Glued Stems and Alignment Checks

Slow start to the day this morning (I do love my Sunday morning cook up brekkies), but once I got started, I managed a pretty productive day.

First up, it was finally time to glue the stem laminates. A quick inspection of the test panel revealed that the glossy 3M packaging tape was the most "non-stickiest". So I quickly taped up the stem molds as best I could and launched into the gluing process with gusto.
Geez, what a slippery, slimy mess I created. With much jiggling, fiddling & farting around, I managed to get them all glued & clamped.




Could definitely have done with an extra three pair of hands, but with a bit of patience it was finished relatively fast. Got a suspicion that I may have glued my clamps to the job though.



There you go. Bit of a bloody mess, but at least it's done. I'm open to suggestions as to how I can incorporate the clamps into some sort of design feature.



After that, I had another look at the test panel. It looked like a bit of a Frankenstein job, with the edges of the fiberglass tape going across & all of the lumps & bumps. Undeterred, I gave it a bit of a sand, followed by another thickish coat of resin. Then trotted back out to the set up out front to give the mold alignments a good going over.

My fairing batten (with the scarf joint glued using the not-good-enough-rubbery-glue), turned out good enough for fairing purposes after all, so I started holding it against the molds & tried to check fairness. It was far too long to do this by hand, so I racked my brain for a solution. I tried my longer bar clamps, but they were no good (too fiddly). Looking around, I saw the elastic tarp tie downs (from my earlier, famously disastrous tarp fiasco). I slipped them around the batten & placed each one at a mold station. Then it was a simple matter of looping the tie down around one of the mold-to-extension bolts at each station. Perfect. (Strewth I good).




Using this method, I was able to place the batten at any point I wished on the whole assembly and sight along it from various vantage points. It quickly confirmed my suspicions about the alignment at a few of the molds & I spent some time readjusting a few as best I could. It's still not perfect, but I think good enough. From this point I should be able to either pack out or shave the molds in any areas that still force the planking into unfair curves.

Whilst packing up & putting everything away, I had another quick look at the test panel. I was surprised at how good it's starting to look. It's getting that smooth, deep look & the grain looks fantastic. Here's a couple of photos.






I don't know if I should do another layer of resin before sticking on some varnish, or just launch into varnishing straight away. I've got a bit of left over marine vanish that I could use. See how I feel on the day I guess.
My plan is to now order the stuff that I intend to use on the actual boat & try it on the other side of this panel, to see how/if the two systems differ.

Also, I'm hoping to mill the edges of the planking stock on Wednesday morning. If I can achieve this, then I reckon I should be able to start planking on the same day. Apparently, the planking part progresses quite quickly. Wonder what the chances would be of finishing the planking by the weekend? Am I being over ambitious????

Panel Work

Only had a couple of hours this morning (rest of day taken up with son's soccer), so I went down to the shed & got some stuff done on the test panel.

I think that the glue should be ok. The colour looks good & I like the way it foamed up between the joints. The actual glue joints on the boat won't be as wide as this anyway, since I'll mill the cove edges on those planks (hopefully this week), which will result in a much tighter/stronger joint.



Below shows the reverse side of the panel (duh...). Think I might've gotten a bit carried away with glue application.



Next, it was time to work out my staple pulling tools/technique. Gary's book recommends a ground down & bent old screwdriver, with a paint scraper beneath to protect the surface. I ground a screwdriver & fiddled around with a few staples, before sticking it into a vise to bend it and promptly snapped it in half. After a small pause, I picked up a pair of small flat nosed pliers & tried them instead. They worked really well & never even looked like damaging the delicate cedar surface. Job done, I'll use the pliers for sure.

Then I grabbed my sander & gave the panel a quick sand. I do love the grain. If I don't stuff it up, this boat is going to look a million bucks.






I'm going to order all of my resin & fiberglass for the boat over the next few days, but because I'm getting impatient, I've decided to use up some left over Polyester resin & fiberglass tape (from my surfcat rudder repairs) on the panel, to see how different the results would be. The stuff I'm ordering is called Boatcoat & is apparently a more user friendly alternative to WEST System Epoxy. Besides, I think I need all the fiber glassing practice I can get.

Because time was short, I made up a bigger batch than I would've liked & lacquered in on. I cut the fiber glass tape in to appropriate lengths fitted the strips, followed by another thick coat. I made a bit of botch job of it (think the fiberglass started floating in a few parts), but the grain glowing up through the resin looks dead sexy.




Tomorrow my plan is to glue up the stems & ensure proper alignment of the intermediate molds once & for all.

Stem Action

I was pretty tired this morning but still managed a productive day today. A call to the shop this morning revealed that my Veining bit had just arrived. I went in to pick it up & then dropped it off at Rick's factory (he was out on an installation today, so I couldn't mill my planks just yet). On the way home I stopped off at Bunnings to suss out some different glue, since my experiment a few days ago didn't go so well (way too flexible). After dithering and fussing for ages, I eventually decided to give "Selleys Aquadhere Durabond" a go.
I raced home and immediately set up another experiment, namely the flat planking panel that I'd arranged before. At least this glue seemed a lot less messy. Again, I tried the four different types of tape, so I could find out which ones will release the easiest.




Then it was finally time to get my stems under way. I dragged out my table saw & ripped the off-cut lengths of cedar to the correct width for the stem laminates. Using my flash new hole-saw kit, I then bored some holes in both stem molds, to receive the clamps. After that, it was a simple matter of jiggling all the strips into place, clamping them down & checking for alignment.

This is the Bow Stem........



.....and this is the Stern Stem.



I was particularly impressed with the angled fit I achieved with the short, vertical sections. These I trimmed using my new Japanese pull saw and I couldn't be happier with the job it did.

I was all fired up to go ahead & glue these bits today, but reckoned that I really should wait for the test results of the new glue & tape. I'd hate to plank the boat, only to find I can't get any of the molds out afterward.

So, there we are. On the verge of making a huge breakthrough in progress. Over the next couple of days I intend to order my fiberglass and resin, and on the weekend I'll get these stem laminations glued up. I'll also do a final check on the alignment of the rest of the intermediate molds, as a couple of them look a bit suss.
With all that lot done, next week I can mill my planking stock & finally start planking.

Test Time

At last I have started messing around with some cedar. My good friend has really kicked a goal for me by providing me with all the beautiful, clear grained cedar blades that I need. He even helped me rip the 25mm blades in half yesterday and advised me on some glue to use. He also tried to set me up on his router so as to mill the cove edges, but unfortunately the cove bit that I'd ordered turned out to be the wrong thing. (I've since ordered the correct one, namely a 4.8mm "Veining" bit & will hopefully have by Tuesday). As if all that isn't enough, he's further told me to see him before I buy any timber for this boat, as he said he'll probably have something I could use laying around.
The bloke is a true gentleman.

Speaking of helpful characters, last night I went over to my brother in law's house and he generously gave me some glue to try on the build. It's a grey, waterproof adhesive/sealant (sort of like Sikaflex). Not sure of its suitability yet, so I spent today experimenting with it a bit.

Firstly, I made up a laminating jig and had a go at laminating up a pretend stem. I also utilised various types of tape, to see which ones the work sticks to & which ones it doesn't. It was bloody messy work and the strakes kept sliding out of alignment, but it's all done now. We'll see how it turns out.




Then I wanted to make up a "test panel", which is recommended in Gary's book. Using some offcuts, I made up a couple of simulated molds and some little planking strakes. I stapled the first strake and will now wait until I finalise my decision on what glue to use, before I finish it & fiberglass it all.



I then went on to scarf a couple of lengths of cedar together, to try & make a decent fairing batten.



I'm now entering a crap part of my roster at work from tomorrow, which means that I only get next Tuesday off. I plan to make as much progress as I can on that day, so that on my next spell off (the following week), I should be able to finally start planking. I'm very keen to get this boat built within the next couple of months.

Movement at the Station

Well, I can't believe it but I've finally finished fixing up my old cat & sold it. This means that I can actually get on with the canoe build. I didn't get what I'd have liked for it, but I'm not too upset. I opted for a quick sale and achieved a reasonable price. It should be enough to keep me going for a while.

I haven't been completely idle. My cedar situation has resolved itself, thanks to a good friend (Rick Boylan) who owns a local business (Shapes Shading Solutions) that manufactures high quality plantation shutters (including cedar shutters). He also happens to be an exceptionally good boatbuilder, and has offered his valuable guidance and help if needed (which I'm sure it will be). Apparently, the blades for the ceadr plantation shutters are 4mm wide, whilst the planking is specified as 6mm. Yet again I emailed Gary (the designer), who patiently informed me that 4mm is fine & that I could put an extra layer of fiberglass inside if I was worried. Rick's stock is about 40mm wide (plans specifiy 19mm), with a rounded "bead" at each edge. He gave me a sample, which I tried against the molds, and found the wider width to be too much. So my plan is to rip the planks in half & use a trimmer with a 4mm "cove" bit, to mill the new cut edges, giving me pretty much exactly what I need. As a bonus, Rick has generously offered me the use of his machinery in his factory to do the work. He hasn't yet given me a price for the cedar, but he assures me that it'll be "cheap as chips". I now hope to source the trimmer bit over the next few days and drop into his factory this Thursday & get the job done.

Further, upon further sussing out of my next steps, I discovered a stuff up on my part. The instructions say to use 12mm ply for the molds. This I did, including both of the stem molds. Unfortunately, I neglected to notice that the stem molds are each supposed to accept a 25mm x 25mm permanent inner stem. In short, both of my stem molds were too narrow.



No big deal really. Today I simply removed each stem mold assembly & doubled up the central parts with more 12mm ply. They are now 24mm wide, which is still 1mm too narrow, but I'm not very concerned about 1mm. This seems to have also firmed up the ends of the set up significantly, which is a relief because it did feel a bit flimsy before. Anyway, they're now both all ready for the inner stems.



So there we are. Not earth shattering progress, but at least things should get moving again at last. I have leave comming up in another 6 or 7 weeks time & I've decided that it'd be pretty cool if I could get this canoe built & in the water by then.

I guess we see........

New Toys and Decisions Made

No physical progress on the boat over the last month or so, but the project in general has sort of had a couple if wins.

My current "challenge" (they're never problems) is two fold. Firstly, a significant chunk of my "dedicated" boat funds has found itself diverted to household revenue (i.e. sucked up by urgent bills). My wife has promised me that I will get it back ASAP, but it's meant that I can't get my cedar just yet and the project has therefore ground to a frustrating halt. It's not all bad though because the second part of my "challenge" is the fact that I've been struggling to nail down a price/supplier for the cedar anyway. I never thought it'd be so confusing to get this stuff, even in such small sizes. Plus the money most places have quoted so far, all seem pretty high to me.
So I've been searching in the phone book, on the internet and asking just about everyone I could possibly ask for tips/solutions. I wasn't keen on cutting the stock myself, in case I stuffed it up and I dreaded the cost in setting up machinery to do it. I've now come to the conclusion that cutting the planks myself will have to be the way I'll go. From my estimates, it'll cost me about the same (maybe slightly less), but at least I'll then have the machinery to use on future builds, and I'll learn heaps plus there will be the satisfaction of knowing that I did it all myself. Ironically, whilst comparing prices in Bunnings this morning, I came across a "flip combination Mitre/Table saw". It was a clearance sale as it was the last one. Retail price was $399, clearance price $200. I went home to think about it and promptly made the decision that I wrote about in the lines above. I flew back to Gosford, snapped it up & it's now sitting in my (now quite crowded) shed.



I still have to order a thin Cerf blade for it, as well as track down a reasonably priced trimmer, along with bead & cove bits, but that shouldn't be too much of a problem.

Another little gem that I bought today was something I'd ordered ages ago. It's a wet stone sharpener. When I did a night course in boatbuilding some years back, the necessity of razor sharp tool became obvious. I've got a bench grinder, but apparently they bugger your blades by overheating (spin too fast), so I was on the lookout for something proper for the job. I came across this interesting little unit in the Gasweld catalogue and so I ordered one. Seems cheap enough at $99. Anyway, it'd arrived so I went & picked it up this morning as well.



So that just leaves me to solve the initial problem of cash flow. The good news there is that once I sell my cat, I should have plenty to carry on with. I have just about finished repairing the rudders (which has been an adventure in itself).



Now, if I can just get a few non-rainy days off, then I can sand/paint the rudders and wash/polish up the rest of the cat and finally get it advertised for sale. I'm so looking forward to having the funds and getting this boat built. My severe lack of time and money has meant I haven't been able to do anything with my local outrigger club for months and I'm gagging for a paddle. To make things worse, they're hosting a huge regatta this weekend and I'll miss it due to having to work(as usual).

Oh well, enough whinging. Hopefully my next post will detail heaps of progress on the actual boat.

Setup Milestone

Yesterday was a huge day. I didn't finish till late and so didn't have time to post, hence this brief description today.

I embarked on a mission to get all of the molds set up on the strongback. A number of the cleats needed modifying, to make the all important WL3s line up. This took up the first hour or so, but no major problems emerged.

Once done, I carried everything to the strongback & got sorted out. As a precaution, I checked the strongback levels and was less than impressed to find the feet loose again. Annoyed, I releveled the strongback and drove about 10, 000 screws into both feet. Seems pretty steady (again). Hopefully it'll stay that way now.

That little frustration behind me, I set about mounting each cleat into it's proper position. For this job, my weapon of choice was some big-arsed, hex drive, bugle headed, self tapping screws. I drilled a pilot hole as best I could first, trying to keep it as straight as possible. They drove well through into the vertical side panels of the strongbox, meaning that at least these bits shouldn't move unexpectedly.

Happy that all the cleats were as accurate as possible, I turned my attention to setting up a stringline, so as to align the top & bottom centerlines for each mold. Gary's book says to nail a bit of timer to the molds backing onto each stem mold, but I didn't want to start hammering stuff into these, so instead I fiddled around with clamps until I came up with the set up shown in the photo below.

This worked a treat, because I could change the angle of the line by simply sliding it up or down at one of the ends, meaning that I could get the line to meet up with the centerline precisely for each station. This also meant not messing around with a plumb bob, which I discovered I quite suck at using.

At last, all fitted. It's exciting to start to see her shape for real. What's even more exciting (and scary), is the fact that from now on, everything I do will become a very permanent part of the boat.

I then duly dragged my long suffering family out to the boat, and prompted them to "oooh & ahhh" at it whilst I enjoyed a nice cold glass of chardonay, with my nose in the air & my chest puffed out.

So there we are, all ready for inner stems & planking. There probably won't be much happening at this blog site for a little while now. I kind of didn't expect to get to this point so quickly and I've not got the planking sorted yet (not happy with the quotes so far & am trying to get it a bit cheaper). I also need to suss out what timber is going to be best to use for the inner stems.