My Baby is ready for the Water!

Well it has been 6 months and minus the splinters was a completely enjoyable project. The whole family is going camping tomorow and even my wife can't wait! Seriously it was a great time all started by my 9 year old daughter. She is ill and when she asked to go fishing like we used to, I could not resist. The boat is 18'. The ribs, chines, transom, rails, and stem are all Ipe. The plywood is all Hydrotek Marine ply. The seats are made from VGDF and boy it seemd like heaven working with fir after the Ipe. The bottom is coated with marine epoxy, fiberglass, and 2 coats of "coat it" epoxy. The entire boat is varnished and I would reccomend reading a book on how to varnish before doing this. I did not and learned as I went. The result could have been a lot better. I am really jealous of the guys who oil their boats as it seemed like the varnishing took forever. The only really big mistake was the 1/4" ply I used for the rub strips. Even after 7 coats of varnish, they still are starting to mold on the inner plys. At least this will be an easy fix as I did not glue them to the hull. Here are some pictures, let me know what you think. I would highly reccomend the project to anyone as I really enjoyed it. I hate TV and it got me out of the family room all winter. It also brought my neighbors closer, as they all came by for periodic progress reports. Thanks again for all your help, it was really appreciated!

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Comment by Steve Sobba on August 26, 2009 at 7:51pm
Bryan, Looks great from here. I guess we all no where our little imperfections are. I do think the oil technique may have been a better way to go also. I have 2 coats of clear coat System 3 epoxy inside and outside and seven coats outside of their Spar urethane... 4 coats inside with one coat of Epifanes. For now this is going to be enough. I am in final assembly now and looking for a trailer ...would like to be in the water within these two weeks of vacation. Again great job! Steve
Comment by Bryan McDade on July 26, 2009 at 8:01pm
Thanks Rick, I wish you many happy returns on your boat. Let us know how it is coming. I am actually really jealous as I all ready miss the process. I can see why so many people have added such nice upgrades to theirs. I can tell it is going to be impossible to stop tinkering. I look forward to seeing your progress. I think you will find that working on something like this has a way of getting people to come together to share interests and dreams. It is a great process.
Comment by Bryan McDade on July 26, 2009 at 5:30pm
Hi Randy, thanks by the way for the site and all your help. Someone should name a park after you or something appropriate. The ply I used for the rub rails was a Maple veneer, this was not thought out enough as I was rushing and liked the look. The mold is right in the middle of the strip, not starting from the edges. It appears as a discoloration and then progress' to a black spot that I hope does not get larger for now. The face veneer is either molding or the inside plys are and it is working it's way to the surface. I live in Ca. but it is definately not dry and hot. I live on the coast in a lot of fog. This moisture seems to be the original culprit, but regardless of the fog, the strips would have started this process eventually. The mold is under the varnish.
Comment by Randy Dersham on July 25, 2009 at 9:31am
That is a beautiful boat Bryan. I like the contrast.

What kind of wood did you use for the rub rail that is molding. That would be a good thing for all of us to know. Also, do you mean that it is molding under the varnish an on the end grain?
Comment by Rick Newman on July 25, 2009 at 7:52am
It's a beauty, you did a great job! Isn't a big part of this journey learning more about the tasks involved and extending our selves to accomplish what we hadn't before? It seems like you not only created a thing of beauty but improved and grew some relationships too. Way to go. I can only hope that I can achieve part of what you have. My shop is almost ready so I plan to start soon assembling my 16.5 x 48 very soon. Enjoy your camping and fishing, you earned it.

Rick Newman

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