Boatbuilding Tips and Tricks

New Mackinaw Drift Boat Launched

2008-11-11T14:52:00.000-08:00

One of my customers just sent me some new pictures of a gorgeous Mackinaw McKenzie River style drift boat he built from a set of my plans. He was building it for a special fishing trip drifting a river in the upper peninsula of Michigan. Sure looks like he had a great time. It just doesn't get any better than this.

- Jeff

New Boat Building Video on Youtube

2008-10-23T07:56:00.000-07:00

Hi All:
I just posted a new video on youtube that I'm sure you'll enjoy. It goes through all of the different types of boats I design. I describe them and show some new pictures I haven't published elsewhere yet. Check it out:

Let me know what you think!

- Jeff

Fitting Sheer Clamps and Chine Logs

2008-10-18T16:07:00.000-07:00

Announcing a new How-To Guide on my web site. It's called Fitting the Sheer Clamp and Chine Log Guide. I get a lot of emailed questions about this so I've created an illustrated guide that should clear up any questions you may have. It may be located in my Boatbuilding Article page here: http://spirainternational.com/hp_articles.html where of course all articles, construction photo essays and how-to guides are always FREE!

- Jeff

Free Study Plans

2008-10-13T18:01:00.000-07:00

I've been looking over other designer's websites and have found that many charge for study plans. I can understand this because they take time and money to print out and mail. On the Spira International, Easy-To-Build Boat Plans web site, study plans are always FREE. You can download them immediately and print them out on your own home computer printer. It makes things a lot easier and you get to see the study plans RIGHT NOW! Isn't that a refreshing change.

- Jeff Spira

New Boats added to Website

2008-10-13T17:08:00.000-07:00

I've updated the site with some new boats I've worked on for specific customers. They include a new 20' ultralight stitch and glue rowing dory called the Puget Challenge for long distance rowing, two new vee bottom Carolina dories, the 15' x 7' Alamitos, and the 5.2 M Metric Kachemak. The very popular Mission Bay is also now available in metric dimensions as well. Also the 25' Kona Hawaiian Sampan and 32' Kodiak Pacific Power dory plans are complete and you can now buy them online. Several of these hulls are under construction now and I hope to have pictures soon. I also put up a 14' Jon boat that I've had done for some time called the Crawdad. (Mmmm Cajun mud bugs - makes my mouth water just thinking about them.)

I'm working on a series of sailing sharpies as well. Study plans for the first one are up so you can look it over. It's called the Inagua, named after the island in the Bahamas. It's a 14 footer. I have future plans for a 19 footer and a 24 footer also.

Be sure to stop by and tell me what you think.

- Jeff Spira

New Boatbuilding How-To-Guides Section

2008-10-10T14:32:00.000-07:00

When people write in and ask how a certain aspect of building a boat is done, I'm going to start putting together How-To-Guides for various things. Sometimes you get the same question a number of times so these easy-to-follow guides should be just the trick to visualize some of the trickier aspects of the craft. The first one is now up on the website and it is called: How to Layout the Ribs on a Framed Boat. These will be in Adobe pdf format, so they're easy to download and print at home as well as viewing online. They can be located on the main Spira International Boat Building site here: http://spirainternational.com/hp_articles.html

Kona Plans Now Available

2008-09-12T09:50:00.000-07:00

I've completed the plans for the 25' Kona Hawaiian Sampan design recently and shipped them off to two initial buyers. This hull, like all of my designs, is simple and inexpensive to build using standard construction grade materials. Since it is a semi-planing hull, it means it scoots along nicely on modest power, a 50 hp inboard will get you perhaps 17 - 18 knots while just sipping $4 per gallon gas - perhaps 1-1/2 gallons per hour. It should be perfect for most coastal conditions.

Raptor Nails

2008-08-23T14:35:00.000-07:00

A good friend of mine and fellow boatbuilder suggested I look into Raptor Nails for use in boats. These things are incredible. They're composite so can't rust, weather or weaken due to environmental conditions - plus they can be cut with a saw, plan, sandpaper or rasp without damaging the tool's edge. You can pick up a pneumatic gun and shoot them in-place to fasten bonded joints. There's some buzz in the boat building community and those who tried them love them. In your next boat you might think about investing in these new fasteners. They sound like a boat builder's dream. I know in my next project, I'm planning to use them.

New Huntington Harbor Launched - Free Boat Plans

2008-08-22T07:46:00.000-07:00

I just got these pictures from Nathan Jones who lives up in the Canadian Arctic. Nathan did a great job on his Huntington Harbor even though he had a few challenges. Here's some excerpts from his e-mail to me:

"THANKS for the free plans. I built your Huntington Harbor kayak, and it was quite a fun experience for me. I live in a community in the Canadian Arctic so material costs are outrageous, and I had to improvise (wood from the dump, NO kidding) As you can tell from the pix it floats fine, it's VERY stable feeling, and handles great! I look forward to using it to go after some of the monster lake trout and char we have up here!! Thanks again for the plans."

Ordering Boat Plans

2008-08-22T07:25:00.001-07:00

I've had two disputes with credit card companies recently, that could have been solved with a simple e-mail. When ordering online plans, you will not receive the plans in the mail, either e-mail or snail mail. It is up to YOU to download plans by using the link to "Return to Vendor" in Paypal to return to a special page on my site where you will be able to download them. If you cannot download the plans IMMEDIATELY after purchasing them, e-mail me and I'll get back to you as soon as I'm able with a link to the page where you can download them. I am notified by Paypal of your completed order, but have no way of knowing whether you successfully completed the download or not. Again - if for some reason you cannot download them immediately following your purchase, e-mail me.

Main Website Update and NEW BOAT plans.

2008-07-23T18:37:00.000-07:00

I just wanted to let everyone know that I recently updated the website to include free downloadable bills of material for all boats that I have them on. They're easily downloaded in pfd format using the button right next to the Fownload FREE study plans button on the description page of each boat. Where I do not have a bill of materials button, I don't yet have a materials list.

I've also added a new boat, the 17' Kachemak, a shrunk down version of my very popular 19' Hatteras vee bottom dory. Here's the first Hatteras finished last year and I know of quite a few more either done or nearing completion. Be sure to have a look at the Kachemak. I'm sure it'll be a great boat for many of you.

Can You Really Build a Boat for $50?

2008-07-22T16:54:00.000-07:00

I just finished this new article entitled, "Can You Really Build a Boat for $50?" and posted it on my main site under the articles directory. I thought you would enjoy my take of the ultra cheap boat construction using my free boat plans for the Huntington Harbor kayak. Here's a link to the article: http://spirainternational.com/a_lessthan50.html.

New Glousterman Rowing Dory Launched

2008-07-21T22:52:00.001-07:00

Jim Aiker of Boise Idaho just completed and launched this very well made 15' Glousterman rowing dory. This ultra light stitch and glue dory can be built of only two sheets of 1/4" plywood. Jim's e-mail to me said:

"Hey Jeff. Here's pictures of my recently completed Glusterman. The more I take her out, the more I like it. BTW weight is 48lbs.

-Jim in landlocked Boise."

Fasteners for Boat Building

2008-07-21T22:12:00.000-07:00

Screws? Nails? Bronze? Stainless? The array of possible fasteners for home built boats can be confusing, so I thought I'd offer a few guidelines on what may be the best for you. First, you need to know that modern boat designs don't rely nearly as much on fasteners as do their older ancestors. Nearly all home built boats made these days rely on adhesives for joint strength. Epoxy is the most popular with the new polyurethane "gorilla glues" a close second. These adhesives will not fail if properly applied - the wood will break before the joint will give way. They'll even fill gaps that more traditional "glues" would never stand for. This means that when you use epoxy, all the fasteners really do is hold the joint in-place until the epoxy cures. After the epoxy sets up you could theoretically remove the fastener and not affect the joint strength.

Building an old mahogany boat with screws was quite a chore in the olden days. The screw holes had to be pre-drilled, then the screw run in with an old fashioned screwdriver, or perhaps a manual Yankee driver. It was a whole lot of work! New trends in fasteners have come about after the invention of lightweight cordless power drill and screwdriver tools, so it makes it a lot easier to install fasteners. My recommendation is to use what are called "deck screws." These are thin screws that can be screwed into place using a cordless drill without drilling a starter hole. This has revolutionized home wooden boat building world. Like drywall screws have replaced nailing, so have deck screws replaces boat nails. They're easy.

Next materials. It used to be that stainless steel was very expensive, but with most of the fasteners coming from offshore, stainless just isn't that expensive any more and for most trailerable boats, stainless makes an ideal fastener. It doesn't corrode normally with a boat that is kept out of the water even when used in seawater. I can hear the comments from readers now, "but what about everything I read that it corrodes when in seawater and embedded under a sealed surface..." Yes, OK, it can corrode under certain circumstances, but in my opinion, these are few and far between, and see paragraph 1 above - If it does corrode so what?

For a boat that truly is kept in a slip in the ocean, silicon bronze is probably a good idea. It's the finest of all boat building fasteners. They don't come in deck screw shapes, so you'll have to pre-drill starter holes, but you'll be able to drive them in with a cordless drill if you purchase Phillips head screws. You'll probably find silicon bronze ring type boat nails the easiest way to fasten the plywood planking to the framing on a ply on frame boat using bronze fasteners. The thought of drilling all of those starter holes in a ply covered boat would be a daunting task.

Dories for Rough Water Use

2008-07-19T08:44:00.000-07:00

I get an e-mail almost every day about how tough the waters are wherever they are. They usually start with a statement like "Gee - here in Mississippi the wind blows over the lakes and wow does it ever it get rough...." as if that's the only place the water gets choppy. Well, unless you live in Tierra Del Fuego or on the Bearing Sea coast, you don't really get rough water. It may seem that way to you but take a look at this.

Here's where the Coast Guard trains for rough water rescue at Cape Disappointment, the entrance to to Colombia River separating Washington and Oregon states. It's called "The Graveyard of Ships" for good reason.

The favored boat for such rough water use for sport and commercial fisherman in this part of the coast is the dory. Whether you're launching through the surf, taking on passing barge wakes, hurtling down class 5 whitewater through the Grand Canyon, or taking on the gales of November on Gitchigoomie, dories will get the job done for you.

I recently published an article about why you should build a dory on my site and I'm uploading it to various article sites shortly called "Why You Should Build a Dory." Check it out at: http://spirainternational.com/a_whydories.html

New Ozark Fisherman Drift Boat Launched

2008-07-18T07:53:00.000-07:00

Lowell Grant recently completed this Ozark Fisherman McKenzie River type drift boat. The Ozark Fisherman is a Midwestern style able to handle raging whitewater and calm water with equal ease. Here's Lowell shooting through whitewater rapids on its maiden voyage in the Weiser River canyon in Idaho. After the run Lowell just had one comment - FUN BOAT!

Can You Really Use Construction Grade Lumber?

2008-07-17T18:05:00.001-07:00

I get this question a lot so let me answer it very clearly YES! You can just go to Home Depot and buy the straightest, most knot free construction lumber you can find and build one of my boats. The use of epoxy as an adhesive and sealer makes modern boat building much less fussy than the old timers with their carefully hewn oaken logs had to put up with. There's no need to buy expensive, "marine" grade lumber to build your boat - especially not a stitch and glue boat. Using 7 ply Meranti 1/2" ply for a stitch and glue boat is WAY overkill. First of all, it's way too expensive and second, it's incredibly difficult to bend. Good old cheapo 3 ply 10mm Philippine (Lauan) mahogany is a far better choice, and it's about 1/8th of the cost. The epoxy will saturate into the wood sealing it off from moisture incursion, and will strengthen the wood to a steel-like strength. Remember some people use urethane foam and even balsa wood for boat building. Either of these saturated with epoxy is strong enough, what makes you think good old fir ply wouldn't be?

New Article on Lofting

2008-07-16T17:45:00.000-07:00

I've just completed and uploaded a new article on my website exploding the common myths about lofting. Well designed, modern boats do not have to be lofted - they're already lofted when they're designed, if designed using computer aided design tools CAD. Read all about it here: http://spirainternational.com/a_lofting.html

New Boatbuilding Tips and Tricks Blog Started

2008-07-13T10:16:00.000-07:00

Hi all. I thought I'd start a blog to document tips tricks for building wooden boats and dories. I get questions from some people who are building my boats or are just curious about building my boats and I figure if one person has asked the question, there must be many more who have those question and just don't want to ask them.

Here I intend to discuss home built boat designs, boat construction techniques, boat building materials, tools required for boat building, boat fiberglassing techniques, stitch and glue boat building methods, fasteners for boat building, boat repair and painting, and just about any other topic of relevance about building boats, skiffs, dories, fishing boats sail boats, and more.

If you have any requests or comments, feel free to either post them or ask.