Building Oars

After having cut the blank about a month ago, I finally got around to the fun part. Working with hand planes, I've begun shaping the loom and blade of my first oar - and making a lot of wood shavings in the process.





The oar is still rough, although it is closer to final form this evening than when the pictures were taken earlier today - and there are more shavings on the floor.

This first effort is maybe a "throwaway" piece. Oh, it will probably be usable, but I made a couple of errors in cutting and gluing the blank so I don't know that I could duplicate this oar for a matched set. I have learned a great deal working on this first oar, so I am confident I will be able to produce a decent set of oars for my GIS.

Then Again...

I went to work on the boat today intending to turn it over to get started on finishing the interior.

Except that I forgot to bring several tools with me... and, the epoxy has set up, so I can fair the bow and get it primed before turning the boat.

Back home and back to the boat...

I sanded the hull and applied another primer coat. The hull is coming along.





Tomorrow I will sand (220-grit) and apply one more coat of primer before turning the hull over.

I am also working on the oars. It is interesting to watch the oar emerge from the glued up lamination. I only hope I can duplicate the effort and match the second oar to the first!

Change: The Only Constant

Change. I guess by definition, Change is not constant. Constants in mathematics and science do not change. But lately, it seems that the only "constant" about this project is change!

This morning I had a plan to have the boat ready for a trip to Oregon in April. Lots of time to finish the interior and get her painted. Then I learned of a local rowing and EBS (Elbow Bending Session, aka a get-together with other boat-builders involving adult beverages) being set up for mid-March. Well, last March I attended a similar gathering and received a good push toward starting this crazy process. I had told the guys I wanted to build a GIS, had the plans but recited a laundry list of "reasons" why I wasn't building my boat. One of them said, "Bob, do you want to build a boat or do you want to whine about not building a boat?" That prompted some discussion and I went home with a different perspective. A week later I was building my boat. So, it is important to me to attend this year's March row and EBS with my Karen Ann.

So, my plan early this morning was to get a couple of coats of primer on the exterior, turn the boat over, and get started on fitting out the interior. After finishing the interior, I would turn the boat over again to install the skids and paint the hull with the color coats. That has changed. In the interests of time, I am now thinking I'll install the skids, finish with the primer, and apply the color coats to the hull before turning the boat over.

And then... I went to the boat to get that next coat of primer applied... Big disappointment and set back.

I had faired the edge of the FG tape on the chine with thickened epoxy. It looked pretty good yesterday but I decided to apply a coat of epoxy to seal the fairing before painting. Today when I returned to the boat, I found the epoxy had run and sagged a bit. No worries, I'll just sand it out... except the epoxy had not set-up completely (about 18 hours) and it gummed up the sandpaper and crumbled into a bit of a mess. Wasting several sandpaper disks, I cleaned up as best I could and applied a coat of primer. That just emphasized the flaws... The hull is going to need a lot more work.

In the meantime, I am working on getting the skids ready to install.

I definitely want to take Karen Ann to the March row and EBS.

Early Morning Diversion

This morning I completed a little side task I hope to install in the boat later this weekend.

When I made the breasthook a few weeks ago, I cut it just a bit too small. It is too narrow and left a gap between it and the hull. Not good. I decided to widen it a bit by adding strips of wood to the sides.

Being triangle shaped, the breasthook does not lend itself to easy clamping - everything just slid apart as the clamps were tightened. So I set about figuring a way to improve the clamping.

I found the matching cut-offs in the scrap box, and thought, great, these will give me parallel surfaces for the clamps... They did, but everything still slid apart.

Then I decided to put two screws in my workbench as stops for the breasthook. That held the breasthook but didn't do anything for keeping the cut-offs in place.

Two more screws in the bench top and I was in business!



The parchment paper is there to keep me from gluing everything to the bench!



The tails on those strips will be trimmed away...

The cut-offs in place:



Clamping:







When I glued this up I placed parchment paper between the cut-offs and the strips. I didn't want to glue the cut-offs to the breasthook.

These added strips are enough to cover the gaps created by the original breasthook and will allow a bit of trimming for a good fit.

I may need to add better stops to the workbench, although the screws worked for me today.

Now, while that sets up, I'll go work on the boat. Sanding, priming, sanding...

This is the Part I've Dreaded...

As much fun as I've had building my boat, I have now reached the point I have dreaded all along. Sanding, painting, and other finishing work has always been my least favorite part of any woodworking project. My impatience combined with a genuine lack of skill in this area make for less than great results.

The chines were covered with FG tape and as I learned at last week's launching, a single coat of epoxy is not enough to fill the weave in the tape. I really did know that but it was clearly demonstrated by the slow leak last weekend. Two more coats of epoxy - and the weave still is not filled and the edge of the tape stands out sharply. I am disappointed.



Yesterday I applied the first coat of primer to the exterior of the hull. I am using KILZ water-based primer/sealer/undercoat. The first coat was thinned 20% by weight, and looked a bit like whitewash over the epoxy coated hull (yes, the primer is white).



That first coat was just rolled on - I didn't try the roll-and-tip technique. The forward section of the bottom received a second coat (I had a bit left over, and the first coat had dried). I did experiment with the roll-and-tip method and it seemed to work alright.



Certainly, the second coat covered better but still shows every little bump, wrinkle, scratch, epoxy run and sag, and flaw in the surface. There is a lot of sanding to be done...

I am not looking forward to this part of the project.

Buying a Trailer

Obviously, I was going to need a trailer. Borrowing a trailer last week certainly made getting Karen Ann to Lake Natoma much easier than car-topping (my original plan). But, I can't borrow a trailer all the time.

I've been watching Craigslist for several months without much success. I pestered the Coots group up in Oregon with a pretty steady stream of questions about trailers: is it worth it to build a trailer (generally, no), how about a utility trailer ( maybe as a last resort), small (cheap)Harbor Freight trailer (a few fans but consensus was, no), and other questions.

Tuesday evening I found a "galvanized trailer for 12' to 14' boat" for sale on Craigslist. I called Wednesday morning and left a message. When I didn't get a call back I figured the trailer had sold. But that afternoon, driving home from the light rail station, I heard a strange electronic beeping. I quickly checked the gauges and systems display in the Jeep but saw nothing amiss. I checked the phone and found a voice-mail message. The trailer owner had been out all day. I called back, the trailer was still available and we arranged for me to see it Friday morning.

I called this morning, got directions and drove up to Coloma. As I pulled into the yard and saw the trailer, I was pretty sure I'd be taking it home with me. Met Bill, his dog, and 2 cats and spent an enjoyable hour talking about trailers, boats, fishing and an assortment of other topics.

The trailer is a used Caulkins with 12" wheels, Bearing Buddies, lights, winch, and jack. Yes, it is used but Bill took good care of this trailer. I bought it.

We switched out the 2" ball I had with a 1-7/8" ball needed for the trailer, hooked it up and I went home. 15 minutes or so down the road, I stopped to check the hubs. They were cool to the touch! The hubs were still cool when I got home 45 minutes down U.S. 50 later.

I will install bunks to fit the Goat and I will build a light bar to mount on the transom so the lights will be more visible to following drivers. Other than that, I won't have to do anything to have the trailer ready to haul Karen Ann to new adventures.



Interesting side note here... I have been in the foothills more in the past month than in the last five years: Milling wood in Placerville (two recent trips); borrowing a trailer in Auburn (three recent trips); and buying the trailer today in Coloma (one trip).

Launched!

Despite the threatening skies and dire forecasts, 11 hearty souls shared last Saturday afternoon's launch of Karen Ann, my Goat Island Skiff.

Things went well - (even with the slight leak!) - and everyone said the boat moved very well through the water. This is encouraging to me as there were many issues with the rowing set-up - not the least of which was my rowing style and technique (needs a lot of work!). Of course, from where I sat, I couldn't see how well the boat moved. I heard there may be video - but I won't have access to that until tomorrow.

Here is Karen Ann being launched:



My first row:



Another view:



And, I think this pic sums up how I felt about the launch:



Karen Ann is launched and I feel a great relief. Now, all I have to do is repair that leak, finish out the interior, build the mast, order the sail, finish the oars, and find a trailer. Nearly done!

Karen Ann is back in the shed, upside down on sawhorses, with a small space heater underneath to help dry things out.

Today would have been Karen's 54th birthday...

Karen's son and his wife came up to Sacramento for a visit.

We celebrated the day by christening my new Goat Island Skiff Karen Ann. We admired the fine lines of the GIS, toasted Karen, toasted the Karen Ann, and enjoyed a fine dinner.





It was a good day.