Redbird Progress

[Sailor]

So tonight I spent a few more hours out with my boat in the drydock.

I started by setting up ye ol' steambox and getting the other end of the outwales into it. While they were cooking, I chopped off the ends of the seats so they'd fit in the boat. Then I surfaced the ash cross piece and the rails. I had a couple of wets and steeled myself once again to drilling holes in my boat. I drilled down through the inwales to install the forward bolts to support the bowseat rails. Then I cut the cross piece to length. Once that was done, I took the seat offcuts and trimmed them so I could make round (ish) dowels out of them. They were clamped in the vice and drilled lengthwise to accept the bolts. Here's what I ended up with:




The C clamps are there because the bolts are not long enough. The quick grip clamps... Same reason.

And from the other end:




The seat is simply resting on top of the rails and the after end of the rails is resting on the cross piece. No bolts there yet.

Here's a close up of the rail and how it's fastened to the inwale:



I'm going to have to make longer dowels because the seat is a bit high right now. Lower it by about an inch mabye? We'll see.

Then I moved on to the stern seat. I went through the same procedures to make the dowels, drilled the holes and fitted the seat up where it should be. It's the only one of the two that's in it's correct place though. I need longer bolts and I need them of bronze. I'll have to order them online but here's the stern seat looking all smug and ready for my bottom:



I then decided that I needed to install the handles. They're just a quick hole with the drill and a bolt. Plus I have bolts long enough to fasten them. So that's what I did:




And this is the canoe as I left her tonight:



She's coming along. I now have to shape the decks to fit and install the outwales...... Bolts for the seats etc. Once all the trim is in place, I can finish sand the yoke and other bits and pieces, drill and install it then take it all apart again so I can sand and varnish the works. I think I'll buy paddles for now and build paddles once I've had her in the water a bit. I need to paddle this boat or I'll go crazy.

[Sailor]

Spent about 6 hours in the drydock after supper. Got in the house around 0245. I couldn't take pictures because my iPhone was full but I'll head out tomorrow with more room in my phone and I'll get a few shots of what's done. I need new bolts. I can't find any 3/16 bolts that are 6 inches long and certainly nothing like that in bronze. I guess I'll have to resort to the internet to get my fastners. The other option would be to find a tap and die set and get some bronze rod or an appropriate size...... I could then make my own fin head bolts....... HMMMMM Always wanted to make fin head bolts. Anyway, the progress is coming along. I need to shape the decks tomorrow, finish installing the outwales, sand the tops of the gunnl's smooth reassemble it all then sand her down and varnish her. Nearly there folks.

[P.L.Lenihan]

I popped off both inwales and sanded where the inwales would be fastened, just to scuff up the fiberglass underneath and give it some tooth for the epoxy to bond to.

Then I paused, lit a pipe and took a swig of port to steel myself to the task of epoxying something. Always a nervous time.

I was working alone and with epoxy. Unlike the ten thumbed, 3 handed Tenner, I can't operate a camera AND use epoxy at the same time. Here are the results of last night's efforts:


That's it for now. Hope that satisfies everyone (Tenner).

WOW! I am very impressed Sailor with your finicky attention to small details, like the sanding of the 'glass where the inwales fall.Excellent!

I should also applaud your attempts at establishing a ritual of sorts before diving into a job at hand.It is precisely through these types of rituals where one is "forced" to pause and hopefully reflect on how one will proceed best.Visualization is good and certainly augmented with port! Bravo!!

Perfecting,through practice, those two above mentioned elements, will hold you in good stead come the big one! Trust me

Don't be too hard on yourself either, regarding picture taking. It was easy for me as I had Simon to take most of the pictures. Even that rock of perfection,Mr.Ledger, has a saint(aka Mrs.Ledger) to help with some of his picture/video taking.

And finally, I've no doubt that I write for many when I type "yes, we are very satisfied and eager for more!"



Cheers!


Peter

[P.L.Lenihan]

DAMN! That's what I should have done. Coulda woulda shoulda!

How about a nice symetrical pattern of say three 1/4" holes(or one), drilled through your breasthook hard up against your inner stem, soaked with epoxy using pipe cleaner a la Texas Speed Demon and bingo, built in scupper/freeing port/drain hole for when the boat is stored upside down.

Just an idea to help erase those coulda woulda shoulda blues!



Cheers!


Peter

[P.L.Lenihan]

. Hope you enjoyed the progress report. I'm starting to be very happy with the work done.

Oh yeah, that kind of sweet work can sure make a fella(nous) happy and the more work you do,the happier you'll(nous) become. Nous are enjoying this latest burst of freedom from inertia you are lavishing us with.Lache pas tebernac!


Your seats look classic too.Well done Sailor!


Cheers!


Peter

[P.L.Lenihan]

Spent about 6 hours in the drydock after supper. Got in the house around 0245. I couldn't take pictures because my iPhone was full but I'll head out tomorrow with more room in my phone and I'll get a few shots of what's done. I need new bolts. I can't find any 3/16 bolts that are 6 inches long and certainly nothing like that in bronze. I guess I'll have to resort to the internet to get my fastners. The other option would be to find a tap and die set and get some bronze rod or an appropriate size...... I could then make my own fin head bolts....... HMMMMM Always wanted to make fin head bolts. Anyway, the progress is coming along. I need to shape the decks tomorrow, finish installing the outwales, sand the tops of the gunnl's smooth reassemble it all then sand her down and varnish her. Nearly there folks.

Copper rod, 1/4" or less, is cheap and can be worked to whatever length and length of thread needed.


At the blistering rate your going Sailor, don't neglect yourself! Take your LPBC out for a night on the town, or a bunch of brews in the belly. Besides, your cap appears to be one programed like MoMan's.....a veritable chick magnet !

Has it warmed up as nicely down your way as up here?



Cheers!


Peter

[Sailor]

Warm? We saw 24 degrees Thursday. I came in this morning at 0245 because it was getting cold. I wasn't dressed for winter and it was -5. It's now about 8 and sunny. I'm going to hit up Home Hardware for more 1 1/4" #8 Stainless Robertsons. I broke one off fastening the outwale yesterday (had nothing but brass ones left to use). Today, I hope to have everything except the last few items requiring bolts that I don't have to be ready to go. The biggest job left is shaping the decks. I have already cut a template out of cardboard to make sure both decks are the same. I am also having doubts about the weight of the sliding bowseat. I don't know that I left enough material in the inwale to be able to move the yoke forward enough to compensate for it and have a balanced boat. I think I may have to trim the deck on the bow down just a tad to help try to make up for it.
Another bit of progress last nigth that I didn't report was on my 420. She's a FG boat and needed a new rudder. Most often these would be of wood but I am trying something new. I got a free piece of 1" foam insulation board and traced the shape of the foil onto it. Then I cut it to shape on the bandsaw, sanded the foil shapes to it and next I'll cover it in epoxy so it's hard, sand it smooth and wrap it in fiberglass cloth. Might be a way for others to make a lightweight foil for their wood boats if they are interested.

[Sailor]

Cut plugs for the outwale screw holes. Sanded my yoke and handles till they became silky smooth. Tenner I was one with the sandpaper tonight. I also shaped my decks and sanded them silky smooth as well. I'll get pics up later it's getting late here and I need to get some sleep. I have a feeling my sleep schedule is all messed up now, it's 0411!

[P.L.Lenihan]

I got a free piece of 1" foam insulation board and traced the shape of the foil onto it. Then I cut it to shape on the bandsaw, sanded the foil shapes to it and next I'll cover it in epoxy so it's hard, sand it smooth and wrap it in fiberglass cloth.

Would it not sand easier, thus being easier to get the desired shape perfect, before you do any epoxying? Once that soft foam is to your standards of perfection, wrap her in cloth and epoxy the bugger but good.

Cheers!


Peter

[P.L.Lenihan]

Tenner I was one with the sandpaper tonight.

Bless you my child.
Did you feel like a smoke afterwards?

[Sailor's Brother]

lots of talk there Daniel, but not a lot of photos...

[Sailor]

I did feel like a smoke but I resisted the temptation. I will epoxy the foam before final sanding so it gives me a better more sandable surface. It's already nearly where I want it.
Pictures forthcoming.

[MoMan]

Hey Daniel--I meant to throw one more bit of advice/word of caution at you. As I was fitting my decks, I got them to fit alright, but in the process I discovered that the ajoined halves got a little off center. Be sure that when you take a little off the port side, you also take a little off the starboard side. On mine, you can't really tell until you actually hold up your fingers (or a ruler) and you can see that one side is wider than the other.

LOL (Lots of learning)!

--Mike

[Sailor]

I already know that. Mine are not perfect either. Close. But not quite. I'll have some pics up soon. I have made quite a bit of progress.

[Sailor]

I need a bit of help on something guys. If you could take a look at my Canoe Questions thread down in the next section I'd appreciate anything you guys may have to say about it. Thanks,
Daniel

[Sailor's Brother]

Not sure if this will work... but here's a link to where Sailor is asking his question...

http://forum.woodenboat.com/showthre...uestions/page2

[Sailor]

Got the outwales epoxied in place. Sort of. I didn't realize which hardner I used. I didn't use the cold temperature hardner. Got them on yesterday afternoon and when I got home last night after dinner with friends it was still tacky. VERY tacky. I realized pretty quickly what the problem was. Today, I put a space heater under the boat as well as my "patented" heat lamp stick to try to bring the temperature up a bit. It eventually warmed to about 20 degrees in the drydock and it started to go off. I noticed that it was much more cured than last night. In fact, I was able to scrape off a bit of epoxy this morning before I put the heat to it. I'll go back out shortly and check it. The sun's down now so it will start to cool off a bit. I'll report back when the outwales are cured. Until then, I'll have to hope for warmth. I did get the hull sanded a little bit though. It's getting a bit cloudy though. I hope I can sand it out. It's damage from the sun most likely. It's been unprotected except for the roof since I glassed it a few years ago. I should have varnished it sooner. I hope I either sand it out or it's not as bad as I thought it would be once I get varnish on it. If not I can always paint the hull a nice bright red or some other canoe friendly colour.

[Sailor]

All is well. She's cured up nicely now. I'm out of town of vacation for the long weekend but I'll be back at it shortly. Pics soon I promise. Garden time of year as well soon....... Less time in the shop but nice juicy tomatoes etc.

[mrxireland]

I guess it's time to rescue this thread from page 2 again.....
Here's what I propose for my bowseat booboo solution.
First a couple of pics for perspective, I know you all like pics. I do to. I just hate posting them, it sucks the way we have to do it. Too bad it's not easier....


This first one is length wise. The clamps are in the same locations for the next two shots but the seat is in a different place.

In this one, you can see the seat about where it should be placed fore and aft.

And I just threw this one in because it's there and we all like pictures. I have to keep you coming back somehow don't I?

Just curious about did you get away with using not many clamps for attaching your gunnels. any other build i see, they have well over 10 and sometimes even over 20. I hope you have got away with using just a few because thats all i have and i dont want to be forking out anymore money to buy some because my build is pulling out allsorts of hiding costs and i wouldnt want anymore,lol

[MoMan]

Just curious about did you get away with using not many clamps for attaching your gunnels. any other build i see, they have well over 10 and sometimes even over 20. I hope you have got away with using just a few because thats all i have and i dont want to be forking out anymore money to buy some because my build is pulling out allsorts of hiding costs and i wouldnt want anymore,lol

Ted Moore's book recommends driving screws from the hull into the inwales to hold until the epoxy cures if you don't have enough clamps.

[Sailor]

In those pictures they're actually not there permanently, I've removed and preplaced them several times since those pictures were taken. I started in the middle of the boat and worked toward each end using clamps a few scuppers ahead of where I was working. The idea was to get the whales to lay fair before I screwed them in place. You'll also see that they are a bit long in those pictures. I still had to bend them and trim them to fit. I did end up using one clamp per scupper. I offset the clamps a bit as well so I could drive a screw in the middle of the meaty part of the inwale. I fitted etc. all ready to go, screws included before I removed them one final time to apply the googe. THEN I fit them in place and screwed them in. I went around and clamped it all up once they were screwed in place. Nice squeeze out from the screws for the most part. Any parts that weren't squeezing out nicely then did when I put the clamps on. I'm not showing many clamps in these pictures but I have about 40 or so 3"-4" clamps. Mostly 4 inch but a good number of 3 inch ones as well. Some 4 inch 5 inch and I think a 6 inch. That's just C clamps. I have 3 irwin quick grip 15 inchers and a handful of 3 foot bar clamps. I'm fairly well set up for clamps when it comes to boats this size. I'll be in the market for more when I start on a bigger boat. I'll be looking for some soon if anyone has a line on 6-12 inch clamps.
Hope that helps mrxireland.
Daniel

[Sailor]

Life is busy right now. I have the inwales and outwales in permanently. Decks are in permanently as well. I will update the thread once life settles down some time next week. The ex is moving out this weekend. She packed today, movers haul her stuff away tomorrow and she's gone Saturday. I have a final exam in accounting tomorrow night, in my intro to business on Saturday night and a 4 day take home final that starts tomorrow morning and is due on Monday night. In there I have a 4 year old to take care of and a lying, adulterous (insert expletive here) to supervise so I don't end up losing all MY stuff in her move. Life is too busy right now for the boat but soon. I promise. I'll also have MUCH more time on my hands come next week. In the months she has the little guy, there'll be even MORE time to myself. Lots of boat work soon.

[Oyster]

Life is busy right now. I have the inwales and outwales in permanently. Decks are in permanently as well. I will update the thread once life settles down some time next week. The ex is moving out this weekend. She packed today, movers haul her stuff away tomorrow and she's gone Saturday. I have a final exam in accounting tomorrow night, in my intro to business on Saturday night and a 4 day take home final that starts tomorrow morning and is due on Monday night. In there I have a 4 year old to take care of and a lying, adulterous (insert expletive here) to supervise so I don't end up losing all MY stuff in her move. Life is too busy right now for the boat but soon. I promise. I'll also have MUCH more time on my hands come next week. In the months she has the little guy, there'll be even MORE time to myself. Lots of boat work soon.

sailor,
good luck with it all.nothing beats building a boat to take away the dog crap that life slings at us on occasion. for me money could not buy better therapy.
royce

[Sailor]

I agree. That's why I have a few boats in mind once this one's done. Catspaw is next followed possibly by a flying dutchman. I'll never die happy if I don't build a schooner........ Lotsa buildin to do.

[MoMan]

Hey Daniel--How's life this week? Better I hope!

[Sailor's Brother]

Yes, Daniel. How are things going? Exam results in :-) so.... :-)

[Sailor]

I think there are some pictures missing here. Tonight I varnished the inside as well as the gunnls. When I have time I'll bring everyone up to speed on her and update the picture situation. I know I've been terrible for updating but a 4 year old doesn't allow much free time. If the varnish job is not quite Baby Bootlegger quality, it's because he helped varnish. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

[mrxireland]

Life is busy right now. I have the inwales and outwales in permanently. Decks are in permanently as well. I will update the thread once life settles down some time next week. The ex is moving out this weekend. She packed today, movers haul her stuff away tomorrow and she's gone Saturday. I have a final exam in accounting tomorrow night, in my intro to business on Saturday night and a 4 day take home final that starts tomorrow morning and is due on Monday night. In there I have a 4 year old to take care of and a lying, adulterous (insert expletive here) to supervise so I don't end up losing all MY stuff in her move. Life is too busy right now for the boat but soon. I promise. I'll also have MUCH more time on my hands come next week. In the months she has the little guy, there'll be even MORE time to myself. Lots of boat work soon.

Keep your head up man. Sorry to hear about your bad news but chin up and stay positive and everything will work out for you.

[MoMan]

If the varnish job is not quite Baby Bootlegger quality, it's because he helped varnish.

I wish I had a 4-year-old to blame for my shoddy varnish job! Good to hear you're making progress.

[Sailor]

I'm not blaming him per se, I'm just pointing out the fact that some of the inexpert portions may have been a little man's first attempt!

[Sailor]

Tenner, believe it. It's there. Picture to prove it.
Now, what the picture doesn't show is that while the stem bands are in place, they're held with temporary stainless screws. The overly long ends of them need to be trimmed off. (Tomorrow, once I pick up another cutting wheel) The bow seat needs to be fixed such that it won't move around. It's being held in place by gravity which won't work well in use. All in all she's not bad. I'm TERRIBLY disappointed with the outside glasswork. It's very milky. The bowseat rails are there because I messed up and didn't properly figure out where the seat should go before cutting the scuppers. Just abaft the after bowseat bolts are my previous table saw boo boos where there's a kerf cut in the wales. I left it as is. I think she comes in around 68 lbs but the seat rails etc will be losing a bit of weight as I shape them and fine tune them. The outwales will likely be meeting the belt sander in order to take a bit of weight off there as well. There are 2 coats of varnish on the inside, one on the inwales and 3 on the outside of the hull. The seat dowels soaked in linseed oil overnight last night and all day today. The yoke has about 10 coats of oil and the decks about 8. I'll continue to oil them. I think I may leave the wales alone and oil them instead of varnishing them when I next sand them a bit. I think the oil is easier. Time will tell. There's a new paddle sitting on my kitchen table for me and another one for Gabriel. I got a new lifejacket for myself as well. Gabriel already has a "boat coat". All ready to splash her this weekend at the cottage. Off to bed. Up early to get things on the move for my 7 hour trip to the cottage with my very own canoe on the roof. I'll take pictures and when I get a chance I promise to update the thread to explain the last bit of work that was done to finish her up. Sorry I didn't keep it up lately but divorce means a parent missing and a kid on your own is alot to handle. Throw in a full term of university courses (4 courses) and a full time job and you're not left with much time for anything.

[P.L.Lenihan]

You are time deprived for sure Daniel but, my oh my, your Redbird sure looks mighty handsome and just needs to be set free in her element with one very happy builder aboard! Remember too, as the builder, your eyes will see every darned little booboo you've ever made from day one on this canoe. Just take another long swig on something from Garrison's each time your eye picks up something like that and I can guarantee you, eventually you'll stop noticing them! That's when you'll really relax each time you take her out for a float-n-drift session. Make the most of those precious moments too.....winter always returns sooner than we wish!


Good luck with the launching and safe travels with her!!!

Looking forward to the pictures when available.



Cheers!

Peter

[MoMan]

She looks fabulous, Daniel! But come on: One solitary completion picture?? I can only assume you will be making up for it with a whole album of splashdown pix!

Have you had her on your shoulders yet? I bet that carved yoke/thwart is a lot more comfortable than my straight one. Of course, I don't plan to do a lot of portaging with mine, but who knows. I finally picked mine up by myself a couple of weeks ago and was surprised by how light and nicely balanced it felt, at least for the 30-foot-trek up my driveway!

If you take her anywhere with sandy/muddy shores, I recommend investing in a few cheapo bath mats to help preserve the interior varnish (but you can leave that extra weight at home when you are portaging). They also increase traction on that slippery surface.

Best of luck at the cottage--I hope you have a great weekend. I'm taking mine to the lake for the first time tonight.

[Sailor]

See! She's wet. Dad's boat is in the background. Andrew's will be joining our boats eventually we hope.



Pouring a bit of Port to appease any gods that need appeasing. I drank pretty much the rest of the bottle though so not too much was wasted.



My boat on the right. Dad's on the left. Can't even tell that his is full of staple holes and mine isn't.



Disregarding all the kids playing in the water around her, the boat on the left is mine. I love this shot because of the way the hull reflects the light. Look at that curvature. What a beautiful hull shape. When you view them up close from this perspective you can see how the extra 6 inches in length changed the lay of the planking. Its quite drastic actually. There's very little recurve or S to the shape of the planks in my boat. I look forward to some more testing side by side, carrying capacity, speed etc. I think she'll handle pretty much like dad's boat but with about 80 lbs more carrying capacity.

[Sailor]

MoMan, I hope that helps out a bit. Tennner, like you, I have some more finishing touches to put on her. She's seen water though and I couldn't wipe the mile wide smile from my face as I paddled her back to shore with Gabriel. Time for some more serious paddling and testing tomorrow.

[Sailor]

Here we are just leaving the beach at the cottage. My dad's getting in and we're backing away. We're a bit restricted by the tides as to when we can paddle. Unless we don't mind walking through 300 yards of shoe stealing clay. I prefer to wait until the water comes to me.

[Sailor]

Up on my shoulders.



For you Moman.

[Sailor]

Rough estimate weigh in, 68 lbs. I still have some material to remove from both the gunwales and the bow seat rail setup. I hope to take her down a few more pounds. We'll see what I can do. She's bound to be a bit heavier than my dad's and brother's boats. She's 6 inches longer than them and there's a setup of rails for the sliding bowseat. Both mean extra weight.

[Oyster]

congratulations sailor
fine boat
royce

[P.L.Lenihan]

Congrats Daniel on your successful launching! I applaud greatly your restraint in only allowing a small amount of Port to dribble out of the bottle,saving the rest for your own gut.You earned it man!! BRAVO!!!

The big build is going to be a life changing experience and by the look of things, you'll have yourself a fine right hand man to help out too!!



Cheers!


Peter

[MoMan]

Excellent! Congratulations Daniel. Yes, that launch-day smile can be wide and long lasting. She looks beautiful. Have you picked out a name for her?

I took mine out to the lake this weekend. She's a whole different animal in the chop (not really even chop, just a bit lumpy) compared to the smooth water of the bayou--much more tender than I expected. My 9-year-old nephew joined me for a brief paddle around our neck of the water. His light weight may have contributed to its tenderness. I meant to try loading her up with some 5-gallon collapsible water jugs but didn't get around to it.

When we returned to the dock we did a capsize test. Very enlightening! My solo canoe recovery technique could use some perfecting. I finally had to cheat and lift the bow onto the deck (simulating a second canoe to assist). But we did manage to successfully reenter from the water without assistance, and only schlepped a little extra water in. I need to rig up a stirrup; I whacked my shin and ankle pretty good.

As I thought more about it, I believe that lashing a dry bag or two to the gunwales would really help a single canoe recovery: each time we tried to roll her from inverted, we just couldn't lift her high enough to prevent the rail from scooping a bunch more water in. And given the time it takes to bail her out with a few inches of water, I think I may invest in a manual bilge pump. I am assuming they are more effective than my plastic juice jug. If I'm struggling with a half-swamped boat out in the waves, that's going to be a difficult task.

I also successfully loaded (and unloaded) her on top of the car by myself. It was much easier than I was expecting. I must say, I really like driving around with her on the roof. I usually get a couple of thumbs ups from other drivers; and one vehicle on our way home slowed down so his wife could take a picture!

I'm glad to see you got her wet. Most gratifying.

[Fitz]

Sweet new ride!! Congrats on the launching!!

Fitz

[Sailor]

Thanks for the well wishes guys. I'll be fine tuning things like the bow seat and I want to remove some weight in the form of gunnl material. My dad's wales are clearly much daintier than mine when looked at side by side. I'll take a bit of material off the top and the outside edge. I may take a bit of the inner rounded portion of the inwale as well. I think I've settled on a setup for the bow seat. I also want to take some material off the bowseat rails as well. Round them over a bit more, give the cross member some curves. That should remove a bit of weight. My dad's boat is 5 lbs lighter than mine. Seems to weigh in about 64 lbs, while dad's is about 59 lbs, but the scale used is likely older than I am. Either way, I think I can shave a bit of weight with the work left to do on her. I think I prefer the look of the glossy varnished yoke on dad's boat too. I may switch to varnish to give it a glossy glow. Not sure yet.