Inch by inch it comes together

Posted on April 4, 2012 by Kudzu

Finally, I am able to walk with out holding onto a crutch, cane or whatever was in arms reach. Actually this ankle is healing faster than I expected but boredom has a way of making time stand still.

It is starting to look a lot like a boat. The hull is getting really close to being done. You can get an idea of its shape in this photo.

Bow is basically finished, just need to trim and lash the gunwales in place.

I worked on the transom today. I wouldn’t call it hard but I consider myself a decent woodworker. I suspect it would be challenging if you were not experienced. There was a lot of hand fitting to get everything right.

Put in on the boat, take it off and trim a little. Put in on the boat, take it off and trim a little. Repeat and then repeat it again.

One my most used tools, my bench! Just so much easier to do jobs like this with the proper tool. The best tools for the job don’t always have to be plugged or of charged either.

Here the transom is In place with the stringers trimmed. I really love the look of this transom but it is so small it’s not easy to work on.

This will be the finished transom. It needs some trimming and detailing. It will be stained and varnished eventually. I am considering laminating a nice wood veneer on it. Of course it is it so small and its will barely show due to the rake, it so I am not sure if it is worth the extra effort.

A little more progress

Posted on March 28, 2012 by Kudzu

I had an accident and Praise God it crawled away with just a badly bruised, possibly sprained ankle. That has kept me out of the shop for several days now. Swelling is down and I managed to put on my boots and actually lace both up the morning.

I got in the shop a little bit yesterday and got to work on lashing some of the stringers in place. I built the stands I work on and one of the great things is I can can off the top bar and lower the boat down on one of the cross braces. This allowed me to sit in a chair and work. Was nice to be able do something besides watch TV. Trust me, there is nothing on TV!

I like to lash the center of the boat together leaving the stringers long on the ends. Once I have the middle lashed I move to the ends and start on them.

As you can see the stringers were very long on this one. Other than being in the way it’s not a problem and I can use the cutoff by scarfing them together into longer pieces for use on the deck or seat stringers in another boat.

The transom is going to be interesting to build! A little harder than I anticipated but I am not surprised either. Once I get the bow down I will start on it.

Storing all these boats

Posted on March 17, 2012 by Kudzu

Everyone probably has the same problem. Where to store the boat(s)? In my case I build so many it is getting out of hand. I am going to put some up for sale very soon. If you looking for a used one I am going to let them go very reasonable.

But I still needed to get those keepers out-of-the-way and out of the weather. I have been looking at ideas for a while and finally decided nothing beats overhead storage. That is dead space. I have been looking at options for making my own, but pulleys are expensive. I found I could buy bike hoists cheaper and just alter them.

First I had to mount a 2×6 to the ceiling since the joist ran the wrong way. That took a while since I work alone and the tall ceilings didn’t help. But once I got that done I managed to get 3 of my boats hung up fairly quickly. I have 3 more kits I can install and I am so happy with this I think I am going to..

Frame starts to come together

Posted on March 16, 2012 by Kudzu

It has taken me a couple of days to get back to work on the boat. I have spent a few minutes here and there over the last couple of days. I caught a couple of mistakes and today I finally got most of the frame dry fitted together.

As you can see the stringer are way longer than needed. I bought 12 foot lumber and I ripped and scarfed them together. They end up being 23 feet (+/-) long. Other than being in the way being to long isn’t a problem. After I am happy with what I have and lash the frames in place I will trim them back. I always save the cutoffs because they can scarfed together to make longer pieces.

I couldn’t resist putting the rowing unit in the boat once I got the stringers in place the bungees tight.

Placing it in the boat helped me see what I had but left me with about as many questions as answers. Still not sure how I am going to mount it to the boat. Looking at it I came up a couple of ideas that might work. Also thinking I need one more partial frame to support the unit.

From this angle I could see that I could shave an inch off height off of the rowing unit frame. That will lower the center of gravity and making the boat a lot more stable. There is enough space under the foot board that I can slide it downward and my heels could actually be below the rowing unit if I wanted. Plenty of room to make it me properly.

Tomorrow I will lash a few frames in place that will not change. But I am think I am going to be pulling some of them out and making some alterations.

Building has commenced

Posted on March 11, 2012 by Kudzu

I have got to name this boat. I am torn between Cotton Row, my initial idea and Cottonwood. What ever the name I started cutting the frames today. Actually I got them cut out, just need to do a little clean up work on them and sand the edges a little smoother for them to be complete.

I rough cut them from the plywood with the jig saw and do the final cuts on the bandsaw. It’s just the way I prefer. But one thing I hate about the bandsaw is those stupid ball bearing guides! I don’t know why anyone thinks they are an improvement. They scream like a banshee and I just put new ones on it. It’s so loud I have to wear ear protection or I think I would go mad!

Instead of buying new bearings I should have bought the parts to convert it over to cool blocks. It sure would have been money better spent.

Here you can see my prototype sliding seat. I have the base built and dry fitted together. I want to get the frame built and put in the boat before I glued it anything. I want to make sure I like this and I see no reason I wont.

One thing I know I have to change is the looks of the footrest. That big slab may bet totally functional, but it sure is ugly. Not sure what I am going to do but it really needs something!

Now for something totally different

Posted on March 8, 2012 by Kudzu

I have been looking at a ‘pulling’ (rowing) boat design for probably two years now. I have played with lots of ideas. I pretty much finished the design on Sweetbriar but just never built it. Not sure why but I just kept finding myself trying other things. A couple of weeks ago I was bouncing ideas around on the Wooden Boat Forum when I had a new idea.

What if I took one of my previous designs and made it more like a scull. Add a deck with coamings instead of an open boat. Lowered the profile while trying to keep some traditional styling in the boat. (I am a big fan of traditional boats)

For those of us that are more experienced boaters (read: older) keep some stability since this is for exercise and recreation. Long enough to take advantage of the sliding seat. For use on protected water and but keep the bow tall enough that it can deal with some chop too. Crown the decks to divert water off to the sides.

This is what I ended up with. If you could see the waterlines it is essentially a double ender. The transom acts as a bit of a rudder and is largely for looks. The final version has a rounded shape and doesn’t come to point like I show in the drawing. The plan is a to varnish the transom and you could even put a name on there in the traditional manner.

I have started working on the prototype of a drop-in sliding seat rowing unit for this one. I need to get the frame built so I can check the fit and work out some of the details like how I want to mount it to the boat. I need to come up with a simple-to-build outrigger. That is proving to be a bit of a challenge. I want something that anyone with some basic woodworking skills can build.

Weather is calling for 5 days or rain starting this afternoon. I just made a run to my lumber supplier and picked up a bunch of plywood yesterday. I see a lot of shop time next few days.

New boats coming

Posted on February 28, 2012 by Kudzu

It’s been over a month since I written anything in my blog. I would rather post something worth reading than just posting filler to up my post count. But I have been very busy while I was not blogging, working on some new projects for spring.

My experience with Stonefly had turned me off to canoes designs. As beautiful as that boat is, very few have been built that I am aware of. Lots of Oh’s and Ahh’s but few sales. So I have avoided canoes, till now. I started asking what people would like to see and I found a lot of interest in tandems. Not tandem kayaks, but open boats like canoes. Perhaps a Recreational tandem kayak too.

I was looking through the Sand Box (that is where I store boat designs I am ‘playing’ with) and I found a design I had forgotten about.

A 16′ long tandem canoe that I find quite attractive. I was totally surprised to see this too! Because of the orange color I used designing it I decided to call in Tangerine. You will be seeing more on this very soon.

Before I found Tangerine, I was looking at ideas for a simple and cheap boat. Problem is you can’t get much cheaper than they are now. Searching the web for inspiration I was looking at the Cajun Pirogue (often pronounced Pea-row). A very simple flat bottomed boat. This was the perfect candidate.

What I came up with is not totally true to tradition. I did add some V to the hull instead of trying to keep it flat bottomed. That should make it track better and not always wanting to turn in circles. Not as maneuverable but much better out on a lake.

This is about a simple and cheap as I can make one. There is a one man version too. (I guess I didn’t learn my lesson to well.) I see this as a good boat for someone wanting to try Fuselage Frame or as a good father son project. I think it would make a good Boy Scout or summer camp project too.

I am working on a couple of other designs that will be seeing soon but I will save them for another day. I need something else to write about.

Manual is now in print

Posted on January 19, 2012 by Kudzu

Been working on this for a few weeks. Our assembly manual is now in a printed and bound book. No more CD’s!

I much prefer anything technical to be on paper than the in digital format. After publishing my book and learning the ins and outs of publishing a book I decided to print the assembly manual. I wanted to make some updates and tweak it a little bit. That has taken a little while.

I just placed the order for the first copies. Starting around February 1 if you order a kit or a plans you will now get the printed manual instead of a CD with the manual on it.

Makin’ Waves

Posted on January 18, 2012 by Kudzu

Something new is in the shop. With Shad finished I have decided it is time to tackle what i suspect will be a big project.

Who am I kidding? This is a really big project! I am about to start the restoration of Makin’ Waves. She is a 1962 Chris Craft Sea Skiff that I have owned for over 20 years. I did a cosmetic restoration on her once before. Due to improper storage she developed a leak, a bad leak and was hauled out.

I was afraid to send it to the shop because money was tight and you never know what it is going to cost till you get the boat apart. Then you are committed. So it has been in under cover for several years.

Now I have the skill and most importantly I have the space. So I have pulled in the shop and this will be my next big project.

Launching day finally!

Posted on January 8, 2012 by Kudzu

I finally got to take SHAD out and I love it! After just a couple of minutes I found myself paddling, concentrating on my photography instead of the boat. It was like putting on an old pair of slippers, You don’t think about them, you just put them on and go about your business and that is exactly what I did.

I found SHAD a little smaller than most of my boats. I straddle the boat in the water, park my butt in the seat and then pull in one foot then the other. Because it is a little lower volume I could still do this but I had to lean back a little to get my leg in. It rubbed against the frame under coaming. I could get in without risk of getting stuck, it was just lower and that makes it a little tighter to get in. That was a surprise but that was the only one. I found it comfortable, easy to turn and tracks really well.

I was expecting really hard tracking but a little lean and it started to turn slowly. A lean and a little paddle stroke and it would go where ever I wanted.Just really impressed. This may become my other go-to boat. I still Long Shot better, but she is a close second.

Here is some photos from the paddle.BTW, at the end of the paddle I took several of her on the water and shore….. but I forgot to check the lens and there were big water drops that ruined the photos. So I will have to take some more. Gives me an excuse to go paddling again. 🙂