skrufy

Well folks- I bought all my plans and supplies for Vardo and Tangerine four- that's 4- years ago, got my sheets of 5 x5 Russian birch plywood, and even started to cut out some of pieces- then, a ba-jillion other things have gotten in the way since then- mostly 'wife-honey do's' - new horse barn, build chicken coups, farm stuff...... I am bound and determined to get back to Vardo here in the next week or so.... I was looking thru the site- nice improvements Jeff- and came across the "laminated beam"- is this a needed or recommended improvement for Vardo? If so, I will buy the laminated beam w/o a problem, but will I need a new frame piece plan or blueprint to attach it to? thank you- If this has been covered, sorry- someone please send me a link.... tim Alpine, az.

Well folks- I bought all my plans and supplies for Vardo and Tangerine four- that's 4- years ago, got my sheets of 5 x5 Russian birch plywood, and even started to cut out some of pieces- then, a ba-jillion other things have gotten in the way since then- mostly 'wife-honey do's' - new horse barn, build chicken coups, farm stuff...... I am bound and determined to get back to Vardo here in the next week or so.... I was looking thru the site- nice improvements Jeff- and came across the "laminated beam"- is this a needed or recommended improvement for Vardo? If so, I will buy the laminated beam w/o a problem, but will I need a new frame piece plan or blueprint to attach it to? thank you- If this has been covered, sorry- someone please send me a link.... tim Alpine, az.

Hello all- Well, after weeks of Boy Scout activities and a few other summer distractions, I have finally started to cut out the frames and associated pieces for Vardo out of my Baltic Birch plywood. Jeff, it appears that I received the earlier version of the Vardo plans- the bow and stern pieces don't have the tab and slots depicted as per your book and construction manual. I have not cut out those pieces pending resolution to this issue. Also, Frame 5'5" (I think I have that correct..) is not depicted as symmetrical on the right vs left of the centerline of the frame. Part of the old design/blueprints? Please advise..... Having fun. No shop to work in, so now the summer rains have started, putting a little damper on things.... Tim

I have finished rummaging around in my paint locker and this is what I have to work with (besides the near gallon of Watco Danish Oil- that we are not going to use.....) -Minwax Tung Oil- have maybe 60% of a quart can container -Watco Teak Oil- almost a full quart I like how the Tung Oil finishes when it's dry. Does the Teak oil give a hard surface finish like the Tung Oil? So the basic question- which to use, and why if you care to share your opinion/experience. And thanks you once again....... Tim

Which is better?- I have a sufficient quantity of Tung Oil on hand, and will go buy some of the Teak Oil if I have to... I may even have some Teak Oil somewhere, as one time I had a jet boat with a Teak swim platform on the stern.... Tim

Well Boys and Girls- I picked up 3 sheets of stamped Russian 5x5 Baltic Birch yesterday at $33.35 each, plus tax, plus $15 delivery fee to a town 75 miles from here. I think I did ok? What a difference in quality from the crap "marine grade" 5 ply construction grade 4x8 plywood, probably fir, that some supplier sent my local building supply store as "of course it meets BS 1088 for boats" marine plywood- maybe as supply crate material for the Titanic. Will be off and running here soon cutting out the frames. Will start on Vardo. Will keep everyone informed. Thank you to all for the input and help. Tim

Hello All- I returned the two 4x8 sheets of "marine Plywood" to my local lumber yard today- full refund even though it was a special order. The replacment came in today for the pallet damaged top sheet of plywood mentioned above. I can get 5x5 Baltic Birch from Spellman's Hardwood in Flagstaf, Az under their 'imported' Plywoods section for $35 per 5x5 sheet, plus tax. Does that sound about then right pricing? Shipping will be an extra $15 total, as they have a truck that runs down weekly to a city about 80 miles away from here. For both Vardo and Tangerine, I was thinking of ordering 4 sheeets? Is that enough for both boats? Please advise and thanks to all- Tim

Hello All- If you read my thread on Marine Plywood, you'll read that I am a first time builder. I have purchased the plans for both Vardo ( will add two 10" hatches) and Tangerine. I am a pretty avid DIY'er from house building, tile, roofing, electrical when I have to, as well as a Porsche mechanic. I am not anticipating huge problems- (and the multitudes are now all ROFLMAO at my innocence and nievativity.....) So, what does everybody think? Which to build first? Vardo or Tangerine? Thanks for your opinions....... Tim

Jeff- My package of plans for Vardo and Tangerine, along with the extra sinew, polyester skin material, etc arrived today- or at least I am pretty sure it all did. The box looks like it somewhat survived WW3, with letters from the US Post Office saying sometimes their machines are a little over zealous and rough, along with probably 200 feet of tape holding it all together. The box had burst open it looks like. I will send you a private email to verify the shipment. I think we're ok. Plywood- my education has been skyrocketing now that the rest of you have told me what to look for. I will educate my local building supplier to see what he can come up with. We don't have many boat building suppliers here in Arizona, even though we, according to the tourist stuff, have the highest boat population per capita in the country. There is an exotic wood/plywood supplier in Phoenix and Flagstaf that may be my best bet. Will keep everyone informed. As Ted has asked above, Baltic Birch, or similar 7 or 9 ply cabinet grade plywood would be ok to use? Are the glues waterproof? I plan on using Tung Oil, 2-3 coats, to finish the frame. So as long as it's well coated and sealed, the cabinet grade stuff should be ok? The supplier in Phoenix www.spellmanhardwoods.com has Red Birch plywood listed. Will talk to them the first of the week...... I happen to have a gallon of Watco Danish Oil Finish that a friend gave me. Has anybody used this? I have never opened it, and really don't know anything about it.... Ok- I will post this next to the whole Forum, but you heard it here first: Which to build as a first time newbie: Vardo or Tangerine? I'm thinkin' Vardo, but...? Thanks again for all the help. Tim

Well- where to start? First of all, not to worry Jeff- when the instruction manual get's here- it gets here. I have already read your book cover to cover, and several parts twice. I am comfortable with the task ahead, and so far, it doesn't look like I've found an excuse to buy some new tools- hey wait- there's that hot knife.... ;-) As my logo says at the top- I'm a 'newbie' with a total of 4 posts. I joined this Forum a little while ago after deciding it was a lot cheaper to build a wooden boat than an airplane. Having been around Fighter, Corporate, and Airline aviation for -gasp/cough!! 40 years, the kayak/canoe I've always wanted to do has been calling....... For those of you who are real sporting, the most complete plans/research available on the WW1 Fighter aircraft for your full scale reproduction is for the German Fokker Tri-Plane. Fokker, a Dutch guy, used a plywood type of beambox as the main structural element in each wing, but the glues were bad back then...... they are a handful- the rudder is too small. I am a contributor to several other Forums- Porsches and weapons. The beauty of these Forums is the corporate knowledge so easily and willingly shared, especially to us new folks. The only stupid questions are the one you don't ask, and if you get slammed for asking it or for making a mistake, the other guy doesn't understand the concept. All the "total know-it alls" I ever knew in the Fighter business are all dead, and when they were alive, the last guys you wanted to fly with and depend on. The all took a perfectly good jet into the ground with them..... Back on topic. The plywood. The local building supply owner is an aquaintance of mine. He was PO'd that they sent a plywood cover sheet. He will take the two sheets back. His supplier told him that marine plywood was marine plywood, all made to the same spec. From all of your generous responses, that obviously is not the case here. I did tell him I needed BS 1088 stuff for a boat, having read that term either in Jeff's book, or in these Forums. I had no clue as to what BS 1088 is, and have never heard of Hydrotech, meranti, or okoume- or what the cost might be for those materials. The cost is not really a factor when you think about it- you are only worried about the price once, after that you want performance and durability. A local friend here is a retired cabinet maker/shop owner. I will ask him about Birch, and who his suppliers are- he might/probably has some laying around. As for the pick up of the plywood, nearly everything for us is a 27-28 mile drive to the next larger town. We try and plan our trips for groceries and fuel. My daughter happened to be over there, so I asked her to pick them up. I didn't expect her to grade the wood. There are no markings on the face of the sheets, only some very faint numbers on the 4ft edges of the better board- nothing that says the grade or wood type. My plywood learning curve is rising exponentially. Thank you for that. The Stringers: I'm going to use Blue Spruce- available locally. I will be working with a friend this next week cleaning and thinning 27 acres of forest- losts of chainsaw time. He owns a sawmill, and several of his sons are loggers. I've asked him for 16 footers- he'll probably give me 20s. We do have a cedar variety here- "Shaggy Bark" the local name, but it doesn't get large enough to justify harvesting it.... Jeff- can I cut all the pieces for Tangerine and Vardo out of one 4x8 sheet? maybe I only need one sheet?..... I will keep everyone posted on the Hunt for Good stuff..... Tim

Hello All- Hopefully my plans for Vardo and Tangerine, and the other supplies, will arrive today. A quick search of the Forum pages had only one topic on Marine grade Plywood, unless I just missed others- so sorry if this has been covered before. My daughter just got home with 2 sheets of plywood ordered/purchased from my local building supply store. The nearest Lowes/Agent Orange stores are about 85 miles away, so my resources are pretty limited out here in the mountain boonies of eastern Az. I am not a happy camper with what I received for about $47 per sheet. Should there not be quality and material stamps on this plywood? I have no idea what I have. Both sides are rough, with several gaps filled with a white filler or glue, as well as numerous "footballs" or plugs. One sheet was obviously a top sheet of a plywood stack, with weathering cracks and dirt imbedded. When I ordered, they said that all "marine grade" plywoods must meet BS 1088 when they called their supplier, who might be down in the Phoenix area. It is 5 ply. Obviously, going to the expense/time of making your own boat, we want to do it right the first time, to look great, etc. Am I being too picky here? Should I just sand out the dirt, suck it up, and press on? thanks for all the expertice! Tim

I'm not even a builder yet, so I don't deserve a voice- BUT, if my 2 cents can be counted, I'd vote for the Navy, Khaki, and Red. 100% pre-shunk cotton, in sizes L and XL for me. I don't care for Green, but it's my co-builder's- my son- favorite color, so there you go. I think "if you build it, they will come" - so no matter what you do, it will be successful..... Money wise for having un-sold inventory laying around, perhaps limit the sizing to M-L-XL. That would cover the Ladies, and many kids.... That totals about 3 cents worth now...... Tim

Thank you Jeff and Hirilonde- Great advice on the Jeff's book- ordered it last night. Jeff, your sales shop process was perhaps the fastest I have ever seen- the whole purchase thru paypal, with email comfirmation, took about 45 seconds. I will look into our local cedar, and the Blue Spruce as well, for full length stringers since I have easy access for that. I suppose "Blue Spruce" is a local common name for the Spruce trees here. I live at the base of the huge fires we had here in eastern Arizona last year, so there is a lot of harvesting going on now along forest roads. After a fire such as this one, the trees are only good for lumber for about 18-24 months. After that, there is so much twisting and checking of the wood it's not worth removing. Thank you US Forest Service for decades of mismanagement. While waiting for the book to see what's involved, I will continue to review the various videos and these forums. Thanks to all of you, in advance, for the help. Tim

Hi Jeff- I have been searching for a boat project to share with my 14yr old son. After a lot of net searching, I think Kudzu wins the prize. Although I have been around boats of various types all my life, I have never built one, nor been in a kayak. I am always looking for an excuse to buy more tools. I am a pretty resourceful DIY person and fabricator, and have worked on my own Porsche 911s for - gasp! gasp! cough!- 39 years now.... I have done a quick search of all 8 pages of this forum, and still have a few how-to-get-started questions: -Do I need to buy your book, or is there sufficient instruction in your construction manuals supplied with your kits or plan sets? -I think that since we will be 1st timers, we will probably go with a complete kit. I take it that the skin fabric is not included in the kit? -We will probably start out with one of the kayaks, and then I think tackle the Tangerine tandem Canoe....... - We live at 8000ft in the mountains of eastern Arizona in the center of the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest. For stringers, could I use Douglas Fir? Lots of that around here...... We also have a variety of Cedar- not sure which one, and that is a little harder to come by. Also Blue Spruce, White Pine, Aspen, and Ponderosa pine. A friend has a sawmill, so getting what I want cut is not a problem. He has cut clear lumber for several slat? canoes- all wood- that another friend has built. -Which wood would you suggest for the stringers, and what length is needed? I know I will have other questions later, and will try to search the forums before I take up any more of your time. Any/all help from all quadrants will always be appreciated, as well as tolerance for my juvenile newbe questions. The only stupids questions are the ones you don't ask! Thanks- Tim Alpine, Az.