One step forward...two back

Today I spent removing the various dry fitted components off the hull - forefoot filler, keel filler and outer stem.

I roughly shaped up the deadwood to match both the lead keel and the boats keel.  It looks ok but the angle of the deadwood where it supports the lead keel seems more acute than that of the lead keel - so I am not altogether sure if I have to do quite a bit more trimming off the "top" of the deadwoods.


More curiously, the keel filler which goes between the keel and the lead keel is curved, having been made by laminating to the shape of the outer keel on the hull.  The corresponding part on the lead keel is however straight - so I presume I have to plane down the keel filler straight   Fair enough...but on closer inspection, that will mean in fact removing all of the keel filler in the centre to attain a straight line from one end of the filler to the other.  That in itself is probably not such a huge issue, but it does make me wonder if the keel on my boat is more curved that the designer planned...

Here's the keel filler - it looks like a tuning fork!

Keel Filler

Keel filler sitting on its position on top (underneath) the lead keel

When I took this off the keel and placed it on the lead keel you can see that there is quite a mis-match so I am pondering what is the best solution.  The gap at the ends is deeper than the section of the keel filler.  Alternatively I suppose I can build up the shape in the keel filler by adding new "wedges" to flatten out one side of the keel filler. 

Am I over-thinking this?  Comments Please!

Trimming Lead Keel

Before fairing my dead-woods any further, I needed to trim my lead keel, so that I could take a pattern from it and reflect this onto the dead-woods to ensure a good fit.

Temperatures rose today sufficiently for me to get my chainsaw fixed, having previously given up in frustration when the tiny tubing became so rigid with the freezing air temperatures that I couldn't reassemble it!

Anyway, thankfully I got it working. So spurned on with Port Na Storm's comment about looking forward to see the lead keel being cut with a chainsaw (from a long distance!) , I took out my video camera to record the process.  John Brooks, Somes Sound designer and ever available to offer sound advice and encouragement, gave me the hint that a  chainsaw was known to be quite a good tool for cutting lead keels.  Initially I was quite dubious, but since I had a very small cheap "Florabest" 40cc saw which I bought in Lidl for less than €100, I thought it was worth a try. Good advice John, it worked a treat!

Off-cut from lead keel

I used heavy polythene to catch most of the flying lead chippings.  Even so I found some chippings quite a bit away, so if you decide that you need to do this, keep all onlookers well away and protected.  I was using full face mask and heavy duty protection.  I didn't use breathing protection but probably should have done so - that said, all the particles seems to have been quite large and I didn't get any impression of lead dust flying about.

Once I had the surplus lead cut off, I set to trimming the lead flat with a hand plane.  I decided against using my electric plane as I had read somewhere that the lead shaving cause the motor to arc and burn out.  However, I was pleasantly surprised at how effective my cheap Anant hand plane was at removing the humps from the lead and leaving a relatively clean surface.  Also I wasn't overly fussy as the side of the keel which I was cutting and trimming is the bottom side of the keel, so it doesn't have to mate to any other component.  I will finish it off with a layer of epoxy to protect it.

Florabest chainsaw - small 16" saw

Deadwood and Keel Fillers

Since fitting the centre board, I have dry fitted and fastened with bronze screws the keel filler and outer stem.  Also managed to glue up the dead woods  - made out of Doug Fir.

The outer stem needed modification.  I had made it some time ago in conjunction with the inner stem - both laminated over molds.  However, in an effort to afford some wiggle room, I did not shave down the inner stem to its final proportion, such that when I attached the planks, the bow is slightly wider than specified, resulting in the outer stem being too narrow.  So I simply laminated another wider strip to the inside of the inner stem.  Blessed with a very understanding wife, it sits here in next to the dining table out of the cold nights in the shed!  Once set, the inner stem lined up better with the prow and now is dry fitted to the boat.

Next onto the keel filler.  This was a part which I had made by re-sawing a 1" sapele board and laminating it onto the curve of the keelson.  I needed to cut out a slot to accomadate the centre board.  It now sits also on the boat, fastened with bronze screws.

I made a template of the deadwood from the full size plan and spilled it to the keel where it meets with the keel filler.   The plans call for 6 pieces of 7" and 6" wide 8/4 boards planed down to 1 3/4".   However one of the specified lengths is 26" which according to my template is around 2" short to fit the plan, so I will have to add in a small piece when the main boards are glued up.  It is currently sitting under an electric blanket in the shed, as the nights are becoming very cold.  I did get approval to glue it up inside the warmth of the house, but glad I didn't as it is quite a messy job!


Next day I was able to rough cut out the deadwood to shape on the band saw.

Using a flush trim router bit to take the pattern from inside the centre board trunk.  A very satisfying process which produces a seamless joint.

I spent a fruitless few hours trying to get my chainsaw fired up today.  Apparently the chainsaw is the tool of choice for cutting lead - and I need to trim off 1" off the top of my keel which I over-poured.  The saw is suffering from fuel starvation - there is a tiny air vent in the petrol tank which is blocked and I had to dismantle virtually the whole saw to get at it.  By the time I got to reassemble the temperature had dropped so much that the tiny tubes running to and from the carb became so stiff, I couldn't reassemble ! so have to leave until a warmer day and my patience is in better shape before final reassembly - probably should find some new tubing and proper clips...but it's so tiny possibly only 3mm internal that I'll have a job sourcing.  Ah yes the joys of boat building!

I really want to clean up the keel before finalizing the shape of the deadwoods and keel filler, so one way or another I need to get my saw working!

Centre Board Trunk fitted

The time finally came to cut a hole in the bottom of my boat!  A big long slot in the keelson was required to accomadate the centre board.  Brian came along to assist, which was quite fortunate as it would be quite tiresome hopping from the topside of the boat to inside the hull to position and clamp the trunk in place.

We made a template out of hardboard from the top of the trunk and laid this onto the outer side of the keelson, and drew out where the holes were needed for the trunk posts.  Armed with a 35mm hole saw, I cut 3 holes in the keelson and joined the middle and end hole with a jig saw, for the  slot.  This allowed us to use pipe clamps to hold the trunk in place.  Then we secured the trunk with #14 -3" screws and took away the clamps so that I could run a flush trim router to square off the centre board slot in the keelson, taking a line from the inside of the trunk slot.  This worked really well and ensured a gap free perfectly alignment between the trunk and the keelson.  Some final spiling of the trunk logs was required and subsequent finer shaving off the top of the trunk.  This resulted in a gap free fit and dead square alignment.

Seating the large 3" silicon bronze screws was a bit more troublesome - as they had Frearson (Reed & Prince) heads and the largest bit I had, a #2, did not have sufficient purchase in the screw head, such that I had to cut straight slots in two of the screws to drive them home.  It is surprising how large a pilot hole is required to get these big screws home into hardwood.  Even with the three pipe clamps in place, the screws created further squeeze out of epoxy which was satisfying - evidence that they were doing their job.


Once the epoxy had set, I removed the clamps this morning and re-checked alignment - measuring top of the trunk from each sheer plank to confirm symmetry.  It was rock solid and within 1 mm from sheer to sheer - all told a satisfactory result for the first time wooden boat builder!

So next stage was to cut out the centre board slot in the keel and glue and screw this down on top of the keelson with 48 x 1 1/4" SB screws.  Similarly, I cleaned out the slot in the keel with the flush trim router which ensured that all 3 slots (trunk, keelson and keel) were in perfect alignment.

As these nights are getting cold - forecast -3 deg celcius tonight, I have an electric blanket covering the keel and two small radiators running underneath the hull - should keep her nice and warm for the night.

Tomorrow - hope to start cutting out deadwood for the keel and attaching the outer stem and forefoot keel filler/  There are quite a number of different components making up the "keel" of this boat which initially was a world of confusion, but the fog is clearing and I now see the end in sight to having a finished underwater profile.  Exciting!!

Sheer Strakes Installed

Panorama photo taken by Jane on her iPhone

Finally completed the planking today..Hurray!!  Ably assisted by Siobhan, Brian and Jane.  

Yours truly lining up the last plank onto the hull.

Since I want to keep my options open to varnish the sheer strake, I used multiple clamps to hold the sheer strake on rather than the screw and batton clamp method used to date.  This was made more manageable because the sheer strake is relatively narrow and so the clamps can reach around the full width of the plank.  

We also glued the centre board trunk together and began planing the garboards to accept the outer keel layer and outer stem.

Whiskey Plank

Progress slowed somewhat due to family considerations around Christmas and New Year.  However, I finally got around to cutting the sheer strakes for my Somes Sound.  I had to break into a new sheet of plywood, as the remaining scarfed planking stock was too narrow to fit my final sheer planks.  So I had to scarf some new stock and cut the strakes from this.

I fitted the strake on the starboard side today which seem to fit very accurately.  John Brooks states in his book, Glues Lapstrake Wooden Boats, that by the time you get to the final strake you will be an expert at planking- can't say I am an expert, but for sure the final planks go one more confidently that the garboards!

It's a traditionally styled boat, and as far as I understand it is tradition to celebrate the final plank with a whiskey!  So the bottle is ready, but until we get the final strake onto the boat, it will remain unopened...
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I also started building my centre board trunk.  It's quite an enjoyable break from the routine of planking, which is quite repetitive.  The plans include full sized drawings of the trunk, so it was reasonably straightforward to create a template in 1/4" ply and use this to create the trunk sides using a flush trim router.  I say "reasonably" because it did take a while to comprehend the new terminology - trunk posts, trunk logs, trunk log cleats, etc..etc.!

Similarly I used the finished trunk sized as a template to finish the trunk posts and ensure that the trunk ends align perfectly.

I'm hoping to get the trunk completed this week-end and get the final strake fitted.

Rough cut centre board post awaiting final  flush trimming

For those of you who are similarly about to embark on building your first wooden boat, I can vouch for the advice which I received that as you move through the project, some of the mist clears and things become more comprehensible as you progress.  I'm hoping that this optimism on my part is not misplaced!