Getting Started In Boats

Peace Canoe from Getting Started In Boats

Hey Everybody,

There's a great blog about building and launching a Peace Canoe. Here is the link if you want to check it out.

If you're interested in building the Salt Bay Skiff, also from the Getting Started In Boats series, it's a good idea to familiarize yourself with the Peace Canoe articles as there are some similarities in construction. One major one is in the construction of side panels for the hull. In the Salt Bay Skiff article, Chris and Ana Franklin use the same methods for building their panels (more fully described in the Peace Canoe article--Part One) with the exception of using epoxy to glue their butt straps instead of polyurethane adhesive.

Karen

Karen Wales

Hello,

I'm Karen Wales, WoodenBoat's Associate Editor. I had the opportunity to work with Chris and Ana Franklin as they built their Salt Bay Skiff, the subject of Volumes Seven and Eight of Getting Started in Boats.

As you build your own Salt Bay Skiff, we invite you to share your progress with us here. Also, I'll be happy to help answer any questions you may have about the processes involved in building her.

Happy building!

Karen
WoodenBoat Publications

Planing the sides

Larry Weatherall asks: Do the bottoms of the sides need to be planed "flat" to allow maximum contact for the bottom planks when they are attached or does the adhesive expand to fill the gaps? From what I can see, it looks like there is about a 19 degree angle at the transom and center that gradually goes to 0 at the bow.

The answer is yes. And Larry correctly notes that the angles of the sides change from about 19 degrees aft to nothing forward. This calls for a changing bevel in the bottom edges of the sides--just like the one you cut in the stem. It's daunting to think about this the first time you do it, but a great pleasure to actually accomplish. Mark carefuly and cut with care, and you should have no problem. Your aim should be for maximum wood-to-wood contact.

A Reader-Built Lumberyard Skiff

Edward Brsuh of Madison, Wisconsin, is the first reader to report  on his construciton of a Lumberyard Skiff. Congratulations to Edward, whose wins two boatbuilding books for this feat. He completed the skiff back in September. Here's a description, in his own words, and some photographs:

Hello-
Attached find digital images of a lumberyard skiff I constructed here
in Madison, Wisconsin for my girlfriend's brother Greg and his
children. It will live at their family's cottage in Twin Lakes,
Wisconsin.

It was made following the plans fairly close to the letter. I could
not find any decent 1x10's, so I glued up a 1x8 and a 1x12 to make the
sides (standard grade pine, a little knotty but solid). The bottom
boards are pine as well, since I could not locate any cedar I was
truly happy with. The gunwales are riveted on with copper nails and
roves, thanks to the article in Wooden Boat magazine about the
technique.
The rowing gear consists of oak thole pins wedged into walnut blocks,
secured to the boat with brass screws.
I deviated from the plans on three main points. First, I used a series
of sawn oak seat risers instead of the 1x8 pine seat risers. I did
this for economy, since I was out of pine but had a pile of short oak
1x4 offcuts that I'd never found a use for. I did not install the rear
trim with the sculling notch, since I want to run the rudder tiller as
low and close to the decks as possible. I also did not install the
trim to the sheer line, because I am lazy.

I also simplified the stem work at the bow, with the painter running
through a hole in the stem itself.

Over the coming weeks I am putting together a simple sailing rig for
it, with a standing lug of maybe 70 or 75 sq. ft., a rudder and a
pivoting leeboard.

The boat performs very nicely in the water so far, tracking straight
and rowing with little effort. Initially, it took on a bit of water,
but the pine did swell enough to seal the worst of it. It was in the
water for about four hours and had perhaps 3/4" of water standing on
the bottom. I've had aluminum boats with loose rivets that were much
worse.
Thank you very much for the plans and opportunity to build a
sharp-looking craft. Realizing that the plans were for personal use
and not intended for commercial purposes, I am willing to share the
compensation I recieved for the labor costs on the boat. This may be
difficult, though. I mean, the beer should be able to go parcel post,
but will a top sirloin fit into an envelope?

Edward Brush
Madison, Wisconsin

Good Wood Is Hard to Find

It seems that finding a source for wood is one of the biggest stumbling blocks for would-be skiff builders.  Many people have noted difficulty in finding clear lengths of white pine at the specified length for the sides. You've asked either about substitute woods, or about scarfing the planks from shorter lengths.

The problem in addressing questions about substitute woods is that we don't have experience with all of the regional variations of pine. So, it's be best if we gave you the parameters, and you researched the qualities of wood in your particular location. Here's what you're after in the sides:

1) The ability of the wood to hold fastenings. The bottom planks of the Lumberyard Skiff are fastened directly to the sides. The wood used for the sides must be known to have good ability to hold a wood screw. Cedar would be too soft. (Although cedar is ideal for the bottom. That's because the fastenings for the bottom pass through the cedar, and are held be the white pine sides.)

2) Reasonable weight. Oak would not be appropriate for the sides, for example, because your skiff would be too heavy (though oak would hold screws very well).

3) Durability. Don't use wood that will rot like a pumpkin when it gets wet. How can you tell? Ask around. Talk to builders in your area. Google it. There are plenty of online resources that deal with this sort of thing.

Folks have also asked about scarfing two shorter pieces together to make a longer one. Yes, you can do this. But don't forget that there are two planks that make up each side. If you scarf the side planks, you don't want the scarfs to land next to each other. One should be well forward, and one well aft.

From the Designer: Notes on the Stern

Several people have asked why I drew the skiff with such an upswept back end. Others have asked why there's no skeg. Here's a photo that I hope partly justifies this part of the boat's shape. You can back into a sloping beach or ledge and easily step ashore, or aboard, with dry shoes. The flat, skegless bottom keeps the boat from tipping side to side, steadying it significantly. In departing, the aft seat (or thwart, in nautical parlance) serves as a step up to the deck, and the on the deck itself you find yourself on a level platform from which you can easily step ashore. In boarding, it's the reverse—with no wet feet in either direction.

A skeg would make the boat a little less squirrily under oars, but it adds resistance. The main reason, however, is that I wanted to cut an opening for an electric trolling motor (shown here)—and, ultimately, for a rudder. Although the rudder is yet to come (it'll be needed for sailing), I expect it can also be used in place of a skeg for those after a boat that tracks better under oars

With grandson David rowing from that aft station, the boat's trim is about right: a good portion of the bow is clear of the water and offers no drag. With two aboard, this same trim can be achieved with the passenger in the stern and the rower moving to the forward station.

I hope this explains some of the Lumberyard Skiff's features. I'll try to respond now and then to other questions, and get to developing a sailing rig come fall.
Thanks for your interest.
--Maynard Bray

Questions Answered

A few questions emerged here and in e-mail over the weekend. Here they are

IceCycle asks:

It appears in the picture that there is a buildup of the sides just before the stem. Is this more for cosmetics? Could the sides be built using cedar? It suprised me that cedar was a bit cheaper than the white pine. Also the cedar is 1x12" so I do not believe to buildup would be needed.

Answer: There is, indeed, a short piece of pine glued to the edge of one of the sideboard in order to make up the needed plank width at the stem. This detail shows clearly in the booklet, Getting Started in Boats. If you can find side planks slightly wider than 10", you can do away with this short additional piece.

White pine will hold fastenings better than cedar will. That's why it's specified for the sides. We do not recommend that you substitute cedar. If you do, you should install chine logs. (Chine logs are, essentially, longitudinal cleats that reinforce the corner joint between the bottom and sides. The drawings for this boat do not show them.)

Rick Pinto asks these three questions:

1) The instructions call for bunging the screw holes on the
bottom.  What does that mean?

Answer: Bungs are wooden plugs that cover the heads of countersunk screws. You make them on a drill press, using a bung cutter (aka plug cutter) that is sold as a matched set with a countersink, The set made by Fuller is most popular. You can also purchase already-made bungs if you don’t want to spend the money on tools. But if you plan to keep building, you'll want a countersink and a plug cutter.

2) I want a rustic unpainted look for the boat.  What
stain/urethane should I use? 

Answer: We recommend painting this boat. If you want a natural look you could varnish it or urethane it, but we think that's overkill and high-maintenance. You could oil it witn boiled linseed oil and, perhaps, a slug of pine tar… but that concoction will turn black and will get all over your clothes. Paint it.

3)Should I paint the bottom or leave
it raw because the instructions say the cedar will swell when it gets
wet, and if I seal it with paint will it then not work? 

Paint the bottom. Use bottom paint (antifouling) if the boat is to live in the water. Don’t worry about the bottom not swelling because the wood is painted. It'll swell.

4) I could not find thick oak and was wondering if it is ok if I
glued together three boards of oak with waterproof glue and carved
that for the stem.

You could, but oak is known to not glue well. Your stem might come apart if you do this. It depends on the quality of your gluing procedure. Try to find some Douglas fir, instead. Or, better,  search for some oak on E-bay. This is a relatively small piece of wood. It should travel through UPS or Postal Service. We recommend that you avoid a glueup here. It adds unnecessary complication.

Wood Source for the Lumberyard Skiff

As promised last week, here's the result of discussions with a specialty pine mill in Mercer Maine, regarding a materials kit for the Lumberyard Skiff:

There will be no complete kit from this mill, but you can buy the difficult-to-obtain stuff (the long, wide sideboards) from them. Having purchased a house full of flooring from this business a few years ago, I can vouch for its quality: This mill specializes in beautiful, wide, white pine, and carefully dries it to 6-8%moisture content. Their product far exceeds what you'll find in an average lumberyard. It's reasonably priced, too, at around $3/board foot for the select grade. Shipping, however, is the problem. Crating and then shipping just a few boards to a remote US destination may prove prohibitive for you. (In fact, the mill has a policy of 250 board foot minimum order, for that reason.) But maybe you want to order some extra, for flooring, or furniture, or another boat or two (keep one… sell one to pay for the materials….). That might make it worthwhile for you. And, if you’re in New England, you could make a weekend of it and drive to Mercer to pick the stuff up yourself.

While a kit would be wonderful for this boat, the idea will take a while to develop—if it happens at all. So, to satisfy those who are itching to get going on the boat now, here's the name of the mill. Order your sideboards and some white cedar bottom planks from them if you can balance the shipping costs with your requirements.

One other thought: They sell boards up to 20" wide. You could eliminate the side-plank glue-up with stock of that dimension, which will save you some money on epoxy. It will also save you from a messy gluing operation. The time and money saved there might just be worth the shipping cost.

Wood Idea
2158 Bacon Road
Mercer, ME 04957
Tel: (207) 587-4832
www.pineflooringdirect.com

Lumberyard Skiff Trials

Here's WoodenBoat art director Olga Lange at the oars of the newly launched Lumberyard Skiff. The boat rows beautifully and is very stable. Maynard Bray, the designer-builder, added a backrest to the after thwart, giving the skiff an elegant, period look--not to mention a nice place for a passenger to kick back with a glass of lemonade. We're looking forward to seeing your skiffs... and your innovations.

Taking Attendance... and Throwing Down the Gauntlet

There's some lurking going on here. Lots of it. We know this because this blogging service has a handy device that tracks visits to this site, and how those visitors were referred to us. It doesn't tell us who you are, though. So, I hereby ask you to do that. Use your screen name if you wish to remain anonymous. Click the "comments" toggle below and leave a note telling us: 1) who you are, 2) your level of boatbuilding experience, 3) your boatbuilding ambitions, and 4) whether or not you intend to build a Lumberyard Skiff. Which bring us to the gauntlet throwing:

The first reader to send us a photograph of him- or herself at the oars of their completed and painted Lumberyard Skiff will receive copies of Greg Rössel's book, Building Small Craft, and David C. "Bud" McIntosh's book, How to Build a Wooden Boat. Both books promise to make you even better boatbuilders.
—Matt Murphy