). This is faster and helps to ensure that everything is lined up. You should be able to just make out the lines in the photo below. I then cut the outside profile line at 90 degrees on the bandsaw.

After the transom is rough cut out, I used spokeshave and plane to clean up the edge. I then used a jigsaw to roughly cut the angle around the inboard line, just to remove most of the wood. I then used the spokeshave and plane again to smooth out the bevel down to the lines. The edge on this thing is really cool. Nice smooth curve.

Rest of it is pretty easy. Card scaper cleanup and finish. Threw some water on it to check out the figure in the grain.

Last step was to mount it on the strong back at the appropriate angle. Transom is ready!

Next Step

Next step will be the other end of the boat… the white oak stem and knee. Per DaveR's request, I'll detail the process as much as I can. I've been looking forward to this part.

Transom Materials List:

• G/Flex Marine Epoxy: $22, Local Marine Supply
• (3) 1×6x36 Cherry: $0, Milled from inventory on hand ($45 approx value)
• (2) 3/4" x 36"x 3/8" pine splines: $0, Misc scrap

Project Materials Summary:

• Plans and Book: $60
• Lofting Supplies: $47.88
• Mold Supplies: $36
• Strongback Lumber: $33
• Transom Materials: $22

- Total Project Expenses so far: $198.88

Labor Hours Summary:

• 5/29/09 - 6/8/09: Lofting - 12 Hours
• 6/14/09 - 6/20/09: Building Molds: 5 Hours
• 6/25/09 - 6/27/09: Building Strongback: 7.5 Hours
• 6/30/09 - 7/13/09: Building Transom: 6 Hours

- Total Project Labor Hours so far: 30.5 Hours

It looks like it is coming along well. Thanks for sharing the hours and money related to this project for those of us considering following in your footsteps. Thanks again!

 

[mattd]

Stem and Knee - Part 1

I'm starting construction of the stem and knee by making sure that I have these parts drawn correctly on the full size drawing (lofting). I could really use some advice before I actually cut out the parts!

The photo below is the front section of my lofting. I used photoshop to make the lines and sections of the stem more visible. The stem is actually two parts as shown in the lofting below. The red section is the stem and the green section is the knee. I'll make luan templates to cut these pieces from white oak and bolt them together.



After cutting out the stem and knee, the challenge will be to carve out a rabbet that will receive the planking. This is what it should look like:

In my first lofting photo above, the two solid black curved lines represent the rabbet and bearding lines which will be used as the reference to carve out the rabbet to the depth of the planking (3/8").

It's important to note that the lofting shows the profile view (side view) and half-breath view (top view of half the boat) on the same drawing. The light grey lines are waterlines for the profile view and the blue lines are water lines for the half-breath view. These waterlines represent heights every 3 inches and are very much related to each other to determine the overall shape of the boat.

The rabbet line is determined early in the lofting and is drawn in the profile view using a batten to establish a fair curve from the tip of the boat to the bottom keel. The bearding line is determined from the angles of the planks at different points where they intersect with the stem. These angles are shown in the half-breath view as solid blue lines. These lines are like a contour map of the hull and meet the center stem at different heights and angles. For example, the lowest blue line shows how the outside of the plank will meet the stem at the rabbet line at a height of 6". The planks will be 3/8" thick, so I drew a parallel line 3/8" away and noted where the inside of the plank would intersect the stem. Using a square, I then placed a mark on the profile view at the same point 6" in height on the stem to indicate where the bearding line should be for that point. The same process is done for the waterlines for other heights, 9", 12", 15" etc. and the marks are connected with a batten to form the entire curve for bearding line.

Need some advice:

As detailed as this may seem to be, I'm not 100% confident that the rabbet will be perfect if I carve it all out on the bench from these measurements. I'm trying to decide if I should carve out just the top section on the bench and complete the bottom section after I put the stem in place and can do some test fitting and final carving with everything up on the molds. Any advice here would be greatly appreciated!

Lessons Learned:

When trying to work out how to fit the keel to the stem knee on the drawing, I realized that my original drawing of the stem profile was off. It didn't fit the measurements from the blueprint. The keel would have had to curve up sharply to meet the stem and other parts wouldn't fit according to the plan, such as the mast step. I had to re-loft the entire front end, moving the profile of the stem out about an inch. Fortunately, the changes were slight enough that they had no effect on the rest of the drawing including the station molds, which I had already built. Next time, I think it would be a good idea to add more details earlier in the lofting to make sure everything fits before cutting any actual wood.

Also, an observation I've recently made is that I'm really starting to be able to think through solving problems with this project much easier than when I started. For example, working with the relationships between the different views of the boat was very difficult at first. I think I owe this to reading, practice, writing this blog and getting some tips from others on here. I'm nowhere near an expert or anything, but I'm no longer entirely fearful of this project.

Materials List:

None!

Project Materials Summary:

• Plans and Book: $60
• Lofting Supplies: $47.88
• Mold Supplies: $36
• Strongback Lumber: $33
• Transom Materials: $22

- Total Project Expenses so far: $198.88

Labor Hours Summary:

• 5/29/09 - 6/8/09: Lofting - 12 Hours
• 6/14/09 - 6/20/09: Building Molds: 5 Hours
• 6/25/09 - 6/27/09: Building Strongback: 7.5 Hours
• 6/30/09 - 7/13/09: Building Transom: 6 Hours
• 7/14/09 - 7/20/09: Stem Lofting Detail: 3 Hours

- Total Project Labor Hours so far: 33.5 Hours

 

[a1Jim]

Stem and Knee - Part 1

I'm starting construction of the stem and knee by making sure that I have these parts drawn correctly on the full size drawing (lofting). I could really use some advice before I actually cut out the parts!

The photo below is the front section of my lofting. I used photoshop to make the lines and sections of the stem more visible. The stem is actually two parts as shown in the lofting below. The red section is the stem and the green section is the knee. I'll make luan templates to cut these pieces from white oak and bolt them together.



After cutting out the stem and knee, the challenge will be to carve out a rabbet that will receive the planking. This is what it should look like:

In my first lofting photo above, the two solid black curved lines represent the rabbet and bearding lines which will be used as the reference to carve out the rabbet to the depth of the planking (3/8").

It's important to note that the lofting shows the profile view (side view) and half-breath view (top view of half the boat) on the same drawing. The light grey lines are waterlines for the profile view and the blue lines are water lines for the half-breath view. These waterlines represent heights every 3 inches and are very much related to each other to determine the overall shape of the boat.

The rabbet line is determined early in the lofting and is drawn in the profile view using a batten to establish a fair curve from the tip of the boat to the bottom keel. The bearding line is determined from the angles of the planks at different points where they intersect with the stem. These angles are shown in the half-breath view as solid blue lines. These lines are like a contour map of the hull and meet the center stem at different heights and angles. For example, the lowest blue line shows how the outside of the plank will meet the stem at the rabbet line at a height of 6". The planks will be 3/8" thick, so I drew a parallel line 3/8" away and noted where the inside of the plank would intersect the stem. Using a square, I then placed a mark on the profile view at the same point 6" in height on the stem to indicate where the bearding line should be for that point. The same process is done for the waterlines for other heights, 9", 12", 15" etc. and the marks are connected with a batten to form the entire curve for bearding line.

Need some advice:

As detailed as this may seem to be, I'm not 100% confident that the rabbet will be perfect if I carve it all out on the bench from these measurements. I'm trying to decide if I should carve out just the top section on the bench and complete the bottom section after I put the stem in place and can do some test fitting and final carving with everything up on the molds. Any advice here would be greatly appreciated!

Lessons Learned:

When trying to work out how to fit the keel to the stem knee on the drawing, I realized that my original drawing of the stem profile was off. It didn't fit the measurements from the blueprint. The keel would have had to curve up sharply to meet the stem and other parts wouldn't fit according to the plan, such as the mast step. I had to re-loft the entire front end, moving the profile of the stem out about an inch. Fortunately, the changes were slight enough that they had no effect on the rest of the drawing including the station molds, which I had already built. Next time, I think it would be a good idea to add more details earlier in the lofting to make sure everything fits before cutting any actual wood.

Also, an observation I've recently made is that I'm really starting to be able to think through solving problems with this project much easier than when I started. For example, working with the relationships between the different views of the boat was very difficult at first. I think I owe this to reading, practice, writing this blog and getting some tips from others on here. I'm nowhere near an expert or anything, but I'm no longer entirely fearful of this project.

Materials List:

None!

Project Materials Summary:

• Plans and Book: $60
• Lofting Supplies: $47.88
• Mold Supplies: $36
• Strongback Lumber: $33
• Transom Materials: $22

- Total Project Expenses so far: $198.88

Labor Hours Summary:

• 5/29/09 - 6/8/09: Lofting - 12 Hours
• 6/14/09 - 6/20/09: Building Molds: 5 Hours
• 6/25/09 - 6/27/09: Building Strongback: 7.5 Hours
• 6/30/09 - 7/13/09: Building Transom: 6 Hours
• 7/14/09 - 7/20/09: Stem Lofting Detail: 3 Hours

- Total Project Labor Hours so far: 33.5 Hours

Hey Matt
This is a great blog it's super interesting and great idea to include time and materials

 

[patron]

Stem and Knee - Part 1

I'm starting construction of the stem and knee by making sure that I have these parts drawn correctly on the full size drawing (lofting). I could really use some advice before I actually cut out the parts!

The photo below is the front section of my lofting. I used photoshop to make the lines and sections of the stem more visible. The stem is actually two parts as shown in the lofting below. The red section is the stem and the green section is the knee. I'll make luan templates to cut these pieces from white oak and bolt them together.



After cutting out the stem and knee, the challenge will be to carve out a rabbet that will receive the planking. This is what it should look like:

In my first lofting photo above, the two solid black curved lines represent the rabbet and bearding lines which will be used as the reference to carve out the rabbet to the depth of the planking (3/8").

It's important to note that the lofting shows the profile view (side view) and half-breath view (top view of half the boat) on the same drawing. The light grey lines are waterlines for the profile view and the blue lines are water lines for the half-breath view. These waterlines represent heights every 3 inches and are very much related to each other to determine the overall shape of the boat.

The rabbet line is determined early in the lofting and is drawn in the profile view using a batten to establish a fair curve from the tip of the boat to the bottom keel. The bearding line is determined from the angles of the planks at different points where they intersect with the stem. These angles are shown in the half-breath view as solid blue lines. These lines are like a contour map of the hull and meet the center stem at different heights and angles. For example, the lowest blue line shows how the outside of the plank will meet the stem at the rabbet line at a height of 6". The planks will be 3/8" thick, so I drew a parallel line 3/8" away and noted where the inside of the plank would intersect the stem. Using a square, I then placed a mark on the profile view at the same point 6" in height on the stem to indicate where the bearding line should be for that point. The same process is done for the waterlines for other heights, 9", 12", 15" etc. and the marks are connected with a batten to form the entire curve for bearding line.

Need some advice:

As detailed as this may seem to be, I'm not 100% confident that the rabbet will be perfect if I carve it all out on the bench from these measurements. I'm trying to decide if I should carve out just the top section on the bench and complete the bottom section after I put the stem in place and can do some test fitting and final carving with everything up on the molds. Any advice here would be greatly appreciated!

Lessons Learned:

When trying to work out how to fit the keel to the stem knee on the drawing, I realized that my original drawing of the stem profile was off. It didn't fit the measurements from the blueprint. The keel would have had to curve up sharply to meet the stem and other parts wouldn't fit according to the plan, such as the mast step. I had to re-loft the entire front end, moving the profile of the stem out about an inch. Fortunately, the changes were slight enough that they had no effect on the rest of the drawing including the station molds, which I had already built. Next time, I think it would be a good idea to add more details earlier in the lofting to make sure everything fits before cutting any actual wood.

Also, an observation I've recently made is that I'm really starting to be able to think through solving problems with this project much easier than when I started. For example, working with the relationships between the different views of the boat was very difficult at first. I think I owe this to reading, practice, writing this blog and getting some tips from others on here. I'm nowhere near an expert or anything, but I'm no longer entirely fearful of this project.

Materials List:

None!

Project Materials Summary:

• Plans and Book: $60
• Lofting Supplies: $47.88
• Mold Supplies: $36
• Strongback Lumber: $33
• Transom Materials: $22

- Total Project Expenses so far: $198.88

Labor Hours Summary:

• 5/29/09 - 6/8/09: Lofting - 12 Hours
• 6/14/09 - 6/20/09: Building Molds: 5 Hours
• 6/25/09 - 6/27/09: Building Strongback: 7.5 Hours
• 6/30/09 - 7/13/09: Building Transom: 6 Hours
• 7/14/09 - 7/20/09: Stem Lofting Detail: 3 Hours

- Total Project Labor Hours so far: 33.5 Hours

as i've stated before , you want to to know where every fastener goes ,
so they don't weaken the frames or cross each other later in the building ,
or if you add something later .
i'm really proud of you for learning all this ,
it will make your boating a real pleasure !
and thanks for sharing .

 

[Pete_Jud]

Stem and Knee - Part 1

I'm starting construction of the stem and knee by making sure that I have these parts drawn correctly on the full size drawing (lofting). I could really use some advice before I actually cut out the parts!

The photo below is the front section of my lofting. I used photoshop to make the lines and sections of the stem more visible. The stem is actually two parts as shown in the lofting below. The red section is the stem and the green section is the knee. I'll make luan templates to cut these pieces from white oak and bolt them together.



After cutting out the stem and knee, the challenge will be to carve out a rabbet that will receive the planking. This is what it should look like:

In my first lofting photo above, the two solid black curved lines represent the rabbet and bearding lines which will be used as the reference to carve out the rabbet to the depth of the planking (3/8").

It's important to note that the lofting shows the profile view (side view) and half-breath view (top view of half the boat) on the same drawing. The light grey lines are waterlines for the profile view and the blue lines are water lines for the half-breath view. These waterlines represent heights every 3 inches and are very much related to each other to determine the overall shape of the boat.

The rabbet line is determined early in the lofting and is drawn in the profile view using a batten to establish a fair curve from the tip of the boat to the bottom keel. The bearding line is determined from the angles of the planks at different points where they intersect with the stem. These angles are shown in the half-breath view as solid blue lines. These lines are like a contour map of the hull and meet the center stem at different heights and angles. For example, the lowest blue line shows how the outside of the plank will meet the stem at the rabbet line at a height of 6". The planks will be 3/8" thick, so I drew a parallel line 3/8" away and noted where the inside of the plank would intersect the stem. Using a square, I then placed a mark on the profile view at the same point 6" in height on the stem to indicate where the bearding line should be for that point. The same process is done for the waterlines for other heights, 9", 12", 15" etc. and the marks are connected with a batten to form the entire curve for bearding line.

Need some advice:

As detailed as this may seem to be, I'm not 100% confident that the rabbet will be perfect if I carve it all out on the bench from these measurements. I'm trying to decide if I should carve out just the top section on the bench and complete the bottom section after I put the stem in place and can do some test fitting and final carving with everything up on the molds. Any advice here would be greatly appreciated!

Lessons Learned:

When trying to work out how to fit the keel to the stem knee on the drawing, I realized that my original drawing of the stem profile was off. It didn't fit the measurements from the blueprint. The keel would have had to curve up sharply to meet the stem and other parts wouldn't fit according to the plan, such as the mast step. I had to re-loft the entire front end, moving the profile of the stem out about an inch. Fortunately, the changes were slight enough that they had no effect on the rest of the drawing including the station molds, which I had already built. Next time, I think it would be a good idea to add more details earlier in the lofting to make sure everything fits before cutting any actual wood.

Also, an observation I've recently made is that I'm really starting to be able to think through solving problems with this project much easier than when I started. For example, working with the relationships between the different views of the boat was very difficult at first. I think I owe this to reading, practice, writing this blog and getting some tips from others on here. I'm nowhere near an expert or anything, but I'm no longer entirely fearful of this project.

Materials List:

None!

Project Materials Summary:

• Plans and Book: $60
• Lofting Supplies: $47.88
• Mold Supplies: $36
• Strongback Lumber: $33
• Transom Materials: $22

- Total Project Expenses so far: $198.88

Labor Hours Summary:

• 5/29/09 - 6/8/09: Lofting - 12 Hours
• 6/14/09 - 6/20/09: Building Molds: 5 Hours
• 6/25/09 - 6/27/09: Building Strongback: 7.5 Hours
• 6/30/09 - 7/13/09: Building Transom: 6 Hours
• 7/14/09 - 7/20/09: Stem Lofting Detail: 3 Hours

- Total Project Labor Hours so far: 33.5 Hours

Back in the 80's I met a man in his late 80's in a small village in Alaska, he cut all of his knees from old growth cedar stumps that he pulled out with horse teams and left to dry for 5 years before he built his boats. I rember coming back after a fishing trip and asking him if he built that boat, he looked at the marks, and told me that it was built in 1937 by him.

 

[Splinterman]

Stem and Knee - Part 1

I'm starting construction of the stem and knee by making sure that I have these parts drawn correctly on the full size drawing (lofting). I could really use some advice before I actually cut out the parts!

The photo below is the front section of my lofting. I used photoshop to make the lines and sections of the stem more visible. The stem is actually two parts as shown in the lofting below. The red section is the stem and the green section is the knee. I'll make luan templates to cut these pieces from white oak and bolt them together.



After cutting out the stem and knee, the challenge will be to carve out a rabbet that will receive the planking. This is what it should look like:

In my first lofting photo above, the two solid black curved lines represent the rabbet and bearding lines which will be used as the reference to carve out the rabbet to the depth of the planking (3/8").

It's important to note that the lofting shows the profile view (side view) and half-breath view (top view of half the boat) on the same drawing. The light grey lines are waterlines for the profile view and the blue lines are water lines for the half-breath view. These waterlines represent heights every 3 inches and are very much related to each other to determine the overall shape of the boat.

The rabbet line is determined early in the lofting and is drawn in the profile view using a batten to establish a fair curve from the tip of the boat to the bottom keel. The bearding line is determined from the angles of the planks at different points where they intersect with the stem. These angles are shown in the half-breath view as solid blue lines. These lines are like a contour map of the hull and meet the center stem at different heights and angles. For example, the lowest blue line shows how the outside of the plank will meet the stem at the rabbet line at a height of 6". The planks will be 3/8" thick, so I drew a parallel line 3/8" away and noted where the inside of the plank would intersect the stem. Using a square, I then placed a mark on the profile view at the same point 6" in height on the stem to indicate where the bearding line should be for that point. The same process is done for the waterlines for other heights, 9", 12", 15" etc. and the marks are connected with a batten to form the entire curve for bearding line.

Need some advice:

As detailed as this may seem to be, I'm not 100% confident that the rabbet will be perfect if I carve it all out on the bench from these measurements. I'm trying to decide if I should carve out just the top section on the bench and complete the bottom section after I put the stem in place and can do some test fitting and final carving with everything up on the molds. Any advice here would be greatly appreciated!

Lessons Learned:

When trying to work out how to fit the keel to the stem knee on the drawing, I realized that my original drawing of the stem profile was off. It didn't fit the measurements from the blueprint. The keel would have had to curve up sharply to meet the stem and other parts wouldn't fit according to the plan, such as the mast step. I had to re-loft the entire front end, moving the profile of the stem out about an inch. Fortunately, the changes were slight enough that they had no effect on the rest of the drawing including the station molds, which I had already built. Next time, I think it would be a good idea to add more details earlier in the lofting to make sure everything fits before cutting any actual wood.

Also, an observation I've recently made is that I'm really starting to be able to think through solving problems with this project much easier than when I started. For example, working with the relationships between the different views of the boat was very difficult at first. I think I owe this to reading, practice, writing this blog and getting some tips from others on here. I'm nowhere near an expert or anything, but I'm no longer entirely fearful of this project.

Materials List:

None!

Project Materials Summary:

• Plans and Book: $60
• Lofting Supplies: $47.88
• Mold Supplies: $36
• Strongback Lumber: $33
• Transom Materials: $22

- Total Project Expenses so far: $198.88

Labor Hours Summary:

• 5/29/09 - 6/8/09: Lofting - 12 Hours
• 6/14/09 - 6/20/09: Building Molds: 5 Hours
• 6/25/09 - 6/27/09: Building Strongback: 7.5 Hours
• 6/30/09 - 7/13/09: Building Transom: 6 Hours
• 7/14/09 - 7/20/09: Stem Lofting Detail: 3 Hours

- Total Project Labor Hours so far: 33.5 Hours

Hey Matt,
Glad you are makeing steady progress…......take your time…..measure and check three times…..cut once.
The stem can be cut a number of way's using very sharp chisels or even a router if you feel comfortable.
Do as much work on the stem as possible…off….the jig.

 

[mattd]

Stem and Knee - Part 2

Greetings.. Things are moving along well with the boat construction.

This part in the series is cutting out the stem and knee parts which form the front "backbone" of the boat. To do this, I created templates from 1/8" birch plywood and used those as patterns to cut the actual parts from 2" thick white oak.

To get the shape of the templates, I used the same picking up method as I used when getting the shapes from the drawing to the actual molds in part 2. This involves placing nails (which have had half the heads ground off so they lay flat), on the lofting:

Next, I carefully layed a sheet of plywood over the nails and hammered it down so that the nails stuck into the plywood at the same positions as they were on the lofting. The board is flipped over. Crude yet effective.

Next step is to connect the marks left by the nails using battens to get the curves and straight edges where appropriate.

After the lines are drawn, the templates are cut out on the bandsaw and the edges are trimmed to fit exactly on the lofting.

Now the templates are positioned and traced onto white oak. Just barely fit! Phew!

The final stem and knee pieces were cut on the bandsaw. Sections were planed down to 1.5". All edges were smoothed with a spokeshave and card scraper to fit the lofting. The top of the stem is left long intentionally to attach it to the strongback. Later, this will be cut to size after planking.

Lessons Learned

I probably should have set up to cut out the keel and keelson before starting on the stem, but no harm done. I'm just going to wait until the keel and keelson are on the molds before cutting out the rabbet in the stem which I had initially planned to do for my next step. I want to be able to do some actual test fitting as I cut out the rabbet and can't do that yet! Also, halfway through planing the 2" oak down to 1.5", I realized that I should have resawn it and at least have saved a 3/8" piece of oak. It's all sawdust from the planer now. Ah well.

Next Step

Cutting out the keel and keelson.

Materials List:

• 8/4 White Oak 32"x10", Lakeshore Hardwoods, $40
• 1/8" Birch Plywood, 2'x4', Lowes, $7

Project Materials Summary:

• Plans and Book: $60
• Lofting Supplies: $47.88
• Mold Supplies: $36
• Strongback Lumber: $33
• Transom Materials: $22
• Stem and Knee: $47

- Total Project Expenses so far: $245.88

Labor Hours Summary:

• 5/29/09 - 6/8/09: Lofting - 12 Hours
• 6/14/09 - 6/20/09: Building Molds: 5 Hours
• 6/25/09 - 6/27/09: Building Strongback: 7.5 Hours
• 6/30/09 - 7/13/09: Building Transom: 6 Hours
• 7/14/09 - 7/20/09: Stem Lofting Detail: 3 Hours
• 7/22/09 - 7/29/09: Stem and Knee Cutout: 4 Hours

- Total Project Labor Hours so far: 37.5 Hours
- Time since starting project: 63 days (2 months 2 days)

 

[patron]

Stem and Knee - Part 2

Greetings.. Things are moving along well with the boat construction.

This part in the series is cutting out the stem and knee parts which form the front "backbone" of the boat. To do this, I created templates from 1/8" birch plywood and used those as patterns to cut the actual parts from 2" thick white oak.

To get the shape of the templates, I used the same picking up method as I used when getting the shapes from the drawing to the actual molds in part 2. This involves placing nails (which have had half the heads ground off so they lay flat), on the lofting:

Next, I carefully layed a sheet of plywood over the nails and hammered it down so that the nails stuck into the plywood at the same positions as they were on the lofting. The board is flipped over. Crude yet effective.

Next step is to connect the marks left by the nails using battens to get the curves and straight edges where appropriate.

After the lines are drawn, the templates are cut out on the bandsaw and the edges are trimmed to fit exactly on the lofting.

Now the templates are positioned and traced onto white oak. Just barely fit! Phew!

The final stem and knee pieces were cut on the bandsaw. Sections were planed down to 1.5". All edges were smoothed with a spokeshave and card scraper to fit the lofting. The top of the stem is left long intentionally to attach it to the strongback. Later, this will be cut to size after planking.

Lessons Learned

I probably should have set up to cut out the keel and keelson before starting on the stem, but no harm done. I'm just going to wait until the keel and keelson are on the molds before cutting out the rabbet in the stem which I had initially planned to do for my next step. I want to be able to do some actual test fitting as I cut out the rabbet and can't do that yet! Also, halfway through planing the 2" oak down to 1.5", I realized that I should have resawn it and at least have saved a 3/8" piece of oak. It's all sawdust from the planer now. Ah well.

Next Step

Cutting out the keel and keelson.

Materials List:

• 8/4 White Oak 32"x10", Lakeshore Hardwoods, $40
• 1/8" Birch Plywood, 2'x4', Lowes, $7

Project Materials Summary:

• Plans and Book: $60
• Lofting Supplies: $47.88
• Mold Supplies: $36
• Strongback Lumber: $33
• Transom Materials: $22
• Stem and Knee: $47

- Total Project Expenses so far: $245.88

Labor Hours Summary:

• 5/29/09 - 6/8/09: Lofting - 12 Hours
• 6/14/09 - 6/20/09: Building Molds: 5 Hours
• 6/25/09 - 6/27/09: Building Strongback: 7.5 Hours
• 6/30/09 - 7/13/09: Building Transom: 6 Hours
• 7/14/09 - 7/20/09: Stem Lofting Detail: 3 Hours
• 7/22/09 - 7/29/09: Stem and Knee Cutout: 4 Hours

- Total Project Labor Hours so far: 37.5 Hours
- Time since starting project: 63 days (2 months 2 days)

great work ,
and tutorial .
you show everything and explain it very well .
when are we planing on launching ?

 

[mattd]

Stem and Knee - Part 2

Greetings.. Things are moving along well with the boat construction.

This part in the series is cutting out the stem and knee parts which form the front "backbone" of the boat. To do this, I created templates from 1/8" birch plywood and used those as patterns to cut the actual parts from 2" thick white oak.

To get the shape of the templates, I used the same picking up method as I used when getting the shapes from the drawing to the actual molds in part 2. This involves placing nails (which have had half the heads ground off so they lay flat), on the lofting:

Next, I carefully layed a sheet of plywood over the nails and hammered it down so that the nails stuck into the plywood at the same positions as they were on the lofting. The board is flipped over. Crude yet effective.

Next step is to connect the marks left by the nails using battens to get the curves and straight edges where appropriate.

After the lines are drawn, the templates are cut out on the bandsaw and the edges are trimmed to fit exactly on the lofting.

Now the templates are positioned and traced onto white oak. Just barely fit! Phew!

The final stem and knee pieces were cut on the bandsaw. Sections were planed down to 1.5". All edges were smoothed with a spokeshave and card scraper to fit the lofting. The top of the stem is left long intentionally to attach it to the strongback. Later, this will be cut to size after planking.

Lessons Learned

I probably should have set up to cut out the keel and keelson before starting on the stem, but no harm done. I'm just going to wait until the keel and keelson are on the molds before cutting out the rabbet in the stem which I had initially planned to do for my next step. I want to be able to do some actual test fitting as I cut out the rabbet and can't do that yet! Also, halfway through planing the 2" oak down to 1.5", I realized that I should have resawn it and at least have saved a 3/8" piece of oak. It's all sawdust from the planer now. Ah well.

Next Step

Cutting out the keel and keelson.

Materials List:

• 8/4 White Oak 32"x10", Lakeshore Hardwoods, $40
• 1/8" Birch Plywood, 2'x4', Lowes, $7

Project Materials Summary:

• Plans and Book: $60
• Lofting Supplies: $47.88
• Mold Supplies: $36
• Strongback Lumber: $33
• Transom Materials: $22
• Stem and Knee: $47

- Total Project Expenses so far: $245.88

Labor Hours Summary:

• 5/29/09 - 6/8/09: Lofting - 12 Hours
• 6/14/09 - 6/20/09: Building Molds: 5 Hours
• 6/25/09 - 6/27/09: Building Strongback: 7.5 Hours
• 6/30/09 - 7/13/09: Building Transom: 6 Hours
• 7/14/09 - 7/20/09: Stem Lofting Detail: 3 Hours
• 7/22/09 - 7/29/09: Stem and Knee Cutout: 4 Hours

- Total Project Labor Hours so far: 37.5 Hours
- Time since starting project: 63 days (2 months 2 days)

Thanks David. I think I could reasonably launch in spring 2010, maybe with the sail too. That would be ideal, but it's not really a goal.

 

[a1Jim]

Stem and Knee - Part 2

Greetings.. Things are moving along well with the boat construction.

This part in the series is cutting out the stem and knee parts which form the front "backbone" of the boat. To do this, I created templates from 1/8" birch plywood and used those as patterns to cut the actual parts from 2" thick white oak.

To get the shape of the templates, I used the same picking up method as I used when getting the shapes from the drawing to the actual molds in part 2. This involves placing nails (which have had half the heads ground off so they lay flat), on the lofting:

Next, I carefully layed a sheet of plywood over the nails and hammered it down so that the nails stuck into the plywood at the same positions as they were on the lofting. The board is flipped over. Crude yet effective.

Next step is to connect the marks left by the nails using battens to get the curves and straight edges where appropriate.

After the lines are drawn, the templates are cut out on the bandsaw and the edges are trimmed to fit exactly on the lofting.

Now the templates are positioned and traced onto white oak. Just barely fit! Phew!

The final stem and knee pieces were cut on the bandsaw. Sections were planed down to 1.5". All edges were smoothed with a spokeshave and card scraper to fit the lofting. The top of the stem is left long intentionally to attach it to the strongback. Later, this will be cut to size after planking.

Lessons Learned

I probably should have set up to cut out the keel and keelson before starting on the stem, but no harm done. I'm just going to wait until the keel and keelson are on the molds before cutting out the rabbet in the stem which I had initially planned to do for my next step. I want to be able to do some actual test fitting as I cut out the rabbet and can't do that yet! Also, halfway through planing the 2" oak down to 1.5", I realized that I should have resawn it and at least have saved a 3/8" piece of oak. It's all sawdust from the planer now. Ah well.

Next Step

Cutting out the keel and keelson.

Materials List:

• 8/4 White Oak 32"x10", Lakeshore Hardwoods, $40
• 1/8" Birch Plywood, 2'x4', Lowes, $7

Project Materials Summary:

• Plans and Book: $60
• Lofting Supplies: $47.88
• Mold Supplies: $36
• Strongback Lumber: $33
• Transom Materials: $22
• Stem and Knee: $47

- Total Project Expenses so far: $245.88

Labor Hours Summary:

• 5/29/09 - 6/8/09: Lofting - 12 Hours
• 6/14/09 - 6/20/09: Building Molds: 5 Hours
• 6/25/09 - 6/27/09: Building Strongback: 7.5 Hours
• 6/30/09 - 7/13/09: Building Transom: 6 Hours
• 7/14/09 - 7/20/09: Stem Lofting Detail: 3 Hours
• 7/22/09 - 7/29/09: Stem and Knee Cutout: 4 Hours

- Total Project Labor Hours so far: 37.5 Hours
- Time since starting project: 63 days (2 months 2 days)

super blog well done

 

[matt1970]

Stem and Knee - Part 2

Greetings.. Things are moving along well with the boat construction.

This part in the series is cutting out the stem and knee parts which form the front "backbone" of the boat. To do this, I created templates from 1/8" birch plywood and used those as patterns to cut the actual parts from 2" thick white oak.

To get the shape of the templates, I used the same picking up method as I used when getting the shapes from the drawing to the actual molds in part 2. This involves placing nails (which have had half the heads ground off so they lay flat), on the lofting:

Next, I carefully layed a sheet of plywood over the nails and hammered it down so that the nails stuck into the plywood at the same positions as they were on the lofting. The board is flipped over. Crude yet effective.

Next step is to connect the marks left by the nails using battens to get the curves and straight edges where appropriate.

After the lines are drawn, the templates are cut out on the bandsaw and the edges are trimmed to fit exactly on the lofting.

Now the templates are positioned and traced onto white oak. Just barely fit! Phew!

The final stem and knee pieces were cut on the bandsaw. Sections were planed down to 1.5". All edges were smoothed with a spokeshave and card scraper to fit the lofting. The top of the stem is left long intentionally to attach it to the strongback. Later, this will be cut to size after planking.

Lessons Learned

I probably should have set up to cut out the keel and keelson before starting on the stem, but no harm done. I'm just going to wait until the keel and keelson are on the molds before cutting out the rabbet in the stem which I had initially planned to do for my next step. I want to be able to do some actual test fitting as I cut out the rabbet and can't do that yet! Also, halfway through planing the 2" oak down to 1.5", I realized that I should have resawn it and at least have saved a 3/8" piece of oak. It's all sawdust from the planer now. Ah well.

Next Step

Cutting out the keel and keelson.

Materials List:

• 8/4 White Oak 32"x10", Lakeshore Hardwoods, $40
• 1/8" Birch Plywood, 2'x4', Lowes, $7

Project Materials Summary:

• Plans and Book: $60
• Lofting Supplies: $47.88
• Mold Supplies: $36
• Strongback Lumber: $33
• Transom Materials: $22
• Stem and Knee: $47

- Total Project Expenses so far: $245.88

Labor Hours Summary:

• 5/29/09 - 6/8/09: Lofting - 12 Hours
• 6/14/09 - 6/20/09: Building Molds: 5 Hours
• 6/25/09 - 6/27/09: Building Strongback: 7.5 Hours
• 6/30/09 - 7/13/09: Building Transom: 6 Hours
• 7/14/09 - 7/20/09: Stem Lofting Detail: 3 Hours
• 7/22/09 - 7/29/09: Stem and Knee Cutout: 4 Hours

- Total Project Labor Hours so far: 37.5 Hours
- Time since starting project: 63 days (2 months 2 days)

very nice…

 

[Splinterman]

Stem and Knee - Part 2

Greetings.. Things are moving along well with the boat construction.

This part in the series is cutting out the stem and knee parts which form the front "backbone" of the boat. To do this, I created templates from 1/8" birch plywood and used those as patterns to cut the actual parts from 2" thick white oak.

To get the shape of the templates, I used the same picking up method as I used when getting the shapes from the drawing to the actual molds in part 2. This involves placing nails (which have had half the heads ground off so they lay flat), on the lofting:

Next, I carefully layed a sheet of plywood over the nails and hammered it down so that the nails stuck into the plywood at the same positions as they were on the lofting. The board is flipped over. Crude yet effective.

Next step is to connect the marks left by the nails using battens to get the curves and straight edges where appropriate.

After the lines are drawn, the templates are cut out on the bandsaw and the edges are trimmed to fit exactly on the lofting.

Now the templates are positioned and traced onto white oak. Just barely fit! Phew!

The final stem and knee pieces were cut on the bandsaw. Sections were planed down to 1.5". All edges were smoothed with a spokeshave and card scraper to fit the lofting. The top of the stem is left long intentionally to attach it to the strongback. Later, this will be cut to size after planking.

Lessons Learned

I probably should have set up to cut out the keel and keelson before starting on the stem, but no harm done. I'm just going to wait until the keel and keelson are on the molds before cutting out the rabbet in the stem which I had initially planned to do for my next step. I want to be able to do some actual test fitting as I cut out the rabbet and can't do that yet! Also, halfway through planing the 2" oak down to 1.5", I realized that I should have resawn it and at least have saved a 3/8" piece of oak. It's all sawdust from the planer now. Ah well.

Next Step

Cutting out the keel and keelson.

Materials List:

• 8/4 White Oak 32"x10", Lakeshore Hardwoods, $40
• 1/8" Birch Plywood, 2'x4', Lowes, $7

Project Materials Summary:

• Plans and Book: $60
• Lofting Supplies: $47.88
• Mold Supplies: $36
• Strongback Lumber: $33
• Transom Materials: $22
• Stem and Knee: $47

- Total Project Expenses so far: $245.88

Labor Hours Summary:

• 5/29/09 - 6/8/09: Lofting - 12 Hours
• 6/14/09 - 6/20/09: Building Molds: 5 Hours
• 6/25/09 - 6/27/09: Building Strongback: 7.5 Hours
• 6/30/09 - 7/13/09: Building Transom: 6 Hours
• 7/14/09 - 7/20/09: Stem Lofting Detail: 3 Hours
• 7/22/09 - 7/29/09: Stem and Knee Cutout: 4 Hours

- Total Project Labor Hours so far: 37.5 Hours
- Time since starting project: 63 days (2 months 2 days)

Hey Matt,
You are right…..Keel and Keelson is prefered but it will be ok…...take your time….....looking good.

 

[mattd]

Keel, Keelson, Skeg and Sternpost - Part 1

This is the construction of the Keel, Keelson, Skeg and Sternpost. These solid oak parts form the bottom backbone of the boat.

I started by cutting out the shape of keel and keelson by transfering the measurements from the lofting. The keel is the thicker piece which be on the very bottom of the boat.

The next step is to put a rolling bevel on the edge of the keelson. The intention is for the bottom planking to fit perfectly into a beveled "notch" that is carved into the keelson and keel. The method I used was to transfer the "bevel" lines from the lofting onto the keelson at each "station" along the length. There are 5 stations along the length of the boat about 21" apart. The following photo shows the lofting for station 1. Each station is a little different.

After the stations are marked, The keelson is put onto the molds and notched at each station to make sure that the planking will fit tightly. I had to make a few minor adjustments.

After each station is notched, I used a batten to draw slightly curved lines on the top and edge of the keelson to "connect" each station. Material between stations is removed with a plane and spokeshave so there is a nice gradual curve between each station. I have not yet cut aft of station 1 or fore of station 4. This will be done later after all the backbone components are fitted together.

At this point, I realize I need a steambox to bend the keelson along the skeg. The book says it can be bent cold (not easily I found), but recommends relieving stress with steam. So I spent a lot of time researching low cost steamboxes that can run indoors and came up with my $75 Eight Foot SteamBox, which I'm really happy with. So the keelson is steamed for a half hour fore of station 4.

Keelson is clamped hot onto the skeg and keel. Bends easy now!

This shows everything assembled in the rear section. The sternpost is the vertical piece that will be connected to the transom.

Here's a closeup of the skeg section and how all these pieces join. Everything is just test fitted here and needs a little more fitting. The extra length on the keel will be cut off later. The skeg and sternpost and joined with a mortise and tenon that is pinned with 1/4" silicon bronze. The white stuff between the skeg and sternpost is Boatlife Caulk which is like a rubber gasket/bedding compound. All joints will be bedded with this stuff eventually.

Finally, a quick note on the hardware that will be used on this project starting with the next steps. I originally planned to use stainless steel carriage bolts and screws for this project, but decided on 655 Silicon Bronze for below and above the waterline after reading up on the subject. Basically, it's about twice the cost as stainless, but it's the standard for wooden boat construction and should last much longer. It also looks great. This alloy is around 97% copper. CCFastners was the most affordable source I could find. They shipped quickly and the hardware is high quality.

Materials List:

• 8/4 White Oak 10'x8" Lakeshore Hardwoods, $75
• 1/4"x 1 foot bronze rod, Jamestown Distributors, $5
• BoatLife Life Caulk, Jamestown Distributors, $17
• Silicon Bronze Hardware, CCFastners.com, $225

Project Materials Summary:

• Plans and Book: $60
• Lofting Supplies: $47.88
• Mold Supplies: $36
• Strongback Lumber: $33
• Transom Materials: $22
• Stem and Knee: $47
• Keelson, Keel, Skeg and Sternpost: $97
• Silicon Bronze Hardware: $225

- Total Project Expenses so far: $567.88

Labor Hours Summary:

• 5/29/09 - 6/8/09: Lofting - 12 Hours
• 6/14/09 - 6/20/09: Building Molds: 5 Hours
• 6/25/09 - 6/27/09: Building Strongback: 7.5 Hours
• 6/30/09 - 7/13/09: Building Transom: 6 Hours
• 7/14/09 - 7/20/09: Stem Lofting Detail: 3 Hours
• 7/22/09 - 7/29/09: Stem and Knee Cutout: 4 Hours
• 7/30/09 - 8/16/09: Keel, Keelson, Skeg and Sternpost: 21 Hours

- Total Project Labor Hours so far: 58.5 Hours
- Time since starting project: 81 days (2 months 20 days)

 

[patron]

Keel, Keelson, Skeg and Sternpost - Part 1

This is the construction of the Keel, Keelson, Skeg and Sternpost. These solid oak parts form the bottom backbone of the boat.

I started by cutting out the shape of keel and keelson by transfering the measurements from the lofting. The keel is the thicker piece which be on the very bottom of the boat.

The next step is to put a rolling bevel on the edge of the keelson. The intention is for the bottom planking to fit perfectly into a beveled "notch" that is carved into the keelson and keel. The method I used was to transfer the "bevel" lines from the lofting onto the keelson at each "station" along the length. There are 5 stations along the length of the boat about 21" apart. The following photo shows the lofting for station 1. Each station is a little different.

After the stations are marked, The keelson is put onto the molds and notched at each station to make sure that the planking will fit tightly. I had to make a few minor adjustments.

After each station is notched, I used a batten to draw slightly curved lines on the top and edge of the keelson to "connect" each station. Material between stations is removed with a plane and spokeshave so there is a nice gradual curve between each station. I have not yet cut aft of station 1 or fore of station 4. This will be done later after all the backbone components are fitted together.

At this point, I realize I need a steambox to bend the keelson along the skeg. The book says it can be bent cold (not easily I found), but recommends relieving stress with steam. So I spent a lot of time researching low cost steamboxes that can run indoors and came up with my $75 Eight Foot SteamBox, which I'm really happy with. So the keelson is steamed for a half hour fore of station 4.

Keelson is clamped hot onto the skeg and keel. Bends easy now!

This shows everything assembled in the rear section. The sternpost is the vertical piece that will be connected to the transom.

Here's a closeup of the skeg section and how all these pieces join. Everything is just test fitted here and needs a little more fitting. The extra length on the keel will be cut off later. The skeg and sternpost and joined with a mortise and tenon that is pinned with 1/4" silicon bronze. The white stuff between the skeg and sternpost is Boatlife Caulk which is like a rubber gasket/bedding compound. All joints will be bedded with this stuff eventually.

Finally, a quick note on the hardware that will be used on this project starting with the next steps. I originally planned to use stainless steel carriage bolts and screws for this project, but decided on 655 Silicon Bronze for below and above the waterline after reading up on the subject. Basically, it's about twice the cost as stainless, but it's the standard for wooden boat construction and should last much longer. It also looks great. This alloy is around 97% copper. CCFastners was the most affordable source I could find. They shipped quickly and the hardware is high quality.

Materials List:

• 8/4 White Oak 10'x8" Lakeshore Hardwoods, $75
• 1/4"x 1 foot bronze rod, Jamestown Distributors, $5
• BoatLife Life Caulk, Jamestown Distributors, $17
• Silicon Bronze Hardware, CCFastners.com, $225

Project Materials Summary:

• Plans and Book: $60
• Lofting Supplies: $47.88
• Mold Supplies: $36
• Strongback Lumber: $33
• Transom Materials: $22
• Stem and Knee: $47
• Keelson, Keel, Skeg and Sternpost: $97
• Silicon Bronze Hardware: $225

- Total Project Expenses so far: $567.88

Labor Hours Summary:

• 5/29/09 - 6/8/09: Lofting - 12 Hours
• 6/14/09 - 6/20/09: Building Molds: 5 Hours
• 6/25/09 - 6/27/09: Building Strongback: 7.5 Hours
• 6/30/09 - 7/13/09: Building Transom: 6 Hours
• 7/14/09 - 7/20/09: Stem Lofting Detail: 3 Hours
• 7/22/09 - 7/29/09: Stem and Knee Cutout: 4 Hours
• 7/30/09 - 8/16/09: Keel, Keelson, Skeg and Sternpost: 21 Hours

- Total Project Labor Hours so far: 58.5 Hours
- Time since starting project: 81 days (2 months 20 days)

looks real nice , matt .

" by guess , or by God "

you will be on ncis ,
before you know it !

 

[itsarvninea]

Keel, Keelson, Skeg and Sternpost - Part 1

This is the construction of the Keel, Keelson, Skeg and Sternpost. These solid oak parts form the bottom backbone of the boat.

I started by cutting out the shape of keel and keelson by transfering the measurements from the lofting. The keel is the thicker piece which be on the very bottom of the boat.

The next step is to put a rolling bevel on the edge of the keelson. The intention is for the bottom planking to fit perfectly into a beveled "notch" that is carved into the keelson and keel. The method I used was to transfer the "bevel" lines from the lofting onto the keelson at each "station" along the length. There are 5 stations along the length of the boat about 21" apart. The following photo shows the lofting for station 1. Each station is a little different.

After the stations are marked, The keelson is put onto the molds and notched at each station to make sure that the planking will fit tightly. I had to make a few minor adjustments.

After each station is notched, I used a batten to draw slightly curved lines on the top and edge of the keelson to "connect" each station. Material between stations is removed with a plane and spokeshave so there is a nice gradual curve between each station. I have not yet cut aft of station 1 or fore of station 4. This will be done later after all the backbone components are fitted together.

At this point, I realize I need a steambox to bend the keelson along the skeg. The book says it can be bent cold (not easily I found), but recommends relieving stress with steam. So I spent a lot of time researching low cost steamboxes that can run indoors and came up with my $75 Eight Foot SteamBox, which I'm really happy with. So the keelson is steamed for a half hour fore of station 4.

Keelson is clamped hot onto the skeg and keel. Bends easy now!

This shows everything assembled in the rear section. The sternpost is the vertical piece that will be connected to the transom.

Here's a closeup of the skeg section and how all these pieces join. Everything is just test fitted here and needs a little more fitting. The extra length on the keel will be cut off later. The skeg and sternpost and joined with a mortise and tenon that is pinned with 1/4" silicon bronze. The white stuff between the skeg and sternpost is Boatlife Caulk which is like a rubber gasket/bedding compound. All joints will be bedded with this stuff eventually.

Finally, a quick note on the hardware that will be used on this project starting with the next steps. I originally planned to use stainless steel carriage bolts and screws for this project, but decided on 655 Silicon Bronze for below and above the waterline after reading up on the subject. Basically, it's about twice the cost as stainless, but it's the standard for wooden boat construction and should last much longer. It also looks great. This alloy is around 97% copper. CCFastners was the most affordable source I could find. They shipped quickly and the hardware is high quality.

Materials List:

• 8/4 White Oak 10'x8" Lakeshore Hardwoods, $75
• 1/4"x 1 foot bronze rod, Jamestown Distributors, $5
• BoatLife Life Caulk, Jamestown Distributors, $17
• Silicon Bronze Hardware, CCFastners.com, $225

Project Materials Summary:

• Plans and Book: $60
• Lofting Supplies: $47.88
• Mold Supplies: $36
• Strongback Lumber: $33
• Transom Materials: $22
• Stem and Knee: $47
• Keelson, Keel, Skeg and Sternpost: $97
• Silicon Bronze Hardware: $225

- Total Project Expenses so far: $567.88

Labor Hours Summary:

• 5/29/09 - 6/8/09: Lofting - 12 Hours
• 6/14/09 - 6/20/09: Building Molds: 5 Hours
• 6/25/09 - 6/27/09: Building Strongback: 7.5 Hours
• 6/30/09 - 7/13/09: Building Transom: 6 Hours
• 7/14/09 - 7/20/09: Stem Lofting Detail: 3 Hours
• 7/22/09 - 7/29/09: Stem and Knee Cutout: 4 Hours
• 7/30/09 - 8/16/09: Keel, Keelson, Skeg and Sternpost: 21 Hours

- Total Project Labor Hours so far: 58.5 Hours
- Time since starting project: 81 days (2 months 20 days)

Keep up the good work Matt will you be making your first test run on the Liffy or Oneida Lake??

 

[a1Jim]

Keel, Keelson, Skeg and Sternpost - Part 1

This is the construction of the Keel, Keelson, Skeg and Sternpost. These solid oak parts form the bottom backbone of the boat.

I started by cutting out the shape of keel and keelson by transfering the measurements from the lofting. The keel is the thicker piece which be on the very bottom of the boat.

The next step is to put a rolling bevel on the edge of the keelson. The intention is for the bottom planking to fit perfectly into a beveled "notch" that is carved into the keelson and keel. The method I used was to transfer the "bevel" lines from the lofting onto the keelson at each "station" along the length. There are 5 stations along the length of the boat about 21" apart. The following photo shows the lofting for station 1. Each station is a little different.

After the stations are marked, The keelson is put onto the molds and notched at each station to make sure that the planking will fit tightly. I had to make a few minor adjustments.

After each station is notched, I used a batten to draw slightly curved lines on the top and edge of the keelson to "connect" each station. Material between stations is removed with a plane and spokeshave so there is a nice gradual curve between each station. I have not yet cut aft of station 1 or fore of station 4. This will be done later after all the backbone components are fitted together.

At this point, I realize I need a steambox to bend the keelson along the skeg. The book says it can be bent cold (not easily I found), but recommends relieving stress with steam. So I spent a lot of time researching low cost steamboxes that can run indoors and came up with my $75 Eight Foot SteamBox, which I'm really happy with. So the keelson is steamed for a half hour fore of station 4.

Keelson is clamped hot onto the skeg and keel. Bends easy now!

This shows everything assembled in the rear section. The sternpost is the vertical piece that will be connected to the transom.

Here's a closeup of the skeg section and how all these pieces join. Everything is just test fitted here and needs a little more fitting. The extra length on the keel will be cut off later. The skeg and sternpost and joined with a mortise and tenon that is pinned with 1/4" silicon bronze. The white stuff between the skeg and sternpost is Boatlife Caulk which is like a rubber gasket/bedding compound. All joints will be bedded with this stuff eventually.

Finally, a quick note on the hardware that will be used on this project starting with the next steps. I originally planned to use stainless steel carriage bolts and screws for this project, but decided on 655 Silicon Bronze for below and above the waterline after reading up on the subject. Basically, it's about twice the cost as stainless, but it's the standard for wooden boat construction and should last much longer. It also looks great. This alloy is around 97% copper. CCFastners was the most affordable source I could find. They shipped quickly and the hardware is high quality.

Materials List:

• 8/4 White Oak 10'x8" Lakeshore Hardwoods, $75
• 1/4"x 1 foot bronze rod, Jamestown Distributors, $5
• BoatLife Life Caulk, Jamestown Distributors, $17
• Silicon Bronze Hardware, CCFastners.com, $225

Project Materials Summary:

• Plans and Book: $60
• Lofting Supplies: $47.88
• Mold Supplies: $36
• Strongback Lumber: $33
• Transom Materials: $22
• Stem and Knee: $47
• Keelson, Keel, Skeg and Sternpost: $97
• Silicon Bronze Hardware: $225

- Total Project Expenses so far: $567.88

Labor Hours Summary:

• 5/29/09 - 6/8/09: Lofting - 12 Hours
• 6/14/09 - 6/20/09: Building Molds: 5 Hours
• 6/25/09 - 6/27/09: Building Strongback: 7.5 Hours
• 6/30/09 - 7/13/09: Building Transom: 6 Hours
• 7/14/09 - 7/20/09: Stem Lofting Detail: 3 Hours
• 7/22/09 - 7/29/09: Stem and Knee Cutout: 4 Hours
• 7/30/09 - 8/16/09: Keel, Keelson, Skeg and Sternpost: 21 Hours

- Total Project Labor Hours so far: 58.5 Hours
- Time since starting project: 81 days (2 months 20 days)

cool blog boats are new to me.

 

[CaptainSkully]

Keel, Keelson, Skeg and Sternpost - Part 1

This is the construction of the Keel, Keelson, Skeg and Sternpost. These solid oak parts form the bottom backbone of the boat.

I started by cutting out the shape of keel and keelson by transfering the measurements from the lofting. The keel is the thicker piece which be on the very bottom of the boat.

The next step is to put a rolling bevel on the edge of the keelson. The intention is for the bottom planking to fit perfectly into a beveled "notch" that is carved into the keelson and keel. The method I used was to transfer the "bevel" lines from the lofting onto the keelson at each "station" along the length. There are 5 stations along the length of the boat about 21" apart. The following photo shows the lofting for station 1. Each station is a little different.

After the stations are marked, The keelson is put onto the molds and notched at each station to make sure that the planking will fit tightly. I had to make a few minor adjustments.

After each station is notched, I used a batten to draw slightly curved lines on the top and edge of the keelson to "connect" each station. Material between stations is removed with a plane and spokeshave so there is a nice gradual curve between each station. I have not yet cut aft of station 1 or fore of station 4. This will be done later after all the backbone components are fitted together.

At this point, I realize I need a steambox to bend the keelson along the skeg. The book says it can be bent cold (not easily I found), but recommends relieving stress with steam. So I spent a lot of time researching low cost steamboxes that can run indoors and came up with my $75 Eight Foot SteamBox, which I'm really happy with. So the keelson is steamed for a half hour fore of station 4.

Keelson is clamped hot onto the skeg and keel. Bends easy now!

This shows everything assembled in the rear section. The sternpost is the vertical piece that will be connected to the transom.

Here's a closeup of the skeg section and how all these pieces join. Everything is just test fitted here and needs a little more fitting. The extra length on the keel will be cut off later. The skeg and sternpost and joined with a mortise and tenon that is pinned with 1/4" silicon bronze. The white stuff between the skeg and sternpost is Boatlife Caulk which is like a rubber gasket/bedding compound. All joints will be bedded with this stuff eventually.

Finally, a quick note on the hardware that will be used on this project starting with the next steps. I originally planned to use stainless steel carriage bolts and screws for this project, but decided on 655 Silicon Bronze for below and above the waterline after reading up on the subject. Basically, it's about twice the cost as stainless, but it's the standard for wooden boat construction and should last much longer. It also looks great. This alloy is around 97% copper. CCFastners was the most affordable source I could find. They shipped quickly and the hardware is high quality.

Materials List:

• 8/4 White Oak 10'x8" Lakeshore Hardwoods, $75
• 1/4"x 1 foot bronze rod, Jamestown Distributors, $5
• BoatLife Life Caulk, Jamestown Distributors, $17
• Silicon Bronze Hardware, CCFastners.com, $225

Project Materials Summary:

• Plans and Book: $60
• Lofting Supplies: $47.88
• Mold Supplies: $36
• Strongback Lumber: $33
• Transom Materials: $22
• Stem and Knee: $47
• Keelson, Keel, Skeg and Sternpost: $97
• Silicon Bronze Hardware: $225

- Total Project Expenses so far: $567.88

Labor Hours Summary:

• 5/29/09 - 6/8/09: Lofting - 12 Hours
• 6/14/09 - 6/20/09: Building Molds: 5 Hours
• 6/25/09 - 6/27/09: Building Strongback: 7.5 Hours
• 6/30/09 - 7/13/09: Building Transom: 6 Hours
• 7/14/09 - 7/20/09: Stem Lofting Detail: 3 Hours
• 7/22/09 - 7/29/09: Stem and Knee Cutout: 4 Hours
• 7/30/09 - 8/16/09: Keel, Keelson, Skeg and Sternpost: 21 Hours

- Total Project Labor Hours so far: 58.5 Hours
- Time since starting project: 81 days (2 months 20 days)

Dude! This is one of the coolest blogs on LJ's. If the 9' version of this tender will fit on whatever 40'-42' boat we buy next year, I will be building one. To heck with a Hypalon inflatable. Thanks for all of the feedback on lessons learned along the way. I'm also blown away by the quality of the comments, which shows the true value of LJ's. Sunshine has classically beautiful lines. As a sailor and a woodworker, this project is imperative. I can't wait for the next installment!

 

[NickCox1]

Keel, Keelson, Skeg and Sternpost - Part 1

This is the construction of the Keel, Keelson, Skeg and Sternpost. These solid oak parts form the bottom backbone of the boat.

I started by cutting out the shape of keel and keelson by transfering the measurements from the lofting. The keel is the thicker piece which be on the very bottom of the boat.

The next step is to put a rolling bevel on the edge of the keelson. The intention is for the bottom planking to fit perfectly into a beveled "notch" that is carved into the keelson and keel. The method I used was to transfer the "bevel" lines from the lofting onto the keelson at each "station" along the length. There are 5 stations along the length of the boat about 21" apart. The following photo shows the lofting for station 1. Each station is a little different.

After the stations are marked, The keelson is put onto the molds and notched at each station to make sure that the planking will fit tightly. I had to make a few minor adjustments.

After each station is notched, I used a batten to draw slightly curved lines on the top and edge of the keelson to "connect" each station. Material between stations is removed with a plane and spokeshave so there is a nice gradual curve between each station. I have not yet cut aft of station 1 or fore of station 4. This will be done later after all the backbone components are fitted together.

At this point, I realize I need a steambox to bend the keelson along the skeg. The book says it can be bent cold (not easily I found), but recommends relieving stress with steam. So I spent a lot of time researching low cost steamboxes that can run indoors and came up with my $75 Eight Foot SteamBox, which I'm really happy with. So the keelson is steamed for a half hour fore of station 4.

Keelson is clamped hot onto the skeg and keel. Bends easy now!

This shows everything assembled in the rear section. The sternpost is the vertical piece that will be connected to the transom.

Here's a closeup of the skeg section and how all these pieces join. Everything is just test fitted here and needs a little more fitting. The extra length on the keel will be cut off later. The skeg and sternpost and joined with a mortise and tenon that is pinned with 1/4" silicon bronze. The white stuff between the skeg and sternpost is Boatlife Caulk which is like a rubber gasket/bedding compound. All joints will be bedded with this stuff eventually.

Finally, a quick note on the hardware that will be used on this project starting with the next steps. I originally planned to use stainless steel carriage bolts and screws for this project, but decided on 655 Silicon Bronze for below and above the waterline after reading up on the subject. Basically, it's about twice the cost as stainless, but it's the standard for wooden boat construction and should last much longer. It also looks great. This alloy is around 97% copper. CCFastners was the most affordable source I could find. They shipped quickly and the hardware is high quality.

Materials List:

• 8/4 White Oak 10'x8" Lakeshore Hardwoods, $75
• 1/4"x 1 foot bronze rod, Jamestown Distributors, $5
• BoatLife Life Caulk, Jamestown Distributors, $17
• Silicon Bronze Hardware, CCFastners.com, $225

Project Materials Summary:

• Plans and Book: $60
• Lofting Supplies: $47.88
• Mold Supplies: $36
• Strongback Lumber: $33
• Transom Materials: $22
• Stem and Knee: $47
• Keelson, Keel, Skeg and Sternpost: $97
• Silicon Bronze Hardware: $225

- Total Project Expenses so far: $567.88

Labor Hours Summary:

• 5/29/09 - 6/8/09: Lofting - 12 Hours
• 6/14/09 - 6/20/09: Building Molds: 5 Hours
• 6/25/09 - 6/27/09: Building Strongback: 7.5 Hours
• 6/30/09 - 7/13/09: Building Transom: 6 Hours
• 7/14/09 - 7/20/09: Stem Lofting Detail: 3 Hours
• 7/22/09 - 7/29/09: Stem and Knee Cutout: 4 Hours
• 7/30/09 - 8/16/09: Keel, Keelson, Skeg and Sternpost: 21 Hours

- Total Project Labor Hours so far: 58.5 Hours
- Time since starting project: 81 days (2 months 20 days)

Great info.
I am a novice.
What material did you use for the keel, Keelson and Stern post?

 

[mattd]

Attaching Transom, Finding Planking Lumber and Copper Rivets

It's been a busy month for other things, but I've made some good progress on the boat. I've also managed to find some great planking lumber, with a great story behind it, which I'll write about a bit below.

But first, update on the transom which now completes the stern.

The transom is attached to sternpost with 5 countersunk #10 bronze screws which are covered with matching cherry plugs. Later on, I'll epoxy in and cut the plugs off flush.

And a shot of the whole keel and transom assembly.

Planking Lumber

I've spent a lot of time researching planking lumber since I started this project. I've considered everything from Western Red, Atlantic and Northern Cedars, Cypress, Spanish Cedar and Larch. Teak and Mahogony.. far too costly. None of these species, except for Larch and Cypress maybe, grows anywhere near Central New York.

I was mostly settled on Western Red Cedar, as I can obtain it locally, until I came across an ad on craigslist listing "Larch Lumber for Sale". It turned out that the seller was an older gentleman who had bought the larch about 3-4 years ago. He had been planning to build a large boat with it for many years, since around 1950 or so as I recall. My father and I drove down to meet him, and sure enough, he had about 300bf of air dried 10"x16' larch perfectly stacked and stickered. He said he bought it from an Amish sawyer in southern New York, which would almost certainly make it Tamarack or American Larch. Larch is a conifer, almost like something between a cedar and pine and has a tough and waterproof quality to it. I've read you can build an a boat entirely from Larch including the keel, ribs, masts and planking.

We spent the entire morning with him and his wife, who are the friendliest and most interesting folks you could meet. He showed us his woodworking and stained glass shops and we talked about several of his projects including some canoes he had built. He showed us the plans to the boat that he recently decided he couldn't build. I'm sure it was hard for him to part with his planking and his project, but we talked about how we were both glad to see it going into a boat project.

We ended up driving back with about twice the amount of lumber I need for this project. Here's a shot of some of the boards I'll be using for planking.

Copper Rivets

After finding my planking, I needed to settle on how to fasten them together and to the ribs. There are at least a few ways to do it including clenching, riveting and glue I suppose. I finally decided on rivets using copper nails and roves and bought them from Faering Design. They specifically sell fasteners and tools for boat builders. I also bought the Rove Set tool and Bucking Hammer from them so that I have the right tools for the job. I'll probably show more details on riveting in a future entry here.

Materials List:

• Larch Planking, Found through Craigslist, $150 (I figured half my cost here, since I'm only using some of it)
• Copper Rivets and Roves, Faering Design, $175

Project Materials Summary:

• Plans and Book: $60
• Lofting Supplies: $47.88
• Mold Supplies: $36
• Strongback Lumber: $33
• Transom Materials: $22
• Stem and Knee: $47
• Keelson, Keel, Skeg and Sternpost: $97
• Silicon Bronze Hardware: $225
• Larch Planking and Copper Rivets: $325

- Total Project Expenses so far: $892.88

Labor Hours Summary:

• 5/29/09 - 6/8/09: Lofting - 12 Hours
• 6/14/09 - 6/20/09: Building Molds: 5 Hours
• 6/25/09 - 6/27/09: Building Strongback: 7.5 Hours
• 6/30/09 - 7/13/09: Building Transom: 6 Hours
• 7/14/09 - 7/20/09: Stem Lofting Detail: 3 Hours
• 7/22/09 - 7/29/09: Stem and Knee Cutout: 4 Hours
• 7/30/09 - 8/16/09: Keel, Keelson, Skeg and Sternpost: 21 Hours
• 8/16/09 - 9/5/09: Attaching Transom: 3 Hours

- Total Project Labor Hours so far: 61.5 Hours
- Time since starting project: 122 days (3 months 30 days)

 

[Bruce]

Attaching Transom, Finding Planking Lumber and Copper Rivets

It's been a busy month for other things, but I've made some good progress on the boat. I've also managed to find some great planking lumber, with a great story behind it, which I'll write about a bit below.

But first, update on the transom which now completes the stern.

The transom is attached to sternpost with 5 countersunk #10 bronze screws which are covered with matching cherry plugs. Later on, I'll epoxy in and cut the plugs off flush.

And a shot of the whole keel and transom assembly.

Planking Lumber

I've spent a lot of time researching planking lumber since I started this project. I've considered everything from Western Red, Atlantic and Northern Cedars, Cypress, Spanish Cedar and Larch. Teak and Mahogony.. far too costly. None of these species, except for Larch and Cypress maybe, grows anywhere near Central New York.

I was mostly settled on Western Red Cedar, as I can obtain it locally, until I came across an ad on craigslist listing "Larch Lumber for Sale". It turned out that the seller was an older gentleman who had bought the larch about 3-4 years ago. He had been planning to build a large boat with it for many years, since around 1950 or so as I recall. My father and I drove down to meet him, and sure enough, he had about 300bf of air dried 10"x16' larch perfectly stacked and stickered. He said he bought it from an Amish sawyer in southern New York, which would almost certainly make it Tamarack or American Larch. Larch is a conifer, almost like something between a cedar and pine and has a tough and waterproof quality to it. I've read you can build an a boat entirely from Larch including the keel, ribs, masts and planking.

We spent the entire morning with him and his wife, who are the friendliest and most interesting folks you could meet. He showed us his woodworking and stained glass shops and we talked about several of his projects including some canoes he had built. He showed us the plans to the boat that he recently decided he couldn't build. I'm sure it was hard for him to part with his planking and his project, but we talked about how we were both glad to see it going into a boat project.

We ended up driving back with about twice the amount of lumber I need for this project. Here's a shot of some of the boards I'll be using for planking.

Copper Rivets

After finding my planking, I needed to settle on how to fasten them together and to the ribs. There are at least a few ways to do it including clenching, riveting and glue I suppose. I finally decided on rivets using copper nails and roves and bought them from Faering Design. They specifically sell fasteners and tools for boat builders. I also bought the Rove Set tool and Bucking Hammer from them so that I have the right tools for the job. I'll probably show more details on riveting in a future entry here.

Materials List:

• Larch Planking, Found through Craigslist, $150 (I figured half my cost here, since I'm only using some of it)
• Copper Rivets and Roves, Faering Design, $175

Project Materials Summary:

• Plans and Book: $60
• Lofting Supplies: $47.88
• Mold Supplies: $36
• Strongback Lumber: $33
• Transom Materials: $22
• Stem and Knee: $47
• Keelson, Keel, Skeg and Sternpost: $97
• Silicon Bronze Hardware: $225
• Larch Planking and Copper Rivets: $325

- Total Project Expenses so far: $892.88

Labor Hours Summary:

• 5/29/09 - 6/8/09: Lofting - 12 Hours
• 6/14/09 - 6/20/09: Building Molds: 5 Hours
• 6/25/09 - 6/27/09: Building Strongback: 7.5 Hours
• 6/30/09 - 7/13/09: Building Transom: 6 Hours
• 7/14/09 - 7/20/09: Stem Lofting Detail: 3 Hours
• 7/22/09 - 7/29/09: Stem and Knee Cutout: 4 Hours
• 7/30/09 - 8/16/09: Keel, Keelson, Skeg and Sternpost: 21 Hours
• 8/16/09 - 9/5/09: Attaching Transom: 3 Hours

- Total Project Labor Hours so far: 61.5 Hours
- Time since starting project: 122 days (3 months 30 days)

I just found your blog on building Sunshine from a link showing constructing a dust system which I am in the process of designing and installing. I have had a set of Sunshine plans on my shelf for many months now and have been reluctant to begin. Reading your blog has given me the enthusiasm to begin the lofting. Keep up the excellent work and many thanks for giving all of us "hopeful" types the confidence to begin our own boats.