Building a Houseboat

Back to Glass

2010-04-18T07:42:00.000-05:00

We started glassing the frame pieces to the stringers and hull. It was a short session, so we didn't get very far, but it was fun nonetheless.

Actual, Real, Genuine Boat Work

2010-03-20T21:33:00.005-05:00

It's been a long time coming, but we actually worked on the boat itself today... approximately sixteen months since we last made any progress on the boat building project. Today, we leveled out the boat, and fit the cross member frame pieces.

To give you some idea of how large the hull is, what you see in between the frame pieces is a pry bar.

Alternatively, this may give you a better idea of the scale we're dealing with...

Next time, we plan to start securing the frame pieces to the stringers and hull. YEAH!! We get to play with epoxy again.

Trail-er-ing Behind Schedule

2010-02-21T08:14:00.002-06:00

It's a fortunate circumstance that we have no schedule for finishing this project. Instead of getting back to the boat itself, we once again spent another day adding one last pair of bunks to the trailer. Greg is now satisfied that the trailer adequately supports the weight of the boat.

During our last couple of sessions, Greg and I noticed a slight twist in the boat's hull along the roll axis. While the stern is still straight, both relative to the trailer and to the floor, the bow is slightly uneven. So, we're going to spend the next session re-leveling and re-truing the hull. This will make sure that we have quality workmanship when we really get back to work.

Hey, any work we do is progress, right?

In the Bunk House

2010-02-08T11:06:00.002-06:00

As I mentioned before, these last couple of sessions haven't yielded any progress on the boat itself. We have, however, been laying the ground work for moving forward with the actual project. During our last couple of sessions, we've installed his air compressor, reinforced the supports on the boat trailer, and worked on making sure that the boat is level in relation to the trailer. The latter two pieces of work will allow us to make sure that the boat is built true, with no sagging or unexpected unevenness in the floor.

Our goal is to work on the boat itself next time. We plan to install and secure the cross-member frame pieces.

More Boat Work - Sort Of

2010-01-24T12:08:00.002-06:00

Greg and I have had a second session of boat work. Okay, it wasn't really, directly, actually working on the boat itself, but we're making progress toward getting back at the task of constructing the boat.

Yesterday, I helped him mount his air compressor to the floor in the garage. He's been there over a year now, and is just now getting around to this task. That should help you all understand why and how such a long hiatus occurred in the first place.

The next thing you need to understand is that the boat's shell has become a sort of storage container. Specifically, he stored a canoe, a touring kayak, and many, many aluminum pop and beer cans in the hull of his yet-to-be-named watercraft-in-the-making. After mounting the air compressor, we hung some pulleys from the ceiling, which allowed Greg to hang the canoe and kayak, thus allowing us to resume our project.

You may notice that we're now doing this every other weekend. This means that the boat will probably be finished in about two years -- assuming that we don't take any more sabbaticals. It also means that we'll probably be ready to actually work on the boat itself in approximately one month. Next week, we will finish shoring up the trailer, and finish wiring the air compressor -- if Greg hasn't completed that task by our next boat building session.

A Hiaitus Too Long

2010-01-10T08:36:00.001-06:00

Greg and I worked on the boat yesterday. Well, we didn't actually work on the boat itself yesterday... we did a little bit of work on how the trailer supports the boat, in preparation for getting back to work on the actual project.

When I thought back to the last time we worked on the boat, I knew that it had been more than a year... Greg's been in his new house for about 13 months. I estimated that it had been a year and a half. No, it's been longer... it's been approximately 20 months. Fortunately, I think that Greg's ready to get back to it. I guess we'll see how things progress.

This Blog Is Not Abandoned

2009-03-20T10:22:00.002-05:00

Yes, I know that my last post was months ago. Unfortunately, Greg hasn't gotten his house in order, so there's nothing to report. Sorry. Maybe I should come up with a "Best of" post.

He's Moved

2008-12-17T16:14:00.002-06:00

Well, he's moved. And let me tell you, that guy had a lot of crap. I knew the guy was a pack rat, but I never fully realized exactly how much stuff he had in that tiny little house. Moving the contents of his house, garage and shed from their original locations to the U-Haul and two pods was like watching a marshmallow expand in a fire, or when a magician pulls that scarf out of his sleeve. All I can figure is that his old house was somehow like a space bag, and mysteriously shrunk shit enough to fit into the little nooks and crannies in the place.

One of the first things we moved was the boat, and I'm pleased to report that it survived the trip without incident, despite the fact that the internal framing isn't even completed -- almost four years later! (Yes, we've been at this for almost four years, and we're still not done!)

The new garage is even cooler than the old one... bigger, warmer, brighter, and it has running water and drains built into the floor. Unfortunately, Greg is currently using the garage and the hull of the boat as an overflow area for stuff while he gets the new house situated. This means no boat work for at least a month or so. The crazy thing is, I already miss our boat/beer/cigar/guy talk time, and I'm looking forward to getting back at it.

In order for that to happen though, Greg needs to organize the garage, which means that he needs to put up shelves and so forth. He's tentatively planning to do that between Christmas and New Year's day, and I'll probably help.

Time Flies

2008-11-15T07:44:00.002-06:00

"I'm not dead."

It seems that I've been saying that a lot lately. It's not that I'm neglecting things per se, it's more accurate to say I'm prioritizing. The internet, and my blogs in particular, have been downgraded in priority.

Greg and I are still doing work on the boat, but it's been slow going. I hope that our pace will pick up in the not-too-distant future. The slow pace is really more of a soap opera than anything, but if you're interested, read on.

You see, my ex-wife and Greg's wife are best friends. The ex got evicted from her apartment around the beginning of the year, and having nowhere else to go, Greg's wife agreed to let my ex move in with them. I don't exactly hate my ex, but I don't enjoy her presence either. And while I must give her credit for trying to not infringe on my male-bonding time when I went go Greg's for boat work, the knowledge that I was -- in some sort of twisted way -- hanging out at my ex-wife's place, certainly put a damper on my desire to hang out at Greg's house.

In addition to this, Greg and his wife started house-hunting. They found a new home and will be moving in a couple of weeks. The garage is bigger and better than what we have now, and the ex isn't moving with them. This means that we may have more boat time... but not until after Greg gets moved in to the new place.

Lazy Days of Summer

2008-07-30T08:27:00.003-05:00

That's not really a phrase that applies in our situation, but it sounded good nonetheless. Greg and I are still working on the boat, and we are still taking our time. The inside of the hull has been glassed, and we have test-fitted the stringers and frame pieces. Next weeek, we plan to tack the stringers into place, and then after that, it will be time to secure the stringers and frame pieces to the hull.

Greg also purchased a trailer last weekend. It looks nice, but Greg says that he'll have to make some minor adjustmenst to it.

Boat Scar

2008-05-14T12:35:00.002-05:00

I've finally got a picture of the scar.

Click on the picture for a larger photo and some notes.

I Almost Cried

2008-04-23T13:31:00.002-05:00

I went to Greg's for another round of work last night. When I got there, I saw something that almost made me burst out in tears. Greg had virtually cut the boat in half.

After rolling the boat, Greg measured the width of the boat, and it was something like eight and a half feet wide, roughly six inches over the maximum width allowed without getting a permit to tow a wide load. Greg had originally decided to risk it... after all, the width would be difficult at best to measure. Apparently he changed his mind.

In order to get the width reduced, Greg put a relief cut in each side, from the top to about three inches from the bottom. He then used straps to pull the hull to the width he wanted, and then filled the relief cuts with thickened epoxy and re-taped the hull, inside and out. He cut through the spray rail and everything.

It's his boat, so he can do what he wants. But had I known what he was thinking, I'd have done everything in my power to talk him out of doing that. We could have used straps and epoxy and pulled the hull in, attaching it to the frame pieces, and things would have been much less invasive. Additionally, the bottom is probably ever-so-slightly hooked now, and the spray rails will likely have a noticeable bend at the cutting point. The biggest thing though, is the fact that we're going to have to re-sand and re-paint this scar, and probably re-tape it a couple more times as well.

I almost cried.

Bigger than I Realized

2008-04-02T09:34:00.003-05:00

I can't describe how nice it is to be doing something other than sanding and fairing. The stringers have been removed, and we're now beginning to tape the internal seams. Greg taped the front transom over the weekend, and we both taped the rear transom last night. During last night's session, my younger daughter climbed inside the hull and cruised around on her Heelys. That was when I realized just how big this boat actually is. I took a video of this, which is posted here.

Just a shell

2008-03-21T14:34:00.003-05:00

Greg and I had an impromptu boat work session today. After about five hours, we had shored up the unstable frame pieces, removed the old frame (which is no longer necessary, since the boat is now flipped) and have removed the boat's structural frame pieces.

Over the next few days, my younger daughter will be removing nails from the lumber that we're able to salvage, while Greg and I remove the boat's stringers, leaving us with a hollow shell. Next comes glassing the inside of the boat, in preparation for re-installing the boat's stringers and structural frame pieces.

Flipped Out!

2008-03-16T09:11:00.003-05:00

We got the boat flipped, but it was a day where everything that could go wrong, did. Okay, not quite "everything." Nobody was hurt, and the boat is still in one piece. But it did take five guys four hours to get her rolled.

I've been waiting to roll this boat for years... literally! We've been sanding and fairing for so long that I don't remember what it's like to not be in sanding and fairing hell. Now, after years of making the boat look right, we can continue the structural and functional construction.

Here's a link to a video I made, consisting of photos and comments.

Boat Frame III

2008-02-20T13:17:00.001-06:00

Boat Frame III
Originally uploaded by OzzyC

I haven't forgotten about you or the boat. It's simply that we're operating slowly this winter. We're close to flipping the boat, so there's not much to do other than build the cradle for the flip. As you can see from this picture, the cradle is nearly finished. Once the snow melts a bit and the weather warms a little, we'll flip 'er and get back to work.

(Ready to) Flip Out

2008-01-11T13:45:00.000-06:00

We're done with the hull and are building the frame in order to flip the boat over. Don't worry, I'll take some pics of this momentous occasion.

Black Bottomed Boat

2007-12-13T18:32:00.000-06:00

As I mentioned earlier, we changed the color of the boat's bottom. Here's the pic I promised.

Updating the Blog

2007-12-09T10:16:00.000-06:00

Over the next several days (or weeks if I'm pressed for time), I will be moving some of my older pictures and videos to a new host. As a result, if you are an RSS subscriber to this blog, some of my posts may not be in chronological order. You are, however, still welcome to read these older posts... think of them as "best of" episodes.

New Bottom Paint

2007-12-05T19:21:00.001-06:00

We laid the first coat of the graphite-infused, epoxy-based bottom paint, and I've got to say I'm really pleased with the results. It went pretty quickly, and I like the black better than the red. Unfortunately, I didn't bring my camera, so no pics this time.

Dancing the Boat

2007-12-02T12:02:00.000-06:00

Building this boat is kind of like dancing a box step... step forward, step sideways, step back, step sideways, repeat ad nauseum. Greg decided that he didn't like the red finish on the bottom... too much orange peel texture for him. So we sanded it smooth and tried a roll and tip. It wasn't good enough. Now Greg's decided to do an epoxy-based, black-tinted bottom, infused with graphite, giving us a smooth bottom that (theoretically) will give us a more durable bottom coat that does a better job of sliding over rocks without killing the paint. He had done the copper-infused bottom paint, but since we're going to be running this almost exclusively in fresh water, he's not concerned about buildup on the bottom.

A Second First Coat

2007-11-21T08:14:00.000-06:00

Last week we saw the results of our first coat of paint and were not pleased. Lots of lines in the paint. Greg decided to sand the paint smooth and start again. This time around, things look better, and we've agreed not to do any more sanding until the second-to-last coat is applied. This way we have a build-up of paint. Next week, another coat.

No More Sanding

2007-11-11T10:30:00.000-06:00

That's not exactly true, but it feels good so say it and mean it... at least in this context. Yes folks, Greg finally said "good enough" and decided it was time to paint. In a desire to support this decision (and get a coat of paint on the boat before he changed his mind), we did a rare Saturday session. Between the final round of sanding (a quick but thorough sanding of both transoms and sides with 220-grit sandpaper), prepping the surface, mixing the paint, and the roll and tip process, we put in roughly four hours.

We had the little Ozzlet there to help us out. She's a great little photographer, and she also helped us prep the surface, paint a little of the hull (rolling, not tipping) and she watched Greg's girls.

On Tuesday (our regularly scheduled boatbuilding day), we will do some light sanding as needed and apply a second coat of paint. We're planning to flip the boat sometime between late November and mid-December.

I know we'll be doing some touch-up sanding between coats, and I understand that we'll be doing another round of sanding and fairing when we build the deck and cabin, but it shouldn't be quite as long and arduous as the hull. I can't describe how gratifying it is to be out of sanding and fairing hell.

I have several more pictures here...

Or, you can view the slideshow here.

Fair-ly Short Session

2007-11-01T09:41:00.000-05:00

We didn't paint any more this week because we were short of the 220 grit sandpaper needed for topcoats. So we did some more sanding and fairing on the port side. It was okay because we saw an immediate payoff, because there are progressively fewer spots to handle, and each spot is progressively smaller. We're hoping to have her painted and flipped sometime in December.

Nightmare

2007-10-19T08:39:00.000-05:00

I had kind of a crazy dream last night. In the dream, I went to Greg's house to check on his dogs while he was on vacation. As I walked through the garage, I gazed at the boat -- and was instantly horrified. Greg had gone on some sort of crazy spree; he had sanded off all of the paint, and on the bow he had sanded back down to bare wood. On the sides he had fabricated some sort of space-age shaped add-ons that looked like the fins from a 59 Chevy on steroids. As my eyes adjusted to the horrific site, Greg nonchalantly strolled into the garage (it was a dream, remember) and casually asked me what I thought of the work he'd done.

I went ballistic and woke up. Thank God it wasn't real.

More Painting

2007-10-17T09:36:00.000-05:00

Last night we applied our first coat of white paint. This is the paint that uses a cross-linker, and has a high-gloss finish, as opposed to the copper-infused stuff I mentioned previously. We applied the paint to the bottom, figuring that it's an area nobody will ever see, which allows us more latitude for mistakes. The roll and tip method seems to work well, but we ended up with a couple of runs. We noticed the runs after the paint had started setting, so we decided to let it completely set and see how well it sands. Wish us luck.

Baby's Bottom

2007-10-10T19:08:00.000-05:00

Last night's session brought another round of sanding and fairing, and a second coat of the copper infused bottom paint. I also remembered to bring the camera, so here are a couple of shots of our progress...

This first shot is taken immediately after laying the second layer of bottom paint, though the picture doesn't quite do it justice. All of the white is a high-build primer. The bottom paint is the red in the back.

It's still shiny because it's still wet. Once it dries, it looks pretty much like your run-of-the-mill rust-colored primer. Either way, I'm pleased at the progress.

Before we laid the paint, I ran the random orbit sander over the starboard side, the bow and the stern for a final sanding, using 120 grit sandpaper. After laying the paint, Greg and I chatted, and we agreed that we will do no more sanding on these areas until we have placed a coat of paint on these surfaces. He still wants to do some additional touch-ups on the port side, which is fine because I agree that it needs a bit more work.

As I took the pictures of our paint job from the front, Greg asked me to post a shot of the skeg, so here it is. The skeg is constructed from a 2X2 strip of cypress (used for its highly water-resistant properties), with a strip of aluminum screwed into the top, after shaping the wood.

Important: According to Greg, copper and aluminum do not go well together. Apparently, they will cause a lot of corrosion. In order to prevent the aluminum strip from coming in contact with the copper in the paint, Greg was very careful to lay a thick coat of primer between the aluminum strip and the copper-infused paint. Please keep this in mind if you choose to mimic our addition!

Greg suspects that the addition of the skeg may reduce the maximum speed by one mile per hour or so, but he thinks (and I agree) that the increased maneuverability and handling will more than offset the decrease in top speed.

Next week, we plan to lay some white paint, using your standard roll and tip method. We plan to experiment on the bottom area. Since this is an area that few people will ever see, we figured that it's the perfect area to work out the kinks in our technique.

F*ckin' A!

2007-10-03T08:14:00.000-05:00

Greg and I laid our first coat of paint last night! We painted the portion of the bottom and sides that will be underwater, and after being stuck in sanding and fairing hell for a couple of years, words cannot properly express the gratification that simple coat of paint brought us.

The paint itself was a little different than I expected. I expected a bright red, high-gloss finish. What we saw was rust-colored and had a flat finish. The paint was more watery than a latex paint, but it ran less and dried very quickly. Since I didn't expect to paint, I didn't bother to take the camera, so no pics. Next time.

Man, I'm stoked!

I Missed It

2007-09-26T11:28:00.000-05:00

Greg and I finally had an opportunity to work on the boat last night. Despite the fact that we spent yet another evening in sanding hell, I noticed that Greg had done a lot of work since I last set eyes on our project. And as I sanded the hull to a smooth-to-the-touch finish, I realized that regardless of how much I've bitched, moaned and complained about sanding and fairing hell, I missed hanging out with Greg and working on the boat.

Still Alive

2007-09-20T09:01:00.000-05:00

We're still alive, but no progress has been made on the boat. Greg and I have had other commitments, but we hope to do some more work next week. Besides, there's really nothing to report until we get it painted.

More Bling

2007-08-29T10:17:00.000-05:00

Despite my lack of posting, we're still working on the boat. Okay, it's mainly Greg who has been working on the boat. Between my busted leg and family commitments, I haven't had the time, but the point is, a lack of updates doesn't necessarily mean a lack of work.

The biggest change is that Greg has decided to add a skeg. (That's the aforementioned bling.) The skeg should help the boat track a little straighter, and add a little tip-resistance during turns. I really wish he'd have decided this six months ago, though. We had the bottom completely ready for painting, and now that he's added the skeg, we're looking at another ten hours or so of sanding and fairing before the finish meets Greg's stringent standards.

I also gave him some crap about continuing to use the quick fair. When we did our last session a few weeks back, we had decided that the starboard side was ready for paint, and that the port side was "close." Well, when I dropped over last night for a round of work, both sides had another round of quick fair added, with the intention of filling dozens of little pinholes in the pre-finish. I've been telling Greg for months that we need to just lay the paint and find out if it will fill these pinholes. There is so much surface area that it's virtually impossible to find and fill all of these pinholes, yet finish the boat before we retire.

I semi-jokingly told Greg that if he keeps doing this work when I'm not around that I'm going to make a "Keep off the Boat" sign and put it up when I'm not there. We've been "just about ready" to paint since June or so, but every time I go over there, Greg has done more crap that sets us back by a week or two.

It should be apparent that I'm quite frustrated by this lack of progress. Greg and I have different approaches to this portion of the project. Greg wants things to be perfect before going to the next step. An immaculate finish is very important to him. I think that we should forge forward and see what happens, based on the law of diminishing returns. In ANY project, you can do a quick and sloppy job, or a perfect one. As you move closer to perfection, the amount of time you spend increases exponentially, and the payoff decreases exponentially. We are at the point where we need to quit looking for pinholes, fix the bottom (where we added the skeg) and paint the damn boat.

Now that I've vented, I need to reiterate my position. I know my place in this project. I know that it's Greg's baby and I'm the free help. I also know that Greg listens to my input. The thing he needs to get though is that we need to be flipping this boat soon. We've only got another month or so before it starts getting cold, and once the snow hits, it'll be more difficult to get the boat flipped. We need to get the thing flipped before this winter, so we can continue working on the project during the snowy time of year.

A "Break"

2007-07-17T13:18:00.000-05:00

On Saturday Greg and I were able to sneak in an extra few hours of work, during which time we finished sanding and priming the one remaining section of unprimed hull. It was incredibly gratifying to see the entire boat primed. We next planned to fine-sand the primer in preparation for the actual paint.

Alas, our plans have been slowed by fate. On Sunday I fractured my ankle while learning to water ski. I took a tumble and the ski didn't pop off. Fortunately it's a minor break and I only need to wear a boot, as opposed to a full-blown cast. I also got the green light to put weight on the foot, so I may be able to do some boat work after all.

Prime Time!

2007-07-11T11:05:00.001-05:00

We are finally breaking out of sanding and fairing hell! Last night Greg and I did a final round of sanding on the bottom and the starboard side, using 120 grit sandpaper, and applied a coat of primer to the areas we sanded. Over the next week or two we will finish sanding and applying the first coat of primer.

Those of you who have been stuck in sanding and fairing hell can appreciate how happy we are over hitting this milestone. But considering how long we've been doing this -- roughly two years now -- this accomplishment is especially sweet. Since I rode my bike over to Greg's house, I didn't bring the camera so once again I don't have any pictures yet, but I think I'm going to wait until the boat is completely primed.

I still can't describe how gratifying it is to be coming out of hell.

Every Little Bit...

2007-07-04T16:13:00.000-05:00

Every little bit of work brings us closer to our goal of completing the boat. We haven't done a lot lately, but Greg is still plugging away a few hours here and there. I'm only available once or twice per week, and lately it's been prohibitively hot to get much accomplished when I'm available. Greg on the other hand, has the luxury of being able to work on the boat late at night, when the temperature is at its coolest. Throw in the holidays and other summer activities, and you can understand how the progress has yet again slowed to a crawl.

The picture to the right is a shot after our latest round of sanding and fairing, and the addition of the skid guard I mentioned in my last post. If you judge by the dull sanded area, it looks more crooked than it actually is. Compare it to the center line and you'll see that it's pretty good.

Greg has finally acquired a motor for the boat. It's an Evanrude 150 horse motor. He got it from an outfit somewhere around Kansas City. I think he paid roughly $2200; when compared to a new motor, it's a hell of a deal. Last week we fired it up and it runs very well. If I think about it, I'll get more details from Greg about the motor and give the seller some props... no pun intended.

Back Ta Work, Ye Scurvy Dogs

2007-06-12T10:10:00.000-05:00

After our relaxing canoe trip, Greg and I returned to work. Greg has been putting in a lot of time doing finish work in preparation for painting the hull. He's still got a few areas that he's not happy with, but we're seeing light at the end of the tunnel. I can't wait!

Last week we installed a skid guard on the bottom of the hull. Since it's a flat-bottomed boat, it's designed to coast to shore, allowing our more dainty passengers to go ashore without getting their feet wet. In order to protect the hull, we've installed the skid guard.

The installation process was pretty straight-forward, but required some precision. First we sanded the area where the skid guard would be placed, and then cleaned the area with rubbing alcohol. Then we test-laid the skid guard, and once we were happy with the layout, we traced a pencil line around the skid guard, so we'd know exactly where to lay it. We then applied part one of the two part adhesive. Part two is applied directly to the skid guard from the factory. After this, we were finally prepared to install the skid guard. This process was a little tricky, because the bond is instantaneous. We ended up a little bit off from the line we drew, but it still looks okay, and it will definitely perform to our expectations.

Once again I neglected to bring the camera with me, so you'll have to wait in suspense for a little longer before you see the changes.

Boys' Trip 2007

2007-06-07T07:27:00.001-05:00

Not So Hard Anymore

Our trip ended a little earlier than we expected. We anticipated three full days of paddling, three full nights of camping and a fourth day that consisted of a couple of hours on the river. Since the river flowed a little faster than we had calculated, our canoeing came to an end toward the end of the third day.

We weren't really interested in setting up the tent, and we didn't feel like driving back, so we did what any hard-core 30-something group of pioneers would do... we rented a cabin.
Upon our late arrival, we all took to our now-familiar chores. I started a fire, so we could cook our dinner. (Yes, I really did... we cooked our steaks and pork chops over an open fire.) Greg took a nap, and Darin took a shower. Okay, I did my chores... they slacked.

Hint to inexperienced downriver paddlers: Some sort of fire starter and waterproof lighter can literally save your life. It definitely makes life easier.

Okay, okay, we're not as hard as we used to be. But it certainly doesn't take anything away from this year's trip. We had a relaxing couple of days (despite the ticks and setting up a tent in the rain). We took things at an easy pace and saw the wonder that nature offers us daily, yet we overlook because of the hustle and bustle of life. We saw bald eagles galore, clear water and ran some mild rapids. Did we cheat a little on the last day? Yeah. But who cares. It was our trip, and we enjoyed it.

Let me leave you with a reprise of the slideshow... judge for yourself.

Boys' Trip 2007

2007-06-06T08:56:00.001-05:00

Cab-Forward Design

As our trip went on, our load got progressively lighter. Each meal, beer or soda brought made our canoes progressively more back-heavy.

This wasn't a real problem for me, because I started off nicely balanced, and I was able to adjust the load a little more than Darin and Greg were. But Greg was especially ass-heavy by the last day of paddling. With the first foot of his boat out of the water, it was difficult to slice through the river, and the term "shallow water" grew increasingly liberal by the day. On our last day, Greg decided that he could no longer tolerate the poor weight distribution and moved himself to the front of the boat. His weight was more evenly distributed than it had been all weekend, but he lost a little bit of control.

Hint to inexperienced downriver paddlers: The farther back you are in the boat, the easier it is to steer, but weight distribution needs to be considered as well.

Stay tuned for the next episode... "Not So Hard Anymore"

Boys' Trip 2007

2007-06-05T08:18:00.000-05:00

Tick (Toc)

Bugs are an unfortunate aspect of camping. Mosquitoes, ants, biting flies and ticks are inconvenient at best, and at their worst, they can absolutely ruin an otherwise pleasant trip. We were surprised to find a virtual absence of mosquitoes and flies, but I don't remember ever seeing so many ticks. We first noticed the nefarious bloodsucker after waking up from our nap on the first day of the trip. There were several ticks stuck to the outside of the tent. Darin is creeped out by ticks, so he immediately went outside and doused himself in bug repellent. Unfortunately for him, we were using mosquito repellent, which had almost no impact on the ticks. Either that, or they were more hungry than repelled by our bug juice.

After Darin realized that the ticks weren't impacted by the Off, he went into obsessive-compulsive mode, visually inspecting himself for the parasites almost non-stop. In all honesty, Greg and I checked ourselves periodically too, but nowhere nearly as obsessively as Darin did.

Hint to inexperienced downriver paddlers: Make sure to pack plenty of bug juice. There is little that can ruin an otherwise awesome trip like an insect infestation.

Over the course of our trip, we picked dozens of ticks off of ourselves every day. But aside from this, the trip was relatively bug-free.

Tune in for the next episode... "Cab-Forward Design"

Boys' Trip 2007

2007-06-04T08:04:00.000-05:00

(Almost) Drowning in Ankle-Deep Water

One of our ongoing contests (for lack of a better word) is determining who falls in to the river first and/or most often. We are experienced paddlers, but alcohol, inattention to our surroundings, or riding with inexperienced paddlers has led to someone taking an unexpected tip into the drink on virtually every trip we've ever made. This year was no exception, and this year's winner (loser?) is Greg, hands down. Greg was the only person to take an unexpected bath this year, and he managed to do so 3 1/2 times. (I'll explain the 1/2 in a bit.)

Three of his river baths occurred in a single day, and two happened in such a rapid succession that it almost counted as a single fall. The consumption of alcohol is almost a requirement for our trips. We're legally intoxicated from the time we wake up until the time we go to bed, and occasionally we forget to moderate our consumption, which makes for a hysterical trip.

On our first day, Greg got a little too tipsy and got hung up in shallow water because he wasn't paying attention. When he realized he wasn't going to be able to paddle his way out of the shallow water, he got out of the boat, promptly lost his balance and ended up flat on his back. Yes the water was only ankle-deep, but he somehow managed to soak himself from head to toe. I saw the spectacle and promptly pulled out my camera to commemorate the occasion. I was a ways downriver and had to zoom the camera to its full extent to get the shot. I was laughing so hard while all of this was going on that he managed to stand up by the time I snapped the picture.

Realizing that a wet body, cool air and a gentle breeze are a bad combination, Greg decided to put on his rain coat in order to preserve body heat. As soon as he got his coat zipped, he lost his balance again and fell flat on his back, taking a second bath. Greg was a trooper, but the alcohol and the cold caused fatigue to set in. Knowing that our stopping point wasn't too far away, I sent Darin ahead to find us a campsite, and I stayed back with Greg. This allowed us to find the closest available camping spot, while taking care of each other.

Hint to inexperienced downriver paddlers: Always pay attention to the river. If you do end up going in the water, make sure to stay warm. If you can, change into dry clothes. If you can't, add some layers. A raincoat is a good way to stay warm, and hypothermia is your enemy. If someone does go in, the safest thing to do is stay with that person and make sure they're safe and warm.

A half hour or so later, Greg and I came to the spot that Darin had snagged for us. We pulled to shore, got out of our boats, and Greg promptly took another bath. As we unloaded our gear it started to rain. It was a warm spring rain -- far warmer than the water -- but Greg was soaked and miserable. We set up the tent during this brief downpour, crawled into the tent and promptly fell asleep.

It was our first day on the river, so we were all sleep-deprived. We had set up camp by 2:00 PM. We slept until about 6:00 PM, cooked our dinner, and were back in bed by 9:00 PM, sleeping until noon the second day.

Stay tuned for the next installment... "Tick Toc"

Boys' Trip 2007

2007-06-03T09:52:00.001-05:00

Nice Canoes

The first group of paddlers we encountered was a troop of Boy Scouts. Greg, Darin and I were all in the Boy Scouts, and we credit scouting for our love of camping and canoeing. In fact, we all earned our canoeing merit badge during the same trip to summer camp.

We mentioned to the young scouts that we all belonged to their organization as boys, and a brief conversation ensued. One of the kids commented on our canoes and was quite impressed when we told him that we had built them ourselves. After a few minutes we commenced with our journey, saying we'd see them again when they caught up with us downriver. (After all, they were young and energetic kids, anxious to paddle; we are older paddlers, more interested in allowing the river to do the majority of the work.) Sure enough, they caught up to us within a half hour.

When they caught us, we got quite a laugh out of their lack of experience. Right around that time, the river started getting shallow, and they were constantly hanging up in the shallows. Our superior experience (and my shallow draft) allowed us to navigate the river without any problems, but the kids were continually getting out of the boats and hauling them over the sandy bottom. The only person in the troop to not get hung up was one of the two adult leaders. Like us, he tended to paddle at a slower pace, knowing he'd catch up to the kids when they tired out or got caught up in shallow water. The leader was the only one paddling solo, and said to us that he wished that he'd brought kayak paddles like we did.

Hint to inexperienced downriver paddlers: If you're paddling alone, a kayak paddle is an invaluable tool. It's far more efficient than a canoe paddle.

During the course of our trip, we met up with dozens of fellow paddlers... college students, families, retired couples... the list goes on. We had two other groups who commented on our boats and were very impressed that we had built them ourselves. We finished the boats a little over three years ago, and have taken them on our last four boys' trips. They were a lot of work, but the finished product was well worth it. We have pride in our craftsmanship, and we don't have to rent canoes anymore. But the icing on the cake is hearing comments on our boats, years after finishing the work.

Stay tuned for the next installment... "(almost) drowning in ankle-deep water."

Boys' Trip 2007

2007-06-02T10:23:00.000-05:00

Day I: The Drive Up

Part of the reason this trip will be memorable is how smooth everything went; from packing to paddling, this trip was easy-going. I usually work the day that we leave, choosing to pack a little at a time over the course of a couple of days. Greg is the exact opposite. He takes the day off, but doesn't start packing until the last minute. The result is that I usually get over to his house around 7:00 PM, we leave sometime between 10:00 PM and midnight, and arrive sometime between 5:00 and 7:00 AM.

This year I got off of work a little early, so I was at Greg's place around 4:00, and we were gone by 6:00. Greg and I usually meet Darin at our destination, but this year our travel route took us right through his neck of the woods, so we stopped at Darin's place along the way. Darin has a vacuum sealer, so we vacuum sealed all of our meat; we also pre-cut and sealed some of our veggies. I wasn't as impressed with how that turned out, but it certainly was convenient.

Hint to inexperienced downriver paddlers: If you are going on a long trip, freeze the meat that you will be eating later in the trip. The meat and ice will both last a little longer as a result. This is something we figured out during our third year or so. Vacuum sealing it will add even a little more life to the meat, and it will also prevent meat juice from getting into the cooler.

We drove through the night and arrived in the little town of Trego around 4:30 AM. This was pretty good, considering how much time we spent at Darin's place. By the time we got there, we were pretty tired, so we slept in the cars for an hour or so. (By the way, I don't know why Greg was so tired... he slept during the majority of the drive.) After our brief nap, we got directions from a gas station clerk and headed to our destination. This is what we saw upon arrival...

We weren't sure if the guy had a double blowout, or if he somebody "borrowed" strategic parts of his vehicle. Either way, we were a little bit nervous about leaving our cars there after that sight, but it turned out okay in the end... our vehicles were intact.

Stay tuned for the next installment... "Nice Canoes"

Our Annual Diversion

2007-06-01T13:09:00.000-05:00

You may recall from a post I made around this time last year that a couple of friends and I make a yearly boys' trip, which consists of canoeing, kayaking, camping and whatnot. (Whatnot = drinking) Last weekend we had our 2007 trip.

This year's trip took place on the Namekagon River in Western Wisconsin, and it was one of the best trips yet. The current was smooth but fast in the beginning, with a surface so calm that you could see reflections of the foliage off of the river in certain places. The air temperature was a few degrees cooler than in my neck of the woods, but it was still comfortable. The water temperature was also cool, but not frigid. We had a short downpour the first day... a warm spring rain. The water was clear enough to see the bottom and we had some mild rapids on our last day. 2007 will undoubtedly go down in history as one of our best trips ever. Over the next few days, I'll post some of the highlights.

For those of you who can't wait, here's a slideshow of the trip.

Got the Pic

2007-05-17T18:16:00.000-05:00

I finally got around to snapping an updated picture of the boat. The color you see is tinted epoxy, not a finished paint job, but hey it's progress. Either way this shot should give you an idea of what we've done since my last post with a photograph. The shape is a little more refined, and the spray rails are much more polished.

I still can't wait to get this thing flipped, but the picture helps me visualize the progress we've made over the last couple of months.

To put things in a little more perspective, I've been looking at other builders' boats. Today I did a check-in on Andrew Lucking's boa t. Andrew started a couple of months before Greg and I did, and it looks like we're progressing at a similar pace. Of course Andrew is a one-man show, and has a shorter season because he's in Canada, but it still helps keep the perspective.

I Really Need a Picture

2007-05-11T09:11:00.000-05:00

We haven't done any pictures since January, and haven't done any videos since... well, it's been a little longer. The reason we haven't done any pictures or videos is because things haven't significantly changed in months. At least it doesn't seem that way to me.

We've still been working on the hull... sanding and fairing, filling in the inevitable pinholes and sanding, and repeating as necessary. We've added a couple more coats of tinted epoxy, and we've blended and shaped the spray rails to Greg's satisfaction. We've been in sanding and fairing hell for over a year now. We started fairing in February 2006. By July, I was beginning to see the Law of Diminishing Returns kicking in. I'd say that by August of 2006, we were firmly in sanding and fairing hell.

Greg and I have discussed this in depth on several occasions. Greg is a perfectionist by nature. He wants things exactly right before we paint. I'm firmly convinced that the primer and paint will cover many of the imperfections we see now. I think that Greg is starting to come around to my way of thinking. But as I say this, I also acknowledge that some flaws we've corrected would not have been corrected by simply slapping a layer of paint on the hull. In the end, this is Greg's project, and I'm his assistant.

Greg has said that if he had things to do over again, he would not have built up the perfectly sharp chines. He doesn't think that the performance payoff will outweigh the amount of work we've put in as a direct result of the chines. I tend to agree. So if you're thinking about building a boat, skip the sharp chines.

Part of the issue is that Greg and I are both family men. We have pretty busy schedules, so we can only get a couple of hours per week to work on the boat. This naturally extends the project by an order of magnitude. When I get frustrated, I try to keep this all in perspective.

With all of that said, I went back today and looked at our pictures from January. It doesn't look a lot different, but there is a noticeable improvement in the hull. The tinted primer helps smooth things out. The spray rails are shaped and blended. Yeah, I really need to take a picture.

I'd also like to say hello to the newest member of my blog roll, Bruce Dillahunty at Craft-a-Craft.

Additions to the Blog Roll

2007-04-28T09:07:00.000-05:00

I'd like to welcome two new additions to the blog roll. Eric is building Nina, an LB22 model, designed my the folks over at Bateau -- the same crew that designed the boat Greg and I are building.

Ben is building his boat in The Invisible Workshop which, in his words, is "a nomadic, exterior boatbuilding space."

If you're discouraged from building a boat because of the slow rate of progress that Greg and I display, please check out these blogs. They certainly demonstrate that a boat doesn't need to be built over a two-plus year period. The second blog also shows that you don't need an elaborate workspace to achieve your dream.

Still Alive

2007-04-02T17:12:00.000-05:00

Damn, I haven't done a post in two months!

Despite my lack of posting though, we're still working away on the boat. We work on the boat for a couple of hours once or twice per week, and the drill is pretty constant... throw back a brew or two, smoke a cigar, work for a while, toss back another beer or two and admire the night's handywork... and curse the new flaws that we continually find.

Each new session is progressively shorter than the last one, which I take as a good sign. We are finding fewer flaws each time, and the flaws are continually more minor as time passes. Eventually we'll need to take out the magnifying glass to find the defects, at which point we'll know that we're satisfied with our craftsmanship or in serious need of psychological help.

Since my last post -- and picture -- we've laid two more coats of the red-pigmented epoxy, found a few more flaws, laid a coat of white-pigmented epoxy, found a few more flaws, worked on the spray rails, and found a few more flaws. We've been finding and fixing these flaws since Moses was a child. It still amazes me how long we've been working on this project, and how much it DOESN'T look like a boat. Yeah, I see the hull, and I can picture the boat, but your average joe on the street couldn't be expected to visualize our finished product.

For a while I was really gung-ho on the boat, and then we got stuck in sanding-and-fairing hell. We've been stuck in this stage since roughly July -- almost nine months. In retrospect, Greg thinks (and I agree) that we would be much farther along if we didn't make perfectly sharp chines and if we had omitted the spray rail. If it weren't for these two minor variations from the plans, we would have undoubtedly have flipped the boat by now. Those two modifications have made for uncounted additional hours of labor and several weeks of burnout.

Eventually though, you work through the burnout and get re-motivated. The main thing is that we continue to make progress, and that we continue to work on the boat. The progress comes in fits and starts, and anyone who builds a boat -- especially on this large scale -- will undoubtedly agree that sanding and fairing is the worst part.

So what's the point of this post? Well, I have a couple of points...

-We're not dead.

-We're still working on the boat.

-Try not to get discouraged by a lack of visible progress.

-If you build a planing hulled boat, don't make perfectly hard chines.

-Spray rails seem to be more work than they're worth.

Starting the Finish

2007-01-30T20:35:00.000-06:00

Last night we began seeing light at the end of the tunnel. For two consecutive sessions, we have performed tasks other than the mind (and hand) numbing tasks of sanding and fairing. As I mentioned in my last post, we mounted the spray rails. Last night we rolled out a coat of pigmented epoxy.

Painting the hull with pigmented epoxy will serve two main purposes. One purpose is to get the hull a uniform color, which will make any remaining flaws more visible, and if the paint gets scratched, the pigmented epoxy will help hide the scratches. (That's the second purpose.)

As you look at the pictures below, you will likely notice a couple of things...

- The area that's painted doesn't cover the entire bottom. This is because the painted area follows the approximate water line of the boat according to the plans. The area that hasn't been painted red will not be in the water.

-The spray rails do not follow the water line. We decided to have the spray rails follow the hull (from the top), not the water line.

-If you look really close, you may be able to see that the spray rails extend past the transoms. This is also intentional. It gave us room for error when mounting the rails to the boat; we will trim to the correct size and shape before we lay pigmented epoxy on the rest of the boat.

Spray Rails

2007-01-29T07:55:00.000-06:00

Greg and I had a nice diversion from the seemingly-endless task of sanding and fairing this weekend as we mounted the spray rails to the boat. For those of you who aren't familiar with spray rails, they are designed to reduce the amount of water that sprays you (and your friends and the deck of the boat) as you cruise through the water at higher speeds.

We built the spray rails out of cypress, which Greg chose for its extreme rot resistance. He bought three 10 foot long 1x1 sections, which we scarfed together to form a single, long rail, and then we diagonal-cut the single long piece, forming our two spray rails. After this, we prepped the spray rails by touching up the rough spots and by pre-drilling the holes.

Greg wasn't sure how he wanted to mount the spray rails... whether to follow the water line, the hull from the bottom, the hull from the top, or some hybrid. In the end, we followed the hull from the top, and drew our line using a jig. We epoxied the rails in place, and held them with stainless steel screws. After the epoxy cures and we do more touching up, we will fill in the screw holes (which were counter-sunk) with epoxy, making the seal truly water-tight.

Once again I forgot my camera, but I will try to get a shot or two in the near future.

Entering Orbit

2007-01-07T08:50:00.000-06:00

Greg and I both had vacation between Christmas and New Year's day. We had planned on having a couple of long sessions during this period, but that didn't happen. I was occupied with family and friends, but Greg was fortunate enough to get in several small touch-up sessions. In reality, that's what we needed. We're at the point that when we work together, it's usually a short session because all we need to do is a little fairing here and a little sanding there. Of course I've been saying "we're getting close" for several months.

Last night was another minor breakthrough. Greg broke out the orbital sanders, and we started finish-sanding the transoms. What can I say. We're getting close.

Ideas From Readers...

2006-12-10T10:15:00.002-06:00

Here are two comments from readers who posted on our thread on the builder's forum at www.bateau.com

---Comment 1---

The thing is, high-build primer is expensive, so getting a good sanding done first will save you time and money.

That said, I would do just as you wrote, prime, take a look, and then work those areas that specifically need attention. I've had best results with two coats of the high build then sanding. You might try that misting thing Joel has been doing on the FS14 thread. It seems like a great way to really pick out the problem areas.

---End Comment 1---

---Comment 2---

Before you put primer down...

1) Use straight edges with a light behind it to look for a fair surface. The light will show through between the hull and the straight edge if it is not fair.

2) Position a strong light close the hull surface. Step 6 or more feet away from the hull and look right down the side (block the light with your hand while you can still look down the hull). This will show many imperfections if they exist.

The above doesn't take very long and will tell you if you are ready.

Resist the urge to forge ahead if you have doubts that you are really ready for the next step.

---End Comment 2---

For Clarification

2006-12-09T09:28:00.001-06:00

I want to clarify things a bit. From my perspective, there's no tension between Greg and me on this project. We have the same vision for this boat... a high-quality watercraft that we built with our own hands. I know that this is ultimately his baby and I'm basically playing "Gilligan" to his "Skipper." He's a mechanical engineer and has done tons of research every step along the way. He's got a more developed vision than I do, and more knowledge and insight about how to achieve that vision.

At the same time, he's not autocratic. When I have an idea or disagree with his approach, I tell him what's on my mind and he listens. Sometimes we implement my thoughts, others we don't. When we went into this project, we knew we'd occasionally disagree. Since it's ultimately his boat, I've got no problems with doing what he wants and to his satisfaction. We really are doing this as a team; we're simply using the fact that it's his boat as the tiebreaker.

My frustration is merely that we've been stuck in the sanding and fairing stage for over seven months. Part of this is the pursuit of perfection, and part of this is because we're both family men who can only devote a few hours per week to this project. In the end, please don't think that my previous post was designed to imply that I'm frustrated with Greg, because that's not true. Mainly I'm illustrating, with my own personal experience, that building such a large boat carries its share of challenges and frustrations.

A Snail's Pace

2006-12-08T17:33:00.000-06:00

Once we're done with this project, I certainly hope that the boat goes through the water faster than we're progressing on the boat. It was two and a half months ago that I declared us "almost done" preparing the hull for painting. In retrospect, I feel like Bush proclaiming an end to major combat in Iraq.

Since saying "almost done," we've done still more sanding and fairing and filling holes, and I'm starting to get frustrated. A couple of weeks ago, I asked Greg if we could set the end of 2006 as a goal for flipping the boat. This would require us to be finished sanding, fairing, and priming the hull, and painting the bottom. He said it was doable and we set 12/31/06 as a tentative date for flipping the boat. We pissed away the next two weekends doing more sanding and fairing and quite honestly, I'm tired of it. I understand that Greg wants the boat to be perfect, but eventually you need to say "good enough." Part of the issue is that the boat is a huge patchwork of different colors and textures. There are areas where the eye says "this area needs to be filled in a bit more," but the hand says "it's perfectly smooth." There is one minor area on the port chine, toward the front, that needs to be touched up, but other than that, I think it's ready to prime.

Greg agrees with me in theory, but in practice we end up sanding and fairing when I get over there. We're both tired of the routine and we're both failing to see real progress. I think it's time to finish up the chine and prime. The primer we've bought is high-build primer, so it will perform two complimentary functions. Because it's high-build, it will fill in the smallest flaws, and because a primer coat would make the boat a uniform colors, it would expose any remaining flaws.

Your thoughts?

A Flow Coat

2006-10-08T10:16:00.000-05:00

Woo-Hoo!!!!

Greg finally decided to do something different. After months (yes, months!) of sanding and fairing, Greg decided that enough is enough. We flow coated the boat yesterday. When I went over there, I was expecting another round of sanding and fairing, so I didn't take the camera. (Like I've said countless times, there are only so many sanding and fairing pics I can take.)

One of our concerns was epoxy runs. In order to address this, we thickened the epoxy ever so slightly with just a touch of wood flower. It seems to have worked, but we won't know for sure until after the epoxy dries. Wish us luck.

Almost There

2006-09-17T14:54:00.001-05:00

Almost There
Originally uploaded by OzzyC.

I figured it was about time for another actual picture of our project. This photo really doesn't do the boat justice, but I wanted to show you something. Next time, I'll take the shot from the bow, and you'll get a better idea of the boat's overall shape and progress. (This shot makes the boat look more like a giant brick than an actual watercraft.)

What you should notice in this picture is just how sharp we've cut the chines, how flat the boat is, and how patchy the boat looks now. (If you click on the picture, you will see a larger picture, complete with notes on the boat.)

Along the chines, you will see something that looks a little like mold. Greg did a fog coat of black spraypaint. The idea here is to do a very light hand sanding with a long sanding block. After this sanding, we will be able to identify the low spots. These low spots will be easily seen because the fog coat of black spraypaint will remain in the low areas, whereas the paint will have been sanded from the higher areas.

Feel free to click here if you'd like an idea of how things looked before we built up the chines.

A Good Day's Work

2006-08-27T15:12:00.000-05:00

As I've mentioned time and time again, summer seems to slow Greg and me down on our quest for the perfect cabin cruiser. Today however, we made some great progress. We sanded down the hard chine on the port side and began the fine work with quick fair. It wasn't a long session time-wise, but we accomplished a lot. Additionally, we discussed ways to work smarter. The problem we've been running in to lately is that we can only put in an hour or two of work and then are required to wait for things to cure. Since the starboard side is about ready for flowcoating and priming, I brought up the idea of flowcoating and priming the boat in sections. This way, if there are areas that we need to revisit, we can be more effective in our work. Your thoughts??

The Law of Diminishing Returns

2006-07-09T11:24:00.000-05:00

Yes it's true... I've been horribly remiss in my postings lately. A small part of this is because we've been taking a slower pace lately, but mainly because there's really nothing to report.

Summer brings about a special set of challenges for our project. Part of the issue is that summertime brings about the opportunity for far more activity. Whether it's a chore such as mowing the lawn, a pleasure such as an afternoon drift down the river, or a picnic with the family, there's a lot more to do during the summer. This, of course, means a little less time to work on the boat.

The next challenge is the heat. We're building this boat in a non-air conditioned garage, and during this time of year, the heat is sometimes unbearable. Add in the fact that we're wearing tyvek suits, dust masks and safety glasses because we're sanding and fairing, and you should completely understand the lack of demonstrable progress on our project. I can only say "still sanding" so many times...

We've been sanding and fairing for about three months, but it seems like three years. Sanding and fairing is widely considered the most tedious, unrewarding phase of building a boat, and I honestly thought we were mentally prepared for this. I was wrong. In fact, I honestly believe that part of our slowed progress is based on burnout.

That said though, Greg is finally to a point where he's ready to say "good enough." To paraphrase a post from Wooden Boat Sailor, at some point the Law of Diminishing Returns kicks in. In the early stages, the sanding and fairing is essential, otherwise the boat looks and performs like absolute shit. As the process continues, there's a progressively smaller payoff for the same amount of work. Eventually you come to the point where the amount of work exceeds the amount of satisfaction you get from the work you put in. This is the "good enough" stage. Greg and I still have a little more work to do, but he's to the point where he realizes that any more work on the bottom of the hull is excessive. One of the sides is done, which leaves both transoms and the other side. If we haul ass, we should be ready to lay a coat of primer in about four to six weeks. Thank God! I'm soooooo ready to be finished with the sanding and fairing.

Epi-blogue

2006-06-05T08:34:00.000-05:00

Boys Trip 2006 041
Originally uploaded by OzzyC.

Though this experiment met with one mishap after another, it's one that I wouldn't have missed for the world. Despite the fact that we spent two hours repairing our craft for every hour of sailing (or some semblence thereof) -- kind of like owning an Italian sportscar -- it's something I'd do again. This trip was a blast... or should I say "gust?"

Half Mast

2006-06-05T08:32:00.000-05:00

Boys Trip 2006 026
Originally uploaded by OzzyC.

The final insult was a break that we couldn't overcome. The mast broke. Greg fashioned the mast out of a 16 foot aluminum flagpole. Though it was stressed far beyond anything it was engineered for, it held up for two days under strong winds. In the end though, mother nature's force was too much for the mast, and it snapped in the middle. The ironic part is that we were sailing for shore.

Greg wanted one last day of experimentation and sailing, and I wasn't about to let him go out in the boat alone... we'd both end up stranded that way. He'd be stuck in the water, and I'd be stuck on the island. So we shoved off one last time and tried to tack upwind, to no avail. We pulled the sail down, and as Greg frantically attempted repairs, the wind pushed us slowly downwind from our campsite. We were approximately a quarter mile downwind, when I announced that it was time to bring our experiment to a close.

I suggested using the wind to our advantage by bringing the sail up one last time and harnessing the wind's power to at least get us to shore, allowing us to paddle back up to our campsite in the island's wind shadow, thus fighting the wind less.

We hoisted the sail, flew for five feet or so, and heard that final **SNAP**. We looked up just in time to see the sail and mast tumbling. It was the final defeat in our experiment.

Broken Mast Support

2006-06-05T08:23:00.000-05:00

Boys Trip 2006 001
Originally uploaded by OzzyC.

Take a little too much wind, add a makeshift watercraft, and throw in a couple of inexperienced sailors... what do you get? A recipe for a disastrously humorous adventure.

Our next malfunction was a broken mast support. The mast support consisted of a wooden dowel, a couple of turnbuckles for adjustibility, and more hose clamps and bolts to hold the supports in place.

One particularly strong gust of wind ripped the turnbuckle from the dowel. We repaired the break with glue, but ended up going with another mast support made from a tree branch, lashed in place with ropes and ratchet straps.

Rudder Problems

2006-06-05T08:18:00.000-05:00

Boys Trip 2006 079
Originally uploaded by OzzyC.

The next problem we encountered was a rudder problem. We used a canoe paddle as the rudder, which was bolted to the catamaran frame using something that Greg fashioned. This mount broke, and we ended up having to ratchet strap the canoe paddle to the frame. Once this was done, the rudder didn't function quite as efficiently, so I periodically resorted to using two canoe paddles to achieve my objective.

Repaired Leeboard

2006-06-05T08:13:00.000-05:00

Boys Trip 2006 086
Originally uploaded by OzzyC.

After repairing the leeboard, we again tested our craft for seaworthiness. As you can see in this picture, the repair was fashioned out of a steel brace, hose clamps and a log provided by mother nature. Greg sunk a lag bolt in to the log. We tested things out, and the repair held, but there was yet another problem. By repairing the leeboard in this fashion, the board didn't sit as deeply in the water, effectively eliminating a portion of our ability to tack. We were able to tack one way against the wind, but not the other.

As you can imagine, this necessitated another long arduous paddle back to shore. Fortunately, we were picked up by a pair of boaters who towed our crippled craft back to our campsite for still more repairs.

Engineering Problems A-Plenty

2006-06-03T10:01:00.000-05:00

Boys Trip 2006 066
Originally uploaded by OzzyC.

As I mentioned yesterday, our first trip was completely uneventful. This is mainly because there was just enough wind to get us from the landing to our campsite, so we cruised to the island, set up camp, ate, and hoped for more wind the following day. Our wish was fulfilled.

After a hearty breakfast of beer and eggs, Greg and I were anxious to continue our experiment and to test our skill as sailors. We did a quick sail in the water immediately next to our camp site, and were soon satisfied that our boat and our skills were solid enough to venture further into the open water.

Being novice sailors, it took us a little bit of time and experimentation to learn the ropes, but we took great pleasure in the new experience... until we heart that first **CRACK**. I don't remember whether it was caused by shallow water, or by actual stress, but our leeboard mount broke. As this picture shows, the leeboard itself held up to the stress, but the frame wasn't quite as strong, flexible, or whatever.

Despite our hobbled watercraft, we were able to limp back to our campsite, which was upwind from us when the malfunction occurred, and fortunately Greg brought plenty of material for repairs. He pulled the leeboard mount and had soon fashioned a repair of glue and screws. On the downside, we had to wait for the glue to cure, so our sailing was finished for the day.

Stay tuned for our continued misadventures.

How We Did It

2006-06-02T11:18:00.000-05:00

Boys Trip 2006 055
Originally uploaded by OzzyC.

Our construction process was precise yet simple. Engineer-boy took the measurements and did the conversion mainly with things he already had laying around his garage... plywood, 2x4s, wooden dowels, ratchet straps, hose clamps, lag bolts and so forth. About the only parts he needed to buy were the flagpole that we used for the mast, and the tarp that he cut to the shape of a sail.

When we got to the reservoir, we spent the first two hours or so assembling the catamaran. By the time we finished the construction, got to camp, set up the tent and ate, it was time to go to bed. Additionally, the maiden voyage from the landing to the island occurred on a day with almost no wind. We were able to make our way to the island, but it was slow going. Our real test would have to wait for another day.

Look What We Did to Our Nice Canoes

2006-06-01T15:49:00.000-05:00

Boys Trip 2006 035
Originally uploaded by OzzyC.

Per our tradition, we took our boys' trip over Memorial Day weekend. For several years we have been travelling staying in Nicolette Forest in northease Wisconsin, for a few days of whitewater kayaking. This year, we decided to get back to our roots and do some canoeing. Greg and I took things a step further, and rigged up the Nice Canoes we built a couple of years ago as a makeshift catamaran. Greg, being engineer-boy, calculated the dimensions, measured the sail, and determined where to put the various parts. It worked surprisingly well -- for one day. The boat was structurally sound, but anything that directly related to the sailing aspect was woefully under-engineered. Stay tuned for the complete story... it's quite a ride.

A Brief Diversion

2006-05-20T11:16:00.000-05:00

You may have noticed a lack of recent posts about our boat project, and if you think it's because we haven't done anything lately, you're right. You see, it's almost time for our annual boyz trip pilgrimage. Every year over Memorial Day, Greg, two of our friends from high school and I go on an extended trip. The trips have varied tremendously over the years... sometimes we do long, self-contained downriver canoe trips, sometimes we do whitewater kayaking, occasionally more than the "core four" of us will go. Our trips have varied from three days to a week, and we have hit too many rivers to count. We started out taking these trips over Labor Day weekend, but changed to Memorial Day a few years back when we figured out that the water levels are generally higher this time of year.

This year, we will be travelling to North-Central Wisconsin and doing a self-contained island-hopping lake canoe trip, utilizing the canoes we built a couple of years ago. To add to the adventure, Greg and I are temporarily converting our individual canoes into a catamaran sailing vessle. We're going to a brand new area, doing a variation on our trip that we haven't really done before, and trying a new feat of engineering. This should explain the lack of progress on the main project. We've been planning the trip, and working on the rig that will convert our paddle-powered canoes into a wind-powered catamaran.

If you’re interested in some of the history and stories from our various trips, here are a few links for you to check out…

From earlier posts in this blog:
How it all Began; A Quick Sidenote:
A Well-Deserved Vacation
Pictures of the Canoes

From posts on my other blog:
Commemorating a Practical Joke

Sanding and Fairing and Building the Edges

2006-04-15T16:56:00.000-05:00

Greg and I haven't forgotten about you, this blog, or our project. It's just that we haven't recently hit any milestones worth blogging about. As I mentioned in some of my recent postings, the part we're on now is very long and tedious... not much worthy of a blog entry. Despite my lack of posting though, we have made significant progress, and it's very close to the rate that I expected. This is largely due to Greg's work.

My family and I went to California for vacation recently, which prevented me from assisting Greg for two weeks straight. In all honesty, I suspected that very little would be done during my absence. (This is partially because much of what we've done to date is highly expedited by having two people working, and partially because I realize that I help keep Greg motivated.) But when I got back home, I was pleasantly surprised to find that Greg had made significant progress during my absence. While I was gone, Greg enlisted the assistance of our mutual friend Dan. Dan, thanks for your help while I was gone. I appreciate it, and I know Greg appreciates it.

As you can see in the first photo, Greg and Dan made great progress in filling the bottom of the boat. It's very close to being finished.

Greg also made a lot of progress in rebuilding the hard edges of the boat. Remember, this boat is designed to have a planing hull, so a perfectly flat bottom and very hard chines are essential in order to have this boat perform as expected at planing speeds.

In the picture to the right, you will see how we made the chines with relatively little work. Greg screwed thick sheets of plastic to the hull, as shown in this picture. This gave us (when I say "us," I'm including Dan, because he was part of this particular process; he also provided us with the plastic.) a fairly straight, and very sturdy platform with which to work. We wedged epoxy thickened with wood flour and fiberglass particles into the space between the plasic, going slightly higher than the bottom of the hull. This way, we were sanding down, instead of requiring a second fill coat.

In this picture, you will notice the applied thickened epoxy. After the epoxy dries, we remove the sheets of plastic, and voila, a sturdy chine, ready for sanding.

This shot will give you a basic picture of what the chines look like after the epoxy sets and the plastic is removed. What you're looking at is the starboard side. You will notice that the chines are not built up throughout the whole starboard side. This is because of the limited plastic available. It will require a second session to finish the side. You will also notice that we (again, "we" includes Dan) have been sanding and fairing along the entire bottom of the hull.

This final picture is taken from the bow, starboard corner. You will notice that Greg has also filled the front transom area, and the front bottom area, to compensate for the three-to-six layers of fiberglass. You will also notice the fair amount of fairing done on the bottom, and the hard chine. Like I've said, it's not that we haven't been working, and it's not that we've forgotten about you. It's mainly that we're at a relatively tedious section of the project, and there's not a lot to report. After all, how many times can I say "Yep, we're still sanding" and keep you all interested?

Until next time...

Oh yeah, you may have noticed that the boat has several different colors of filler. This is because Greg is utilizing a combination of what's cheapest and what works best for sanding and fairing in a given area of the boat.

The Good and the Bad and the Good

2006-03-12T09:28:00.000-06:00

The fairing and sanding continues. Greg read about a really neat idea that will likely save us countless hours of eyeballing, and in the end, provide us with a significantly more accurate finished product...

In my last entry, you saw the level that showed approximately how much filling we need to do. Well, Greg decided to wrap that level in plastic, run a strip of filler under where the level was, and then essentially mash the level into the filler and let things dry. After the filler dried, he removed the level, shaved down the excess epoxy and voila, he had a "rail" that gave us a guide for how much filler we need to use. By running a second "rail" down the center, and a third one down the other side, we had a rail system built, which will allow us to roll out a single, thick, accurate layer of filler and dramatically reduce the amount of sanding and fairing we will need to do. A stroke of genius!

On the downside, when sanding yesterday, we came across a big spot that was starved for epoxy, as shown (and outlined) in the picture to the right. This is an area that's come back to haunt us from way-back-when. The area is approximately 4"X3." It's nothing that can't be overcome, but is a little frustrating.

We have yet to decide how to address the issue, but Greg has two ideas... one is to use fiberglass filler and epoxy, the other is to use glass micro-filler and epoxy. I've found one or two other spots like this, but they're small, in non-structural areas, and easy to fix.

Here's another small stroke of genius Greg ran across...

-Are you tired of constantly stirring epoxy and/or thickener?

-Are you working by yourself and would like to save a little time?

-Are you working with fast hardener, and tired of worrying if it's going to kick too quickly?

If any of these problems apply to you, then you should try what Greg's doing in this picture to the right. Use a drill (or drill press) and a paint-stirring bit to do the work for you. It's quicker and easier. Just remember to take measures to protect your drill. It would really suck if you ended ruining your drill because it got all gummed up with epoxy.

Time to Fair

2006-02-19T11:28:00.000-06:00

Greg and I started the long task of filling in the low spots. This pic is a "before" shot that will show you how much area we have to fill.

You may also be interested in seeing me do another household project using epoxy.

The Outside of the Hull is Glassed!

2006-01-29T11:58:00.000-06:00

We reached another major milestone yesterday... we finished glassing the exterior of the hull. Now we're on to the long task of fairing and sanding. Based on our current pace, I expect this to take about three months.

Glassed Rear Transom

2006-01-22T09:59:00.000-06:00

Yesterday we glassed the rear transom. After we glass the front transom (which we plan to do next weekend), we'll be done glassing the exterior. Then comes the fairing.

We've gotten pretty good at laying glass, and have devised a method that lets us lay two layers at once. The first time we did it was a little tough, but through a little trial and error, we've got it down to a science. By doing two layers at once we are saving time and I think we'll have a stronger boat, because laying two layers at once will give us a single chemical bond in addition to the physical bond. It also seems to cut down on the amount of sanding we need to do.

Here's a picture of the glassed side (which we did last week). We glassed the side using the aforementioned both-layers-at-once method, and I'm quite pleased with the results. Glassing the side took us about four hours using this method, and the rear transom took about two hours.

Our double layer method consists of measuring the glass cloth and laying them in place, and laying a coat of epoxy thick enough to saturate both layers of glass. The horizontal surfaces are very easy, but the vertical surfaces are a little more tricky. We've found that it's best to use a roller to work a thick layer of epoxy into the glass at the top, and then slowly squeegee the excess down the side. Make sure to do this very slowly, so the epoxy has a chance to saturate the cloth as you go down. If the epoxy is rolling down the surface as you use the squeegee, you're moving too quickly.

One note: I do NOT recommend doing this double-layer method unless you've got two people for the task.

2006-01-14T09:59:00.000-06:00

I dropped by Andrew Lucking's site today. Andrew is building a VG23 sailboat, but has had to cease construction for the winter. In the meantime, Andrew has found a few cool links that you may find interesting...

Peter Gron is building an Arctic Tern Sloop that promises to be a beautiful lady when she's done. Peter came up with an brilliant way to make the stitches tight at the bow, but I'll let you read his web site and find it for yourself. He's also got great pictures of the jig he built for rolling the boat.

---Blatant lifted from Andrew's page, so I don't have to re-type---
I didn’t mean to but… - Tim Zim is in the midst of converting a fishing trawler into a liveaboard. Tim complains about busting rust the way I complain about sanding. And his “Lady Jane” is 90+ feet!

Ceilydh Under Construction - Evan Gatehouse and family are reconstructing a Woods Meander 40′ catamaran. Any boat project that begins with a chainsaw is okay in my books.

Waterlogged: living on a wooden ship - These folks are living aboard the MV Bowie, a 136 foot former WW II US Navy subchaser, as they renovate her. Something about life on a huge old wooden ship with a hot tub on her stern really appeals to me.
---End Blatantly Plagarized Section---

While you cruise through these sites (hopefully getting ideas and staying motivated about your own project), be assured that Greg and I are still sanding and laying fiberglass on the hull.

Fiberglass Filler

2006-01-07T10:28:00.000-06:00

Patched Hull
Originally uploaded by OzzyC.

Here's a picture of the fiberglass-filled patch. You see that Greg used epoxy filled with fiberglass particles, which he used to fill the areas he cut out, and blended in with the glass cloth. The strength is solid, and it will undoubtedly work better than the original plan of injecting epoxy into small holes. It's a little more work, but we both agree that it's worth it.

We Re-Interrupt this Program...

2006-01-07T10:25:00.000-06:00

Shower Repair 8
Originally uploaded by OzzyC.

For an update on my shower repair. You may notice that my last update on this was in Mid-December. Since then I have had precious little time to work on the shower, and when I did work on it, the progress was slower for various reasons...

The patch job still isn't re-grouted and re-sealed, but that'll come in the next couple of days. And of course, it's not perfect, but it's designed to be a semi-permanent patch job, not a total reworking.

Back to our Regularly Scheduled Program

2005-12-26T20:02:00.000-06:00

We laid some more glass yesterday, but I'm going to digress a bit.

You may remember in an earlier post that we had a couple of spots where the fiberglass didn't adhere to the plywood. Our initial plan was to drill small holes in these areas and fill them with epoxy. Greg changed his mind. Instead, he cut out these areas with a knife, and filled it with a mixture of epoxy and fiberglass filler. My camera batteries were dead, so I don't have any pics of this, but I will attempt to get some pics posted soon.

After the fiberglass filling, we did a little last-minute sanding, and laid fiberglass on one side. We've now got about two-thirds of the exterior completely fiberglassed. We still have one side, and both transoms to do, but that should go relatively quick. Of course I'll post pictures.

Other Uses for Epoxy and Plywood - Part IV

2005-12-17T14:13:00.000-06:00

Shower Repair 7
Originally uploaded by OzzyC.

In this photo, you see that I've done part of the bottom, or side, section. I was fortunate that this section came off in one large sheet, so I didn't have to re-lay individual tiles. The hardest part of re-laying the tiles comes next. Wish me luck.

By the way, if you're interested, you can also see my other home improvement project on my other blog. I figured that it was more appropriate to post this project here, since it so heavily utilizes plywood and epoxy.

Other Uses for Epoxy and Plywood - Part III

2005-12-17T14:12:00.000-06:00

Shower Repair 5
Originally uploaded by OzzyC.

You can see that I've used thickened epoxy and laid the tiles on the top section. It's not pretty, but it's functional - and waterproof. I plan to drill out the epoxy between the tiles and re-grout. That will make things less ugly.

Other Uses for Epoxy and Plywood - Part II

2005-12-17T14:03:00.000-06:00

Shower Repair 4
Originally uploaded by OzzyC.

In this picture, you see that I have installed the scrap plywood. the plyowood has been sealed with epoxy, so it should stay waterproof for until I truly remodel this bathroom. I've screwed it all into place with waterproof screws, and you may see that I've test-fitted a block of tiles.

Other Uses for Epoxy and Plywood

2005-12-08T12:10:00.000-06:00

By now, we're all familiar with using epoxy and plywood for building boats. But have you considered using plywood and epoxy for other jobs around the house? The previous owner of my house installed a tile shower, and used plain plain 2x4's and plywood for this water-catching lip. Over the years, water has gotten in here, and eventually it rotted away the plywood and the wood.

I'm not going to the trouble of completely ripping this out and starting from scratch, but I am going to repair it so it stays put until I'm ready to completely overhaul this bathroom. Enter the epoxy and plywood...

During the course of the next couple of weeks, I am going to epoxy the remaining wood, in an attempt to prevent any further deterioration. I will cut some scrap plywood to size and lay a protective layer of epoxy over that as well, which will waterproof the entire base. Finally, I will use thickened epoxy to stick the tiles back into place. Why epoxy instead of cement? Because I have the epoxy and plywood available. I'd have to go out and buy the cement. The only reason NOT to use wood is because of the rotting factor. By coating it all with epoxy, I have removed the potential for rotting.

Overall View

2005-12-08T12:09:00.000-06:00

Some Good Spots
Originally uploaded by OzzyC.

As you can see, our work paid off in the end. For the most part, it looks really good, and you can't really tell where we ran out of epoxy.

Next time we'll lay epoxy on the sides, then it's time to start fairing and sanding.

Drilling Small Holes

2005-12-08T12:07:00.000-06:00

Drilling Small Holes
Originally uploaded by OzzyC.

We're overcoming our problem by drilling small holes where the epoxy bubbles are. We will then inject epoxy into the holes and weight down the area, so the fit is as tight as possible in the end.

The Journey Continues

2005-12-08T12:04:00.000-06:00

Flaws in the Epoxy
Originally uploaded by OzzyC.

You may remember from our last couple of entries that we ran out of epoxy. In order to overcome this potentially disasterous problem, we heated the cured epoxy with a heat gun, and applied epoxy to the rest of the boat.

This picture shows that, for the most part, our approach worked incredibly well. However, also shown in the picture, we had a few spots that were completely starved and didn't adhere to the hull at all.

How did we overcome this problem??? Read on and find out.

Heating Fresh Epoxy

2005-11-29T12:29:00.000-06:00

Heating the Transom II
Originally uploaded by OzzyC.

There were a couple of areas on the rear transom where the glass didn't lay down to our liking. Greg decided to see if heating the epoxy in this area would work. After a few minutes, we discovered that the epoxy got very thin and dripped a lot. This tended to starve the fiberglass, didn't help the fiberglass adhere to the plywood at all, and the epoxy that remained in the fiberglass had dried enough to touch after a mere five additional minutes.

In short, I don't recommend using a heat gun on uncured epoxy. It's a good way to give yourself a second chance on cured epoxy though. In fact, I'd call it a sheer stroke of genius on Greg's part.

Glassed Bottom

2005-11-29T12:25:00.000-06:00

Glassed Bottom
Originally uploaded by OzzyC.

The rest of the bottom has been glassed. As I write today's entry, we're waiting for the epoxy to completely cure. This weekend, we'll touch up any areas that need it, do a little sanding, and lay glass on the sides and transoms as needed.

Weighting the Transition Area

2005-11-29T12:24:00.000-06:00

After the Next Round of Epoxy
Originally uploaded by OzzyC.

To help ensure a good bond in the area where we ran out of epoxy, we laid a slightly thicker layer of epoxy, then laid a sheet of plastic over the transition area, laid a piece of plywood over all of that, and weighted it down. From the transition point on, we epoxied as normal.

Quick Heating and Quick Cooling

2005-11-29T12:13:00.000-06:00

Heating the Glass Close-Up
Originally uploaded by OzzyC.

As mentioned in the last entry, we used a heat gun to heat up the stiff fiberglass, and soften the epoxy. Immediately upon softening, we laid a cool metal weight on top of the newly-softened fiberglass. This helped the fiberglass lay flat as it should.

As we went, we learned that we could run the heat gun in front of the weight, which would heat the fiberglass and epoxy, and we could immediately slide a weight behind the heated area. this would ensure the area would lay flat. I've gotta say, it was a pretty clever trick.

An Answer to our Glassing Problem

2005-11-29T12:09:00.000-06:00

Heating the Glass I
Originally uploaded by OzzyC.

We ("we" being Greg for the most part) thought about possible solutions for our problem on how to get the partially-wetted fiberglass to properly adhere to the hull. After a week or so, Greg found the answer. We used a heat gun and softened the epoxy in the areas where the fiberglass was bubbled up from the hull.

A Stroke of Luck?

2005-11-18T13:09:00.000-06:00

Here's the answer from bateau about our epoxy problem.

---Begin Original Text---
If you can get it to wet out, there should not be any problems. The larger white areas are going to be easy, its the spots that have been half way wetted out that will be diffucult to make right - you will have to really work the epoxy into the glass to wet out the dry fibers.
---End Original Text---

They asked for some close-up pics of the area where we had run out of epoxy, (here are links to the pictures 1 2 3 4 5 6 7) they talked among themselves, and the concensus was that we could probably do it, but it would take work.
Note: These pics are very large. They'll take a minute or so with broadband. If you're using dial-up, make lunch while you wait for the downloads.

Hey, I can handle a little extra work. I was concerned that we'd have to cut the cloth, toss out the stuff that wasn't epoxied thoroughly, sand down the transition area, and relay the back section; which would have cost us several extra hours of work and about $50 to $100 in extra fiberglass.

Greg came to the conclusion that we really did have enough epoxy for the job, but we used a grout float instead of a squeegee when we applied the epoxy. After looking at the boat, there's little doubt in my mind that he's right. I agreed with his assessment when I saw how much epoxy had run down the side of the boat. Using a squeegee was easier and faster, but it cost us extra in the long run. Greg had to buy more epoxy than originally anticipated, and it's going to cost us a little extra work. I wouldn't disrecommend using a grout float for the big jobs; in fact I'd still recommend it. But I would also highly suggest that you double your estimate when you consider how much epoxy you'll need for the job. The worst that will happen is that you end up with extra epoxy, which can be used on your next job.

As usual, I'll take more pictures (heck, maybe I'll do a video... we're about due for one) and update you on the progress.

A Significant Setback on our way to a Major Milestone

2005-11-13T09:45:00.000-06:00

Glassing the Hull 012
Originally uploaded by OzzyC.

We ran out of epoxy. Between applying the base coat to the bare wood, and the bonding coat that bonds the glass cloth to the hull, we went through well over three gallons of epoxy.

This could have some major unintended side effects for us, but I'm not sure yet.

The front half of the boat is fine. I'm not so sure about the back half. Greg thinks that we can just get more epoxy and continue where we left off. I'm concerned that we'll need to rip up the cloth that didn't get bonded and reapply the cloth. Here's what I'm thinking...

We've got the base layer of epoxy applied to the bare wood. It's also ever-so-slightly bonding the fiberglass cloth to the hull. But I'm concerned that it's not quite right. I'm going to ask Jacques over at the boat forum and get his input. I'll let you know when I get the answer.

Glassing the Hull

2005-11-13T09:39:00.000-06:00

Glassing the Hull 011
Originally uploaded by OzzyC.

This picture shows the front half glassed and epoxied. If you look closely at the picture, you can see the line where there's no top layer of epoxy.

Prepped Hull

2005-11-13T09:37:00.000-06:00

Glassing the Hull 010
Originally uploaded by OzzyC.

The hull is now prepped. A base coat of epoxy has been applied to the entire exterior of the hull. Isn't it shiny?

Prepping the Hull

2005-11-13T09:35:00.000-06:00

Glassing the Hull 009
Originally uploaded by OzzyC.

Yesterday we started the process of laying fiberglass cloth on the hull. Here's a picture of me rolling a base coat of epoxy onto the bare wood of the hull.

Finished Taping the Seams

2005-11-13T09:33:00.000-06:00

Glassing the Hull 003
Originally uploaded by OzzyC.

Greg got the front and rear transom joints taped. The corners have six layers of fiberglass on them. They should be able to withstand a direct blast from a nuclear warhead.

Another Minor Milestone

2005-11-06T11:38:00.000-06:00

Taping 002
Originally uploaded by OzzyC.

We haven't done much the last couple of weeks, because my wife and I went on our honeymoon. Greg did a little work while I was gone, but not a whole lot... mainly a few last-minute things before doing what we did last night... laying tape!

That's right, we laid tape on the three long seams. Greg said that he'd to the transoms today, so we have not only a good physical bond, but a good chemical bond with the epoxy as well.

Resolution to the Errors We're Experiencing

2005-10-18T12:49:00.000-05:00

We received an answer that thoroughly answers the questions regarding the fit problems we've encountered while assembling the hull. The short answer is that it's a combination of problems with how the kit was cut at the factory, and assembly error. If you're interested in the long version, I'm attaching the response from Jacques, one of the admins at www.bateau.com

---begin original message---
Here are Ryan's conclusion[s] and I agree with them. We have looked many times at this and suspected a problem if parts were cut from the nesting drawing. We found only discrepancy . Ryan's notes are in italic. My comments are in blue.
-----------------------
"The aft pieces of the hull bottom were too wide where they meet the middle pieces of the hull bottom. I laid out the plan spec dimensions on these pieces and had to cut off slivers approximately 5/8" wide, tapering down to 0", by 20" long, in order for these pieces to meet the plan specs and to get them to butt properly to the middle bottom hull sections. The cuts were on the outside of the pieces."
---->I have no clue about this. The nesting matches the dimensions.
That must have been a CNC machine problem. Fortunately, it was too large and easy to correct.

2) The aft and bow transoms were mounted on the building frame, at the distances and angles specified in the plans. A laser was used to precisely align everything. When the glued and assembled stringers were put in place, it was clear that they were about 3 inches shorter than the distance between the transoms. Part of this distance (1/2") can be explained by the fact that I did not account for the front cabin bulkhead fitting between the aft and bow portions of the stringers, as I had glued them up as one contiguous unit (instead of installing the bow portion of the stringers later, as indicated in the on-line building tutorial). However, having to recess the stringers 1/2 way into the transoms adds 9/16" for the bow transom and 1" for the aft transom (which is 2" thick for large motor usage). This adds up to: 3" - 1/2" + 9/16" + 1" = approximately 4 inches that the stringers were short. I do not recall what the exact measurements are, and I did not try and crawl under the boat to take them again. Thus, I cannot say whether this is a plan or kit error."
---->the kit: The transom that was in the nesting was too big. It was about 1-7/8" too big. The stringer tips in the nesting were about 1" too short.

The CNC file for those parts was taken from the nesting drawing but the nesting drawing is not to scale!
You corrected properly.

"This problem was corrected by moving the bow transom aft the proper distance so that the stringers would fit right. I knew this could change the way the bottom panels fit, so when we put the aft 3 building molds in, we reduced the distance between each of them a small amount. This was done because the bottom is much flatter in this area and I knew it would affect the shape/fit of the panels less than adjusting each mold position or just the front ones."
--->Once they do this.....the frames won't fit right.
That looks like an assembly mistake you made but again, you corrected it properly.

"Some of the kit frames were not wide enough. For example: According to the plans, Frame F should be 90-1/4" wide. The actual measurement is 88-1/4". Frame E should be 92-3/4", and the actual measurement is 90-3/4"."
---->The nesting matched the station dimensions....so I don't know about this.
Me neither . . . were those frames marked correctly?

"Several of the kit pieces that were supposed to be 3/8" plywood were actually 1/2". I have been able to work around this without too much problem and the small amount of extra weight should not affect the performance."
---->Not sure about this one either.
I discussed this with Eric. he asked permission to use 1/2" instead of 3/8 for cutting reasons. I checked and gave the OK, it has no effect on weigth (maybe 5 lbs total!) and can only be better question of strength.
-----------------------
Conclusion, it looks like there were some problems with the kit, some I understand, others not but you solved the problems. Sorry for those cutting mistakes. Email when you need paint or other supplies, we'll do something special.

All the dimensions on the plans are correct, it's a kit problem that does not affect those building from the plans. Eric and I have discussed this. In 95% of the cases, despite what we say on the plans (NTS = Not To Scale), our plans are to scale. Those parts were an exception. Right now, we do not cut kits from the nesting drawing anymore.
_________________
Jacques Mertens

---end original message---

My personal opinion on the whole deal...

The root of the problems were based on errors in the kit. The problem was exacerbated when we adjusted our assembly process upon encountering kit errors, resulting in a chain reaction of minor, correctable issues.

Jacques and crew have been instrumental in figuring out the root of the problem, and there's no doubt in my mind that they'll work with the kit manufacturer to ensure this doesn't happen again. Additionally, they appear to genuinely care about customer satisfaction, as evidenced by their promise to "do something special" next time we order supplies. Despite the fact that we've experienced these minor setbacks, I have been satisfied in my dealings with these guys, and I would freely recommend bateau for anyone who is building a houseboat (or any other type of boat.) "If you're building a houseboat, go to www.bateau.com for the plans, kit and supplies."

By the way, if you do end up ordering from bateau as a result of reading this blog, tell 'em that OzzyC sent you.

Patched Epoxy Joint

2005-10-16T10:09:00.000-05:00

Patched Epoxy Joint
Originally uploaded by OzzyC.

This is what the joints looked like after layint the thickened epoxy.

Bad Epoxy Joint

2005-10-16T10:08:00.000-05:00

Bad Epoxy Joint
Originally uploaded by OzzyC.

We also went over the taped joints one last time. This one was the worst. There was a large gap in the joint. The gap had no epoxy in it, and the tape had bonded poorly at the seam. We cleaned things up and filled the joint with thickened epoxy.

Not a single tape joint was truly smooth. There were "waves" in the epoxy, so we smoothed it all out by laying thickened epoxy, using a sqeegee.

Patched Front Transom Gap

2005-10-16T10:05:00.000-05:00

Patched Front Transom Gap
Originally uploaded by OzzyC.

We went around the entire boat and patched all gaps, holes, gouges, and so forth, with thickened epoxy.

...and Then I Went to Help Greg...

2005-10-16T10:03:00.000-05:00

Front Transom Epoxy Gap
Originally uploaded by OzzyC.

... work on his boat.

This week we did a final laying of thickened epoxy, in preparation for taping the seams.

In this photo, you will see a small gap between the transom and the hull, and a screw hole.

Flaw in the Rubrail

2005-10-16T09:58:00.000-05:00

Flaw in the Rubrail
Originally uploaded by OzzyC.

In a continuation of "back to basics" week, I will discuss this rubrail in a bit more detail.

We purchased 10-foot sections of oak, which is obviously too short for the entire canoe. We compensated for this by angle-cutting the oak sections and joining them together with epoxy. We did the joints at port-bow and starboard-stern, for load balancing. This way if we hit something that would break one joint, they both wouldn't break.

This spring, my boat hit a rock in rapids, and popped the rubrail joint. I tried patching the popped joint with gorilla glue, but that was inadequate for the job, and the joint popped again, (on a much smaller rock, at a much lower speed.)

As you can imagine, I was starting to get a little frustrated over my canoe continually "breaking." I figured it was time to do the job right, so I decided to sand and re-epoxy the joint from scratch.

Unfortunately, my daughter wanted to help, and due to a perfect storm of circumstances, I didn't quite mix the epoxy right, and it never quite set. Growing even more weary of this ongoing problem, I sunk a couple of bronze nails into the seams, figuring that would do it. That's when I sanded and painted the boat, and when I noticed the flaw in this picture. If you look VERY closely (not the best picture), you can see that there's no epoxy bonding the rubrail to the hull. Once the paint dries, but before I stain the rubrails, I will bond the rubrail to the hull with a thin line of unthickened epoxy.

Back To Basics

2005-10-16T09:42:00.000-05:00

Back To Basics
Originally uploaded by OzzyC.

Building the Nice Canoes was our experiment. We built the canoes first, so we could get an idea of how much work building the GT-23 would be, and to make sure we were up for that kind of work.

I've had my canoe for about a year and a half, and I've used it a LOT. She was starting to show her age...

It was time for a new paint job. I sanded down the entire exterior, including the rubrails. This photo shows the paint job. Today or tomorrow I'll do a bit more painting, a little touch-up, and then it's into storage.