Another Coquina

[Reynard38]

I think that shearstrake is just exactly right. what a beauty! i lost my shop, so i elected to get the hull planked before moving--i am doing a standard planked shear. i might double up on some of it though for a faux version of that. don't know until i get another shop.

Dave sorry about losing the shop. Had to be a pain getting everything moved. If you need to know what router bits I usednto get the curves let me know. It took a bit of searching.

[Reynard38]

Outer stem glued in place.

[Sailor]

I can't stop looking at the pics of this boat. She's absolutely Goreous. No my dad hasn't started work on his yet. I will continue to poke prod and guilt him into action as best I can.

[Reynard38]

Used my router to cut the centerboard board.



Also built the skeg. I rimmed it with black locust for protection. Still need to make a piece for the front.




If you've never Worked with black locust before it is hard and HEAVY! I resawed a 10' 2x10 today. That was a workout.

[Reynard38]

Got the heavy sanding done on the exterior. Still need to do more on the sheearstrakes and transom. I should put the first coat of epoxy on next week.



The dark spots on those 2 planks are epoxy. I had some left over and wanted to see how the marine ply soaked it up.

[Rob Hazard]

I just never get tired of looking at Coquinas! Reynard, will you use Locust for the leading edge of your centerboard and rudder as well? If you sail shallow water frequently the centerboard will get used as a depth gauge. I used some Garapa left over from a friend's outdoor deck, glued on with a clothespin (V) joint. We'll see how it holds up.

[Reynard38]

I just never get tired of looking at Coquinas! Reynard, will you use Locust for the leading edge of your centerboard and rudder as well? If you sail shallow water frequently the centerboard will get used as a depth gauge. I used some Garapa left over from a friend's outdoor deck, glued on with a clothespin (V) joint. We'll see how it holds up.

Rob, that's a great idea. I've got my 3/4" marine ply and I'm going to cut the centerboard and rudder after I resaw my poplar and locust and change the blade on the bandsaw. Thanks again for the suggestion. The locust is very hard, and yes I will be sailing in shallow water, especially if we get another drought!

[Reynard38]

It's just been sanding and coating the exterior with epoxy lately, nothing glamorous. As the weather here finally got a lot more "southern" I've been getting out a bit and enjoying it (motorcycle and my 15' Chester Yawl).
I did get a start on then mast though. Mick Herron and I cut staves for the main masts for both our boats. Made sense to only set up the tooling once.



Ran 4 thru the birds mouth bit so far:



Did a test piece about a foot long to give me some confidence that this really does work. Damn it does!

[Reynard38]

Continuing with the epoxy coating and with the mast build.



Got 2 masts built. I'll work on the main boom and miZzen next.

[Sailor]

Nice job. Did you check out my brother's build on his Shellback? It's got some bird'smouth spar building in it. Can't wait to see the boat in the water. Coquina is such a pretty boat. Still poking, prodding and goading my dad into starting his Coquina build. He's busy though so it might be a while.

[Reynard38]

Nice job. Did you check out my brother's build on his Shellback? It's got some bird'smouth spar building in it. Can't wait to see the boat in the water. Coquina is such a pretty boat. Still poking, prodding and goading my dad into starting his Coquina build. He's busy though so it might be a while.

Thanks. It is a truly pretty boat. I find myself sitting in the shop and just looking at it sometimes. I've been building the spars lately. I've got the main boom rough sanded, and the rest cut out and ready to glue up.
I need to apply one more coat of epoxy to the hull and then I'll turn it over and start on the interior. I did get 2 coats of epoxy on the transom:




Can't wait to see it with 6 coats of Epiphanes on it as well. The shearstrakes look great as well. I'm very glad i made the decision to use the cypress on some bright finished parts, it's a really pretty wood.

[Sailor]

Beautiful. Wish I could get my dad moving more quickly on his. He'll get there when he gets there though. But Come On dad. Start would ya? LOL

[Reynard38]

Big day today as I turned the hull over. Built the cradle first using the frame of the jig minus the molds



Then had a friend come by to lend a hand.





I'm using pipe insulation along the bulge on the shearstrake to protect it during the build.
As far as cleaning up the interior goes it's easier than I first thought.



A heat gun (used very carefully)



The other tools necessary for interior epoxy removal. A good scraper, a flexible sanding board (aka misery board) and a tall shot glass of ( in my case) good aged tequila that I picked up in Mexico last week. Makes that misery board a little less so!

[Reynard38]

A shot of the interior that has been cleaned of the globs that were under the molds.



Despite trying to be pretty fastidious with regard to cleaning up the squeeze-out there was quite a bit I missed. It does go pretty quick though.

[kyles]

Really cool build, looks like excellent workmanship.

Roughly how much plywood did you need to purchase for building the boat, and what type did you use? Was it all 6mm?

[Reynard38]

Really cool build, looks like excellent workmanship.

Roughly how much plywood did you need to purchase for building the boat, and what type did you use? Was it all 6mm?

For the planking 5 sheets of 4x8 6mm. It's Meranti from world panel, BS 1088 standard. In addition I'm using @ 1/2 sheet of 3/4 inch for the rudder and centerboard and a sheet of 12mm for the centerboard trunk and aft bulkhead.
If you can order it all at once, you'll save a bunch of $$ on shipping.

[Reynard38]

Took a break from scraping epoxy and sanding to install the inwales.



While the epoxy is curing I need to work on my motorcycle. It's 80 degrees here!

[Reynard38]

My steam box worked. 40 minutes and even black locust will bend.

[Reynard38]

My low-buck steam box. Nice part is that it's natural gas powered... No propane tanks to deal with.

[Sailor]

Plus any dangerous buildup of pressure will certainly let it's self out harmlessly through the top. Nicely done. OK, now get back to work so you can post more progress pics.

[Reynard38]

The caps on the tube, plus the splice joint are not glued. Plus there are drain holes on the bottom at both ends.
I was amazed at the volume of steam this setup generated. The black locust frames were like rubber after 40 minutes.
I started the bending as soon as they were out of the tube. Once I got to the boat I placed one end against the keelson, and the other against inwale. I then cut the frame about 1/16" above the bottom of the inwale and wedged the frame under the inwale until it cooled. After cooling I screwed it in place and then cut the small gap between the frame and keelson to allow water to pass.
I intend to remove the frames and varnish them out of the boat. Once the interior is painted I will reinstall them. I saw a Whitehall at the MBBS with varnished frames and white interior and it looked very nice.

[davebrown]

You're doing plywood, same as me. Have you determined how many ribs you are going to need? Outred's manual says very few, on similar builds. I think doing more than three pairs of full ribs (meaning shear clamp to shear clamp) is overkill, but I thought I would do full ribs on each end of the centerboard box, and one pair up front by the forward mast step. My Coquina is going to used for sailing, not rowing, per se, with little oar except as absolutely required, so I don't have to worry too much about weight...but still, I am thinking half ribs except for those three sets.

[Reynard38]

Doug's plans call for half ribs every station (that's every 10"). I've decided to do full ribs for aesthetic reasons. I don't know if I'll go every 10" throughout the boat, but I like you're idea about the centerboard trunk.

[Reynard38]

Got 2/3 of the frames installed. I decided to use full frames every 10" as per the cedar boat. I had 3 frames break while bending due to imperfections in the wood. Most of the time the locust bends very well.







There are no frames behind the aft bulkhead.

[Sailor]

God, what a beautiful shape Coquina was given.

[davebrown]

Locust ribs! Sheesh! I wish I was Down South. I'm using ash, which is adequate but not known for rot resistance, and I broke several before I figured out how to read the grain a little better. I think I am going to mix them up a bit and come up with a compromise between Outred's minimalism and the full, cedar hulled 10" spacing. Rob Hazard, care to remark on what you did?

[davebrown]

I looked a few posts up and I am curious if you intend to leave your hull varnished bright, or if your epoxy coating is first step before priming. I am so damn sloppy with pox I don't think I could consider leaving it bright. I have to paint.

[Reynard38]

Ribs are 10" spaced, full length.I just liked the look of the traditional hull.
Planning on dark green for the hull with a white waterline stripe and red bottom paint, though every once in a while I consider leaving it bright... Crazy I know.

[Gerarddm]

Great thread to date. LOVE your idea of white interior with bright finished ribs.

That bright hull looks great, but needs some accent if you go that route.

[Reynard38]

Great thread to date. LOVE your idea of white interior with bright finished ribs.

That bright hull looks great, but needs some accent if you go that route.

I agree. I think that a lapstrake hull loses something when finished bright. Maybe the viewers eye is distracted from the lines by the grain of the wood.
I am 80% certain that it will be dark green above the WL, and dark red below with a white WL stripe.
My or iginal intent was dark hull and light shearstrakes with the cypress.

[Reynard38]

Got all the frames fitted. Now they need to be drilled and screwed in place, then removed and routed with a 1/8" round over bit, sanded and varnished. Of course I'll label the back side so I can but them back in the

[Reynard38]

For some reason i can't get images to post.

[Reynard38]

[Rob Hazard]

I installed 2 full pairs of ribs, gunwale to gunwale, one at the forward end of the centerboard trunk and one at the after end. These full frames are married into plywood webs that support the centerboard trunk up to floorboard height. They also support the thwart risers. All the other ribs come up only to the underside of the cockpit floorboards, so they don't show.

[Reynard38]

Since the site won't accept pic I'll post the URL of the latest photo:

http://i172.photobucket.com/albums/w...8/d0e4f3ec.jpg

[Reynard38]

Been busy drilling and installing the frames (temporarily). Now I'm taking them out and sanding them smooth and varnishing them before i reinstall them once the interior is painted.
Here are 3 frames. The left is rough cut, center is sanded and the right has one thinned coat of Epifanes gloss.
The locust is a pretty wood.

[Reynard38]

Once again no luck with the pic so here's the direct link.

http://i172.photobucket.com/albums/w...8/5678b457.jpg

[davebrown]

Thank you fellers, for the posts. I have a 19 month old chainsaw with feet that brings home the flu every two weeks from daycare. I've been sick as a poodle. The boat is getting restless, though....

[Reynard38]

Interior is 95% sanded and ready for epoxy. That is a lot of work. Finally pulled out the Fein tool for the forward 2' as it gets tight up there with the misery board.

[WilyBCool]

Don't worry, the chainsaw will evolve into a mill and will come home just to consume your funds. Their worth it, though. Finish the boat and spend as much time on it with your chainsaw as possible. That is time that cannot be replaced

[davebrown]

Yes, he's the luckiest kid on the planet. Five boats in the house and one gorgeous herreshoff half--or better--done. Reynard, do you have a projected launch date? I am shooting for Aug.

[Reynard38]

No later than early October I hope. I'd like to make the show at Georgetown SC.

[Reynard38]

Finally got the interior sanded. First coat of epoxy on.

[Reynard38]

Figured out a better way to deal with varnishing the ribs

http://i172.photobucket.com/albums/w...8/a20ea74a.jpg

Mounted them to the wall of my paint booth.

[Reynard38]

It was time to make the aft bulkhead. I employed the "sharp stick" method.

http://i172.photobucket.com/albums/w...8/957d4145.jpg

Also made the station 17 floor piece. I'm using black locust for these. Got a little more fitting to do here. Lots of angles, it's a fun piece to make.

http://i172.photobucket.com/albums/w...8/892447b4.jpg

[davebrown]

You're leaving me in the dust. I'm spending about half an hour a day piddling around right now. I'm still sick, but on the mend. I almost have the ribs all in, and I have started putting together (out of order) the centerboard case/trunk. That mast you did came togetther fast, it looks like.

[Reynard38]

Nice thing about the boatbuilding thing is that when you get tired of one task (like scraping and sanding the interior) there are plenty of more interesting tasks that need doing.

[Reynard38]

Getting the bulkhead ready to install. Instead of having plywood visible I decided to do cypress planks with 45 degree bevels on the edges. I also matched the edges of these planks with the bottom planks. The cypress planks are laminated to the underlying plywood. I also am attaching the forward deck beam to the bulkhead.
I won't be gluing the bulkhead in place until the hatch is cut and fitted.

http://i172.photobucket.com/albums/w...8/84c9498f.jpg
http://i172.photobucket.com/albums/w...8/d5786571.jpg

[Reynard38]

Still no luck posting pics. Did the forum change something?

[Fitz]

Here you go: