Carl Simmons
09-03-2002, 09:33 AM
After a week and half of vacation in Maine I got back to planking my lightning. Here is a couple of pictures of the finished bottom.
http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid30/p703446c81389156f2072f640d0269a68/fd50e69f.jpg
http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid30/pfd05a45591ed855d2b277c65eb601c1b/fd50e692.jpg
While in Maine at the Wooden Boat school I checked with John Brooks about planking the bottom with a single sheet (scarfed) of plywood. I was concerned with the how much torturing the plywood would have to under to match the compound bends of the lightning hull. He looked at my hull pictures and said I should be able to pull it off.
I began by clamping the plywood completely down and cutting off extra down the keel centerline and chine. The plywood was scarfed with one edge completely straight but as it is bent around the hull it warps and needed to be trimmed. I then epoxied and screwed the first sheet down (starboard side). This side went down much easier then I expected so I was hopelessly optmistic about putting down the second half. The problem that soon appeared is that the warping of the second sheet would push against the other sheet causing bulges that could not be forced down. I tried everything but couldn't get it to lay flat. I finally tried cutting the sheet so that there is a small gap (1/4") between the two sheets just beyond the centerboard cutout. This allowed the sheet freedom to lay flat with out restriction as the first sheet had. There is actually another advantage in leaving a small gap. I can fill the gap with epoxy (thickened with wood powder) that will seal the exposed plywood ends. The hull will also be covered with a layer of fiberglass and an outter keel applied.
With the bottom complete I started on the sides. Here is a couple of early pictures of the side planking.
http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid30/p30c0b90bbc62fcc18d322b534dd4a1e0/fd50e65d.jpg
http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid30/p25ab3977958eefeb4a409282f4751d38/fd50e651.jpg
Carl
http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid30/p703446c81389156f2072f640d0269a68/fd50e69f.jpg
http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid30/pfd05a45591ed855d2b277c65eb601c1b/fd50e692.jpg
While in Maine at the Wooden Boat school I checked with John Brooks about planking the bottom with a single sheet (scarfed) of plywood. I was concerned with the how much torturing the plywood would have to under to match the compound bends of the lightning hull. He looked at my hull pictures and said I should be able to pull it off.
I began by clamping the plywood completely down and cutting off extra down the keel centerline and chine. The plywood was scarfed with one edge completely straight but as it is bent around the hull it warps and needed to be trimmed. I then epoxied and screwed the first sheet down (starboard side). This side went down much easier then I expected so I was hopelessly optmistic about putting down the second half. The problem that soon appeared is that the warping of the second sheet would push against the other sheet causing bulges that could not be forced down. I tried everything but couldn't get it to lay flat. I finally tried cutting the sheet so that there is a small gap (1/4") between the two sheets just beyond the centerboard cutout. This allowed the sheet freedom to lay flat with out restriction as the first sheet had. There is actually another advantage in leaving a small gap. I can fill the gap with epoxy (thickened with wood powder) that will seal the exposed plywood ends. The hull will also be covered with a layer of fiberglass and an outter keel applied.
With the bottom complete I started on the sides. Here is a couple of early pictures of the side planking.
http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid30/p30c0b90bbc62fcc18d322b534dd4a1e0/fd50e65d.jpg
http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid30/p25ab3977958eefeb4a409282f4751d38/fd50e651.jpg
Carl