Boatbuilding Tips and Tricks
I've been compiling this blog of boatbuilding tips and tricks, plus launchings and in-progress boatbuilding projects for over five years now. The vast majority of the questions I receive by email have already been asked by someone else, so if you take the time to read through the archives, you'll probably run across many the questions you may already have plus find answers to questions you haven't thought of yet. You also get a chance to look through many of the projects that others are building. I try to include as many of the photos I receive from builders as well, some from facebook pages.
Thursday May 16, 2013
Three Useful Tools for Fairing
Fairing is the process wherreby you taper the boat hull framing, so that you have a surface that the plywood covering can lay at the appropriate angle to create a level surface that you can apply glue to and run screws into to produce a nice bonded joint between the ply covering and the frame beneath. There are many techniques to fair, but these are the most commonly used methods:
Here I am using a block plane to fair the framing of an Ozark Fishermen ultra-light drift boat. This is a good, accurate method, but can be time consuming, particularly if the framing is made of heavier stock, like 2x lumber. It is probably best suited for the thinner framing materials, specifically 1x stock - 3/4" (19mm) thick or thinner.
Here is Mike Davis using a drawknife to fair the framing of a 19' V-Bottom Hatteras Dory. This is a bit cruder than the plane method, but still has sufficient control to produce an accurate finish, even on heavy duty frtaming, in this case, 2x4s (1-1/2" thick stock.)
Mark Vickers is shown here using an angle grinder on the stem of a 19' Alaskan Grand Banks Style Dory. He uses the grinder to smooth out after roughing it to shape with a shipwright's adze, a kind of sideways axe that is used for this kind of work. It's rough, but fast and effective and after a bit of angle grinding is just fine to make a solid glued joint between the ply and framing.
- Jeff
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Wednesday May 15, 2013
New Hatteras V-Bottom Dory Takes to the Water
Mike Davis just sent me this email:
I really like my new Hatteras, pictures attached. I have fished Whalers, Hydrasport, Mcdaniels, Sea hawk, and Mckee's. This one is different in many ways. It carves in a turn like snow skis which is really cool. It is powered by a 75 horse Yamaha 4 stroke. A 50 horse would be plenty. This will definitely be my go to boat for shrimping, fishing and crabbing in our inshore fishing here in South Carolina.
Nice job there, Mike!
More on the Hatteras Boat Plans: 19' Hatteras V-Bottom Dory Boat Plans.
- Jeff
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Tuesday May 7, 2013
New Huntington Harbor now Sailing in Turkey
Adnan Yilmaz from Turkey just sent me these pictures of his recently launched sailing version of the Huntington Harbor kayak. He built the sail rig himself from Polytarp material. This is the modern, inexpensive way to get sailing. These sails are capable also. They've made some amazing offshore journeys. Drop me a note for some polytarp sail and spar construction advice.
Looks like a blast!
Free Huntington Harbor Plans: 12' Huntington Harbor Kayak FREE Boat Plans.
- Jeff
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Wednesday May 1, 2013
New Mission Bay Launched
This email arrived recently:
Jeff,
Finally finished my Mission Bay skiff. Put it on the water this weekend and the boat performed wonderfully. The boat is very stable and I am able to stand and cast.
Here are some pics of the finished boat.
Thanks
Brad Felice
Nice work, Brad. Bet you're going to have a fun summer!
More on the Mission Bay: 11' Mission Bay Stitch and Glue Skiff Plans.
- Jeff
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Monday, April 30, 2013
Carolinian Dory Almost Ready for Launch
Today, this email arrived:
Hello Jeff:
We're just about finished with our Carolinian. Gonna launch in May. Very nice project. I have a couple of questions about powering. We have a 25-horse Johnson 2-stroke which I'm gonna try first. Do you reckon that's enough power? We built her a little light (3/8" sides, not a lot of decking etc) but we are using 3/4 pressure treated for the floorboard.
Anyway, if we need more than that, is there a weight limit for the transom? Have been looking a 4-strokes but they are awfully heavy.
As I said, it's been a lot of fun and quite challenging. So thanks.
Angus Phillips
Annapolis MD.
Yes, Angus, a 25 horse should be plenty. See the post below on the Oysterman with 25 horse that planes at 1/2 throttle. The Carolinian isn't much heavier or bigger. You should be able to run about a 35 horse 4-stroke or 50 horse 2-stroke if you really think you need more power.
More information on the Carolinian Carolina Dory: 18' Carolinian Carolina Dory Boat Plans.
- Jeff
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Sunday, April 29, 2013
New Oysterman Launched in the Philippines
Just got this email:
Jeff,
I just returned from the Philippines where I had an Oysterman dory built by a local boat builder. The boat wasn't finished to the high standards of some of your builders, however functionally it was excellent and very seaworthy. With a 25Hp Yamaha it would do over 25 knots in calm waters and plane out on less than half throttle. Overall I am very happy with the design as it provided me with a cheap, easy and safe way to get on the water. Thanks.
Barry Rackard
Nice job there! Looks like fine workmanship from here. It should serve you well, especially in the ocean waters around the PI, a fine place to boat and fish. My boats are relatively popular there, many built by both expats and locals, for their ease of construction, low cost and economical operation.
More information on the Oysterman Carolina Dory: 16' Oysterman Carolina Dory Boat Plans.
- Jeff
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Saturday, April 13, 2013
John Phillips' Homebuilt Back Bay Stitch and Glue Pram
John Phillips homebuilt, ultralight 8' Back Bay pram - Test row on a stormy lake - Wow, great job there!
Here are all the cut-out wooden pieces that make up the pram.
And here's what it looks like assembled and painted.
More information on the Back Bay stitch and glue boat plans: Back Bay Ultralight Stitch and Glue Pram Boat Plans.
- Jeff
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Saturday, April 6, 2013
Huntington Harbor for Family Fun
I just got this email:
Hello Jeff,
I've been meaning to send this picture for some time now. It was completed in March of 2012 and my little girls and I have had a blast with it all year. I decided to scarf joint the plywood just out of curiosity and it turned out great. It also adds to the wow factor when answering all the questions I get from people. I've got big plans to build more boats but I am having a hard time deciding which one to start first, a sailboat or one of the power dories. I also wanted to tell you I love your website and all the free info you offer. These wooden boats have become an obsession of mine.
- Devin Matesen, Utah
Thanks for the great picture of your project with your adorable little girls. So happy to hear you're enjoying it and are ready for another one.
This is why I offer the Huntington Harbor plans for free. They're so easy and inexpensive to build, and so much fun to use, and attract so much attention, that builders often want to build another boat and take up boat building as a lifelong advocation.
You can download the Huntington Harbor kayak plans for free, in either inch or metric dimensions at: Huntington Harbor Kayak Free Boat Plans.
- Jeff
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Saturday, April 6, 2013
Limber Holes
I occasionally get emails letting me know that I've made an error on my drawings because the slots I recommend to cut out for the keelson are too wide. This is intentional. These are called "Limber Holes" and they're there to allow water in the bilge to have a pathway to flow between frames. This is so one pump at the lowest point of the hull can remove it and you don't leave puddles on either side of the low point when you bail the hull out. So when you're looking over the plans, and notice that the keelson slots are too wide for the keelson, now you know why.
You can download the actual step-by-step construction manual that comes with all of my ply on frame boats for free without needing to buy any plans here: Illustrated Guide for Building a Spira International Ply-On-Frame Boat.
- Jeff
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Thursday, April 4, 2013
New Back Bay Ready for the Water
John Phillips just sent me this:
Jeff,
Well, after much sanding, the pram is ready for the water. The sanding took about 8 hours and it came out pretty well. Now if the lake in front of my house would only unfreeze, it would be great.
- John Phillips
Nice job there, John. Hoping your lake thaws out soon so you can enjoy it.
More on the Back Bay: 8' Back Bay Stitch and Glue Pram Plans.
- Jeff
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Wednesday, April 3, 2013
Report from Florida from an Oysterman Carolina Dory Builder
Just got this email from Bob Stinson who took his homebuilt 16' Oysterman Carolina Dory to Florida for a month-long camping and fishing vacation:
Just got back from the florida trip. Spent all my time in the ocean, no fresh water, mostly just below Naples in the Mangro islands. Clocked with GPS calm weather flat out trim all the way down with the 9.9 Hp, 4 stroke Yamaha varying between 20.4 and 20.8 several times. Probably could get a few more miles/hour if trimed up a bit as pretty flat. Plenty fast for me.
What a conversation starter. At every stop it seemed someone would come up to me. You got a lot of advertisement. Had it out in 2 foot chop. Going slow was fine. 2 foot chop in about 1 to 12 foot of water. Really happy with it's seaworthiness. The wind can push it around a bit but as long as you are comfortable with corrections it can be managed pretty well. Sometimes I felt a little ballast would have helped it.
This picture was taken in New England before Bob left on his trip
More on the Oysterman: 16' Oysterman Caroloina Dory Plans.
- Jeff
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Tuesday, April 2, 2013
Free eBook: Sailing Alone Around the World, by Captain Joshua Slocum
More than 100 years ago, Captain Joshua Slocum took off on an epic solo circumnavigation, the first recorded, in 43 foot wooden sailboat. These were the days before the Panama Canal so it required him to sail around South America and through the Straits of Magellan. His lively account has become a classic of nonfiction literature. This epic tale has been the holy grail of all cruising sailors since. You can read it in its entirety for free. THis book is in the public domain so may be freely downloaded and shared.
You can download it here: Free eBook: Sailing Alone Around the World, by Captain Joshua Slocum.
- Jeff
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Boatbuilding Pictures
Please don't be embarrassed to send in photos of your projects. I get a lot of emails from people who tell me about their build but never send any pictures. I'd love to see them, as would all of the other people who are either building a boat or thinking about it. They need all the encouragement they can get.
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