Internal Fitout - Ready to Install

Yesterday proved to be one of those rare days where everything was conducive to my boatbuilding aspirations. Nice cloudy day with temperatures in the low 20s, house pretty much all to myself and no school runs or errands to do all day. I was able to really get stuck in, and I'm stoked to say that I made heaps of progress.

After getting set up again it was time to suss out the steering pedal system. 

The pedals are supposed to be about 200mm (8") below seat height.

I measured out and drilled the holes for the adjustable side rails.

So far so good.

Because the side rails aren't exactly parallel I decided to make the cross bar holes into slots. 

I reckon this should work fine. 

Next I had some fun leaning how to use a plunge router (never used one before), and ended up radiusing the for and aft edges of the seats. Still need a bit of a final sand, but I'm pretty happy with the results. Thanks for the loan of the router Phil.

Then I re-did the forward saddles for the wae there. All good now. 

Then it was time to tackle the seat set up. After fiddling and wrangling for ages, I've eventually decided that I won't be keeping the seat stringers full length after all. I'll still make the aft seat adjustable though. It all took a fair while to work out, but I think I've got it all sorted now. 

I've drilled holes for three separate positions, which took some head-scratching given the taper of the rails. All seems to work ok now. 

I finished quite late in the day, but I'm so happy to get where I now am. The next bit is the exciting one of installing all of these components. I've so far got all of next week off, but the weather is predicted to be very hot. Fingers crossed I'll be able to get it all done. I'm stinging to get onto the decks. 

BTW I got a good reminder as to the hazards of using epoxy after the last activity sessions. My shins suddenly got real itchy and these sores suddenly erupted. I can only put it down to epoxy dust from sanding the forward bulkhead (I was wearing shorts). Going to be way more careful form now on. 

More Internal Fitout

A bit of dancing around the usual work/family commitments and weather, but managed to get a bit more done. The main push at the moment is to get all of the internal bits finalised, so that they can all be installed in one go. 

The ends of the waes (crossbeams) terminate in saddles at the hull, and I had a bit of a think a bit about the best way to do this. In the end I decided to use the 2mm ply (salvaged from an old, junked wardrobe). I want one square at the end of the beam to spread any transverse loading, and another square with a slot cut for the beam, to help with any shear forces that might get applied at the beam ends.

To reduce any break out of the fragile ply when cutting, I used masking tape along the cut lines and a hack saw blade in my jig saw. This seemed to work well, since there was minimal damage. 

Then I clamped the resulting saddle squares together and cleaned them up on the sander.

Job done.

They seem to fit ok too. 

Even finish flush with the inner gunwales. 

Of course I also had to notch the ring frame, so it would fit around the saddles. One annoying oversight on my part was failing to allow for the 'lashing' holes for the Iakos (beams that connect to the ama) at this station. 

The hole size at the aft beam should be ok, but now it looks like I'm going to have to make up new (bigger) saddles for the forward beam. Spewing!

Anyway, I also made up a better breasthook (out of some scrap pine) to beef up the stern.

One milestone that I'm looking forward to is strip planking the decks. Because they're reasonably flat and small enough to handle easily, I'm hoping I can actually fibreglass them to a good enough standard to be left varnished. Its a shame the hull will have to be painted, but that's the way it has to be. At least with beautiful varnished decks and gunwales (and eventually seats), the canoe will retain a bit of a traditional/classical look. 

I admit that this has had me fretting a bit. I'm paranoid about cocking it up, and I'm constantly fiddling and pondering how I'm going to do it. One potential issue I think I've discovered is the height of my forward watertight bulkhead. It seems a bit high. Gary's book details how the gunwale should be cut to receive the planking of the deck, but planking over this bulkhead wouldn't even touch the gunwale. So I sanded it down a bit and it seems better now. 

So far so good. I think I've gotten these components as ready as I can get them now. 

I turned my attention to the seats and stringers. I cleaned up the stringers that I had cut earlier. They look good. Just need to radius the lower corner a bit and they'll be fine. 

I'd like to use some nice varnished timber for the seats, but due to the complete absence of any disposable cash at the moment I've decided to use some 18mm ply (I think it might even be marine ply) that I've had laying around for years. I'll bolt these in place so that I can replace them with the proper solid timber versions further down the track when I can afford it. 

Still need to radius the forward and aft edges, but looks ok. 

I'm planning to keep the stringers full length because I'd like to be able to adjust the aft seat position to trim the canoe when paddling alone. The forward seat will remain in the same spot because this is where the leeboard will be secured when sailing. Hopefully the stringers won't intrude into my 'knee room' too much. I figure my knees will probably be reasonable close together anyway, because my feet will be sitting on the steering pedals (which are the next bit to sort out, and can be seen laying in the bilge). 

I'm enjoying being able to make some progress with this build at the moment. I'm trying to get as much done, as fast as I can, because my work roster has me pretty busy around Christmas/New Year, plus it looks like being a bloody hot summer this year. And it would be so damn good to actually be out on the water for a change, instead of just fantasising about it all the time. 

Internal Fitout - Initial Stages

It was another stunning today, and so I enjoyed working on the canoe all afternoon. It was pretty productive too. 

First I uncovered the hull and clamped the cradles from the sold strong back, onto the sawhorses. It was so good to see the hull sitting right way up again. 

Then I checked out my newly epoxied bulkheads. They turned out great and seem to fit fine. 

Before applying another coat of epoxy, I decided to get the rest of the interior components sorted. I set up my power tools in the yard, and some pleasant hours flew by, thinking, digging around for stock and making up actual parts. 

So now I've got a ring frame, two 'waes' (beams that the crossbeams [iakos] lash to), and stringers for the seats and foot controls. 

Plenty more to go, but I'm happy to finally be making actual progress again. I'm hoping the weather forecast is wrong. I've set myself the goal of being afloat by Christmas THIS year. At least then I would've managed to complete her within five years (but only just). 

Bulkheads - Begun

The weather has thwarted me at almost every turn over the last couple of weeks, but I have managed to make at least some progress. 

As mentioned, I'd bought my inspection ports and bungs for the watertight bulkheads and so now I worked on getting them fitted. It was a simple matter to draw around the openings, and then I used a hole saw to get things started. 

Today was the first real clear day, and I'm happy to have used it well. First I used my jig saw to cut out the holes for the ports. I used a metal cutting blade to try to minimise breakout damage, although there was still some minor damage done. Still, they came out ok. 

I was slightly concerned about the 2mm ply bulkheads perhaps being a bit flimsy, so I decided to beef up the tops with another strip of the same ply. I made these wide enough to adequately surround the inner gunwales too, so hopefully this will increase strength in these areas of the hull and decks nicely. 

I cut them slightly oversized and clamped them together. Then I used my sanding station to get the outlines as perfect as possible. 

Should provide a better landing edge for the deck now too. 

Keen to make the most of the day, I wanted to give these parts a decent soak coat of epoxy as well (rain supposed to be coming back this week). I dug my old resin out and found it to be a solid mass in the bottom of the bottle, because it has been sitting for so long. I sat it in a bucket with hot water for a while, and it soon became runny again. I mixed up a batch (with the additive that makes the epoxy more viscous and has a wood preservative as well) and drowned the components in it. 

Tomorrow is supposed to be fine, so I'm looking forward to getting some more done. I'd love it if I can get this boat finished before the summer, but I'm going to have to come up with some money soon. In the mean time I'll get as much done as I can with whatever I have on hand. 

Still Here

Feeling the frustration lately. Not that that's a bad thing. It usually builds up to a point where I can take it no longer, and then step up to finally make some shit happen. It might not look like it, but I have actually made some small steps toward progress. 

For months and months my poor canoe has lain neglected down the down the end of the yard. Loved perhaps, yet still nowhere near complete. Part of this has been due to the distraction of cleaning out the small yacht that I've (cleverly) also elected to save from certain destruction (see my other blog about Sentina). The rest is largely related to my new job. You see, my position is permanent part-time, which is just fantastic time wise. I have so much time off, that you would think I'd be able to make great streaks of progress on every front. The problem is that, although it does pay quite well, it's still not enough to provide any sort of disposable cash whatsoever. And because I need to be on instant call, I can't fill the gap with another job. I've been investigating ways of making some spare money on the side, and this search continues. Of course none of this will be an issue when I eventually land a full time role, but that's scarce comfort in the mean time. 

Another motivation is the fact that I've had a gut-full of waiting to go paddling and sailing, especially with the glorious weather we've been having lately. Plus my Canadian mate (who's built and paddles a strip canoe and sails a trimaran as well) has been making noises about organising some beach camp cruising lately, so I've resolved to do whatever I can to move the ball a bit further down the field at every opportunity. Which brings me to my latest activities. 

Disgusted at the sight of my canoe slowly becoming enveloped in weeds, a couple weeks ago I dug the old girl out and moved her over to the corner where I usual work on her. A quick inspection showed no damage or twisting, which is a relief. The strong back is pretty knackered though. 

Then I figured I should get myself organised. My shed(s) had become clogged with loads of crap over the years, and finding my tools had become something of a nightmare. This photo was taken after I'd started pulling bikes and stuff out. It was a solid wall of junk as soon as the door was opened. 

Amid the clouds of dust, dirt, cockroach/rodent shit and mummified rat carcasses, I hauled everything out into the yard for assessment and allocation.

It took a couple of days, but eventually order was restored.

Buoyed by my progress, I've even managed to carve out a minuscule amount of money from my tax refund for inspection ports and bungs for the watertight bulkheads. I hope to get those sorted and installed into the hull this week, if this miserable weather (which has ironically hit us just now) eases up. The shitty weather is the reason I'm updating this blog instead of actually working on the boat.

BTW, one thing I've well and truly learned: with any future boat building projects (and God help me, there's another one floating around in my head at the moment), a proper dedicated shed is non-negotiable. There's not a doubt in my mind that this boat would've long been completed by now if only I had sorted out this in the first place. Potential builders beware.

Well, I can actually report some positive news for a change. Yes folks, I've finally managed to land a cracker of a job, so it looks like I'm going to be able to get stuck back into this project again soon (as well as the yacht one). I can't believe its taken me this long to build this canoe, surely the slowest build in history.

Oh well, in the next few weeks I should be in a position to be able to pull the tarp off the poor old thing, clear out some spider webs, and get on with the job of completing this canoe once and for all.

I know I've said this a number of times before, but watch this space…...

Sorry Guys - Not Ignoring You

I just came back to this poor, neglected blog and noticed a bunch of messages. Sorry everyone, I've been a bit slack/distracted lately. I promise to reply to everyone's messages tomorrow when I get home (except for the one from 'Anonymous', which I accidentally deleted - sorry dude, but thanks anyway).

If you want pop over to my other blog (about my yacht restoration), you'll be able to see what I've been up to. At least I have actually been making some progress somewhere. Its pretty surprising actually, given that my time and money is more non-existent than usual.

Anyway, I'm almost at the point now where I can leave yacht alone to dry out properly, and finally return my focus to the canoe. I still need to get a proper career going again, but there's still a heap of stuff I could be getting on with cheaply.

It'd be nice to finally get the canoe finished and in the water. I can't remember the last time I was on the water for pleasure. This is no way to live!