Restoration Photos
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Starboard sheer strake begining to be secured to the frames
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temporarily clamped
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steam bag removed
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After 40 minutes of steaming the piece fit nicely into place. Here it is clamped in place with the bag still on, the bag insulates it a bit so that it doesn't cool too fast, allowing a few extra seconds to position it in place.
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Steam is up above 200 degrees F for the first third of the piece.
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steam escaping the opposite end. The steam hoses were placed in the bow end of the bag because that is where the tightest bend is located. The aft end is practically straight
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Steam set up for the bending of the starboard sheer strake
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The sheer strake has an interesting curve when flat
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The stair step curve created on the router table was smoothed out with a curved scraper blade and hand plane, then 80, 100, and 150 grit sandpaper were used with the shaped sanding block to achieve this final shape for the starboard sheer strake. It will soak for three days and be steam bent into place.
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The shape was taken off of the old sheer strake, and a sanding block was made with the reverse shape in it.
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Full length of sheer planks after initial shaping on the router table. Final shaping will done by hand with curved card scraper, hand plane, and sandpaper with special made curved blocks.
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End shot of sheer planks
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This is the test piece that I used to set up the router table fence and depth of cut to produce that signature Herreshoff sheer profile
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visualizing the desired shape
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Getting the shape off of the old sheer plank
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planing the top bevel of the sheer plank
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marking the mahogany for the sheer plank
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Stripping the mast of the old paint
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A jig was made to hold the shape of the hull and to keep the hull level when the boat is flipped over for planking. I made a beam of 2 X 4s that runs done the center, this keeps the center of the transom and the centers of all the temporary cross members aligned right down the center of the boat.
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This view shows all of the new frames and floors and transom knee. Frame 23 is not in yet, I might wait utiil after the boat is planked for that one
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full view of new transom knee. This piece has grain that matches the curve, so I paid special attention to get this right as finding another piece like that would have been difficult.
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Transom knee attached, showing some 3M 5200 squeeze out
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more disassembly photos 020.jpg 2010-03-06
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After 5200 clean up
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Keel to stem joint bolted together with 3M 5200 squeezing out.
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Ann filling the checks in the oak with plumber's putty after the red lead dried
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keel to stem fit-up
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Blending the rabbet
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Keel plank positioned for fit up of floor timbers, etc.
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Keel Plank bolted to temporary ballast form
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P1030993.JPG 2012-01-17
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P1030992.JPG 2012-01-17
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P1030991.JPG 2012-01-17
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P1030990.JPG 2012-01-17
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A sense of how much curvature
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another angle
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bag removed to cool and dry
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Clamped to form
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bagged and steam is flowing
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soaked for four days, ready to bend
keel plank 4
Nice clean rabbet that twists as it heads aft. Well, at least this part is clean, didn't think I'd photo the part I screwed up did you? That part I will fix with some hand chiseling.
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P1030973.JPG 2011-12-28
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keel plank 3
Bald guy checks set-up. Router uses a 5/8" deep profile bit to make rabbet. Ball bearing on bit rides along the guide strip.
Keel plank 2
Guide strips are tacked on to each guide to from a track for the palm router
Keel plank rabbet 1
guide blocks are angled perpendicular to the planks which take a slightly different angle at each frame location
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P1030963.JPG 2011-12-28
Keel Plank.JPG
Planed to thickness, and taper cut, rabbet yet to be cut
Installed 2
Fits like a glove, now onto the next task, the sheer strakes, transom, then keel plank.
Installed, yay!!!
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Bolt for Floor timber #3
Bolt head was cut so the countersink area would lay in the flat of the stem
New vs old
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Making the rabbet
I made a mistake on the starboard rabbet. I went too deep. So I glued in some 1/8 strips to build the low section back up. I took more care on the Port side rabbet (shown).
Profile
Profile cut out to match old stem
Planed to thickness
There was no spring back in the gluing. The inside profile was exactly the same as the old stem.
Glue up
6 1/4 inch laminations glued with West System G-Flex epoxy. G-Flex is specifically designed to bond difficult to bond woods like white oak.
Old Stem 1
Slight twist
All frames and floors in bow installed
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All deck beams installed, trial fit of breast hook
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Frames 2, 3, 5, and 10 painted and ready for floor timbers.
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Begining to work the frames in the bow. #4 and #7 are installed. Notice I painted the wrong side of frame #7. I saw the error of my ways and painted the other side as well. I have read a few articles that say paint, paint, paint, don't leave any inaccessible areas unpainted. So I am being very careful to paint before assembly. I see a lot of boats being built that do not do this, but this boat was rotted right at the part of the frames where they meet the floor timbers. I am making sure i paint these areas well, and seal the end grain at the bottom of the frames.
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Frame #10 is the only one left aft of the bulkhead left to install. Floor timbers 10 (not shown), 12 , 14 , and 16 are temporary pine pieces that will be removed when the ballast with it's protruding keel bolts is reinstalled. The oak FTs will slide over the keel bolts once they are through the keel plank. Thanks to Dan Shea of the Herreshoff Marine Museum for that idea. I didn't know how I was going to align four keel bolts to pass through four floor timbers.
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view showing the new frames from #4 at the right to #22 far left. #23 will be installed much later after the permanent mahogany transom is installed and the boat is re-planked.
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Frames 22 forward. Right now every other frame mold is installed for supporting the boat when I flip it over for the new keel plank and framing.
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Frame 17 installed
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Odd frames 11 to 17 installed
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The hull is starting to get it's shape back
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Frames as they approach the keel plank
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Getting ready to peen the rivets. I think I left to go find where I put the flat washers
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FT attached and the extra frame length cut back.
I read in a WoodenBoat article that paint is your friend, and that you want to make sure to paint inaccessible areas before assembly. Here I applied red lead primer to the floors and frames, and painted a couple of coats of white enamel to the mating surfaces. Additionally, I applied CPES into the holes where the rivets go, and the keel bolt holes.
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FT in place ready for marking the profile.
The hardest part of the steam bending was making sure that the reverse curve of the frame down by the floor timber fits well against the mold. This section required bar clamps, while the rest of the frame could rely of wire ties alone to hold the frame tot he mold.
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Floor timber at 13
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Frame 13 is installed with its associated pine mold. This was a milestone as it is the first of the new wood to be installed. From this point on I am actually making improvements.
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Forward set of molds with molds 1 through 4 beveled, and 5 through 13 mostly beveled. Temporary stem in place.
Next step is to get the batten out and make sure all is fair.
Hopefully we'll be steam bending the rest of the frames next weekend.
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As I began to bevel the molds near the bow, i noticed that due to the amount of hollow in this section of the hull the planks will make quite a bit of twist as they head toward the stem.
As a result I decided to cut out part of the deck and remove the breast hook so that I could transfer the bevels that were actually on the boat for frames 1 through 4 to the corresponding molds.
I also removed frame one, which is a solid triangle of oak, in order to replicate it.
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Temporary stem sanded down to the pencil lines and cut and planed to the required thickness of 1 5/8". The piece that was sliced off makes a nice template for the real stem later on.
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This template contains the inside curve of the keel plank from frames 14 to 4, and will be used for making sure that the mold heights are correct. I did not do this for the aft molds but I will set those back up and do it before I add the floor timbers.
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final product, aft third of boat has new frames ready
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The steam box
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John K. "expert steam box operator"
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Bob placing wire ties before bend
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The full set of molds completed
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Full size mold pattern drawings were made in the spring. These were arrived at through measurements of this boat, other boats, and research done at Mystic Seaport and the Herreshoff marine museum.
This photo shows the beginings of making the wooden molds
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Transom removed, temporary transom knee installed.
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Platform made to support boat and keep curve of the keel plank
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ballast removal July 2009
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Sad state of the transom
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The previous owner tried to install new frames, but I am convinced that they are not the correct shape. They will all be replaced. Notice the number of sistered frames this boat had
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Cart for ballast
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Restoration begins June/July 2009
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side view of the amount of beveling back aft
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just after purchase in 2005
05/15/2012
Just finished steaming the sheer strakes into place this past week. The starboard side was first and I have begun fastening it to the frames. Let me tell you, square drive bronze screws are the way to go. You can really torque them without stripping out the head like with those damned Frearson head or flat head screws.
The port side sheer has a weird curve as it approaches the bow. I am not sure exactly what the deal is with that yet. I have to look into it later this week. I used the old breast hook, which I fear my not be exactly symmetrical on both sides. It may need a bit of adjustment. Needless to say it will be symmetrical when I am finished.
Right now I am working on making my backing out plane that will be used to achieve the backside curve on the planks at the turn of the bilge.
05/03/2012
I began the sheer strake making process by removing the old ones flattening them out and making a template out of luan. I made sure the curves were fair on the template, marked the pieces of new stock for port and starboard strakes. Since the top edge of the sheer has a bevel that has to match the angle of the decks, I made angle measurements before I took the old ones off and recorded them on a bevel board. The largest of these angles was used as the angle made on top of the sheer planks when I cut them out on the bandsaw, that way I could reduce the bevel to the correct angle by hand planing. Once the top edge was set, I began to make the signature Herreshoff ogee on the strakes by taking incremental passes with flat blade on the router table. I had a small piece of mahogany about a foot long that I used to make sure the cut was correct before I tried it on the real piece. This process produced a stair step shape very close to the required shape.
A hand plane was used to smooth out the convex side of the curve, while a curved scraper blade was used for the concave part of the curve. I then made a sanding block with the final shape and used 80, 100, and 150 grit paper to finish smoothing the shape. The last step was to diminish the ogee as the sheer approaches the bow and stern. This was done with a hand plane and sandpaper.
It took about six hours (2 hours each evening for the last three days) to get from stair step shape to final shape of the starboard sheer. I have another six hours ahead of me for the port side sheer. It's a good thing I gave myself a month to make these, because this first one turned out very nice, which is great because these sheer strakes can make or break the looks of the boat. This is where taking your time and being careful and not using an aggressive cutting tool or taking too much of a cut really pays off.
04/16/2012
I set the shape of the sheer this weekend and marked the sheer on the frames for the placement of the new sheer strakes. Now I just have to make them. Brought the new mahogany up from the basement into the garage. Now lets see how longit takes me to make two Herreshoff style sheer strakes? I am giving myself a full month.
04/05/2012
All of the new floor timbers have been installed, and they mate nicely to the edge of the keel rabbet. All of the frames have been riveted to the floor timbers except the five that have keel bolts passing through them. They were bolted temporarily with 6-32 machine screws in case they have to be removed and pounded onto the keel bolts after they pass through the keel. The way I see it, trying to set the boat on the keel bolts and having all five line up perfectly and pass through 1 3/8 inches of keel plus about 5 inches of floor timber may be difficult if not impossible. However, having all five pass through just the 1 3/8 inch keel alone, then pounding the floors back on may be easier. We'll see when I get to that stage, but that won't be for a while.
Getting ready to start planking in a couple of weeks.
03/15/2012
I am continuing to make new floor timbers, 10, 12, and 14 so far this week, 16 hopefully tonight. These are the timbers that get the keel bolts,so I am paying special attention to the angle that the FT makes with the keel so the bolts will pass straight up through the holes. Previously I made sure that the keel bolts coming up through the ballast were all parallel, then I transferred the locations to my temporary wooden ballast. This made it easy to make sure the FTs are at the correct angle. This is important because the ballast will be attached after planking when the frames are fixed and the FTs are fixed to the frames, so if the FTs have to be re adjusted, the frames would have to be unfastened from the planks and re-drilled so they could be re-installed at slightly different positions. Hopefully they will not need to be adjusted with proper alignment now.
02/29/2012
For the past week I have been checking the floor timber to keel rabbet fit up, and unfortunately I am going to have to re-make several floor timbers to get a perfect fit up. looks like new floors at frames 4, 6, 7, 8, and 9 are required so far. 6-9 are made and being painted. Looks like I am going to be spending a few more weeks getting all of these floor timbers perfect before I can get to the new sheer strakes.
The problem was that that I made the floor timbers based on the old rotted and beat up floor timbers and the old keel plank. Since the old keel plank rabbet was so badly chewed up, I could not really tell where the rabbet was supposed to be. It didn't help that the keel plank was so dried out and checked in the forward section (the boat has not seen water since about 1990). The floor timbers have to be a near perfect fit to the rabbet because you want the garboard plank to seal well along the keel. So taking the time here to be accurate with fit up will pay dividends in the end when the garboard is drawn up nice into the rabbet.
02/22/2012
Attached the keel to the stem last night with the bronze bolts. Fast cure 5200was used to ensure a watertight joint.
02/21/2012
The keel plank was brought into the house to allow me to red-lead and paint the top surface. I filled the checks with plumber's putty, primered two coats of red lead, then two coats Kirby's white enamel. I did this all in the guest bedroom after installing a space hater, cracking the windows, and blocking the forced air ducts so I didn't have fumes all over the house. The dry air allowed everything to get painted in about a week. Now to bring it back out to the boat for permanent installation.
02/15/2012
During the last couple of weeks, I was able to get the keel plank under the boat to fit up the forward end to the stem. I drilled the stem to keel mounting holes and temporarily bolted it together and began to blend the keel to stem rabbet. I then removed the keel to shape the bottom forward section so that it continues the curve of the stem. I purchased a draw knife for this purpose, but I found that my #4 smoothing plane worked best.
The keel is now in the warm house getting primer and paint on the top surface. It will be permanently attached to the stem in about a week or so.
01/30/2012
I made the temporary ballast and deadwood form, and then I drilled the holes in the keel plank that the keel bolts will come up through, and I attached the new keel plank to the form. I then spent a bit of time doing geometry to make sure the end of the keel plank is marked properly, and that all the angles of the dead wood, rudder post, and transom knee all come together so the transom will be at the correct angle. So far so good.
The next step is to get this assembly under the boat, and fit up the front section of the keel plank to the stem, and then finish up the rabbet on the keel plank as it blends into the stem.
01/22/2012
The keel plank bending went reasonably well. I removed the clamps and the curve is a little short of what it should be, but it's surely close enough. I am now working on making a temporary wooden ballast/dead wood form to attach the keel plank to so it takes the exact shape it is supposed to have. I will leave this temporary ballast form on the boat while I plank her. I am doing this because the real ballast is too heavy to stay on while I flip the boat upside down to plank it.
01/09/2012
Stem Bent the keel plank this Saturday (see photos). Bagged the keel in two layers of 4 mil poly and steamed it for approximately 1.5 hours. It took a while to get the temperature inside to get up to 212 degrees. Hopefully it got hot enough to keep it from having too much spring back.
12/29/2011
Well, it's been an interesting and scary time this fall. I had surgery to remove a kidney cancer tumor the size of a golf ball on September 7th that was found during an abdominal CT scan to check what ended up being two benign spots on my liver. The kidney surgery went as good as it could have, as they got all of the tumor out and the cancer appears to have been fully contained inside the tumor. 90% of the kidney was saved as well. Thank you Cleveland Clinic. They made a big 8 1/2" incision on my right side, which has taken some time to heal up, but I am 100% now so it is time to get back to boat building. I feel so fortunate to have had such a good outcome, I have been truly blessed.
Spent this week working on the keel plank rabbet. I purchased a used Bosch palm router for $62 that I made a track for so that the rabbet twists with the lay of the planks, (see new photos). Not sure what I will ever use this palm router again for, maybe I will sell it on Ebay when I am done.
09/04/2011
Yesterday was the maiden voyage of Double Whisk on Lake George, New York. (see album for pictures).
She still needs another 4 coats of varnish, but that will wait until this winter when the air is dry. The canoe paddles very well with one on board, and it floats the two of us just fine. I just didn't get a chance to finish the second paddle, so when i was on board with Ann, we split the paddle in half.
She turned out really nice with the bleached okoume deck to contrast the red mahogany trim, and everyone seems to like the green sheer strake. It is not a color you normally see very much.
08/15/2011
Spent a good deal of time this weekend working on the canoe. I got the coaming completely installed and began making the final trim pieces. The trim should be finished this week, and I hope to get enough varnish on it to be able to take her to the water for sea trials this weekend
08/09/2011
I cut out the keel plank for the 12 1/2 last weekend, and will begin the process of getting the exact final shape and cutting of the rabbet this week and probably next The old keel plank has been removed to help serve as a pattern.
On the canoe, new mahogany was purchased for the coamings and they are being made. Will attempt to steam bend at least one of them into place tonight. Getting closer to the end of that project. The sheer rails were attached last week, I used 3m 5200 in case I have to ever take them off due to hitting a dock or something. The deck was re-sanded and re-bleached to try to get rid of the blotchy coloring, and it improved, but it is not perfect. Maybe more coats of varnish will help disguise it.
07/29/2011
Well a little bit of disappointment with the deck last night. I bleached the okoume ply the other day to take the red out so I could have an amber deck to contrast all of the mahogany trim. The bleaching turned out fine. I then applied some light grain filler. The part I failed on was the sanding of the grain filler. I didn't want to sand too deep and re-expose the unbleached wood below, but I had to sand away the excess grain filler. As I applied the CPES on the sanded deck, it became apparent that I did not sand away all of the filler residue in some areas leaving some splotches. These areas of splotching were not apparent until the CPES Was applied.
Now I will have to sand it back down again.
07/27/2011
Still plugging away on the canoe. The deck is on, and I think I have about two weeks left to go with the trim, and coamings and finish work.
On the 12 1/2 side of things, I took the 2" thick white oak timber I bought last year for the keel plank and had it planed down to the required 1 3/8" thickness. I am so looking forward to getting back to that project.
07/05/2011
Completed 90% of the back rests this weekend. I gave them some adjustability in t e fore aft direction just in case we have to tweak our positions in the boat a bit to get a good balance. Or to give me more leg room. Next step is to complete the backrest pads and then make and install the deck, coaming, and trim pieces. THE END IS NEAR!!!! Looking like mid-August splash.
07/01/2011
The pool test was a success. She seems to be okay with the two of us in her. I feel like there is an acceptable amount of freeboard left. The load waterline only went up about an inch for me being in alone to when Ann got in. I will be making a higher coaming than what is specified in the plans to handle any splash from waves, but the intended use is calm waters.
The other goal from last night was to establish the balance points for sitting so I could mark where the back rests will go. We were sitting a little too close in the photo, but we were balanced. We could stand to separate by about another foot to give me some more leg room.
I am glad she can float the two of us, as I didn't want to have to build a second one right away, I have to get back to the 12 1/2.
06/30/2011
Going to try to put the canoe in a pool tonight to see if this 14.5 foot version can float both the wife and myself and leave an acceptable level of freeboard. Also want to find out where the bodies have to be positioned so I know where to set the backrests. Hopefully some pictures of this milestone event tomorrow.
06/27/2011
Got a lot done this weekend. Finished installing the carlin, stained the interior cockpit, added the brass half oval to the stems, began making a template for the deck. Also I dug out this old kit of wood bleach and did an experimental bleach of a scrap of the okoume plywood. This ten year old stuff still worked, and bleached the wood to almost white. I want to have the okoume deck a yellow/amber varnish color to contrast the surrounding red mahogany trim.
6/17/2011
Going to try to get the cockpit side supports and remaining deck beams installed this weekend.
I am also planning to begin making the new transom for the 12 1/2.
06/01/2011
Been working on the inside parts, bulkheads, floors, deck beams, and even started with the floor boards. She is starting to come together now, but it will still be until July sometime before she sees the water. At least I am hoping for July. I originally planned on Memorial Day, but the time table keeps slipping.
05/18/2011
My 12 1/2 is getting jealous of all the attention the canoe is getting. I think it is time to start spending some time with her. I think I'll start the mahogany transom this weekend. I'll have to order some bronze rod.
05/13/2011
Hull was hit with two coats of CPES to hopefully bulk up the outer fibers so the soft okoume is less prone to denting and scratching. Then painted the hull white with Behr latex exterior paint/primer in one. Put on four coats in two days, and it looks pretty good.
Hull only weights 17 lbs right now. I am hoping that she will end up around 35 lbs when done, that would be great.
04/25/2011
The outer stems are on now, and I have cleaned up and sanded around the joints, and sanded the entire hull with 150 grit paper. I scarfed up two long 3/8" x 1/4 " strips for a rub rail at the bottom of the top strake. I will try to glue those on in the next couple of days, and then I will CPES the hull, and paint her white. I decided to paint the top strake a Herrreshoff light green color. The color of his last boat Alerion III. This color green looks good next to varnished mahogany.
04/18/2011
Glued up the laminated mahogany outer stems. Used 3/16" laminations, so I had to pre-bend them before gluing. I boiled them for about 15 minutes and clamped them to the forms for a couple of days. Boiling mahogany makes a nice deep red potion, although I wouldn't try drinking it ('cause when I kissed a cop down at 34th and Vine...), makes a good dye though, as the last time I did this I spent about an hour scrubbing the stain out of the white kitchen sink before the wife got home.
I am struggling with aesthetics. Since the outer stems will be of this nice mahogany, I'd like to varnish them, but that means keeping up with the varnishing every year. Then I'll wan to put brass edging on it.
04/06/2011
The planking is finished. Now I will spend some time adjusting the curves of the lapped edges to get a symmetric and nice set of curves on both sides. I am hoping this will be only minor adjustments based on what I see right now. Then I will attach the keel and outer stems.
03/28/2011
The 6th pair of planks are now on. Only one more pair left to go. Having the planking complete is a milestone that I have been waiting for. Hopefully they can go on by this coming weekend. After which I will take some time to adjust the curves of the planks so they look like the curves go together. Right now I can tell plank #2 looks like there is a hump near the bow relative to the curves of the other planks.
03/18/2011
The 5th pair of planks are on now. Only two pair left. I am going to take extra care on these last two to make sure they are fair and lay down nice and symmetrical, as they are well above the waterline and will be seen by all. I built an extension to my lathe so that I can turn the ends of my paddles to fit the stainless steel ferrules. My $50 used craftsman 36" lathe is now capable of turning lengths up to 54".
03/07/2011
The third set of planks are on now. I am beveling them this week and hope to have the forth and fifth pairs on by this coming Sunday. The schedule right now is to finish the planking by the end of the month.
02/28/2011
I managed to get the second pair of planks glued on this weekend I also started clamping up some wood for making the paddles. On to the third pair of planks this week.
02/23/2011
Single digit temps have kept me from gluing on the next set of planks, so I am cutting up wood for the paddles, at least I can work on them in the warm house. I had to install a new wick in my kerosene heater for the garage boat yard. I am just waiting for the temperature to get above 20 degrees before I turn heat on out there.
02/21/2011
This weekend I got the next pair of planks almost ready to go on. I just have to put a gain in the ends so they feather as they approach the stems. Then hopefully they can go on tonight. This damned cold weather is a pain. I have to clean the wick on my kerosene heater again so I can keep the garage warm enough for the epoxy to cure. I 'll post more photos of this process, should be interesting with all of the wedge clamps.
02/14/2011
Last night I epoxy glued the garboard planks on the first Wee Rob canoe. Everything seemed to go well. The only question going forward is how much effort will be involved in making sure that the subsequent planks go on and lay fair their entire length and have the proper curvature with respect to the other planks. I am hoping Ian gets me pretty close with his plank landing marks on the plans.
01/20/2011
With the holidays and all I have managed to get just a little bit going on the canoes. I was able to get the station molds made up and the inner stems laminated. I built up the strong back this week and cut and beveled the stems. Hopefully I will be able to attach and bevel the keel hog this week or weekend. The stems and hog are mahogany
I am building this canoe from the new Oughtred plans. The old plans allowed for 12', 14.5' and 15' 2" versions. The new plans allow 11, 12, and 13.5 foot versions. The designer has advised me that the new version could also be stretched to 14.5. There is also an option to biuld it with either six or seven strakes per side. I chose seven. I am not planning to make mine sailing versions, but rather an open canoe for paddling only to keep the weight down. I am hoping to keep the weight down to 35 lbs.
11/17/2010
I am going to slow down a bit on the 12 1/2 until spring. I have to finish adjusting the beam of the boat near the transom, and then try to get frame #23 installed (that one is tricky). Then I am going to switch projects for the winter to build a pair of Wee Rob double paddle canoes for the wife and myself. Sailing is great fun, but SWMBO says you get no exercise while sailing. So to satisfy exercise and being on the water, what better way than to paddle.
10/13/2010
I have been working on getting the beam of the boat closer to the 5'10" specification, and am almost done there. I will be removing the old mahogany sheer strakes next making new ones to install.
However I am taking a break from the boat to make some Shaker Style oval boxes, and hope to resume on the boat in November.
0914/2010
Finished the stem last night. Other than the fact that I had to correct the starboard rabbet by gluing in a small section of strips because I made it a little too deep in one area, it came out really nice. It is nice and straight, the rabbet is perfect. When I installed it back into the boat, the planks fit right back in as if it were the old stem.
If the G-flex epoxy does it's job and remains bonded to the white oak, I think this stem will be more resistant to the checking and twisting seen in the original one piece stem.
Next I plan to make and install the new sheer strakes, then the transom, then by December some time flip her over and make and install the new keel plank. Then it will be on to re-planking her in the spring. At least that is the plan.
08/24/2010
I have been working on the stem. The old stem is too checked to be worth trying to fix. So I decided to laminate a new one of white oak. In order to laminate without having to steam bend the laminations requires about 32 lams of about 1/8" thickness. I felt that this was too much slicing for me, and wood require too much glue. So I decided to make six 1/2" laminations that I will steam bend to get them close to their final shape before gluing.
Now there is all this talk out there about white oak and epoxy not being a good match, and I don't really know if this is due to some chemical incompatibility or if in these cases of failure the wood was not prepared properly (e.g., too much moisture in the wood, too smooth of a surface, etc.). Resorcinol is a traditional and proven glue for white oak, but requires high clamping pressures and cannot have any gaps. Given my planned thick laminations, and the fact that I probably would have some small gaps after clamp up, I decided to go with something else.
A fellow from West System gave a talk on epoxy at the Classic Wooden Boat Symposium at the Herreshoff Marine Museum this spring. He happened to mention a new product for difficult to bond woods such as white oak. The product is called G-Flex and is a somewhat more flexible epoxy. Since it retains the same gap filling qualities of traditional epoxy, I decided to use it for my laminated stem. The only difference I noticed is that it is a 1:1 mix ratio, and is about the thickness of honey when mixed, making it a little more difficult to apply, otherwise it had a good open time of approximately 45 minutes.
I sanded the mating surfaces of the laminations with 80 grit paper to roughen up the surface for a good mechanical bond. I cleaned the surface well of the sawdust. I steam bent the laminations and clamped them to the form for a couple of days. I applied the epoxy to both sides of all pieces, and clamped them to the form. I let the epoxy cure for 24 hours and released the clamps, and wallah.... no spring back whatsoever. As I suspected there were some small gaps in places, but these gaps were only about 1/32 of an inch or smaller, and the epoxy had filled the gaps. Overall I am very happy with the glue up. All the grain is running parallel to the curve of the stem. Now I just have to be very careful making the rabbet, so I don't screw this up. Overall, i think this will make a better stem than one I could have made from a single piece of white oak from the crotch of a tree, as I believe the glued laminations will better fight moisture intrusion and the tendency for checking of the single piece stem.
Pictures of the stem will be posted in a few days.
08/13/2010
Two new pictures added. All new frames and floor timbers installed, except frame #23 which will wait for the transom shape to be verified. The deck beams are all installed, except at the bulkhead which gets a varnished mahogany deck beam. Right now I am applying primer to the new breast hook and the support for the bow cleat.
Next will be the removal of the stem. The stem will be inspected to see if I have to build a complete new one, or just repair the top end of this one.
07/30/2010
Installed frames 2, 3, and 5 with their associated floor timbers. Installed fore deck beams 3 and 4. This leaves only frames and floor timbers #6 and #8, deck beams 5, 6, and 8, and all of the frames will be done except frame #23, which I have to decide when i am going to put that one in. #23 is a 3/4 length frame that lands on the transom. I want to check my transom shape at the museum before I commit to installing that one.
07/16/2010
I added some pictures today of the work done over the last month or so. I made floor timbers for the recently bent frames. I installed frame and FT #4 last night. That went really well. #4 straddles the stem and the frame has to extend past the floor timber and meet the rabbet of the stem at the right place. It fit up just perfectly. Deck beams #4 and #7 are next so the shape of the bow is maintained while the rest of the bow frames are installed.
It looks like I will be close to keeping my schedule of having all of the frames and floor timbers installed by the end of July.
07/06/2010
Steam bent frames 2,3,4,5, and 10 this past weekend. Will be working on the associated floor timbers next. I will try to put up some pictures later this week.
06/29/2010
Frames 7, 9,12,14,16, and 18 have been installed. Hopefully I will get frame 20 back in tonight.
This leaves only frames 2, 3 ,4 5, 6, 8, 10 and their associated floor timbers as the only frames left to do. That's seven more. I am 2/3rds done with the re-framing and the rest are small ones in the bow section, so hopefully these can be finished along with the new deck beams by the end of July. Then it will be time to step back and have a beer or two, admire my work a bit, and push on to the stem and keel plank replacement. That is if I can find a suitable piece of partially air dried white oak for the new keel plank.
06/01/2010
Oops!!!! As I finished installing frames 11,13, 15, 17 , 19, 21 and 22 with their associated floor timbers, I decided to check the heights of the sheer on both sides of the boat. Unfortunately the port side was lower than the starboard by about one inch. I don't know why I didn't feel the need to make sure the sheers were even as I started to install the frames. So I spend all day Saturday taking all of the new frames out, and re-installing them making sure the sheers were even. I built a jig that hangs from the ceiling to keep the frame molds level athwartship, and this helped keep the sheers aligned. I am now ready to install frames 14, 16, 18, and 20 this week.
I am annoyed that I let this error occur, but am glad I caught it at this point and not later on.
05/17/2010
Made some good progress this week (new pics added). On the boat I mean, the wife is away, so to hell with the damned lawn!!! BTW, why is it so hard to find a teenager in the neighborhood that wants to make a little money?
Anyway, I put some CPES, primer and paint on the floor timers, and attached the FTs to the frames (11, 15, 17, 19, and 21). Installed frames 11, 15, and 17.
I would have gotten more done, but in the process of trying to install frame 15 I noticed I didn't like the way frame 13 was installed. I checked the measurements of frame 13 from the forward bulkhead and sure enough, the port and stb. sides didn't match up, port was back by almost 3/8 of an inch. So I snipped all of the wire ties off and re-installed frame 13. This was important because I wanted to be able to reference the placement of new frames to the ones already installed.
It's starting to look like someone is actually doing some work on this boat. How come work on the boat is joy, and work on the house is drudgery?
05/10/2010
Made floor timbers 15, 17, 19 and 21 this weekend. This involved cutting them out beveling the sole and the sides, drilling the holes for the carriage bolts, and adding a limber hole. They were then primered with red lead, except for the end grain which will get CPES before the red lead.
I added a few pictures of installed frame #13.
05/07/2010
A milestone has been reached. After all of the measuring, recording dimensions, taking pictures, studying plans, building jigs and steam boxes, etc., the first new, not temporary, wood going into the boat has been placed. Frame #13 and it's associated floor timber have been installed. I primed these parts with red lead, and put a coat of Kurby white paint on the surfaces that will be inaccessible (e.g, the frame to floor mating surface, and the plank side of the frames).
Since the planks are unusable, I drilled holes through them that straddle the frames and used wire ties to pull the planks to the shape of the frames.
I will post a few pictures soon. I am currently working on more floor timbers so that I can mount more frame sets in the aft section of the boat. It will start to look like some progress is being made soon.
04/21/2010
Its been a month, and not too much has been done except ordering some parts and lumber. Bronze carriage bolts, ouch, they are expensive. Trying to find some dry white oak locally was a search, but I've finally located some. Did some research at MIT to view the original plans. Looks like most of my bronze hardware is original equipment. That will save a lot of money not having to replace that stuff.
Getting the little skiff ready for the summer. A few hull touch ups and a coat of varnish or two on the trim a she should be good to go.
03/22/2010
John came by this weekend to help steam a few more frames. #13 was the important one because it will be the first one installed so that the midship portion of the boat can get closer to it's true shape.
I planed, drilled, and cut the white oak floor timber for 13, it just needs some primer and we'll attach it to frame 13 and install it on the boat. This #13 floor timber and frame set will be the first bits of new wood to go into the boat. That's exciting to me because I've been looking at the same old dilapidated hulk for over six moths while I took measurements, disassembled, and made frame molds, etc.
03/15/2010
Attended a spiling and planking class at Mystic Seaport this Saturday. Wow was that a fun time. I learned everything I need to plank out this boat. I made my own plank in the class and it fit pretty well considering I was very rushed for time. The instructor emphasized the importance of accuracy in marking and material removal, which I think is key to this whole process. This is not work to be rushed, especially by a novice.
I made a plank that had a good degree of bevel, and also needed to be backed out quite a bit, so I feel confident that i can make the most difficult plank on the 12 1/2.
I have to make myself one of those planes with the convex sole and blade for the backing out process.
03/08/2010
After much consternation trying to get the forward molds correct, I looked at the boat and said to myself "Why don't you just bend the forward frames in place?" The shape of my boat is good forward of the forward bulkhead (frames 1-8). So that's the new plan.
02/26/2010
Spent the last two weeks starting to bevel the forward molds, building a temporary stem, and taking apart a bit of the bow to gain access to get the bevels required to bevel frames 1 through 4. I wanted to be very accurate with the bevels up front because the boat has a good degree of hollow near the bow, and the planks will twist quite a bit.
Did the actual beveling of molds 1 - 4, and installed the temp. stem. Must fine tune the beveling so the batten runs fair, then we can start steaming the rest of the frames.
02/10/2010
Didn't get too much done since the last entry. Something was added to the "Honey-do" list. The wife had me turn a new frying pan handle for one of her co-workers. Would have been a quick job, but I had to get my $50 Craig's List lathe up and running first.
After setting up the forward molds I decided to create a template for the inside curve of the keel plank to run across the top of the molds to make sure I have the correct mold heights. I also started making the temporary stem, which will be good practice for making the real one.
02/01/2010
I set up the forward station molds this weekend in preparation for steam bending the rest of the frames. I must bevel these molds and check them for fairness. I am shooting for the weekend of Feb 13th for the next steam bending session.
01/25/2010
We steam bent 18 frames for the aft section of the boat this past weekend. The exercise went surprisingly well considering I had never done this before. The steam box temp was kept at about 200 degrees, and we steamed them for a minimum of 50 min. and max of about 70 min.
We broke only 2 of 20, and one had a small knot, that if I was paying close attention we could have reversed the frame top to bottom and probably not broken that one.
The most difficult part was the reverse curve of the frames near the keel. It was eay to get a clamp on the midship frames to pull this reverse curve in place, but more difficult as we moved aft where the frames had more of a bevel.
One thing of note... We used cable ties to hold the frames in place on the molds. They worked very well, but you must get the frame in place within 30 -45 seconds to use the cable ties alone.
It was taking us an extra minute and a half to clamp down the reverse curve at the keel. bar clamps pulled it down, then we tied it down with the cable ties. After ten minutes you can take the clamp off and it is pretty stiff already and the cable ties alone will hold it.
Special Thanks to Alan Briggs for the use of his cooker and providing some good tips, and to my crack team of first time steam benders for the extra sets of hands and on the spot process improvements.
