Shims

The shims for the bottoms of BH-2, BH-3 and BH-4 were glued in place tonight.

Before gluing the shims, I put a fairing batten on the chines to see how much clean up will be needed to get a fair line. I was pleased to find only one or two high spots needing trimming on each chine. I'll work on those tomorrow after the shims set up.

The bottom should get a test fit tomorrow or Thursday and be glued in place on Friday.

Progress continues on the gunwales (scarfs being cut), inwales (scarfs being cut), and interior bits and pieces.

Things are picking up speed...

Moving Forward!

The chine-logs are trimmed and beveled. It didn't take as long as I expected, but I got a good workout with the block plane this afternoon!

I've got the same issue with gaps at the bottom of the bulkheads that Christophe had with his hull. Not sure what caused that... the solution is shims to fill most of the gaps (epoxy will fill the rest).

I suppose I could continue to plane the sides and chine-logs to meet the bulkheads - and then fair the line of the chine... lots of work...

At any rate, I am ready to align and glue the bottom!

Milling Lumber and a Decision...

I drove up the hill (Sacramento is at about 25 feet elevation, my buddy lives in the foothills at about 3200 feet elevation) this afternoon to mill some lumber. I worried all the way as this was the longest trip I've taken in the Jeep since getting it running last month. I worried all the way to Ed's. Nothing bad happened. The ride home was much more enjoyable.

We milled some lumber for my gunwales and inwales. We also milled some lumber for a couple more box booms. I took my rough built mast step to run through the planer to even out the surfaces. The mast step will be done tomorrow.

The material I bought for the gunwales and inwales is some sort of pine - nicely milled but with maybe 3/32" holes drilled through the width about every 15" or so. Based on the bin I pulled this stuff out of, I'm thinking it was intended for door or window framing. My thought was I could fill those holes with epoxy. Ed thought the wood looked good and suggested finding a dowel to fit those holes. Great idea and much simpler than pouring epoxy into a bunch of 3/32" holes!

When we were done with the power tools we had a few beers and talked boats, plans and the future of the universe... normal stuff. Ed asked when I thought I might launch the Goat. I told him my original plan to launch on February 2 - Karen's birthday. He thought that sounded ambitious but asked what needed to be done. Talking through the list of things that "need" to be done we listed: bottom installed, mast step and partner installed, seat stringers, center case, seats, gunwales, inwales, tape the chines, paint and oars. we eliminated the centercase (I don't need that to launch as a rowboat), finish coats of paint (primer would be good enough for a short launch) and oars (Ed loaned me a pair!). Mulling it over on the drive home I got excited - February 2 is not an impossible date. For a launching I can car-top it the short distance (8-9 miles) to the launch site. Mark your calendar - February 2 for my own private pre-launch and February 6 for a public launching ceremony and celebration.

Odds and Ends

While waiting to turn the boat over (more on that in a bit), I've been plugging away at small components that will be needed soon after the bottom is installed.

The mast step and partner are nearly completed. I am making them over-sized (lengthwise) and will cut them to final size after more carefully measuring between BH1 and BH2 after the bottom is installed.

As simple as it sounds, I've cut out the plywood gussets for the seat framing. I plan to install a deck inspection plate in the rear seat for access to install the rudder hardware, so I won't be using a center-line stringer for the rear seat. I will use two stringers, set off-center so the inspection plate can be centered.

I've taken another step into the electronic age! I bought a small digital scale to measure resin and hardener - hopefully - more accurately than in the past. It is a slick little scale measuring 15mmx75mmx110mm. Once I figured out how to work it (very simple really), I mixed a couple very small batches of epoxy successfully. With a bit of practice this scale may help me cut down on wasted epoxy.

Following discussions re the sail design, I sent DuckWorks a request for a quote based on a few modifications to the standard GIS sail. I am very close to ordering my sail.

I went to Builders Surplus, a wood recycler, for some 2x4x16s with as tight and vertical grain as I could find digging through the stack. Only one problem - there is no stack! They sold it all since early November when I bought the 2x4s for my saw horses. Disappointed at that, I began looking around for other materials... The 4x4x16s priced at $20 apiece were tempting. I nearly called my lumber-milling buddy to see if he was up for milling such a timber tomorrow when I found some smaller stuff that will be suitable for the gunwales and inwales. It still requires milling but not nearly as much as a 4x4 would. That 4x4 would have produced a lot more finished lumber than what I need (for this project) anyway.

Over at the shed this afternoon, I was trying to figure out when it was going to work to get some help to turn the boat over. As I stood there I decided to see if I could do it myself. Long story short - I did!







It will take a bit of work to bevel the chine-log. That 10mm overlap of the chine-log beyond the ply hull side seems to be more than necessary. I can tell I will also have to shim two or, possibly, three bulkheads to assure a good fit with the bottom.

Tomorrow, I'll drive up the hill to Ed's place to mill the gunwales and inwales. It should be a great weekend!

Sunday Afternoon

Good things... I ran a string from the bow to the mid-point of the transom and checked to see whether the bulkheads were centered... the were!

Using the Zip-Loc baggy technique, I squirted thickened epoxy into the gaps of bulkheads 1 and 2. I am starting to get this technique down pat - maybe by the time I finish this boat I'll have it figured out!

Another bit of experimentation involves tinting the epoxy. So far, I have used it on the center case structure. I am pleased with the results and will probably use tinted epoxy on the chine-logs to match )or nearly so) the color of the interior.

Earlier today I ordered a digital scale to improve the measuring of epoxy and hardener. I'm not sure it will make much difference but for $15.00, it can't hurt.

Turning the hull over to prepare for installing the bottom will wait until next weekend.

Good Intentions...

I had really good intentions today. Really, I did. I meant to run some errands in the morning and then spend the afternoon working on the boat.

It didn't work out that way...

I ran my errands - including picking up two planks (1x6x10') at Home Depot to make a set of oars - and came back home to unload the new purchases.

Just after lunch I packed up a couple of things to take to the shed but as I was leaving home I realized I forgot about Tap Plastics this morning. I wanted to get a bit of epoxy resin and hardener to keep at home so I wouldn't have to schlep those supplies back and forth (I still have a couple of things needing epoxy at home).

When I was done at Tap Plastics, I figured I'd stop at Berry Lumber (they've supplied most of the non-ply materials for the boat) to price clear DF or spruce for the mast. While I was there I asked about 2x2x12' DF for the yard. The guy said they'd have to sell me a 2x4 and cut it into two 2x2s. Fine by me - more material for experimenting. I did have to wait a bit for the yard guy to mill the piece (he cut it but also ran it through the molder to ease the edges).

I got lazy and decided to take the rest of the afternoon "off." The boat will be waiting for me tomorrow.

Good Start to the New Year!

Two weeks ago Scott and I assembled the hull in a dry-fit to see how things worked. We had a couple of challenges that slowed us down but we were able to get things figured out.

Two mutually exclusive factors got in the way of the actual gluing of the hull - the bottom panels needed to be glued together, and the assembled hull takes up virtually all the space in the shed. I had to take the hull apart so I could glue the bottom panels together.

Getting that preliminary stuff done, we were ready to go this afternoon. Scott, his wife Sandy, and I met at the shed around 2:00 this afternoon. Once we got going the boat went together much easier today than during the dry-fit. The dry-fit was an excellent dress rehearsal for the real deal, and having a third person to help was a big help, indeed.

The only perceived anxiety came after everything was glued and screwed together. The diagonal measurements to check alignment were off by 30mm (plans say up to 10mm is okay). Almost time to panic... but Sandy asked if it made a difference that the two sides were on different sawhorses? Well, yeah, it could... and it did! The two horses supporting the aft section of the hull were on slightly different levels. Once we placed the stern on a single horse the diagonals had a difference of only 3mm - well within the plan specification. The anxiety disappeared. I am pleased with this result.

Here are some pictures of this afternoon's effort:







We plan to turn the hull over tomorrow to bevel the chine-logs and to fill the few gaps between bulkheads and hull panels. With a bit of luck, we'll be fitting the bottom on Sunday.