Fiddlehead Twins are born

[Dan Nielsen]

These Fiddleheads are a product of my withdrawl from a 28 month Haven building project I wrapped up last year. As many of you can probably appreciate, I needed something for my hands to do besides pressing the remote control buttons. The photo quality is poor .... taken by the inept, with a point and shoot camera, then scanned into the computer. Hopefully, the audience will be forgiving. The boats were built in North Carolina but I hauled them up to Lake Summerset in northern Illinois so my mother could participate in the launch.

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Here they are under constuction.

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Inside detail looking forward

http://www.max1-9.com/Dan/8-5008.jpg

Inside detail looking aft

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Mom just after her 74th birthday. Tranquility is zero years old.

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That is me in Tempest. I am having more fun than it may appear from the expression on my face.

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The paddler's perspective.

The red boat is Tempest and represents the frustration of garboard installation everywhere. The green boat was constructed second and named Tranquility for the ease at which she went together after the Tempest experience. Tranquility lives a lie.

On a quiet lake, they are pure pleasure.

[imported_Steven Bauer]

Nice job, Dan. Harry's boats sure are fun to build. :D

Steven

[landlocked sailor]

Sweet job Dan. Rick

[Hwyl]

Congratulations. Your mother should be proud and vice versa

[ 08-16-2004, 10:02 PM: Message edited by: Hwyl ]

[ken mcclure]

(Yawn ... stretch...) Ahhhhm bored. I think I'll go knock together a couple little yacht-quality boats and haul them 1000 miles or so north to launch. Yeah. That's what I'll do.

tongue.gif

[Ken Hutchins]

Ah those are nice. smile.gif Things to do when I get my boat finished: restore 3 or 4 antique cars, :cool: work on the neglected house, :( oops, almost forgot the honey do list. :eek: Ah the heck with it all I'm gonna go sailing. tongue.gif

[Bill Fisher]

Dan’s just a show-off.

You can see more of his work at Havenbuilders.com. He built his Haven, contributed to the site and helps those of us trying to build one. Now he builds two more boats and has a great mom too!

I have always respected people that have the energy to get 28hrs out of every 24.

Nice work Dan!

Bill.

[Keith Wilson]

If I did work like that, I'd show off too!! GORGEOUS! smile.gif smile.gif

[Dan Nielsen]

Thank you for the kind words. Harry has designed some pretty boats here with an eye-catching sheer. There is a tiny resevior about 3 miles from the house that is, save the occasional fisherman, uninhabited by humans and for which petroleum powered boats are not pemitted. The tree lined shore is very quiet and in these little boats you can sneak up on all sorts of creatures ...... a spendid way to forget about life for a while.

Now you will notice that I did not post pictures of my spotlessly clean house or manicured lawn. That is because the don't exist! These are the things I've given up (gladly) to feed the boat building craving. The dogs don't seem to mind. My friends and neighbors refer to my place as unpretentious and casual. You should read cluttered and dirty, but hey, the beer is cold and the talk is all about small wood boats.

[dmede]

Very nice boats Dan. I don't know if we have crossed paths on this before or not but I am currently in the process of building a Fiddlehead myself. I have the bulkheads, mid frame and one stem done so far. Stem #2 and bottom coming soon.

If you don't mind I have a few questions (that doesn't count as one of them) ;)

What woods did you use and what is the finish on the decks?

Did you clench nail them? What did you use for a clenching iron?

Very nice boats. I'd love to see more of your building pics if possible.

Dave

[ 08-17-2004, 02:46 PM: Message edited by: dmede ]

[Dan Nielsen]

Hello dmede,

I tried to used eastern white cedar for the planks and decks as specified. The stuff I got was of very poor quality and ended up planking one boat in cedar and the other in a combination cedar and pine (middle planks). The decks on both boats are cedar. I made the bottom, frames, stems and other structurual components of southern yellow pine. The coamings, back rest, foot rest and rub rail are of red oak. I used a little mahogany on the false stem and coaming blocks. I had some left over 3/8" marine plywood that I used for the bulkheads and hatch covers (I know, I cheated). Using the heavier woods added to the weight of the boats. Consequently, these 12 foot Fiddleheads weigh about 60 lbs (Harry claims about 45 lbs when using cedar and fir).

The decks are finished with plain old spar varnish. The paint for the interior and exterior came from Kirby.

I fastened them as indicated in the "How To" book. The planks were screwed and clinch nailed. The decks were pinned and screwed down. I tried use another hammer to back the nails during clinching. Not so good. I bought a clinching iron from the host's catalog and things went much better. I think I got all my fasterners from Jamestown and Hamilton.

Sorry, I don't have many construction photos. You can e-mail questions if you would like. Anyway, I hope this was helpful.

[dmede]

Thanks Dan,

Yeah that helps. Im just curious to hear what others have done when on a similar project as me. I'm using Wester Red Cedar for bulk heads, planks, decks and covering boards. Port Orford Cedar for the frame, stems and bottom. And probably ash and oak for the misc. hardwood parts.

You probably saved a bit of frustration going with ply bulkheads. Mine were a challenge to get out and I may need to get out another. I'm doing ok so far, Harry's plans and building notes are great, but if I get stuck I may drop you an email to see how you got along.

Thanks.

[DougC]

Nice job Dan. Very goodlooking hatch covers. What's the beam on those boats and how do they handle?
Doug

[Dan Nielsen]

Thanks Doug. I cheated on the hatch covers too. They are marine ply just like the bulkheads. Painting them to match the topsides worked well. I think painting the interior cream worked well too. Harry seems to favor all bright on the inside.

You can double check the stats on this boat on Harry Bryant's website, but I think it is 29 1/2 inches wide. I am afraid I will not be much of a judge as to how they perform. I have never paddled this type of boat before. They track pretty well, but wind can throw you off line. It is easy to get started and maintain a moderate pace. Turning them by paddling on one side takes more time and space than I expected. Braking on one side and paddling the other makes the turn much sharper but slows the boat ... though it is easy to re-gain speed. They go backwards easily and true. Not being experienced in canoes/kayaks they felt unstable when I fist got in them. I have learned the you don't make abrupt movements. Initially they seem to tip easily, but stiffen up as you turn. I have not been dumped yet, but I am certain I will someday. Hope the water is warm.