one man dory, gunnels are done!

started this project last week.  got bottom braces in tonight.  kind of tricky, everything has a 22.5' angle for the gunnel flare out, w/ a taper to 18' in the bow and stern (' means degrees, to me anyhow).   every piece needed to be individually measured, all were different angles.   as you can see in the pics, every three braces i bumped it in 13/16" at a 22.5' to leave room for the side braces.  you will have to excuse my terminology, im new to building boats.  anyhow, had to use a #10 countersink for the #6 ss screws so they wouldnt shear out.  naturally, the "bit" portion was too big for the small screws, so i used yet another bit for my depth.  i had to use 3 bits for each screw, that was lovely.  white oak is not too soft, but ill thank myself later.  it would have come together quicker, but i got 4 coats of epiphanes on both the top of the bottom of the hull and the undersides of the braces.  as you can see in the pictures, i havent done the yops yet.  anything exposed will be done together later down the road.  i have all the side braces (mahogany) cut already, but its dinner time, so ill get to that tomorrow if im lucky.  i have to sand out the putty first and i dont want to whack the sides, i got sick of the little 5" random orbits a while ago and got a burly 6" one (which i highly recommend for working w/ hard woods).  i will continue to post pics and also ask questions, im good w/ woodworking skills but have never built a boat before.   

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Permalink Reply by Greg Hatten on January 11, 2011 at 5:29pm

Very cool - that's a pretty unique "build" you picked for your first boat.  Love it.  Welcome to the site.

GH

Permalink Reply by justin nicola on January 12, 2011 at 5:21am
also, i know i am jumping the gun, but where is a good spot to buy boat "jewelry".  since this boat will not get the hardcore use some of your drift boats get, i want to keep things as simple as possible.  i already collect antique cleats so i can just pull one from my collection for the bow, all that really leaves are oarlocks.  i want something simple, functional, and that looks good.  tell me something other than west marine please...
Permalink Reply by justin nicola on January 12, 2011 at 10:16am
got the side braces in today.  after cursing cheap drill bits and countersink bits last night, i got 2 counterinsk bits made by fuller for about $12 apiece.  they cut clean holes in both white oak and mahogany, drilling about 100 holes consecutively.  i would highly recommend them.  as you can (maybe) see, the braces taper from 22.5 to 18' at the bow and stern.  next up, building the prow(?) and stern support.  like i said, forgive my lack of terminology.  the piece of wood extending at a sharp angle from the bottoms of the hull in bow and stern. 
Permalink Reply by Lawrence E. Long on January 12, 2011 at 10:41am
Justin:  The pieces you are talking about are what I call "stems".  My current build has both an inner stem and an outer stem.  The outer stem goes on after the planking is completed  which covers up the "raw "ends of the plywood planking.
Permalink Reply by Dave Z on January 12, 2011 at 6:55pm
looks alot like a pirogue.  neat.
Permalink Reply by justin nicola on January 14, 2011 at 9:00am
i had to google "pirogue" but yes it does.  they are cool boats. 
Permalink Reply by justin nicola on January 16, 2011 at 11:45am

so i have been polying the inside portion of the plywood for the gunnels.  today i cut them to size and clamped them in place.  could have glued and screwed today but w/ only my girlfriend around to help, i have decided to wait til tomorrow evening when i can get a fellow woodworker over.  i know from experience this is in the best interest for my relationship.  i think i am going to leave the top open for the most part.  i had originally planned on a partial enclosure (kayak style) but boat is getting heavy and its structurally rigid as is.  ill just add bracing at the top and around the outside, then run some type of trim piece to kill out edges.  took a few pics, but remember, they are just clamped in place temporarily.  it will look a lot better tomorrow. 

 

QUESTION: should i use 5200 or wood glue to glue panels to support brackets?  i am thinking wood glue above waterline, 5200 below.  i am using high quality waterproof wood glue, applied liberally w/ glue brushes (and i hate 5200 as a general rule).

 

sidenote- placed a large order of paint, 5200, more epiphanes, and jewelry from our sponsor Jamestown distributors, they have great selection and better prices...

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Permalink Reply by Greg Hatten on January 16, 2011 at 12:46pm

Nice job Justin - your wood is beautiful!!

GH

Permalink Reply by justin nicola on January 19, 2011 at 1:04pm
got the 1/4" plywood sides on today.  wound up buying a whole bunch of "one handed" clamps that actually worked great.  made by irwin, about $5 apiece.  used all glue, but when i screwed everything together, a few of my "perfect" cuts on the inside support system turned out to be not so perfect.  nothing too major, but i will seal the joints w/ some mahogany colored 5200 just to make it look clean.  i am a bit unsure about how to finish off the stems in the bow and stern.  ive attached a few pictures, the third one is a closeup of the stem (cut ends rough w/ a jigsaw, will clean up later).  obviously i have to fill the gap in the middle, i will probably mill something out of two pieces of mahogany (maybe 3/8 thick) and make a V killing out the edge.  if anybody has any pics of what they've done or suggestions please chime in.  as you can see, i have got 4 layers of epiphanes on all the insides and undersides of the slats in the bottom, since once they are screwed in place i cant reach them.
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Permalink Reply by John Greenleaf on January 19, 2011 at 5:38pm
Justin, I would definitely suggest some type of cap on the stem to cover the end grain of the plywood. For my boat, I put a cap on and then put some more detail pieces on either side of the cap..note: (what I show here is way more complicated and beefy than needed- really you only need one end piece cap)- Anyway, I went to town and for mine, the rails and chine caps then butted into this second piece(s) that lie on either side of the end cap. Afterwards, I trimmed  the space next to the cap and in-between the rails with some 1/4 roundish stuff I made with the router. See the pics, I think you will get the idea. Main point is, just seal the end grain. J.G.
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Permalink Reply by justin nicola on January 20, 2011 at 4:36am

john, thanks for adding pictures, it makes all the difference.  that is almost exactly what i am thinking, although i probably won't beef it up quite as much (even though its always better to overbuild than underbuild). 

 

quick question, did you use wood plugs or putty to fill your countersink holes?

Permalink Reply by John Greenleaf on January 20, 2011 at 6:01am

Glad it helped, even though I somehow had the pics sideways. For the countersink holes, I used a commercially available 2-part epoxy filler called "EZ fillet" (I think that was the name). It was simple to mix, consistent in color (matched with my mahogany pretty nicely) and sanded fairly nice. Alternatively, you could also use wood flour and regular old epoxy and make something yourself (I used this method for some of my larger fill jobs (I put a couple fillets here and there and also used it to install my rear/transom passenger seat). In any event, I would stay away from regular old wood putty - not sure how that holds up to a soaking.

One more note on the cap - you may want to figure out what your doing for hardware beforehand to make sure the piece is wide enough, thick enough & strong enough.  I put in a bow eye for easy loading (you can see it in the one picture) and another eye bolt/ring (i think this is visible too). I suspect, if you use too narrow or flimsy a piece, you may crack it when you crank down on the hardware during the install. Again, mine was overboard even considering this, probably just one 3/4" strip that covered the stem and plywood edge and a bit wider than the hardware would have been sufficient. J.G.

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