Wee Lassie help

[RandyColker]

Got the book Featherweight BoatBuilding and planning to build a Wee Lassie. Some things are not clear to me from the book. Hopefully, some of you who have built this pretty little craft can help clarify:

On the diagram in the back showing the molds on the building board , the overall dimension does not add up to the distances between the molds. Just go with the distances between the molds?

How thick are the stems (dimension along centerline)? Couldn't find that.

Are twelve foot strips long enough? It doesn't seem that 12 foot would be long enough to wrap around an eleven and a half foot boat.

I really appreciate this forum and the help you guys gave builing in building my last (and first) boat, a Shellback dinghy.

[Steve Lansdowne]

On page 87 of Mac's book the total Wee Lassie length when built is shown as 138" (11'6") and the length of the mold layout on the strongback is 133.25". The mold layout does not include the stems, which go over the top of the bow and stern stem molds, thus making up the difference in length. Remember to make measurements to each station, which is a single side of each mold. From the diagram it looks like the station is the aft side of molds 2 - 7, and the forward side of mold 1.

I also had a question about stem thickness, as I recall, and e-mailed Mac about this. He answered but I can't find where I wrote what he said. It is not in the book. Doing the math with the above numbers puts each at about 2" thick, which seems about right. I built another, similar boat, so I didn't perhaps write this down. Give him a call or e-mail him from his web site, which I trust is still there, and he'll let you know if nobody else responds.

You might look at the michneboat.com web site for various tips that will help you along. It is full of information.

[Wild Dingo]

I remember awhile back when I started mine... mmm remember stopping too... drat it! ah well one will attempt the rediculous and attempt to build one with one of the heaviest hardwoods :rolleyes:

Anyway enough of that idiot... when I started I also emailed Mac many times... just quietly here Im not sure if hes still active after his wifes passing in the last year or so I think anyway worth an email to the fella if he is you will have your answer as quick as he sends it... theres some here who live pretty close to him and have regular contact so maybe they'll pop in and let us know whats happenin

But anyways!! I set up as he describes and as Steve says the stems overhang the building form... you build up the stems from laminates of whatever wood you are using rather than one lump instead of a single peice of say 1x1x20in you cut out multiples say 4x 1/4x 1x20in having 4 thinner strips to mould to the stems once set cut the excess off leaving them 1/2in proud (hanging down past the building form) lay your first strip around... I used Jarrah for the inner and outter stips (note bloody hard Aussie timber) and once the strips were cut I heated them by way of a tea towel soaked in boiling water draped over them and while still hot gently bent it around the mould... glue the next as its going around the mould then next then next and then screwed the stack to the mould... walked away over night to let dry and setup... hey! It worked for me... the heat from the hot tea towel worked as a steam box effect giving the Jarrah some small amount of elastisity they didnt need much as theyre faily thin and easily bent to almost what you need just not quite so the heat worked... not soaking the wood all you want is the heat from the moist and hot tea towel and because your not wetting the timber the glue up still takes... anyway as I say it worked for me

oh another thing that helped with the first strip was to attach a thin strip of hardwood to the moulds just below the sheer line with the top edge touching it... this allowed me to drop that first one into place without it wandering all over the place!

Movin on to building up the strips... if memory serves Mac calls for the first strip to be screwed or nailed into place... do that... then as you work your way up hes talking about clamps many many many clamps... people just love clamps cant have enough clamps is the catch call... and its true if you go by the book and other people but you will if you go this route be stymied in your building by time and flamin clamps gettin in your way holding things together till the glue sets up if memory serves every second strip was clamped down then you had to wait...

BUT!! I was given this awesome hint clue and faster method by a fellow forumite... screw some screws into the moulds every inch or so (getting closer as you turn the bilge) placing them well inside the moulds... past the holes you just cut out for the clamps which you could actually leave off but dont just put the screws inside the mould past them... leaving about 1/2in of the screw out... now start stripping and as you lay each strip...

heres the catcher!

Wrap the strip with fishing line!... Im serious!... use fishing line to tie one strip down onto the other so... lay strip onto last strip start at the bow and work your way down the boat at every station wrap your fishin line around the strip over the screw in the mould and back to the strip... pull tight... the fishing line will pull the strip down onto the last one and hold it tight while the glue sets up... the fishing line will leave only a very small tiny hole that will be covered with the glassup... you can do a figure 8 to do both sides of the boat if you have a helper... sorta wrap the first stem send fishing line over strip and under other side and back over and under to your side pull tight wrap around strip going to the other side of the 1st mould over the strip around the screw down under the other side and up over the strip that side and on till at the other end of the boat... did tha make sence? its easy as anyway :rolleyes:

Wish I could find the pics he sent me but they were in the washing with the flood... mmm maybe he will read this and post them or email them to me again and I will

Simply put its not by the book but by shyte it did work!... It pulled the strips I was using down into the other one easy as and mate I was using Australian Tuart which is one friggin tough hardwood

mmm so I was the idiot eh! :D no worries!~

As for the wee lassies I started... well Ive again set up the forms onto the building jig and now have some Maranti boards I will be using for them... just a tad lighter eh!

Good luck mate! and remember the other catch word of the WBF... progress pics ;)

Cheers

[essaunders]

with 12' strips I suspect you'll need to scarf or but a few of the longer runs. Make sure you stagger these joints. ( I must admit, my 13'6" weelassie II was built with 15 or 16 foot strips... the only scarfs are in the decorative strip)

Also my stems are laminations each about 1" thick so adding about 4" over the length of the forms should be about right. Note that exactly how you shape the inner stem and how you terminate the strips on each end will affect where exactly the outer stem ends up. I think I didn't shape enough and ended up with a cavity between the inner and outer stems. (filled with epoxy, did nothing to help strength exept perhpas mine from picking up a heavier boat)

Here is a picture of my bow (I think) prior to the deck. While there is masking tape covering my epoxy fill and outer stem you may be able to make out the stem details.
http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid163/p8db0bb4b0eae3576823cfedb40464df2/f49397fc.jpg
for reference, the thickness of the outer rail is .75"