[WhiteDog70810]

Day 1:

I just got home from deployment a couple weeks ago and I am finally in a position where I can actually build my boat and not just talk about it.  I've linked my previous brainstorming for those interested.

http://www.microskiff.com/cgi-bin/yabb2/YaBB.pl?num=1236166089/15

http://www.microskiff.com/cgi-bin/yabb2/YaBB.pl?num=1249763672

I ran to Lowe's today to get the wood to build my strongback.  I'll place my plywood order soon.

This is what a 16' ladder frame looks like in a 20' garage.  The frame clears the garage door by about 1/8".  This will be a cozy build.  Fortunately, a lot of the stuff in the way will be going to Goodwill very soon.

I was surprised how straight the 2x6's were at Lowe's.  I expected to have to make do with mildly warped wood, but these two 2x6's barely have a crown.  I used ratchet straps to get my diagonals even, but it didn't take much.  I might mount diagonal braces once I figure out where they won't be in the way.  I mounted the first four legs square and flush to the frame, shimmed it to level, then mounted the rest of the legs so they touched the floor, hence the discrepancies between the shims under the various legs.  It is now custom built to that 2x16' piece of my garage floor and I can't move it without altering the legs.  I am happy to observe that if my water heater ever leaks, the water will flow out of my garage. 

Tomorrow I think I'll cross brace those legs.  They are fairly solid now, but I bet sanding the hull will make the frame loosen up and start to wobble if I don't brace the legs a bit more.  I also hope to get the temp frames cut and mounted this weekend.  Then I'll wait for my plywood to show up.

Nate

 

[copperhead]

Definitely cross brace the legs

 

[Brett]

[smiley=watching-you.gif]

Build it, and I'll watch, quietly, most of the time...

;D

 

[mark_gardner]

the only problem i can see is that your garage is way to clean but thats gonna change soon i'm sure

 

[WhiteDog70810]

"Clean" is a bit generous.  I just pushed the big chunks to the side and swept the floor. I have neglected to tell my wife exactly how much dust I will be distributing in the near future.

I had to knock out some chores today, so no progress to report. I think I have got the distractions out of the way so I can be productive tomorrow.

Nate

 

[FSUfisher]

Looks exciting. Welcome home! [smiley=1-beer-german.gif]

 

[DuckNut]

Welcome home.

THANK YOU!

 

[WhiteDog70810]

Day 2 (Yesterday didn't count)

I braced up the construction base and shimmed it as level as I know how to get it.  I also got three temp frames made today.  They aren't mounted on the base yet, but I set them up to get an idea of how much space I'll have to work with.  Hopefully, I'll get the bow mold and final frame knocked out tomorrow and get them all mounted, level and square by next weekend.

I'd better get the ply ordered so I have something to play with next weekend.

Nate

 

[WhiteDog70810]

Day 3 & 4:

I just finished the frames and started to mount them on the base on day 3.  I didn't post pics because it kinda looked the same from a distance as it did the day before.  As of yesterday I finished the entire construction base/jig, so I can actually post pics that show some progress.  I am pretty happy with it.  It looks a lot bigger in person than it did on the computer. 

I went to order my ply from Bateau, but I flinched at the shipping cost.  I am trying to find a retail source of marine ply in the Raleigh/Fayetteville/Charlotte, NC area.  If anyone has any suggestions, please let me know.  I've called some local specialty lumber yards, but they don't seem to answer their phones or return messages.  I'll probably still end up ordering from Bateau, but I am going to shop around first.

Nate

 

[Gramps]

Progress is progress! I'm looking forward to another home brew build. Y'all have a lot more patience and dedication than I. ;D On the ply part, have you tried calling any local boat builders? There may be some specialty outlets that sell marine ply, foam and the like.

 

[DuckNut]

McEwan Lumber used to stock Okoume http://www.mcewenlumber.com and I know these guys www.dixieply.com can get what you want (they are wholesalers).  Call them and ask the questions you need answered.

 

[WhiteDog70810]

Unfortunately, McEwan lumber didn't answer their phone either time that I called.  I can get 1088 Okoume locally at Anchor Hardwoods Inc in Wilmington, NC for just a bit more than it would cost me to get 1088 Meranti shipped to my house.  The light weight will be a nice upgrade for the difference.  The guy on the phone was very cool, so I think I'll just spend the extra money with him and consider it well spent.

Nate

 

[TheBrazilNut]

What are you're specs for the skiff? If you are looking at building an FS18 skiff I would really re-think that. I have been on 4 different builds and was not very impressed with the boats. The sheer is too high, water line beam is to narrow and building a sole so that it is self bailing is a waste.

I'm going to build a skiff in the future which will have specs to Brett's "Grass Slipper".

17'6" - 18' Long
48"-52" Max Beam
42" bottom rear beam

1/2" for bottom, transom and part of the front
1/4" for decks and other things.

The info I have gathered from similar builds is that the builders say the boats are "over-built".

Look at The Slipper thread which my skiff will be based on. I have been on it and was very impressed. The things I would change would be 18' range, sheer cut down to 10" - 12" and a longer front deck.

 

[WhiteDog70810]

BrazilNut,

Never show interest in the endeavors of a fanatic.  They might respond.
[smiley=1-biggrin.gif]
I like the concept of the FS18, but I didn't want a vee and I didn't like the canoe-like look, so my design has more in common with the D15.  I wanted an outboard pirogue that could plane with a 10 hp motor.  My design is 16' long and 53ish" at the widest.  It is 15" deep with 6ish" of flare all the way around, so the bottom is 41ish" at the widest.  I think a 10-12" depth would be too shallow for my purposes.  I made the shear follow the curve of the bottom up front because I prefer that look to a flush shear.  I also figured I'd kick my drink into the water on a flush sheared boat.  The bottom curves up 2.5" from the middle forward.  That should keep the chines underwater and make it quieter.  I did not raise the sole because I didn't want to raise my center of gravity.

It should float shallow and pole easy, but I made some trade offs.  It will probably try to bow steer at slow speeds.  It will probably not be particularly stable.  I'll have to hide from any open water when the wind kicks up.  I can live with all that.

I have the plans to the D15. It calls for 1/4" sides, 1/2" bottom and transom (+ 1/2" clamping board) and 3/8" interior frames and decks. I wouldn't consider it overbuilt, so I am using the same materials and fiberglass specs. If I increased the length to 18', I'd increase the bottom width to an even 48" (total of 60" wide across the gunnels) and include stringers and cross bracing. A raised sole is really nice to cover up that sh-tuff, but it forces you to raise the side height unless you want to deal with a ridiculously shallow cockpit.

Nate

 

[TheBrazilNut]

I thought you were going to build an FS18 for some reason.

 

[WhiteDog70810]

I looked at it hard and probably talked about it from time to time. It was so close to what I want that I kept thinking it was silly to reinvent the wheel. In the end, I just didn't love the design. I have no real world experience with it, just a lack of a warm and fuzzy in my tummy.

Nate

 

[WhiteDog70810]

I bought most of my ply today. I went with the okoume 1088. It is nice stuff (it better be!). The 6566 meranti looked good, but it was heavy and they only had 1 sheet of the 6 mm. As is, I only got the 6 mm and the 12 mm for the hull. I guess there is a gap in their supply chain of 1088 okoume 9 mm. That is actually good. I'll focus on the hull for now and worry about getting the 9 mm once I've flipped it and require the 9 mm for the bulkheads and stuff. Since I am not paying shipping, I can spread the plywood expense out over time and buy some fiberglass earlier than I originally planned. Tomorrow I'll work on templating the sides and bottom and then get them cut out.

Nate

 

[WhiteDog70810]

No new pics because I just have a stack of ply pieces in the garage.  They are not particularly photogenic.  I've got the pieces of the hull cut out.  Now I am waiting to get my FG supplies. 

For the record, I suck at cutting curves, but I am trying not to worry about the wavy edges.  The fillets or rub rail will cover them.  I did make several screw ups on the bottom.  After correcting the mistakes, the bottom ended up being 1/2-1" narrow in places.  I don't think it will be a huge problem, but I am pissed at myself.  I can do better work than that.

I made the mistakes because I made my jig as good as I could and assumed it was good enough to get the bottom dimensions from.  I just threw the ply on top and marked the points of the frames and used those points to define the curves.  The end result was not as square or straight as I expected, but I cut before I figured that out.  I should have laid out my curves based on my known dimensions.  I know better, but I thought the other way would be good enough.  Oh well, that is what I get for trying to cut corners.  I've made it square and straight now, but I lost some material in the process.  Now it has a bigger gap for the epoxy putty to fill.

On the other hand, I successfully pulled the dimensions of the sides off of my jig.  I am pretty happy with the result.  If you've read my old posts, I really wanted a program that would unfold my digital model and allow me to create a table of offsets.  Unfortunately, Google SketchUp doesn't do that and I couldn't figure out Delfship.  Instead, I wrapped a 17' long by 2' wide piece of masonite around the jig to find where the frames intersect with the sides.  I then used those points to define the curves and cut it out to create a template to trace the sides from.  Since I just made one template which I used to trace both sides, the slight variations of my jig from side to side will not have an effect. It worked pretty well.  I need to make a table of offsets in case I do this again in the future, but I really don't feel like it now that I have the sides cut. 

Nate

 

[anytide]

you'll get it right, after a while you wont bother with all that computer stuff. it helps sometimes but hands on expirience will put that away.. i'm sure your build will be awesome .. its gaining character and its own style as it comes together, some of the best results just happen as you go along.. i always made one side first then -used it as a template for the other... then best thing about building it is you never know what you;ll really get until its done , after i built a few of them all i used is a pencil, tape, string, staight edge, BEER, and a lot-o- imagination. ;D
it'll work out great for you -good luck, more picts.
-anytide

 

[WhiteDog70810]

I hit a gap in the money supply and haven't made any progress in a bit. I just ordered my glass and it will be here by the 7th according to UPS. Until then, I'll square up my jig. I had some serious issues a while back and got rather disgusted with it. I finally got back on the horse today and got the back half of the jig "right". I'll get the front half good tomorrow and be ready to rock and roll on Thursday.

I have heard this building method is forgiving from every single person who has ever built a boat in this manner. I will soon get to verify that myself. I am awful with a circular saw and all of my curves are very wavy. That doesn't bother me as much as the curves I blatantly cut wrong. Nothing makes your heart stop like discovering that your curve is 1" wrong after you've already measured it twice and cut it. I kinda fixed them and will make up the difference with epoxy. Once I threw the bottom back on to the square jig, it doesn't look too bad.

Nate