BARRYFOY Posted April 9, 2011 Report Share Posted April 9, 2011 I have a new Spindrift 11N kit, have started assembly, and would like to get help and advice from the community (since it doesn't seem fair to just bug poor Graham constantly!) Background: I belong to the Crystal River Boat Builders here in Florida, which is a volunteer group set up to do outreach and education while building traditional craft, using traditional methods and tools. Here is a link to our webpage: http://www.tsca.net/CRBB/. I have taken several courses at the WoodenBoat School in Maine -- where, last summer, I met Graham and was introduced to his Spindrift. But, while I have worked on boats, I have not yet built one of my own. I chose this Spindrift 11N, since it will fit into the back of my truck, allowing me to tow my travel trailer and yet have a decent boat for my wife and I to explore with. Testimonial: I drove up to B&B to pick up my kit, plus other materials for myself and other members of the CRBB. B&B's excellent prices, plus the couple of hours Graham, his daughter Amanda, and his staff spent with me made the trip extremely worthwhile. The experienced boatbuilders in the CRBB who have seen the kit and plans are very impressed with their quality and completeness. Questions: -I am getting ready to open up the butterflies and start wiring the boat into shape. I have assembled the transom and the dividing bulkheads. For convenience, I would like to go ahead and put a coat of epoxy on the transom and bulkheads before wiring them into the hull. Is this wise? Will it interfere with later steps? -I plan to use my Japanese-style saw to cut the hull in half when the time comes. This saw has a very thin kerf, and no set to the teeth. As bulkhead seperator pieces, I was planning to use card board only slightly thicker than the saw. A colleague suggest I might wish to double the thickness of the pieces. Thoughts? -Any other warnings/suggestions? Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter HK Posted April 9, 2011 Report Share Posted April 9, 2011 -I plan to use my Japanese-style saw to cut the hull in half when the time comes. This saw has a very thin kerf, and no set to the teeth. As bulkhead seperator pieces, I was planning to use card board only slightly thicker than the saw. A colleague suggest I might wish to double the thickness of the pieces. Thoughts? I'm building a Two Paw which I have not yet cut, but I left a gap that was big enough for my standard saw in case I ended up using that rather than the Japanese pull saw as I'm not sure which will do the job better. I suspect it will be the pull saw but I wanted to have the option. I can't see a downside to a larger gap as we're only talking a couple of mm. Cheers Peter HK Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Designer Posted April 10, 2011 Report Share Posted April 10, 2011 I have only cut one boat in halves with a Japanese pull saw and I did not like it. I am comfortable with a pull say but I found that with little set on the teeth that it was difficult to push the saw back in for the next stroke. You can see the chisel used as a wedge to help open up the kerf. This photo was taken at the Woodenboat School. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BARRYFOY Posted April 10, 2011 Author Report Share Posted April 10, 2011 Excellent points about sawing the boat. I will go with thicker spacers, and a saw with some set to its teeth. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kyle H. Posted April 10, 2011 Report Share Posted April 10, 2011 I have always used my Japanese saw with a more horizontal angle, rather than vertical. I cut my teeth on these saws; as a child, my Marine father was stationed in the Orient and made sure that I could use this saw "properly." But seeing that you were at The Wooden Boat School, I would image that they would not steer you wrong...hmmmm... And yes, I was the only girl on my block with my own little set of tools. The Japanese saw I use has a stiffer blade than the most recent one I purchased at Home Depot..it is very flimsy. I still have the one Dad gave me back in 1961. Kyle Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hirilonde Posted April 10, 2011 Report Share Posted April 10, 2011 I put a couple layers of masking tape folded over the end of the small cross-cut I used. This kept the tip in the center of the space and the off-set teeth from scratching the faces of the nesting bulkheads. It still scared the bacheepers out of me doing the cut, but it went easily and came out well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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