Seaclipper 16 Build

[PadrePoint]

50 minutes ago, Don Silsbe said:

This is my “grand-neighbor Brodie.

Really neat to do these kinds of things with a kid. So, might he develop an interest in building something for himself?  He’d have a great mentor. 
 

Good idea on the screws. 
 

Edit: I noticed that my post started a new page. Be sure to go all the way through page one… some interesting posts.

[Don Silsbe]

@PadrePoint— I got the screw idea from a video/Small Craft Advisor article you sent me, the one about building a PDR.

 

I’m also introducing him into sailing.  We’ll see where that leads.

[Don Silsbe]

Ama bulkheads awaiting a chance to bond with their stringers.  I like to let them get acquainted first.  I’ll turn on a Barry White CD for the main event tomorrow.

[AmosSwogger]

Good tip on the screws.

[Don Silsbe]

I love ‘em!  But after a few uses, they start to cam out or strip.  I still prefer them over drywall screws.

[Don Silsbe]

I’ve been seal coating ama bulkheads and sides.  
Also, the owner and I have been brainstorming on how to ventilate the amas while the boat is not in use.  (She will be kept on a lift, outdoors.)   We decided to put a vent on each ama’s transom.  I’m adding insect screens, and will paint these nylon parts prior to installation.

 

Screen details:

 

The hole has been drilled out of the epoxy:

 

The vent in position.  A 3/8” deck will be added to the top of the transom. The hole below the vent is for an alignment string.  I can’t wait to show y’all that concept in action.  I’m excited to see it work, too.

I hope to go 3D this holiday week.  

[Don Silsbe]

My grand-neighbor Brodie and I got the port ama 3D this morning. 

The string is supposed to line up with the centerline of all the bulkheads.  I’m about 1/2” off in the middle.  Hmm…

[PadrePoint]

Glad to see the building partner.
 

Without a rigid building form, how would one get this completely accurate?

[Don Silsbe]

Good question.  There’s a little yellow string running fore/aft.  It needs to line up to the centerlines of each bulkhead.  It doesn’t, and I’m scratching my head.

 

Your Core Sound 15 build was similar— a combination of cut panels with cut bulkheads connecting them.  Only difference here is that there’s a bottom panel that gets glued on after the geometry is set.  In my case, there is about a 1/2” arc to the inboard side (over 15’).  It ain’t much, but it ain’t perfect.  Trying to thing of an intelligent way to make it disappear.

[David Jones]

From the pictures, I'm assuming everything is "trial" loose fitted together. So if you could bend the ama very slightly inboard you could straighten it out and make up that 1/2 inch.  So, how about a slightly slack rope around the bow and stern of this ama that could be propped out with a 2x4 in the middle to put some lateral force inward on the offending bulkhead . Leave it overnight and see if it will hold it's new position enough to glue it in place tomorrow. Even some WA ideas work sometimes.

[David Jones]

An addendum to what I wrote above..... IDK if you have temporarily screwed the bulkheads to the sides, if so maybe you'll have to back out some of the screws to let the whole ama "work" a little bit to get into it's new alignment. If it wasn't clear before, a tapered 2x4 would be wedge shaped starting narrow then wide and could be gently tapped down, tightening the rope, to see if the desired alignment can be reached.  If it doesn't stay there permanently, you may have to leave on the rope until the glue is dry.

[Don Silsbe]

I’m also thinking about ropes as a way to apply a force.  
 

When Brodie and I put in some of the bulkheads, they all needed screws to keep them in place.  So, I think I need to remove them from one side.

[Don Silsbe]

I did it!  The starboard ama is now off the horses, and waiting for a bottom.  This is how I did it.

 

[Don Silsbe]

I got the bottom on today.  Shooting for assembling the port ama on Saturday.

[PadrePoint]

Progress is being made.  It looks larger than I thought. 

My pathetic project of the day…

 

My daughter wants a little table for her little Boston Terrier (she chokes on her food sometimes.)  What we do for pets, right?

I know it isn’t a boat project… but it DOES float.
 

Actually, I also began making a boarding platform for my ski boat. 

 

[Don Silsbe]

My grand-neighbor came over this morning to help assemble the port ama.  i learned from assembling the starboard ama.  It went together easily, and in perfect alignment.  Whew!

[Don Silsbe]

Well, I made my first error today.  Yesterday, I had to scarf two narrow panels together, to make a bottom panel for the port ama.  I measured carefully, and missed it by a mile!  
 

 

Oh, well, stuff happens.  So, to recover from my folly, I scarfed in a piece of a scrap off-cut, to the forward end.  

 

It’s curing now.  Hopefully, I’ll get it right the second time.  By the way, you’ll notice a belt sander in the upper left corner of the second photo below.  A master-builder friend of mine uses this to make his scarfs.  I tried it, and it works like a champ!  You have to proceed with caution, but it can leave a clean taper.  I did some final tweaking with an ROS and a 60 grit disc.

 

[Don Silsbe]

The amas are ready for all the prep work prior to gluing the deck on.  They require reinforcing in the areas where the akas attach.  

[PadrePoint]

Nice looking project, Don.  And I love how you call forth the kid assistance.  
 

As they say, measure once; cut twice; still too short. 
 

Oh, and I don’t need to cut the legs down on the little dining table for my daughter’s Boston Terrier. (Helps with choking issues.)  

[Don Silsbe]

The support plates for the pivoting akas are in.  
 

I have also glued on the stems and shaped them.  I know, I need a new blade for my band saw.  I have contacted the finance department, and she was pretty amenable on the subject.