Warping

[Marshall]

Hi,

I just got my plans for a Weekender. I live in the frozen tundra just outside Minneapolis on the Wisconsin border. I would like to start cutting the components now in my basement and assemble the boat in my unheated garage when it warms up. I want to be sailing by Memorial Day.

Should I be concerned about the components warping if they have to sit for 60 plus days ?

Any input would be helpful

Thanks

Marshall

[tdrown]

Congradulations! Memorial Day is a fairly ambitious date but completely possible, it's 146 days away. I was aiming for a Memorial Day launch last year missed it buy a month (albeit I built mine in 137 days). Just do some work on it every day, make it a routine and it will get done. Just remember the slower you go the faster it gets done. If you don't want warping keep your wood horizontal and flat. This forum is a great resource for any problems you may encounter.

-Tyler Drown

[Barry Pyeatt]

Welcome to the group Marshall!

Well a hard water sailer from the thousand lakes country. Land of the worlds biggest mosquitos.

Couple things to consider. When picking your lumber pick good straight stock with as few knots as possible and if possible with either quartersawn or vertical grain. Neither of these cuts have much of a tendency to warp.

Don't leave iyour boards laying on the ground or concrete floor for extended periods of time. If you need to leave it flat, put a series of other short boards crosswise under it so it has good air circulation and is evenly supported. Same with the plywood, don't lay it flat on the floor or ground. Put it on edge instead.

Once you get the keel assembled, it shouldn't have a warpage problem. Stringers, once cut really aren't affected too much, they take a fair curve when you attach them to the deck and bottom. Just keep every thing dry and you should be alright.

If you have a good place to work and are consistent, Memorial Day is possible. But as Tyler just stated, take your time and it will go a lot faster. If you have the time to do it over, then you should have the time to do it right the first time.

Don't be a stranger, this is a great group of people with a lot of good experience and lots of good solutions to the challenges you will come across.

Take the time to read all the FAQ sections. It will help you a lot. Also if you are uncertain, ask first. You will have a lot of others that have faced the same challenge.

[tdrown]

put a series of other short boards crosswise under it so it has good air circulation and is evenly supported

Opps, I didn't mention that. Building the Weekender you generate enough Scrap 1x material for that and raising plywood off the floor for cutting in a few days. And if you put plywood on it's edge remember not to leave your only space heater on the other side of it or better off don't let it be susceptible to any fallovers :-( It's not fun and last winter was a cold one.

Take the time to read all the FAQ sections. It will help you a lot. Also if you are uncertain, ask first

Precisely. And don't cut the keel pieces all to the same length :-(, read the planes carefully. Beware of what they call "first cut feaver'!

[BobSmalser]

Hi' date='

... assemble the boat in my unheated garage when it warms up. I want to be sailing by Memorial Day. Should I be concerned about the components warping if they have to sit for 60 plus days ?

[/quote']

Make sure you have the West System free epoxy pamphlets to peruse.

If stacked correctly, you will be fine in the cold, dry winter months. As the humidity increases in Spring, tho, the wood you plan on epoxying will gain in moisture content in your unheated stucture...eventually, all the way to 18 pct or so, which is a bit high for epoxy and plywood, I'm told.

Now, that moisture gain from 8 pct out of the store to 18 pct in a covered but non-climate-controlled structure will take several months of exposure to humidity, so you have time...but it's something to think about if there are delays.

[Marshall]

Wow - Thanks for all the info. I can see this is going to be a treasure chest of knowledge.

I do have plenty of space to store components in my basement over the winter. My wife won't be too excited about losing space, but the sacrafice will be worth it.

I thought of bring a couple of pallets down the basement to put the stuff on.

I have access to some pretty good lumber yards here so I should be able to get quality wood. In plywood, if I am going to glass the boat, do I need Marine plywood or wood ACX be sufficient ?

I saw somewhere that on the average it takes about 200 hours to complete the Weekender. I plan on taking weeks off this spring to work on it.

I really do appreciate all the help. I am realtively handy when it comes to woodworking and construction, however I have never built a boat before.

Thanks again

Marshall

[Dave R1]

Hey Marshall, welcome to the group. It's good to know there'll be another Weekender in the area. More boats for the next Minnesota Messabout.

I don't want to discourage you from completing your boat by Memorial Day. There are a few things to consider like epoxy curing times and paint drying. There are certainly a number of tasks to be completed that can be done while waiting for epoxy to cure but still, you might find you're stuck waiting for something to cure before you can go on to the next part.

By all means do not rush to put paint over the epoxy until it has had several weeks to cure. the paint might prevent the epoxy from fully curing.

Have you sourced your lumber, yet? If not give Russ a call at Traditional Woodworks just southwest of Somerset. He was able to get me everything on my cutlist (except the plywood and mahogany) and it was less expensive than buying from a local lumber yard. He even milled the stock to dimension for me and gave me the drops and rips from the order. I actually still have some of the stock from the cutlist because I was able to use the scraps he gave me instead.

Where along the St. Croix are you anyway? Drop me a line if you want. My e-mail addy is richards dot david at mayo dot edu.

Dave