Mudlark 1

   About three years ago I was told that I had cancer in the throat.  I smoked about 20 cigs a day since I was about 14 so it was no suprised, when I heard the news.  However, I needed a project to keep me from brooding about things and not something that would last only a few months but a project that would take about a year and keep me occupied all during my treatment. So I decided that I would build a boat.

  I searched the web for boat plans and finally I settled on a design by Ian Oughtred. The boat plans were for a boat which was to have a drop keel and a set of sails. I only wanted a boat to go out fishing on a clam sunny day using an outboard and to try catch a few Mackerel in the summer, so I was going to have to change the design as I went along. The design and plans were for a Tammie Norrie boat, and I got the Plans and the Kit from Jordan Boats (jordonboats.co.uk).

  The Kit and the plans arrived about a week or 10 days after I placed the order.  It was made up of   seven moulds which are made out of MDF and are cut to the internal shape of the hull, each plank of the boat should land on an exact position on each mould (this is a great help in getting the shape of the hull). It also contained three sheets of Marine Ply, which were marked with the shape of every plank of the boat.  These were partly cut which made it easy to cut out each plank as you required it.

  The first thing that had to be built was a Building Frame.  This is a trestle made up from    3 x 1 1/2" timbers and is like a table that the boat will sit on as it is being built. The Tammie Norrie design is LOL 13'-6", Beam 4'-5 1/2", Depth 20", so the building frame had to be that size or bigger. It also had to be at least 15" high for ease when working on the boat. This all may sound a bit complicated, but a building frame is like a table without the tabletop on.


  On the frame you run a string from the centre of the front to the centre of the back of the frame.  This is now your centreline of the boat. Then you mark out the position of your moulds every 19 1/2" down along each side of the frame. A 2"x 2" piece of timber is glued or screwed to the building frame side of the moulds. These are then screwed to the building frame and braced where needed.

Fig. 1


  The front of the building frame is where the bow of the boat will be, here you put the Apron of the boat. You screw it to the building frame and your moulds are spaced every 19 1/2" from the Apron. An Apron is made from a 4"x1 1/2" bit of Iroko and is cut to the shape of the front of the keel. I had to glue two pieces of timber at right angles to each other and then cut out the Apron from them. (it took two goes as the first went out of line as the blade in the gig saw was not a good brand, you get what you pay for was a lesson learned building
this boat).





To the back or the place where the stern will sit you cut out the Transom from 7/8"x12" Iroko planks.
I had to glue two planks together and then cut them out to the shape on the plans (which were full size).

                                                              Fig. 2




I was reading over what I wrote last night and it struck me that I am going to be using words that you may not be too familiar with (like I was before I started building the boat). So I think that I should try and explain a few terms to you before I go any further with this blog.

Amidships   At or near the centre of the hull

Apron  When you look at the bow of a finished boat and you are looking at the keel where it curves up out of the water to the gunwale. Well the bit you see on the outside of the boat is the Stem and the bit that you see on the inside of the hull is called the Apron. What happens is the Apron is shaped to let the planks of the hull lie flat and then another piece of timber, called the Stem, is fitted snug over the planks and parallel to the Apron. See Fig.1 The curved bit of oak is the Apron,

Backbone  The centreline structure of the hull, consisting of the Keelson, Keel, Stem and Transom.

Beam   Usually a term used to explain the width of a boat at its widest part. This boat has a beam of  4'-5 1/2",

Bilge  The lowest part of the inside of the hull, where Bilge Water collects.

Bilge Keel   A short piece of timber, fitted below the turn of the bilge, to protect the hull when it is on dry land.


Body Plan   Plan showing the hull viewed on one side from the bows and the other side from the stern.  It should show waterlines, sections and stations and diagonals.

Breasthook A horizontal knee fitted into the boy at sheer height, tying the gunwales, and the port and starboard planks to each other and to the Stem.

Cleat   A short piece of timber used to tie a line to.

Clinker   A type of planking laid in such a way that each plank overlaps the previous one.  This boat has plywood planks and so it is a clinker ply boat. Also known as Lapstrake.

Dry Run  Often when I had a plank ready to put onto the boat, I would fit it in place with clamps etc. to check that it was right before I glued it in place. Also known as Offer Up

Fastenings   Screws, nails , clamps, bolts, staples glue etc., Anything used to hold two pieces of wood together permanently.

Flare  The increase in bean (width) from the turn of the bilge to the sheer.

Front  Landlubbers term for the bow of a boat.

Freeboard  The height of the hull above the waterline.

Garboard   The first plank of the hull, closest to the keel and very difficult to replace.

Gunwale   The main structural members running fore and aft at the top of the topsides.

Hog  The inner keel, to which the Garboard Planks are fastened to. In plywood boats known as a Keelson.

Keel  The main backbone member, rebated for planking.  In plywood boats the keel is made up of the Keelson, with the planking fitted outside and an outer keel then fitted.

Keelson  See Hog.

Lands/Laps/Overlaps  The area where one plank overlaps another.

Lines  The shape of the hull showing the Profile, Plan and Sections.

Moulds  Temporary patterns cut to the shapes of sections.  They give the shape to the hull as the planking is laid on them.

Offer UP  see dry run.

Painter  The lines used to secure a boat by the bow, or for towing.

Plank/Planking   The skin of the hull, or the material it is made of as a whole or the word Plank to indicate each board.

Port  The left hand side of the boat when looking forward.

Profile  The side view of the hull.

Quarter Knee  A piece of timber (knee) joining the Transom and Gunwale.

Rabbet  A groove made the length of the keel, on each side, to accomadate the Garboard.

Rubbing Strake  Protective stringer in the form of a strip placed on the outside of the hull, usually at the Gunwale, Keel or Bilge. Used as a sacrifical piece of timber that can be replaced.

Scarf  Joining of two pieces of timber to make a whole Piece. The two ends to be joined are tapered and overlapped, then glued together.

Stem  Main timber situated at the forward end of the Keel.  In plywood constructed boats it is usually in two parts.  The inner Stem or Apron, is usually bevelled to help with the lands of the planking.

Starboard  The right hand side of the boat when looking forward.

Strake  The whole length of a plank, from the bow to the stern, even if it is made up of several parts.

Thwart  Transverse horizontal seats which also tie the holl together transversely.  They are very important strengthening members in small boats.

Transom  Flat stern of a boat, which is made of a single board or made from several planks.



So to return to building a boat.





Fig. 3








The Apron, I cut from two pieces of Iroko, which I glued together at right angles to each other to form a letter L. The glue was an Epoxy Resin and when it was set, I was amazed at its strength.   I screwed the Apron to the forward end of the building frame.  Then I faired it, to its forward face and I marked the lands of the planks. These I got from the plans, which were shown full size.






 


Fig 4











                                                                                 Fig.5


The Hog (inner Keel) was made from two lengths of Iroko 1"x 3 3/4".  They were Glued together and then Glued and clamped to the Apron and screwed and glued to the Transom.  The entire length of the hog fits into ready made slots cut out of the moulds.   The Hog is faired using a flexible batton which is run over the moulds and over the Hog.  The batton is used to make the fairing on the Hog even so the Garboard planks land evenly on the hog.  This will require patience and a good plane.









Use a scrap piece of ply to check the fairing of the moulds and on the Stem and Transom.  This can vary from plank to plank






Fig. 6
Picture Supplied by Jordan Boats, who supplied the Kit

Each plank needs to be offered up before glue is applied to check it





Fig. 7
Picture Supplied by Jordan Boats, who supplied the Kit















They were Glued together


Fig. 8
                      











                                        Screwed and glued to the Transom
                         

                                          Fig. 9

 

 

 
The fairing on the Transom for the lands of the planks is formed using a batton and then a fine saw can be used to make many fine cuts to ease the chisel work.




Fig. 10
Picture supplied by Jordan Boats, who supplied the Kit

Leaving it smooth and fair for the plank to land on




Fig. 11   Picture supplied by Jordan Boats, who supplied the Kit











Finally the sheer plank is offered up to obtain the correct angle on the lip of the Transom









Fig. 12
Picture supplied by Jordan Boats, who supplied the Kit



 

 

 

When building a boat one of the things that you will need is clamps.  I had about 10 clamps which you buy in any hardware store.  They opened to about 12".  I also cut homemade timber clamps out of an 8'x4' x1/2" sheet of ply.  They measured aprox. 2'x1' and I cut a 2"X15" slot out of the middle of each.  I got about 20 out of the sheet.  I also mad about 30 wedges out of a plank 10'x2"x2".  I found that you can't have too many clamps or wedges.  See Fig. 9

 

 

 

 

                                                                                       

 

 

                                                                                    Fig. 13

 

 

I suppose I should give you some idea of the tools that you will need to build a boat.  I had a few measuring tapes (i am not the tidiest and the garage is used by the entire house to dump things in i.e Golf clubs trolley cars etc.) you will need a tape which is easy to read and at least 10! long.

I also had a 12" steel straight edge and two Try Squares of different lengths.

A Spirit level

 

Saws. 

The following saws are essential

A Hand saw, a Tendon saw, a Hack saw, an Electric Gig Saw .

The following saws are optional

An Electric Chop Saw, An Electric Table Saw,

 

You will need about 4 or 5 Chisels from 1/2" to 1 1/2".  It is money well spent to get a good brand of Chisels that will hold their edge when in use.

 

I had 3 Planes,  An Electric Plane and 2 Block planes

 

You will need a Claw Hammer and a small Hammer for Panel Pins, a Mallet.

 

You will need a set of Screwdrivers

 

An Electric Band Sander, An Electric Drill, Electric Screwdriver (optional), an Electric Hair Dryer, An Electric Router.

 

Clamps

 

Drill Bits and Blades for the saws, Stanley Knife,Sandpaper, Scrapers.

 

I found it difficult to get hold of syringes which were needed to fill any gaps in the planks with Epoxy.  I got some in the chemist when I explained what I needed them for and that I did not need the needles with them.

 

 

 

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The first thing I had to do when I got the Kit from Jordan Boats, was to label the planks on the sheets of ply.  I marked them by placing a wide piece of masking tape on each plank, and calling it P1,P2, P3 etc.  With the Kit I got a sheet with a Layout Diagram of each Plank  If I did not do this I would have had a hard job trying to decide which plank was which.

Fig. 14

Picture supplied by Jordan Boats, who supplied the Kit

After I marked up the Planks, I cut them from the sheets of Ply using an Electric Gig Saw.  I then Planed down the tabs to give a fair edge to each plank.

Fig. 15

Picture supplied by Jordan Boats, who supplied the Kit

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The boat I am building is almost 14’ long and the Planks are from sheets of Ply that are only 8’ long,  So, this means, that I have to join two pieces of ply together  in order to make one long plank. I have to use Scarph Joints to join the pieces together.  A Scarph Joint is where you cut each piece of timber at an angle of about 20* and then glue them together, using Epoxy.  This is easy on a big bit of  timber , but when you are trying to cut two  ½” bits of Ply so that they sit accurately together it is not as easy.  There are a number of ways of doing it, and several sites on the web describing how and clips on

U-tube showing you ways.

 

I tried three ways on scrap bits of Ply.

I used a Belt Sander, which was ok but found that I would need a bit of practice as the Sander was in the way, and it was hard to see what was happening until it was too late.

 

 

I tried using a Plane and found that I had much more control.  The only real problem seemed to be, that the edges at times were a little frayed.  Again I think practice would solve this problem.

 

 

Fig. 16  Picture supplied by Jordan Boats, who supplied the Kit

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I had a router that I had never used before (it came free with chop saw I got), I had seen it been used to cut joints on the web so decided to try it.  I was amazed at the result.  Scarph Joints cut quickly and accurately. Just a few passes across the Ply and there you go a lovely neat joint.  It did take a little bit of setting up, but it was well worth it.  So I would say beg, plead or borrow a router if you can.  It will save you lots of time.

 

Fig. 17    Picture supplied by Jordan Boats, who supplied the Kit

 

On the Planks that come with the Kit, are tiny holes, that are drilled at the location of each Mould.  This is a great help when you are aligning the plank to the hull, when you are gluing up.  They also put a small hole at the centre point of each Scarph Joint (see Fig. 17). This hole is the vital element in lining up the Plank to get the correct shape when I glue up the Scarph Joint. The Kit came with a Scarph line-up diagram (see Fig. 18 which is of a Puffin boat)

 

I needed to put two trestle tables together to give me the length of flat surface, to lay the two pieces of Ply out on that make up the plank. In the Diagram  (Fig. 18)   the tiny holes are shown by red crosshairs.  I line up the Plank by using three Panel Pins and a thin length of string or a strong thread.

 

Fig. 18    Picture supplied by Jordan Boats, who supplied the Kit

 

 

 

In the diagram (Fig. 18) the holes are shown as red crosshairs.  I put a panel Pin in a hole the longest distance from the Scarph Joint on one half of the Plank.  Another Panel Pin in the Scarph Joint hole.  The third Panel Pin I put in the other half of the Plank. By running a length of string from the first Panel Pin to the third Panel Pin and adjusting the Planks so that the string, just touches the second Panel Pin (in the Scarph Joint), I  had the  Plank perfectly aligned.  With the Plank still in place, I hammered the Pins into the trestle tables.  I then cut the heads off the Pins and lifted the plank off the table.  I put a strip of plastic on the table where the Scarph Joint would be.  Then I replaced the Plank on the Pins and glued the Scarph Joint. I covered the Plank at the Joint with Plastic and clamped it and left it to set.

Fig. 19    Picture supplied by Jordan Boats, who supplied the Kit


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Fig. 20

 

 

 

Fig 21
 

 

 

 Fig.22

Fig 23

 

OK, there comes a time in every project when you have to bite the bullet.  I had cut out the Planks and I had Scarph Joints cut and glued to them all.  The Garboard Planks, were the first Planks to be put on.  I offered them up several times and did loads of little adjustments. I would go out to the workshop almost every evening and offer them up to see if they were correct. I would shave a bit off here and there, but never glue (Epoxy) them in place as I was afraid that I would have them wrong.  In the end I got fed up looking at them and just went for it. Before I glued the Plank in position I placed a bit of Plastic over the Mould to protect it,                                        Fig. 24

 

 

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 The Epoxy glue that came with the Kit is very strong and hard to get off areas that it lands on. So if I was to build a boat over again,  I think I would get a few rolls of duck tape, and when I offer up the planks before I epoxy them, I would put tape on the planks.  Then when the planks are put in place using Epoxy and clamps, the glue that leaks out would land on the duck tape, and you could take it off after an hour or so.  That would make the cleaning much easier.




Fig. 25
Planks 2 set






After the Epoxy has set and all the clamps are removed, then I can start to clean off the excess Epoxy that had leaked or had fallen on places that should be nice and clean.  I used a heat gun, which is normally used to remove paint.  I found this to be too hot and it was inclined to burn the plank (like a piece of toast) if I was not careful and giving it my full attention.  So I decided to try the hair dryer instead and it worked great.   What I could not do was clean the inside of the planks, thaat would have to wait until I turned the boat over. The outside was hard enough.  Heating the Epoxy and then scraping it with a paint scraper and at times an old chisel, all the time being careful not to do damage to the plank. It took almost two hours to do one side of one plank.


Fig. 26
Stern View

 

 

 

Fig. 27

Joint of right hand plank is after been cleaned

 

 

 

 

The way I worked was this,  I would do a dry run with the plank for each side of the boat and fix anything that need to be fixed with the planks that were to be glued on one day. The following day I would Glue the planks in place, and then the third day I would remove the clamps and start to clean the excess Epoxy from the new plank on one side of the boat.  The following day I would clean the other plank. I did not spend a full day working on the boat, it usually was about 2 hours after I came home from work.  So in all I would say I would lay two planks a week.  Later on I was only able to one plank at a time.  I did not work on the boat every night, or even every week.  I found that there were times when I was too tired due to the radium I was getting treated with. Then there were times that I was fed up with it, as it seemed to be going on forever and not progressing as I hoped.  There was no point in trying to do something if your not in the mood so I left it for a month at times, however I found that I would go out and look at the work I had done, and what had to be done. By doing this I found that I would get a better understanding of the terms used in the instructions, and also understsnd the plans better.  So the time was not totally wasted.



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 Fig. 28

 

When I glue a plank in place, I then have to cut a rebate in the Bow and stern sections of the plank (after it has dried),   Also the plan will have to be bevelled so that the next plank will land as flush as possible when it is being put in place.  The bevel is checked as often as possible by laying a plane against the mould land for the next plank.

 

                                        Fig. 29

                                          Bow rebate on Plank 2

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fig. 30

 

Bevel

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

To help me make an even rebate at the bow and stern , I use a steel straight edge, which I clamped to the plank edge.  I then use a Stanley Knife to cut the ply along the steel edge and by using a sharp chisel , I can cut out the rebate and finish it with a rabbet plane. At the bow section of the plank I would be have to remove most of the ply, down almost to the last sheet of the ply.

                                                    Fig. 31
Bevel so next Plank will have a decent land

 




 



Fig. 32
Bevel looking forward

 

 

Fig. 33

The bevel is checked as often as possible by laying a plane against the mould land for the next plank.

 

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Sorry for not doing a blog every day.  I help out a friend with some special effects on films and ads. every now and again.  That has happened over the past few days and hence the blog can be a bit hit and miss.

 

I think I have explained the way I put the first two planks on the boat, as best as I can.  The rest of the planks I put on the same way. see pictures below.

Ok so we have established more or less how to put th eboat together, by placing one plank on the other.

 

                                                                                      Fig. 34 PLank 4

 



 Fig. 35 Plank 4

 

 

Fig 36  Plank 5

 

Fig. 37 Plank 6



 

Fig. 37 Plank 6  other side

 

 

 

Fig. 38 Plank 6

Fig 39 Plank 7

                                        Fig. 38 Plank 7

Fig. 40 Plank 7

Fig. 41 Plank 8  hull finished

 

 

 



 



Fig. 42 Plank 8 Hull finished

 

 

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In Fig, 42 , what you see is the hull fully planked out and all the surplus epoxy has been cleaned off.  It took me about 2 weeks to clean the hull. I did a plank a night and it took that length to do it properly.

 

When I checked the planks and the epoxy I noticed that there was little gaps where the epoxy had not squeezed out, this did not mean that the plank was not glued properly.  It was just that the joint did not look smooth due to the little gap in the epoxy. To overcome this I used syringe which I filled with epoxy and squeezed the epoxy along the joint of each plank.  The epoxy would last about 10 to 15 mins. before it gets too solid to be pushed through a syringe..  I got too different sizes of syringe a big one and one that is about twice the size your doctor uses.  I found the big one wasted the epoxy and the smaller version was the best.   I needed a full box of syringes which I got in my local Chemist, Pharmacy.

 

 

 

The Stem (outer Keel at the bow) was made from two lengths of Iroko 1"x 3 3/4". They were Glued together and then cut using a gig saw with a good quality blade.  The piece of Iroko that I had cut the hog from, I used as a template to cut the Stem from.  The stem fitted so well that it could have been put in place with epoxy only, however  I used screws as well.

 

                                                                                 Fig. 43

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 The Skeg (the outer keel at the stern) again was cut from a bit of Iroko 1” X 6”.  I cut a bit of cardboard to the shape of the stern of the boat and used this as a template to cut the skeg from.  This I then glued and screwed to the keelson.

 

Fig. 44

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

                                                              Fig. 45

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The outer Keel I then cut from a bit of 1” wide Iroko and glued and screwed this to the Keelson.

Fig. 46





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Well at this stage I have most of the work done on the outer hull. I had a few bits of Iroko left over so I made two bilge keels out of them and glued them in place.





I got four strips of Iroko which were 1” x ½” x 15’. These I placed on each side of the hull as rubbing strakes. I glued two each side and clamped them in place.




                                                       Fig. 47











Fig. 48













                                                             Fig. 49













Fig. 50















                                                              Fig. 51











Fig. 52





After cleaning and sanding the hull, I covered the Iroko with some masking tape. Then I painted the hull with a undercoat of good quality marine paint. Things seemed to be going along fine.








                                                                                    Fig. 53




















Fig. 54























I then turned the hull over and realised that I was really only half way there.



                                                                                Fig. 55





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    Fig.56


 Well when I put the boat back into the garage (the right way up), I realised that the hardest part of building a boat is the cleaning off glue and the sanding that is involved. I started to clean up the epoxy that had spilled and it took me about 3 weeks to do it.  I had to just do a plank at a time and not look up at the amount that had to be done.  Then when I had it all nice and clean, sanded and vacuumed out, then I was back on the syringe and putting glue into any gaps that seemed to be at the joints where the planks met.  To be honest I found this to be the worst time of all in the entire project.  I had finished my radium treatment and the boat seemed to be going along great.  Then I turned it over and it looked like lots of boring work (which it was).  But it was the winter and there is not much to do in the evenings.  I had a a potbelly stove in the garage and the radio so it was kind of cosy, and that was a great help in getting through the boring work.

One of the first thing I had to do was get 3 lengths of 2" x 1" timber and cut 2 notches in each length, which I used to hold the hull in place,  The hull wants to open out and the lengths of timber helps to keep it in shape.

 

 

 

 

After I cleaned the inside of the hull, I decided to fit supports for the floor which I glued in place.I put a support where each mould was. I used each mould as a template for each floor support. This way I was able to cut the shape of support to fit neatly into the shape of the hull.

                                                               Fig. 57





 

 

 

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                                                                                          Fig. 58

 

The next thing I did was to cut and fit the Breasthook.  That is the piece of timber at the Bow of the boat that joins both sides together.  I made it from Iroko again and it was 1" plank which I cut and joined together.  Then when it had set, I places it on the bow, resting on each side of the boat, and reached under the board and marked the timber where it had to be cut.  I did not cut the Iroko exactley where I had marked, but left room so that I could plane off the excess timber to make a nice tight fit. Then after a few dry runs I glued it in place.  I had the Breasthook a little over the top of the sides, so that I could plane and sand the timber down to meet the sides flush.  This allowed the sea/rain to run off over the side of the boat.  It also looked more natural. Before I glued it in place I had cut a notch in each side to allow the Gunwhale to slot into it later on.

 

 

Fig.  59Every time I made up epoxy glue I seemed to have some over. This I think was because I no longer was doing big runs like fitting a plank etc.  So what I did, in order to use up the left over bits of glue, was cut lots of little blocks of Iroko, 1" x 2" which I would space at 2" intervals along the gunwale.  So when I had some glue over I would glue a few blocks in place. In Fig 58 you can see the Breasthook in place and about 15 Iroko blocks glued in place with the left over epoxy.

 

 

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 From now on I am building the boat as I want it and not according to the plans.  I only want a boat to go out in Dublin Bay and to catch a few mackerel that the escaped from the Icelandic fishermen's nets.  The design of the boat is for a yacht with sails and a drop keel etc. so I am going to have to alter the design to suit what I need the boat for.

So the next thing I needed was seats to stiffen the whole thing up.  The seat will hold the port side (left) to the starboard side (right).  I started at the back of the boat and cut a piece of Iroko to suit the shape of the hull.  First I used a piece of cardboard to get the shape and then used it as a template to mark out the piece of timber.  I had glued timber supports to each side of the hull and on the stern, where the seat was to land and then another support to the keel from under the seat.  When I had it glued in place I dressed the front and sides with some timber bits I had lying around.

Then I fitted Quarter Knees higher up (at the gunwale), which strengthened the bond between the hull and the stern.  These had to be planed and sanded to meet the shape of the stern and the shape of the hull.  Looking at them in place, they look like a nice triangular piece of timber, however before they were glued on i.e. when they are in your hand they are like a bit of a 3D puzzle. It was difficult to tell which was for which side and what way up they were to be put on.  So it is advisable to mark each one. Left and Right or P and L.  What I did not do at this stage was cut out slots for the gunwale to fit into. I had to do this later.


If anyone has any questions or comments just ask and I will try and answer them.

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Fig. 60

What I have to do now is select the location of the seats. How I did the was by selecting where I was going to put the rowlocks.  Once that was selected (around the middle of the boat) I placed the front of the seat about 1'.0 away from the rowlock.  Then I decided to put two more seats in the boat (one each side of the middle seat). The reason I went for 4 seats one at the stern plus 3 bench seats was that each seat was glued to each side of the boat and this strengthened the hull.

                                                                   Fig. 61








I cut 6 pieces of iroko to act as lands for the seats.  Each  piece has to be shaped to suit the shape of the hull.  Then each seat has to be cut and the ends planed to match the shape of the hull.  After the seat has been put in place a knee has to be fitted to the seat, to hold it in place. The knee too has to be cut and shaped to match the shape of the hull and also where it meets the gunwale.  I tried to protect the hull from the epoxy by using tape to catch any excess that leaked out. 









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Fig. 62






After the seat was in place I cut and fitted a support from the Keel to the underside of the seat.











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I had fitted and glued all the seats in place and the next things I had to do was finish putting the timber pieces along the top of the hull and then the gunwale will be glued to these pieces of iroko.


                                                 Fig. 63
                Blue masking tape to protect from glue












Fig. 64 Knees not cut




At the stern the knees need to be cut to receieve the gunwale.





                               
                        Fig. 65 Knee cut















Fig. 66




Also at the breasthook I havew to cut out slots to receieve the gunwale.










I think she is coming together and now is beginning to look like a finished boat

                                                                    Fig. 67










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             The next thing I had to do was fit the gunwale. This I did by putting a dab of glue on each of the little blocks of timber that had been glued to each side of the boat. In the picture 68 you can see the gunwale clamped in place on the right hand side of the boat, and on the seats running down the centre of the boat is the gunwale for the left hand side before it is glued in place. Also I taped newspapers to the hull to protect it from the glue.

 

 

 

After fitting the gunwales, I had to make up

oarlocks from leftover pieces of iroko.  Then I

glued them in place where I had selected earlier. 

Roughly in the middle of the boat.  Under the

oarlocks I fitted a small piece of iroko which is

used to store the oarlocks when they are not in use

and also to tie a line from the oarlocks to the boat

so that they will not fall into the sea by accident

when in use.

            I then used some old bits of ¾” ply that I had kept from other projects to use as the floor of the boat.  The right size and shape I found difficult to make.  The way I did it in the end was to get some cardboard boxes and cut them to fit the shape of the floor.  Then when I was happy with how they fitted the boat, I used them as a template when cutting out the shape from the ply.  I had to plane the edges where they met the hull so that they sat snugly in place..

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Then it was just a case of sanding and cleaning the
inside of the hull as best I could to get ready for
painting it,  I found that the vacuum which I use
when I am sawing or sanding etc. was very handy
at getting the dust out of the inside of the hull.  I
then had to tape areas that were going to be
varnished so that they would not get paint on them.

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First 3 people to set foot in the boat.

The only thing remaining to do was to paint the boat. I used two coats of white marine undercoat on the inside and on the outside of the hull and finished it of with an overcoat of white marine paint.

 First undercoat applied.

First coat of yacht varnish applied

 

 

 

 

 

 

after 4 coats of yacht varnish

 

 

 

After 8 coats of Varnish



 

 

 

The rest of the boat I varnished. I gave it a total of 8 coats of varnish and it paid off as the result was a shine you could see yourself in.

 

 

 



 

 

 


Finished product

Checking for leaks (she is very dry not a drop let in)

 

 

 

 

 

She ended up a very nice looking boat (gets lots of comments), but I think she is more a lake boat than a sea boat.  If she had one more plank she would be fine, but as she is, in any sort of a choppy sea she is inclined to ship water.  I use a 6hp outboard engine on her and she fly's along. She is also a bit light in front so I put two bags of sand uin the bow to counter the weight of the outboard engine. 
I took her for a trip up the liffey to see the tall ships and she was great. I have a small video of the trip and I will try and load it on utube and I will post the link .
Thanks for looking at the blog.
John

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Trying to load a video of a trip in the boat,  If it works I will take a little video of her next time I am out in her.  Yesterday went out for 1 1/2 hour and got about 3 doz mackerel. Should be heading out again in a day or two and will take a few pics then.