Monday, June 20, 2011

It all starts with a plan


The Plans

Plans arrive and the proccess begins. The plans include 3 sizes ( 7'.5', 7' 8', 7'10") and 3 versions (rowing, sailing, or a small outboard). I will build the 7'5" sailing/rowing version. Using Sipo mahogany and Cypress for all solid wood parts and the strakes will be 6mm (1/4") Hydrotek maranti plywood.


In order to avoid damaging the origanal plans I like to trace them onto drafting paper before doing the actual transfer to the 1/2" MDF.


Pattern Trassing

Time consuming but very worth while as I will be reffering to theses plans alot and in my slightly crowded woodshop--paper plans can get destroyed fast.

Next order of business is to create the strong back. A perfectly square and very ridged table with 2 main Railes or bearers as they are called, that run exactly parallel to each other. This table is anchored to the floor so as to maintain this alighnment during the hull building proccess.


Strongback built

The strongback with a piece of 1/2" MDF on top, acts as a perfect work surface for transfering the full size patterns to more MDF to create the station molds.


Transom glued up

In between tracing and transfering the patterns to the mdf, I mill and glue up the 3/4" Sipo Mahogany for the transom. I aslso take this time to mill around 15 pieces of 3/16" thick X 2.5" X 38" strips of the same wood for creating the laminated inner and outer stems.


Thursday, June 16, 2011

Where should I Start

Here's my story. I started building boats about two and a half years ago after building furniture and whatnot for most of my life. I had always wanted to build a kayak, so that was the first one. I build a CLCboats.com Wood Duck 12 from plans only (I refuse to use kits) This turned out great and so My wife insisted I build a hybrid version for her. At that time one of my daughters decided to have another child.

This led me to build a Baby Tender cradle (designed by Jordan Wood Boats) again from plans only. I now have experience in Stitch and Glue, Strip built, and Lapstrake style boat building.  My mother liked all the boats so much that I decided I would build her a rowboat/sailboat of here very own. She missed going out on the lake that she lives on ever since my father passed away and this would get her back out there.
I hope to be able to post a complete step by step of my building of the Iian Oughtred Auk/ Acorn dingy for others like myself that enjoy following along with the boat building process.

 
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