15 replies to this topic

[Frenchcaster]

Hi all.
I may have to take a short break from tying flies.
I was a bit bored and under the weather yesterday morning, on a misty sunday morning nothing really excited me. Rivers are blown, I only care about the last 5 minutes of a basketball game, cleaning the house on Sunday just ain't right.
So I was playing on the web and looking at random things.
Found plans for a small 13' wood drift boat for sale.

Got excited.

Spent the afternoon finding some basic lumber and tools.
Worked into the evening.

The strongback jig is done, now to the real boat building.
I am SO excited. like a kid ))

take care all

Andreas

 photo.JPG   2.86MB   80 downloads

[corvus]

Keep sending progress pictures!

[Dale A. Darling]

Cool Andreas! Aaron wants to build a boat like this; you should talk with him.

Hope you'll find a good mentor that knows something about boats. Do keep us in the loop.

Dale

[Frenchcaster]

Hello friends. Monday night saw a frantic rush to the Home depot and various boat shops, a lot of money was spent, and materials precariously balanced on/in/out of the car were brought back to my garage.
Yesterday I worked pretty hard making the hull frames, all three of them, and I got acquainted with epoxy. retrospectively I should have waited for the epoxy to solidify a bit more before building the frames since my angle cutting skills are not the best, and the epoxy drifted a bit away from the gaps, but everything will eventually be filled I reckon.

Here are the pics:

getting an idea of the curve of the keelson
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Morning inspection with coffee on the strongbeam
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The stern is in place on the strongbeam
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the frames drying
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Now I have to wait till the frames are solid, I think I will wait till tomorrow afternoon to frame the hull. Tonight, cleaning the house seems necessary - Nicole is coming for the weekend and may not appreciate the amount of sawdust and fluffy feathers that have invaded it hehe

cheers

Andreas

[Vytas]

Looks good so far Just don't make a mistake - don't call it "Titanic"

[Frenchcaster]

Well here it goes. the frames are now dry and complete, I had some motion happen at the center frame and am not happy withsome of my woodcuts but I think it is not too horrible for my first life size woodwork ever. so weird to not be doing miniature work, and be able to shrug your shoulders at an eighth-inch inaccuracy!

I am used to power tools but for comparison I repaired the forearm of a Chihuahua yesterday - the longest screw was 7mm long and 1.5mm wide. I am having a heck of a lot of fun. But, my beer levels are low - need to drop by the store tonight before screwing the keelson on and turning to the remainder of the frame.

cheers

Andreas

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[Dale A. Darling]

Beer and power tools don't mix, flysplasher.

Looks good! Way to go.

Dale

[aaronostoj]

Looking great Andreas! Be careful, boat building is very addicting. Before you know it, you'll be adding on to your garage to house the whole fleet!

I'm looking forward to watching the progress.

Aaron

[Frenchcaster]

Another late night on the Palouse... but some progress!
here is the latest: finished fitting the keelson and the chine log.

Aaron you are right I am doomed. I am already heating my garage for the epoxy to set, and am quite unhappy with how approximative some of my cuts and fits are (thank god for how tough epoxy is) so I am already planning to repeat - maybe even just build the same boat again since it is small and easy to get the techniques in.

A. (Dale beer and power tools do mix, it is just a matter of quantities Do not worry i am careful, my hands are my livelihood)

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[corvus]

Nice!

Who's plans are these ?

[Frenchcaster]

Good Morning!

time for a boat update. I worked hard this weekend, got the frame finished and faired, discovered the plywood I had bought was crap, bought some other plywood, and started paneling. See pictures below. Having a blast.

Corvus, I bought those plans from a company called Spira International, just google it. More money spent than I should but the fun is worth every penny. I am a bit worried by the stern, looks slightly deviated - may need one stronger arm when rowing hehe.

cheers

Andreas


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[aaronostoj]

That's looking great! You will find after your first build, that It's alot like tying full dress flies.....The better the quality of materials, (wood, epoxy, glass, etc.) the easier it is to build and the better the product will be when you are finished. I'm sure there will be more boats in your future, and I'm looking forward to seeing them. Nothing is more satisfying than rowing a boat you've built.

Aaron

[corvus]

Don't worry too much about the stern being slightly askew or deviated as you say. It's not going to be in the water anyway with all that rocker in the bottom, and to be honest it's never going to go more than four miles an hour unless it's on the trailer behind your car. Your could hang a plumb line from the apex to the center of the transom form and straighten it out when you put on the aft quarter sections of the hull if it looks to be too warped...screwing it down as you go.

Anyway, I retired from twenty plus years of building canoes-kayaks-pulling boats, and I'm really enjoying your adventures in boat building. Keep the pictures coming!

[geraldsherbrook]

Dear ANDREAS,

THANKS for sharing this photo's of Your 'boat project' (much appreciated !)

I am sure YOU will come to a realy nice result !

CONTINUE and don't give 'up' ! (but YOU know that 'motorword' allready !)

Geert

[Frenchcaster]

Time to post an update. Time has been scarce lately, with work being quite crazy. all remaining time has been spent eating, drinking, sleeping, and building the boat. Weekends I have been busy and going to visit Nicole (a 6 hour drive).No flies
Anyhow, here it goes:

ssizing the bottom panels
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The bottom is on! a hull is born
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First layer of epoxy
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first layer of fiberglass, with baking waxed paper to flatten the result (not a fan of that trick in the end)
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A second layer of fiberglass was placed and epoxied, and the hull is now sanded one more time. I feel like I sand a lot
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The chine batten in place, then sanded (notice how much sanding is involved )
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And at last... the hull is turned over. it looks like a boat . Not a straight one, but a boat nonetheless.
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I am now struggling with seats, anchor, and the need to epoxy some more...
oh and some more sanding.

cheers

Andreas

[corvus]

Your are doing just fine! Thanks for the pictures...