Interior structure

I have been busy cleaning up inside the hull and filleting the seams for extra reinforcement. I installed the "sheer clamp" at least I think that is what it is called for this boat. And now I am adding floors, frame members and the centerboard case.

Glueing and clamping in the sheer clamp. Lots of spring clamps needed here.

On the centerboard there is a pivot point that is under water. I drilled an oversize hole in the centerboard and both case sides and filled them with a thickened epoxy mix to seal the wood and will re-drill to the correct size for the bushings.

Here I have re-drilled the hole. I am using a pair of bronze oarlocks as the bushing. One on each side, I cut out the rectangular shape of the oarlock so everything will sit flush to the surface. These will be epoxied and screwed into place. The larger bushings go in the centerboard case trunk log and a pin thru it all to act as an axle for the pivot.

Assembled, it looks the same on both sides.

A couple of pics of the floor and bunk frame pieces, more to follow in a few days.

The centerboard case is almost ready to go in. I just have to take care of those bushings and make sure everything is lined up properly so the board can drop without hanging up and such. Concentrate!!!

Not a lot of new

I have just been cleaning up the interior in anticipation of installing frames and structure. But it has been cold of late and cold makes me slow, and makes me want to go stand in front of the fire. Well I have in fact, been cleaning up the inside of the boat and yesterday I glued up the centerboard blank from some nice Douglas fir. I needed to get that shape established so that I can start on the centerboard case, which needs to go in before I frame up that part of the interior. Well anyway, I rolled the boat out of the shop because it is a tight fit getting to some of my machinery so I thought I'd snap a few pics while it was out in the sun.

I like the bit of tumblehome in the rear quarter.

The big roll over "Margie/Lou"

I have been waiting for this day for a while now, but the paint had to dry and I had to clear the space in my shop and also I had to gather a few strong backs around to help me out. I got help from My son, Matthew and his friend Jason, also my son Devin and his friend Tony, as well as a couple of guys from the Wooden Boat Forum who live in the local area, so here are some pics from the day.

Here we are ready to drag her sideways and lower her off of the
building platform or strongback.

Rolling her over and hoping she doesn't get away from us.

That's my son, Matthew peeking around the corner.

Lay her down gently boys.

She looks considerably bigger from the top side.

Sliding her up unto the trailer she did not clear the sideboards so I had to remove them. They will be slightly modified and reinstalled though.

Sitting pretty on her trailer.

Tucked inside the shop with all the forms removed.
Now on to cleaning up the inside of the hull and fitting floors and frames.
Stay tuned.....

Well I am trying to get this thing ready to turn over so I can get it inside the shop where it might stay a little dryer and warmer to continue the work. So paint is the next thing to do to the outside of the hull. I could just take it into the barn and do the painting later but it sorta makes sense to me to do this first.

Green.....

Making a lead ballast keel

I wanted to get a couple hundred pounds way down low in the boat since I am building the boast larger than the plans show. It will be considerably more buoyant and so will need the extra weight to sit down on her designed water line. Also this should help in giving a more comfortable and stiffer ride. Anyway I scored some lead in the form of large ocean type fishing weights ranging from 20 to 35 pounds each. I had a total of 168 lbs worth. I made a form in the shape that I wanted out of MDF (medium density fiberboard) and painted the inside with waterglass (sodium silicate) to help keep the molten lead from burning it up. Then I melted the lead in a large pot over the burner from my turkey roaster and ladled it into the form. Now I have this thing that weighs more than I can pick up sitting in front of my shop. Hopefully soon I can get a couple of strong young backs to help me get it into place on the boat so I can bolt it into place.

Melting the lead

The lead has been poured into the mold.

I used my router to flatten the surface of the lead casting.
Now all I need is some help to get it into place on the boat.
The slot in the middle of the keel is for the centerboard to pass thru
when it is lowered.

Painting the hull

started the finishing process on the outside of the hull. This is the first coat of primer and then sanding and then more priming and probably more sanding and...... It will end up a shade of green on the bottom but I haven't decide which one yet.

The unpainted strip on the bilge are there because after I turn it over, I will add some bilge runner for a little added protection in case I get into some shallow water. The sheer strake is unpainted because there are some rub strips that still have to be installed there as well and they will be painted after that happens.

The Whiskey Plank!

Not being much of a whiskey drinker, I celebrated the hanging of the whiskey planks today with a beer. Now I got a lot of filling and sanding to do. Oh boy, not my favorite part.