I have glued the 2nd lamination on the other side and also the last 2 battens in place, so next job is fairing ready for the hull planking. I started the fairing on one side at the back. Lots of hard work sanding, lots of mess, lots of expensive wood turned to dust on the floor…this fairing lark is going to take a lot of effort!
So far in this build the only tools I can recall having used are (in no particular order):
- pencil
- ruler
- A4 size carbon paper
- saws (hand saw, jig saw, circular saw for the notches)
- belt sander
- mouse sander
- sand paper
- chisel
- hammers (lump and claw)
- lots of clamps
- screw drivers (powered and hand)
- drill
- spirit level
- set square
- glue (Elch Pro PU adhesive and West epoxy)
- rope and straps
- 3M 4251 respirator
- eye protection glasses
I managed to put the sheer 2nd lamination on one side. This went on much easier than the first but I only just had enough clamps to get an even clampage (!?) along the full length.
The chines were the hardest part so far, by far, with the sheers coming a close second. At times I felt like I was staring at an expensive pile of firewood, but thanks to help from a few people around the world I figured it out, and although it might not be pretty in places, it is all solid and in the right place (or near enough)!
I had to use 8 inch clamps attached to the chines, then I ran straps and rope through the clamps and attached them to the building form in order to get the right amount of twist in places. Attaching the chines to the stem was a lot of work too. I had to use lots of clamps, straps and rope to get the sheers to bend enough at the breasthook/stem and I also had to put 4 screws in to the breasthook to hold it. This was fine when it was all dry (i.e. without glue/epoxy) but then I had to take it all off, apply epoxy, and then try to get it all back in place again. When I loosened the screws to apply the epoxy, they ripped out of the breasthook as ply is not good at holding screws in the endgrain. I ended up using 4 inch decking screws (as in the kind of decking in the garden not on a boat) to get it to hold again.
I also had a cleanup under the building form as it was a really big mess. Here you can see the sheer being glued to the rear frames and the clamps and rope being used to get the twist at the transom end.
This thing is starting to look boat shaped! One more lamination on the sheers and I can start the joyful task of fairing ready for the planking. This will also mean finding some cash for the plywood and epoxy I’m going to need. I think I will encapsulate the skeleton before I add the ply, but that’s for another day.
I have at last managed to glue the chine to the frames and managed to get the right amount of twist. The front frame is a bit of a mess but nothing a bit of filler cant put right. I have also started dry fitting the first laminated length for the sheer.
The chine has been the toughest thing so far. Lots of work for little visible progress. I was trying to attach it from the transom and working forward but this is just about impossible so I started at the stem. Took ages to get the right angle where it meets the stem, then I couldn’t get anything to hold it in place while I drilled the screw holes and glued it. Eventually I got it to stay in place using rope wrapped around a couple of clamps and a strap. I put a heap of epoxy all over it and screwed it down, so hopefully this will hold when I twist and spring the chine round the other frames.
I got a couple of offers of help from fellow Zip builders Mark Shipley from California and Ingólfur “Go” Hreiðarsson from Iceland (via the Glen-L forum) which was really kind. See Mark’s pictures here (great boat work and his self-built trailer is really good too).
Here is the pic “Go” sent me and the advice he gave me, which made it all make sense:
“The bottom of the notch needs considerable beveling because of the acute angle where the chine meets the frame.”
“Looking at this picture the depth of the beveled notch should be so that the chine meets the frame flush with the “aft” edge of the frame. The “forward” edge of the frame will then be beveled so the planking will rest fully on the frame and chine.”
In other words, I have not added enough “twist” to the chine near the front of the boat, and it should lie flatter against the frame. It is too upright at the moment.
Ellie helping (she really just likes hitting stuff with the biggest hammer she can get hold of)…
Notched and dry fitted the battens…
and the chine on most frames…
but I’m having trouble figuring out how to notch and join the chine to the front frame (frame 5 1/2)…
Ed giving me a hand lining up the battens…
It was still 27 degrees in the garage at the time when I needed to make up some epoxy. I could have opened up the slow hardener, but in order to experiment a bit, I quickly mixed up a small amount of epoxy with fast harder in a cup, add micro fibres and then poured it into this aluminium foil BBQ tray. I sat this on top of another tray which had cold water in it. This gave me a really good amount of working open time, but once I added the epoxy to the joints, it kicked in a matter of minutes.
One of the scarf joints ready for glueing…
All done, now bake in the sun for a few hours…
a closer look…
I have landed a new job, starting end of June. This is great in all aspects except for potential boat building progress. I now have to get as much done as possible in the next couple of weeks before I start as I will need to really put in the work hours once I start the job.