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 Terry E Walsh on August 16, 2012 at 9:39pm
Bummer!
Permalink Reply by tungsten on August 17, 2012 at 7:38am

thats a funny looking break,no long splinters.or is this how white oak breaks?

Permalink Reply by Rick Newman on August 17, 2012 at 7:52am

Tungsten, this is my first white oak break so I have no experience. I have a good advisor at Windsor Ply. I will go ask him in a few minutes. It seems strange to me too. I had bent it several times during the fitting process, I don't  know why it let go while being held in place rather than while being bent.

Rick

Permalink Reply by Randy Dersham on August 17, 2012 at 9:39am

Bummer Rick, sorry to hear it. 

The shortness comes from not seating the chine log as deep as it can go when you make the measurement.  Even though it is clamped on every frame if it is clamped in place just slightly higher (closer to the boat bottom as it's upside down) it takes very little difference across the 13 or so feet to make a 1/4 difference.  

Permalink Reply by Rick Newman on August 17, 2012 at 12:14pm

Randy, that's what I figured. I get several more chances to practice as I just bought two 20' strips of "bending" white ash. I talked to a thirty year guy at Windsor Plywood. He wasn't certain why the oak broke as it did. Two potential causes he suggested were: a.) when the tree was dropped it could have developed a stress fracture at that point. Until the oak was stressed it wouldn't show up. 2.) He stated that kiln drying causes changes in the wood. I do not know if this wood was air dried or kiln dried. It has also been stored in fairly hot, dry conditions for several years.

As shown in the pictures the wood didn't really splinter, it just "broke". I have never broken any oak before, but other woods that I have either broken or observed after breaking did splinter.

All of the White Oak that I could purchase was kiln dried and would have required a scarf. The white ash was air dried and in the 12" x 20' stock it exhibited some flexibility. I have two smaller scraps that I had to purchase that five feet long. I will use those as practice pieces to setup my table saw and to see what kind of stress or bend they will take.

So another chapter continues. Will the "bending ash" bend? Will I cut it too short again? Will I practice my measurement with my batten in a new spot and make a template to cut from? Will I get the bottom installed this weekend? Will I get the boat in the water before the next wooden boat festival?

Stay tuned forumites and I will keep you informed!


Rick "Mahog" or perhaps "White Oak" Newman

Permalink Reply by Mike Baker on August 17, 2012 at 3:42pm

Hey Rick,

Sorry to hear about your misfortune. Your not eating bananas while you work on it are you? I just broke my first piece of white oak bending an outside gunnel on a fiberglass boat. Mine broke at least 3 hours after I had it clamped, it was a much different break than yours more of a gradual splinter.

Mike

Permalink Reply by Phillip Westendorf on August 17, 2012 at 7:10pm

Rick,

As the others before me said,  BUMMER! 

I kinda know the feeling, glad to see you have some good wood resources out there to lean on in times like these.  The jagged fracture doesn't look anything like mine did back in May.  Looks like to me Randy's comments are accurate, as the fracture does not appear to be caused by any grain runout, as mine did.

However, when I wrapped the Inner Shear Rail recently with a bath towel, applied & re-applying boiling water to it for a while allowed me to bend it to the Stem without fracture. 

Your chine log looks like they are quite substantial like mine are.  Per Randy Dersham's advice I made them half as thick and epoxied them in place without any problems.  My guess is they are a lot stronger as a composite piece than a single strand of wood.

Good to see your back at it.  Keep the pics coming, eh, & Keep your Stick on the Ice,

Dorf

Permalink Reply by Rick Newman on August 17, 2012 at 9:54pm

Thanks to everyone for their kind words. I have milled/cut one inner chine log. Looks to be flexible. Tomorrow I will finish the second one and apply finish to both. With luck and better measurement techniques I should have them ready to install soon. I the mean time I can cut off the old boat support from the tongue of my trailer in anticipation of installing one from the "Phoenix", the rotten drift boat and trailer I started with. It needs some cleanup but that's what they make grinding wheels and flap discs for.

Garage, boat storage unit, shop before recent cleanup. Note unused exercise vehicle.

Cracked side panel before repair.

biggest crack about 3 inches long.

Fancy clamping setup. Good thing I kept the welding clamp from the days I sold maintenance welding supplies.

Note safety footwear.

Example of blotchy finish, this is what happens when you guess at the mixture of finsih to stain and try to spray it with a "too" small of a nozzle/apeture.

Another picture of uneven finish.

This is what happens to incorrectly applied finish. Random orbital sanders are handy. 120 grit followed by 150 and then 220 grit in preparation for correctly mixed and tested finish with a larger nozzle available if needed.

Phil, I could use some ice, even though it's a dry heat 90+ degree temps are hot. I need to figure out a method for clamping my chine logs down so that I might plane them smooth. I may have to do it in small sections. I just bought a nice Bailey/Stanley #7 plane. 17" long hardly worn, just rust and splattered with paint. It's the most expensive plane I own. I paid $30, almost triple what I've paid for my  Stanley and Sargeant Jack planes. I hope I get to use it tomorrow to smooth things up. I have two new Matsushita 10" blades. I put the thicker (1/8") blade on my table saw. Sixty teeth with alternate tooth bevel, much better than the 40 year old blade that came on the saw. Much nicer finish.

More pictures and news to follow tomorrow.

Rick, "White Ash" Newman

Permalink Reply by Phillip Westendorf on August 18, 2012 at 6:58pm

Rick,

Are you planning on a floating chine (Roger's Book, Page 142) fastened to the sides only?  If so just follow his method outlined on the following 4-5 pages.  If your going to fix it to the sides, bottom and frames, do it with Epoxy, 5200, screws, etc.  Then if it's still "proud" plane  or sand it down as needed.  I see no simple way to clamp it in-place to plane it fair to the framing without doing it in sections. Like clamp it to frame No. 1 & 3 then fair it at no. 2.  That's still not going to get you where you want to be.  If you do it that way I see you making a sanding stick (Roger's Book , Pg. 146).

G'Luck

Dorf

  

Permalink Reply by Rick Newman on August 19, 2012 at 8:19am

Dorf,

My concern was planing done the chine log prior to installing it. I did get that done yesterday by clamping it to two tables that were the same height. I worked on the 17" plane, found that the blade was factory finished at an 85 degree angle. Got that fixed, worked at sharpening the blade and the "chip breaker" to get it true. I however found that the ash had enough grain to make planing it tough. However my electric plane made short work of it. My tables weren't as heavy as a workbench so they also skidded across the floor as the plane hit the tough grain. My random orbital sander smoothed the surface.

I removed the existing chine and scrapped the Boat Life bedding compound from the inside of the panels. I now had lots of wood to make templates for the bow and stern ends of the chines. My belt sander fastened in a vise upside down made a nice flat surface to make the templates. I now have a template for both ends of the port side.

To determine the "correct" length for the chine logs I used two foam trim strips 1/8" x 3/4" as battens. They cost less than $1 each. I ground the ends to fit the shape of the bow and stern. I clamped the battens to the side panels of the boat, pushed them to the bottom (top) of the the chine log cuts so they were in the correct location. To determine the final length I taped them together several times with masking tape where the battens overlapped in the center of the side panels. I will compare the length of this "template" to the incorrect starboard chine log prior to cutting the new chine. Unfortunately my best pull saw suffered a horrendous death when I cut a piece of the ash. Almost all the teeth committed suicide and peeled off. Woodcraft opens soon, time for a new blade.

So I will confirm the length is correct now that I am measuring in a hopefully more accurate manner and triple checking my work. Then I will cut them, apply finish and install them. Pictures of this process soon.

Rick Newman

Permalink Reply by Mark on August 19, 2012 at 9:25am
Rick
Just my two cents worth but have had the same difficulty with supporting the boat on the strong back and again on the saw horses. My solution was to clamp additional scrap wood (legs ) to two frames. She now is very solid.
Permalink Reply by Rick Newman on August 19, 2012 at 12:41pm

Mark, my issue wasn't planing down the chine logs after installation it was while I was making them. I have included a couple of pictures of my boat stand. Initially it was made to move the boat materials in and out of the garage. As I got more items completed it allowed me to move the boat when right side up. I recently modified it to hold the boat in an upside down position.


I was able to replace my pull saw with one designed for cross cutting and it is much thicker, .6mm. I have included a couple of pictures of the original saw and the replacement saw. Just for Dorf I have included a picture of Roger's book as well as the tools I am using to make my chine logs. I picked up an air powered sander with some sandpaper for $15 the other day. It is much more portable than my belt sander and makes a nice finish on the end of the chine logs. You can see my batten and measuring system in the included photos.

Interior view of boat stand.

View of corner of stand.

Clamp connects the extra length of frame to 2 x 4. Note the wonderful colors of the underlying plywood layers. You can only sand 1/4" plywood so much!

Chine log fitting tools along with Roger Fletcher's bible of drift boats.

Comparison of saw blades. Note the missing teeth.

Fit of foam batten at stern of boat.

More pictures later.

Rick Newman

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