Lots done, little shows...

Sorry for the delay in updating. It's Boat Show week here in Boston, so things get dicey, schedule-wise.

This is the point in construction where things look the same at the end of the day as they did at the beginning. It can be difficult to keep momentum and focus, but slog through it and it gets better for the next few chunks of work.

As promised, here is a summary of how I deal with broken screws.

One of the great things about Gougeon epoxy is its predictable behavior. The first step in removing screws from epoxied assemblies is to heat the heads with a soldering pen. Epoxy will begin to soften at about 175 degrees. This makes a huge difference in one's ability to remove a fastener in one piece. Occasionally, despite our best efforts, a head will snap off. All is not lost.

The most important part of the tool kit for rectifying this situation is a Rotabroach. It is a set of small hole saws with a spring-loaded center guide. It is primarily used in auto body applications for cutting out the spot welds that join body panels. Fortunately for us woodworkers, the sizes correspond exactly to Fuller bung cutters.

With a center punch, strike a good dimple in the shank of the screw to guide the Rotabroach pilot. Make sure that the drill is turning before the bit hits the surface. This minimizes tear-out. I find that the 1/2" bit is the absolute minimum size that will allow the rest of this process to work. Go deep enough to get a good grip on the shank, but DON"T GO ALL THE WAY THROUGH!!!

Next, carefully clear out the area between the edge of the hole and the screw shank. Another great use for the ice picks. The less you dig at the edge of the hole, the better the bung will fit. Hold your soldering iron against the screw shank and make yourself comfortable for a minute or two. This can take longer than you think, as evidenced by the fact that the screw broke, even after being heated before its initial attempted removal.

Hopefully, you have already set a pair of needle-nosed Vise-Grips to firmly grasp the shank of the screw. Clamp them on and twist the screw out, being careful to not mung up the edge of the hole.

It sounds pretty straight-forward, and it is. Try it out on some scrap if you are nervous about it. For the really recalcitrant screws, you may have to whack at the side of the shanks with your center punch and "wiggle" it from side to side to break the bond. Again, be careful to not do too much collateral damage to the edge of the hole.

I bought my Rotabroach from the Snap-On truck umpteen years ago. It was pricey, but it has saved me numerous times. I have recently learned that it is available through Fastenal for about $80. That's about half of what I paid way back when.

Glue in your bungs, and you are all set. BTW, I use the G-5 "5-Minute" epoxy for bungs. This is not a structural bond, and I don't get a black ring around the bung that's as noticeable as with the regular Gougeon epoxy. G-5 can be thickened with the same additives as the 105/205 epoxy.

I plan to finish the sheer planks bright. I had a 100% success rate in removing the temporary fasteners along the lap and in the stems, so I used the 3/8" Rotabroach to counterbore for the bungs here. A note to those of you considering building this boat: I used #8 x 3/4" stainless truss-head screws for the first couple of glue-ups. I found that if the fits are true enough, 1/2" screws are more than ample for the temporary clamping duties. The difference in removing the 1/2" screws vs. the 3/4" is like night and day.

As far as other work going on: I stained and sealed the sheer planks. I spent a fair bit of time digging through the stack of 10' sheets of plywood, but even the "nice" stuff has a rotary-cut look to it. Staining allows enough of the grain to show through that you can still tell it's really wood, but takes the edge off the heinous grain qualities. I actually considered vacuum-bagging a veneer over the sheer plank stock. I decided that I'd prefer a sharp stick in the eye.

Forward outer stem is laminated, tapered, and fitted. Photos coming forthwith.

This week's kicker: having been on the fence since construction started in earnest, I have now landed squarely on the "sell this boat" side. While this project started as a labor of love, and will continue to be a much-enjoyed process, at this point in my life it makes the most sense to offer her for sale. I won't be broken-hearted if she doesn't sell immediately, but I have student loans and other obligations crying for attention. Who knows? Maybe I can "shake the tree" with this boat and make something long-term happen for my boat building career. Optimally (I really hope my wife doesn't read this), somebody has a TR-6 or an Alfa Spider and some cash. Or maybe an old Land Rover. Or an old Vespa...No, I should just sell her.

There is a solid up side to this decision. I am now absolved of having to make a final decision as to whether or not to build her with Mr. Atkin's skeg. This is a decision that can be made by her new owner, whoever that may be. I don't know what to do about the fact that she has been referred to as "Dark Secret" since construction started. It's supposed to be bad ju-ju top change a boat's name, but I know it's not everybody's cup of tea. She hasn't been christened, yet.

The last image is the ad that is coming out in the mid-March issue of Points East magazine.

I have been reading through some old forums at the WoodenBoat website that cover faerings in general, and some that cover Valgerda specifically. Next posting will cover my response to the "What makes a faering?" question, as well as other eagerly-awaited (yeah, right) philosophical rants. More photos, too.

About 1/3 of the way there...

Here are a few more photos of Dark Secret. She is out of the loft and in the main work bay at the boat yard. Five of my co-workers helped me get her down. She just fit. What a sight she makes sitting on jack stands. She is approximately on her lines.

I left a little meat on the top edge of the sheerplank. I honored the lofted points at the stemheads and the three frames, but I wanted to be able to tweak the sheer line while she is right-side up.

I have built this boat so many times in my head since I first saw her write-up in Boat Design Quarterly #2 back in the early '90s. I had a very detailed mental picture of how she would look. On seeing her in the flesh, I am blown away. First off, she is a lot more boat than I thought she'd be. It was tough to get a realistic picture of her size in the cramped loft. Secondly, her purity of form and rightness of line is a sight to behold. Mr. Atkin truly created a piece of art when he drew her. There are some incredible design nuances that can only be appreciated by building her. I'm going to build a model of her at some point.

I am putting the lofting back down to laminate the outer stems, and I will be taking patterns for the rangs.

I am picking up a couple of small tools tomorrow. I'll go through the broken screw removal process over the weekend.

Gimme some skin, part 2

Not much to say here. I finished planking yesterday morning before work. I did some miscellaneous clean-up stuff and dismantled the set-up this afternoon. She's ready to come down from the loft.

Seeing her in the flesh, without all of the bracing and temporary molds made my heart go pitter-pat. What can I say? I get worked up over little things.

As you can see from the photos, she really is a study in simplicity.

WoodenBoat did an article on removing problem fasteners a few issues ago. I was surprised that the method I use was not covered. As those of you who have built boats with epoxy know, screws frequently break during attempted removal. Next posting will cover this in detail.

BTW - I was unable to get all four sheerplank sections out of a single 10' sheet of plywood. I missed by about 1 1/4". Sheet goods tally to plank the hull - 3 sheets @ 4'x8', 2 sheets @ 4'x10'.

She is coming off the set-up and out of the loft a bit before I am truly ready. One of my co-workers has a cold-molded Firefly that needs a new centerboard trunk. I can't hog the loft, so it's down to the main floor for Dark Secret.

In the meantime, I am enjoying a second glass of whiskey. Enjoy the photos.

Keep your head in the game

Planking continues. Broad strakes are hung. This posting will cover the scarphing process, as well as a couple of other items.

I am a firm believer in scarphing planking stock in place, particularly for lapstrake construction. Scarphing a large panel to length and cutting planks out of it results in much more waste than the method I am using. At $65 per 4x8 sheet, waste adds up. There is also the consideration of edge set. In carvel planking, you can edge set (bend a plank in place after it has been cut to shape) to your heart's content. The frames are generally in place before planking commences, so the fastenings take care of the resulting extra twist. In lapstrake planking one generally fits the frame after planking. This results in the laps getting tweaked out of shape by edge setting them.

Speaking of sheet goods, I have used 2 1/2 sheets of 4x8 to date. I have a sheet of 4x10 for the sheerstrakes. I REALLY hope I can get both sides out of the one sheet, but I anticipate having to buy a partial sheet to wrap it up. I have a significant pile of off-cut 8 foot lengths. There might be enough in the stack to plank the Nutshell Pram I want to build as a tender for Strider.

I talked in the first posting about the "meditative" nature of hand cutting the scarphs with a block plane. What a load of hooey. I confess openly and fully to cheating. I used my 4 1/2" angle grinder to cut the scarph joints. Because the veneers in the plywood serve as a visual guide, careful use of this tool (with an 80 grit disc) gives a perfectly cut 8:1 scarph in about 3 minutes. I do recommend that you cut at least one by hand so that you can appreciate the convenience of the grinder method. I also recommend that you cut a sample scarph with the grinder before diving in to the real deal. I do not, under any circumstance, recommend this method for scarphing solid stock, particularly cedar. Why would one waste the opportunity to make a nice pile of cedar shavings, anyway?

You can see the process in photos. Fit each half of the plank separately. I left a little bit of extra width on each plank section in the area of the scarph joint so that it can be faired through after the glue-up. Mark where the planks intersect. Here is where you need to start paying attention. It doesn't matter whether the scarphs face forward or aft, but do them all the same way so that you don't have to keep track during the process. I am facing all of the scarfs aft, so the end of the forward plank is marked on the aft plank. DO NOT CUT THE AFT PLANK ON THIS LINE!!! Add the length of the scarf (2") to the aft section of plank. Clearly mark which side of the plank is shaved for the scarph before removing them from the boat. This is the most common, and most frustrating, error that is made.

With the plank sections on the bench, stack them so that the scarph lines are butted tight to each other. clamp them firmly in place and make sure that the feather edge of the lower piece is supported. Double check that they are stacked so that the material is removed from the correct side. When you are happy, grind away. wear a respirator and take little bites.

Less than one pop song later (if you want to take it really slow, put on "High-Heeled Boys" just like the classic rock station DJs do when they want to take a lunch break) you will have a nicely cut joint. Use the veneer lines to guide you, and check with a straight edge when you think you are done. A couple of swipes with your block plane will true it up.

Take the sections back to the boat and re-hang them. You'll have to come up with some clamping blocks to put everything where you want it to go. Again, do a dry run to make sure, and don't forget to mask the area around the scarph and your clamping blocks. The final photo in the series shows the scarph joint after sanding the next day. Remove the bulk of the squeeze-out with a scraper and a heat gun. If you try to sand it all off you'll get a wave in the plank from sanding the differing densities of the materials.

The last photo shows the use of a jump stick to pick up the lower edge of the next plank. I used it to determine keel and stem bevels, too.

It appears that I am limited to five photos per post, so I'll end this one here. Next time we meet will be after the planking is complete. I apologize in advance for the delay. I'm sure I'll be nursing a bit of a hangover after the "whiskey plank."

Next post will cover all of the pain-in-the-butt things that have to get done before you can flip the boat and admire your work.

Gimme some skin, part 1

This post will be pretty short and sweet. The photos tell most of the story, anyway.

Planking is underway. Momentum has gathered and I really feel like I'm making progress. A couple of notes on the spiling methodology. I am not using the traditional method of swinging arcs with a compass onto a spiling batten. I have opted for the use of a template for each plank section. The permanent frames are spaced widely enough that I was concerned about the lack of data points in the middle part of the boat. I also want to minimize the possibilities for error (and extra materials) during this phase.

The first photo shows the aft halves of the garboard hung on the set-up with the gains already cut for the broadstrake. All of the planking fasteners are temporary. They will be removed, and the holes will be filled as I progress. More on that later.

Second and third photos show the templating method for the forward half of the garboard. I am templating one side of the boat, fitting the plank section dry, and tracing it for the opposite side. So far, so good for symmetry. Note the ice picks doing a great job of holding things where I want them. Nails would work, but I don't want to be banging too much on the set-up. I can't stress enough how handy the ice picks are.

As I said, most of the info for this phase is in the photos.

Next posting will cover scarphing, glue-ups, and bevelling.

Set-up: All that work on my knees pays off

Up to this point, I have been able to treat the whole project as something I could do to trifle away an hour here, or a few hours there. Now is the time when the nature of the task changes, necessitating a higher level of commitment and focus. When there was just a pile of parts (two stems, a keel, three frames, etc.), I was able to put it aside and not have it take up too much room. I could treat it as a "kit," ready for assembly at my leisure. Now that the parts have started to come together, I am forced to see it through, at least to the point where she is skinned and can be moved.

If this were happening in my own garage or basement, it would be a different scenario. Because it is happening at work (albeit in an unused area), it can't sit around half done forever. There is also the fact that in late March or early April we hope to be be moving Strider into a spot in the upper shed at the boatyard. She is a 33' 1961 Rhodes Swiftsure. I will be starting a separate blog on her re-power project. We have removed the old Atomic 4 and are installing a Volvo diesel. I can't wait to fuel the fire in the debate over the gas vs. diesel conundrum. There is significant other work to do on her, but I'll be lucky to complete the re-power in time for an early summer launch. She hasn't been launched before mid-August the last two summers. I want a nice, long season this year. It's short enough in New England without sabotaging it willfully.

Back to the task at hand.

The first photo (BTW, I have been taking these photos with the camera in my Droid phone. The Droid camera SUCKS!!! If anyone from Google happens to see this blog, you should be ashamed of yourselves for releasing it the way it is.) shows the stems being glued to the keel. I would have preferred to do this directly over the lofting, but the floor is just too wavy for me to have confidence in being able to get any degree of accuracy in the glue-up. I triple-checked everything dry over the lofting, made plenty of witness marks on everything and glued it up on the main shop floor. Weaving a 19' curved part under the customers' boats, through the jack stands, and back into the carpentry shop was the biggest challenge here.

The next photo shows the set-up beginning to take shape. Start with the 'midship frame set up level and plumb, and add the other two frames. Notch the frames for the back bone and drop it into place. I was concerned about notching the frame at station 9 1/4. There is a tighter curve at the centerline here than there is in the other two frames. I worried that I would start to cut the notch, and BANG, everything would spring out of whack. I took a deep breath, hemmed and hawed for a day or two, and went ahead. No problem. Check EVERYTHING at least twice. Much time has been spent on the loft floor to ensure accuracy. Don't rush through this part of the process.

Traditionally, faerings were built right-side-up and by eye. No, thanks. My preference is to work down on a boat whenever possible. Maybe if I were younger...

Third and fourth photos show the remainder of the set-up, including the temporary molds and the beginning of the bracing for the whole shebang. I mentioned the issue with the lines in the previous posting. I fretted about this, but it turned out to be a small matter. Fortunately, the line between the broad strake and the sheer plank shows no knuckle in section near the ends of the boat. This will allow me to fine tune the lands of the planks "in the flesh" and I'll be able to tweak them to my heart's content. The broad strake is significantly wider at the ends than either of the other two planks. This can make the sheer plank look too fine and delicate if not proportioned properly. This is the only benefit I can think of to building the boat right side up.

It really starts to look like something at this point. Don't get cocky. Go back through, check everything again, and be sure that the molds and frames are exactly where they are supposed to be. 1/16" will make the difference in whether you can use the plank from one side as the template for the other side. When you are satisfied, glue the backbone to the frames. Clean up the squeeze-out while it's wet. Put some clear packing tape over the temporary molds to keep them from becoming permanent molds.

Don't forget to cut your limber holes. DO IT NOW!! Seal them with clear epoxy, too.

Next comes lining off, bevelling the frames, and spiling the planking.

Phase One: lofting, patterns, frames, and stems

This first posting is a duplicate of the two postings from the previous Dark Secret project blog. With apologies to Gold Coast Marine Distributors, I have moved the project to this site.

I am building "Dark Secret (everybody else seems to have one; I want mine), William Atkin's 18'7" Valgerda. She is based on the traditional Norwegian faeirngs of Hardangersfjord. Desginer's study plan and commentary are here:

http://www.boat-links.com/Atkinco/Sail/Valgerda.html

She is a very simple boat, and is extremely elegant. Three frames, three planks per side, and a smattering of structural details makes for a manageable project. To those considering building their first boat I highly recommend this design.

I am fortunate to be employed at a boatyard where there is some unused space in the loft above the carpentry shop. This is where the project is happening. In my role as carpentry department head, I find that I spend enough time on the phone, writing estimates, ordering parts, and maintaining tools that I don't get to use my tools (or skills) as much as I'd like to during the work day. Building this boat is basically a way to keep my juices flowing and to stay sharp at something on which I spent a great deal of time and effort to learn how to do.

My intent is to remain faithful to the design, with a few carefully considered modifications. Construction method will be "Joel White Style" - laminated frames and epoxied laps, a la the Nutshell Pram, as opposed to the built-up frames and seam battens as designed. This will result in a MUCH cleaner interior, and will not sacrifice any appreciable strength. I also like the fact that the laps will show on the exterior and give a nice, crisp shadow line. The battened seams, bevelled to meet flush at the knuckles just wouldn't have the same look.

I will not be fitting her with the deep skeg as shown in the plans. I will fit a more traditional skeg, molded about 4". The designer is clear about the fact that she is primarily a rowing boat. The deep skeg will ruin her as a beach boat and won't do her any favors when rowing. The small chunk of ballast will be installed as shown in the plans. It will just be closer to the rabbet. The effect this will have on stability should be minimal. It doesn't provide much righting force, even in its as-designed location. There is a lot of debate about the skeg on this boat in various forums. My decision is based entirely on the boat's intended use.

The only other change I am making is to split the backbone at the apex line. The set-up will be: inner stems, frames, and inner keel (apron), with plywood skin landing on a bevel. Outer stems and batten keel will be affixed after the skin is complete.

I will NOT be sheathing this boat. This also seems to be a point of contention among builders. While she will not be treated like a holy relic, she will not be subjected to hard use. Brass half-oval on the centerline and a pair of runners inboard of the first lap, about 4' long, so that she can lay on her chine on the beach is the extent of bottom protection that will be installed.

I have a copy of "Sailboats and Auxiliaries You Can Build", part of the MotorBoating Ideal Series, that contains the MotorBoating article written by Mr. Atkin, as well as lines, offsets, sail plan, and construction details for this design. I am building from this data. There is one issue with the plans as published: The forward and aft perpendiculars are shown at the stemheads in profile, and at the rabbet line in plan. I did not discover this until well into the lofting process. I will cover my solution to this in a future posting. I don't know whether the full building plans available through the above link have had this rectified or not.

Having me attempt to explain what went on at the loft floor would be a waste of your time. There are many texts and treatises on lofting available, and all of them do a better job of explaining the process than I can. Valgerda is not a difficult boat to loft. There is enough of it involved to gain a real and useful understanding of the process, but not so much that you get bogged down in the minutiae required for a round-bottomed boat.

Before we move from lofting to construction, let's go over some of the infrastructure requirements for this project. Valgerda's size makes her a manageable undertaking. She will fit in a single garage bay. It will get tight in there during construction, but it's do-able. Being built the way she is puts less of a premium on large stationary tools than traditionally built boats. A decent table saw (I used a portable Makita for the bulk of the milling of laminating stock), a small band saw, a circular saw, and a set of basic hand tools will take care of the bulk of the project. The only time you are likely to need a thickness planer is for dimensioning laminated parts after they are removed from the jigs. Laminate them in a batch and you can go to your local voc/tech school or woodworking shop to strike a deal. Cutting the scarf joints in the plywood planking stock might be something you want to do with a power planer, but you may find that it's pleasant, meditative work to do by hand.

Don't underestimate how many clamps you will need. Don't get the good ones, though. You'll be slinging a lot of goo around. Get the cheapo made-in-China clamps. Order them through McMaster Carr. At about $4/clamp, you won't feel too bad if the threads get full of glue and you have to throw it in the recycle bin. If you already have good clamps, protect them by spraying them with WD-40, Lanacote, Boeshield, or even Pam. Also from McMaster Carr, get yourself about two dozen wood-handled ice picks. they are about $2 each and they are great for lofting, template making, and all kinds of other tasks.

As of this writing, I have used about a gallon and a half of Gougeon epoxy. Another gallon should take care of the rest of the boat. I use Gougeon's stuff because I am comfortable with it. There are others out there, but I don't know enough about them to warrant switching. Most of the others are less expensive, but materials are the cheap part of a job like this. You don't want to throw away your labor to try to save a few bucks on glue. The only other big laminates left to do are the breast hooks ("rangs" on a faering) and outer stems.

So, on to construction:

I laminated the inner stems directly over the lofting. I don't have photos of this part of the process. It was pretty straight-forward with a sheet of clear plastic to keep the glue where it belongs. I anticipated a bit of spring-back when the clamps were released, but there was none. Zero. I laminated the stems about six years ago and then put the project away to deal with some changes in my life. When I got going again and laid them down on the lofting, they had not moved a bit.

Each of the three frames has 28 laminates in it. Rule #1 - when planning a glue-up, a dry run is your best friend. It is so much easier to set up your clamps, organize the materials, and spot problems before you mix the glue. If something is going to go wrong, you want it to happen before you have $50 worth of glue mixed up. After getting everything wet out and bent around the jig, spend a few minutes making sure that the laminates are all pushed down as flat to the bench as you can get them. This will make it much easier to run the parts through the planer after the glue kicks. If you are sending them through a planer that is not yours, offer to pay for sharpening the knives. Cured epoxy can do a number on them.

This is as far as I have progressed. Next is the keel, ladder frame, and set-up.

The first photo shows the 'midship frame on the laminating bench. Packing tape on the 2x4 blocking, clear plastic sheet over the bench, and a little bit of Pam on the clamps to keep things from sticking where they don't belong. Don't wear any clothing or shoes that you care about while doing this.

The second photo is a shot of the template for the laminating jig for one of the frames. Above the template you can see a completed frame.