Here are the pieces that will be the sides.  I’m not showing the layout and cutting because you couldn’t see the lines (in pencil) and there’s no one around to take pictures of me on my hands and knees cutting the pieces out.

I used my Dewalt circular saw and laid the plywood on a 4’x8’ piece of 2” foam insulation.  I set the blade to just cut through the plywood and barely into the foam.

I’m using marine grade fir plywood since I plan on painting the boat.  (Started May 1)

These are the frames shown in order (from top to bottom): Stern seat, mid-seat aft, mid-seat forward, forward seat, bow seat. (May 7)

I’ll cut a hole in the bow seat frame to use the space as storage for the anchor, lines, and other stuff I’ll need to get to quickly. (May 12)

Gluing the sides panels together.  I butted the panels together and then glued a 10” wide panel over the joint using Titebond III, a waterproof glue.  I was still afraid of using the fiberglass epoxy at this point.  The Titebond III held except at the outer edge where I put clamps and later I bolted the pieces together.  The holes will be filled later during the fiberglassing process.

I drilled 5/16” holes in the sides and the edges of the frames.  At first I used 4” cable ties but they weren’t strong enough.  The 7” cable ties were strong enough.

The sequence of stitching was:

1. Bow
2. Stern/transom
3. Mid-seat forward
4. Mid-seat aft
5. Forward seat
6. Bow seat

It was during the stitching that I discovered that the side panels’ joints weren’t glued sufficiently on their outer edges.  Clamps, and later bolts and nuts, were sufficient to hold them.

It took me seven weeks to get this stage done because I had to work on other projects (mostly the yard). (July 14)

I also realized that working on the boat while it was lying on the floor was murder to my back and knees.  Therefore, I took an evening and built….

Sawhorses!!!

They are ugly, but I only needed 14” height.  Store bought sawhorses would have raised the boat too high to work on the inside.

The saw horses are built by starting with an I-beam made from three equal length 2x4s.  Then 13” 2x4 legs are nailed/screwed to the I-beam as shown.  Finally, I added some braces across the legs. (July 19)

Moving on to the bottom.  First I got help from my son-in-law Gene to place the sheets of plywood on the stitched frames (one at a time), centered them, marked the shape of the bottom on them, then removed them and cut them the same way I did the side panels and frames.  I stayed approximately ¼” outside the lines – It’s easier to cut to size later than to add to the sheets. (July 21)

I used the fiberglass epoxy mixed with wood flour to glue the bottom panels together.  I also put some of the epoxy in the butt joint before I put the pieces together.  It worked very well. (July 28)

Here’s the boat (that actually looks like a boat) with the bottom stitched on (duct tape won’t hold it together) and flipped onto its bottom. (July 29)

Here’s an interior view of the boat and the hole in the bow seat frame. (July 29)

Epoxying the frames, bow and transom on the inside of the boat.

I used woodflour and the fiberglass epoxy to create the fillets that hold everything together.  The large tongue depressor size sticks make a very good fillet working tool.  I bought a box of 300.  They are also good for mixing the epoxy. (August 2)

The interior is fiberglassed and every surface is covered with the fiberglass epoxy.  I found working in batches of 16 oz. was the best trade off between a batch large enough to get work done and the epoxy hardening before I used up the batch.  I had to work quickly and pre-cutting the fiberglass mesh to the right sizes definitely sped up the process.  (Hint: Don’t use your bandsaw to cut a whole bundle of fiberglass mesh quickly. (August 4)

Flip and fiberglassed the outside.  I also installed the skeg.  (August 8)  I then sanded at 60 and 80 grit to fair the bottom.  I primed, lightly sanded at 120 grit and applied 2 coats to the bottom prior to flipping it over.  I sanded at 320 grit between paint coats.

The young man in the pictures is my assistant boatwright, Will Geddes (my grandson).  He rates this project as “COOL!”  His father supervised. (August 11-13)

I flipped the boat with the help of my wife and Emily Thiessen, a friend.  Then I installed cleats for the seats using the fiberglass epoxy mixed with wood flour.  (I used blocks left over from pen blanks for the cleats.  I can honestly say that this boat is made from exotic woods including cherry, curly maple, walnut, hickory, oak, cedar, and others.). (August 14)

And I installed the first course of the rub rail on the starboard side.  I stopped at this point because I ran out of clamps!  I never thought I would say that. (August 14)

I cut out and dry fit the seats, then covered the seats with fiberglass epoxy.  I then filled the cracks around the edges of the seats with fiberglass epoxy and woodflour. (August 18)

I installed the cleats in the stern seat (fiberglass epoxy and woodflour as the adhesive and ¾” brads to hold in place).

You can also see the doubling of the transom – I used the fiberglass epoxy and wood flour between the two pieces and 5/8” brads to hold it in place.  (August 18)

I finished off this work day by installing the first course of the port rubrail and the second course of the starboard rubrail. (August 18)

Installed the second and third courses of the port rubrail and the third course of the starboard rubrail.  Installed breasthook, corner braces, etc.  Sanded and shaped the rubrail with my belt sander.  Covered everything with fiberglass epoxy.

(August 20)

Primed the interior with PreKote White.

I don’t plan on painting the interior of the storage compartments because there is no way of insuring I get good coverage.  Better no paint job than a crappy paint job.

I’m not going to paint the rubrail, breasthook or corner braces.  I want people to know that there’s wood involved in this boat.  (August 22)

There’s not much difference with the previous picture but I’ve painted the interior with two coats of Brightside Off-white.  I applied four coats of WoodPro Polyurethane semi-gloss to the rubrails, breasthook and corner braces.  (August 24)

Detail shot of the Breasthook

Outfitting the Boat

Oars and Oar lockers

I was at the White Elephant and found these oars which break down.  They are actually for kayaking but they will work for this boat.  I wanted oars that would be capable of being stowed so they are not in the way most of the time.  I can row a boat, but I plan on using an outboard most of the time. (August 23)

Today (August 25) was a bust day.  Home Depot for some supplies.  Harbor Freight for the trailer (in three boxes). Licensing office to register the boat and license the trailer.  White Elephant for letters and numbers.  West Marine for the letters and numbers.  Assembled the trailer.

Outfitting the boat

Boweye

Handles

Cleats

Oar lock cleats

(August 25)

This is a 1952-4 Johnson 3 hp Sea Horse outboard.  There’s no corrosion and she runs great.  I also like the thought of keeping an antique running.

Launch (September 1, 2007)

We made the 40 mile trip to the Little Spokane River where my son-in-law (on the right) and daughter have a friend with a cabin.  It’s also secluded in case there’s anything embarrassing.

Final check before departing the dock!  Everyone has a life jacket.

The two gray vertical stripes are duct tape.  I put them on the hull on both sides so I could mark in permanent marker to locate the water line.  However, the forward stripe isn’t even in the water unless my son-in-law was sitting in the bow!

The trailer is from Harbor Freight.  If you use care in the assembly (it comes in three boxes) you should have no problems.  Pay particular attention to making GOOD connections with the electrical system.  I had a few connections come loose.  I added the jack in front as well as the winch.

End of the day – After seven hours in the water, back on the trailer and almost ready to go home.

What problems we had on the maiden voyage were attributed to operator error and inexperience.  The boat itself performed very well.