[LWalker]

I purchased the plans about a month ago from Timm Smith over at http://www.smithmarinedesign.com/osprey18.html . I ordered my first round of Okume plywood on Christmas Eve and it is on the way from World Panel.



Today I completed the strongback along with the hairpin support and transom support.

 

[LWalker]

Yup, World Panel in Riviera Beach. I couldn't find anyone around here. If you have a source I am all ears....it cost $110 to ship 5 sheets of 18mm.

 

[LWalker]

Very quick and very reasonable and are usually fully stocked.

http://plywood.boatbuildercentral.com/

Thanks! I checked with them. They are having a winter sale on Okume right now and World Panel was still cheaper by about 7%. I also felt like World Panel's customer service was better.

When are you going to fish with your previous build?

I have fished it once since I finished it a few weeks ago. I hope to go again over the holidays if it will quit blowing.

 

[LWalker]

I put 6 casters on it this weekend and was kicking around ideas for shimming it to get everything level. I like your idea as shimming the wheels wasn't working too well. Having wheels is going to be great as my work area is small. I can however move the bayboat and car out of the garage if I need the room for the day. I am planning to do the heavy sanding outside if possible.

 

[LWalker]

Time to make some sawdust

 

[LWalker]

That is some pretty damn plywood. Looking forward to your build.

Agreed, I was impressed.

I took one sheet out and rough cut it to size for two of the frames. Here is full size template for frame C glued to the wood with 3M 77 spray on the paper only. This allowed my to re-position the template as well as providing a bond that did not leave residue on the wood, but held the template very well while cutting.



All cut



I had to throw it up on the strongback...

 

[LWalker]

That's sweet, pretty much foolproof so far
What's the boat next to it?

Blackjack 224

 

[LWalker]

Yes, cold molded. I talked to Timm about it but he only has the 16 available in strip. He said he might convert the Osprey plans in the future but didnt have a timeline. I really prefer the 18 over the 16 for my needs.

 

[LWalker]

I have knocked out three more frames this afternoon. I will put in a couple more hours tonight...

 

[LWalker]

One more frame completed

 

[LWalker]

I may do a bright transom, so I tried to pick the prettiest piece for that:


Frames are complete...now I need to level, square, and true everything up.

 

[LWalker]

A bright transom?  Sweet.

I don't know what will be bright yet, but I have selected some good looking wood for the outer transom and the front and rear bulkheads. I will definitely have a bright side console, but who knows about the rest.

 

[LWalker]

I was thinking about frame C and G too! I am considering a lot of different options.....this is the fun part as everything is a blank canvas! I had tentatively planned to do the transom like this to avoid the lapped glass issue. Probably the same reason Chittum did it this way. What do you guys think?

 

[LWalker]

Gotcha! So add the veneer after the glass, then just seal it with a few coats of epoxy and some varnish for UV?

 

[LWalker]

I raised up my strongback and leveled it using some legs in preparation for installing my frames. I added string line independent of the frames to act as my center line. It hovers about 1/8" above the frames. Next I installed each frame making sure it was centered on the string line and square to the frame. I checked the frame's fairness with some batten and eyeballed it for a good 30 minutes. All looks very good.

Now I calculating how much mahogany I need to get started on the stem, keel, and harpin.

 

[LWalker]

Today I routed a 1/8" roundover on my limbers and frame openings. I also braced the frames with some stripping on each side and the top(bottom of hull). Frame A will be braced separately with a 2x4.

 

[LWalker]

I picked up 32 bf of rough cut 6/4 mahogany. I doubt it will be enough but it will definitely get me started. Tonight, I cut and surfaced 3 sides of two boards that will be scarfed together to become the keel. The rough edge you see facing up will be shaped with a planer after it is epoxied in place.

 

[LWalker]

The keel tapers down an inch to meet the stem. I screwed a piece of wood to the keel matching the taper angle and ran it through the table saw. Flip and repeat for the other side. You can see the taper at the far end in the last image.

I built an adjustable scarf jig for the table saw and cut the scarfs for the keel.



Dry fitting



Buttered up



Clamped

 

[LWalker]

Oyster, the 6/4 I got is in the rough so it measures about 1 5/8 . I got mine at a semi-local lumber supplier (1.5h round trip) and it was $5.80 a bf.

Acadian Hardwoods

Pretty stuff...

 

[LWalker]

Stem Templates


Rough cut with jig saw and band saw



Sanded to the line





Dry Fitting