Skiff day 3

I was home with the kids for the day again today, so in preparation I cut and glued the sides of the hull yesterday evening. I got up at 7 so had an hour and a half before anyone was up to clear a space in the shed and get the sides, transom and frames assembled.

I used Polyurethane glue throughout which only takes a couple of hours to set so by this afternoon I was able to bring it out into the yard and fit the chine logs. Once they set I planed them and fitted the bottom then turned it over and fitted the gunnels.

I'm really pleased with it, It is substantually bigger than the Apple pie and with a high bow looks quite weatherly.

Once the keel and skeg have been fitted I can start cleaning all the excess glue off and get it ready for epoxy. I'm glad its just going to be epoxy coated because I wouldn't fancy having to sheath it.

I'm excited about trying it out. It was very handy using the polyurethane glue. Its messy but easy to clean off after and a lot less wastefull than mixing loads of batches of epoxy and very quick drying.

One to entertain me and one to entertain the kids, I soon moved their's further away.

Have to finish the transom top too

Anti-fouled

The easterlies finally let up so I have been out fishing the last few days. Last week while minding the kids I planned on getting the spars out and giving them and quick sanding and coat of varnish then I looked at them and decided it was to much effort and they didn't need it. Two hours later they were done.

Today I picked up the anti-foul and painted that on, Teals bum is now black again, I'm very pleased with it, it looks a lot more fitting than the blue. I gave the chainplates a fresh coat of black too. She is now looking all smart and shiny again, just the name and coat of varnish on the rubbing strips and toerails to go. The cockpit and coachroof sides can wait until she is afloat. 

I gave all the interior a good scrub and wash as well. I think I will get away with out any painting inside this year. The satin white has been stained a little by mildew so I may change it all to gloss next year. The seat tops/bunk bases which ever you choose to call them where only ever coated with clear diamond coat which I really only put on them to offer a little protection as I had invisaged them always being covered by seat cushions. As it turned out we generally stack away the cushions when sailing to keep them clean and dry and bags and tools etc end up on the bunks which means the clear coated seat tops have gotten quite grubby so now they need something better on them as well.

I picked up the last piece of ply and some more glue today too so now I can get the skiff assembled as soon as I get a chance.

Forgot the camera again today. The picture below is of the Stags, half way between Glandore and Baltimore. This was the cold front coming in from the North on Saturday.

Getting ready

I spent the last few days working on Teal, The weather has been very dry but with relatively strong easterlies I haven't been able to get out fishing and the wooden boats are drying out quite a bit so Liam is anxious to get some of them back in the water.
First thing I did was to sand off the anti-foul around the water line and set up a new line about 4 inches lower on the transom and an inch on the bow.
I filled out the seams a little more and undercoated and painted the hull, I have also given the deck a fresh coat of paint. Anti-foul and varnish are next and then a bloody good clean up inside.
I'm going to go with the black anti-foul this year, I changed my mind about the blue last season.

Nope ! still nothing happening with the skiff, I have been up the walls getting the charter boat launched, surveyed and licence renewed. That is all finally sorted out now. If I get out this weekend then I will be able to get the rest of the bits and pieces to continue with the skiff next week.
On the other hand it is also time to make a start on Teal. I will set aside a day next week to make a start with her. First job involves a big bucket of soapy water and a scrubbing brush.
If the shed down there is vacant I might lower the mast from the rafters and get it ready for a couple of coats of varnish. The epifanes stayed beautiful on it but as I ran out of it after 6 coats it never got the recommended 7. I will give it 2 this year and skip it next year.

Trip back from Oldcourt. The water outside was a lovely colour, Back in Union Hall it was brown and stagnant looking

Skiff Day 2

Jess was heading out for the morning and I was stuck indoors with the kids so seeming as its hard to get time for the skiff build I figured it was fair enough to bring it inside the house :D
To be fair it was just so I could get the marking out done. That's time consuming but a nice clean job so perfect for indoors.
This afternoon I managed to get the frames glued up, cut out the floor and glue the bow section on. I also cut out the aft two thirds of the hull side and found a piece to make the transom out of. The transom piece was just a little short in height but only enough to mean the top had to be cut square instead of arched.
I cut and glued on the transom frame and left the top proud so that I can make the arch in solid timber timber to make up for the slack ply.
I glued that much with polyurethane glue as I had it and its less messing than mixing small amounts of epoxy. I will probably use the epoxy for the assembly.
The only thing I'm short now to get it all put together is the piece of 6mm ply to finish the side panels.

For the record (Kids, Unhelpful)

This is possibly as easy as boat building gets.

Salt Bay Skiff Day 1

I made bit of a start today, I bought a 14ft length of 9x2 Red Deal and a sheet of 9mm marine ply.
I will have to get a sheet of 6mm somewhere else as they don't have it and I'm short a small bit.
I've found that there is a mixed bale of red deal which seems to be about half the price of the stuff in the bale of 9x2's, Its the same stuff I used for a lot of Teal's interior and is very heavy and resinous compared to the more expensive bale.
After fitting a new drive belt I managed to coax my table saw back into life and rip and plane all the the solid timber parts, gunnels, chine logs, frames, transom frames, keel and stem. I'm going to collect my chop-saw and find my sliding bevel tomorrow so I can assemble the frames and cut all the various bevels.
I wouldn't recommend anybody getting the timber ex 9x2 unless you have access to a decent table saw, some of it is reasonably heavy cutting.

I've been getting bits and pieces sorted to start on the skiff. Mainly silly things so I can quantify what I need.
Firstly I printed off the plans and then went about changing everything from Imperial to metric.
I don't mind marking the offsets etc in imperial but as for calculating what timber I need my head can't work with 2x4's, 2x10's etc. There is a list of various lengths that I need so I've narrowed it down to 1no. 4.5mtr of 9x2, a sheet of 9mm ply and a sheet of 6mm, They list a half sheet of 12mm to make the transom, rudder and leeboard but as all I want for now is the transom I'm going to try and find a piece somewhere that will do,
I can get pretty good 9mm marine ply locally but irritatingly I am short s small bit of 6mm too and they don't stock it locally anymore so I need to decide what to do about that.
All the other timber is clear pine or red cedar but I'm just going to use readily available red deal and I have a broken pitch pine church pew that I can use instead of the cedar so once I go get my 9x2 and sheet of ply I can get started.