Summer Breeze
The sides:
Lay out the sides on the sheet per the
drawing. Be sure to mark where the
frame will fasten to the sides.
Rip the bow side strip 16 inches wide.
(Remember your saw will remove a kerf of sawdust so allow for that to keep
your sides the same width. They will be slightly narrower than 16.) Per the
drawing measure and mark 52 from opposite corners of the bow side section.
Connect those marks and saw down the middle of the line.
Rip two 3 strips 32 long off of
the end of the remaining aft side section.
Rip
that section into two 16 strips. This aft section is where the rocker is
created. The line connecting the point 6 into the short side and 50 into
the long side of the panel creates the rocker. You can stack these pieces and
cut them at the same time, then round the point a gentle curve, or you can
use a batten (flexible piece of
wood or plastic) to draw that curve and cut it at the same time as the straight
cut. This can be done with a saber saw or jig saw, but a circular saw with the
blade set for a shallow cut works best. You can then measure the 4 3/8 in
from the aft bottom corner and connect that with the aft top corner, stack and
cut. Save these pieces for quarter knees later. (You might consider just marking
the quarter knees and waiting until after the dry fit to cut them off. This will
give you more adjustment room during the dry fit.)
You can make your long layout marks with a pencil and straight edge or by snapping a chalk line. I cut down the center of the line with a hand saw. You can clamp a long straight fence and use your circular saw, or rip these cuts on a table saw if you have one. (Yes, I have power saws, but sometimes I miss that quaint "voopa voopa" sound.)
Butt blocks:
There are many ways to clamp butt block
skarfs.
(Scarfing is a fancy
boat woodworking term used to
describe making two shorter pieces of wood into one longer piece.) You can use weights or short #6 sheet metal screws, or even clinch
bronze nails and leave them in place, but I prefer a staple gun with half inch
staples. The staples are removed after the joint cures.
Draw a center line down the butt
blocks. This line will be above the joint of the ply pieces. A large flat
surface is needed. It can be the floor or a table or workbench. I like to set up
saw horses with a sheet of ply or OSB on some 2x4s. Use wax paper or plastic
wrap to prevent gluing your pieces to the work surface.
Do
a dry layout of the pieces and trim the butt blocks to clear the stem, chine
logs or inwales if you plan to install them. Trace the butt blocks during the
dry run. You can also round the edges and sand the blocks making them ready to
paint, before gluing them.
Make
sure you weight or tack your pieces so they dont slide around when they have
the glue on them. Apply glue to the edges and the surfaces using your pencil trace lines as a guide. If you use PL Premium spread it with a notched trowel.
If you use Titebond II you can spread it with a brush, roller or spatula or
scrap of cardboard.
Position
the butt blocks, drape twine over them and staple stradling the twine. A staple
every couple of inches will do. Make sure you get the corners. The twine both
prevents the 1/2 staples from going all the way through the ply and makes
removal easier. I usually let my joints dry overnight.
Here is a tip on this scarfing method.
I learned this trick while joining tops for musical instruments. Slip a small strip of wood (say a 1/2" thick) under the joining edges to hold them in a sort of tent position then clamp (or tack) both ends to your work surface. When that prop strip of wood is removed, and you flatten the "tent", clamp pressure gets transferred inward, to the edges of the glued pieces.
This is a rather unconventional approach to scarfing, however if you read the fine essay by Jim Michalak on various joining systems he's used you'll see he concludes that all the systems have worked fine. He says:
"I've tried lots of different ways to make the joint in the 15 or so boats I've built
over the years. All the methods worked. I have a feeling that the butt joints on the
usual instant boat hull are not highly loaded and not too critical to overall boat
strength. "
So it appears that the stresses on these joints is not excessive. I've designed Summer Breeze so these joints occur where the bending is very gradual. If you lack my faith in PL Premium feel free to use any of the other approaches to joining wood outlined so well by Jim Michalak and others. If you decide to use PL Premium, here are some tips. PL Premium
Use your transom to help finish shaping your sides.
First mark your station lines on your sides while they're still rectangular. Lay them inside surface up, and put a pencil line every 12" starting from the bow tip.
Now clamp your sides back to back and use the transom on end to mark its position on the end of your sides. (Position its top edge 4" in from the end making your sides ultimately 140" long. The over hang makes it easier to pull around the transom during gluing.) Using a straight edge scribe a line from the base of the transom to a point 48" from the aft end of your sides. Then use a batten (long flexible piece of wood) to fair the turn up to the transom. You can cut this curve with your circular saw or do a straight cut and smooth it into a soft curve with your hand plane or belt sander.
If the photo isn't clear see
drawing above.