Lapwing #5 build

[John Turpin]

Hi Richard,

I originally planned to hunt around for some hardwood for the keel.  I was leaning toward oak, but the only oak that I can get in these parts is Red Oak and it's not a good choice for boat building.  So, I'm sticking with Douglas Fir.  It should be fine, as I'll be installing a keel strap/shoe down the entire keel and over the stem.  I have 316 stainless bar that is 3/4" wide that will protect the keel from damage, so going with the softer Fir should work out fine for me.  The boat will be beached regularly and I just don't want to worry about the state of the keel.

You ask about the line for the shear strake and that's a good one.  I also labored over that.  I didn't want to entirely trust the plank's line above, since that line has been somewhat inherited from the random wandering lines of the planks above (below) it.  So, I wanted a new fair line to work with.  But, there was a step that I needed to perform first.

With this building technique, there is a certain challenge that I'm betting you've noticed.  (Excepting that you're probably a better builder than I and somehow avoided it.)  Because there is so much distance between bulkheads (stations/forms), plywood tends to bow and bulge at times.  And, to make matters worse, previous planks' troublesome bowing tends to make matters worse on the plank at hand.  I didn't want any of this, so before I messed with the shear strake, I wanted to fix all that.  So, after I had the inwale in, I built a temporary form that would run longitudinally and parallel to the inwale.  (This is hard to describe.)  I wanted a (temporary) interior member that matched the inwale, but for the other side (the upward side) of the shear strake.  I took the line from the inwale, shaped the form edge to match this line, and then screwed those bracing boards in place--made from scrap 1X6 stock covered in plastic.  These attached to the bulkheads, running fore and aft, adding inside bracing support to the lower edge of strake #7.  Then, I screwed the lower edge of plank #7 into this form, while leaving room for the landing.  

Once the bottom edge of #7 was under control and running parallel to the inwale, I made a 17' stiff batten and drew a fair landing line on #7.  And, it was remarkably similar to the plank line that was already there.  I drew this new line and used that for my landing.  From there on, it was a snap.  My spiling truss (now dilapidated from repeated use) found the plank form.  And, now, with inwale and temp form bracing behind it, the shear strake went in beatifully.  My interior bracing popped right out and the plywood held the shape of the inwale and temporary forms.

Without that temporary bracing, it would have been very difficult and would never have looked as good.  Tom's method of building over a mold avoids these problems.  I believe that the addition of several temporary forms/stations would greatly help future Lapwing builders and help mitigate these kinds of challenges.  I'll pass that advice on to Graham.  1/4" plywood twisting/bending unsupported for 6+ feet develops a mind of its own at times.  More stations would really help.

Probably more answer there than asked in your question, but it's an important, difficult step.  I'd advise working slowly and thinking a lot.

[Richard Whitney CS#70]

Thanks for that John - yes I can see a challenge coming up.  I am trying to get No. 7 as fair as I can - but will then slow down for the sheer strake to get both edges fair.  One side will be defined by the inwale and for the other it won't matter too much if it overlaps No. 7 in a slightly uneven way as the underside of 7 will be covered.

I might get back to you when I get to that bit - glad yours turned out well.

[John Turpin]

More progress on the masts. Below, my mizzen mast top section is glued up.

And, my outer stem is now in the clamping jig.  With some luck, I'll put the outer stem and keel pieces on tomorrow.

[John Turpin]

The main mast top section goes into clamps. I have much rounding and shaping in my future.

And, before hitting the road for our Thanksgiving Day family get-together, I got the outer stem and keel on. Finishing that important step will make the turkey taste just a little better.

[Travis Votaw]

Wow, John! Looking good.  Ya wanna trade

[John Turpin]

Wow, John! Looking good.  Ya wanna trade

Are you trading your Princess or your unfinished dinghy?

[Hirilonde]

That and having seen Tom's is making me want to build one.  That is some pretty boat!

[lbrewer]

That is really sweet!

[Richard Whitney CS#70]

Hi John

Have just finished gluing up the second side for strake 7.  This one has given me the most problem in terms of bowing/ bulging in an uneven way (caused mainly by pulling in too tight on the rear and mid bulkheads).  I went back and re-read your description of how you approached this by 'flattening out' the edge of No. 7 using a scrap batten on the inside of the boat - attaching No. 8 and then removing the temp batten (does that sound about right?)

Bought some Ash today to use for the stem/keel - will also use it with mahogany for the tiller.  Near the time when I will need to hunker down for filling and sanding.

Also plan to avoid your 'nose job' and attach the inwale at the bow first.

[John Turpin]

Wow, Richard.  You're flying now.  You've made a great deal of progress in a short amount of time.  Soon, you'll be amazed at how beautiful the hull looks.  Putting that shear strake on is a great experience.

All my time is now spent sanding and filling and sanding.  I spent hours yesterday carefully smoothing in fillets for every lap.  I'm not posting photos these days, because there's not much to show.  I'll go back out there later today and sand the boat again, to knock down the curtains and ripples and shine from last night's coat of epoxy.  I also need to do some filleting at the keel/hull joints.

I now have two coats of epoxy on the boat and I need to add one more before paint.  I also have some fairing to do, but I don't plan to get all fanatical about it.  A lapstrake boat just doesn't need that much, IMHO.  I'll be concentrating on the scarfs and places where my longboard doesn't erase light pencil marks.  With some luck and inhuman progress, I should start painting in a week.  Unfortunately, it's already cold and rainy outside, so I may have just delayed too long for optimal painting conditions.  I may have to find some portable heaters for my workspace.

Here's what my poor boat looks like. I'm going through 5" sanding pads faster than my kids go through Mountain Dew.

[John Turpin]

It's cold and wintery in Oklahoma. I spent about four hours in the frigid workshop today sanding.   Then, cold and dusty, I came into the house and ordered a portable heater.  I'd hoped to have started painting by now, but it didn't happen.  I've been traveling a ton for work and sanding has gone on much longer than expected.  Also, I've now decided to add some mahogany veneer to the transom, so that will add a week or so to my pre-painting work.   Anyway, cold weather got here at last.  And, if I'm going to be able to finish the hull, I'm going to need a heated workspace.

[John Turpin]

The third and last coat of epoxy went on the hull's exterior today. In this cold weather, I have no idea how long it will take to harden.  

And, I also returned to my masts. I needed a way to round my birdsmouth mast top sections. I don't have a lathe, so I made this kewl lathe jig.  The jig even let me put in the needed taper.   A few passes past my table saw blade and presto!

[Richard Whitney CS#70]

Nice mast tips.  I am using windsurfing mast tips.  Have my masts assembled, sail track riveted and ready for painting.

I have attached the inwales - but when I got ready to do Strake 8 it became clear that Strake 7 was on too much of an angle (would have had 'tumblehome' the length of the boat.  It has meant removing 3/4 of stake 7 on both sides and redoing those bits (which I have just finished).  A backwards step but it had to be done.  Hard to take to an existing strake with a hammer and chisel.

Are you going to paint and/or undercoat before you turn her over?

[John Turpin]

After some fairing, I'll paint the hull before flipping it. I will leave the shear strake unpainted, as I plan to do the gunwale/rubrail work after the boat is upright.  I may brush it or spray it (if I can borrow a buddy's spray rig).

But, I won't turn the boat soon. I want that paint nice and hard before it sits on a cradle.

You did the right thing with your ill fitting planks. I wish I'd done that on plank #3.

[John Turpin]

Could the lathe jig get any more cool?  I say yes.  Today, it became an actual lathe.

Follow this link to see the lathe spin!:  http://www.svbluepeter.com/lapwing_images/Lathedemo.wmv

[John Turpin]

I've decided to finish the transom 'bright'. So, I picked up some two-ply ribbon-stripe mahogany veneer. I plan to put this on both the transom and fore deck.  Eventually, I'll add some 6 oz. cloth to protect the veneer. I'd do it tomorrow, but I've run out of epoxy AGAIN.

[John Turpin]

Whew. Finally home from a killer business trip. I just spent a week in North Dakota experiencing -30 temperatures.   By comparison, Oklahoma's winter temps are nothing to complain about.

I was able to put some 6oz. cloth on the transom. The photo below is the new mahogany with the cloth and two coats of epoxy.   I've also got that final, third coat of hull epoxy sanded down.  Now for some final filling and fairing.  I'm no more than a week away from paint.

[Richard Whitney CS#70]

Blue Peter - Great name.  You are making real progress John - and in in-climate conditions.  We have guests over Christmas and then away for our summer holidays - so have done very little (happy to be planked up though.)  I am thinking of finishing my stern and decks bright as well (may also do the sheerstrake)  - was thinking of just varnishing the okume - but might explore what veneer is available here.  Keep up the good work.

[John Turpin]

We have guests over Christmas

You know, by handing out sanding blocks to those guests, you could make some nice progress.  Think of it as a new Christmas tradition.

[John Turpin]

My painter arrives with his spray rig on Sunday. So I have six days to finish the hull.   Today, I spent endless hours sanding with my long board.  After finding those low and high spots, I filled with epoxy and micro balloons. Or micro spheres.  I can't remember what they are.  Just checked. They're micro balloons.