New to boat building

[adla]

I'm new to boat building and have been browsing the forum here for tips and info on the weekender. My plans and the video have been here for a month and it has taken that long to round up enough materials to start the project. I have taken the plunge and started the keel. I noticed that it was a real chore for one small person to do! I decided to use a power planer to clean up the edge and it turned out ok. I'd like to share pics of my progress and ask some dumb questions from time to time... :shock:

[attachment over 4 years old deleted by admin]

[Greg Luckett]

Hi Adla,

Thanks for the picture. I like your blocks holding the keel.

How did you post/attach the picture. I seem to keep failing at it. Must be doing something wrong. My pictures are JPGs under 300K in size.

Where are you building at? Geographically I mean.

Greg.

[Barry Pyeatt]

Looks like a good start. Welcome, Just jump right in. Everybody does and don't be shy.

[adla]

i'm not sure really about the pictures...I just used the file attachment button below and the first time it didn't work...so, I made the pic smaller. I am sending another of me sittin on the keel the night I cut it...but there was noone else around when I went to glue it up and it was a real nightmare for me but after it cured and I ran the power planer on it...I felt better about it. My weekender is being built in southern Nevada...but will mostly be sailed in northern/central Nevada...I am impressed by all the detail and work people put into these boats...this is my first boat project and I will be concentrating on making it float.... :wink:

[attachment over 4 years old deleted by admin]

[Dave Ruedel]

Actually, the keel-prow assembly is one of the hardest assemblies of the whole project, and your's looks excellent. Wish I had had your power planer, I did mine with a draw plane and a jack plane. It gets exciting as you see the rest of the lumber all taking shape. Don't go cheap on the glue - use good stuff, and don't rush. Double check your measurements on new components against your construction - you will find there will be diviations from the plans, and it is hard to stretch a piece of wood. I think every one of us has some small diviations from the plans, which happens when you are custom building, rather than mass-produced parts, so don't worry about a eighth of an inch here, or quarter inch there. Build it, have fun buildinging it, and more fun sailing it.

Ask all the questions you want, and you will probably get more answers than you want, because we all love to talk about our boats. (Mine's a Vacationer.)

Welcome aboard.

[adla]

thanks Dave,

The power planer was a must have in a remodel I did with my dad years ago...needed the tool then and not again until just now. I'm not skimping on the glue that I can tell....had to wait because it had to be ordered online. I used #1 clear pine for the keel and grabbed various mohagany sizes for other parts while I was at it. All of the hardware came from Florida and the plywood is marine grade. I figure you have to be absolutely right about measuring to what I have done....since the curves I lofted for the bottom don't allow me to make the side pieces out of the 1/2 ply I have without some ingenuity; I looked too late at another builders drawings. My second boat hopes to be a vacationer...ordered the plans for that as well. The keel makes me nervous...I was not happy at all about the glue up. I used screws and made the pilots larger than the screws but think that nails might have better suited the job. Fiberglass is the only part that is comforting about the job since I have extensive experience with glass and resin and gel coat...it will be a chore to get through the building process and a joy to glass and coat the boat. After the glue up on the keel I have to say that my "Morgaine" <--name of the boat , will get a bit of glass on the keel for good measure...I'd rather repair the glass later than worry about my glue up.

!

Adla

[Steve Downs]

Hi Adla, or should I say neighbor? I'm here in Southern Utah only a couple of hours away. I've got my keel ready to assemble but my problem is finding the time to get it done. Maybe this Saturday. It seems like it's taking forever. Oh well, it's the building process I enjoy most anyway. Good luck with your construction. :wink:

[JMetzner]

Adla,

Welcome to the list. Ask all the questions you want, I'm sure there'll be plenty of answers and opions

One thing to note about measuring and lofting from the plans. There's a point in the plans where they tell you to start measuring things in the boat "as-built" (I believe it's when you get to building the seats) instead of using the measurements in the plans. BELIEVE THEM! I ended up having to recut the seat parts 'cuz they were waaaaay too small for my edition of the weekender. Luckily I was only using cheap plywood and not the good marine grade stuff.

Happy building,

--John M.

Fairbanks, Alaska

[Marshall]

Hi Adla,

I am also a first time boat builder, but I have the nothern climate to deal with. (Outside Minneapolis)

I have cut a few of the smaller pieces and I am hoping to start my keel in my basement this weekend. I'm afraid it'll be another month before I can get out to my unheated garage.

Good luck with your project !

Marshall

[Guest]

Howdy there. Don't be afraid. Everything we all have done up to now in life, at one time was new. Pull up a chair when you get frustrated and click on and tell us about it. Taint much we don't know, :wink: Just ask us. You will get plenty of opinions. And when all else fails, we may just say something that may make some sense.

[adla]

Thanks...for all the support, you guys ROCK!

when I showed my neice some pics of the keel and bottom she asked me if I knew how to build a boat...I told her that if I wait until I know how to do it...it will never get done!

I have the bottom lofted and cut..and will keep you posted!

Adla

[Mike Kelley]

Did you say gelcoat?? I want to hear more as I am getting ready to have my 1959 cutter re-gelcoated , this time Im doing it myself,after getting ripped off by an amature at my local boatyard.

Oh yeah, welcome aboard Adla

Mike

[Mark Gudschinsky]

What a great attitude to pass on to your niece. Have her jump right in and help occasionally. It'll slow you down a bit, but It makes the building even more rewarding. Then you can have her help during the christening at launching. (I had two helpers 7 and 9.) Now they've joined the forum and are working on their own boats. (With lots of Dad oversight.)

Keep the pictures coming.

[Guest]

Did I read gelcoat? Get that out of your mind for these boats. The big boat project of re gelcoating, for get about that too. If you can't wet sand the old job, and buff it out, forgetaboutit, as we say. Sand it, prime it, and paint a good paint, with a good two part paint, of the glass is still good on it. I would think it has many spider cracks in it now. So you will have a massive job on your hands with gelcoat. Thats my opinion. Next.

[Dave Ruedel]

If glassing is a joy, I wish you had been around when I was doing mine - I like the woodworking more. But it got done, inspite of my incompotence. And I didn't know how to build a boat the first time, or the second time either, for that matter. Present project is a bookcase for my neice, which I don't think I will fiberglass, and hopefully she and her fiancee won't try to sail.

[adla]

I have a 58 glasspar del mar that I am stripping the paint off of because the previous owner elected to have it shot with auto paint and when the weather went south on me (below 70 degrees) I wandered on to the Stevenson's web site and HAD TO get the plans and build that boat! I HAD TO *laugh*....Gelcoat or the thought of it is always controversial...the guys who restore glasspar boats sometimes paint and sometimes use gelcoat. I am going to gel coat the bottom and keel of my weekender...and I will most likely use a 2 part paint for the rest. I will also be re shooting my del mar when the weather permits (i have to work outside and will be building a makeshift paint booth) . Years ago I ran a shop that did fiberglass repair and fabrication...the biggest job being a water pond (100,000 gallons) that we shot with a chopper gun (big spool of glass and a 50 gallon drum of resin)...and then we gel coated it and that was a CHORE.

Gelcoat isn't for everyone...it isn't automatically shiny/pretty, it has to be rubbed out and is more work...but it is waterproof and since my boat will be in some really nasty water - lake mead and Walker lake Nevada...it will make me feel better to coat the bottom.

Adla

[Barry Pyeatt]

Adla,

I think you are going to enjoy the building portion of this project perhaps even more than the finishing once you get into it. Your experience with glass will certainly help.

I caution you about thinking of gelcoat however as the finish coat on the boat. Fiberglass boats come out of the mold generally and the first thing in the mold after the release is the gelcoat. Fiberglass boats don't expand and contract with the seasons, temp and humidity changes the way wooden boats do. Wooden boats are constantly in an expanson, contraction mode. The fiberglass helps to prevent checking on the plywood and to give a surface that will accept a good finish that will hold up well to the normal use and abuse that will occur. A well applied paint finish will last a long time and require only minor maintenance.

A good job of glassing the hull, deck, cockpit and cabin will give a great base for finishing. With your experience that should be just another step in the process rather than a major hurdle to get over.

Certainly gelcoat can be applied. But the results are not like coming out of the mold. I wouldn't expect that it will hold up any better on a Weekender or other boat similar to this and it is a lot more difficult to maintain on a wooden boat than paint. Modern paints hold up remarkably well, the polyurethanes are incredibly tough and work well on glassed palywood. As do exterior house paints which are formulated to last a long time in the elements. If it is a high gloss finish like glass/gelcoat you are after, that is more in the prep work and getting a good base than in the gelcoat. A number of people have achieved a near flawless paint job, but I question if the boats will really be used as much as those that are done well and used. Just something to think about.

Those are just some of the reasons why wooden boats are painted, not gelcoated. But you are a ways off on that portion of the project and the fun is just beginning. Glad you are joining in.

[Mr. Scott]

Welcome aboard Alda! You're one of those lucky live-in-the-warm people that I envy. (graduation time look out southwest...snow stinks!) :evil: There are lots of good ideas here, and these people like to share.

[Barry Pyeatt]

Adla,

Never mind! :oops: You probably do have the experience to do a good job with gelcoat and understand what is involved in working with it to get a good finish. Not many do!

[Simon]

IIRC Tyler Drown (tdrown) and Florin both applied gelcoat to their boats. Tyler seemed to have a not bad experience with it, but I think he had help from a pro. Florin had a much worse time and there was some cursing on the board. This is just from memory, the search feature may turn up more. I reckon if you have the experience and confidence then go for it. Personally I'll be going with paint on glass, but I hate finishing, and have never tried using gelcoat - only what I've heard here makes it seem too hard.