It's been a while since my last update. Very difficult to keep up with the blog when I'd much rather spend time building. I've gotten quite a bit more done since the last update so I probably won't go into much detail on every process.
Final result. Will perform this process with all the battens as well. The transom makes a slight V so the keel will be shaved down to match later in the fairing process.
String used to center frame #1. Stem was clamped to the building form and breasthook epoxied into place making sure to be level. The weight was used to keep the breasthook in place while drying.
Attaching the Keel
Once everything was aligned and level I used a string and plumb bob to align the stem in place and using epoxy and screws secured the stem and breasthook in place. I thought I had photos of this but can't seem to find them. Then I cut the keel down to size to fit in between the transom and notch on the stem. I used a forstner bit to drill down just enough so that the bolts for the stem and keel would appear flush rather than protrude out the top of the wood. I used cheap steel carriage bolts at first for all the dry fitting because I did remove them and replace them multiple times before the final glue down. After making sure everything was how I wanted it, I then switched to the bronze carriage bolts. I used the same process for the transom knee with the bolts through the transom and the keel. I fitted and attached both the transom knee and the keel to stem dry fitting prior to making permanent with epoxy and bronze fastenings. Also, I decided to taper the stem end of the keel for aesthetics, seems to be common practice.
One common problem a lot of builders have when bolting down the keel to the curve of the stem is that it creates a bulge in the keel. It can form a hump at frame #2 which from what I've read is not much to worry about because it's part of the shape of the boat but it also forms a dip between the transom and frame#1 and that becomes the real problem. It should be dead flat and level between frame#1 and the transom. I've seen other pictures where it was quite severe however I'm happy how mine turned out. I have a very slight dip as seen in the image below but it's in a very small area and the keel is still level between transom and frame#1 so I didn't worry about it. So why mess with a good thing. After all, the enemy of good is better!
Bending the Sheers
I decided to bend the sheers prior to the chines based on what other builders had to say about the process and after looking back I am happy I did the sheers first. Helps to have them in place when bending the chines. Also since I spent a lot of time cutting the boards and scarf jointing them together to the proper size I took precautions to prevent them from snapping in the bending process. Heard too many nightmare stories of others having snapped. Each side of the boat has two laminations because to make one solid sheer would likely be to difficulty to bend. So I placed two laminations of the sheers into a PVC pipe and soaked them between 1-2 days. The first pair I actually soaked for just one day and they bent no problem. The second pair were build from a different mahogany board and seemed to need more soaking so they soaked for 2 days and still did not bend as easily.
I set my miter saw to a 35 degree angle and it worked perfect for the angle at the stem. Then I started by clamping the sheers to the breast hook and slowly bending the sheer toward the transom.
Once the first laminations were in place on both sides I gathered all my clamps and started gluing the second laminations in place. I did not use screws at this point as the plans call for because I figured much of the sheers will need to be faired down and the screws will just be in the way so I'll use screws after the fairing process.
Aligning the Frames
Aligning the frames and leveling in all directions was a time consuming process. If your frames are out of alignment then you run the risk of having your boat glide across the water in a crooked line not to mention likely problems later on in the build as well. I started by centering frame #2 and the transom and aligning frame#1 (center frame) to those. I initially tried to use a self-leveling laser level and that did not work like I had hoped so I gave up on the laser and went with a string, taking a thousand measurements in the process to make sure everything was equal. Then I made sure the keel was straight and level. Since the transom and frame are at an angle the keel does not sit flat in the cut out. Instead of angling the bottom of the keel I took a chisel and chiseled out the transom frame so that the keel would lay flat as seen in pictures below.
String used to center frame #1. Stem was clamped to the building form and breasthook epoxied into place making sure to be level. The weight was used to keep the breasthook in place while drying.
Attaching the Keel
Once everything was aligned and level I used a string and plumb bob to align the stem in place and using epoxy and screws secured the stem and breasthook in place. I thought I had photos of this but can't seem to find them. Then I cut the keel down to size to fit in between the transom and notch on the stem. I used a forstner bit to drill down just enough so that the bolts for the stem and keel would appear flush rather than protrude out the top of the wood. I used cheap steel carriage bolts at first for all the dry fitting because I did remove them and replace them multiple times before the final glue down. After making sure everything was how I wanted it, I then switched to the bronze carriage bolts. I used the same process for the transom knee with the bolts through the transom and the keel. I fitted and attached both the transom knee and the keel to stem dry fitting prior to making permanent with epoxy and bronze fastenings. Also, I decided to taper the stem end of the keel for aesthetics, seems to be common practice.
One common problem a lot of builders have when bolting down the keel to the curve of the stem is that it creates a bulge in the keel. It can form a hump at frame #2 which from what I've read is not much to worry about because it's part of the shape of the boat but it also forms a dip between the transom and frame#1 and that becomes the real problem. It should be dead flat and level between frame#1 and the transom. I've seen other pictures where it was quite severe however I'm happy how mine turned out. I have a very slight dip as seen in the image below but it's in a very small area and the keel is still level between transom and frame#1 so I didn't worry about it. So why mess with a good thing. After all, the enemy of good is better!
I decided to bend the sheers prior to the chines based on what other builders had to say about the process and after looking back I am happy I did the sheers first. Helps to have them in place when bending the chines. Also since I spent a lot of time cutting the boards and scarf jointing them together to the proper size I took precautions to prevent them from snapping in the bending process. Heard too many nightmare stories of others having snapped. Each side of the boat has two laminations because to make one solid sheer would likely be to difficulty to bend. So I placed two laminations of the sheers into a PVC pipe and soaked them between 1-2 days. The first pair I actually soaked for just one day and they bent no problem. The second pair were build from a different mahogany board and seemed to need more soaking so they soaked for 2 days and still did not bend as easily.
I set my miter saw to a 35 degree angle and it worked perfect for the angle at the stem. Then I started by clamping the sheers to the breast hook and slowly bending the sheer toward the transom.
The boat is finally taking shape!
Stem is Bowed!
After all this work put in through the process of checking everything over I noticed that my stem was considerably bowed. Enough it would definitely be an issue with the final product. If I were to fair it all and apply the plywood the front center line of the boat would be quite crooked. So I decided I would have to attempt fixing it in the fairing process. I decided to draw my center line down the entire boat from the transom to the breasthook. For this I used my laser level as a straight edge. I figured as I shave down the stem in the fairing process, as long as I fair it to that center line it will give me a perfectly straight line down the stem when I apply the plywood and overcome the problem of the bowed stem. There will be less surface area on one side of the stem to bond plywood than the other in the bowed region however I will have a straight line down the center of the boat once finished.
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