Brockway type build by a true Amateur!

[Greg Stoll]

Nice work Chuck, looking good! It's a boat now! What fastenings did you use? What kind of glue?

Greg

[chuckp]

Hey Greg,

I used rustoleum primeguard plus screws and pl premium adhesive. The primeguard plus screws use the star head which torques better than the philips head for me. The pl premium appears to be holding well.

Trimming the bottom plywood to the chines is the most tedious part of this build for me so far, what did you guys use to trim the bottom?

I recall that you used concrete filler to seal the top of the chines, if that is correct, how did it work out?

Thanks,

Chuck

[Breakaway]

Chuck

When I built my small skiff, I trimmed the bottom to the chines by using a japanese pullsaw. Its thin and flexible and allowed me to follow the countour of the chine down each side of the boat. I didnt try to cut TOO close; juts close enough so that when I was done, all I needed was a few swipes with a plane, afew swipes with sandpaper and she came out right.

Hope this helps.

Kevin

[chuckp]

Hey Breakaway,

Sounds good, can a plane be used on a plywood edge?

Chuck

[Breakaway]

Chuck

bear in mind Im a greenhorn. But yes, a low-angle plane, sharp, can do the job. I found it worked better holding the plane at an angle to the direction of cut. Search for some of Bob Smalser's plane iron sharpening threads here on the WBF. And practice on scrap first.

Kevin

[chuckp]

Hey Kevin,

Will take a look!

Chuck

[chuckp]

The skiff does not look much different although the bottom is trimmed to the sides, the bottom and chines have been lightly sanded and the bow is ready for the false stem. Wow, this thing is kinda heavy!

Chuck

[Auroradan]

Chuck,

She's looking great!

For trimming the sides, first I trimmed with a Sawzal to within an inch. Finished with my 4-1/2" angle grinder and an aggressive carbide wheel wheel from Harbor Freight http://www.harborfreight.com/4-1-2-half-inch-carbide-cup-wheel-66613.html
Yes, I use some heavy duty tools but I do a lot of Metal work and my 4-1/2" grinder is my friend. The chips that wheel throws look same as Chain Saw saw dust. I also use that same wheel to do most of the work when scarfing plywood.

Keep up the Good work!
Dan

[Greg Stoll]

Hi Chuck,

Looks like you've already figured it out, but here's my answer anyhow:

I made a little fork tool to mark the edge of the chine on top of the plywood. Make the top fork 1/4" shorter than the bottom and you'll end up tracing a line along the bottom planking that is 1/4" larger than the finished bottom. Cut to that line with a circular saw set to a depth just a little deeper than planking thickness. Finish it off with a hand plane; I switched back and forth between block and bench planes.

How did you end up doing it?

Greg

[chuckp]

Hey Guys,

I used 24 and 36 grit pads on a 4 1/2 angle grinder for rough finish and then a random orbital sander with 40 and 80 grit pads to finish up.

I think I will look into a low angle plane next time to see if that makes it less worrisome to trim the bottom while staying out of the chines/side of the boat!

Time for some 4" boat tape and epoxy to seal up the joints and then it's keel time.

Got a line on a '71 Johnson 20 hp long shaft motor on the cheap I might try to nab if the price is right!

Chuck

[P.L.Lenihan]

It's always a nice treat to witness the coming together of a honest and handsome plywood skiff. Thanks for taking the time to post pictures and share your project with the rest of the forum chuckp! May it inspire others to build too!!



Cheers!


Peter

[chuckp]

Hey Peter,

Thanks for the kind words, I've watched other boats come together on this forum and they inspired me!

Chuck

[chuckp]

Hope you all had a good holiday!

Working on getting the screw heads filled in so I can fiberglass the joints. I also made a false stem for the bow although I'm not too happy with the lower portion in front of the chines so I'll probably cut a larger piece in that area.

Chuck

[jclays]

What are you filling your nail holes with?
Jim

[ILikeRust]

What would you guys say is the largest gap that can be filled with adhesive (PL Premium) while installing the bottom at the transom and bow stem?

Transom:



Stem:


Chuck

Oh crap, don't let Cap'n Rod see these pics...

[wavewalker]

Nice work.. I am contimplating building one of these. I don't want to rob your thread but I do have a question in general about the skiff. I have the Brockway plans from the school along with the updates, but also have plans from Old Wharf Dory Co, (Walter Baron), and Ladybug Skiff plans.. Seems each one has a different way to measure and cut out the sides. Some use a straight shear, cutting the plywood at the chine line, some use the straight chine line, and cut the shear.. Hope you understand what I'm saying.. Is there any advantage over the other, other than it "appears" that cutting at the chine the bottom seems have less front to rear rocker in the bottom.
WW

[chuckp]

What are you filling your nail holes with?
Jim

Hey Jim,

After much deliberation and experimentation, I'm using Evercoat Formula 27 - cures fast and sands right down.

Chuck

[chuckp]

Oh crap, don't let Cap'n Rod see these pics...

Hey Bill,

I came back and ground/sanded the joints down some more!

Chuck

[chuckp]

Nice work.. I am contimplating building one of these. I don't want to rob your thread but I do have a question in general about the skiff. I have the Brockway plans from the school along with the updates, but also have plans from Old Wharf Dory Co, (Walter Baron), and Ladybug Skiff plans.. Seems each one has a different way to measure and cut out the sides. Some use a straight shear, cutting the plywood at the chine line, some use the straight chine line, and cut the shear.. Hope you understand what I'm saying.. Is there any advantage over the other, other than it "appears" that cutting at the chine the bottom seems have less front to rear rocker in the bottom.
WW

Hello WW,

Some of the old salts on this forum would probably be able to answer this a lot better than me although I've heard the Brockway type plans have more rocker and the skiff may not plane as well as a skiff with less rocker.

Chuck

[ILikeRust]

Hey Bill,

I came back and ground/sanded the joints down some more!

Chuck

My concern was more along the lines of him claiming they validated his claim regarding gaps in wooden boats.

[chuckp]

My concern was more along the lines of him claiming they validated his claim regarding gaps in wooden boats.

I guess I don't know of or about the person being referenced - my point is that I sanded on the joints until it was all even to accept the bottom planking with no gaps. I probably won't even take a bailer with me on the maiden voyage!

Chuck

[chuckp]

Learning to fiberglass the joints.

Chuck

[ILikeRust]

I guess I don't know of or about the person being referenced - my point is that I sanded on the joints until it was all even to accept the bottom planking with no gaps. I probably won't even take a bailer with me on the maiden voyage!

Excellent!

[chuckp]

Fiberglass boat tape is curing on the bottom joints, I'll sand it all down and put another layer at the chines and stern soon!

Chuck

[wavewalker]

So...? Anything lately?

[chuckp]

Hello Wavewalker,

Not much, finally got the second layer of fiberglass on the bottom, waiting for it to cure so I can move to the next step on the bottom. Temps and humidity are causing the epoxy to cure slowly - I'm ready to get this thing rolled over!

Chuck

[chuckp]

Hey Guys,

Got the 2nd layer of fiberglass along the chines and transom sanded and the bottom treated with copper based wood preservative (we used something called coppertox back in my earlier days of wood boats). Time to get the bottom primed/painted and the keel installed so she can be rolled over!

Chuck

[Breakaway]

Looking good, man!

Kevin

[Auroradan]

Nice Work !!

[chuckp]

Thanks Guys, got to travel this weekend so I'll have to work on it during the week.

Chuck

[Greg Stoll]

Looks good Chuck!

[chuckp]

Hey Folks,

It's not as cold here as it is elsewhere in the U.S. although we've had our share of rainy cold weather lately. I've been having to wait for warmer days to do some priming. I got the second coat of primer on the bottom and the keel when the temp went above 50 for awhile today.

Something I need to remember if I do this again is to leave room for the keel fasteners when installing the bottom planking. Between the plank fasteners and the limbers in the floor timbers it was close but I got the keel fasteners squeezed in!

Chuck

[Auroradan]

Chuck,

She's looking Great and nice work on the glass! Question, what is that Green stuff on the bow stem?

Dan

[Greg Stoll]

Looks good Chuck! I checked out your Blog, it's a little more detailed than what you have here

I took my Brockway out twice this weekend, worked great! Super stable when crabbing, pulling pots was easy with the high initial stability!

Greg

[chuckp]

Hey Dan,

Thanks, the green color is a wood preservative I got at the local Lowes, it has about 10% copper just like the coppertox we use to use to treat bare wood boats back in my younger days. I hope this stuff helps!

Chuck

[chuckp]

Hey Greg,

Thanks, when I told my family I was building a boat, they were amazed (wonder what that says about me...!) and wanted to know all about the skiff. I tried to explain - unsuccessfully so I thought a more detailed explanation was in order for the family members who are not very nautically experienced or mechanical (not that I am either). Hence the details on the blog!

I was wondering if you had been able to get the boat out lately, it's good to know that the skiff is stable. I'm looking for a used 16' shrimp net to pull when I get to that point besides doing some rod and reel and cast net fishing.

I think you mentioned on your skiff thread that you had used PL Cement caulking on the chines - how did that work out?

Thanks,

Chuck

[chuckp]

Hey guys,

Got a little more work done yesterday on painting the bottom. I don't know if it was the weather (cool and very dry) or the paint (Valspar exterior latex) but the paint seemed to be aerated so I had micro bubbles in the paint even when using a good paint brush. Wish the paint looked as good up close as it does here. Oh well, it's the bottom of the boat! Sharpened the front of the keel some more so it's not so blunt. I plan on painting the last coat on the bottom later today when it warms up and then installing the keel early next week. That green smaple board close to the bow is the exterior side color.

Chuck

[chuckp]

Keel installed - maybe rolling the boat over tomorrow if the tar fillet cures enough!

Chuck

[Auroradan]

Looking better everyday. I'm jealous about the Shrimping, what few shrimp we have to catch are 30 miles off shore (No place for a Brockway) and 300' down!

Check with Greg but I doubt that the Tar will ever setup ;-)

Dan

[chuckp]

We had great weather today so the skiff rolled over!



for a few more pics, see the link below:

roll over

[Greg Stoll]

Looks good Chuck! I used Henry's roof patch in tubes, it did set up to the extent that it's solidish and not sticky, but it's still soft and easily dented with a fingernail.

Greg

[chuckp]

Hey guys,

I used some tar out of a gallon can and that's about what it's doing - staying soft to the touch. I think I'll try the stuff in a tube next time, probably goes on a lot easier!

Still looking for a shrimp net on craigslist - the new ones are getting costly even for a 16 footer.

Chuck

[chuckp]

Hey guys,

Got a little more work done on the skiff while it rained outside. I plan to work on bow storage tomorrow and maybe the top rails. See the link below for some photos.

Chuck

Framing

[chuckp]

Hello Folks,

I sent off to the state capitol for the hull number today so I can register the skiff with the county - sounds like the marine police will have to come and inspect the boat before I get the hull number.

I test fit the starboard rail today after temp mounting the fillers - the rail comes up a little short at the bow and the stern.

Bow:



Stern:



So I'm thinking about cutting the rails about 4 feet back from the bow and scarfing on the extra length I need. It seems like this area would have the least amount of stress on it.

Would a 8"-10" scarf on a 1" x 6" work for this or do I need to make the scarf longer?

Thanks,

Chuck

[daniel25]

sweet skiff!

[Auroradan]

Chuck,

I'm new to scarfing, the shear caps on my Brockway were my first ones. That 10" scarf should be stronger than the wood, I say go for it!

Dan

[chuckp]

Thanks Daniel - are you working on one?

Chuck

[chuckp]

Hey Dan,

Sounds good, I enjoyed your video of scarfing the plywood for your current build.

Chuck

[chuckp]

Hello Guys,

I'll be traveling for a few days so skiff work has come to a halt. The rails and rail fillers are ready to be installed and the skiff has been treated with wood preservative (so it can dry while I'm away). I have a few more bits and pieces to go on the bow enclosure and the outboard transom filler.

The Alabama Marine Police came out and inspected the skiff and issued the hull number so I could go and register the boat with the county and get my numbers. That's all done so I ordered the registration numbers today!

I'm getting closer to priming and painting and getting this thing underway!

Chuck

[chuckp]

Hello Guys,

Installed the starboard rail this afternoon using PL Premium adhesive and 1" (inside thru plywood side into rail), 2" (inside thru plywood butt block & side into rail), & 2.5" (outside thru rail, plywood side/fillers and into frames) exterior screws. I plan on installing the port rail tomorrow, weather permitting , and then do the final trimming on the rails and frames .

Chuck

Fitting up the starboard rail:


Rail installed, outside view:


Rail installed, inside view:


Bow portion of the installed starboard rail, inside view: