New Study in Hot-Molded Boat Building

[Ed Harrow]

A new study in hot-molded boat building produces substantive results. The author used a combination of both traditional and modern techniques and technology to achieve noteworthy results. Additionally, other building techniques are documented for the reader’s edification.

Traditionally, boat builders worked from a scale half model to generate the lines of the actual boat in a labor-intensive process known as ‘lofting’. In this study, rather than work from a half model, the author elected to first build an actual representation of the hull, full size.



This simple step completely eliminated the lofting requirement as component patterns were simply made directly from the model. Additionally, the port and starboard sides, being mirror images, required only one pattern. (Missing in this photo is the transom pattern, the author regrets the oversight)



The author and his able assistant were able to procure GingerLogâ, from which the superb building material known as GingerBoardâ is made. Typically, it is delivered in raw-log form.



The average person, with a modicum of equipment, can mill the log into a suitable board in minutes (tho sometimes some professional oversight is required at first).





When a board of suitable size has been gotten out of the log, the pattern of the required piece is simply placed upon it and traced with a sharp knife. (The author regrets that photos of this process are not available.)


(To be continued directly because of the 6 picture limit...)

[Ed Harrow]

[Continued]





The really wonderful thing about GingerBoardâ is that waste is kept to an absolute minimum. All off-cuts can be amalgamated into another GingerLogâ! One side of the hull was made from re-amalgamated GingerBoardâ.



The freshly cut piece is then transferred to the Autoclave for approximately 10 minutes of processing.



The one downside to GingerBoardâ is that it has a tendency to expand, unevenly in all dimensions. This is most pronounced, as might be expected, in length and width. This required prompt attention by the author, retracing the pattern with a sharp knife. Regretfully, once GingerBoardâ has been through a heat cycle it can no longer be re-amalgamated into a new GingerLogâ, however our experience indicates that this waste is minimal when compared to other, more traditional building materials. The author suggests that more work might be done (esp if building a large number of identical vessels) in using ‘female’ patterns, which would contain the Gingerboardâ in two dimensions, eliminating the aforementioned step.

The previously made, full-scale model, was next employed to form the various GingerBoardâ components to their final shape. This process MUST be completed before the GingerBoardâ has achieved room temperature – you can imagine that between having to carefully trim the GingerBoardâ to shape and placing each piece on the model such that it conforms to its design shape, that the author didn’t have time to document this portion of the process. As in all such cases, the author sincerely regrets the lack of photo documentation of this process, and hopes that you, the reader, will not be too inconvenienced by the lack.



Now, unfortunately, the author is called away on pressing matters of business (yes, on New Year’s Day, the life of the self-employed), but will return to providing additional information and documentation ASAP.

In the mean time, best to all for 2008, and special thanks, as always, to the Few that Do Squad.

[Ken Hutchins]

I see definite possibilites at least when the lofting or cutting of the bevels goes awary you can eat the evidence.

[MarkC]

Lebküchenboot - ummmm lecker!

[Bill R]

That is a prime example of the depth of knowledge here that keeps me coming back.

[paladin]

May I suggest a good sealent and paint may be made from 1 lemon and 1 lb. of confectioners sugar, a but runny at first, but cures overnight.

[outofthenorm]

I've seen a product similar to Gingerboard used to build houses and even castles, but this is the first time it's been recommended for marine use. As a traditionalist I'm sceptical of course, but willing to be convinced - so I asked my research associate to try and duplicate your process in our domestic lab.

[Hwyl]

Crumbs, that's a narrow beam. You'll have to be ginger as you move around the deck. Anyway you slice it a good looking boat. You've certainly risen to the occasion.

The proof of the pudding is in the eating

Just casting my bread upon the waters.

[John Turpin]

The Coast Guard will never approve that boat. That's the problem with these new "innovative" building techniques. Sure, they sound good on paper, but would you voluntarily go to sea on it? I surely wouldn't.

Put me down as a skeptic.

[StevenBauer]

but will return to providing additional information and documentation ASAP.

Tap, tap, tap....






Steven

[htom]

Flotation could be enhanced with the addition of "Om Trollkrem" (Troll's Cream).

[Ed Harrow]

[Continued]

It is a normal part of the process in a normal boat-building job to employ a ‘strong back’, ‘molds’ or other temporary structures to facilitate the building and shaping process. With this revolutionary new technique such time and material wasters are completely eliminated. The deck is simply laid down upon the work surface, and the two sides of the hull positioned on top of the underside of the deck (the building process being accomplished with the boat upside down). The fastening process is accomplished using a revolutionary and proprietary new miracle glue, SugaGooge®. SugaGooge® is applied to one (or both) halves of the joint, and the two pieces are then placed together. The curving nature of the topsides made them self-supporting in their final position. SugaGooge® is extremely gap filling, fast setting, and requires minimal clamping (A few seconds of direct pressure is typically more than adequate.).



Topsides in place.



Bottom in place.

SugaGooge® is so gap filling that the usual curse of worrying about bevels, never mind ‘rolling’ bevels, is a thing of the past. Studies have shown SugaGooge® to be stronger than the substrates it glued together.

The author regrets that photos of the actual SugaGooge® application are not available to the public at this time because of the highly proprietary nature of the product and its use. More information on SugaGooge® will be discussed in the following Appendix.

The hull now structurally complete, a coating of Merang® Finish is applied to the topsides to give the new boat a proper ‘yacht’ appearance. Also contributing to her classic good looks is the jaunty bowsprit, which doubles as a towing bit, and the toe rails, of Licoriwood. This is a marvelous product; it takes glue readily, and is easily bent into compound curves.



The mast for this boat is keel stepped, and was built in a separate process in the spar shop, using PretzaWood®. PretzaWood®, a readily available commercial product, suffers from one significant limitation, it is available in only one length, too short for a boat of any reasonable size. The author developed a means of extending the length of a PretzaWood® spar by gluing individual lengths of PretzaWood®, end-to-end, using SugaGooge®. For the boat in this study three lengths of PretzaWood® were employed, and the strength of SugaGooge® is such that no labor-intensive scarf joints to provide extensive faying surfaces are required.



The shrouds, fabricated, under duress, from synthetic LicorRod®, as the genuine article was not available, have proven to be a problem. Synthetic LicorRod® is available in only one length, again not of sufficient length for a yacht of any size. Various attempts to join lengths of synthetic LicorRod® were unsuccessful, until the author had the idea of using SugaGooge®. That, too, was troublesome, but ultimately sufficiently successful to support the mast. Again, given the proprietary nature of SugaGooge®, photographs of the gluing process are not a part of the public portion of this study.



The finished mast is stepped, and one LicorRod® shroud is in place. Note the house construction in the background. The next chapter will cover outfitting the newly finished yacht, as well as the fabrication of other building products and processes, which the reader will, no doubt, find elucidating.



Now, unfortunately, the author is called away on pressing matters of business, but will return to providing additional information and documentation ASAP.

In the mean time, best to all for 2008, and special thanks, as always, to the Few that Do Squad.

[Concordia...41]

Crumbs, that's a narrow beam. You'll have to be ginger as you move around the deck. Anyway you slice it a good looking boat. You've certainly risen to the occasion.

The proof of the pudding is in the eating

Just casting my bread upon the waters.

Gareth you really frost the cake.

[Paul Pless]

too cool

[rbgarr]

Choice of boathouses :

[Ed Harrow]

More pictures to follow, patience is a good thing.

[StevenBauer]

If you hadn't resized those pics, Dave, the mast might have fit in the boathouse.

[Ed Harrow]

[Continued]

Well, she’s done, but for the naming. I’m thinking ‘Gingerbelle’, whatdaya think? As you can see, the lifesavers are in place so they fall immedieatly to the helmsman’s hand in the event they are needed. The boom crotch is made of twsted PretzaWood®, which is commercially available. Fortunately Gingerbelle is designed with an inboard rig, so the author was able to use a single standard length of commercial PretzaWood®. PretzaWood® can be fabricated, in custom lengths, and designs, in the average home facility with a person of average skills, given one limitation. The size of the autoclave and processing trays will limit the maximum length of the PretzaWood® log. It is for this reason that the author chose to use only commercially available PretzaWood®.





Now, as promised, documentation of other building projects undertaken over New Year’s. Note that, especially given the artistic merit and complicated styles, the rapidity with which these structures were built using, mostly, GingerBoard®.

The following is a barn, constructed of GingerBoard®, roofed with LicorIngles®, and sided with CrackerWood®. Truly a work of beauty and longevity.







The commercial aspects of this farm have yet to be developed, but they are believed to be substantial.

[Ed Harrow]

[Continued]

No detail is too small to overlook…





The ingenuity of these builders is nothing to sneeze at. NeecoNigle® siding, and another application of PretzaWood®. In this case, the barn is roofed with ShredAtch®, a really wonderful, and natural, roofing material.

Last, but not least, the piece de la resistance…

In construction, note the CracIngle® roofing. Lovely stuff, and very easy to work.









[To be continued]

In the mean time, best to all for 2008, and special thanks, as always, to the Few that Do Squad.

[rbgarr]

I presume the silos are filled with Shedded Wheat against any coming famine?

[Ed Harrow]

[Continued]

Pictorially, we’ll close with a couple of remaining highlights of GingerBoard® constructions…



No detail is too small to overlook, note the woodshed, complete with woodpile and chopping block.



and even a Christmas tree!

Check out this delightful little, ummm, pig sty, I guess. Some will be familiar with a class of historic construction known as ‘stone-end houses’. This was built with a wonderful, new, proprietary material called Oyst-a-Stone®. It’s quite light, easy to cut, and yet it is suitable for construction projects. The roof is shingled with that old standby, WheThingle® which, no doubt, is readily available near you.



No extensive study of this nature would be complete without suggestions for further study; the author suggests the following as being worthy of further study. Should a reader wish to undertake work in the suggested area, please contact the author, who would be most pleased to send you a non-disclosure agreement. Upon receipt of said non-disclosure agreement, properly notarized, the author will be in contact.

SugaGooge® the proprietary ‘glue’ developed by the author and cohorts:
1. Suffers from one major short-coming, the ‘open time’ is extremely short, literally less than one minute.
2. Additionally, it must be applied hot, sufficiently hot as to create problems with OSHA if it were used in a commercial operation.

Lastly, and unrelated to the above study:



Finbar, and


Gully send their best wishes for 2008, plus 'Thank you!' to you know who!

[Paul Pless]

Wonderful!

and nice to see a picture of Finbar