Building Core Sound 17 "Ghost Rider"

[MattandTru]

Hi everyone

We have had our kit for 4 weeks and have the hull wired.  We are about to glue in the longitudinal bulkheads, and make the inwales.

We have watched Alan's video about the inwales about 5 times but could still use some advice.

[Paul356]

Hey, glad to see you're underway!

 

  I scarfed stock together to get inwales long enough.  I put the scarfs toward the stern where there is no tension.  The struggle is getting the inwales to bend in at the bow.  It was definitely a struggle and ended up being a matter of brute force, and then clamping back in against the curve of the topsides.  Make sure your forward bulkhead is solid.  Definitely do a dry fit first, then try slipping the inwale up/in just enough to apply the epoxy.  It will be important to have the front end of each inwale trimmed to length in order to slide down in.  I was amazed at how much shorter the length was inside the boat than just above the topside. 

 

One thing I did was cut the forward end of the inwale at 90 degrees to the topside, rather than trying to fit a miter joint at the front.  you can add a block later if needed, or fill with epoxy.  It makes the fitting much easier. 

 

It's hard to describe and I'm not sure how much all that helps.  Have lots of clamps and screws ready.  The further I get into the project, the more liberal I am using sheetrock screws to hold things.  I figure there isn't going to be much difference filling a dozen holes or a few dozen holes when the time comes. 

 

p.s.  Invitation to stop by still stands if you find yourself in Milwaukee.

[Paul356]

One thought, and you may have done this, but make sure to get the temporary middle bulkhead in before you glue the longitudinals, etc., in order to make sure you have the right hull shape in through the middle.

[LennieG]

Welcome to the adventure! What is the hull #?

see page 2 of my thread....you will find there is a lot of tension as the inwales go in. Have a couple sets of strong hands on board, and see mahogany vs fir remarks. If I recall I removed the stitches after inwales went in and then glued, As there is so much tension involved and the shape is defined during this install, I think you may want to glue bulkheads after, when shape is set.

 

i left top 6" of stern without stitches, then put inwales in and extended them past bow by an inch, then cut a line up the middle and it came out with a pretty good joint up front. Have some large strong clamps at the ready and some long wood screws (will be temp).

 

good luck with this piece

[LennieG]

I may have the sequence wrong on gluing the bulkheads....can't specifically remember, but instructions on that sequence are clear I am sure.

[Dnjost]

Don't glue in the bulkhead that is forward of the transom (aft deck version), as it will interfere with putting in the internal keel batten.  Also, as opposed to Bolger's instant boats, don't put in limber holes for drainage.  These are to be isolated compartments.  

[MattandTru]

When do we remove the wires on the keel? Over all, what is the sequence from keel with just wires to keel batten?

[MattandTru]

hello all, 

Wondering if anyone has done the inwales by laminating 2 pieces at 3/8" instead of wrestling the 3/4 inch pieces.  I even considered the possibility of kerfing just the bow end, the last 5 feet or so, skinny pull saw,  with a fine kerf cut so it would make the bend easily, and wetting the inside of the kerf and clamping it all back together in place in one go.  

Crazy idea?  

I think the risk would be at the transition point between the kerfed and not kerfed part being too abrupt.  

We have nice antique straight grain fir, 12 foot pieces, that we have made up,  we'll need to scarf at 6 feet from the transom.  

We don't actually know our hull number, btw.  Where is it?  Call Graham?  

-Matt 

[Dnjost]

You should not have any trouble bending the 3/4" fir as long as the grain is straight.  If I remember correctly, the bending of this piece helps to shape the hull, so I would go with the specified dimensions.  Many boats have been built with this method. why mess with it?  

 

One caveat,  Wire in your center seam all the way to the transom tight, if not you will get a whale tale that will become evident the day you flip the boat over. I got most of mine out, but lost most of the summer dealing with it.  

[Paul356]

Graham or Carla will have your hull number.  Kerfing the last 5 feet or so will work fine if nothing else seems possible.  See how much bend you think your strips will take and go from there, I'd say.  I left the keel wires in and tabbed in some thickened epoxy between them before taking the wires out as I got ready to put the keel in. Graham had a good tip on getting the bottom halves to close up tight at the rear to avoid the whale-tail problem djnost mentions, which is to jam in a support from below right at the end of the panels, which will bring them together so you can glue them tight.  I didn't hear that tip until after I'd done my panels but would have tried it and I dont think it would take much of that upward pressure to get the panels tight. Make sure all of the bulkheads are in place and fitting tightly (either dry or glued as the case may be) as you do things that fix the final hull shape -- like putting in inwales.

[Designer]

Do not kerf the inwales. It will be too soft where you need the stiffness to fair the sheer line. It is better not to glue the forward bulkhead before the inwale is installed.

 

It is not that hard the bend them around especially if you do not use fir, watch Alan's video again.

[Paul356]

I defer to Graham on kerfing, of course.  I guess I was thinking of kerfing and filling the kerf with epoxy, so you'd have a laminated inwale.  On further review, that's a nice idea but I'm not sure how you'd make it work in practice.    My inwales are Douglas fir.  I used a lot of muscle to get them into position, but I never felt they were close to cracking.

[Dnjost]

My Inwales are cedar, they bent easily as long as the grain was longitudinal and not horizontal.  

 

This piece did not work out so well. Note the direction of the grain. 

 

[MattandTru]

We used fir for our inwales and scarfed a joint in the middle and it worked.  

What would you say comes next.

Keel batten?

[LennieG]

sorry I am at the mess about without my assembly instructions but if I can access them I will respond in next couple days. The assembly instructions were very good, sequential and answer all those questions, and I think included steps through keel batten install. If you don't have them I would encourage you to get them. Feel free to call me at 239-273-2234.

[MattandTru]

where are the assembly instructions? on the C.D?  We looked for them and did not see them.

[MattandTru]

Here is a pic of our inwales going in.  went pretty well.  we had some old very straight grain fir that was 12 feet long, so we needed a scarf joint but that worked out great.  so far so good.  transom pieces today perhaps.  some taping and filleting.  

[Ken_Potts]

If the plans are similar to when I built Southbound, the assembly instructions are among the 8-1/2 x 11 sheets.  The 11 x 17 pages have all the pretty pictures but it's good to pay attention to the small pages too.

I managed to forget about the small pages at some point in my build and I was happy when I rediscovered them.

[Hirilonde]

The 11 x 17 pages have all the pretty pictures but it's good to pay attention to the small pages too.

I managed to forget about the small pages at some point in my build and I was happy when I rediscovered them.

I have been know to suffer from this malady as well.  Remember, when in doubt, read the instructions. 

[LennieG]

When I received my kit there was a package of 8x11's that included hull # and certification and a pack of assembly instructions, probably 12 pages long. Important.