A Few Things Weve Learned so Far

As I mentioned in my last post, we took some video of our last work session. The majority of this video footage covers tasks weve completed to date, a quick summary of some of our day-to-day tasks, and a couple of things weve learned along the way. This post is primarily to post links to the videos we made. I apologize in advance for the poor audio quality (we left the TV on in the background, and it is a little distracting), but I am posting this in the hope that youll pick up a couple of tips and tricks that we learned along the way. It will also let you actually see who we are, and what our workshop is like.

Video of the epoxy tray we made
Mixing the epoxy
Applying the epoxy sealer coat
Mixing the thickened epoxy (Peanut Butter)
Be careful after you lay the epoxy

After laying the sealer coat of unthickened epoxy to each surface to be glued, lay the thickened epoxy on one of the sealed surfaces with a trowel. After the thickened epoxy is applied, set the pieces together, weigh them down to ensure a good solid bond between the surfaces, and apply a couple of screws to hold the surfaces together. We specifically recommend the weighting and screwing process, as if you dont weight them down, you may not get a nice tight fit. If you dont screw the pieces together, the epoxy can act as a lubricant between the fitted pieces between when the surfaces are laid together, and when the epoxy sets. The result is that you can end up with the pieces sliding a little, and the fit of the boards is not as precise. You can remove the screws after the epoxy has dried.

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The Outside of the Hull is Glassed!

We reached another major milestone yesterday... we finished glassing the exterior of the hull. Now were on to the long task of fairing and sanding. Based on our current pace, I expect this to take about three months.

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This is nice

 yup.  A hot day, a roller, and tip off brush.  Hope to paint soon

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A Brief Diversion

You may have noticed a lack of recent posts about our boat project, and if you think its because we havent done anything lately, youre right. You see, its almost time for our annual boyz trip pilgrimage. Every year over Memorial Day, Greg, two of our friends from high school and I go on an extended trip. The trips have varied tremendously over the years... sometimes we do long, self-contained downriver canoe trips, sometimes we do whitewater kayaking, occasionally more than the "core four" of us will go. Our trips have varied from three days to a week, and we have hit too many rivers to count. We started out taking these trips over Labor Day weekend, but changed to Memorial Day a few years back when we figured out that the water levels are generally higher this time of year.

This year, we will be travelling to North-Central Wisconsin and doing a self-contained island-hopping lake canoe trip, utilizing the canoes we built a couple of years ago. To add to the adventure, Greg and I are temporarily converting our individual canoes into a catamaran sailing vessle. Were going to a brand new area, doing a variation on our trip that we havent really done before, and trying a new feat of engineering. This should explain the lack of progress on the main project. Weve been planning the trip, and working on the rig that will convert our paddle-powered canoes into a wind-powered catamaran.

If you’re interested in some of the history and stories from our various trips, here are a few links for you to check out…

From earlier posts in this blog:
How it all Began; A Quick Sidenote:
A Well-Deserved Vacation
Pictures of the Canoes

From posts on my other blog:
Commemorating a Practical Joke

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Boat Building Is it Easy to Build a Boat

Many want to know how hard building a boat is. Well truth of the matter it is can be simple or it could be quite hard. It just matters on what type of boat you want to build. When it comes to the designs and boat building, they can be quite simple or hard. There are a few things that could make your boat design difficult.

If you are new to making boats and all that, when you first begin reading a boat plan you might be a little lost. You might even think that boat building isnt easy. This is because they use shorthand and you will still be getting used to all the terms. However, it gets easier as you go.

Knowing what materials to use could make boat building seem tough. There are many choices and when you choose one material there might be all sorts of things that could fall in that category to use. You just have to know your stuff, but there are plenty of resources out there that can guide you.
The bigger the boat, the harder it will be. That is a given. Also, the more things you add to the boat the harder it will be. There are things like the hull and so forth that have to be calculated just right in order for you to fully finish and have a successful boat that you are proud of. Boat building can be a hobby and those who find it a hobby are the ones who dont find it as challenging to do. There is a lot to consider when building a boat and people learn quickly that it doesnt always have to be as complicated. Using resources and using practice can make it easier than you think. Is it hard or easy? Time will tell.


Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/3000398

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The Frame is Finished

Yesterday Greg and I put the finishing touches on the frame -- unless he decides to re-tweak, which he often does. We shimmed all of the areas where there were loose joints on the temporary frame. Were now ready to lay the hull. Next week, we will be in Northeastern Wisconsin, for our annual canoe/whitewater kayak trip, so there wont be any working on the boat. Instead, well be playing in the canoes we made last year and paddling our kayaks.

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Time to Fair

Greg and I started the long task of filling in the low spots. This pic is a "before" shot that will show you how much area we have to fill.

You may also be interested in seeing me do another household project using epoxy.

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This Blog Is Not Abandoned

Yes, I know that my last post was months ago. Unfortunately, Greg hasnt gotten his house in order, so theres nothing to report. Sorry. Maybe I should come up with a "Best of" post.

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Glass tape is applied

All chines have freshly applied glass tape.  Will clean up afterwards and apply 4 oz glass to bottom and transom. 

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The winner is drum roll please

The winner is the Core Sound 17.  The plans arrived this week and I have had a lot of fun pouring over them and working out the sequence, supplies, suppliers, and various options of building techniques.  I dont plan to stray too far from the designers recommendations.  He is a Naval Architect,  I am a saxophone player. 

Step one commenced this weekend - Cleaning out the building space and organizing the tools.  I celebrated by parking the car IN the garage.  This only happens once or twice a year between projects. 

The plans contain a wealth of information, and are very well laid out.  It also comes with a photo CD that has images of various stages of building with the 17 and CS 15.  many of my questions regarding rigging were answered through these photos. 

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