Side Planking

It's time to make it shaped like a boat. Many people walk down my street wondering what I'm doing in my garage and soon they'll know without a doubt that it's a boat. Initially I was working with douglas Fir plywood (marine grade) and it was not working out well. It would not make the tight bends of the stern of the boat without cracking. I even tried pre-warping it with a 2x4 I cut out to match the curve of the transom. I took a scrap piece of ply and used a towel and hot boiling water to conform it to the shape of the transom which seemed to workout ok. I left it in place a week and when I took the clamps off and it popped right back into a straight piece of plywood.

 

After removing the clamps


Every time I would try to bend a piece around the side of the transom it would crack. In the picture it looks like just the outer layer but over time it gets deeper and deeper. Not good considering the side panel will have to be removed several times before permanent application. Same went with the bow of the boat.


I consulted the Glen-L forum and many people suggested using Okume plywood instead. I decided to give it a try. It was much harder to get my hands on Okume especially in the Dallas area but once I got some It made a huge difference. The Okume was better to work with in every way! Much better quality, fewer voids, less chipping when cut and would bend much easier without needing steaming. So I scarf jointed the okume together to make a panel long enough for the sides of the boat. It was very cold in my garage so I used my living room and heat lamps to ensure proper cure of the epoxy.


I used some cheap 1/8 in. ply from home depot to conform to the side of the boat and make a rough cut template for my Okume plywood. After my experience with the douglas fir I wanted to minimize the manipulation of my Okume panel before application, especially since it's much more expensive. Once I made the rough cut on the cheap ply I traced it onto the Okume panel and cut it to shape. Then I roughly faired down the side panel with the chine using my hand plane. The bottom panels will overlap the side panels up to a point towards the bow of the boat then it is transitioned into a butt joint. I made the transition point at approximately 33 in. from center of the chine on the stern and it worked out well. For the forward section where there will be a butt joint I used my block plan and primarily used a wood rasp to get it perfectly straight as possible. If you go this route there is a likely chance you will be very sore the next couple days as I was. But it paid off. In the end I was very happy with the lines of the boat. As I test fit the panels I used steel screws every 4 inches. I didn't want to wear out the delicate bronze screws used for the final fitment and that will be every two inches.


Here is a close up of the transition point where there will be an overlapping joint to a butt joint with the bottom panel.


Also I forgot to mention, I placed the panels on with locating screws and clamped down the panel and then traced the chine and sheer lines on the inside to mark where I want the screw locations. I then took the panels off and pre drilled all the holes two inches apart. 

Once I had everything pre-fit to my likings I prepared to make it permanent. I was quite nervous before epoxying the side panels because I knew once the epoxy bond was made I would not be able to correct any mistakes. 

Up until this time I had been using Poxy-Grip for my wood adhesions. For this job I decided to try out System Three's Magic Gel using their caulk gun tube system and I'm glad I did. It was well worth it! I love this stuff. It is water proof and very strong. The tip used mixes the epoxy as it is pushed out. Much better than hand mixing it. It does however cure white instead of clear. I think I used one full tube for each side panel. I laid out a bead and then used a mixing stick to smear it over the chine and sheers. applying the side panel is definitely easier with two people so my wonderful fiancé helped me out to hold the panel in place initially and to keep the epoxy caulk gun from drying out as I screwed the side panels on mid section to the bow and then to the stern. She did a great job and would have been much more difficult without her!


You can see the tip mixing the epoxy from purple to clear.



Once the side panels were applied I faired down the overlapping joint at the bow with a block plane and I am very happy with the results.


I then faired down the remaining chine and transom to be flushed with my block plane. The curves are looking nice!

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