And so it begins!

[Titus A Duxass]

I received the plans for a SFD 14' Peterborough yesterday.
Ordered a new blade for my Ryoba Komane and also ordered two new spokeshaves
(any excuse to buy new tools can not be missed).

Just waiting for the snow to clear of the streets before I go and get the ply.

[terry. young]

I love new tools too.Last year on hols to nova scotia the wifecame back with new clothes etc I came back with 3 cabinet scrapers ,canoe router bits ,a draw knife,small 100 mm draw knife and a veritas apron plane.[wish i'd bought the veritas spoke shaves.]good luck with your build .

[Titus A Duxass]

I spent the weekend sharpening, played it til my fingers bled is a very apt tune for sharpening.

Also picked up a workmate for 30 yoyos.

Now that the snow has melted I will pick up the wood tonight.

Questions:
What is the opinion on joining the planks, the two ways are a simply bond with tape or the more complicated JEM technique with epoxy mix. Doe the JEM technique really give more strength?

And, lollipop sticks between the planks (again JEM) - does this really give an advantage?

[DougR]

....
Questions:
What is the opinion on joining the planks, the two ways are a simply bond with tape or the more complicated JEM technique with epoxy mix. Doe the JEM technique really give more strength?
....

Links and/or pictures might help.

I'd guess that you are trying to compare some variety of "Glass Splice" with some other method of joining two pieces of timber.

Sadly, having no details of either of the two methods you are trying to compare, it's a little difficult to be positive. However, this is an area with lots of answers which more or less work - scrap timber and some test pieces should help you answer the questions.

[Titus A Duxass]

Here's a link to the panel splicing tutorial from JEM.
http://www.jemwatercraft.com/forum/v...c.php?f=6&t=25

And here's their artikel on panel spacing.
http://www.jemwatercraft.com/forum/v...c.php?f=7&t=33

I am just looking for opinions.

[DougR]

There are lots of ways of joining boards "end to end" - that method is effective but can look a bit rough - my personal preference is for a "scarf joint" - but there is LOTS of room for personal preference.

Top tip is still to try a few practice joints on some off cuts before committing to an unfamiliar technology.

The lolly stick thing looks like an epic faff - but it might work well - perhaps someone else knows.

[Julian Davies]

Scarfing planks end to end looks very neat, I decided against it though (same boat) because it does demand more accuracy, is less forgiving if you don't get it quite right and means you also need to adjust the lengths shown on the plans to account for the overlap.
The method involving an overlapping strip over the butt joint probably works very well, but (especially with 7 planks a side on the Peterborough) will involve a certain amount of chamfering to take account of the additional thickness at the joint when you stitch the planks together. You will also need to allow for the thickness when cutting out a temporary centre mould.
I used tape on each side and thickened resin to butt join the planks-worked very well and not too noticeable in practice.
I didn't use the stick spacers, but I can see the benefits in terms of reducing the need to take account of areas where the plank edges are slightly too tight and would otherwise need unstitching to ease the high spots before glueing the seams. If your planks are cut smoothly and accurately I don't think you really need spacers.
The 14' Peterborough is a very nice boat to build, apart from the number of planks the only issue I found which is peculiar to the design is achieving the sweep up of the gunwales/outwales at the ends. Some people cheat and reduce the height in the bow and stern slightly. I used clear pine tapered at the ends with lots of clamps (as SWF suggest) and didn't need to steam the timber.
Hope that helps.
Julian

[Titus A Duxass]

Scarfing planks end to end looks very neat, I decided against it though (same boat) because it does demand more accuracy, is less forgiving if you don't get it quite right and means you also need to adjust the lengths shown on the plans to account for the overlap.

Agreed, I am not going this route having never scarfed before.

The method involving an overlapping strip over the butt joint probably works very well, but (especially with 7 planks a side on the Peterborough) will involve a certain amount of chamfering to take account of the additional thickness at the joint when you stitch the planks together. You will also need to allow for the thickness when cutting out a temporary centre mould.

I think that this is the route for me. I do not fear chamfering for I have scary sharp (tm) tools
Good point about allowing for the extra width.

If your planks are cut smoothly and accurately I don't think you really need spacers.

My thoughts as well, I have the sticks so will use them as necessary (sparingly).

...is achieving the sweep up of the gunwales/outwales at the ends. Some people cheat and reduce the height in the bow and stern slightly.

I shall probably resort to steaming, I will have get some pieces to experiment on (probably Larch, can't find a source for Ash locally).

Your input is most welcome, thank you.

[johnm]

What is the opinion on joining the planks

Titus

From personal experience and talking to professional boatbulders and surveyors: the strongest method is the use of butt straps (only a butt strap meeds the requirements of Lloyds Certification - not that Lloyd! - in boatbuilding apparently), a scarf joint is the neatest visually but weaker (that being said it's strong enough to be used in the construction of inland racing dayboats in Norfolk).

I felt that my skills weren't up to a scarf when I built my first dinghy and used butt straps (ply blocks over the join). Definitely strong but not particularly pretty so, for the second boat, I used a 'saw tooth technique taken from Paul Fisher's "Manual of Modern Small Plywood Boat Construction Techniques". The saw tooth is a variant of a scarf, using the saw shape to increase the epoxy 'wetted' area in its construction. The big advantage that I found was that it requires far less precision when creating it. This is much less noticeable than the first example and appears to be perfectly suitable as a joint.

Unfortunately I haven't sorted out my online pictures yet, but this thread in another place http://www.the-norfolk-broads.co.uk/...srow=1&erow=99 shows both examples - butt strap is in pic 4 & 11c, the saw tooth is in pics 39a to 42.

[Titus A Duxass]

Johnm, thanks for that.
The sawtooth variant looks interesting.
Did you make a jig up to ease drawing?
Is there epoxy mix between the teeth?
How long are the teeth (they look about 60 - 80 mm)?

[big drip]

[QUOTE=Titus A Duxass;243445]

I shall probably resort to steaming, I will have get some pieces to experiment on (probably Larch, can't find a source for Ash locally).
QUOTE]

Hi Titus,
where abouts are you in the country? We managed to get ash for The Storky Bird from a local small wood turning company. We might be able to get you some if you wanted us to have a word.

[Titus A Duxass]

[QUOTE=big drip;243868]

I shall probably resort to steaming, I will have get some pieces to experiment on (probably Larch, can't find a source for Ash locally).
QUOTE]

Hi Titus,
where abouts are you in the country? We managed to get ash for The Storky Bird from a local small wood turning company. We might be able to get you some if you wanted us to have a word.

I'm not based in the UK, I'm in Leipzig (I've just updated my profile before anyone shouts).
Thanks for the offer though.

[Titus A Duxass]

saw tooth technique

I have been thinking, and googling, about this method (Googling didn't bring much).
The firm's design department has drawn me a jig for this method.

I have worked out that on two of the ply sheets (it's a 4 sheet design) the first station will have to be drawn 60mm in from the end to give the extra length for the teeth.

I'm going to have a practice run this weekend on some scrap ply.

[johnm]

OK, I will try to describe the saw tooth or castellated join.
The dimensions given are for a 120mm wide plank and the length of the 'tooth' is 60mm perpendicular to the end of the plank. Thu each plank needs to be 60mm longer as you suggest.
For the saw effect:
create a station line at 60mm from the end of the plank and mark out as follows - 15mm, 45mm, 15mm, 45mm, 15mm
Along the end of the plank, mark out 22.5mm, 15mm, 45mm, 15mm, 22.5mm
For the matching plank being joined, reverse the station line and plank end referred to above.

The planks are joined using epoxy in the same way that a butt joint would, leaving a small gap (approx 1/2 to 1mm) for the epoxy to fill and thus providing the strength. Top tip here - use wood flour in the epoxy because it's really discncerting to be able to see through the join

Beacause the epoxy will be applied to end grain, the end of the ply should be pre-coated with resin and allowed to cure. The thickened epoxy is applied and the 2 pieces laid together on a flat surface which has been covered with pvc and weight to hold steady.

Hopefully this helps - feel free to ask or any further clarification.

I can recommend Paul Fisher's "Manual of Modern Small Plywood Boat Construction Techniques" (or its latest incarnation) available from the SFD site.

[Titus A Duxass]

All tools extremely sharp.
All planks cut out ready for planing to shape.

Total spent so far 250 yoyos.

[Titus A Duxass]

All planks planed.
Six of the lower ones bonded together (don't have the room to do all 14 at once).

Question: How much filler is needed, how much have people used on a four planker, how much should I expect to use on a 7 planker. I have to place the order tomorrow.
So any pointers would be helpful.

Will post some pics tomorrow.

[Titus A Duxass]

Okay here are a few pictures of my build.

I’ll spare you the pictures of plank cutting, I’m sure we’ve all seen enough to know how it works.

These are my tools of choice.

Starting at the top and going clockwise we have:
1). A station stick - this is a piece of birch skirting board cut to the station length, for the Pete this is 305mm. This makes drawing of the station lines much easier (quicker).
2). The drilling jig - I made a small drilling jig from a piece of 90º aluminium extrude, I drill 3,0 mm holes on each face 6,0 mm in from the ends and 6,0 mm in from the centre fold. I found that by sitting on my computer chair I could position the plank across my thighs and with a 3,0 mm drill bit in a Dremel it was easy to drill the holes. If you do this just remember to spread those legs, it’s amazing how fast a 3,0 mm bit disappears in to your thigh. Knowing my tendency for breaking drill bits I bought a bunch of them, yes you guessed right – didn’t break one!
3). A pencil - need I say more?
4). A Ryoba Komane – this is a Japanese pull saw with a 0,45 mm thick blade, one side is a rip saw and the other a cross cut saw with an extreme fine kerf. This thing whip through 4,0 mm like the proverbial hot knife through butter. They are extremely sharp and they always have an exposed blade which loves skin contact.
5). A Stanley No. 60 Block plane which my friend found in a skip. It was a block of rust. I left it in a bucket of diesel for a couple of months and attacked it with emery cloth on a granite base.

The only build space open to me is my office, as you can see it’s a bit tight for space.
I could only manage to bond the planks together in batches of 6, which means for the Pete two sessions (and 4 days).



26 per chine so that’s a total of 312 plus a few more for the tricky areas, hmm, this could take awhile



Eventually the first of the planks were joined.



So far it was easy, this soon changed as more planks were added. Jeez it’s like trying to knit with spaghetti when you have 14 planks loosely tied together.
I started joining planks with lollipop sticks between the planks to give a gap for the filleting mixture – what a right royal PITA!
Don’t even consider it, you have to have the patience of Job!
After faffing about with this approach for two planks I gave up and ripped the sticks out. The Selway plans don’t use sticks which is good enough for me.

After all 14 planks joined I stuck in the centre temporary bulkhead then pulled it all together with a ratchet strap.
What a glorious feeling! By simply tightening a strap a canoe appears! Even the wife, on one of her many tea trips, said “Wow that looks good!”

I started out building on the workmate but found that she drooped at either end and put a lot of stress on the centre section – not good.
So I reverted to building her on the floor, not ideal but this solution provided the best support – didn’t do much for my back though.

With the ratchet strap securely tightened I was able get her out on to the balcony which was a relief as this is the only way to get her out of the flat.
Her she is on the balcony (yes that is snow in the back ground, it’s been there since December and with the temperature at -4ºC it’s going to stay around).


After some thinking I found that the base from my folding table provided a very good stand.

With this stand I am able to lie on the floor and fiddle with her bottom.


Here’s me ferreting about in the bottom.
Now the space is really at a premium, I didn’t realise just how broad a bottom she’d have (I like a broad bottom).

The next step is fairing the chines into line. I think I’ll have to buy a specialised saw for this, probably a Dozuki which allow cuts to be started mid plank.

Finishing the ends off looks like it could take some time. Does anyone have any tips for gluing in this area? Which is the best way – wiring and squeezing in filleting mixture or gluing the ends and clamping together?

More to follow…..

[Titus A Duxass]

Okay here are a few pictures of my build.

I’ll spare you the pictures of plank cutting, I’m we’ve all seen enough to know how it works.

These are my tools of choice.

Starting at the top and going clockwise we have:
1). A station stick - this is a piece of birch skirting board cut to the station length, for the Pete this is 305mm. This makes drawing of the station lines much easier (quicker).
2). The drilling jig - I made a small drilling jig from a piece of 90º aluminium extrude, I drill 3,0 mm holes on each face 6,0 mm in from the ends and 6,0 mm in from the centre fold. I found that by sitting on my computer chair I could position the plank across my thighs and with a 3,0 mm drill bit in a Dremel it was easy to drill the holes. If you do this just remember to spread those legs, it’s amazing how fast a 3,0 mm bit disappears in to your thigh. Knowing my tendency for breaking drill bits I bought a bunch of them, yes you guessed right – didn’t break one!
3). A pencil
4). A Ryoba Komane – this is a Japanese pull saw with a 0,45 mm thick blade, one side is a rip saw and the other a cross cut saw with an extreme fine kerf. This thing whips through 4,0 mm like the proverbial hot knife through butter. They are extremely sharp and they always have an exposed edge which loves skin contact.
5). A Stanley No. 60 Block plane which my friend found in a skip. It was a block of rust. I left it in a bucket of diesel for a couple of months and then attacked it with emery cloth on a granite base.

The only build space open to me is my office, as you can see it’s a bit tight for space.
I could only manage to bond the planks together in batches of 6, which means for the Pete two sessions (and 4 days).



26 per chine so that’s a total of 312 plus a few more for the tricky areas, hmm, this could take awhile



Eventually the first of the planks were joined.



So far it was easy, this soon changed as more planks were added. Jeez it’s like trying to knit with spaghetti when you have 14 planks loosely tied together.
I started joining planks with lollipop sticks between the planks to give a gap for the filleting mixture – what a right royal PITA!
Don’t even consider it, you have to have the patience of Job!
After faffing about with this approach for two planks I gave up and ripped the sticks out. The Selway plans don’t use sticks which is good enough for me.

After all 14 planks joined I stuck in the centre temporary bulkhead then pulled it all together with a ratchet strap.
What a glorious feeling! By simply tightening a strap a canoe appears! Even the wife, on one of her many tea trips, said “Wow that looks good!”

I started out building on the workmate but found that she drooped at either end and put a lot of stress on the centre section – not good.
So I reverted to building her on the floor, not ideal but this solution provided the best support – didn’t do much for my back though.

With the ratchet strap securely tightened I was able get her out on to the balcony which was a relief as this is the only way to get her out of the flat.
Here she is on the balcony (yes that is snow in the back ground, it’s been there since December and with the temperature at -4ºC it’s going to stay around).


After some thinking I found that the base from my folding table provided a very good stand.

With this stand I am able to lie on the floor and fiddle around underneath.


Here’s me ferreting about.
Now the space is really at a premium, I didn’t realise just how broad a bottom she’d have (I like a broad bottom).

The next step is fairing the chines into line. I think I’ll have to buy a specialised saw for this, probably a Dozuki which allow cuts to be started mid plank.

Finishing the ends off looks like it could take some time. Does anyone have any tips for gluing in this area? Which is the best way – wiring and squeezing in filleting mixture or gluing the ends and clamping together?

More to follow…..

[TGB]

Nice build, though you'll have to open the window when it coes to epoxy .

TGB

[Julian Davies]

I found it difficult with the Peterborough to line everything up accurately before the gluing started (the most tricky stage of the whole build!)-and with this number of planks it's very easy to get a slight twist in the hull which is difficult to spot unless you stand well back and sight along the top from end to end.
The best method for me involved using a ladder as a support for the hull (ideally on a couple of trestles for easy access) and also stitching in fore and aft bulkheads even if they are only temporary, as they will enable you to finish the ends off more accurately and get the curves in the planks right.
Once you've done that you will probably use a combination of stitches and clamps to hold the hull ends together while you glue. I used fillets between the stitches first, throughout, then you can take all the wire out. At the ends which are really inaccessible ,use a thin stick to get a bit of glue between the joint on each plank. When it's dry you can still take most of the stitches out and then use a bit of epoxy saturated glass rope to push into the space if you want.
After all the wire is out its completing the fillets and lots of sanding before the next stage!

All the best!
Julian

[Titus A Duxass]

Progress has slowed due to me buying an allotment for the wife.
Still managed to complete one end today.



There is some twist that I have to work out.

[johnm]

Looking good! The fun bit comes next - filleting

[Titus A Duxass]

Looking good! The fun bit comes next - filleting

Not quite, I have the other pointy bit to finish before I can start filleting.

[ipplepen]

First pointy end is nice and true...take the time to check and recheck bow and stern before glueing. You don't want a wonky bow (what like I have - although I am the only one who seems to notice!)

[Titus A Duxass]

First pointy end is nice and true...take the time to check and recheck bow and stern before glueing. You don't want a wonky bow (what like I have - although I am the only one who seems to notice!)

Thanks that's a good tip.
You sound just like me, your wonky bow is probably 0.5mm out but to you it's metres out.

[spyro]

I found two straight temporary battens going up across all the planks either side of the bow/stern and tie-wrapped together helped with respect to wonky bow syndrome, altho' I guess some pulling around and readjustments of tie wraps is generally the cure.

[Titus A Duxass]

I found two straight temporary battens going up across all the planks either side of the bow/stern and tie-wrapped together helped with respect to wonky bow syndrome, altho' I guess some pulling around and readjustments of tie wraps is generally the cure.

I haven't quite got the picture of the two battens yet, I think I have it. Are the battens placed vertically and tywrapped to squeeze the planks into line - this sounds logical.

[spyro]

Yes that's it. I found with my first LK I spent ages looking at the bow and stern confusing myself about whether it was all straight or not.
Second time round I tried the battens at the ends of the bow/stern and it seemed easier to see that the planks were aligned in a straight line and helped judge whether the lines weren't skewed.

[Titus A Duxass]

Another day spent fine tuning.



I am going to have to find a better way of supporting her, on the table she deforms where the table ends.
I don't have a ladder so I have two options - 1. - Suspend her from the ceiling or 2. - Put her on the floor with suitable supports (sandbags) as required.

[ynot]

I'm really impressed with your progress in such a confined space. I will continue to watch progress with amazement. I built a Prospector in my garage, space was always at a premium, but more than you have. I take my hat off to you.

Dave.

[Titus A Duxass]

I'm really impressed with your progress in such a confined space. I will continue to watch progress with amazement. I built a Prospector in my garage, space was always at a premium, but more than you have. I take my hat off to you.

Dave.

I'm afraid it's Hobson's choice.
I must admit that it's a bit of a pain having to juggle her around to get at the other end.
It is nice and warm though and I can work on her and visit the forum at the same time from the same seat.

[Pete M]

Hi Titus
Looking really good! I'm a way behind you with the same boat, just about to start stitching! The difficulty I have face has been the low temprature in my workshop. Getting the planks to join has been a trial. Keep the pictures coming, I'll try and post some once reasonable progress has been made.

[Titus A Duxass]

I finished fairing yesterday, start epoxying next weekend.


Dreaming of summer.

[Titus A Duxass]

Well I have to report that I have made absolutely no progress for the last two weeks.
Mainly caused by the delivery of a Polyester Repair pack instead of West System epoxy and 407 filler.
And for the next two weeks I'll be in/on Cyprus and will forget all about my canoe.

[Titus A Duxass]

I've started applying fillets to the planks.
First off I taped them up.



Then I started filleting.



At first I wasn't too keen on the colour of the West System 407 filleting mix but it has grown on me. If I can keep the lines tidy it may just work out.

[Tomo-hawk]

lookin good Titus,

I know its a ways ahead but are you going to paint finish exterior or varnish ?
I reckon the contrasting seam fillets look good , will you keep them like that .

next progress pics must be due soon.

Tomo

[Titus A Duxass]

lookin good Titus,

I know its a ways ahead but are you going to paint finish exterior or varnish ?
I reckon the contrasting seam fillets look good , will you keep them like that .

next progress pics must be due soon.

Tomo

I am going for a dark green exterior finish but will keep the internal bright with just varnish.

I have made no further progress as I spent the weekend blind drunk in a disused quarry with some VW bus mates.

[Titus A Duxass]

I took the wire stitches out today and tidied up the seams on one half.
Because I hadn't tacked the seams I had to heat the stitches up with a soldering iron to remove them.

I found that one joint had slipped so that the planks overlapped rather than butting each other.


You can see the edge of the plank sitting on top of its neighbour, I wasn't happy with this.
I cut the joint apart with a hacksaw blade and removed the epoxy with a sharp chisel.



I then masked off and applied a tidier fillet (after rubbing the existing fillets down with 40 grit paper).



I also removed the temporary bulkheads which I had glued in with hot glue.
Removing the glue also removed a bit of the ply surface so watch out if you are doing the same thing.


Here you can see the finished half.


Now do I fit water tight compartments at front and rear or leave it open?

[bigpete54]

Depends how long your legs are.
I removed the compartments on my 16 footer as my wife and I are both tall and needed the legroom. Mind you, I've just fitted temporary airbags that are almost as big as the compartments so don't listen to me!

[Titus A Duxass]

My legs are just long enough so that they touch the ground when I stand up.

Seriously we are both short arses so that's not a problem.
I'm not sure that they go in a Peterborough, it looks like it should be open.

[Titus A Duxass]

I managed to get 5 of the 13 joints taped today.


Here with the tape laid out and held at the centre with a strip of masking tape.
I then worked from centre to 1 pointy bit and then again from centre to the other pointy bit.
I found that by wetting the joint and then laying the tape followed by wetting out things went very smoothly.



I am quite pleased with the results.
We've been having temps up to 34c for the last couple weeks so I bought the slow (206) hardener this time.

[MotoMike]

lookinig good TADA. anxious to see the christening

[Titus A Duxass]

anxious to see the christening

You're not the only one, we have the perfect weather at the moment.
I'm looking at September.

[Titus A Duxass]

After much searching and debating I found some pine for the gunwales.
I was going to buy some ash strips and bond (scarf) them together but the cost was about 130 yoyos.

A local wood handler has good quality pine 70 x 18 (mm) by 5.1 metres, they can rip it in to two strips 35 x 18 which should be about right.

With a bit of thinning and trimming they should fit nicely, will post pictures when I get the wood.

[Titus A Duxass]

Inwales & Scuppers
Now you'd think that this wood be an easy task to achieve, however....
For information: All measurements are in new money

Size
How thick/wide by how deep?
By trawling the net, reading the literature from Selway and from trawling SOTP I found the following inwale/outwales sizes:

In Out
32 x 17 32 x 17
25 x 20 20 x 20
25 x 15 25 x 15
22 x 16 16 x 12
20 x 20 20 x 15
20 x 20 15 x 15
18 x 15 12 x 10

Right, so that's clear then!

Scuppers
Now here a whole new can of worms.
How wide and the spacing of the scuppers.

Following a similar trawl of the usual places I found the following:

Width Spacing
of Scupper of scupper
100 200
100 100
100 75
75 75
60 60

There were some examples of 30 wide spaced at 30, these were ignored as that way madness lies!

So the results of my investigation leads me to the decision that Inwales, Outwales & Scuppers are a matter of taste.
Yes folks beauty is in the eyes of the beer holder.

My original attempt at producing Inwales/Outwales (now simply I/O) used low cost 5 metre lenghts of 18 mm pine ripped to 30 wide.
These were either simply too stiff to be usable and even lead to me rupturing a joint at on end or they broke at a knot.

Mmmmh, time for a rethink.
Sourcing suitable lengths of Ash in my area was either impossilbe or stupidly expensive.
Then I found (on the bay) five 2.4 metre long lengths of Ash skirting boards for 40€.

This skirting is not rectangular, it is rounded on one corner (useful) and, diagonally opposite, a convex cut out (not so useful).

After sketching and musing I have decided!

I can rip the boards so that I have a length 30 x 22 (inwale) and a length 30 x 22 wtih a convex cut out (outwale).

As for the scuppers, I'm stuck on either 60 wide spaced at 60 or 80/80. I'll decided after I've seen the I/Os in place.
I may have to thin down the I/O a bit.

But the first task is to rip the boards which I have to do by hand as my table saw is about as much use as ti....

[Titus A Duxass]

Success!
I turned these 5 pieces of Ash skirting:




Into these:





With this:


Then I did a trail rout one the spare strip with a test fit:



I'm not sure about the scuppering yet, I think I will make them shallower (down to 5mm from 10mm) and wider with wider spacing.

[Chestnut Bob]

Hi Titus
Don't want to tell you something you may already know, but be aware of your seat hanger spacings and approximate location before you scupper the whole length of inwhale.
After all that work it would be a shame if it doesn't fit.
Good work so far, how long to launch?
Chestnut Bob

[Titus A Duxass]

Chestnut Bob,
Thanks for that prompt reminder.
Taking that in to consideration it would probably be wiser to make shallow scuppers of 60 - 75 mm with 100 mm spacing.
I'll do some dry fits before I cut the scuppers to best guess where the seat hangers will be.

[Dean]

Looking nice! Nice jig for the saw too. I'll be approaching I/O soon and I have to say it's the part I've been apprehensive about the most. I'll have to to leave the ripping of the timber to the timber merchants as I don't have any saws. But I can at least to the routing myself.

Looking forward to seeing yours finished.

[Titus A Duxass]

First fit of the I/Os carried successfully.






I didn't scarf two segments together mainly because I couldn't produce a satisfactory scarft joint and I may have to saw her in half for storage purposes.

They don't look to bad though.




The next step is either remove them and then refit them with epoxy or leave them and fair the hull first then permanently fix the I/Os.

Your thoughts good people are, as always, welcome.

Cheers from a chuffed Titus.

[simonw]

First fit of the I/Os carried successfully.


I didn't scarf two segments together mainly because I couldn't produce a satisfactory scarft joint and I may have to saw her in half for storage purposes.

*Gulp* ... hope you don't have to do that!

[Titus A Duxass]

I started fairing the hull last week.
I applied a good amount of 407 mix to the chines.

After a bit of thinking and discussion with TBH it was decided that I would not sand down the hull in the flat!

So off to the allotment with canoe.



And after a good sanding with some 60 grit and ROS.



She's not looking too shabby, I am well pleased with my efforts.

The local Great Tit population approve.


A bit more fairing is required, but first I'm going to finish the inside.
Starting to think about colours now, dark blue or dark green are the first ones that come to mind.

[Dean]

Looking good! I really need to get mine out of the confines of the garage to sand outside, trouble is I'm not sure it will go out the backdoor if the garage as planned, it's a bit bigger than I imagined
So that means moving everything from behind the garage door and taking it out the front. The ability to get around it and no dust to vacuum up afterwards though will make it worthwhile.

[Titus A Duxass]

Looking good!

Thanks.

The ability to get around it and no dust to vacuum up afterwards though will make it worthwhile.

These two alone make the effort more than worth while.

Question:
How have people "sealed" the hatches on to the bulkheads. The hatches that I have bought have a soft rubber shoulder but I don't think that this will be enough and was wondering what over approaches can be used.

[johnm]

She's looking good, particularly love the figurehead!

I have always gone for hatches without fixed rubber seals and then used a mastic sealant. reason being that rubber seals perish and often the first time you realise it is when they leak. If the seals come off the ones you have then I think I personally would probably remove them and use sealant.

[ShornSheep]

Looking good. You must be feeling very pleased.....

Shawn

[Titus A Duxass]

I got my canoe head on this weekend and I was excused gardening duties.

So after a bit of trial and error I manage to make up two bulkheads and cut the hatch holes in them with the router. I also made two supporting rings.


I made a centre thwart out of scraps of Ash and Birch and two Mahogoni supports.
It's a bit on the heavy side but will look good oiled.




I also fitted the bulkheads and applied an epoxy fillet.
I only just missed having a major cock-up here, I applied the epoxy and went off to do the thwart.
2 hours later I remembered to remove the masking tape, close!
The epoxy was fairly hard by then and removing the tape lifted the edges of the fillets.

I managed to smooth them back into place with a finger and some soapy water.




I'm feeling pretty chuffed with my efforts this weekend.
Next weekend is a write off as I have a major party at work so don't expect to see any progress.

[HeavyEvy]

Amazing work.
If I have the time and space i'd love to build one like this.

[Titus A Duxass]

Not much to report.
I did finish fairing the hull and have fitted a keel runner.
The keel runner I made out of softwood and will oil.
I have not fitted the optional bilge runners I am hoping that the keel will be enough.
It certainly stiffened the hull bottom.

Going to start painting the hull tonight.

The list to do is getting smaller:
Paint Hull
Apply final epoxy coat to inside of hull
Varnish inside of hull
Fit hatches
Fit Decks over compartment (I've got the ply cut, just waiting for the Ash veneer).
Sand and oil gunwales
Make a paddle

I am hoping to launch mid September (without seats).

[Titus A Duxass]

Got the final epoxy coat on the outside.


Then the first coat of undercoat.


And the first topcoat applied with a dinky foam roller.


It looks quite good in the cold light of day.


I'm going to give it a few days to harden, then I'll flat it back and apply a final coat.