Comment

Comment by Jason Knight on February 9, 2009 at 10:01am

Ray,
I will certainly post some pics of the construction as I get there...
And yes, Michigan has some pretty nice water for steelhead nymphing. Slower water with deep bends can be quite production when the temp gets up in the winter, and of course spring runs. nymphing tandem rigs and "chuck n' ducking" works well for the deeper faster waters to get your rig down in the slot. Do you guys get into the "chuck and duck" method at all out there? People have mixed feelings about it here. (basically casting running line with a sinker/nymph rig) I mentioned it to a guide from Oregon and he laughed because he said he had never heard of it, and it was a funny sounding technique... Just curious.

Thanks,
Jason

Comment by Charles Ray Heater on February 9, 2009 at 9:26am

Jason:

I would be very curious to see photos of the chine cap project. I can't visualize your description. Your idea may be good. I'm an old guy with an old computer. It will take a little time for the pictures to come thru. I'm barely computer literate unlike my son and grandson.

Your Michigan home waters look like a great place to nymph for steelhead. After last summer's success nymphing I have purchased a 10' 6" weight 7 rod to do more of it. I think nymphing is more exciting than the downstream wet fly swing.

Ray

Comment by Jason Knight on February 9, 2009 at 5:32am

The idea was to round the edge of where the bottom meets the side to eliminate the sharp edge, apply fiberglass tape around the rounded corner, then apply the chine batten level with the bottom of the boat. At which point there would be a gap between the rounded corner and the sharp cornered chine batten - this would be filleted and sanded smooth the maintain sharp chine edge. This way the seams are taped on a rounded edge rather than sharp, then that sharp chine is still achieved by the application of the batten and fillet. Thoughts?

Comment by Charles Ray Heater on February 5, 2009 at 9:20pm

Jason;

I would not wrap fiberglass or fiberglass tape around any corners, especially a sharp edge. Your work will fail under boat use. Just end the bottom fiberglass at the bottom edge, trim it with a knife and then place the wood chine cap over edge. Plane the cap fair to the bottom and epoxy/graphite the bottom and the faired bottom of the chine cap.

Ray

Comment by Jason Knight on February 3, 2009 at 4:42am

Thanks guys - it is really amazing how it all comes together.
The first chine took me entirely too long, and I suppose working solo doesn't speed up the process any. After the first one was in I had a better feel for it, and the second side went in without too much trouble. There is definitely a learning curve there... The main thing I learned is that oak is hard! and it loves to give you splinters if you have your gloves off, especially when bending it the length of the boat.

Thanks for the tip on the aft screws Dan, that is good to know for sure.
Are you running the Bo's anchoring system by chance? That is more than likely what I want to use.

Greg,
An exploded frame 5 sounds rough! I have to say it would be easy to do though when pulling the sides in the meet that first frame. When I put in frame 5, there were a couple moments where the frame was stressed pretty good, and I was like "oh sh**, don't break the frame!" but luckily I got it in without incident and once the transom was on the rest went in relatively smooth.
The yellow cedar in your boat looks awesome though, so it was worth the 2 months of searching out more for that frame...

So soon the bottom will go on - then it will really be on its way!
I am going to wrap the chine edge with glass tape, and glass the entire bottom with graphite mixed in the epoxy.

Thanks for looking.
-jk-

Comment by Greg Hatten on February 2, 2009 at 7:57pm

Jason,
Really enjoying the pictures - it brings back a lot of good and some painful memories. Like the early morning when I was bending the sides around the ribs and clamping when the boat twisted, I lost control, and the #5 rib "exploded" (wasn't meant to be twisted)... it took me two months to find Alaskan Yellow Cedar to replace it. You are doing great and careful work... well done!! Keep it up.
Greg

Comment by Daniel Paull on February 2, 2009 at 10:34am

Hi Jason,
Looks great. Hey, I discovered something yesterday. When I put the bottom on, I had some screws through the bottom into frames in the very middle of the bottom. That was a problem when I drilled the holes in the aft frames for the anchor line. I hit one of the screws with my hole saw, ruined it, and had to grind the screw out with a dremel tool. Bottom line: no screws in the middle of the bottom for the aft frames. I am enjoying your pictures very much. Take care. Dan Paull

Comment by Herb Jacobsen on February 2, 2009 at 8:46am

Jason,
The boat is looking great. I like the way you are being so meticulous. When I buuilt my first boat, not a tatman, I was still amazed how it all came together. I don't remember how long it took me to complete it. I know I worked on it as often as I could after work each day and on the weekends. I am sure you are going to get a lot of pleasure out of her when you get it done.

Herb