Wedge Seaming Anna Marie

[imported_Spissgatter W-9]

Well I took a couple days off last week and finished ripping uniform seams between the planks. The boat had been out of the water for some time. So, the seams were pulling apart between the original planks. Also, the seams between the new planking were not very uniform. This made fitting cedar wedges very time consuming last summer when about 20% of the seams where filled in this manner.

I had a custom blade made to fit a Makita 4200NH. The small size of the saw and 4 5/8" blade made it easy to handle. Most of the time was spent nailing on the batten, moving the scaffolding and giving my arms a rest. (Whew, good thing I got this project to get me back in shape.)

Tomorrow I'll start filling the seams a la Chapter 5 of Gougeon Bros. book Wooden Boat Restoration & Repair.

Pictures can be found at:http://home.attbi.com/~gboggs8/annamarie.html

[Peter Jacobs]

Great pictures! And interesting link to the website, too. Thanks.
After reading an article in WB on wedge seaming, I talked to a local boat builder about this method of planking, even on new boats. He said they do it quite a bit, but leave about every 4th or 5th seam below the water line as a normally caulked seam. They also caulk the garboard. I guess this is to allow some movement when the boat dries out when hauled.

-Peter-

[ 07-04-2002, 09:54 AM: Message edited by: Peter Jacobs ]

[Stephen]

Did you happen to see the two Spidsgatters for sale in the most recent WB classifieds?

[imported_Spissgatter W-9]

I'm wedge seaming the entire boat for several reasons. First, about 1/3rd of the orignal planks had been removed and new planks hung by the time I purchased the boat. The previous owner had decided that was how he wanted to caulk the boat. The seams had been planed to accomodate wedges. So, the boat was already down that path some distance before I got involved.

Second, she has been out of water for about a dozen years now and has gotten pretty dry. This and the frames have all been relaminated. I attribute these factors to explain why her seams separated in many places above the water line. Can't put her in the water like that.

Third, wedge seaming appears to be well accepted/successful up here in the North West (refer to the WB article). I've every expectation that this will work out fine for Anna Marie.

Fourth, I've never caulked a boat with cotton. Last summer I did wedge seam the lower 20% of so of the boat. It struck me as a pretty straight forward and not too demanding process. I expect that with more uniform grooves now cut into the seams, it will be easier yet to fit and glue. So, this process seems within my modest capabilities.

Fifth, I guess I'm kinda a belt and suspenders guy. All the galvenized fasteners have been replaced. Not only in the original in remaining planking but also the new planking that the previous owner had hung. He felt that many of the original fasteners had lasted 60 years and so, would be fine if replaced with modern galvenized screws. I thought that the galvenizing process was probably better 60 years ago than today. Also, if, God forbid, I had to sell her the resale value would be higher if fastened with silicon bronze. Given the relative easy of replacement, marginal cost/marginal benefit consideration, I felt it would be better to replace all with silicon bronze. Now this led to a problem. The silicon bronze screws were smaller in diameter than the galvenized fasterners. So, I cut out little 3 inch pyramids and epoxied them into the holes of the frame after removing the galvenized fasterners. Come back the next day and cut off the excess and re-drill/counter bore the hole. With the silicon bronze fasteners set in cedar plugs in laminated oak frames, I feel secure(here is the belt suspenders part)that there is extra strength in epoxying in the wedges. At least that is what Gougeoun Bros. and others seem to be saying aboat the process. Under the circumstances I'm confident that wedge seaming is the way to go here. (Since I am already down this path those wedge seam critics can do me a big favor and pass by this thread. Optomists only!)

Yes there has been lots of discussion about leaving room for expansion below the water line. My shipwright instructed me to caulk the garboard along side the keel with cotton and use red cedar for the wedges. The planks are doug fir. The cedar is softer so will cushion the expansion of the planks. This should avoid the malady of planks popping off the frames.

I've seen the add in WB. These are Danish "Spidsgatters." Anna Marie is one of twenty 40 sq meter Norwegian "Spissgatters" built between 1935 to 44? (note spelling) I've also seen a few of the Danish boats up here at wooden boat festivals. They are very, very pretty having a broader beam relative to their length. Good article on them in the October 97 WB magazine. I have a copy of the original Norwegian article introducing the 40 kvm class. However it is in Norwegian (no duh) and needs to be translated. I've also a translated version of the class rules. Let me if you want more information.

[Peter Jacobs]

I wonder how the wedge seam method would work with red cedar planking and red cedar wedges? ... and what is Doug fir like to work with for planking
Any thoughts out there on this?

-Peter-

[ 07-04-2002, 05:58 PM: Message edited by: Peter Jacobs ]

[imported_Spissgatter W-9]

Anna Marie was originally planked in Doug Fir. It is often referred to as Oregon Pine abroad. All in all it held up very well and really only replaced to facilitate restoration of the stern post, stem post and keel. Failing galvenized fasteners also took a toll.

It was quite a challenge hanging some of the planks. In the aft end they twist in and up. We would steam one end clamp half to two thirds of the plank in place. Three or four of us would hang on and muscle into place. After it cooled it was removed and then steamed the other end. Again this was persuaded into place. We used 4/4 stock. Pretty stiff.

[Dave Fleming]

Ayup, that is pretty typical of Doug Fir when there are severe tucks or twists in planking.
I am guessing you folks didn't have a big enough steam box to put the whole plank in at one time.
But, it seem as if you got it done just the same.
Good on you!

[ford]

Geo, what did you use for cutting the seams, what angle of taper on the wedges and how did you apply the epoxy.Did all your seams fit in one length and precisely what methods were employed to hold them in place,and what depth were they.
I have almost finished the repair to the frames, 48 so far and about 15 to go, plugged the planks, doug fir, redrilled the screw holes and fastened with silicon bronze same as yourself, next is the seams.

[Art Read]

So... Are you working on this project right in Bellingham? Any place "accessable" to looky-loos? Looks like a REALLY neat project...

[imported_Spissgatter W-9]

Hi Ford,
After a lot of searching, I was able to find someone (Carbide Saw) to supply the custom blade. There web site is at: http://www.carbide.com/about.cfm I dealt with Paul. the blade is 10 degrees included angle (5 degrees each side of centerline). The point comes to about 1/8th of an inch. It has carbide tips and rips to a 3/4" depth. I wanted a small, light, powerful saw so bought the Makita 4200NH. It is the newest model having 9.1 amps vrs. 7 over the model it is replacing. Saw blade diameter is 4 3/8".

How to epoxy the wedges in the seams is described in the above reference Gougeon Bros book. But if you don't have it, I'll proceed. I made a trough out of a 6' 2/4 by setting the table saw to 45 degrees, mading a rip cut about 1/2" shy of completely through, turned it end for end, adjusted the fence and made another cut that intersected at the top of the blade. Two rectangular pieces of plywood were screwed to each end to form a trough. This is what held the epoxy and wedges.

Rough 4/4 cedar planks were finished to 7/8" inch. The table saw was set to 5.5 degrees, then proceeded to ripping. After one pass the board was flipped and the fence moved in 1/4". This produces uniform wedges of 11 degrees comming to 1/8" blunt point. When fitted in the seam they protrude about 1/8". You want them to protrude a bit so that staples will keep them tight. Before ripping, each end is cross cut with the blade tilted to 45 degrees. This is so each successive wedge laps over the previous wedge (like a scarph).

Liquid epoxy was mixed and first applied to each seam one course at a time (don't want to wet out too much ahead of time.) The wedges were then slathered with epoxy and left in the trough. Another batch of epoxy was mixed to "mayonaise" consistency, put in a zip lock bag (freezer are recommended since stronger). One corner was cut off then thickened epoxy was squeezed into the seam(not too much just trying to fill few voids). This is like a pastry bag. A syringe works well but is tedious to fill.

Now you are ready to wedge the seam. I worked right to left. I suppose a lefty would do just the opposite. Tap, staple, tap, tap, staple. Staples are closer the more curvature in the hull. And so on.

Note: 1)Depth of saw blade should not extend into frames. Gougeon recommends about 1/16th left. If you cut all the way through then the epoxy will also just go inside instead of back around the wedge filling any voids between the wedge and seam.
2) If the epoxy is not thick enough it will run you ragged trying to scoop it up before it oozes out onto the floor.
3) Pull the staples next day.
4) Get someone to help. :D
Any questions?

[imported_Spissgatter W-9]

Erratum: Narrow edges of resultant wedges is about 1/16" not 1/8"

[ford]

geo,
thanks for that, I will run off a copy and digest it all, then the questions will come. I had an acquaintance who did it and it was all rather messy and off putting, he only cut straight seams and wedges but the epoxy seemed to ooze out both inside and outside of the hull, it didn't look convincing at all. However he used a gun that mixed the thickened epoxy as it went along, after the wet out of course, and I believe they can be had that run off a compressor. smile.gif

[imported_Spissgatter W-9]

Hi Ford,
I think the key to the whole thing is preparation. Have all the wedges cut. Fit them dry to make sure they fit, number in order. I letter the seams from a-z. Each end of the wedges are marked a-2/a-1; a-3/a-2 etc. So,it is simple matter matching up a-2 with a-2 and so on. Then I bind the set of wedges with masking tape and stack in order of intended use. Again, the epoxy has to be thickend to mayonaise consistency so it doesn't ooze back out of the seam. All tools are handy after the wedge is tapped/stapled in I run a putty knife along each side of the wedge to gather up the excess epoxy. The thickend epoxy tends to kick off sooner if left in the bag too long. So, may want to run short of it.

[ford]

Geo, if the wedges were 1/16 into a seam 1/8 at the bottom end, what were the dimensions on the outside edge and what size staples were used, smile.gif out of which material and what did you use to put them in?

[imported_Spissgatter W-9]

Ford,
Looking at the cross section, the wedges are about 1/16" on one end and 1/4" on the opposite end. They are about 7/8" high and are let in about 3/4" into the seam. If this is as clear as mud, send me your email and I'll send you a drawing. The staples are 1/2" long.