Fishman38

The BB gun method almost makes me wish we had those little critters up here! Growing up in the south (LA) we had a bee that bored (guessing here, it's been several decades since I saw one) 3/8 inch perfectly round hole usually in the bottom side of the ceiling joists in our garage. We thought they were just another type of bumblebee but probably what ya'll are calling carpenter bees. I never knew if they did any real damage to that garage but seems possible.

Thank you so much for the explanation PAR. This sounds like a great solution and labor saver to what to me sounds like a major problem. I may have to request a new tool for father's day since the only thing I have close to this is a small grinder that turns a whopping 11,000 RPM. Way to many I'm thinking.

Sorry about the triple post problem. Thanks for the clarification hydrohokey. And the machine he's talking is a regular rotating right angle grinder?

PAR, I really appreciate this kind of information but sorry, I'm having trouble getting the picture here. What do you mean by "1/8 plywood the same size as........." ? I think you're saying cut a piece of 1/8th inch plywood the size and shape of a standard sheet of sandpaper (roughly 12" square), glue the sandpaper to this, then glue the plywood to a "flush mount arbor (disk?)" which I think would mount in the chuck of a 90 deg sander/buffer or simply screw onto it depending on the type. I can see how this would work if you carefully center the square plywood when gluing to the disk. Or if the sander/buffer is a random orbital type which probably exists but don't think I've ever seen. I'm thinking beaucoup imbalance problems. Or maybe you mean a 4 or 5 inch square sheet of sandpaper? Help! A picture would be very helpful. Also I would think you would not want it to dig in.

Strongback is done. Thought I would make the legs long enough so that with 2 1/2 sheets of maybe CDX ply on top I've got a long clean work surface at a comfortable height for gluing up the stem, keel and whatever else needs doing before starting to assemble the frames. At that time I'll cut about 2 feet off the legs to put the bottom within reach.

Scott, with your permission I may borrow that name. Already people (me for one) are asking why I am building a 20 ft boat with the nearest big lake 600 miles away, Lake Powell, and the nearest salt water with fish in it is 1000 miles away and 6500 feet downhill. What better name than JUST BECAUSE ?

Aside from the question of using it in boat building, when I lived in California most folks seemed to consider it the go to wood for decks etc. My house here at 6300 feet in arid Colorado has two redwood decks, upper level and lower level built in '84 still in great shape. In about '95 I added a detached garage/workshop with a flat roof and and build a deck on the roof of the exact same type of redwood i.e. construction grade not heartwood.. Within five years it was beginning to badly deteriorate. In 2011 I rebuilt it with pressure treated wood. Go figure! The reason I think was 1) the space between the bottom of the deck and the roofing is 6-11 inches and doesn't get a lot of ventillation 2)I did not treat the underside of the boards prior to installing and of course no way to do it afterward. So snowmelt kept the underside damp for long periods.

No problem Lance. I've got lots of time before coming to that bridge. Keeping it simple is a good thing! I started with the downriggers, two of them, 3 or 4 years ago and they're fine unless the fish start biting. Can keeps a crew of one busier than I want to be!

Frame kit to be shipped today hopefully delivered Friday or Monday. Tomorrow I will finally drive the first nail/screw in my OK20 project with the building & leveling of the strongback, installing a baseline and casters which I plan to be crudely "retractable". Thought I would use something like 1/16" aircraft cable for the baseline. The Gougeon book mentions tensioning the baseline cable to several hundred pounds. hmmmm 1/16 inch aircraft cable is rated at 96 lbs and is $0.69/ft at my local Ace Hdwe. $15 for a 20 ft wire? I may look further. I know, but it's the principle of the thing.......... Comments? Have found a local source for all the plywood except 4mm Okoume for the topsides. May have to have that shipped in.

After my post, I found a little info here https://intheboatshed.com/index.php which confirmed what you say. Basically that low tensile strength makes it susceptible to shattering under impact. Thanks for your input. jerry

Don't believe I have seen Redwood mentioned as an option for stringers and the like. Not sure why. Where I live I'm more likely to find clear redwood than any of the other species suggested. So, is the issue price, strength, moisture content or something else? Or is redwood the same thing as western red cedar? (I don't think that's the case)

Hi Lance; I'm curious whether you use downrigger(s) in your fishing and if so how you mount them without spoiling the look of your boat? If you do use them could you post a picture of the mounting?

Thank you HH and I'm sure you're right. Never thought of that and when I go back and read Tom's opening post with that in mind it makes perfect sense.

Wow! Now I get it. I think. So 1/8 is the 1/8 inch ply and this is the "stepped scarf". Thanks for the pics.

Would one of you guys explain what a 1/8 is so maybe I can figure out what you're talking about? Should I be able to find a picture of such joinery in say the Devlin or maybe Gougeon book. I understand what a butt joint is, just cannot picture the setup described above. Aren't finger joints normally used to join two short boards to make one long board and wouldn't you apply (a little) pressure parallel to the long axis? Here I assume we're talking about joining two pieces of plywood edge to edge to make a larger piece of plywood? I think my problem is I have no idea what in meant by "1/8". To me it means 0.125........... perplexed.

Oops, sorry I missed that. I'll watch for the answer from Hightechmarine regarding Penske board.

Your post on Dec 9,'12 says that you had completed the transom and includes a pic. Is item pictured today to replace that shown on 12/9/12 or to be laminated to that one? Also could you elaborate on the Penske board and why not marine ply?

How much difference could a few pounds make on a power boat? With the savings on ply buy a few more horsepower and a little more gas or maybe settle for a little less speed? Or is there more to it than that?

OK, I'm confused. Do I understand correctly that the common types of marine plywood are: Okoume, Meranti, and Hydrotek which is faced on both sides with one ply of Meranti. (Okoume and Meranti are the names of trees from which the wood is cut,right?) So Scott, when you say Meranti are you referring to the Hydrotek product or just simply marine ply made from the wood of the Meranti or Phillipine mahogany tree? Or is my brain addled from two days in the dentist chair?

Miyot, I'm afraid I can't accept credit for the staples idea. Believe that was Russell. Sounds like a good idea.

I have to say these discussions are priceless. They would be worthwhile if all participants were boatbuilding novices like me...............when the guys who are obviously experienced builders join in they are really great! Thanks to all of you!

If you're glueing a layer of say 3mm ply to a layer of 3mm ply and screwing into a structural piece such as a stringer wouldn't you want your screws to be threadless for at least the first 6mm below the head (if you can find such screws)? Then the pilot hole depth would be irrevelant.or maybe unnecessary. JO

Dave I'll be glad to test the screws but for two reasons twill be a few weeks before I can do it (1) will be away from home for the next 4 or 5 weeks and (2) won't have any epoxy to test with 'til I get home. I will be ordering it for delivery shortly after I get home. Jerry

Thanks Terry. That lack of skill issue is one I'm going to have to learn to deal with on the job. A little scary. The dog is jj , my german shorthair pointer. Didn't notice that she was in there. She's a publicity hound so to speak. Likes the limelight!

Scott regarding your comment about beveling the stem, is it because of the curves? I have zero experience with the process but could it be done with a router? There may be no way to set up a proper guide to avoid gouging and so on. Jerry