Getting Close!

I cut out the first plank #5 and glued up the second #4 this evening. #4 went on very nicely. A good fit!

This means just one more plank and half to go before planking is done! That will be a huge milestone in the project.

I'm eager to check and see if I can copy this plank #5 for the other side. It should fit. That will make the final plank symmetrical. If it doesn't fit, I don't expect it to be far off, at least enough to make any real difference. I do want the line to meet at the bow. So far I've been able to do that. 

I might set a new goal for myself: Have the hull painted and ready to turn by my birthday! That'd be a great present to myself. 

 

Second Plank #4

Here’s a pic of the boat as she sits right now. 

I spent about 4 hours today cutting out and planing the second plank #4. All went well. The only think is that I came up too narrow at the bow again. I'm not sure why this is happening. The rest of the plank is probably the best I've done yet. It is very good. When it comes to the sheer plank, I need to get that right. 

It does look like the mistakes with the #3 plank above it are going to be smoothed over. The 1/2" gaps at the molds do not seems to be a problem. I'm going to be able to catch 1/2" lap at the bow where I was too narrow. The lap will match up the opposite side. Not too worried.

The only pic I have for this post is the little jig I made when I started planking. Thought I'd post this for the record. This is what I use to mark my 3/4" line for the bevel on the edge of the plank that accepts the lap. Simple but effective. Note the hole for the pencil. I just slide this along the edge and I've got my line.

Hopefully will get the glue up this plank one of the next two mornings. It's beveled and the gains are cut. Fit looks great (except that bow - ugh). 

I do plan on making that thickened epoxy a bit thicker. Was still a little runny last plank. Makes a mess. 

Planking Continues

I spent 5 hours yesterday and today doing the first plank #4. This plank has a downward curve which is opposite the others - a little surprising. 

The process when pretty well. Here's a pic of the connection in my spiling batten. I changed it from hot glue. I didn't trust that since my glue gun is so small. I just can't get enough glue on the board fast enough for a good hold.

Here's a pic of my ply before the first cut. Since I have to cut on the outside curve of the batten, and since that puts the batten off the ply with the 2.25" offset, I have to add some material to make the cut. Every piece has to be tacked together so there's no movement, but it works very well. The whole process of using a batten is great. It just means I'll have a pile of holes to fill before painting. 

Here's my dry-fit. I made sure this time that I put the extra "arms" at a 90 degree angel so that when the plank is away from the hull, it doesn't change its location - in other words, it's in the same position as when it's pressed down on the hull. Previously, my arms were angled up and that threw everything off. I believe that's one reason my second plank #3 came out a little skewed.

Here's the plank glued up. One little stretch of it toward the stern only caught about 3/8" of the upper plank. Hopefully the interior setup will add some strength to it. 

All in all, I'm satisfied.

 

Plank #3 Second Verse

I got the second plank #3 glued up today. I thought I was going to get better with the planking as it went along. Had a rough day today with it.

It all started when I spiled the plank. I changed the way I fastened the two spiling battens together. Instead of gluing them, I bolted them. They were very snug. The spiling went well... except for one "little" thing: The bow end was 1/2" too narrow. How did that happen? The rest of the plank looked better than any previous ones. What to do? I decided to make the part of the plank that is seen on the outside of the boat even with the other side. That means the other edge will only catch the next plank with 1/4" of mating or so. I figure I'll have to reinforce it on the inside with some thickened epoxy and probably fiberglass tape. Of course, it's near the stem, so there is plenty of holding force there.

Otherwise the plank fit very nicely. So how did it not not glue down as nicely? My method of putting a screw into the midship frame and working out, first to the bow and then the stern somehow got messed up. The forepart of the plank fit well but when I went to batten down the aft portion, it was lying right. I made it fit, but at a price: the plank sits out about 1/2" from the molds. I think I can make that up when I lay the next plank, but it shouldn't have happened. It going to throw off the interior measurements by that much. Not only that, but it had a much larger gap to fill under the overlapping plank than the other #3 plank. 

Here's the gap between the plank and the mold. It looks bigger than what it is, though it's certainly big enough.

Here's the filled gap between the plank #2 and #3. For perspective, the plank is 1/4" thick, so that's a pretty thick fillet. I had to use a lot more epoxy than the other #3.

Here's what I think is happening. My "fingers" (remember the fingers?) hold the plank away from the above plank which in turn holds it away from the mold. My extra "arms" are angled up which changes the way the plank lines up. I've got to straighten out those "arms". 

But here's the result.

Looks like a pretty fair curve. I hope so.

Time will tell how much of a difference this second #3 plank will make. I'm thinking, once the boat is completed, it will be all but forgotten. 

Plank #3

Yesterday and today I finished the prep and glued up my first #3 plank. I had to cut the gains, bevel the stem a little more, bevel the lower edge of the plank and double check the positioning. 

I shaved a little too much off the plank #2 at the stem. I tried to leave some extra on plank #3 but didn't succeed. I gooped the gain up with extra epoxy. Should be ok. 

All went pretty well, I guess. I'm getting a little better with the sandwich bag method of applying epoxy. My consistency was good today. When I began screwing down the batten, it seems my alignment got off. I had to undo/redo a couple screws or so. I guess that just means I'll have a few more holes to fill. As I neared the transom, it seemed low. A little pressure seemed to do the trick. 

Here she is:

I got two planks hung this week. That's not going to happen every week. Christmas will still be my goal to finish planking. 

It Takes Time

Planking takes time - a good bit of it too. Today is a pretty day with colder weather coming Saturday, so I took the morning to cut out another plank, first of the #3 planks. You'd think I'd be getting a little faster at this, but it took me 3 hours 45 minutes to spile and cut the plank. 

Where does the time go? Setting up the spiling batten, plotting points, had to plane the stem a bit, uncovering the planking table, bringing the ply from the garage to the back, transferring points to the  ply, measuring for the batten, tacking the batten down, etc. Today it took a bit of extra time to set up the cutting batten for the second cut. The reason? Using the 3.5" Porter Cable saw requires that I cut on the outside curve of the batten. The batten has to be placed 2.25" off the line to allow for the width of the base of the saw. There's not enough ply for that so I had to "add" to the one side with 2x's and scrap ply. That, along with everything else, takes time. 

I was a little concerned about the plywood as well. This is the first plank cut from a piece that has already had a plank cut out of it, the garboards. When I cut them, I was not too careful about where the  plank started in relation to the end of the plywood. Turns out I had plenty of room for the second plank (sigh).

I did goof on the second cut. The saw wants to go in a straight line but you are following a gentle curve along the batten. I let the saw wander just a little bit. Had to back it up. Oops! I think a little epoxy will fill it. LOL.

I did make an adjustment to the cutting batten also. Someone said that a fair line beats any measurements. After tacking down the batten on the first cut, it just didn't look quite fair; so I adjusted it. After cutting out the plank and a quick trial fit, it looks ok. Pic to follow.

Again, the plank is not perfect. I'll look at it a little more before actually gluing it down, but I think it will be fine. 

Second #2 Plank

 After another 5 hours, my second plank #2 is hung. I spent a lot of time positioning this plank. At the midship frame it was a little narrow. I wanted at least a 1/2" overlap. It's supposed to be 3/4". I wound up with it being a little "high" at the stern. Plank #3 will probably sit flush with the mold instead of sitting a little up off of it. I think that will ok. I also planed a little off of the bow end of the plank. When I cut it, I actually missed the line, so this was not really a faulty measurement as much as a faulty cut. 

I beveled the lower end before I glued it up. This was quick and easy. These planks don't sit flush anyway, so an exactly precise bevel is not that crucial. 

I decided to use the batten this time. The first plank #2 is not quite fair. I thought it was going to be better than it is. Not too worried about it. As someone said, "The fish don't care." LOL. The planks above the waterline - well that's another story. I care! So good practice here. We'll see how it turns out.

One messy "mistake" (not really a mistake) that I made today was that I didn't make my epoxy quite thick enough. It was a bit runny. I knew it before I applied it. Why didn't I add more filler? It did make a mess. I hope that wax works on the batten because I got some epoxy on it. Could be even more messy if it's stuck! 

I did get more squeeze out on the  inside this time. Now to just try and find that happy medium between the two planks. 

I did not use the  plywood "washers". It seemed that the screws pulled the two planks together just fine. I'll be eager to see how "fair" it is. Jim Allen said he needed a heavier batten than what was recommended. I may go out and buy a piece of oak for a batten or cut a thicker one from lumber I have on hand. 

Anyway, here's the plank waiting for the  epoxy to cure.

And a straight on view afterward 14 hours of curing.

Hanging Plank #2

After 2 hours and 45 minutes last night, for a total of 9 hours, one of my #2 planks is hung and epoxied in place. Wow! That's a lot of time. Of course, this includes everything (except scarfing). Hopefully, my speed will increase as this was my first plank to spile, bevel, cut gains and overlap. 

A little commentary on the evening's work. 

Jim Allen said it was tough hanging planks alone, so I got me some help. I used clamps and short pieces of lumber to hold the plank in place while I made sure it was aligned correctly (there were 2 of these) 

I cut out "fingers" to help keep the plank off of the garboard and keep it from smearing epoxy all over the place. There was one on each station except the midship frame. I rotated them as I worked out from the midship frame when it was time to seat the plank onto the garboard. 

Here are my waxed plywood washers. These went under the garboard to help pull the two planks together when I put a screw through them and into the washer.

Here is the setup viewed from a couple steps back.

This is my bead of thickened epoxy applied with a sandwich bag with a corner snipped off. I did slap a quick coat of epoxy on the two planks where they were to overlap before applying the bead. 

Here is the plank epoxied in place. The dabs of epoxy are tack holes (from the batten used to cut the plank) filled with epoxy. 

These next two pics show the good bead of epoxy that filled the slight gap between the #2 plank and the garboard plank. 

I did not have a lot of squeeze out on the underside of the planks. I'm not too worried as I plan to add a small fillet at the joints when I turn the hull. 

I did not use a batten to "fair" the two planks. They went together very nicely. At the stations I used ratchet straps and pieces of wood to pull down the plank and put pressure where needed. I used screws to pull the planks together between stations. The gaps were very slight. I plan to use a batten for planks 3-5.

Hopefully, I'll get the matching plank hung next week.

Hanging this plank was a big deal to me. For now, I'm satisfied.

Cutting Gains

Another one of the "new" things that goes with this build is cutting gains. The gains even out the overlap at the bow. Tonight I cut my first gains. I used my rabbet plane (cheap as it is), a chisel and palm sander. I did not make the gains very long, but I think they'll be sufficient.

Before cutting them, I very carefully double checked the placement and fit of the plank, making sure I had enough overlap and checking to make sure the plank would hit the stem at the right place. When in place, I marked the overlap on the garboard and #2 plank back about 15" from the stem. 

I did use a batten to give me a straight line. Here is the gain on the #2 plank.

Here is the batten on the garboard. I had to screw it down at one end because a clamp would interfere with the plane. I'll just have to fill the hole with epoxy.

And here is the fit of the two planks at the bow. Looks pretty good. Comes out pretty flush at the stem.

I did put two screws in the plank to insure that I can relocate it exactly where it needs to go when I slather epoxy everywhere. One at the stem and one at the midship frame.

And, finally, here is the plank setup for gluing. I've got a few little details to work out before I do that, but I'm very close to doing it. I like the fit. It came out really nice - a good fit! It hit the breaks nicely and I'll have 3/4" overlap in most places.

250 Hours!!

Another milestone reached on Saturday. I hit the 250 hour mark! Does that mean I'm half done???? It is supposed to be a 500 hour build. Something tells me I might be but there's another voice saying I doubt it. We all know the devil is in the details.
This afternoon I cut out my second #2 plank. It took about 2 and 1/2 hours from set up to spiling to marking to cutting. I cut the first side of the plank with the Rotozip which is what I used on the first #2 plank. It give a decent cut, though it was a bit "wavey", and I broke another bit. I figured I would try the 3.5" Porter/Cable saw on the next cut. It worked great! That's the way to go. No doubt about it. Smooth, smooth. A very nice even cut.

Here's the spiling batten set up and ready to transfer points to the plywood.

Here's my first cut. A little "wavey".

Batten in place ready for second cut.

Batten still in place after second cut with the 3.5" saw. A much smoother, quicker cut. Having that table makes a lot of difference rather than cutting on the driveway. 

Now I've got to cut the gains and I'll be ready to glue up the two #2 planks.