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.

Fiberglass Sheathing

I spent 3 hours tonight covering the bottom 3 planks of the build with fiberglass. I had some 4 oz. glass on hand, so I used it. I would rather have used 6 oz. but the budget being what it is... I went with what I had.

After I sanded the edges of the tape, I used a foam roller to coat the ply with epoxy. Not sure this is the best procedure. I probably should have laid out the glass, poured the epoxy over it and used the rubber spatula to wet it out. As it was, the glass is hard to smooth out. It turned out ok I think, but it took a lot of coaxing. 

While it's "green", I will coat it with a couple coats of epoxy and be done with it 'til paint time.

Taped the Bottom

With my foot feeling good, I decided to tape the bottom of the boat. I started by planing the other garboard, routing the trunk slot and doing final prep of the 3 bottom planks.

Then I taped the two joints and put some tape on the cut around the slot that I made when I fixed the trunk. Here's what I wound up with.

When this cures, I'll sand it a little bit, especially the one edge of the tape that is so thick, and then put my cloth over then entire bottom three planks.

 

Foot in a Boot!

That's boot -  not boat! 

For a year my left heel has been hurting. It started after the softball game at last year's pastor appreciation picnic. That was October 2020. I got an xray and the doctor told me it was a bone spur and inflammation of the Achilles tendon. She referred me to a sport's medicine specialist.

I went Wednesday hoping he would give me a shot, fix me up and I'd be back to normal. Nope. Don't do shots in the Achilles. Might rupture! I sure don't need that. 

The solution? Wear a boot for 6 weeks.  

Well, I wore it out of the office and for the rest of the day until church time. This obviously would put my boat building in a crimp. The more I thought about it, the more I figured I just as well wait until after Christmas to wear that boot. Get my hull done, holiday over and then during the heart of winter build my sail.

Today my foot felt really good, probably the best it has felt for a year. Maybe just a day's rest helped? 

At this point, I'm going to take it a day at a time. Maybe wear the boot some, Maybe not. I'd sure like to get that hull turned by New Year's Day.