Wooden Boat People

By McKenzieDriftBoat.com

Snap, Crackle, Pop!

After multiple delays I have finally gotten back to building my boat. Perhaps some of you remember that I have been working on it for several years. When I last left the build in April just prior to the McKenzie River Wooden Boat Show I had been obsessing about completing it in time for the show. However an error in mixing my finish resulted in a blotchy finish I was frustrated with. I had not returned it to the garage and that night a storm blew my boat against my trailer and cracked it in a couple of places along the chine area.

Well several months have passed, work, illness, work etc have delayed my return to the shop. However last week I spent two days reorganizing and preparing to work on the boat. Even though it has been in the high 90's I returned to the garage and just today completed the sanding and removal of the finish. I have epoxied the cracks and they appear to be solid and strong.

The next step was placing port chine log. Cut and fit, clamp and push, the chine log resembles the already installed starboard one in length. Even with careful templating, measuring, comparing it was almost exactly just as short as the starboard one! I know that 1/4" in length at the stem won't affect much, it's the principle of the thing.

Okay, I had it cut, it was clamped in place with 10 clamps. I was preparing to mark the locations for the screws and then, snap, snap! My short but beautiful chine log broke not once but twice, both near the bow, at approximately two feet and three feet from the stem. The grain is apparently straight and doesn't show any evidence of run out. The chine logs were made by Greg Tatman or one of his employees so I feel they were made properly and good wood was chosen, so I presume that was simply a flaw in the wood.

Oh well, another test of my patience and an opportunity to manufacture another chine log. This time I'll measure the length on the inside of the chine log on the side away from bottom of the boat. Maybe this practice will allow me to make a chine the proper length.

Fortunately there are two Windsor Plywood stores in Spokane so I should have a pretty good chance of finding some good white oak.

Rick Newman

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Permalink Reply by Rick Newman on September 26, 2012 at 9:30pm

Hello All,

Back to "Challenge" my drift boat build that has been a challenge all the way! To update and refresh memories the last news was the second chine log snapped in two places as I was doing a test clamping. The theory was either the wood stress fractured when it was fallen of kiln drying had made a change in the wood. I'll never know. I removed the other initially installed chine log with the BoatLIFE caulk. It still adhered, was flexible yet was removable. I purchased some air dried White Ash. Using my table saw, planes and power plane to finish them close to original size. The Ash bent fine and was much more flexible than the White Oak I had been using. I used Penofin Marine Oil on the two sides that wouldn't be either epoxied or 3m 5200 covered. Before I tried to install the Ash I made sure that each location that the chine logs would be placed was sized properly. A little bot of work with a sharp chisel improved the fit in several locations and made the chine logs easier to install.

System III epoxy and 3/4" stainless steel screws hold the parts in. At the frame members I used 1 1/2" stainless steel screws to fasten through the the skin panel, the chine log and the bottom frame members. Lots of clamps helped.

I again used BoatLIFE caulk on each screw to bed them. The second one went well too.

The next step was to plane all the surfaces flat and true in preparation for mounting the floor.

Many months ago after I had laminated 12 ounce tri-axial (bundles of fibers running in three directions) I faired the surface with System II and West System micro-ballons. A belt sander smoothed out the surface. Part of my plan with this build was to try a variety of finishes to see how they worked out under similar conditions. So I applied a coat oil based Porch and Floor paint.

Picture of the floor with the Porch and Floor paint. I am guessing that either the epoxy wasn't rough enough or it didn't want to adhere to the epoxy.

It took several days to dry. When I got ready to install the floor I noticed that I could peel the paint in places with a dull fingernail. If that could happen what would floor boards, rocks and wading boots do?

I plan to use Durabak the truck bed covering that Randy Dersham uses in the boats he and Sanderson build.

Once again I got to practice my sanding skills. A random orbital sander worked but not as well as my trusty 3" x 21" belt sander. Quicker and smoother too. Now I had an epoxy surface to fasten to the frames. After I thought about it a while I realized that the 3M 5200 I planned on using would adhere better. If I can use this boat for ten years I'll be pretty happy to be boating in my 70's and I'm not going to worry about removing the floor without a recip saw, chisel and a belt sander.

Okay, now I have the boat ready for marking. With the fiberglass and epoxy it's pretty heavy. For those who wonder why the fiberglass was installed on the eventual inside of the boat it is because fiberglass's strength is when it is in tension. If an obstacle or rock tries to intrude through the bottom it will have to overcome the strength of the laminated fiberglass. More fiberglass will be installed on the outside of the floor for abrasion resistance and hopefully more stiffness.

I fortunately have a nearby neighbor that is strong and available quite often. So with his help I place the floor on the boat. According to the Tatman plan that came with the boat I mark two location six inches on either side of the #5 frame at the edges of the bottom. Being carful to see that they will line up with the frame edges below I drill a countersunk hole at each location and install a temporary 3/4" screw. Now I can bend the floor to the arc of the boat. and replicate the location after I flip the floor to cut it.

Remember that fiberglass I laminated to the inside of the floor? Bending it wasn't the easiest thing I have done, but fits with my boats name "Challenge". Multiple ratchet load straps allowed me to apply sufficient pressure to bend the wood so that I could mark the cut lines with a Sharpie.

I wanted to save my neighbors kindness for activities I really couldn't do by myself. I knew that I would be moving floor a few more times and eventually I will want to move the boat from the dolly it is on. A trip to Lowes, Home Depot and Harbor Freight provided me with large screw hooks that I placed in the 2" x 4" rafters in my garages ceiling. Harbor Freight has cool ratchet cord adjusters that when combined with some longer rope aloows me to easily lift the boat's bottom and roll the boat outside so I can flip the bottom over and place it on saw horses to cut it or replace it on the boat later.

Adjuster, hook and new rope.

Initial lift of floor.

A clamp kept the rope from moving. My workshop is so spacious that I trimmed one end of the floor to make it easier to move around by my work bench. There is a little lever on the rope adjuster that can be raised to release the grip on the rope. Jump up on a little step-ladder, tension the rope and lift the lever to lengthen the rope. $10 each!

This is all for now. I have an early doctors appointment and will add more later.