John Burritt

Looks very nice. Congratulations!

Remember the primary goal - seal the wood! The first coat of anything you put on the plywood will raise the grain. Epoxy primer might work for the 2nd coat, but if you're putting multiple coats below the waterline, why not just carry it on up?

IMHO the name of the game is to keep moisture out of the wood EVERYWHERE. Epoxy only on one side doesn't do it. Oiling/varnishing will be just as time-consuming as epoxying the inside. With little UV penetration inside, a good smooth coat of epoxy inside wouldn't need to be overcoated. A lot of the interior could probably be precoated, leaving only the attachment areas raw. Also, oiling the inside will darken it. I'd be looking for ways to brighten it.

You can keep on guessing. The above info should help you narrow your options.

West Systems markets a fairing filler, a reddish powder, that doesn't fair quite as well as microlight, but can be used below the waterline. Being a bit brain-dead today, can't remember the name/number. Curing/sanding times are a function of your epoxy and the temperature/humidity. When you can sand it without it balling up, its ready. You're going to overcoat it w/ epoxy after its faired/sanded, so final cure time doesn't really matter.

Graham has plenty of first-hand experience w/ this boat. He also has designed & consulted on a variety of larger boats of this type. Besides, he's the one you'll need to talk to about plans for a larger version.

Go to B & B Yacht Designs web site for a fair bit of info on the boat & performance.

Once you get the bottom panels pulled together, the rest won't be a problem. Did the wire break, or pull out of the wood? Double the wire, if it broke. One way to pull it together is to cut a couple of wedge-shaped pieces of scrap and screw them to the outside w/ drywall screws at the pressure point. This will give you a couple of good clamping surfaces to pull the panels together. Once pulled, you can either rewire it or leave the clamp in place until you've taped the inside seam. If you're going to leave them in place, put some duct tape, or a piece of plastic, on the inside face so you don't have to worry about gluing them in place.

Congrats. Hope everything stays dry now.

DISTELTK - Did you get the message I sent you Wednesday?

Miss Stephie is an 18' runabout w/ a 5'9" beam. Draws 8" w/ engine up - 20" down. Powered by a 15 hp Honda 4-stroke in the aft compartment. Graham designed her for me about 10 yrs ago - build finished in 2002. Started in our community college boatbuilding class - finished at home. Bottom is a low-deadrise planing surface for about the last 2/3 of the length. Lifts smoothly up on plane at @ 5-6 kts. Tops out about 15 kts. w/ one person on board. Easy cruise w/ 2-4 people around 10-11 knots. The same engine today is a 20 hp. The extra would be great, but can't justify a new engine. We thought about a 25, but the added size & weight would have been disasterous to the stern lines & trim. The pic in the mag. is about as good as I've got. We're running about 1/2 throttle making a gradual turn to port. That's Graham's wife, Carla, and their grandson on board w/ me.

Even if Tom can't speel his name write, he still builds a good looking boat.

Whatever is going on, its got to be opened up and dried out before it can be fixed. What kind of wood in the seats? What coatings?

The latest issue of Woodenboat mag. #210 has a good article about Graham/B & B Yacht Designs/and many of his boats - including pictures of his canoes, kayaks, cats paws, spindrifts, lapwing, core sounds, princess 22, EC 22, 18' launch & Okracoke 20 (20' center console). Pictures were shot last spring at Graham's shop on one of the few days the wind wasn't blowing, much to the frustration of the sailboaters.

I would not expect delamination - especially w/ Joubert plywood (pressuming its BS1088). That's what you paid to prevent. We've wet okoumi regularly to releave bending stress with no problems. I'm presuming the inside of the tank hadn't been epoxy coated, thus the water soaking into the ply. If it had been coated, obviously wasn't enough times. Dry the plywood REALLY WELL. Figure out how to get some good air circulation to expidite the drying. Inside the flotation tank, it shouldn't make any difference if its a bit discolored. Then apply several coats of epoxy to seal things.

Joubert is a brand name. Their okoumi has the reputation for being about the best around. Many builders, when they want the best, get Joubert. Cheaper okoumi has reportedly from time to time had warping and delamination problems. Even the best needs to be checked closely these days.

Haven't seen hydrotek around for awhile. World Panel Products, locations in FL & NC (as well as MI), sells "hydrocore" as well as Okoumi & Sapelle plus other interesting woods. Hydrocore is about 50% heavier than Okoumi, but quite a bit stronger & stiffer than the same thickness Okoumi. (See their comparison page) We used it to build a bunch of Opti prams for a local kids' sailing program. The boats survived their first long summer with only the damage that comes from heavy use by kids. They're back at it this summer. Can't tell you the exact species of supposedly sustainable African tree. Lots of info on their web site.

Graham advocates Okoumi, saying it has the best strength to weight ratio. Aside from the weight issue, the real concern is ply thickness. I've seen "1088" Okoumi where the outside veneers were significantly thinner than the inner plys. The might have been the same when they were glued up, but at the end of the sanding process, they were a bit lacking. They will be more apt to split on the exterior face when bent across the grain of the outside veneer - a bit disconcerting. This can usually be avoided by presoaking the outside veneers w/ hot water. This is helpful even w/ "balanced" layers which have been stored in a real dry environment. Comparatively, Okoumi is more bendable than Meranti or Sapelle (mentioned in the article reference above.

Still think there is confusion on the deck beams. There is a deck beam that is installed several inches behind the forward bulkhead. This supports the aft end of the foredeck, which extends past the forward bulkhead. I think this beam is the one included in the kit. Check it against the forward bulkhead. They should NOT match. The stiffeners (beams) glued to the forward & aft bulkheads and transom are shop cut to fit the plywood pieces in the kit. The ends of these stiffeners are all cut at compound angles to fit flush w/ the sides. The insides of the notches for the inwales also have to be beveled. Other suggestions as to your assembly plan - I wouldn't get excited about installing the center frame, the bulkheads & transom until I had the chines pretty well wired together all the way back. They would distort the bottom panels w/out the sides in place. Then I'd install the forward bulkhead, then the center frame, making sure they're square and centered side to side. It's easier to screw the sides to the center frame than to wire. You'll have holes to fill either way. Then do the aft bulkhead and transom, making sure they're properly aligned. Once everything is in place, tighten the wires. I'd glue in the inwales before I worried about finalizing the chines & centerline. They're a tremendous help holding everything in shape. Assuming you're stitching w/ wire, I'd "spot weld" between the ties w/ thickened epoxy, making SMALL fillets. Once these set, you can remove the wire ties. Everything should stay in place as long as you don't stress it too much. THEN re-fillet and tape the seams. Don't be in a hurry to remove the center frame. It's keeping the middle of the boat in shape. Cut a notch in it at the centerline so you can slip the keel batten thru. Once tje keel batten is glued in place it doesn't need any additional glass tape. Hope this helps, and not add more confusion.

I see no reason to use anything other than thickened epoxy. Once the foredeck is on, you want it to stay that way. The screws need to be close enough together that the plywood's natural tendency to flatten out doesn't lift it off the inwale or center king plank in between. One way to avoid that would be to make cauls (clamping blocks) out of scrap to spread the load along the edge. I'd make them long enough that they'd almost meet, but short enough that they're not bridging away from the inwale. Check that shape of the bottom edge conforms to the deck shape - should be almost flat along this length. Put duct tape on the bottom. Drill an oversized hole thru it and screw it down w/ a drywall screw thru a fender washer (to spread the load). Doing this, you'd only have small holes to fill rather than hiding screw heads.

The c/b cap should be flush w/ the center thwart. Adjust whichever side of the trunk is necessary to make that happen - plane the high side, or build up the low side. Screws down the centerline of the foredeck are fine, as long as they're close enough together that you don't leave humps in between. Same along the inwales. Can also use ring-shank copper nails. If the foredeck is to be finished bright, figure on putting on a toe rail to cover the fasteners. W/ a painted deck, you could recess the fasteners and fair over them. Toe rail still isn't a bad idea. A trim strip will cover the centerline. I'd think the screw spacing you suggest should work. Might think about shortening it to 6", particularly at the forward part where the bend is most severe. I'd get the foredeck and side decks on and ready to be finished before messing w/ the gunwales. They'll tell you where exactly the gunwales should be placed.

Charlie & I are replying at the same time. Ditto to what he's said plus a few additional ideas. For starters, sand off any hard edges on the tape, being real careful not to sand into the tape strands crossing the joint. Then fair the tape edges with epoxy thickened with microballoons/West System Microlight or equivalent - easy sanding w/ almost no edge. Don't be bashful about fairing out a long ways. Use a WIDE knife. This is just like doing seams in sheetrock. The goal is to get any unavoidable high areas to blend in as unnoticably as possible. This may take more than one coat. Then sand w/ your long board, looking for shiny areas that don't sand out. Fill them & sand again. You set your own limits as to when it becomes obsessive. The payoff is when the 3rd (or more) coat of paint looks pristine & only you know where the flaws are.

You can get both rigid and flexible sanding boards 2 3/4 inches wide and about 17 inches long with a light foam pad to cushion the paper. They have clips on the ends for attaching the paper - or use sticky-back paper. I have seen 3 ft boards 4 1/2 inches wide, but haven't used one. Rolls of sticky-back paper in a variety of grits are available from several sources. Woodenboat magazine #208 has an article on building custom sanding boards.

Dennis - How are you sanding the surface? (Sorry, I didn't go back up the thread and look) Palm sanders and random orbitals will make smooth, but not fair. You just found out the difference. When I'm lazy, I'll use a half-sheet sander - nothing smaller. If I'm serious, its some kind of a long board, just flexible enough to bend to the curve of the hull. Again restating the obvious, sand away the high areas - don't sand the hollows. You've also learned that if you sand through the primer - re-prime! You might be able to paint over bare wood in some spots, but it'll show, usually even after several coats. It's so tempting to go on to the finish coat that I have to relearn this the hard way every so often. You didn't do anything the rest of us haven't done at least once. As to your lighting problem, you might try some portable flood lights when you're painting. Its embarrassing when the well lit side of the boat looks better than the other. Don't ask how I know.

You're on the right track using a plastic container - too much air moving around when opening plastic bags. I use a large plastic coffee container & keep it in a larger plastic bag. The inevitable spillage settles in the bag & can be retrieved.