Any helpful hints on building Birder 2?

[Garry]

I ordered plans for the Birder 2 to build and use down here on the rivers and lakes of central Florida. Having built the Spindrift before, the Birder 2 looks pretty straightforward.

I have searched the archives and found only a potential problem of breaking the plywood when bending the butterfly into shape. I plan to use Okoume and work carefully and slowly. One suggestion was to take the bend slowly over a few days time to allow the material to relax into the bend.

Any other tips or things to watch out for?

How about posting more pictures of your completed Birders? How about uploading pics to the Gallery?

[Charlie Jones]

You can screw two pieces of plywood together right where the split ends on the butterfly- small ones. That will help a lot in stabilizing that area- keeps it from taking a hard bend right at the end of the split.

Graham tipped me on that AFTER I had the problem But he can't tell every body everything ya know!!

[Ken_Potts]

   The method Charlie mentioned is useful for repairing the joint after it breaks too...  At least it worked for me.  I can't remember who it was but somebody mentioned successfully using that method because he read the post about the failure I experienced on my CS17.  ;D

[BillB]

That clamp method is the way to go, after I too got bit by it.

I used a 2 inch square of 4mm ply on the outside and a drywall screw through to the inside piece of scrap 1x2.

Like this:

Bill B

[Garry]

Yes, I used the patch clamp method on the Spindrift and anticipate using it on the Birder too. ;D

This reminds me of a technique used in mechanical engineering to minimize cracking in metals when there is a stress inducer like the end of the split in the butterfly pattern. The sharp point is a great place for a crack to start. To reduce the chance for cracking, a hole is drilled at the sharp point. This might seem counterintuitive since it is removing material right where the stress is highest. But it works by keeping the stresses from concentrating at the point since the stresses are now spread around the circumference of the hole.

The hole doesn't have to be large, I'm thinking 1/4" for this application. And it would be the place for the screw to pass through to clamp the two patches in place. It seems the hole would be small enough to prevent any unfair bending of the plywood and keep the designed lines.

Do you see any problems with this?

[BillB]

the hole at the end is exactly what I did, for the reasons you describe.

The hole just large enough to allow the screw to pass through without being sloppy or tight.

Bill B

PS. I found that the 2x2 squares flattened where the stitched pieces met and smoothed the transition of the chine to the bow's curve.

[Hirilonde]

The hole technique works well in many applications.  As a kid we used a dishpan to hold the spinnaker ready for launching in our Blue Jay.  Three slits were made in the sides of the dishpan, ending at a drill hole to keep them from expanding, for the 3 corners of the chute.  Not sure this helps you with your quandary Garry, but the technique works well for many applications, and I don't doubt it would help for butterfly slit terminations.

[jollymon258]

Be careful with the fitting of the decks at the bow and stern. the deck needs to transition from arched to basically flat as you approach both ends. Gappitus will happen if you try to maintain the arch all of the way to the ends. Other than that and the washer trick already detailed, it's a pretty straightforward build and a nice performer on the water.

Good luck and enjoy

Marty