I need help with lapstrake

[Swedish Fish]

I need to replace the bottom on my MacKenzine in the spring. I'm looking to get some Philippine Mahogany lapstrake all ready milled or does anyone know someone that does milling. I'm starting to do my pricing and totaly new at this(as if you couldn't tell).Any help would be great.
Pete

[ 02-25-2006, 04:57 PM: Message edited by: Swedish Fish ]

[Swedish Fish]

I can't be the only one with this problem can I :confused: :confused: :confused:

[Brian Palmer]

Maurice L. Condon lumber in New Rochelle, NY can get you what you need milled to the thickness you need.

- Brian

[Thorne]

you may want to read the "I think I screwed up" thread in this forum before you spring for that wood...

...things (and wood quality) has changed a lot in 40 years.

[StevenBauer]

I'm having a little trouble with the term "lapstrake all ready milled". You can have the planking stock planed to the correct thickness but the shaping of the plank and the planing of the bevel where the planks 'lap' cannot be done ahead of time. The plank that looks like a plain old 5" wide plank is actually cut from a wider plank and has two curved edges with a rolling bevel on the side that the next plank gets fastened to. Maybe you knew all this I just misinterprted form the wording of your question. smile.gif

Steven

[Swedish Fish]

Steven I told you I was very very new at this. My head just stopped spinning and I'm thinking I bit off more than I can chew :eek: .I read a book on planking and fastening but I don't remember anything about that. Is there a book that explains this to newbies or should I just get a boat yard to do this for me.Please tell me it can be done by someone with above average woodworking and remodeling skills.

Thorne, Thats what she planked with and thats what she getting replanked with. The restore is going to be all orginal. That's my goal atleast
Pete

[ 02-24-2006, 08:13 AM: Message edited by: Swedish Fish ]

[StevenBauer]

You can do it Pete! You just need to keep reading a little bit more before jumping in. smile.gif I built my first boat with only the knowledge I'd gleaned from one of John Gardner's books. Even better would be some hands on learning at one of the great boatbuilding schools that are listed in the current issue of WoodenBoat. Maybe the classes Bruce is organizing through the WoodenBoat Rescue Foundation or at The Boathouse at Mystic Seaport. Maybe there is an article in an older issue of WoodenBoat that covers exactly what you are doing - order the back issue. Keep us informed.

Steven

[Garrett Lowell]

Pete, as far as the wood goes, you may just want to be specific as far as species is concerned. Alot of wood these days is marketed as mahogany and teak when they are not mahogany or teak.

As far as the lapstrake planking is concerned, I know there are folks here who have experience (Paul Kessinger comes immediately to mind). Here's (http://www.geocities.com/pkessinger/) a link to Paul's website, and here's (http://www.woodenboat-ubb.com/ubb/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic;f=2;t=003165) a link to a thread about Paul's boat.

[Thad Van Gilder]

Pete,
the philipines stopped exporting mahoghany 30 years ago. If you want some, you better start making phone calls and find some that has been sitting around for a long, long while on someone's shelf !!!

-Thad

[jwswanboats]

depending on where oyu are in Ct, give a call to IYRS in Newport. The second year apprentices are ususally skilled enough to help out, and will typically work for below average wages. At least, five years ago me and my fellow students moonlighted pretty cheap on boatwork. We were just excited to get taken seriously. I worked (only a little) on cara mia, but my buddy, who had been there for three years already did a fair bit on recommisioning work for her. But there are some young people there who are eager to work, and have a solid base of knowledge.
Sincerely,
Josh

[Swedish Fish]

Thanks for the support. That's very interseting about the mahogany. Almost every ad in the back of WB says they have Philipine Mahogany. Thanks for the heads up. I'd hate to pay $5 b/f for something fake.Don't worry I'll keep all of you informed on how I'm doing.
Pete

[ 02-24-2006, 08:44 AM: Message edited by: Swedish Fish ]

[Garrett Lowell]

Good luck Pete. As you know, pictures are always appreciated.

[dmede]

Originally posted by Swedish Fish:
Thanks for the support. That's very interseting about the mahogany. Almost every ad in the back of WB says they have Philipine Mahogany. Thanks for the heads up. I'd hate to pay $5 b/f for something fake.Don't worry I'll keep all of you informed on how I'm doing.
PeteIt's not fake really, its just a shift in what wood/s that particular name refers to. True Philipine Mahaogany has been cut to commercial extinction. It was, I belive, more like Honduran or African Mahogany. Today's P.Mahog can be one of several woods from Indonesia I think and is some kind of cedar. It can be a very good wood but soemthing else might be a better subsitute for your needs. Do some more research on it.

Good luck on the resoration, it might be a steep learning curve but it will be worth it in the end.

dave

[ 02-24-2006, 11:08 AM: Message edited by: dmede ]

[Keith Wilson]

Lapstrake repairs are very far from the simplest boatbuilding task. Get thee to the Duck Trap web site and buy this book right now: Lapstrake Boatbuilding - Repairs by Walter Simmons (http://www.duck-trap.com/repairs.html) He's done it for many years, and he knows what he's talking about. His books look kind of homemade; spiral-bound and printed only on one side of the page, but there's nothing better for learning this specific job. Here are the rest of his titles. (http://www.duck-trap.com/dtpress.html)

[ 02-24-2006, 11:47 AM: Message edited by: Keith Wilson ]

[Paulyboy]

[/QUOTE]It's not fake really, its just a shift in what wood/s that particular name refers to. True Philipine Mahaogany has been cut to commercial extinction. It was, I belive, more like Honduran or African Mahogany. Today's P.Mahog can be one of several woods from Indonesia I think and is some kind of cedar. It can be a very good wood but soemthing else might be a better subsitute for your needs. Do some more research on it.

Good luck on the resoration, it might be a steep learning curve but it will be worth it in the end.
What about the recently engineered Lyptus? From reading preliminary tests of this wood, it has a lot going for it in the longevity and workabililty areas.
dave[/QB][/QUOTE]

[Swedish Fish]

Thanks again everyone you all are very helpful. I'm going to check into the wood thing and get the book on lapstrake. I'm heading up to the Maine Boat Builder show in March and plan on spending two days doing research. Is anyone else going to the show? I figure that will be a good place to do my homework because many vendors and builders under one roof. I've got plenty of other work to do on the boat so I think bottom and chine will be moved lowest on list so I can figure out how to do it. Pete

[ 02-24-2006, 05:20 PM: Message edited by: Swedish Fish ]

[StevenBauer]

Pete, I hope you can join us here at my house for some elbow bending/eating after the Show Friday and/or Saturday nights. There should be other forumites here and we will try to answer all your questions. You can see the Oughtred Elf my son is building and the Harry Bryan Thistle I built a few years ago:

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid21/pb50044b3483a20b4f5f89467bc9d5812/fdb48bf3.jpg

Garboard pattern:
http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid20/pa7b6d2abf345d18908e0e5497d17d6eb/fdb9a51f.jpg

Building Thistle Album (http://www.imagestation.com/album/pictures.html?id=4291900137)

Steven