Building the "Lost Dog" a Lumber Yard Skiff

[chilli]

I've been reading about everybody's pursuits and am quite amazed at the skill and craftsmanship exhibited by this group. I've been wanting to build a skiff for some time now. This past fall, I finally quit wishing and started doing. I wanted a small boat that required little power and maintenance. I also wanted a boat that was stable and could carry a load well. This craft would be used for crabbing and fishing as well as hauling the wife and friends to dinner at our local waterfront establishments. The ladybug, lumber yard and long point skiffs all seemed to fit the bill. While I liked the long point best for esthetic reasons, I liked Walters design both for the beam and the simple ruggedness of it. So a Lumber Yard Skiff it was.


The bow stem was cut from 4x4 ash



The transom taking shape. It is constructed from two layers of 3/4" meranti ply.



The side panels were cut from 5/8" meranti ply. The aft portion of the sides are full length half sheets. There was a mild curve call for to limit the amount of rocker in the bottom. I scaled up the plan in CAD and printed out full sized templates to make the cut easy and accurate as possible.



The forward side panels were done in the same fashion.



At this point the kid in me couldn't resist... I had to stand everything up and take a peak at what she might look like.

[Lewisboater]

Make sure you seal and bed that ash stem very well ... not the most resistant of woods to use as a structural member. If you are screwing into it, back the screws out after installation...one at a time...and fill the holes to bed the screws so nothing wicks down the threads into the ash.

[chilli]

Yes the ash was not the best choice, but I was unaware of that at the time. Growing up I was accustomed to ash framed and cedar planked canoes.... I intended to use white oak for these pieces but it was not available in 4x4 sizes locally. These things happen on the first build... Life's a learning process.

With the topsides cut and the transom laminated I attached the stems to the transom. The stems troubled me a bit as my table saw would not accommodate the full thickness of the 4x4 stock while cutting the required bevels. I had to set the saw up twice to make two opposing cuts. Not a big deal in the end, but troublesome at the time.



I then cut the butt joints for the sides. The joints were glued with Siko-flex as per the plan and screwed with 304 SS screws. I should have completed this step before I completed the transom. This would have allowed me to work on the transom as the butt joint adhesive cured. I left the butt block long with the intent of cutting it to the proper curve once the joint was cured.



Once I had the butt joints completed I was left with 16' long sheets of plywood. My project was now officially too big for my tiny basement workshop. It was time to build what I called "the boat shed". My naming was optimistic to be sure. A humble start...



It took about a day and a half before my wife renamed "the boat shed".... Suddenly and inexplicably it was dubbed the "occupy bowley's quarters tent"... Unfortunately the name was soon adopted by the neighborhood... I have no idea why.



As you can see ascetics were not a major concern... My 12'x 20' shelter was primarily driven by cost. The less I spent on a building space the more I could put into my build... The shelter was temporary and the boat is not so I made sacrifices here, much too the neighbors dismay.

[doyle007]

Chili, please post a lot of pictures, as I love the LYS.

[gstanfield]

Looking good so far, I'm hooked.

[potomac]

I'd say that's a proper boat shed and a fine start. I'm a big fan too. Keep 'em coming.

[chilli]

With my temporary shed built, ironically the project moved back outside. I fastened the bow stem to the port side panel. This was done as were most joints by bedding the joint in Siko-flex and screwing it in place. With the bow stem fastened to the port side, it was time to marry the starboard side to the port. Simple step in practice, daunting for for the amateur... me... The proper way to do this is upside down. I found this to be difficult in practice. The pieces did not want to lay right. After fighting with the plywood and gravity, I opted to flip the process over and began working right side up. We (my wife and I) found this much easier. This was the first part of the build that felt right to me. Cutting the plywood panels for the topsides felt as if I were making doctor sues cabinets. Joining these panels using grade stakes a hammer and line to get everything into place felt right. I could imagine Earl Brockaway using similar methods in his yard. It was now that I first felt a connection to this boat...



We braced up the sides with stakes until they wanted to lay right. This was trial and error. Luckily, pounding grade stake is a strength I was born with... Thank god for the simple things.





In the end the bow stem became one with the port and starboard sides. Everything matched up quite well. The only issue I had was that the dog in the forground of the first picture became very interested in what was going on on the "other side of the fence" during the first layout... Just as everything was ready to screw and glue she had to jump lay her front paws on the port side and peer over.... Enter more hammers and and readjusting the stakes for attempt number two... Small hardships. All ended well

[peabody]

More! !
Please!
Keep the pictures and story going!
Good job!
Peabody

[chuckp]

Skiff is looking good - and the boat shed looks good too, keep it up and keep the photos coming!

Chuck

[chilli]

Once the sides and bow stem were joined I waited a day for the Siko-flex to cure. I then flipped the whole assembly over so that it rested upside down and pushed it back in the shed. It was time to install the transom. This step worried me a bit. The bend demanded from the side panels is appreciable. After a night of fitful sleep, I set out to see how well the butt blocks were constructed. I used a mystical tool named "a spanish windlass" to pull the sides in toward the transom. Not quite sure how a piece of line a knot and a stick ever got a name as dignified as spanish windlass, but I will say that the process did work quite nicely.



The only problem that I encountered while drawing in the panels was friction between the edge of the plywood and the blocking it was resting on. As I increased tension with the windlass the panel would suddenly and abruptly spring inward. This threatened to damage the edge of the plywood and would also scare the hell out of me when it suddenly "jumped" to its new position. I put a pine runner under the edge of the plywood and between that runner and the blocking, I added a sheet of waxed paper. This worked very well and provided a nice smooth surface to minimize the friction.



Periodically I would drive in a stake outboard of the panel on either side to hold the shape the windlass was creating. This allowed me to back off on the windlass so that I could walk around and inspect the bend as it formed. Looking back I have to laugh at myself for being as cautious as I was, but at the time I was mighty nervous that I was going to blow up the most expensive plywood I had ever bought. I was moving pretty slow during this process.



Eventually I had the side panels close enough to stand the transom between them. Once again I used grade stakes to hold the transom in the correct position to meet the sides. I ended up cutting some wedges to adjust the height and attitude of the transom. In the picture above, everything is almost ready to assemble. Those last couple of inchs of gap shown in the picture were the worst for me mentally. Each gap might as well have been a country mile. In the end everything held and the assembly smoothly and quietly moved into history.

[potomac]

It was now that I first felt a connection to this boat...

That's a great feeling- that "I can do this" or "I see how this is going to come together" moment. Looks great so far. What Sikaflex are you using?

[peabody]

Looking great! !Peabody

[chilli]

Potomac - I used Siko-Flex 291 thru out the build.

[Pericles]

Chilli,

I am enjoying reading about your progress and empathasise with your moments of delicious terror as you wound the windlass to the chorus of creaks and groans. Sounds like that would have sent me to hide behind the sofa for a couple of minutes. It's what many did when watching Dr. Who on UK television.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Behind_..._in_Doctor_Who

Did that "beer of relief" taste like the very best you've ever had?

As the sides travelled towards one another, you were witnessing punctuated evolution of plywood to boat hull. It occurs to me that attaching the transom to one of the sides before the winding would mean that hull structure would be mostly self supporting on one side. Granted you were working on grass, but others might build on concrete floors, which would have a lower coefficient of friction and result in fewer heart stopping incidents. A car and a wall would also work, but gently does it.

I hope all goes easy when you come to install and clamp the chines. I'd try stringing them like a bow to induce a semblance of the the correct curve. Please keep us up to date. I am enthralled by your progress.

[chilli]

Thanks for the words of encouragement guys... More pics for the masses.

The last of the transom install pics. Her she sits looking inside out. All screwed and glued. I had to use the blue ratchet strap to close the last few inches. Once the transom was in place the old windlass became useless as I had no room to make the handle go round. I left her with all lines on to cure overnight.



And then it was chines. Once again this seemed simple but there I stood looking confused. Ripping the stock down to the appropriate bevel was fine. Its was the compound angles required to join the ends of the stock to the plywood faces that caused me some minor mental Olympics. I believe I spent the better part of three hours making fancy sticks on the table saw. I did finally get the patterns worked out well, but in the mean time my wife accused me of carrying around more sticks than the Chesapeake Bay retrievers that populate our neighborhood.



This was the first place that I departed from Walters plans. I installed my bottom chines in four pieces, two to a side. Stern to butt block, butt block to stem. I then installed a custom whittled, dado'd, sanded, cussed at work of art to join the two piece while spanning the butt block. What Walter does is to remove the screws from the lower part of his butt block, score a cut on the butt block where the top of the chine falls and then proceed to chisel the offending portion of the butt block away to create room for a full chine. Frankly I was to darn scared to cut, touch, chisel or in any way piss off a butt block that I had just the day before loaded with all sorts of potential energy. I saw that ending poorly for the boat and poorly for me. Not saying the mans wrong, he simply has more experience than I and therefor more confidence and skills. Anyhow I installed "engineered" chines.



The clamps in photo were my test fit clamps, not my make it stay clamps. After the third or fourth removal for more table saw whittling the hand clamps proved much quicker for inspection installs.

[skaraborgcraft]

Doing a great job! Keep at it.

[Pericles]

Chilli,

You've given me another idea about the chines. Laminate two layers; the first as you have done with breaks at the butt joints, with the same thickness as the butt plates and a second strake bonded to the first and bridging the butt plates to create a substantial chine, to which the bottom is fastened?

With regard to your use of ash for the stem etc., encapsulating those timbers in epoxy resin will keep the water out better than paint, even without glass fabric. Just a thought. Thanks for sharing your build.

Regards.

[Lewisboater]

In future building events...and there will be future events I would say... over size the chine log so it sits proud of the plywood and plane it down to shape. Much easier than trying to bevel it with a saw. Even a cheap block plane will do the job nicely. A square laid across the two chines will make them just perfect.

[peabody]

, encapsulating those timbers in epoxy resin will keep the water out better than paint, even without glass fabric. Just a thought. Thanks for sharing your build.Regards.[/QUOTE]


Now thats interesting ...i did not know that.peabody

[Pericles]

Peabody,

Here is a useful site.

http://www.woodweb.com/knowledge_bas...echniques.html

Steve Lewis' advice is worth following if Sikaflex 291 is the adhesive of choice, however joints made with thickened epoxy resin benefit by being a "loose " fit. (See 2 above.) The joint is stronger as a result.

Here is a link to Payson's butt joint for your information. You should note that the epoxy lay-up is completed without the use of weights.

http://www.instantboats.com/gbj/index.html

Regards.

[Spokaloo]

Your chine method is sound.

Walt's method is much faster.

Idea being least hours of build is good for production work and for workboats (like mine).

Keep it up!

E

[Lewisboater]

Who's Walt?

[Spokaloo]

Walt Baron, the LYS designer and builder at Old Wharf Dory.

E

[Lewisboater]

Ah! Found it and admit I missed it. I still say that planing the chine logs is quicker...5-15 minutes with a sharp plane and they are done. No trying to cut a compound bevel on a saw and not much chance of ruining an expensive or even cheap piece of wood. As to the butt block... I usually grind them down in less than 2 minutes with a grinder and a flap wheel. Makes installation of the chine logs easy with no trying to span the block. The log subs as the block in that area.

Removing the Block allows you to use a whole (or scarfed into whole) piece of wood for a chine log allowing for a smooth arc with no hard spots or kinks.



Planing the chines works on the outside or the inside. The stick and the level are used to make sure the chine is flat from side to side. You can almost feel when it is right...and I am no pro at planing...having just gotten my set of planes this Spring. Been the hard way...done the hard way.

[peabody]

Peabody,

Here is a useful site.i

http://www.woodweb.com/knowledge_bas...echniques.html

Steve Lewis' advice is worth following if Sikaflex 291 is the adhesive of choice, however joints made with thickened epoxy resin benefit by being a "loose " fit. (See 2 above.) The joint is stronger as a result.

Here is a link to Payson's butt joint for your information. You should note that the epoxy lay-up is completed without the use of weights.

http://www.instantboats.com/gbj/index.html

Regards.

Thank you.
Very helpful.
peabody

[chilli]

I will have to agree with you on letting the chines stand during the install Steve. That would have been a quicker less tedious method by a long shot. Being that this was my first set of chines and early on in my build, I was doing my best to follow the plans. Of course that all changed rather shortly afterwards. I appreciate your input as it will save me some time someday.

Once I had the chines installed, it was time to attach the bottom. By this point I was looking forward to attaching the bottom as it was quite straight forward. For the bottom I used a single layer of 3/4" Meranti Ply. The first panel was the hardest as the boat was sitting slightly bow high. The panel wanted to swim on the Siko-flex and getting it lined up single handed was a bit fun.



If you look close at the first picture you can see that I sealed all the edges of the chines and side panels before installing the bottom. I used thinned vinylester resin and coated till glossy.

The bottom consisted of four panels. The fourth, at the bow was quite small. The garage sale holding the bottom down was required to level the joint between the first and second panel. There is a jack with a 2x6 running the length of the seam on the inside which you can not see in the picture. It all cured evenly in the end.



Once again my next step was a deviation from the plans. The LYS calls for a small pair of "shoes" running parallel to the centerline. This allows the boat to sit level when grounded. Not a major concern of mine. What I did want was a boat that tracked arrow straight even in a substantial cross wind. My intentions for this boat were to run a crabbing trot-line and run eel traps. Both activities require me to concentrate on the gear, not mind the boat constantly. I opted to install a fairly substantial keel to facilitate this. I selected a piece of white oak for the job. The stock was fairly straight from the mill but there was a mild bend. I left it outside under weight in the rain for a couple of days... It worked well.



While I wanted a straight tracking boat, I also wanted a boat that would handle well around the docks. Being on rails is nice when your working, but not when you trying to tie up. I farted around a bit with designs for the keel. In the end I walked down to the boat yard and measured up some dead rise work boats that where blocked up for winter repairs. I worked these dimentions down into my side range and came up with the following shape which left the back third of the hull carrying only a mild keel. My design was based on what I thought would work but at the time, I had no idea how successful it would be. In the end it turned out that it was a fantastic design. Pardon the hat... It was Christmas Eve and the Ravens were playing that day... A little holiday spirit and home team pride... I know I look like a boob...my wife already told me!



Here's the keel layed out ready to install. It was again bedded in siko-flex and screwed from the inside out, through the ply and into the white oak.

[peabody]

Now? Thats just slick. The way you've done that...
all these builds on this forum inspire me.

What will you use for a motor?
How will you steer it?
Stick steer ...tiller. wheel?
I ask ' because i have this remote yamaha 9.9 ...... thinking stick steering on my scow project.
You make it look so simple and easy.
Peabody

[chilli]

You make it look so simple and easy.
Peabody

Ha Ha... You obviously weren't watching me in real time Peabody! I spent most of my build standing around with a blank stare on my face!

To answer your other questions, this boat is currently finished and I chose to power her with a 20" Honda 30 hp 4-stroke. She has tiller steering using Honda's long "commercial" tiller which incorporates the shift lever right onto the tiller behind the throttle. It makes handling quite nice. I opted for the tiller as it leaves the deck free and open as can be for hauling gear.

[peabody]

Thanks chilli ..
My goodness. You've built a fine boat.
Lost dog is a good name.!
Peabody

[peabody]

Chilli.
i sent you a P.m.

Peabody

[chilli]

Peabody I replied to you... finally. Been out for a bit trying to catch some fish.

I was happy with the way the keel settled on the boat. The forward end started just aft of what little rocker the boat has and when bedded and screwed into place, it felt rock solid. It did more that a little bit to stiffen the floor.

It soon became time to fill screw holes. I began with Vinylester resin and cabosil. This bubbled on me a lot and required too many second and third coats. In the end I found a 3M vinylester filling putty that work quite well and was very easy to sand. With my external woodwork done it was time to encapsulate the hull in resin. I used a vinylester resin thinned out for this purpose. The hull was coated until absorption stopped and the shine began. I welcomed the help of a neighbor for this process... at least I had somebody to talk to.





The time for my first flip was upon me. I was quite excited at the prospect. A few phone calls an the troops arrived.



It was at this point the the design of my boat shed was called into question. It was too narrow to flip the boat inside. I kept my cost down by buying the smallest tarp (read roof) that I could still work under. The main support beam for said roof was a piece of line strung between two trees and twisted taught. This unfortunately left a maple tree smack dab in the entrance. Navigating the boat around this didn't make me a crowd favorite!



Almost there!



All's well that ends well. She was finally right side up and ready for her internal framing.



I enjoyed the comraderie of the afternoon. There was plenty of small talk and speculation regarding the rest of the build. We even found time for a round of cold beverages for all.

[chilli]

Follow up to the post above... The six picture rule cut me off. Here she sits after the flip.


When the smoke cleared, I got back to work. I was a bit behind on my photography during this period. As you can see, I installed the "upper chines"... please somebody correct me and teach me the correct term. As you can see I installed these in four sections as well. I did not bother making a spanner over the butt blocks. My intention was to add covering boards all around and I figured the 3/4 ply would give this area plenty of strength. I also encapsulated the interior with resin at this point.

[Pericles]

Chilli,

Sheer batten or sheer clamp would be as good a term as any. I'm glad you're back. I was having withdrawal symptons.

http://www.glen-l.com/resources/glossary.html#s

[Lewisboater]

Inwale also works

[peabody]

Hooray! !!
Looking good, !
Already lookin like a fishing machine.
This is a wonderful thread.
Peabody

[chilli]

As I mentioned before, my dedication to taking photo's everyday slipped a bit. Once the shear blocks were in place I started on the framing. I chose to us 6/4 white oak for all the framing. It was at this point where I once again departed from the plan. The LYS is supposed to have horizontal floor frames that act as butt joints on the plywood floor seams. This provides a good deal of strength and rigidity to the bottom. It also creates an uneven floor that likes to pond water. It was my intention to glass this boat so I made plans to reinforce the plywood seams in the bottom with glass techniques rather than cumbersome wood framing. I deleted the floor framing from my build. After this decision, I was back on the plan. I installed my frames as well as my supports for the covering boards that would soon be added.



The PVC frame in the picture supports a tarp that was installed when I was not working on the boat. My shed was not totally water tight.



With the framing work done I began work on the covering boards. These were constructed out of 3/4" ply. I laid out the pattern for the curve and cut the pieces slightly over sized with a jig saw. These pieces were then fastened to the frames and fared to the proper shape. I did the faring with a handheld power planer to rough them in and finished with an orbital sander. It worked quite nicely.





With the interior woodworking just about done, it was time to switch modes and begin fiber glassing. The interior deck received a layer of 20 biaxial cloth and vinylester resin. This was applied in two sheets parallel with the keel and overlapping in the center for a distance of 16". The glass was also carried up the inside of the transom.



If you look closely at the deck on the center line near the transom you can see an elevated block. This was my battery box pad. Once the glass had been applied to the deck, I bonded a plywood pad down and glassed over it. This allowed me to screw battery tie downs into the pad with out penetrating the deck.

The transom received and extra layer of glass both inside and out where the motor mount would be made.



Fortunately we had a mild winter this year and it was warming up as spring approached. This made the glass work go quite smooth.

[peabody]

Wow .......Wow. wow.Awsome! !!!

[jclays]

What is the horizontal board between the transom and the first frame on both sides of the boat
Thanks
Jim

As I mentioned before, my dedication to taking photo's everyday slipped a bit. Once the shear blocks were in place I started on the framing. I chose to us 6/4 white oak for all the framing. It was at this point where I once again departed from the plan. The LYS is supposed to have horizontal floor frames that act as butt joints on the plywood floor seams. This provides a good deal of strength and rigidity to the bottom. It also creates an uneven floor that likes to pond water. It was my intention to glass this boat so I made plans to reinforce the plywood seams in the bottom with glass techniques rather than cumbersome wood framing. I deleted the floor framing from my build. After this decision, I was back on the plan. I installed my frames as well as my supports for the covering boards that would soon be added.



The PVC frame in the picture supports a tarp that was installed when I was not working on the boat. My shed was not totally water tight.



With the framing work done I began work on the covering boards. These were constructed out of 3/4" ply. I laid out the pattern for the curve and cut the pieces slightly over sized with a jig saw. These pieces were then fastened to the frames and fared to the proper shape. I did the faring with a handheld power planer to rough them in and finished with an orbital sander. It worked quite nicely.





With the interior woodworking just about done, it was time to switch modes and begin fiber glassing. The interior deck received a layer of 20 biaxial cloth and vinylester resin. This was applied in two sheets parallel with the keel and overlapping in the center for a distance of 16". The glass was also carried up the inside of the transom.



If you look closely at the deck on the center line near the transom you can see an elevated block. This was my battery box pad. Once the glass had been applied to the deck, I bonded a plywood pad down and glassed over it. This allowed me to screw battery tie downs into the pad with out penetrating the deck.

The transom received and extra layer of glass both inside and out where the motor mount would be made.



Fortunately we had a mild winter this year and it was warming up as spring approached. This made the glass work go quite smooth.

[chilli]

Jim,

Those members were added for two reasons. First it would give me a means to secure a small electrical panel immediately aft of the first frame on the starboard side. The covering board and frame would provide as much shelter as possible for the panel. Secondly it gives me a place to hang dock lines and hang my shirt while I swim.

[jclays]

Lets see more pictures...Finished boat???