roam Posted December 19, 2016 Report Share Posted December 19, 2016 I picked up a Spindrift 11N kit from Graham this weekend and will start building it this week. This will be my first boat build so I expect I'll have a few questions along the way and hopefully not too many 'Doh!' moments. I spent Sunday rearranging my garage so I'll have some room for the build. It's going to be fairly tight but it should be doable. I'm planning on spending my evenings this week joining the bottom and sides of the hull parts together and building the frame to support the build. I've just laid out the hull sides to give me an idea of my workspace. First picture with hopefully many more to come. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wile E. Coyote Posted December 19, 2016 Report Share Posted December 19, 2016 Grrrreat! Have fun. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve W Posted December 19, 2016 Report Share Posted December 19, 2016 That brings back some memories! I hope you don't catch the disease I got from doing that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roam Posted December 27, 2016 Author Report Share Posted December 27, 2016 I've had my first 'Doh!' moment. When I joined the hull sides and bottoms I didn't get all the teeth to lie flat. It's only the outer 5 teeth on one of the bottoms that isn't flush but a judicious application of thickened epoxy and a lot of elbos grease should get everything nice and flush again. I placed a board and weights on top of the joints when gluing them but I should have triple checked this joint. The rest of the joints came out very nicely. Steve W: I really like you boat. Hope mine looks as nice when I'm done. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve W Posted December 27, 2016 Report Share Posted December 27, 2016 Thanks. That 11N was fun building. FWIW I had a slight problem like that on my shear strakes on my CS20.3. I'd fair it after its together as filling it now will give it a bit of a hard spot. After it's bent and takes shape it will be just as easy to fair. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roam Posted December 27, 2016 Author Report Share Posted December 27, 2016 Thanks for the tip Steve. Good to know I can continue forward. What brand of hand tools do folks usually use. I've got a Ryobi jig saw which I want to replace. thanks, Hugh Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve W Posted December 28, 2016 Report Share Posted December 28, 2016 Thanks for the tip Steve. Good to know I can continue forward. What brand of hand tools do folks usually use. I've got a Ryobi jig saw which I want to replace. thanks, Hugh I am sure there are better ones, but I bought a Grizzly jig saw model Model G8994Z many years ago. It's a Bosh clone for the tight budget. It has been a warhorse. I've made more stuff with that thing. For 59 bucks I don't think you can go wrong. It's variable speed, oscillating and has a very good blade retention system. Blades can be bought anywhere. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Designer Posted December 28, 2016 Report Share Posted December 28, 2016 Roam, As you have already been told, do not worry about the raised finger joint, I anticipated this happening when laying out the panels for the kit. Instead of joining the bottom panel at the end of the sheet like the home builders do I placed the joint centered on the nesting bulkheads so that the finger joints will be cut in two and will be well glassed into the nesting bulkhead structure. You got away with this one but is should be a reminder that when building boats you have cajole ever piece into it's proper alignment. It almost never automatically falls into alignment by itself. My two cents on the jig saw. Bosch used to be the gold standard. I am on my third one at the shop and we were on the second one at the boat building class. I will not be buying any more because they are not holding up. I think that the other manufactures have caught up. Just make sure that it takes the Bosch pattern blades and and has the features that Steve mentioned. We were given a Hitachi a while ago and although it is not quite as strong as the Bosch I will pick it up and use it if it is closer at hand. I would certainly look at the Grizzly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hirilonde Posted December 28, 2016 Report Share Posted December 28, 2016 Bosch is not what it used to be. If you have an old barrel grip Bosch you should guard it with your life, I am. I hope I never have to figure out what to buy now. Festool makes some great stuff, but it sure is expensive. See if there are any used tool sellers in your area. I have bought a couple things from one near me and been glad I did. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roam Posted January 3, 2017 Author Report Share Posted January 3, 2017 Got a bit done once the family left town. Assembled the transom and two nesting bulkheads. The rectangle in the background is a frame to hold the cradles. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roam Posted January 15, 2017 Author Report Share Posted January 15, 2017 Got some more work in this weekend. Got the hulls sides joined and stitched on Saturday and today a friend came by for the unfolding. It looks like a boat! Pretty exciting. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chick Ludwig Posted January 16, 2017 Report Share Posted January 16, 2017 HEY - LOOK, it's a boat! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roam Posted January 20, 2017 Author Report Share Posted January 20, 2017 I'd like to use the two rear seating/flotation areas as storage compartments. What types of watertight hatches are usually used for this? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chick Ludwig Posted January 20, 2017 Report Share Posted January 20, 2017 These are what Graham recommends, They really are watertite! http://www.armstrongnautical.com/deckplates.htm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve W Posted January 20, 2017 Report Share Posted January 20, 2017 I put deck hatches on the front faces of my 11N. I used deck plates but I can't remember the brand. Its a joy to put my wallet, phone, lunch, jacket, etc. And know they aren't getting wet. I'll check brand tommorow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Walt S. Posted January 21, 2017 Report Share Posted January 21, 2017 B and B shipped me Beckson screw-out deck plates. THe plans call for 4" ones. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roam Posted February 13, 2017 Author Report Share Posted February 13, 2017 It took two weeks but I managed to source the wood for my gunwales. I got 6 strips of 1/4" x 1 1/4" x 12' Mahogany strips with the 17 degree bevel cut into them. Is there a trick to get the gunwales to mate at the bow? It looks like Walt just left them square with a gap at the tip which was filled in with another piece of wood. Is this standard practice or is there a method to cut the appropriate angle in the gunwales to get them to mate at the tip? Thanks, Hugh Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Starboard Posted February 14, 2017 Report Share Posted February 14, 2017 Hugh, I shaped a piece of mahogany for the bow. Since we start bending the gunwales at the bow I was able to dry fit the strips with a fair amount of precision, which made shaping the bow piece easier. I doubt that this is the most common way, but I like the look and I wanted a nice hard piece of mahogany at the bow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roam Posted February 14, 2017 Author Report Share Posted February 14, 2017 Thanks Starboard. That looks great. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Walt S. Posted February 14, 2017 Report Share Posted February 14, 2017 Hugh, I ended up filling the gap between the gunwales with wood-filler thickened epoxy using packing tape to hold it in place. I can plane the ends of the gunwales somewhat to round it over. It definitely doesn't look as good as Starboard's' boat, which is a work of art. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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