Pop the hull off! First look.

This weekend was spent attaching the splashboards and laying the glass on the outside of the hull. Today I could pop her off the form. What a thrill! I need a scale, but I reckon the hull is between 6 and 8lbs, so with the 2 decks, the boat is currently still under 10lbs.




First look at how she'll shape up.

I'm happy.

Hull strips finished and sealed

This weekend I only had one day, but it was a nice one! Finished the hull strips, sanded, and applied one coat of epoxy sealer. I also assembled the splashboards, but have delayed attaching them until I see how the color of the hull turns out. The blond wood on the hull is very blond red cedar. Although it looks a lot like yellow cedar, it is lighter weight.

Wake up call

The strangest thing happened while I was working on my boat yesterday. It was a long weekend laying strip after strip after strip on the hull. As soon as I finished placing a strip at one end of the boat, I'd move to the other end and lay another strip somewhere else. By the time I'd attacked all the areas where I could work, the glue would have dried in the starting spot, and I'd start the whole circuit again. Row by row the strips were creeping up the forms.

About half-way through the third day I happened to glance down the length of the strong back and was suddenly shocked! There was a BOAT! It wasn't just a form with some strips on it! It wasn't the potential for a boat. It WAS a boat! Suddenly she yelled out to me, "I'm here! Get me off this thing and take me to the water!!"

Now that she's come to life she is pushing me toward completion. Ahhh.... this is going to be a wonderful friendship.

Progress on the Hull

Finally getting some strips laid on the hull. Photos for now.... more later.

Starting the Hull

This weekend I flipped the form over and re-aligned it, then started work on the hull. The biggest challenges here are at the two ends of the boat. The pieces require a LOT of fitting where they come together at a sharp angle. After about the 5th row up from the shearline on both sides, the surface begins to flatten out and it will be much easier to interlock the pieces.


Strips overlap at the stern and will be trimmed off later.






Here the bow strips are being blended using long tapers which are formed with a sander.

Top deck stripping finally DONE!

Bow and Stern Decks are both done and glassed with 1st coat of resin.

Pics only now....more later.

Glassed on one side and sealed on the other, the bow deck weighs a little over a pound, and the stern deck which is much shorter, weighs less than a pound. I am hopeful about reaching my objective of 35-40 pounds for the whole boat.

BC (Boat Construction?) Day Long Weekend

Got all the strips laid on the stern deck, ready for sanding and fairing.














Sanded with 80grit, 100grit, and finally 220grit using a fairing board.













Sealing with a coat of epoxy. This stops the cedar from drawing all the epoxy out of the cloth when it is laid.











2nd coat of epoxy on 3oz cloth. I wasn't sure if this cloth would be heavy enough, but I was really happy working with it.











Epoxy and glass curing on the stern deck. Thankfully it wasn't as hot today. Temps have been over 30deg C (about 100deg F), which is too hot for working resin.
Now to get to work finishing the strips on the bow deck!