New Spindrift 10N Build Underway

[Tumalo]

Okay . . ."underway" insofar as I opened the pack from B&B and have been staring at the plans for two days now!!!  Anyway, I guess this will be the first of many posts seeking wisdom from the resident veteran boat builders.  After a lot of head scratching with the plans here goes my first 'stupid' question.  How do I ensure the drilled pattern for stitching is mated between the hull and the chine so that when I "open the book" the holes line up?  Is it simply drill a hole every 6" on center on the chine and the hull and "hope" they line up or is there a technique to stack and drill so they mate.

Thanks in advance . . .pictures will be forthcoming when the epoxy starts to spill.

Best,

Chuck

[cdunc]

IIRC, you only drill the holes in one piece and drill the holes in the second piece once you have unfolded it.

Craig

[Tumalo]

Thanks.  Was just confused because the plans show a couple holes in the bottom piece that seem to connect with holes on the chine.

[Howard]

As I remember it, the only parts you can stack and drill together are the two bottom panels, joined along the centerline. You wire those together at the same time. When you open the "book", the keel joint is formed. The side panels are then pulled together along the chine and bow sections. The holes you drill for these only need to be close enough they will draw the bottom and side panels together. The wire or zip ties are simply holding the joints in place until you can dab a little epoxy along the joints to hold them. The ties can and should be a little loose until you get it all together and adjusted to suit you. A tweak here. A half twist there. Round and around vs. all at once in once spot. The goal is to get both sides matched up as near to identical as you can get them. No going back after you epoxy the joints together.

[Howard]

One more thing. On the butterfly joint you tape near the bow chine, before you open the book, use a fast hardener and give that plenty of time to cure. It will be under a tremendous strain and anything but a well cured section of taped joint may not hold. It looks hard after 24 hours or so, but it isn't. If I had the time, I'd give it 3 days minimum.

[Clung]

Hi Chuck - and welcome.  I stacked and stitched the keel as mentioned, then drilled and stitched the chine after the fold and as I worked my way back from the butterfly.  There was a lot of stress at that point, and I drilled and wired the butterfly and bow on 3" centers and still needed blocks screwed together at the butterfly to keep it from cracking.  But it's not as difficult as it sounds.  It's amazing to see a 3D shape with nice curves appear before your eyes.  Good luck on your build!

[wayfarer3130]

I just unfolded mine last week - make sure you use a full 12" of tape on the butterfly connecting the sides, and use a reasonably strong wire to wire the center/forward part of the boat - when they say tie the keel line loosely, it is only a bit loose.  I stripped some regular house wire that I had lying around of it's insulation and used that - it isn't that much wire you need and the copper is big enough to not pull through the wood like small diameter steel would do.  I still managed to break 3-4 pieces of wire, but mostly I could snug it up with the wire.  I did find it very hard to get the first bulkhead in place - I ended up cutting the sides a bit to make everything fit, but it looks nice now, so I think it is going ok.  I've now cut my boat in half and it is waiting in the basement to be carried outside for sanding and clean up - although I might install the seats before I do that depending on the weather. 

Bill

[Hirilonde]

The wire or zip ties are simply holding the joints in place until you can dab a little epoxy along the joints to hold them. 

Or until you have completed the interior filets and taping.  Some of us skip the spot weld stage and do the filiet and taping process on the interior as a non-stop process. This way you avoid the need to sand and clean between applications of epoxy.  To do this you need a large block of time. But I like the significant savings in over all time, and anything that saves on sanding is a good idea in my mind.

[Peter HK]

Some of us skip the spot weld stage and do the filiet and taping process on the interior as a non-stop process. This way you avoid the need to sand and clean between applications of epoxy.

I just put a little thickened epoxy in the joints between the ties one evening and the next morning removed the wires and filleted and glassed over the whole lot...no sanding required if the epoxy is still fresh enough.