boatbuilding days

Posted on April 5, 2014 by KG

photo 2I designed these 17ft (5.1m) sea kayaks and used to build them out of aviation-grade 1/8″ birch ply for the hulls and red cedar strip planking for the decks. Epoxy glued, no metal fasteners.
The finished boat weighed only 22lbs (9.9kg) and they were fast and stable.
Scarf-jointing sheets of 1/8″ ply is a painstaking business, though.

This entry was posted in Uncategorized. Bookmark the permalink.

32 Responses to boatbuilding days

  1. Darin says:
    April 6, 2014 at 00:10

    Nice!http://falfn.com/CrusaderRabbit/wp-content/plugins/wp-monalisa/icons/wpml_good.gif
    You could get a fortune for one of those here.There is a good niche market from folks who don’t want plastic.

    By scarfing were you joining sheets?I built a customer a machine to do that once.He was in the spiral staircase biz and need to join 30″ wide 6mm Mahogany ply.I had pictures,but they went away with the hard drive on my old PC :sad:

    I made an Aluminum vaccum platen to hold the ply perfectly flat and rigid and used a router with a Her-Saf carbide cutter for making the cut.A 4″ long scarf took less than 2 minutes to complete.
    http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=Her-Saf+Cutters&id=186288D78F627A6D2B16F19BE13C3F091129EB8C&FORM=IQFRBA

    • KG says:
      April 6, 2014 at 06:22

      Thanks, Darin. :grin: But I had to practically give wooden boats away where I lived–people wanted something they could drag ashore over rocks and leave out in the weather, and they wanted it as cheap as possible.
      The platen and router sounds great, but – apart from the expense – it wasn’t really necessary for 1/8″ ply. A very sharp block plane knocked off most of the ramp pretty accurately. (especially since the two sheets were clamped together and the ramp for both cut at the same time). A long sanding block finished the job, hollowing out the scarf slightly to allow for the glue.
      The finished scarf couldn’t be sanded much, though – the veneers on 1/8 ply are too thin.

  2. Michael in Nelson says:
    April 6, 2014 at 04:08

    ‘Painstaking: the effort a craftsman takes to do a superior job” But then that’s you KG http://falfn.com/CrusaderRabbit/wp-content/plugins/wp-monalisa/icons/wpml_good.gif

    • KG says:
      April 6, 2014 at 06:24

      Thanks Michael. But I look at what others can do and despair, sometimes. Gecko’s brother is about a light-year ahead of me where boatbuilding is concerned. :cry:

  3. mawm says:
    April 6, 2014 at 05:59

    Very nice. I was thinking of doing something like that as a winter project……..but I think my skills might only be up to doing a “stitch and glue” job.

    • KG says:
      April 6, 2014 at 06:29

      Thanks Col. I wish I could make a living at it. Wooden boatbuilding is just a slow way to go broke.

      • Cadwallader says:
        April 6, 2014 at 06:41

        Impressive product. Where you live they’d be ideal as toothpicks for crocodiles. I would be more than happy to have one in NZ though.

  5. KG says:
    April 6, 2014 at 06:48

    There are just three enduring passions in Wabbit’s life: Gecko, fishing and boatbuilding.
    Building wooden boats is an interesting business, on several levels. I’m reminded of a passage in “Zen and the art of motorcycle maintenance” where Pirsig is amused by a Japanese motorcycle maintenance manual which begins with “first, attain peace of mind”……he learns, though, that it’s excellent advice.
    In boatbuilding, stuff like cutting rebates and rolling bevels seems intimidating at first, but with a relaxed attitude and a little practice, the tools seem to do the job more or less on their own, provided the user has a clear visualisation of what he wants the end result to be. A bit like Zen archery or snap shooting- it’s all relaxed concentration. Just trust your brain.
    Then one morning, you walk into the shed and there, sitting on the stocks, is something beautiful, created out of a pile of materials seemingly by magic. And it is magic, impossible to believe that you actually made the thing. :grin:
    And you’ve joined that long, long line of men who built boats and took them to sea. I don’t know of anything more satisfying.

  6. Wombat says:
    April 6, 2014 at 08:40

    Brilliant. Personally, if I ever put my mind to it I’m sure I could manage to make a helium balloon sink to the bottom of the ocean.

    You definitely wont see any of those in the local Anaconda outlet. That’s for damn sure.

    • KG says:
      April 6, 2014 at 08:42

      If you put your mind to it, Wombat, I’m sure you could build yourself a wooden boat. http://falfn.com/CrusaderRabbit/wp-content/plugins/wp-monalisa/icons/wpml_good.gif

  7. MvL says:
    April 6, 2014 at 09:29

    “Then one morning, you walk into the shed and there, sitting on the stocks, is something beautiful, created out of a pile of materials seemingly by magic.”
    Superbly put. http://falfn.com/CrusaderRabbit/wp-content/plugins/wp-monalisa/icons/wpml_good.gif
    Your writing about what you love reminds me of This guy.

    • KG says:
      April 6, 2014 at 09:46

      Thank you, MvL. :grin:
      The Flapjack is a lovely thing. And easy to build, too. Finished in semi-gloss instead of gloss, and with teak gratings………but there we go again. :mrgreen:

  8. mawm says:
    April 6, 2014 at 10:01

    There are just three enduring passions in Wabbit’s life: Gecko, fishing and boatbuilding.

    You seem to be living in the right place to pursue all your passions. /sarc

    Thanks for the links. There are some on-line plans and “guidance” for beginners.

  9. KG says:
    April 6, 2014 at 10:05

    “You seem to be living in the right place to pursue all your passions.”
    Um…that’s just the way life is, I guess. Anyway, one out three ain’t bad… ;-)

  10. KG says:
    April 6, 2014 at 10:13

    ULTRASIMPLE BOATBUILDING – 17 Plywood Boats Anyone Can Build.
By Gavin Atkin. Paperback, 0.65kg, 210 x 280mm, 234 pages, black and white photographs and illustrations.
This complete how-to guide to the simplest boats you can build is perfect for first-time builders, parents working with children, school and community projects, and anyone who wants to build a good, inexpensive boat with a minimum of fuss. You’ll find:
    Plans and step-by-step instructions for 17 designs you can build right out of the book
    Some designs so simple that you can put them together in a day with just a ruler, a hammer, a handsaw, and glue
    Everything you need to know, from tools and materials to choosing a design that suits your boating plans
    Boats are from such well-known designers as Gavin Atkin, Jim Michalak, Murray Isles, and others.

    http://www.boatbooks.co.nz/building4.html#3416

    • mawm says:
      April 6, 2014 at 14:23

      I think that I’ll pop in there next time I drive past. Some interesting dinghies. http://falfn.com/CrusaderRabbit/wp-content/plugins/wp-monalisa/icons/wpml_good.gif

      • KG says:
        April 6, 2014 at 14:40

        There sure are. One of the finest (which I built years ago) is the Chamberlain dory. Designed by the Maine Chamberlain boatbuilders of Gettysburg fame.
        Not an easy boat to build, but it rows like a witch and looks absolutely beautiful. http://falfn.com/CrusaderRabbit/wp-content/plugins/wp-monalisa/icons/wpml_smile.gif
        http://www.woodenboat.org/boats/Boat_Detail.aspx?processID=284

        • mawm says:
          April 6, 2014 at 17:49

          Lovely!

          There is an article about a Des Townson designed and built tender in one of the NZ boating mags from a few years back. Pure boat porn! :shock: Even the Admiral (who now has a peg leg) thought it was beautiful.

  11. Oswald Bastable says:
    April 6, 2014 at 16:02

    My best effort has been four 200 litre dums, some 4×2 and cord…

    • KG says:
      April 6, 2014 at 16:23

      http://falfn.com/CrusaderRabbit/wp-content/plugins/wp-monalisa/icons/wpml_yahoo.gif Good stuff! Some of my happiest times on the water were on SS Oildrum. :grin: That, and sheets of corrugated iron folded up to make a canoe…

      • mawm says:
        April 6, 2014 at 17:54

        Easy – 1 sheet corrugated iron, a stem and stern post, a few nails and some tar. :mrgreen: Unfortunately we were swamped a few times, but then I don’t think it was built to fit 3 into it. :roll:

  12. KG says:
    April 6, 2014 at 19:22

    Wabbit and Gecko’s dream boat. “Sophia Isle”. It’s absolutely perfect.
    Great pedigree, too. Herreshoff designed, built by Covey Island boat works, Canada.
    There’s another of these for sale in Oz at $160,000, but nowhere near as nice.
    http://www.creepycrabs.com/ship_details.php?id=1363

    • mawm says:
      April 6, 2014 at 19:52

      Motor sailors make so much sense – they neither motor nor sail well. :roll: She sure is beautifully built and maintained. $500K :shock:

      • KG says:
        April 6, 2014 at 20:15

        Well, she may not point as high but at the end of a hard day, that would be a great place to relax. I’d sacrifice a few degrees to weather for that. :lol:
        500k? pffft..people pay double that for brick boxes built by apes.

  13. Darin says:
    April 7, 2014 at 01:18

    One of my favorite Youtube channels is the one put up by SV Seeker.

    A guy,his wife and a few friends building a Junk framed steel hull one piece at a time by hand.
    http://youtu.be/SF4likH6f0E

  14. Mathew says:
    April 8, 2014 at 07:50

    Wow, that’s a beautiful boat, and at 9.9kg too, that’s mighty impressive. I have taken up kayaking recently, but i got one of those plastic ones from NZ too, i went for the lightest i could get, 13kg. It’s alright, but i’ve been thinking of getting something fast in the future. Need to save up the pennies for it though, they’re pretty expensive.

    Do you still build them? If so, you gotta let me know.

    • KG says:
      April 8, 2014 at 21:06

      If I start building them again Matt I’ll do you one for the price of materials only.