That Tricky Transom

I was setting up some scrap sheets of plank on the bottom hull this evening to visualize how it was going to look and to review the task at hand for this weekend. Well, it looks like the bottom hull will not get done this weekend unless I burn the midnight oil tomorrow night.

Upon placing a small plank at the edge of the transom, my eyes caught what I call an “ugly gap” on the bottom of the transom. This gap was caused by the 13 deg. tilt that the transom needs to posture as called by the plans. In tilting the transom, it would naturally cause an angle on the bottom.

Not the gap below the right angle.



Here is a close up. Careful...it's ugly.

It is about 3/16". To fix this gap, I will have to lay a piece of 1/4" thick wood over the beam. Then I will need to plane it down to the correct angle and thickness.

Depending how I come home tomorrow from little league practice, I may take on the task. The plan would be to epoxy the 1/4" strip in place and clamp it down. On Friday evening, I could begin to bevel the strip to the correct thickness and angle. If I can acomplish this, by Friday night, I may still be on schedule for the weekend task.
Why is it important to fix? What's the big deal?

1- It will eliminate the gap from the bottom plank to the bottom of the transom. Less gap equals a tighter and stronger fit when the bottom plank is put in place.

2- There is no such thing as a dry boat unless it's parked on land. A boat at sea will get water inside one way or another. Saltwater will run in there and get trapped. Trapped water can create nasty mold which can ruin if not destroy a boat.

3- It's just plane ugly and a sign of poor craftsmanship. I’m not the best craftsman in the world but at the same time, I certainly don’t want to be the worst.

“Necessity Is the Mother of All Techniques.”

It's actually, "Necessity Is the Mother of All Invention" but I was not really inventing anything. Now that the side planks were on, I needed to trim them closer to the chine log and sheer clamp. I had to come up with a technique that would let me trim the side planks just short of the chine log and sheer clamp (about 1/4 inch). Specifically with the sheer clamp since it would have been a “blind cut.” So here is what we did. Disclaimer: Though I actually came up with this technique, I am sure it was already invented. After all, people have been building boats for centuries.

Note how there is a small over hang from the side plank on the top as well as the bottom. The goal was to reduce this over hang to get it closer to the edges WITHOUT damaging the sheer clamp and chine log.

What we wanted to accomplish was a straight line as close to the edge as shown here. The sheer clamp was a blind cut because you don’t see it as the side plank is covering it. Cutting on my back with an electrical cutting devise held up over my body is not a good option. Other than the occasional splinter in my finger, I've had a good safety record and OSHA would be proud.

Let's begin with the technique. Here is a step by step lay out of how we cut the edges down to 1/4" from each edge.

I created a small templete with a predrilled hole 1/4 inch from the top.

I crawled underneath the boat on a creeper and set the template under the first support frame. Once the template was in place, I drilled through the template…all the way through to the outside of the plank. This was repeated for every frame.

Once completed, my partner would then place a nail from the outside into the pre drilled holes.

We then place a 6 foot flexible ruler on top of the nails and drew a red line on the bottom of the ruler. Why red? I'll tell you in a moment.

Once we removed the ruler and the nails, we had a red  line or our "cut here" line. This made it much eaiser. If you miss cutting, remember...always miss down.

We then patiently cut across on the line making sure not to “deviate’ or “wander” to the top of the red line. A wise squirrel once told me to use red pencils for extremely important cuts – Perhaps the smartest squirrel I’ve ever met.

Once finished, you will have a nice line. Sanding flush should be much easier.

Let me reiterate this technique: I only used this technique because I did not have the man power to help place the 4x8 sheet in place, clamp it, trace the pattern, remove it and cut just outside the line. If you have the man power that is the way to go. But if you don’t, this technique may help you. As an aside, if I did have the man power, I would opt for this technique. The quality time spent with my first mates was priceless.
Only one side was done. I hope to get the port side done by Friday so that I can begin to sand the edges and prep to put bottom hull in place over the weekend.

Things Are Moving Along

I’ve had such a pain in my neck that I can barely turn my head to the left. I must of slept wrong…what ever that means.
Anyway construction must continue pain or no pain the neck (no pun intended). Over the weekend, we put up the side planks. Major milestone for the big Tuna! Here are some pictures.

Starboard plank (Rear 8 feet). Installed. Since I did not have the man power to attach a full sheet, then mark, unclamp, and cut on the marks, I opted for the rip cut of a 19/32" 4x8 sheet ripped to 28." In doing so, it made the piece more manageable to put in place. Once it was clamped on, I pre drilled and screw the sheet in place. Bending it was a bear! Luckily I had First Mate Luis assisting on the construction.
 



We used jack to get the front piece in place. First Mate Luis "jacked it up" while I steadied the plank. Then we rolled it in place making sure it was butted nice and tight to the rear plank. The goal was to see the “ooze” (polyurethane glue) squeeze out of the seam.
 
 

Starboard Plank (Forward 8 feet long). Clamped in place and ready to fasten with screws. We always made sure we saw the ooze sqeeze out when we clamped the planks in place.
 
Both sides were completed. By the end of the day, our arms felt like jelly.

I Need A Heater

It has been so cold here in South Florida these last few days. Temperatures have dipped below 30! Regardless, the build continued. This weekend was spent sanding down the additional strips that were put to build up the frames. In doing so, I removed those ugly and nasty gaps. I must say that it turned out very well. The extra work will make the inside look good and the side planks will fit much better.

Sanding side of frames to meet evenly with the chines. I dont know who invented the electric plainer but God bless 'em.

Bottom view. The Big Tuna looks like it's going to have a lot a space inside. She's just over 7' wide at the widest point. By the way, the rain coat was not for the dust. It was to keep the wind from blowing on my back. It was raining and in the low 40s over the weekend.

For you non believers, here is a picture that was taken at 6:10am on Monday January 11, 2010. Yes, that is frost on my car. I had to get the ice off the windshield with a bucket of water.

This weekend I plan on putting the sides planks in place. I should have it wrapped up by Sunday afternoon. More pictures to follow then!

Way Too Cold

It's 41 degrees in the garage. Suppose to drop down to 34 degrees later tonight! Way too cold to work on the Big Tuna. At least I'm not shoveling snow.