Rangeley Lakes Boat Build

[FiremanJim]

Hi, all:

I've started construction on a 15' Rangeley Lakes boat. I'm using a kit from Newfound Woodworks in New Hampshire. Michael Vermouth from Newfound has been extremely helpful and I hope I haven't run out of my allotment of dumb questions.

The boat will be a fiberglass over cedar, strip built.

So far, I've got the strongback built and the forms set up. I've fashioned the king plank and attached it to the inner stem. I've installed the shearstrakes today and am just starting to strip the sides. I'm going to try to go "stapleless" and am working out some clamping techniques. I've looked at several on here and will probably use some version of one of them.

Originally, I wanted to build in a tent, but it blew down twice in 3 days, so I took the hint and am working in my cramped garage. (Great incentive to lose weight!).

I'll post some pics as soon as I figure out how to do that. (First I gotta get the glue off my fingers!)

[SMARTINSEN]

http://www.newfound.com/images/Rangeley%2015.JPG

To post a photo, you need to have your photos available on a web-hosting service like Photobucket or Flickr or the like or on your own website, etc. You cannot post your photos directly to the WBF.

Once your photos are on the web, you can copy the image location, then on the thread tool bar select the insert image iconhttp://www.woodenboat.com/forum/images/editor/insertimage.gif and paste into the popup menu bar.

Try it, if you have trouble, give a shout, someone will be along to help you out.

[FiremanJim]

Some pics of progress so far:
http://i607.photobucket.com/albums/tt153/FiremanJim_01/Rangeley/DSC_2766.jpg?t=1245202534

Form set up; striping started
http://i607.photobucket.com/albums/tt153/FiremanJim_01/Rangeley/DSC_2768.jpg?t=1245202574

Inner stem
http://i607.photobucket.com/albums/tt153/FiremanJim_01/Rangeley/DSC_2769.jpg?t=1245202608
Stripping detail

[FiremanJim]

OK- I screwed up the order - and I haven't yet figured out how to get the pics to show up in the post - but at least you can see them, so that's something.

[TimmS]

Those are beautiful lines on those molds Jim http://i607.photobucket.com/albums/tt153/FiremanJim_01/Rangeley/DSC_2766.jpg?t=1245202534

[TimT]

A little inspiration- a similar strip Rangeley boat done by another forumite, Abe. It gave me something to think about while doing mine.

http://www.woodenboat.com/forum/showthread.php?t=9607

[FiremanJim]

Thanks, TimT - Abe sure has done a nice job on that one! Hope mine at least looks like a boat when I'm done!

[Spokaloo]

Good to see another nozzle jockey using his free time appropriately.

Eric
IAFF local 29

[FiremanJim]

Hi, Eric - I'm semi-retired now and doing this to give me an excuse not to do any actual work!

I've been clamping and gluing - 2 new pics

this one waiting for the next strip:
http://i607.photobucket.com/albums/tt153/FiremanJim_01/Rangeley/DSC_2771.jpg?t=1245280824

http://i607.photobucket.com/albums/tt153/FiremanJim_01/Rangeley/DSC_2773.jpg?t=1245280930

[Spokaloo]

Aren't we all semi-retired?

Looks like very tidy work.

E

[FiremanJim]

Thanks, Spookaloo - my wife thinks I've been retired since 1970! Building without using staples is very s-l-o-w but I think I'll like the results better. I think those tiny holes would drive me nuts every time I saw them - even though they wouldn't cause any problems.

I'm getting about 6 strips/day (3/side) done in between other projects, so I think I should be done stripping in about 2 weeks. Then it's on to fairing, sanding, scraping, sanding and eventually, fiberglass!

[Fitz]

Fireman Jim:

I grew up in Rangeley, and spent a few summers scraping and painting Rangeleys. I am partial to the double enders, but if you need any info just holler, I'll see what I can dredge up. There were several builders in town, Ellis, Bracket, Collins. Mrs. Tiny Collins was my 6th grade teacher... I know of an Ellis descendant that tried to pick it up again.

[FiremanJim]

Fitz: Thanks very much for your generous offer. I chose this design because I wanted a boat that could safely hold me and 2 grandchildren on some area lakes. I was interested in rowing since that would be easier than sailing with the grandkids.

I considered a Whitehall, but the Rangeley has a flatter hull section and seems like it should be more stable. Also, when I read about these boats in John Gardener's book; he described them as easy to build and very stable.

I would like to learn as much about these boats as possible; they seem like a really interesting American boat. I just hope my efforts do the design justice.

Anything you can tell me about these boats or if you can point me to more resources, will be greatly appreciated.

[TimT]

There's a book on Rangeley's available at the wooden boat store.
http://www.woodenboatstore.com/The-Rangeley-and-Its-Region/productinfo/300-719/

It traces a bit of the history of the boat and how the region and local economy developed as a vacation destination and goes into a bit more depth on the boats made by the Ellis company. It includes the lines for a Guide model Ellis boat. It looks like the Gardner one and the Newfound Woodworks design. I built to the Gardner offsets with the length reduced to 15'10".

Like you, I chose the Rangeley over the Whitehall types looking for greater stability. I haven't had it out enough to really judge, but it's a much more stable fishing platform than a canoe.

[FiremanJim]

Now I have another question. I'm about 3/4 of the way into stripping the hull and Ive noticed a slight downward bend to the strip in the stem area. It seesm to be the same amount on both sides fo the hull (~1" at the stem, decreasing to 0 at frame #2.

I'm thinking of adding tapered cheater strips to bring the remaining strips back into alignment as is mentioned in the Van Leuuven book.

Does anybody see any problem with that - other than the obvious ones of exactly fitting the cheater strips?

[SMARTINSEN]

Now I have another question. I'm about 3/4 of the way into stripping the hull and Ive noticed a slight downward bend to the strip in the stem area. It seesm to be the same amount on both sides fo the hull (~1" at the stem, decreasing to 0 at frame #2.

I'm thinking of adding tapered cheater strips to bring the remaining strips back into alignment as is mentioned in the Van Leuuven book.

Does anybody see any problem with that - other than the obvious ones of exactly fitting the cheater strips?

Nick Schade addresses this as well in his new book. Unfortunately, I lent it to my brother in law (I hope to get it back, he is in MD, and I am in CT.)

[abe]

Jim, Stumbled on your thread and nice to see another strip Rangeley being built. We will need to have a Rangeley EBS.

To answer your question, a cheater strip or two is fine. Install both adjoining full size strips first with just enough space to insert the cheater. Make both port and starboard cheaters identical. Taper the bead edge and use your block plane or Stanley 100(used this plane more than any other tool when fitting strips) to shape the beaded edge.

In photo attached, the cheater is about 12 strips above the keel and about a foot in length. Good luck.


http://cheerio.zenfolio.com/img/v3/p393913320-4.jpg

[donald branscom]

A beautiful boat! WOW

[FiremanJim]

Abe:
Thanks for the picture. Great Job! I'm having a lot of fun building this; it's my first effort and so far, it seems to be going well.

I added the cheater strips last night and had planed and sanded them to fit as you described. I'm about to go into the garage to see how well it's working out and to add another strip. (I'm building without staples, so this part is taking a long time.)

I agree with your tool comment, my Stanley block plane that I've had for more than 40 years, is getting a lot of use on this project. Fortunately, I sharpened it before starting and cedar is a pretty soft wood so I'm not having any trouble with tear out.

A trick I found on the internet was to take a scrap strip, about 12" long and glue some 60 grit sandpaper to it. I use that to adjust the final bevel of the inner stem and the transom so that each strip lies flat and in the same plane as the previous strip. So far, that's working pretty well.

Thanks for all your help and encouragement!

[FiremanJim]

I'm getting close to the end of the stripping process. The hull near the stem appears a little finer that I expected but when I place the stips flatter, I get a sort of chine that I don't want. So, I'll keep going and expect things will work themselves out.http://i607.photobucket.com/albums/tt153/FiremanJim_01/DSC_7801.jpg?t=1246282248http://i607.photobucket.com/albums/tt153/FiremanJim_01/DSC_7805.jpg?t=1246282649

[Fitz]

FiremanJim:

This Rangeley was at the WoodenBoat Show over the weekend:

http://inlinethumb61.webshots.com/43900/2635463960054321892S600x600Q85.jpg

[FiremanJim]

Well, the strips are all finally applied. Fitting the last one on each side was interesting; it looks like the starboard side is about 1/8" out of alignment with the keel compared to the port side.

I'm planning to fill the gap with some epoxy with wood flour and very small wood chips (from my block plane when fairing the end of the strips at the transom), The idea is that, since epoxy is fairly rigid when hardened and wood expands/contracts with moisture and temperature differently than epoxy, the addition of wood chips will prevent the epoxy from becoming an inflexible band that might cause stresses in the keel.

Now this idea sounds good in theory but has any body got any practical experience to indicate if it will work?

[abe]

Well, the strips are all finally applied. Fitting the last one on each side was interesting; it looks like the starboard side is about 1/8" out of alignment with the keel compared to the port side.


Now this idea sounds good in theory but has any body got any practical experience to indicate if it will work?

Epoxy can be used to fill gaps of all sizes, but why not use a strip of wood such as a spline or modified dutchman? The two layers of 6 oz glass and epoxy will provide strength. Good luck.

[TimT]

I'm planning to fill the gap with some epoxy with wood flour and very small wood chips ....

Now this idea sounds good in theory but has any body got any practical experience to indicate if it will work?

I shaped skinny strips of wood to fill those last gaps. You probably have to shave one side of the cove off to get the strip in, and may need to cut the strip and reassemble in place. Then fill the remaining narrow gaps with goop.

On my first stripper I tried a mix of fine sifted sawdust and epoxy. The mix was very coarse, and hard to spread smooth. The dust/glue mix ended up a dark brown and really accented the narrow gaps I'd filled. It always ends up several shades darker than the dust.

Then I tried dust from the sander. Much smoother mix, but again a large contrast to the wood.

It might be a good place to cheat and use a microfiber mix for transparency, or mix microballoons in to lighten the resulting putty.

I solved the color matching problem when I built my Rangeley. Paint.

[swab]

WOW! Beautiful. Good work Jim.

[FiremanJim]

Thanks for the suggestions. I guess I was rushing too much to get this phase finished. I'll slow down and look at the problem a little more critically tomorrow.

[FiremanJim]

http://i607.photobucket.com/albums/tt153/FiremanJim_01/DSC_7953.jpg?t=1247166666

Finally! Striping is completed! Although it took much longer without using staples, I still think it was worth it.

Now to wait for the epoxy to dry then begin fairing. I'm not sure how fine to sand the hull- I'd like a nice finish, so does 180 grit on a random orbit sander sound OK?

Also, I've seen some folks who advocate a sealing coat of epoxy before fiberglassing; other do not. Anybody have any opinions on which technique works best?

Thanks,

[Spokaloo]

Id get her fair with 80-120 grit, as fineness won't translate through the glass.

My personal preference is to lay dry glass out on the boat, prefit with darts, cuts, and taped in place, then wet through the dry fabric. Seems to get a tighter layup every time, and always wrinkle free.

E

[Candyfloss]

Be my choice too, but use a real slow hardener. Cedar soaks up a lot of resin, so you need lots of time.

[TimT]

Sanding- iirc the books I read recommended 80-120 grit. I used a block plane and spokeshave to knock off the corners. Then smoothed with 80. Then a quick wipedown with water to raise the grain, and then a quick pass with 120.

You went stapleless so you don't have to raise the staple dents, but water works well to pop any other dents in the surface of the wood before you smooth.

glassing- I spread the glass on the hull in the evening, smoothed it, and let it drape overnight. Then in the morning started layering on the goop over the cloth. I used West with slow hardener on the first boat and West special coating hardener (207) on the other two strippers. Fortunately the canoes and kayak didn't require any darts in the cloth. Just had to cut the cloth to follow the bow and stern stems. On the kayak, I had 2 layers of 6 oz. cloth from the waterline down and had no problems wetting through both layers together.

[FiremanJim]

Thanks, everyone. Your comments and suggestions are really helpful. I'm still fairing (pant, pant) but when I'm done with that, I'll post some more pics.