Construction begun on 34' St. Pierre Dory

I'm nearly finished with the plans for two new Grand Banks style (St. Pierre) dories. One is a 32' x 10' and the other, it's bigger brother at 34'x12' The person I originally did the plans for was eager to get started on the larger of the two, the 34 footer, so I've been sending him drawings as they are completed. One week and he has many of the ribs finished, so he's not wasting any time at all. He's also blogging about the construction. Here's a link with pictures: http://www.shugarbear.blogspot.com/ Check it out!

Spira Boats Now on Facebook

I just set up a new Facebook page for Spira International Easy-to-build boat designs called Spira Boats. Stop by, check it out and sign up as a friend.

Spira Boats

Create Your Badge

I uploaded a whole slew of pictures, too, many of which have never been published before on my site or blog.

New Mission Bay Ultralight Stitch and Glue Boat Launched

The builder did an excellent job on this 11' Mission Bay ultralight stitch and glue boat built exactly to plan. These easy to build boats can be put together in a couple of weekends by anyone with moderate competence using hand and hand-help power tools. This hull weighs only about 70 lbs so can be lifted on the roof of a small car or SUV, and launched in any lake, stream, bay or the ocean. This model will handle three people with ease too. Check out the free downloadable study plans for this and other boat designs on the main site using the link to the right.

New Home Built Boat - Hatteras V-Bottom Dory Launched

I just got these photos of a newly launched Hatteras v-bottom dory built from my plans:



It was built by Tom Bashaw. Great Job, Tom!

Here's Tom's e-mail that accompanied his photos:

Hey, Jeff.
Thought I'd send you some pic's of the vee bottom Hatteras. I get more compliments on this boat than any boat I've owned. People love it and most think it's an old restoration, too funny. I launched it on 8/9/09. I was impressed how well it handles. I put 115 hp Evinrude on it. I picked it up for nothing and rebuilt it so I couldn't beat the cost.... hp wise it's a bit much, but weight is just a over 300lbs so it's fine. Hope all is well and thanks for designing such beautiful boats.

Tom

19' Alaskan Grand Banks Dory Now Available in Metric

I've added an optional 5.8 Meter Metric dimensioned plans for my very popular 19' Alaskan Grand Banks style dory. These new plans aren't only converted to metric dimensions, but have also been redesigned to use standard metric sized lumber (timber for those of you down under.)

Here's one almost complete in the Gulf Coast of the US:

Follow Me on Twitter

OK gang, I've now put myself on Twitter so you can follow my musings. Keeping up with the latest technology and trends is a necessary part of running an information business these days. It's working too. If you type How To Build a Boat in Google, my YouTube video of the same name comes up #1 now. It's impressive and has resulted in quite a number of new visitors who I've been able to learn about the joys of modern home boat building.

Anyway my new Twitter address is http://www.twitter.com/SpiraBoats

Jeff

New Canadian Drift Boat Launched

This newly built Canadian drift boat was launched recently and is shown here on a river in Michigan. The builder did an excellent job and is ready for many more fun fishing trips this summer. See how a few hours in your garage each week, only a few hundred dollars in materials costs, can turn a woodworking project into an inexpensive summer of boating fun. Check out more easy-to-build boat plans on my main page.

- Jeff

Framed Boat Plywood Cutout Guide

I've just added a new guide to my web site entitled: Framed Boat Plywood Cutout Guide. You should check it out of you've ever wondered why boat designers never seen to tell you what size and shape you're supposed to cut out the plywood planking. You will be surprised, I promise!

Framed Boat Plywood Cutout Guide.

Let me know what you think.

- Jeff

Boat Building Epoxy Source

I often get e-mails from people asking about what kind of epoxy is best to use for building my boats. I've used an online supplier, John Greer, in the past and find his products excellent quality and very well priced. He ships quickly, answers questions promptly and also stocks thickening agents like cab-o-sil and microspheres, and also carries fiberglass cloth and tape, also at excellent prices. Check out his web site: http://www.jgreer.com/. The "Green" product is ideal for both gluing and wetting fiberglass cloth on my boats.

Blogging Building a 19' Alaskan Grand Banks Dory

My customer who is building the 19' Alaskan Grand Banks Dory below is blogging about his experience. He's collected a great series of posts about the actual experience of building a boat. It's worth a read. Remember that blogs are organized backwards, that it the latest posts are first. The best way to read them is from the oldest forward, so it makes sense. Stop by and take a look. It really captures the day by day experiences of what building a boat is all about. Here's his blog: http://build-a-dory.blogspot.com/.

Innovative Clamping Technique for Boat Building

I'm sure you've seen photos of huge arrays of wood clamps when people are building boats and though, "Wow, I couldn't afford all of those clamps if I ever wanted to build a boat!" Well, don't worry. there are ways around this. This Huntington Harbor kayak builder scrounged all of the materials to build his kayak, mostly from the dump, and were he lives (the Canadian Arctic) there are no inexpensive tool stores or swap meets to pick up a bunch of inexpensive clamps, so he made due with scrounged materials. Here you can see he used simple polypropylene rope tied around the chine log, then with short sticks, he twisted the rope pulling the frame elements into place. This is commonly called a "Spanish Windlass." So, see you don't have to have lots of fancy tools to do a great job on easy to build boat plans like those available at Spira International. Inc. Here's how his boat came out:

Marine or Construction Plywood for Boatbuilding?

The question always arises on whether to use marine or construction plywood for building boats. Let's first discuss the different types of ply. There used to be a type of plywood called interior ply that was manufactured using natural glues that would let loose when wet. It is not made anymore. Nearly all ply made now, that I've ever come across uses synthetic, waterproof glues. Plies made of softwoods, usually fir but sometimes pine, have knotholes. If these are left open on the surface laminations, it is called "C" grade. If the knotholes are filled with football shaped plugs, it is considered "B" grade, and if it has no knotholes, it is considered "A" grade. So ABX plywood would have no knotholes on one side, filled knotholes on the other and has been laminated with waterproof glue (X = exterior.) The problem lies in the interior laminations. In most plywood the knotholes are left unfilled leaving a void on the inside. In marine plywood these interior knotholes are also filled leaving the ply void free.

For my boats, I only recommend marine plywood in the event the builder elects not to fiberglass and epoxy coat the boat on the outside. If the builder decides to glass cover the boat ABX plywood is sufficient.

As an alternate to marine plywood, hardwood plywood may be used. Mahogany and Birch are the most common. They have no knotholes, so don't have any voids. The only downside to using hardwood plys is that they don't bend easily so sometimes you need to laminate two thinner layers of plywood in an area where there is a lot of bends.

- Jeff

New Boat Building Video on Youtube

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

Raptor Nails

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

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."

Can You Really Build a Boat for $50?

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

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

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.

Can You Really Use Construction Grade Lumber?

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 Boatbuilding Tips and Tricks Blog Started

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.