I've always thought it would be fun to build a small speedboat. Something simple for a solo rider. After talking to a friend about a website that offers boat plans it didn't take much to convince me that I was actually going to commit to building a small boat. After going back and forth between different designs I finally decided on the Glen-L Squirt. I've found other boat building blogs to be helpful so I figured I'd attempt to do my own as long as it doesn't take away from too much of my building time!
I received my plans in March and got started as soon as I could. I started with the building form first and had it completed the beginning of April. Also, like everyone else, I highly recommend the book "Boatbuilding With Plywood" by Glen L. Especially for first time boat builders and considering there are hardly any instructions on the details of how to build it.
Building Form
The building form must be perfectly level in all directions because it is what you align the frames on to construct the hull. If it is not level or very sturdy then it could be difficult to have properly aligned frames and in the end your boat will glide across the water crooked! I don't want that to happen to my boat. Oh by the way, I knew practically nothing about boats. I'm learning as I go.
I used a basic design from the Boatbuilding With Plywood book. Since I don't own this house I did not want to bolt it to the garage floor, so I caulked some 3/4 plywood down to the floor and drilled it into the ply. Since the transom needs to be at a 12 degree angle I cut the rear uprights of the form at 12 degrees and once secured together double checked the actual angle with angle finder and it turned out near perfect. It didn't seem solid enough for me so I put some blocking in the corners of the form and that made it plenty sturdy. This form is not budging!
Building the Frames
After a long drive to pick up some mahogany and marine grade AB ply I went right to work. I used carbon paper to transfer the frame images from the boat plans to the boards. At first I used my jig saw to cut as close to the lines as possible and figured I'd use my 1/4 sheet power sander to smooth it. That worked ok but the cut lines still looked a little sloppy to me. So I got a spindle/belt sander and from there on out I used the jig saw to do a rough cut away from the line and then sand down to perfection with the sander. What a difference that sander made! Now I'm quite happy with the outcome.
The stem, breasthook, and transom knees are laminated together from two pieces of 3/4 ply. Will post those pics later. When cutting multiple pieces the same shape such as these and the gussets I would cut out one piece slightly larger then clamp them together and use a router with a flush bit to get them identical shape.
I received my plans in March and got started as soon as I could. I started with the building form first and had it completed the beginning of April. Also, like everyone else, I highly recommend the book "Boatbuilding With Plywood" by Glen L. Especially for first time boat builders and considering there are hardly any instructions on the details of how to build it.
Building Form
The building form must be perfectly level in all directions because it is what you align the frames on to construct the hull. If it is not level or very sturdy then it could be difficult to have properly aligned frames and in the end your boat will glide across the water crooked! I don't want that to happen to my boat. Oh by the way, I knew practically nothing about boats. I'm learning as I go.
I used a basic design from the Boatbuilding With Plywood book. Since I don't own this house I did not want to bolt it to the garage floor, so I caulked some 3/4 plywood down to the floor and drilled it into the ply. Since the transom needs to be at a 12 degree angle I cut the rear uprights of the form at 12 degrees and once secured together double checked the actual angle with angle finder and it turned out near perfect. It didn't seem solid enough for me so I put some blocking in the corners of the form and that made it plenty sturdy. This form is not budging!
After a long drive to pick up some mahogany and marine grade AB ply I went right to work. I used carbon paper to transfer the frame images from the boat plans to the boards. At first I used my jig saw to cut as close to the lines as possible and figured I'd use my 1/4 sheet power sander to smooth it. That worked ok but the cut lines still looked a little sloppy to me. So I got a spindle/belt sander and from there on out I used the jig saw to do a rough cut away from the line and then sand down to perfection with the sander. What a difference that sander made! Now I'm quite happy with the outcome.
This sander is my new favorite tool!
When dry fitting the frames I used dry wall screws to secure them in place before gluing with epoxy. Once the epoxy set I removed the dry wall screws and filled the holes with FamoWood solvent-free wood filler. Then secured the frames with Bronze nails. I heard of too many people having screws and nails brake off so I made sure to drill pilot holes for all screws and nails. So far I have had no problem with any of the drywall screws breaking off in the wood and possibly leading to rot later on.
Cutting the 12 degree angle at the base of the transom has been the most stressful part for me so far. Having spent much time on the cutting, sanding, and aligning the transom I really did not want to mess this up and have to start all over. Because the transom has a slight V shape you can't just cut strait across. So I secured a strait edge as my saw guide and used my skill saw set at 12 degrees and cut one side at a time. The strait edge down the center was my stopper so I wouldn't accidentally cut too far and mess up the other side. Afterward the angle was off by about 1 degree. It probably wouldn't have mattered but I'm a perfectionist so I used my favorite tool (yes, my sander) to sand it to a perfect 12 degree angle by setting the table of the sander to 12 degrees and double checking it with an angle finder.
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