Initial gluing, day two: the bottoms

After lunch today (Sunday), I went back downstairs and cautiously removed the cinder-block weights from the 'scarfs' I glued yesterday. The two long (17' or so) sides look good and came up off the plastic with no problems. There is a fair bit of excess glue in places, so there's a lot of sanding in my future, but the lines and seams look good.

Now on to the bottoms.

I'd thought that I would have to do these in two stages, due to having only two sheets of plywood on the floor to work on. But then I remembered there was a sheet (and a half) of same-thickness ply left over from the box the kit came in, so I tried laying this down and played around a bit with positioning and -- amazingly -- I found I have room for both bottoms. So: more or less a repeat of yesterday, though it all went quite a bit faster (and with less wasted epoxy) due to experience, etc.

I did have to make up two more plastic-covered boards to act as clamps; the two boards I used on the sides will not span both bottoms as they did both sides. And more weights, for the same reason (two per board).

Some remarks about epoxy: This stuff is something I've been reading about for several weeks while waiting for the kit, and frankly I was somewhat dreading it: many, many warnings about safety (avoid all skin contact) and working fast (lest it "go off" on you and be wasted). I was pleasantly surprised to find that -- so far at least -- it's not terribly difficult stuff to work with.

I'm using epoxy supplied by B&B, who also thoughtfully supplied "calibrated" pumps that fit in the jugs. The "calibration" is a matter of a plastic sleeve that's been glued onto the hardener pumps that acts as a 'stop' preventing the pump from being depressed more than halfway (this epoxy formulation is 2:1 resin:hardener). So, mixing up epoxy is a matter of:

• N pumps of resin (N for me has been 3-5)
• Same (N) pumps of hardener (each pump being half as much as the resin)
• Mix thoroughly (I've been timing myself at about 3 minutes)
• Go to work

Going to work, where gluing the sides is concerned, means: first, apply enough epoxy to the scarfs to "wet out" the wood. This means: brush it on until the wood looks wet. (The theory here is that this will prevent the wood from 'robbing' some of the joining epoxy by soaking it up.)

Then: back to the mixing table, to thicken the epoxy with cab-o-sil (fumed silica...whatever that is...seems to be basically finely-ground fiberglass). I've been satisfied with a 'honey' consistency for joining. Then, back to the joins, and apply the thickened mixture to both scarfs, then put them together, fasten and clamp.

I've been using disposable 'nitrile' gloves from Home Depot (container of 50 pair for about $10?) and 2" disposable foam brush. I'm mixing in a recycled margarine or yogurt container, using a 'tongue depressor' type stick.

A couple of tricky issues:

1. I'm using my cordless drill to sink drywall screws as fasteners (before "clamping" with a board and weights.) Yesterday, I pretty much mixed the 'apply thickened epoxy' and 'sink the screws' step, and the result was: a sticky cordless drill. I was OK the next day, but not ideal. So: today I separated these steps, and changed gloves (discarded one pair, put on another) before drilling. Much better.
2. Yesterday, I had a lot of squeezed-out epoxy after sinking the screws; I made a half-hearted attempt to smooth these out with my gloved finger (thus the sticky drill), but the result wasn't great. Today, I tried using the tongue-depressor stick as a scraper, scraping up the excess. This seems to work well.

The other thing I've read about epoxy concerns the "fast" vs. "slow" hardeners. Probably has to do with the temperature I'm working at (November in Vermont, in an unheated basement: high 50s, maybe 60.) But I've used only the "fast" hardener so far, and I've not felt rushed. I'm a little worried that the "slow" hardener, as the winter comes on, will be very slow indeed.
Enough for now.

Saturday: Scarf & Glue

Finally, time to start the real construction. Since I bought the kit, I get to skip over what for most builders is the first big task: cutting out the pieces. My first step is to join several pieces together to form the bottom and sides of the boat.

Since the boat is 17' feet long, and plywood (with few exceptions) can only be had in 4' x 8' sheets, several pieces must be glued together to form much longer pieces. There are a few different ways to do this, but the preferred method is to "scarf" the pieces; this means to plane or cut short "ramps" on the edges to be joined, which will then form a larger surface area for glue bonding than if we simply "butt" the pieces together. Cutting a good scarf is non-trivial, however. Again, I am glad that I bought the kit: Graham's CNC machine has cut elegant "step scarfs" on all the edges to be joined.

I choose to do the sides first; I don't have enough room to do both sides & bottoms at the same time. I've laid two sheets of 1/2" plywood end to end, then stapled plastic over the entire surface. I then lay out the sides (three pieces each) and "dry fit" them. The middle piece has its scarfs cut in the same direction, so I lay these pieces such that the ramps go "down" and fasten to the plywood w/ three drywall screws at each end.

First "issue": since I'm laying 1/2" ply on the floor, the side pieces are of 1/4" okoume ply...and I only have 1 5/8" drywall screws, I can only sink the screws about half way. The pre-drilled holes (some of which are missing anyway) are too close together if I'm going to lay a 1x8 board across the join for clamping...the partially-sunk screws will get in the way. So I leave the screw holes on the center piece as they are, but on the two pieces to either side I drill new holes a few inches further away from the join (being careful to drill into the ply below as well.)

Last thing: I prepare my 1x8 cross pieces, wrapping them in plastic. (These are recycled from the kit box's framing lumber.) And I make a little trip with my wagon to where (behind the woodshed) I have a stack of old cinder blocks I'm not using. These will be weights to put on top of the cross pieces.

Mix the epoxy -- little experience here, so I make a guess as to how much. Turns out to be a little too much, but not a lot. Using the "fast" hardener -- which, at the temps I'm working at (low 60's I think) isn't really all that fast (I did do a test run earlier). I "wet out" the scarfs on all pieces, then go back to the epoxy station and add a bunch of cab-o-sil to the epoxy until it has the consistency of honey. Go back, spread the thickened mixer on two scarfs, turn over the un-fixed piece and mate it carefully to the fixed (middle) piece. Check twice, thrice...then sink my drywall screws. Do this 4 times; lay the cross pieces across the joins; carefully place two cinder blocks on each cross piece. Phew!

The kit arrives

On Tuesday the 10th, I finally got the call I'd been waiting for: the delivery truck driver wanting directions (and confirmation that I was available to receive the box(es)). Fortunately, I normally work from my home, so I was as ready as one can be.

I arranged to meet the truck at the top of my driveway, which is a bit under 1/4 mile, narrow and steep in places. The delivery truck would've been able to make it (UPS does all the time), but as I wanted to receive the kit into the bed of my pickup anyway, it seemed a reasonable way to proceed.

The box is 8' long, about 3 1/2 ' wide and maybe 10" deep -- plywood screwed to framing lumber. The delivery truck has a tailgate lift, and I'm able to back up and place my pickup tailgate right under the delivery truck's lift. Between us, we manage to push the box into the bed of my truck, where it just fits.

There are also a couple of cardboard boxes: epoxy and fiberglass, also from B&B.

Now: the whole point of receiving the kit into my truck is that I can drive over the grass and back up to the sliding glass door of my walk-in basement.

I had tentatively arranged with a neighbor to help me shift the box into the basement, but the weather is fine (and I'm a little eager) so at lunch, I go down with my cordless drill, disassemble the box right in the bed of the truck, and carry the pieces of the kit into the basement a few at a time...takes about 45 min. Here's what most of the kit looks like, roughly sorted into heaps on the floor where I'll be doing the building:
On Wednesday (Veteran's Day) I spent much of the day just sorting things, going over the plans some more, etc. Also built a table using some of the lumber from the kit box and a couple of 2x4's -- then bolted my new miter saw to one end, and stapled plastic on the other end, to make an epoxy mixing station. (I'm not sure these two uses are compatible...we'll see.) I concluded with another trip to Lowes, where I got lumber and heavy-duty casters for the cradle, and a couple of sheets of cheap 1/2" plywood, to lay on the floor for the first gluing (more later).

Man, I was beat...and I still haven't "really" started building the boat!

The 'real' beginning is near

Haven't posted for a month, because I've been in a sort of limbo -- the plans and kit have been slow to arrive, so I've mostly been spending an embarrassing amount of money on tools and other preparations.

But yesterday, the plans finally arrived, and after supper I spent a wonderful couple of hours poring over them and "visualizing" (dreaming). The Core Sound plans from B&B are wonderful; a number of 8.5x11 sheets with legalese, supplier lists, bill of materials, miscellaneous instructions. Then the drawing sheets! These are 11x16 richly detailed drawings dense with explanatory text, some (much) of it opaque on first reading...to me, at least.

Here's a tiny example, a detail of the centerboard pivot assembly that occupies a corner of one of the drawing sheets:

So: much more poring over drawings, dreaming and planning to do. And: my kit is supposedly arriving tomorrow! Woo-hoo!

Money, money, money

I'm sure anyone who's traveled this road already knows this well, but...the money goes fast, it does.

I am keeping track and will share the cumulative expenditures as I go along (see sidebar for a link to an expenses-listing page.)

Right now, the expenditures in total are:

• Materiel (i.e. The Kit, some glass tape...and a couple of epoxy "trial kits"): $1,994.15
• Tools (jigsaw and router are the big-ticket items so far): $392.50

I've been researching the prices of things, and anticipate the following additional big-ticket items:

• Masts (aluminum tubing and sail track): ~$500
• Sails (from B&B -- don't have price yet, just guessing): $800
• Epoxy (this is expensive stuff): $500

Plus there will be more tools (shop vacuum, a new orbital sander, clamps, vise, etc.); figure another $300.

Then: a trailer and trailer hitch for the Subaru Outback: $1000-$1500 (I hope).

And this doesn't even touch the myriad other things, like lumber not in the kit (framing, oars), rigging and hardware, paint etc. etc. ad nauseum.

But it's only money...I keep telling myself.

The Beginning

I spoke on the phone for the first time with Graham Byrnes, the designer of the Core Sound 17 (and many others). If you don't know who or what I'm talking about, I recommend you first visit http://www.bandbyachtdesigns.com/cs17.htm. Graham is -- as advertised -- a most friendly and helpful chap.

Anyway, I ordered my CS17 kit and a couple of rolls of glass tape (which Graham suggested, as it will fit in the kit's box and thus save on shipping.) I have no doubt that I'll be ordering much else before this is done.

Some background to all this: I learned to love and -- to some extent -- to handle boats from my father when I was young.

I've sailed some -- enough to know the basics -- but I'm in no way an expert sailor.

I've worked with wood some -- as the owner of a few not-young houses inevitably does -- but I'm in no way an expert woodworker.

I've put a lot of my passion, over the years, into my work -- as a computer geek working for a healthcare information systems provider. It was a small company when I joined, but grew considerably...then was acquired, a couple of years ago, by a Giant Conglomerate corporation. I still have a job, but frankly...my work ain't nearly as much fun as it was before the acquisition.

So...I've got an excess of the passion I once put into my work. Add to that:

• I'm approaching retirement age (if not the actual capability to retire...my 401(k) is showing some signs of recovery, but has far to go.)
• Some years ago my wife and I bought a small house in Petit de Grat (a village on a small island off Cape Breton Island in Nova Scotia) that is all about the water and boats. We are able to spend several months there in the summer and plan to spend much more time there when we can finally retire. I have an old (power) fishing boat, but have been longing for a sailboat for some time.

Anyway, this summer something snapped and I found myself surfing the web looking at sailboats that I might be able to build.

I first fell for the Goat Island Skiff, a design by Michael Storer in Australia. I went so far as to purchase the plans (for $100), download them and spend quite a bit of time reading. The boat is beautiful, lightweight and a reasonable size. In particular, it's a boat that can be rowed easily and well...a critical issue for me, as from our house in Petit de Grat, the only passage into open water is either (a) under a bridge or (b) through a narrow channel (with rocks on either side.) And I really don't want to depend on a motor in order to sail.

But I had a nagging feeling that the Goat might not be entirely appropriate for me, for a couple of reasons:

• Everything I read suggested that it was just a little bit tricky to handle, and in particular not exactly stable. One account I read described a man and his labrador retriever in the boat; when the man went forward to hoist the sail, his dog did too (labs always want to help!) and they managed to capsize the boat.
• In particular, I began to feel that this might be a boat for the harbor, but not for the open bay. We live on the harbor in Petit de Grat, but it's not a large harbor, and the whole point of sailing to my mind is to go places.
• And at present, we have three Labradors: Rosie, Ruby and Sadie.
  

So then I stumbled on the Core Sound 17. It seems to be made especially for me:

• While not a great rowboat, it is rowable.
• It has a roomy cockpit (sailing alone is fun, but we have guests often)
  
• The cat ketch sail rig seems to be particularly forgiving -- "self-tacking", un-stayed and easy to rig and unrig, not prone to capsizing, etc.
• It's specifically advertised as "blue water capable" (within limits).
  

And last, but not least, B&B Yacht Designs has a kit for the boat. And I need all the help I can get.

So: I plan to to build this boat, in my basement in Vermont, over the coming winter. I will document the process in this blog. And maybe someone, someday, will find it interesting, even useful, to read. We'll see.