Build of my 34' Venus Ketch

[wizbang 13]

Yes, that is "Pluto", loulou's 34'er. Sister to mine.
She has a saab, sabb, whateva.

[wizbang 13]

So, April 2012,
I have been home in the PNW for 3 weeks. Woodwind is hauled out in Antigua for maybe 9 months.
I spoke with Paul Johnson , the designer, this past winter in Carriacou about putting the plans and even the offsets up on here. He does not use a computer. He knows that over the years , many of his boats have been built without any royalties paid to him. He does not want this outcome, but it happens.
He said he is okay with publishing the lines and offsets. Trusting in goodwill of man (good luck I told Him) in general.
Apparently, I have one of the ONLY table of offsets to the 28'er left. I also have my set of plans for the 34'er. a bit worn and torn , but still able to function.
He has lost 2 boats in the last 15 years, and lots of his things with them, plans to his own boats included. i will get them to a better scanner soon, and maybe put em up right here. we talked about "owing/paying " him fifty bucks for "studying " them, (not just peeking at them) and 4 or 5 hundred for permission to build one. His plans are only 3 pages, it is expected one sort of knows HOW to build the boat. sadly, he never published/wrote a booklet or anything like that. i could, but it would not convey Johnsons genius.
i hope this does not constitute 'selling" stuff here.

[Yeadon]

Thanks for this thread. Still a great read.

[sailboy3]

Bruce, you, and PEJ, might be interested in knowing that Dalton, Young and Associates in the UK is selling complete plan sets (I bought plans for the 28 for under 50 bucks including shipping to the US). It seems that Percy Dalton of the Dalton half of the store did the drafting for PEJ.

If I ever built the boat I'd pass on the appropriate royalties to Johnson of course, but I'm not sure if he's aware of that situation.


And dude, this thread IS the how to build booklet. I wouldn't have bothered buying the plans with the intention of ever building them if this thread didn't exist.

[wizbang 13]

Bruce, you, and PEJ, might be interested in knowing that Dalton, Young and Associates in the UK is selling complete plan sets (I bought plans for the 28 for under 50 bucks including shipping to the US). It seems that Percy Young of the Young half of the store did the drafting for PEJ.

If I ever built the boat I'd pass on the appropriate royalties to Johnson of course, but I'm not sure if he's aware of that situation.


And dude, this thread IS the how to build booklet. I wouldn't have bothered buying the plans with the intention of ever building them if this thread didn't exist.

Yowzer!! I will tell him , through my "channels" , Thanks sailboy!
Do you figure they gave you permission to build for $50 , or "study plans"?
How did you find them, google? and.. when??
I just
googled" them myself, they , he, seems to be a bookseller. Do you think he had just one set?

[Hwyl]

Bruce, had you considered working through Scot to sell the plans through the Wooden boat store. It would reach a wide audience and be financially secure

[sailboy3]

Yowzer!! I will tell him , through my "channels" , Thanks sailboy!
Do you figure they gave you permission to build for $50 , or "study plans"?
How did you find them, google? and.. when??
I just
googled" them myself, they , he, seems to be a bookseller. Do you think he had just one set?

Well I PMd skaraborgcraft to try to bum his set of plans for the 28, and he referred me to DY. The plans aren't anywhere on his website, so I emailed them. I doubt anyone would be aware that DY carried them, unless they knew to ask.

They do have the original set, which they did a photocopy of for me.


The plans were complete, full size, building plans, not study plans.

As far as the "rights to build," that's why I mentioned Percy Dalton who did the drafting and therefore has some rights to them I guess. Like I said, I was planning on giving Johnson some money at the first opportunity if I actually went ahead and built the thing.

I didn't ask, but I'd imagine that they have some other sizes of the venus on hand as well.

Oh, and I second gareth's idea of selling them at the WB store.

[sailboy3]

Update, I reread stuart young's email explaining the situation. The bold is mine.


Hello,
Thank you for your timely reminder which energised me to track down the Venus drawings.
The drawings that we have are a bit rough, mainly prints rather than the originals which presumably Percy Dalton gave to Paul Johnson.
We have the following, -
Dwg. 272, print of lines and offsets for 28 ft. Venus.
Dwg 273, print, Construction details, strip-planked, edge-nailed and epoxy fastened.
Dwg 274, print, drawing of the iron ballast keel of 3 tons.
Dwg 277, print, gaff ketch sail plan. Total 457 sq. ft. (Lowers only 407 sg. ft.) with spar details and computation for the centre of effort.
These prints do not copy very well, I'm afraid, and I am reluctant to pretend that they are proper working drawings to compare with those you would get from a currently practising designer like Paul Gartside. They would need some work to present to a professional boat builder, but all the basic data is there for you or a designer to redraw. If you intend to build it yourself then this is not so much of a problem.
I can get these four drawings copied, which means a trip to the local copy shop, which would have to wait until after Christmas now.
Cost to you would be GBP20.00 which just covers the copying costs, plus mailing to the states, another GBP15.00 I estimate. If you can pay by Credit/Debit card I will charge the actual amount of post and packing.
I should point out that I cannot offer any 'after-sales service' such as you might receive from a living designer, and the copies are sold marked 'For research only, - not for building' to cover us from any product liability claims. (Recent European Union legislation regarding boat building, prevents me from selling these copies other than as historical documents.)
So I'm afraid you are very much on your own, but she is a fine little boat, well worth preserving, as Paul Johnson proved.
Best Regards,
Stuart Young.

[wizbang 13]

Thanks again sailboy 3,
"a living designer" ha ha , reports of his death have been greatly exaggerated.

[potomac]

Wiz- If you were taking on a project of this magnitude again, would you choose the same building method? I ask because this thread seems to reveal the potential for building a larger boat by a single builder. Granted, it's tough for any of us to be that young again. I'm wondering about a 30', 6-ton vessel and while I don't relish that much epoxy time, your thread makes it seem doable, even it I would do it way, way slower. Some say strip planking is slow, but you seemed to rip her out and ended up with an incredibly long-lasting, tough-wearing boat. As a related question, much is made over the speed strip or bead and cove planks, do you think that's all that important or helpful? I know you didn't use them. I can see a downside being expense as well as time and potentially wasted material with all the milling. I also wondered if the cove ends were fragile. Think it's worth it? As always, thanks- you're an inspiration.

[wizbang 13]

Absolutly yes , I would use the same method.
Those who say strip planking is slow to build and difficult to repair should never have built one. You HAVE to believe in the epoxy. The slowness that others experience is due to an insistance on time consuming joinery. I was taught by Paul that good joinery is bad for epoxy. One of my favorite anecdotes of his is once when a chap had done many hours of work to make a beautiful mast scarph, Paul set down dozens of wooden matches in the joint before gluing. True or not, it expresses my take on epoxy.
99% of epoxy failures are from bad mixing or glue starvation. Ever heard of epoxy failing from bad joinery? no.
That said, It is best if the design is a heavyish displacement and even better, but not nessessary, if the designer has designed it for strip planking.
Next time I would give her a few layers of dynel, but that is not a game changer. The galv fastenings, yes,I would do that again. Their only problem is their effect on re sale value. I have never been and will never be a slave to my boat.
A project that I am actually looking for now is a 6 ton 30'er, for use in the PNW. a Vertue sloop would be perfect. I want a wigged out hull that I can tear off the planking from the bottom and replace with strip planking.
speedc strip and bead and cove? Cripes, It's the same story of not trusting epoxy or doing leaps and bounds to save a bit of glue. That stuff is for mini yachts, not larger cruising vessels. I would never use it. It changes simple to easy.

[PeterSibley]

Wiz, galv nails ? How about wooden dowels? I can buy dowel cheep in long lengths and Australia's warm water and galv makes me very nervous.

[wizbang 13]

Peter, The way I think of the 7000 ,4" vertical nails in my boat, are as rebar is to cement.
Theoretically, I know they "do nothing", being on the inside of the plank. (just like kevlar rope in cuts n case).
But I know my boat to be much, much stronger than if she had wood dowels rather than steel.
Wooden dowels would turn the build into another painstakingly slow affair. Well, they would slow it down some.
Woodwind has been iun the tropics for many years. They are dry. The planking is dry. It does not matter cold or warm, unless of course one skimps on the epoxy.

[PeterSibley]

OK, noted and learned from ! Of course she has been in water as warm as ours so I'm worrying about nothing .

Sealed with epoxy inside and out .. would you recommend glassing the outside, no don't answer that .With our teredos glass is well worth the time it takes.

[wizbang 13]

Dynel is what I would do . not glass.
But Woodwind is heavily coated with resin, which keeps worms and bugs out.
Sheathing only keeps hairline cracks from making nuisance leaks. And makes the paintjob prettier.
Sheathing a heavily built strip planked boat really is 6 of one and half dozen of another.

[PeterSibley]

16hp Ducati Diesel. air cooled. This was a great engine (for a young person) Started with a rope, no starter or alternater.Ran 5 hours on 1 gallon. My wife could never start it ,so the boat was in a transition of still being engineless.Took a few minutes to start with all the prepping.Dry exhaust.Kept it until1994. I had an M -20 for 10 years, now (2011) I have a 40hp Volvo.

I might actually be able to add something to this thread. A while ago a mate and I set up an electric start on his starterless 20 hp Lister clone ( it had no place for a starter ). It has valve lifters so we set up the starter from a Yamaha motor cycle up high on the crank, $30 worth from the bike wrecker. A lovely reduction gear and throw out mechanism. Lift the levers, hit the button, drop levers and this tiny thing starts a 1/2ton lump of iron .

[wizbang 13]

The vertical nails that got exposed got the sawzall. Here is the first hull repair I have ever done to her. I disced off the plank ends also because she will be stored indoors this summer and she will not have rain water wicking down for 9 months, and it gave me a chance to survey some more areas. Anyway, the propellor fairing brought some of the galv screws very close to the surface and I had some rust and black fir. The repair will be very easy , next December when I return.

[PeterSibley]

I discked off 25 years of bottom paint about 3 years ago. Boatyard in Virgin Gorda, no environmental mentalness. Spun it in 2 days, a dozen 16 grits.She was "painted" with system three, so I did not "wood" her. I rebuilt with various epoxy "coatings" not resin.

Wiz, what's the curley PVC pipe structure aft ? I though ventilation for a storage period but it doesn't seem big enough.

[wizbang 13]

Ha ha , I tell people it is for an air toilet, but no, it is for ventilation. Plenty of breeze comes in from trade winds.
I try not to photograph her from dead astern, those port lights do not match!!
The blue crap is for my dingy, I use port, Jan uses stbd.
Bruce (wiz is a boat)

[gordocutter]

Bruce I think its already been told here but I say anyway, this thread is a truly inspirational in doing things in a way simple, functionals and beautiful. The boat and the project are very nice and I've got interested in the plans too, as I think a lot of people are. Do you think that can be send to Brazil?
Also I'm curious about if this metho of construction, could it work in other boats similars like the Atkin's fore n' aft?
Cheers
Mello

[PeterSibley]

Fore n' Aft would be well suited to strip plank .

Bruce, your stem and stern structure are just normal carvel bolted together construction ? or did you glue them up from millions of little bits?

[wizbang 13]

Peter, the stem n stern posts, and stem n stern knees are triple sawn and glued. They are laid out on the lofting floor, very simple, overlapping joints.
My yellow cedar was a full 2 inches, not planed, by 8" and some 10" . Not carvel style. Even rabbits would be a pita.
I never had a thickness planer, (or bandsaw), for the whole boat.
Building like this makes the use of hand tools, hatchet, adze, planes, spokeshave, even more arduous, cuz the grain is going crazy all over. That is a good thing for strength.
Gordocutter, the answer you seek lies in a model. You do not need a museum showcase model. I built 2 venus models, the 28 and the 34. I have strip planked boats not designed for it , not afraid of "cheaters". Not using bead and cove nonsense makes it simpler.

[PeterSibley]

OK, like a double sawn frame but triple .

[wizbang 13]

Yup. The plan wants 6" thick. If I had had 1 inch boards I would have made them 6 lams. That would have been closer to a million little pieces.
I was not tempted to make large lams "spring leaf" style. Building them flat on the lofting floor was a piece of cake. No chance of spring back.
The Venus lofting was simpler than most boats I have seen lofted. I had no diagonals, I do not even know what they are frankly, and no prebeveling.
I beveled the stem and stern little by little as ribbands went on . Remember Venus has no rabbets, in the keel or stem /stern. It's silly to do that with strip planking.The planking starts at the bottom of the wood keel and the planks run out past the stam /starn,. At places of twist, one can make the planks run WAY out , making the twist easier, then the cut offs can be scarphed back into another plank somewhere.I cringe when I see how much time and effort folks do do get carvel planks into position.

[trango]

Yup. The plan wants 6" thick. If I had had 1 inch boards I would have made them 6 lams. That would have been closer to a million little pieces.
I was not tempted to make large lams "spring leaf" style. Building them flat on the lofting floor was a piece of cake. No chance of spring back.
The Venus lofting was simpler than most boats I have seen lofted. I had no diagonals, I do not even know what they are frankly, and no prebeveling.
I beveled the stem and stern little by little as ribbands went on . Remember Venus has no rabbets, in the keel or stem /stern. It's silly to do that with strip planking.The planking starts at the bottom of the wood keel and the planks run out past the stam /starn,. At places of twist, one can make the planks run WAY out , making the twist easier, then the cut offs can be scarphed back into another plank somewhere.I cringe when I see how much time and effort folks do do get carvel planks into position.

Dear Bruce,

I really like this thread!

Sorry for hijacking your thread but I have a question that relates to your discussion - I hope it's OK... I'm soon to start the planking of my first strip planked boat (23 ft, gartside). The boat was originally designed for cold-moulding and the plans specifies a rabbit. From your point of view, it sounds that I would do good to skip the rabbet. My question is whatever there is any potential drawback with such approach?

/Fredrik

[wizbang 13]

The purpose of a rabbet , in carvel building, is to have something for the plank/caulk to swell against, no? (yes). Same as a covering board on a deck. That is all it does. Putting stuff on boats for beauty or tradition alone is wacky to me.
It serves NO function on a glued boat.
Fredrik, The time to figure this out is before you start building, not when you are ready to start planking. I dunno how your boat is lofted or set up? I dunno if it is too late? The only thing I can think of for a cold molded boat to have a rabbet is maybe to protect end grain. Strip plank? I cannot see why? And in fact I can only see dis advantages, like the ability to run out the planks , as above.

[wizbang 13]

here are a few more pics from 1983.Top one even has my lil adze putting in an appearance.Middle pic shows the simplicity of the backbone going together.The bottom pic shows a good look at how the first plank is attached to the wood keel before the wood keel is bolted up to the ballast keel.That makita drill with the metal clip was the best drill I ever had.They don't make em like that no mo .Bet if I could pull those galv bolts today, they would look just like new.

[wizbang 13]

Original plans of my venus 4, 34' , from 1973.

[wizbang 13]

here are the offsets, the secret ingredient to build this boat. As I mentioned earlier, I spoke with Paul about publishing them here, He is fine with it. If anyone actually builds one , You owe Paul some money. I will get the sailplan up soon

[gordocutter]

Thanks for posting that Bruce!Seems to be a simple plan. Does the 28' follow the same idea of lines and construction?

[trango]

The purpose of a rabbet , in carvel building, is to have something for the plank/caulk to swell against, no? (yes). Same as a covering board on a deck. That is all it does. Putting stuff on boats for beauty or tradition alone is wacky to me.
It serves NO function on a glued boat.
Fredrik, The time to figure this out is before you start building, not when you are ready to start planking. I dunno how your boat is lofted or set up? I dunno if it is too late? The only thing I can think of for a cold molded boat to have a rabbet is maybe to protect end grain. Strip plank? I cannot see why? And in fact I can only see dis advantages, like the ability to run out the planks , as above.

Thank you!

You're right that I should have decided already at the lofting - the plan was/is to build the boat with a rabbet to learn how to do it. Epoxy is very forgiving for a newbie woodworker like myself so any mistake with the fit shouldn't matter. I'll probably continue according to the original plan, It will take longer time but the rabbet, even if it's unnecessary, shouldn't hurt.

/Fredrik

[wizbang 13]

sail plan of my 34'er. Sailing in the Caribbean in Winter, this small jib is just fine. You can see from my photos that I carried a jib boom , flying jib and a bigger jib for many years.No back stay, standing or running.
I will get the 28' plans up soon

[skaraborgcraft]

Percy Dalton in the UK was selling plans for the 28, where i got mine,but that was a long time ago. If Paul is still around,then try to get copies.Still the demand for a small .capable live aboard. The 28 was just 2 sheets, lines plan with offsets and sail plan.

[wizbang 13]

Here are plans to the 28'er, known as "Venus 2" . His notes to me, "Mr Bruce", about the chap who copied them off the plywood (Dalton)got confused. His building details are not Hereschoff Religion Plans. They are changed with each boat. Even when I worked with him, 30 years ago and 15 years after drawing the boat, He did things differently than written here.

[skaraborgcraft]

I still get serious desires when i see that! But ,if i had seen a 28 before i went cruising in what i had,i would not have gone when i did,so i did have at least 2 years unaware of this boat that has never been far in my mind,even almost.....20 years later. If i ever move to the coast (Baltic) i would still be tempted,a good boat for the Norwegian coast and North Cape! I have since got used to the virtue of shoal draft,but as a go anywhere anytime boat,this is still my Numero Uno!!

[wizbang 13]

"Wee Vee" is a dream boat for me too.
The 34 is a small big boat, the 28 is a big small boat.
Seeing the first 28 in 1975 changed my life, literally.

[potomac]

I'm glad this thread got a bump. Reading Don Kurylko's build of his little, big boat this morning, and he discussed doing a double layer strip build instead of the cold molding he originally choose. Have you heard of this, Bruce? Was bending Woodwind's planks difficult enough to make you consider doing it in two layers? Thanks- Aaron

[wizbang 13]

Hmmm, Woodwind was VERY easy to plank. I did not have a single plank make a single peep.
But, 4 years earlier, when helping Johnson build Pluto in St Barts, quite a few of the planks went CRACKO , all in the stern. Pluto is built with AYC , and she is one quarter inch thinner than Woodwind. which one might think is ass wackbards , (and it is. mine is heavier and thicker) .
I put that down to being built in a dry dry place as opposed to the PNW, where it never really gets dry.
I am not all up to speed on Dons comments. But, I have never been a fan of cold molding over a strip planked boat. I am half n half keen on even sheathing one . Double strip planking is what I recommended for the late SRS guy, which I have never done , but could easily picture for a bigger boat.( 2 or 3 inch thick hull). Partly because smaller planking is easier and cheaper to come by, ( see Ole , in the Minde thread, gluing his oak planks together, sheesh) and as you recognize, easier to work with.

[skaraborgcraft]

I got discussing alternative build methods with another guy who owned a ferro version. He thought an inner layer of 3/4in common builders lumber,with 2 diagonal overlays of 4mm ply,cut into 6in boards,or no strip planks and just the 5 layers of 4mm ply,with added stringers on the frames,that we worked out to buy in bulk for a lot less than the solid timber for planking,polyurethane glued and plastic nails in an air gun. We costed quite a saving over hull fastenings with the glued hull,with a cloth-epoxy overlay. Today im not so sure that laying up 5 skins is more preferable to one strip plank,but it would make for an incredibly stiff hull. I think a lot depends on where you are and how much you have to pay for materials and fastenings. On going below a 28 for the first time was kinda confusing,how do you get all this space in 28ft? Answer= 8 tons+ displacement. As Whizz said, she is a BIG small boat. Even though i know i could build a longer and therefore faster boat,with less weight,and therefore less expense, the V28 has a a charachter that i can only describe as being "womb-like", in the way of it does not matter what kind of crap weather is going on outside,in here you will be safe and all will be well. I have not come across many boats that give that "instinctive" feeling of security and safety,and i guess thats why after all these years she is still my ultimate offshore boat, Cheers

[wizbang 13]

haul out ( in Antigua) at 29 years old, I had a bit of rust showing underwater. There have only been about 3 galv screws ( plank to frame fasteners) that ever rusted to date. here it is , and what I did about it...

5 seconds of 16 grit discing showed a screw close to the surface and a bit of fir turned black.

clean the epoxy fron the slot, wack a good fitting screwdriver with a hammar, and use a ( rusty) vice grip to help it turn out

this is the worst of 500 galv screws, disgustin!


a shot of phosphoric acid, tomorrow the black will be gone, later I will fill it with epoxy, not put the screw back.


I only add all this to show that I have always felt that using epoxy, / building an epoxy boat, adds credibility to galv fastenings. This screw, heck, the whole boat, would have been clapped out without epoxy. The alternative of building without epoxy and using non ferrocious metasl , ( bronze or monel) would cost more than the stinking epoxy!! Plus, I would have a leaky ass carvel boat.

[wizbang 13]

oh, here is a (fuzzy) photo of the repair I did to # 167 above

[skaraborgcraft]

Im guessing the rusty finish on the vice grips gives a more non slip leverage, allowing more torque to be applied the the shaft of the screwdriver than a new fancy pair in stainless?

Thats a pretty comforting site really for a 29 year old galv screw.....you probably sleep well off shore. (despite the fish poisening thing)

[wizbang 13]

rusty vice grips, who will please invent non rusting , and floating, vice grips...


here is the spot the next morning. Ospho does wonders on rust blackened wood. Ever shot it on purpleheart?? ( like an lsd flashback!!)

and my last pesky leak, about 4 feet underwater, sawn out to a quarter inch depth, to be epoxy puttied in next winter.

( sharing her blemishes )

[wizbang 13]

http://forum.woodenboat.com/showthre...nd-cruise-2012
this thread is related to this main one, for those interested in my humble vessel.
a few things overlap

[AlexBR]

hello everyone. This is my first post on this forum, but I am a frequent reader at times. Thanks for all. It´s a great forum. I'm from the South of Brazil, sorry for my english, google translator is trying to help me ... I've read this topic 50 times and showed to many people ... Bruce .. firstly congratulations, this topic is an inspiration ... plans for this boat must be made ​​in CAD​​, and a construction manual needs to be done .. maybe some artist ... = o) someone draw a step by step, summarized ... with the photos that are on this topic ...

someone had success buying plans recently?

concrete keel and strip planking are all the best. If i´m gonna with a monohull, thats is the boat. No crazy joinery. You know something about the stand/hight on the cabin of the 28´?

Despite vigorous tropical forests here, wood is expensive (and I'm far from the Amazon agricultural frontier in the north, and there is wood that is far from epoxy ...). 80 gallons of epoxy cost $ 4000. "Cedrela fissilis" (cedro-rosa), one of the best wood for boatbuilding in Brazil, costs something like U$ 1200 / m³ (is that expensive to you??). Other wood are avaliable, more cheap whitt low quality. Yellow pine, the cheapest wood where I live, (from plantations) (pinus elliotis/taeda) are disponible for U$150 / m³, just for comparison. But are some YP with 8 or more anual rings per inch! Thermithes love it, anyway... We have a lot of native hardwoods but almost all very very heavy...
greetings
Alex

[keyhavenpotterer]

Bruce,

What was your protocol when you put in that fastener? Was it dipped in in epoxy or the hole filled first then drilled? Just neat or thickened?

Compared to driving a galvanised fitting into a prefilled epoxy hole, have you seen significant difference to a fastening 'just' pre coated?

Do you think lack of substantial electrical installations on a boat affects fastenings?

Is moisture getting to that screw via the head through the paint, or the low level of moisture in the timber that is always still there even with seasoned wood with incomplete epoxy encapsulation?

What, amongst the Johnson fleet have proven the most durable, in terms of backbone, planking and materials, as far as people can tell?

I think your boat, where its been and where kept, indicates this is an outstanding construction method. Do you think its the extensive use of yellow cedar that brings this? It seems the most durable wood that can be glued, as well as easy to work with medium strength, low movement that I've found.

Did Paul make his 28 with the old growth pitch pine backbone? Did he have any problems gluing this? Seems a tricky one to glue as according to the books? We still get old beams turning up out of churches here in the UK.

Ed

[wizbang 13]

Ed , When I built her ,I would put a bunch of planking on , like 2 or 3 feet high, then , drill a buncha holes where screws would go ,something like, every 4th plank and every 2nd frame. Then I sent them home with a lectric drill with a screwdriver bit. ( no fancy clutch model). No epoxy in the hole or on the screw., dry wood. The tops of the screw holes got licked with the putty knife later.
protocol, heh heh. but , as I mentioned, that is the only second or maybe third screw that ever leaked a drop of rust.and these few have been very close to the surface.
I dunno the answer to the durability thing . At least 5 Venus boats have been lost in the past 15 years . Most of those were airex core fg ones. Hurricanes and rum take their toll, (imho).

Alex BR , thank you. CAD for the plans? All you need to build the 28 or the 34 boat is in this thread. the offsets are the recipe. The value of building a model, a real model, cannot be over emphasized.
I can stand in the 28 , I am 5' 10".

[AlexBR]

Ok Bruce! I understand the recipe is on the table of offsets. When I talk about CAD drawings, I'm talking about not letting a project as important only on paper that seems to be falling apart ... Also, the photos displayed with the data are poorly .... The topic remains a good guide to building the Venus or other nail-glued-strip boat, however. I´m talk about the preservation of these drawings, which scanned WELL, would be stored more safely.

Thinking makes it an even better guide, I'll ask more questions:

internal bulkheads are structural? In fishering magazine article (or something like that, on the Venus Kecth site), Paul says they are. But the boat is foam. And the wooden boat?

Woodwind bulkhead are plywood? thickness?
the plans contain some information about the total wood needed to the building? You know an estimative?

Sorry for all thats questions. I´m trying to make a protocol for building this...

Alex

[PeterSibley]

Ed , When I built her ,I would put a bunch of planking on , like 2 or 3 feet high, then , drill a buncha holes where screws would go ,something like, every 4th plank and every 2nd frame. Then I sent them home with a lectric drill with a screwdriver bit. ( no fancy clutch model). No epoxy in the hole or on the screw., dry wood. The tops of the screw holes got licked with the putty knife later.
protocol, heh heh. but , as I mentioned, that is the only second or maybe third screw that ever leaked a drop of rust.and these few have been very close to the surface.
I dunno the answer to the durability thing . At least 5 Venus boats have been lost in the past 15 years . Most of those were airex core fg ones. Hurricanes and rum take their toll, (imho).

Alex BR , thank you. CAD for the plans? All you need to build the 28 or the 34 boat is in this thread. the offsets are the recipe. The value of building a model, a real model, cannot be over emphasized.
I can stand in the 28 , I am 5' 10".

Sufficient information .

[AlexBR]

One question more
when using this method, only with epoxy covering, how many coats are used? How many inside? and outside? I know that the protocol says to "be generous", but how many? Sanding between the coats?

other: what is the 'protocol' (I´m joking) on painting the Woodwind? Painting is something about hight costs in a boat today, and in a $12k boat its is interesting to know how. Hope i´m nothing boring you Bruce, but your boat is a great achievement!

Alex