Keith Wilson
04-05-2004, 09:44 AM
A few weeks ago I posted on Designs and Plans regarding designs for a rowing boat my 14-year-old son and his friend could build (with help from yours truly) and use to fish on McCarrons Lake. Phil Bolger’s June Bug (http://www.instantboats.com/junebug.htm) was the winner; the boys liked the stability, ease of construction and, God help us, looks. Construction is well underway. I unfortunately don’t have any photos yet, being without a digital camera. I’ll try to get some before she’s finished.
June Bug is a small sharpie, the smallest and lightest “Bolger Box”, part of a series that includes the inimitable Micro, the AS-29, and the Loose Moose. She’s perfectly rectangular in cross-section; plumb sides, plumb stem, plumb transom. The project is on a 14-year-old’s budget, pretty slim since there’s no more snow to shovel and the grass hasn’t started to grow enough to mow yet. We made a trip to Home Despot for materials: finest BCX pine plywood, 16-foot 2x4s to rip into chine logs and gunwales, 1xs for frames, plastic resin glue. The plywood, BTW, isn’t too bad; some knots on the bad side but no interior voids at all. I don’t know if southern pine checks as badly as Douglas fir; we’ll find out soon enough.
In one relatively short evening we got the frames, stem and transom cut out and glued together. All cuts were made on the table saw (oh, the virtues of boxy boats). On a second evening we laid out and cut the sides, on a third joined the plywood side panels (butt straps inboard, ’glass tape outboard with epoxy left over from one of dad’s projects). My son has more enthusiasm than his friend at this point, or perhaps it’s just proximity and no baseball practice. That’s OK; we’ll put the friend to work sanding later (my son says with an evil glint in his eye).
Last weekend we assembled the sides to the frames, stem and transom, and bent in the chine logs; maybe four hours total. Some of the 2x4s warped spectacularly when we ripped them into skinny pieces, so we just picked the ones that were bent in the right direction. It’s starting to look like a boat, and not a bad looking one, really. This week we’ll put on the bottom and tape the chines if the weather stays warm.
Budget constraints will, I think, require thole pins and wooden cleats. I dread what they’ll come up with for a paint scheme. We’ve had a warm spell, and the ice is almost entirely gone on McCarrons Lake, which is very good for motivation. Anyway, I’ll try to get pictures.
[ 04-05-2004, 10:45 AM: Message edited by: Keith Wilson ]
June Bug is a small sharpie, the smallest and lightest “Bolger Box”, part of a series that includes the inimitable Micro, the AS-29, and the Loose Moose. She’s perfectly rectangular in cross-section; plumb sides, plumb stem, plumb transom. The project is on a 14-year-old’s budget, pretty slim since there’s no more snow to shovel and the grass hasn’t started to grow enough to mow yet. We made a trip to Home Despot for materials: finest BCX pine plywood, 16-foot 2x4s to rip into chine logs and gunwales, 1xs for frames, plastic resin glue. The plywood, BTW, isn’t too bad; some knots on the bad side but no interior voids at all. I don’t know if southern pine checks as badly as Douglas fir; we’ll find out soon enough.
In one relatively short evening we got the frames, stem and transom cut out and glued together. All cuts were made on the table saw (oh, the virtues of boxy boats). On a second evening we laid out and cut the sides, on a third joined the plywood side panels (butt straps inboard, ’glass tape outboard with epoxy left over from one of dad’s projects). My son has more enthusiasm than his friend at this point, or perhaps it’s just proximity and no baseball practice. That’s OK; we’ll put the friend to work sanding later (my son says with an evil glint in his eye).
Last weekend we assembled the sides to the frames, stem and transom, and bent in the chine logs; maybe four hours total. Some of the 2x4s warped spectacularly when we ripped them into skinny pieces, so we just picked the ones that were bent in the right direction. It’s starting to look like a boat, and not a bad looking one, really. This week we’ll put on the bottom and tape the chines if the weather stays warm.
Budget constraints will, I think, require thole pins and wooden cleats. I dread what they’ll come up with for a paint scheme. We’ve had a warm spell, and the ice is almost entirely gone on McCarrons Lake, which is very good for motivation. Anyway, I’ll try to get pictures.
[ 04-05-2004, 10:45 AM: Message edited by: Keith Wilson ]