Stambaugh Sailing Skiff Build in Virginia Mountains

[UCanoe_2]

Guys, I need some advice. As designed, the transom is 9 mm. plywood with 3/4" solid wood framing. I am doubling the plywood per the designer's advice, to add strength for an outboard motor.

But, as drawn the top edge of the transom is exposed plywood which would be easily damaged. Solid wood on that edge would not be so fragile. What's the best way to add the solid wood? I've thought of cutting off the ply and adding a piece on top, as in the sketches below -- not sure this would be the best way.

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I am still befuddled by the problem of rotating posted images from portrait to landscape. I had to cut the sketch in half and scan it multiple times.

My doctor says boatbuilding helps prevent dementia by keeping your mind active solving problems.

[UCanoe_2]

Thanks for your help! The computer has decided to prevent me from editing the last post.

[UCanoe_2]

Gosh, no response to my request for advice -- probably because I had an incredibly dumb idea.

I woke up at 3 AM one night, channeling the shadetree mechanic in this cartoon:

VW frontispiece.jpg

I was ready to glue up this assembly, when I realized I had made some fundamental mistakes.

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I neglected to allow enough plywood for the bevel on top of the transom. Also, the side members of the transom framing should run the full length of the transom corner. Otherwise, screws would go into end grain at the top and bottom.

Nothing to do but lay out and cut new plywood, and new side pieces for the transom framing. The previous center member is now too short, but I have a nice piece of black locust to replace it.

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Here's where construction stands now. This time, I did not double the transom plywood. I'll cut notches for the chine logs in the inner layer and the framing. Then I will apply the outer layer of ply after the chine logs are cut to length. There will be slightly larger faying surfaces in the glue joints, and the boat will be stronger.

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[UCanoe_2]

Excess epoxy cleaned up, transom top framing member fitted. Center framing member and seat riser cut out and trial fitted. The black locust center member has wonky grain, several tight knots, and was a beast to plane.

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[UCanoe_2]

I'm definitely a member of the "measure 4 times, cut 5 times" school of boatbuilding. Progress would be much faster if I didn't spend so much time figuring out how to do stuff the wrong way, and then figuring out how to fix my mistakes. Oh well, it's supposed to be a learning experience!

Here I'm notching the transom seat riser using a dado set on the RAS. The principle was good, but the execution left a bit to be desired. I'll need to build a better jig and redo this step to achieve a better fit.

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Another trial fit of transom framing. The "nice piece of black locust" for the center member turned out to be warped, and with the wonky grain defied my efforts to flatten it. Instead I used a piece of Philippine mahogany, with nice straight grain and easy to work.

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Today, with some spousal assistance, I beveled the sides and bottom of the transom. (Yep, on the radial arm saw. Lots of folks dislike them, but I find mine to be handy, versatile, and the easiest tool to use for many tasks.) A spot on one side of the transom needed cleaning up with hand planes, but the final result looks nice.

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[UCanoe_2]

I am now Unencumbered by Employment.

My "as needed" retirement job was taking up more and more time. Last year I worked 23% of full time hours, which brought in some Boat Bucks, but did not match my vision for retirement. The boss wanted me to work even more, up to 1500 hours per year. I said, "No, thanks." We had a nice long chat and parted on good terms. I'll go back to visit from time to time, and to recruit my former coworkers for boat turnover labor.

[UCanoe_2]

Today I built a new jig for notching the transom seat riser with the radial arm saw. I had some pieces of scrap cut to the same bevel as the riser. I screwed a long piece to the table of the RAS, and stuck two short pieces to the fence with double sided tape. It was not perfect, and still had a bit of wiggle, but was much more accurate than the previous attempt.

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[MalabarJr]

[QUOTE=UCanoe_2;6089238]Gosh, no response to my request for advice -- probably because I had an incredibly dumb idea.

I woke up at 3 AM one night, channeling the shadetree mechanic in this cartoon:

VW frontispiece.jpg



That was my Bible when I got my first Bus. Aschwanden was one talented dude! He and Muir were the perfect Duo for those books.

[UCanoe_2]

I notched the transom for seat risers on the sides, using a Japanese saw, a coping saw, and a rasp. I cut them undersized and will make final adjustments during assembly of the hull.

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This time I am really on the verge of final assembly of the transom framing. I just need to trim the short vertical pieces at the bottom, round over sharp edges on the top horizontal member, sand some excess epoxy, and fill a few holes. Then I will be ready for glue up.

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[UCanoe_2]

[QUOTE=MalabarJr;6106993]

Gosh, no response to my request for advice -- probably because I had an incredibly dumb idea.

I woke up at 3 AM one night, channeling the shadetree mechanic in this cartoon:

VW frontispiece.jpg



That was my Bible when I got my first Bus. Aschwanden was one talented dude! He and Muir were the perfect Duo for those books.

Yes, they were. What a great textbook for aspiring mechanics! I still have mine, complete with greasy fingerprints from two Type III engine rebuilds.

Thanks for checking in. Hope you are enjoying this thread with all my trial and error boatbuilding.

[MalabarJr]

Also so you don't feel like you're being ignored as far as that top edge of the transom. Your cap rail will take care of that. Probably one of the last things you'll end up doing. A lot of different ways to do it but here's a basic idea.20200304_224353.jpg

[MalabarJr]

Square, Notch, or Fastback?

[UCanoe_2]

OMG! Somebody knows all about VW Type IIIs!

The first was a '65 Notch Back, brought to the US from Germany by somebody in the military. After I rebuilt the engine, Dog ate the seats and synchromesh on the transmission went out. Traded it in on a used '70 Volvo for $150.

The second was a '73 Squareback, bought from a local veterinarian at 99,000 miles. Rebuilt the engine at 138 K. It went another 68K before burning a valve returning from Maine.

[MalabarJr]

OMG! Somebody knows all about VW Type IIIs!

The first was a '65 Notch Back, brought to the US from Germany by somebody in the military. After I rebuilt the engine, Dog ate the seats and synchromesh on the transmission went out. Traded it in on a used '70 Volvo for $150.

The second was a '73 Squareback, bought from a local veterinarian at 99,000 miles. Rebuilt the engine at 138 K. It went another 68K before burning a valve returning from Maine.

Cool! I have always loved the wagons but never had a Squareback. Had a couple Bays, both Weekenders. I have never been without a VW in some form or other. I have a 72 Beetle Vert currently and a good few water cooled beasties.

[UCanoe_2]

Also so you don't feel like you're being ignored as far as that top edge of the transom. Your cap rail will take care of that. Probably one of the last things you'll end up doing. A lot of different ways to do it but here's a basic idea.20200304_224353.jpg

Aha! I don't recall a cap rail on the plans, but that's a great idea. Thanks!

[MalabarJr]

Aha! I don't recall a cap rail on the plans, but that's a great idea. Thanks!

The smaller sailing skiffs don't always have them on the transom. You can kind of get away with it if you are using solid wood but with ply you would want something to cover the end grain and make the edge more durable. It also ties in with the Gunwales nicer that way I think.

[UCanoe_2]

Paul Gartsides' little boats have ears on their transoms. They are way cool in solid wood, but would not work so well with plywood. The caprail is high on my list.

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[UCanoe_2]

Beveling the top edge of the transom frame. My little bandsaw wants to be a shipsaw when it grows up.

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Easing a sharp edge on the same piece of lumber.

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Transom glued up at last! I used long scraps of plywood as cauls to clamp the riser. I used finishing nails to align it, then pulled them after clamping and toe nailing with composite brads. Overdue for a thorough shop cleanup.

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[UCanoe_2]

Moan. Guys, I need more words of wisdom.

After assembling my transom, I realized that it was not symmetrical, being narrower on the starboard side than port. I think the clamps on my guide must have slipped when I was beveling the transom. I was able to epoxy on wood to build out the narrow side and plane it to the correct bevel.

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However, I had already notched the side of the transom for a seat riser. Now the notch is about 3/8" too deep.

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What should I do to correct this mistake? I could:

a.) Simply install a thicker riser. To make the boat symmetrical, I would do this on both sides. The plans call for 3/4" thick risers; this would make them about 1-1/8". This would probably be the simplest solution.

b.) Scarf on a whole new starboard side and cut a new notch.

c.) Scrap the entire transom and start over (too much work and a waste of materials).

Thanks for your advice!

Besides puzzling over my problem, I have not been idle. I have hung my lofting drawing on the wall to have it out of my work area, but still accessible (requires moving the Spousal Vehicle out of the garage temporarily). I made some other rearrangements to make a more efficient work space, such as moving the pencil sharpener closer to the workbench.

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[timo4352]

Just epoxy a 3/8" piece into the notch.

[UCanoe_2]

Thanks, Timo. I guess I was overthinking this problem. I'm going to wait and adjust this after all the frames are set up on the strongback. That way I can spring battens and get everything to fit correctly on the boat "as built."

[UCanoe_2]

Transom is together at last. Still need to do some cleanup.

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[UCanoe_2]

Centerboard blank glued up.

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In a stroke of genius, I decided to check my patterns to be sure the centerboard was going to fit its case. Boy, was that a good idea!

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I have prevented measuring 4 times and cutting 5 times. The CB case was 2 inches short, and I drew the head logs 1/2" too narrow. Easy to fix these problems now and build to the correct dimensions.

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[UCanoe_2]

Today I cut out the sides of the centerboard case.

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Bandsawing the centerboard. Because the bandsaw table is small, I wheeled the ShopSmith over and used its main and auxiliary tables, along with two roller stands, to support the blank.

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Starting to look like a centerboard now. I will do some minor trimming around the edges with a sabre saw.

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[UCanoe_2]

Today the area's biggest real (non-big box) hardware store was out of bandsaw blades in my size. I ordered two, and they are supposed to arrive Friday.

What was I thinking when I measured for the centerboard case? I made the head logs 2-1/2" wide instead of 3", so this evening I glued on a 1/2" piece.

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[UCanoe_2]

Earlier this week I was looking at a big elm tree behind the house and fantasizing about grown knees. Yesterday my prayers were answered, sort of. We had high winds with gusts up to 40 mph., and the tree blew over. There was minor damage to the fence and nearby trees, and one small walnut was taken down.

It's about 75 feet tall and over 3 ft. at the base. It's also between two fences about 8 feet apart. The only access is across the septic drainfield. Gonna be a beast to remove.

One of the local hardware stores has a sale on Makita cordless chainsaws. Always looking for a reason to buy tools....

[UCanoe_2]

More photos of the big tree.

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The mulched area is where I did some grading with the tractor, just the day before the tree fell! There were exposed roots that made it difficult to mow there.

I don't think the tractor contributed to the tree's demise. I have driven it over the area many times without difficulty. The soil in the hole is clay. It was wet with some standing water, making it easier to uproot the tree.

There has to be some boat lumber in this tree. I saw one of Lou Sauzede's videos in which he dried green wood by steaming it. Anybody know about this technique?

[UCanoe_2]

Shop helpers enjoying an intimate moment. It took a whole lot of obedience training to shape this behavior.

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[UCanoe_2]

Here is the thread about the big tree: http://forum.woodenboat.com/showthre...with-this-tree

[UCanoe_2]

Laying out the rudder profile. It has some real pretty curves.

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Realizing that I will have to turn the rudder over to negotiate the curves with the bandsaw, I got a little smarter and made a template for marking the reverse side.

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Today I glued up the rudder blank:

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[UCanoe_2]

I had assembled the transom with stainless steel screws. After reading the thread about stainless vs. bronze, I decided that was not a good idea.

The stainless screws were epoxied in place. They came out easily after heating for a few seconds with a 200 watt soldering iron.

The soldering iron was my wife's before we got married. I have no idea why she bought it. It had never been used before.
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I can replace the screws with bronze, or fill the holes with wooden plugs.

[UCanoe_2]

After trashing two bandsaw blades cutting out the centerboard, I realized that trashing another cutting out the rudder was not a good plan. So instead I used the sabre saw. This is an(other) old tool, ca. 1970. After sitting unused for a while, it needs some lubrication and encouragement to start. Once it starts, it runs fine.

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The rudder blank has a nice shape.

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[UCanoe_2]

Some of you may remember the thread about the big elm tree at my house that blew over. http://forum.woodenboat.com/showthre...with-this-tree It's still there, waiting for an arborist to cut it up.

Since I will some day have elm lumber I'm going to try steam bending the tiller. Karl's plans show a really nice curve. I lofted a pattern on cheap underlayment plywood.

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Then I cut out the pattern on the bandsaw. Tomorrow I need to make a trip to the lumberyard for (tree-related) fence repair materials, and will bring back a 2 x 8 for form material.

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[UCanoe_2]

One of the best features of the ShopSmith is the horizontal boring function. It simplifies drilling into the edge of a workpiece that otherwise would drilling by hand or clamping onto a vertical table on a conventional drill press. Today I drilled a hole for the lanyard in the edge of my centerboard.

I elevated the ShopSmith table so my drill would bisect the edge of the centerboard. Then I used a string to align the centerboard at the proper angle.

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The ShopSmith drilling function has an adjustable depth stop. This photo is an awkward view, taken while I was leaning over the machine.

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Drilling in progress:

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[UCanoe_2]

Rain coming over the mountains this evening from West Virginia.

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