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#1 ·
The Smaug Blog: Wood Boatbuilding 101, A Trip to the Sawmill

To those of you who have requested more photos and explanations of my boatbuilding days, thank you for sending me into my stacks of old photos and allowing me the enjoyment of remembering a youth spent doing what I loved and creating just really cool stuff. My days building wooden boats, from age 22 to 55, are all magical memories to me from the aromatic smell of yellow cedar coming out of the planer to the amazing geometrical shapes of bent frames to the sheer mass of some of the timbers we shaped with chainsaws, adzes, planes and chisels. (I may enjoy this reminiscence more than you, the reader.)

To start the show I will go through some of the photos of "Smaug" the 34' Pinky Ketch I built in 1978 in my shop in Coal Harbour B.C.. I say 1978 because she was laid out and the hull built that year. She was completed on the owners' timetable
over the next couple of years.

The first requirement is of course to gather together the required materials. This required a trip to the sawmill in Telegraph Cove. The mill is no longer there but in 1978 it was in full operation and was located a very short distance from a dry sorting yard where I was able to pick out a couple of good looking yellow cedar logs and have them floated over to the mill. Then one fine sunny morning I went to the mill and stood beside the sawyer and watched as each slab was taken off. Depending on the quality, I would choose the size for the next cut and the sawyer would run the piece. If the log was clear where we were cutting, I would ask for 1 3/4" for planking and beam stock. If it had a few knots we would cut thicker stock for timbers and so on. This place smelled like heaven but was noisy as hell. Here are the earliest photos of what would become "Smaug"

One log section is in the headrig as another awaits it's turn.

Wood Brick Brickwork Building Beam


This piece would have been clear enough to render planking.

Wood Water Road surface Asphalt Floor


This is about 1/2 of what I got from two logs. The larger timbers were for a troller that a local fisherman wanted me to build. He backed out and I still have one of the 10Ă—10s.

Sky Wood Building Lumber Hardwood


I'll try to get back to this tomorrow and go through the backbone timbers and framing.

Feedback is encouraged. Criticism is always welcome also, I'm new to blogging.

Can anyone suggest what tags to put on this?... Thanks.

'Till next time

Paul
 

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#2 ·
The Smaug Blog: Wood Boatbuilding 101, A Trip to the Sawmill

To those of you who have requested more photos and explanations of my boatbuilding days, thank you for sending me into my stacks of old photos and allowing me the enjoyment of remembering a youth spent doing what I loved and creating just really cool stuff. My days building wooden boats, from age 22 to 55, are all magical memories to me from the aromatic smell of yellow cedar coming out of the planer to the amazing geometrical shapes of bent frames to the sheer mass of some of the timbers we shaped with chainsaws, adzes, planes and chisels. (I may enjoy this reminiscence more than you, the reader.)

To start the show I will go through some of the photos of "Smaug" the 34' Pinky Ketch I built in 1978 in my shop in Coal Harbour B.C.. I say 1978 because she was laid out and the hull built that year. She was completed on the owners' timetable
over the next couple of years.

The first requirement is of course to gather together the required materials. This required a trip to the sawmill in Telegraph Cove. The mill is no longer there but in 1978 it was in full operation and was located a very short distance from a dry sorting yard where I was able to pick out a couple of good looking yellow cedar logs and have them floated over to the mill. Then one fine sunny morning I went to the mill and stood beside the sawyer and watched as each slab was taken off. Depending on the quality, I would choose the size for the next cut and the sawyer would run the piece. If the log was clear where we were cutting, I would ask for 1 3/4" for planking and beam stock. If it had a few knots we would cut thicker stock for timbers and so on. This place smelled like heaven but was noisy as hell. Here are the earliest photos of what would become "Smaug"

One log section is in the headrig as another awaits it's turn.

Wood Brick Brickwork Building Beam


This piece would have been clear enough to render planking.

Wood Water Road surface Asphalt Floor


This is about 1/2 of what I got from two logs. The larger timbers were for a troller that a local fisherman wanted me to build. He backed out and I still have one of the 10Ă—10s.

Sky Wood Building Lumber Hardwood


I'll try to get back to this tomorrow and go through the backbone timbers and framing.

Feedback is encouraged. Criticism is always welcome also, I'm new to blogging.

Can anyone suggest what tags to put on this?... Thanks.

'Till next time

Paul
I envy you Paul as an ex seaman I've always had a love of boats & I've owned many & I've even renovated but I've never built one. I really admire your skills I'd love to do it one day but at 58 I suppose it will always remain just a dream for me, but thanks so much for sharing your memories
Trevor
 

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#3 ·
The Smaug Blog: Wood Boatbuilding 101, A Trip to the Sawmill

To those of you who have requested more photos and explanations of my boatbuilding days, thank you for sending me into my stacks of old photos and allowing me the enjoyment of remembering a youth spent doing what I loved and creating just really cool stuff. My days building wooden boats, from age 22 to 55, are all magical memories to me from the aromatic smell of yellow cedar coming out of the planer to the amazing geometrical shapes of bent frames to the sheer mass of some of the timbers we shaped with chainsaws, adzes, planes and chisels. (I may enjoy this reminiscence more than you, the reader.)

To start the show I will go through some of the photos of "Smaug" the 34' Pinky Ketch I built in 1978 in my shop in Coal Harbour B.C.. I say 1978 because she was laid out and the hull built that year. She was completed on the owners' timetable
over the next couple of years.

The first requirement is of course to gather together the required materials. This required a trip to the sawmill in Telegraph Cove. The mill is no longer there but in 1978 it was in full operation and was located a very short distance from a dry sorting yard where I was able to pick out a couple of good looking yellow cedar logs and have them floated over to the mill. Then one fine sunny morning I went to the mill and stood beside the sawyer and watched as each slab was taken off. Depending on the quality, I would choose the size for the next cut and the sawyer would run the piece. If the log was clear where we were cutting, I would ask for 1 3/4" for planking and beam stock. If it had a few knots we would cut thicker stock for timbers and so on. This place smelled like heaven but was noisy as hell. Here are the earliest photos of what would become "Smaug"

One log section is in the headrig as another awaits it's turn.

Wood Brick Brickwork Building Beam


This piece would have been clear enough to render planking.

Wood Water Road surface Asphalt Floor


This is about 1/2 of what I got from two logs. The larger timbers were for a troller that a local fisherman wanted me to build. He backed out and I still have one of the 10Ă—10s.

Sky Wood Building Lumber Hardwood


I'll try to get back to this tomorrow and go through the backbone timbers and framing.

Feedback is encouraged. Criticism is always welcome also, I'm new to blogging.

Can anyone suggest what tags to put on this?... Thanks.

'Till next time

Paul
Wonderful that you have kept a record.
It is great to see what can be done pre H&S days.
I've a plan sitting that I doubt that I will ever build, but it is still in the dream that lets me let my mind wander while sanding some repetitive production item.

Thanks
for Sharing
Jamie
 

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#4 ·
The Smaug Blog: Wood Boatbuilding 101, A Trip to the Sawmill

To those of you who have requested more photos and explanations of my boatbuilding days, thank you for sending me into my stacks of old photos and allowing me the enjoyment of remembering a youth spent doing what I loved and creating just really cool stuff. My days building wooden boats, from age 22 to 55, are all magical memories to me from the aromatic smell of yellow cedar coming out of the planer to the amazing geometrical shapes of bent frames to the sheer mass of some of the timbers we shaped with chainsaws, adzes, planes and chisels. (I may enjoy this reminiscence more than you, the reader.)

To start the show I will go through some of the photos of "Smaug" the 34' Pinky Ketch I built in 1978 in my shop in Coal Harbour B.C.. I say 1978 because she was laid out and the hull built that year. She was completed on the owners' timetable
over the next couple of years.

The first requirement is of course to gather together the required materials. This required a trip to the sawmill in Telegraph Cove. The mill is no longer there but in 1978 it was in full operation and was located a very short distance from a dry sorting yard where I was able to pick out a couple of good looking yellow cedar logs and have them floated over to the mill. Then one fine sunny morning I went to the mill and stood beside the sawyer and watched as each slab was taken off. Depending on the quality, I would choose the size for the next cut and the sawyer would run the piece. If the log was clear where we were cutting, I would ask for 1 3/4" for planking and beam stock. If it had a few knots we would cut thicker stock for timbers and so on. This place smelled like heaven but was noisy as hell. Here are the earliest photos of what would become "Smaug"

One log section is in the headrig as another awaits it's turn.

Wood Brick Brickwork Building Beam


This piece would have been clear enough to render planking.

Wood Water Road surface Asphalt Floor


This is about 1/2 of what I got from two logs. The larger timbers were for a troller that a local fisherman wanted me to build. He backed out and I still have one of the 10Ă—10s.

Sky Wood Building Lumber Hardwood


I'll try to get back to this tomorrow and go through the backbone timbers and framing.

Feedback is encouraged. Criticism is always welcome also, I'm new to blogging.

Can anyone suggest what tags to put on this?... Thanks.

'Till next time

Paul
Navigating through manipulating the images to get them into this format is a real chore for me as an over 60 guy. I had to have my young son help me do it and I took notes. It is as much interesting to me, your descriptions of the sensory aspects of the real hard work I know goes into building something on that scale and I love the tone of joy that it brings to you to recall it. Working with the sawyer to cut the material to your specifications is such a pleasant experience. I've been able to do that several times with special logs, to take advantage of every part of the tree. I love the smell of cedar in the morning…..... Looking forward to seeing more.
 

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#5 ·
The Smaug Blog: Wood Boatbuilding 101, A Trip to the Sawmill

To those of you who have requested more photos and explanations of my boatbuilding days, thank you for sending me into my stacks of old photos and allowing me the enjoyment of remembering a youth spent doing what I loved and creating just really cool stuff. My days building wooden boats, from age 22 to 55, are all magical memories to me from the aromatic smell of yellow cedar coming out of the planer to the amazing geometrical shapes of bent frames to the sheer mass of some of the timbers we shaped with chainsaws, adzes, planes and chisels. (I may enjoy this reminiscence more than you, the reader.)

To start the show I will go through some of the photos of "Smaug" the 34' Pinky Ketch I built in 1978 in my shop in Coal Harbour B.C.. I say 1978 because she was laid out and the hull built that year. She was completed on the owners' timetable
over the next couple of years.

The first requirement is of course to gather together the required materials. This required a trip to the sawmill in Telegraph Cove. The mill is no longer there but in 1978 it was in full operation and was located a very short distance from a dry sorting yard where I was able to pick out a couple of good looking yellow cedar logs and have them floated over to the mill. Then one fine sunny morning I went to the mill and stood beside the sawyer and watched as each slab was taken off. Depending on the quality, I would choose the size for the next cut and the sawyer would run the piece. If the log was clear where we were cutting, I would ask for 1 3/4" for planking and beam stock. If it had a few knots we would cut thicker stock for timbers and so on. This place smelled like heaven but was noisy as hell. Here are the earliest photos of what would become "Smaug"

One log section is in the headrig as another awaits it's turn.

Wood Brick Brickwork Building Beam


This piece would have been clear enough to render planking.

Wood Water Road surface Asphalt Floor


This is about 1/2 of what I got from two logs. The larger timbers were for a troller that a local fisherman wanted me to build. He backed out and I still have one of the 10Ă—10s.

Sky Wood Building Lumber Hardwood


I'll try to get back to this tomorrow and go through the backbone timbers and framing.

Feedback is encouraged. Criticism is always welcome also, I'm new to blogging.

Can anyone suggest what tags to put on this?... Thanks.

'Till next time

Paul
Having spent many years on or near the water, you have done what I always wanted to do. I will be waiting to see the rest. Thank you

David
 

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#6 ·
The Smaug Blog: Wood Boatbuilding 101, A Trip to the Sawmill

To those of you who have requested more photos and explanations of my boatbuilding days, thank you for sending me into my stacks of old photos and allowing me the enjoyment of remembering a youth spent doing what I loved and creating just really cool stuff. My days building wooden boats, from age 22 to 55, are all magical memories to me from the aromatic smell of yellow cedar coming out of the planer to the amazing geometrical shapes of bent frames to the sheer mass of some of the timbers we shaped with chainsaws, adzes, planes and chisels. (I may enjoy this reminiscence more than you, the reader.)

To start the show I will go through some of the photos of "Smaug" the 34' Pinky Ketch I built in 1978 in my shop in Coal Harbour B.C.. I say 1978 because she was laid out and the hull built that year. She was completed on the owners' timetable
over the next couple of years.

The first requirement is of course to gather together the required materials. This required a trip to the sawmill in Telegraph Cove. The mill is no longer there but in 1978 it was in full operation and was located a very short distance from a dry sorting yard where I was able to pick out a couple of good looking yellow cedar logs and have them floated over to the mill. Then one fine sunny morning I went to the mill and stood beside the sawyer and watched as each slab was taken off. Depending on the quality, I would choose the size for the next cut and the sawyer would run the piece. If the log was clear where we were cutting, I would ask for 1 3/4" for planking and beam stock. If it had a few knots we would cut thicker stock for timbers and so on. This place smelled like heaven but was noisy as hell. Here are the earliest photos of what would become "Smaug"

One log section is in the headrig as another awaits it's turn.

Wood Brick Brickwork Building Beam


This piece would have been clear enough to render planking.

Wood Water Road surface Asphalt Floor


This is about 1/2 of what I got from two logs. The larger timbers were for a troller that a local fisherman wanted me to build. He backed out and I still have one of the 10Ă—10s.

Sky Wood Building Lumber Hardwood


I'll try to get back to this tomorrow and go through the backbone timbers and framing.

Feedback is encouraged. Criticism is always welcome also, I'm new to blogging.

Can anyone suggest what tags to put on this?... Thanks.

'Till next time

Paul
I am really looking forward to this! Thanks for taking the time to share your story.
 

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#7 ·
The Smaug Blog: Wood Boatbuilding 101, A Trip to the Sawmill

To those of you who have requested more photos and explanations of my boatbuilding days, thank you for sending me into my stacks of old photos and allowing me the enjoyment of remembering a youth spent doing what I loved and creating just really cool stuff. My days building wooden boats, from age 22 to 55, are all magical memories to me from the aromatic smell of yellow cedar coming out of the planer to the amazing geometrical shapes of bent frames to the sheer mass of some of the timbers we shaped with chainsaws, adzes, planes and chisels. (I may enjoy this reminiscence more than you, the reader.)

To start the show I will go through some of the photos of "Smaug" the 34' Pinky Ketch I built in 1978 in my shop in Coal Harbour B.C.. I say 1978 because she was laid out and the hull built that year. She was completed on the owners' timetable
over the next couple of years.

The first requirement is of course to gather together the required materials. This required a trip to the sawmill in Telegraph Cove. The mill is no longer there but in 1978 it was in full operation and was located a very short distance from a dry sorting yard where I was able to pick out a couple of good looking yellow cedar logs and have them floated over to the mill. Then one fine sunny morning I went to the mill and stood beside the sawyer and watched as each slab was taken off. Depending on the quality, I would choose the size for the next cut and the sawyer would run the piece. If the log was clear where we were cutting, I would ask for 1 3/4" for planking and beam stock. If it had a few knots we would cut thicker stock for timbers and so on. This place smelled like heaven but was noisy as hell. Here are the earliest photos of what would become "Smaug"

One log section is in the headrig as another awaits it's turn.

Wood Brick Brickwork Building Beam


This piece would have been clear enough to render planking.

Wood Water Road surface Asphalt Floor


This is about 1/2 of what I got from two logs. The larger timbers were for a troller that a local fisherman wanted me to build. He backed out and I still have one of the 10Ă—10s.

Sky Wood Building Lumber Hardwood


I'll try to get back to this tomorrow and go through the backbone timbers and framing.

Feedback is encouraged. Criticism is always welcome also, I'm new to blogging.

Can anyone suggest what tags to put on this?... Thanks.

'Till next time

Paul
Thanks for the encouraging comments. The age thing does catch up to us all doesn't it. I was 29 when these photos were taken and 56 when I built my last, Friendship. I sincerely hope you enjoy this process as much as I will.
 

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#8 ·
The Smaug Blog: Wood Boatbuilding 101, A Trip to the Sawmill

To those of you who have requested more photos and explanations of my boatbuilding days, thank you for sending me into my stacks of old photos and allowing me the enjoyment of remembering a youth spent doing what I loved and creating just really cool stuff. My days building wooden boats, from age 22 to 55, are all magical memories to me from the aromatic smell of yellow cedar coming out of the planer to the amazing geometrical shapes of bent frames to the sheer mass of some of the timbers we shaped with chainsaws, adzes, planes and chisels. (I may enjoy this reminiscence more than you, the reader.)

To start the show I will go through some of the photos of "Smaug" the 34' Pinky Ketch I built in 1978 in my shop in Coal Harbour B.C.. I say 1978 because she was laid out and the hull built that year. She was completed on the owners' timetable
over the next couple of years.

The first requirement is of course to gather together the required materials. This required a trip to the sawmill in Telegraph Cove. The mill is no longer there but in 1978 it was in full operation and was located a very short distance from a dry sorting yard where I was able to pick out a couple of good looking yellow cedar logs and have them floated over to the mill. Then one fine sunny morning I went to the mill and stood beside the sawyer and watched as each slab was taken off. Depending on the quality, I would choose the size for the next cut and the sawyer would run the piece. If the log was clear where we were cutting, I would ask for 1 3/4" for planking and beam stock. If it had a few knots we would cut thicker stock for timbers and so on. This place smelled like heaven but was noisy as hell. Here are the earliest photos of what would become "Smaug"

One log section is in the headrig as another awaits it's turn.

Wood Brick Brickwork Building Beam


This piece would have been clear enough to render planking.

Wood Water Road surface Asphalt Floor


This is about 1/2 of what I got from two logs. The larger timbers were for a troller that a local fisherman wanted me to build. He backed out and I still have one of the 10Ă—10s.

Sky Wood Building Lumber Hardwood


I'll try to get back to this tomorrow and go through the backbone timbers and framing.

Feedback is encouraged. Criticism is always welcome also, I'm new to blogging.

Can anyone suggest what tags to put on this?... Thanks.

'Till next time

Paul
The alternative to the age catching up is really not good.
 

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#9 ·
The Smaug Blog: Wood Boatbuilding 101, A Trip to the Sawmill

To those of you who have requested more photos and explanations of my boatbuilding days, thank you for sending me into my stacks of old photos and allowing me the enjoyment of remembering a youth spent doing what I loved and creating just really cool stuff. My days building wooden boats, from age 22 to 55, are all magical memories to me from the aromatic smell of yellow cedar coming out of the planer to the amazing geometrical shapes of bent frames to the sheer mass of some of the timbers we shaped with chainsaws, adzes, planes and chisels. (I may enjoy this reminiscence more than you, the reader.)

To start the show I will go through some of the photos of "Smaug" the 34' Pinky Ketch I built in 1978 in my shop in Coal Harbour B.C.. I say 1978 because she was laid out and the hull built that year. She was completed on the owners' timetable
over the next couple of years.

The first requirement is of course to gather together the required materials. This required a trip to the sawmill in Telegraph Cove. The mill is no longer there but in 1978 it was in full operation and was located a very short distance from a dry sorting yard where I was able to pick out a couple of good looking yellow cedar logs and have them floated over to the mill. Then one fine sunny morning I went to the mill and stood beside the sawyer and watched as each slab was taken off. Depending on the quality, I would choose the size for the next cut and the sawyer would run the piece. If the log was clear where we were cutting, I would ask for 1 3/4" for planking and beam stock. If it had a few knots we would cut thicker stock for timbers and so on. This place smelled like heaven but was noisy as hell. Here are the earliest photos of what would become "Smaug"

One log section is in the headrig as another awaits it's turn.

Wood Brick Brickwork Building Beam


This piece would have been clear enough to render planking.

Wood Water Road surface Asphalt Floor


This is about 1/2 of what I got from two logs. The larger timbers were for a troller that a local fisherman wanted me to build. He backed out and I still have one of the 10Ă—10s.

Sky Wood Building Lumber Hardwood


I'll try to get back to this tomorrow and go through the backbone timbers and framing.

Feedback is encouraged. Criticism is always welcome also, I'm new to blogging.

Can anyone suggest what tags to put on this?... Thanks.

'Till next time

Paul
Hey Paul,
Bring it on Sir.
 

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#10 ·
The Smaug Blog: Wood Boatbuilding 101, A Trip to the Sawmill

To those of you who have requested more photos and explanations of my boatbuilding days, thank you for sending me into my stacks of old photos and allowing me the enjoyment of remembering a youth spent doing what I loved and creating just really cool stuff. My days building wooden boats, from age 22 to 55, are all magical memories to me from the aromatic smell of yellow cedar coming out of the planer to the amazing geometrical shapes of bent frames to the sheer mass of some of the timbers we shaped with chainsaws, adzes, planes and chisels. (I may enjoy this reminiscence more than you, the reader.)

To start the show I will go through some of the photos of "Smaug" the 34' Pinky Ketch I built in 1978 in my shop in Coal Harbour B.C.. I say 1978 because she was laid out and the hull built that year. She was completed on the owners' timetable
over the next couple of years.

The first requirement is of course to gather together the required materials. This required a trip to the sawmill in Telegraph Cove. The mill is no longer there but in 1978 it was in full operation and was located a very short distance from a dry sorting yard where I was able to pick out a couple of good looking yellow cedar logs and have them floated over to the mill. Then one fine sunny morning I went to the mill and stood beside the sawyer and watched as each slab was taken off. Depending on the quality, I would choose the size for the next cut and the sawyer would run the piece. If the log was clear where we were cutting, I would ask for 1 3/4" for planking and beam stock. If it had a few knots we would cut thicker stock for timbers and so on. This place smelled like heaven but was noisy as hell. Here are the earliest photos of what would become "Smaug"

One log section is in the headrig as another awaits it's turn.

Wood Brick Brickwork Building Beam


This piece would have been clear enough to render planking.

Wood Water Road surface Asphalt Floor


This is about 1/2 of what I got from two logs. The larger timbers were for a troller that a local fisherman wanted me to build. He backed out and I still have one of the 10Ă—10s.

Sky Wood Building Lumber Hardwood


I'll try to get back to this tomorrow and go through the backbone timbers and framing.

Feedback is encouraged. Criticism is always welcome also, I'm new to blogging.

Can anyone suggest what tags to put on this?... Thanks.

'Till next time

Paul
Well..I turned 40…had never gone sailing…and decided to build my first--mid-life crisis??? I dont know…

Since I started I have completed a sailing course and began cutting wood this past summer, but as a teacher have slown down with the coming of school…as a beginner I am trying to soak it all up…just finished a book called: "In the year of the boat" about a writer who builds a little boat using glue and stitch method…

In the mean time I am going to enjoy every blog…it sounds like you will enjoy going down memory lane too!!! Blogging will come naturally…

Tags…really help!!! When I started here I used to really encorage everyone to use them so that when someone is researching ideas all the projects would pop up…

Tags: sailing; sail boat; sailboat; boat; boat building

I will think of some more…

THANKS FOR DOING THIS…will drool over each one…
 

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#11 ·
The Smaug Blog: Wood Boatbuilding 101, A Trip to the Sawmill

To those of you who have requested more photos and explanations of my boatbuilding days, thank you for sending me into my stacks of old photos and allowing me the enjoyment of remembering a youth spent doing what I loved and creating just really cool stuff. My days building wooden boats, from age 22 to 55, are all magical memories to me from the aromatic smell of yellow cedar coming out of the planer to the amazing geometrical shapes of bent frames to the sheer mass of some of the timbers we shaped with chainsaws, adzes, planes and chisels. (I may enjoy this reminiscence more than you, the reader.)

To start the show I will go through some of the photos of "Smaug" the 34' Pinky Ketch I built in 1978 in my shop in Coal Harbour B.C.. I say 1978 because she was laid out and the hull built that year. She was completed on the owners' timetable
over the next couple of years.

The first requirement is of course to gather together the required materials. This required a trip to the sawmill in Telegraph Cove. The mill is no longer there but in 1978 it was in full operation and was located a very short distance from a dry sorting yard where I was able to pick out a couple of good looking yellow cedar logs and have them floated over to the mill. Then one fine sunny morning I went to the mill and stood beside the sawyer and watched as each slab was taken off. Depending on the quality, I would choose the size for the next cut and the sawyer would run the piece. If the log was clear where we were cutting, I would ask for 1 3/4" for planking and beam stock. If it had a few knots we would cut thicker stock for timbers and so on. This place smelled like heaven but was noisy as hell. Here are the earliest photos of what would become "Smaug"

One log section is in the headrig as another awaits it's turn.

Wood Brick Brickwork Building Beam


This piece would have been clear enough to render planking.

Wood Water Road surface Asphalt Floor


This is about 1/2 of what I got from two logs. The larger timbers were for a troller that a local fisherman wanted me to build. He backed out and I still have one of the 10Ă—10s.

Sky Wood Building Lumber Hardwood


I'll try to get back to this tomorrow and go through the backbone timbers and framing.

Feedback is encouraged. Criticism is always welcome also, I'm new to blogging.

Can anyone suggest what tags to put on this?... Thanks.

'Till next time

Paul
Thanks Napaman I've done A LOT of stitch and glue. I might make that the next in the series if I don't bore everyone to sleep with this one. ...and I will add those tags thanks
 

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#12 ·
The Smaug Blog: Wood Boatbuilding 101, A Trip to the Sawmill

To those of you who have requested more photos and explanations of my boatbuilding days, thank you for sending me into my stacks of old photos and allowing me the enjoyment of remembering a youth spent doing what I loved and creating just really cool stuff. My days building wooden boats, from age 22 to 55, are all magical memories to me from the aromatic smell of yellow cedar coming out of the planer to the amazing geometrical shapes of bent frames to the sheer mass of some of the timbers we shaped with chainsaws, adzes, planes and chisels. (I may enjoy this reminiscence more than you, the reader.)

To start the show I will go through some of the photos of "Smaug" the 34' Pinky Ketch I built in 1978 in my shop in Coal Harbour B.C.. I say 1978 because she was laid out and the hull built that year. She was completed on the owners' timetable
over the next couple of years.

The first requirement is of course to gather together the required materials. This required a trip to the sawmill in Telegraph Cove. The mill is no longer there but in 1978 it was in full operation and was located a very short distance from a dry sorting yard where I was able to pick out a couple of good looking yellow cedar logs and have them floated over to the mill. Then one fine sunny morning I went to the mill and stood beside the sawyer and watched as each slab was taken off. Depending on the quality, I would choose the size for the next cut and the sawyer would run the piece. If the log was clear where we were cutting, I would ask for 1 3/4" for planking and beam stock. If it had a few knots we would cut thicker stock for timbers and so on. This place smelled like heaven but was noisy as hell. Here are the earliest photos of what would become "Smaug"

One log section is in the headrig as another awaits it's turn.

Wood Brick Brickwork Building Beam


This piece would have been clear enough to render planking.

Wood Water Road surface Asphalt Floor


This is about 1/2 of what I got from two logs. The larger timbers were for a troller that a local fisherman wanted me to build. He backed out and I still have one of the 10Ă—10s.

Sky Wood Building Lumber Hardwood


I'll try to get back to this tomorrow and go through the backbone timbers and framing.

Feedback is encouraged. Criticism is always welcome also, I'm new to blogging.

Can anyone suggest what tags to put on this?... Thanks.

'Till next time

Paul
shipwright -I really don't think you are boring anyone. As for me, I am fascinated. I am eagerly waiting for the next in the series.
 

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#13 ·
The Smaug Blog: Wood Boatbuilding 101, A Trip to the Sawmill

To those of you who have requested more photos and explanations of my boatbuilding days, thank you for sending me into my stacks of old photos and allowing me the enjoyment of remembering a youth spent doing what I loved and creating just really cool stuff. My days building wooden boats, from age 22 to 55, are all magical memories to me from the aromatic smell of yellow cedar coming out of the planer to the amazing geometrical shapes of bent frames to the sheer mass of some of the timbers we shaped with chainsaws, adzes, planes and chisels. (I may enjoy this reminiscence more than you, the reader.)

To start the show I will go through some of the photos of "Smaug" the 34' Pinky Ketch I built in 1978 in my shop in Coal Harbour B.C.. I say 1978 because she was laid out and the hull built that year. She was completed on the owners' timetable
over the next couple of years.

The first requirement is of course to gather together the required materials. This required a trip to the sawmill in Telegraph Cove. The mill is no longer there but in 1978 it was in full operation and was located a very short distance from a dry sorting yard where I was able to pick out a couple of good looking yellow cedar logs and have them floated over to the mill. Then one fine sunny morning I went to the mill and stood beside the sawyer and watched as each slab was taken off. Depending on the quality, I would choose the size for the next cut and the sawyer would run the piece. If the log was clear where we were cutting, I would ask for 1 3/4" for planking and beam stock. If it had a few knots we would cut thicker stock for timbers and so on. This place smelled like heaven but was noisy as hell. Here are the earliest photos of what would become "Smaug"

One log section is in the headrig as another awaits it's turn.

Wood Brick Brickwork Building Beam


This piece would have been clear enough to render planking.

Wood Water Road surface Asphalt Floor


This is about 1/2 of what I got from two logs. The larger timbers were for a troller that a local fisherman wanted me to build. He backed out and I still have one of the 10Ă—10s.

Sky Wood Building Lumber Hardwood


I'll try to get back to this tomorrow and go through the backbone timbers and framing.

Feedback is encouraged. Criticism is always welcome also, I'm new to blogging.

Can anyone suggest what tags to put on this?... Thanks.

'Till next time

Paul
I just started looking at this, even though episode 7 is already up. Should be interesting, and I'm doing the Ralph Cramden "hummana hummana hummana" over those enormous timbers. I'm a high-altitude desert rat, so this is completely foreign to me (my brother still teases me about the seasickness incident from our trip to Corpus Christi in 2004).
 

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#14 ·
The Smaug Blog: Wood Boatbuilding 101, A Trip to the Sawmill

To those of you who have requested more photos and explanations of my boatbuilding days, thank you for sending me into my stacks of old photos and allowing me the enjoyment of remembering a youth spent doing what I loved and creating just really cool stuff. My days building wooden boats, from age 22 to 55, are all magical memories to me from the aromatic smell of yellow cedar coming out of the planer to the amazing geometrical shapes of bent frames to the sheer mass of some of the timbers we shaped with chainsaws, adzes, planes and chisels. (I may enjoy this reminiscence more than you, the reader.)

To start the show I will go through some of the photos of "Smaug" the 34' Pinky Ketch I built in 1978 in my shop in Coal Harbour B.C.. I say 1978 because she was laid out and the hull built that year. She was completed on the owners' timetable
over the next couple of years.

The first requirement is of course to gather together the required materials. This required a trip to the sawmill in Telegraph Cove. The mill is no longer there but in 1978 it was in full operation and was located a very short distance from a dry sorting yard where I was able to pick out a couple of good looking yellow cedar logs and have them floated over to the mill. Then one fine sunny morning I went to the mill and stood beside the sawyer and watched as each slab was taken off. Depending on the quality, I would choose the size for the next cut and the sawyer would run the piece. If the log was clear where we were cutting, I would ask for 1 3/4" for planking and beam stock. If it had a few knots we would cut thicker stock for timbers and so on. This place smelled like heaven but was noisy as hell. Here are the earliest photos of what would become "Smaug"

One log section is in the headrig as another awaits it's turn.

Wood Brick Brickwork Building Beam


This piece would have been clear enough to render planking.

Wood Water Road surface Asphalt Floor


This is about 1/2 of what I got from two logs. The larger timbers were for a troller that a local fisherman wanted me to build. He backed out and I still have one of the 10Ă—10s.

Sky Wood Building Lumber Hardwood


I'll try to get back to this tomorrow and go through the backbone timbers and framing.

Feedback is encouraged. Criticism is always welcome also, I'm new to blogging.

Can anyone suggest what tags to put on this?... Thanks.

'Till next time

Paul
Great to see someone sharing what we all hope isn't a lost art. I am a former Bangor, WA submariner who likely saw some of your work sailing through the Straights of Juan de Fuca, and I always enjoyed watching the classic wooden boats as we transited the lanes on our way out to see, or better yet, back to port.

Thanks for putting the time and care into this series - great stuff!
 

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#15 ·
The Smaug Blog: Wood Boatbuilding 101, A Trip to the Sawmill

To those of you who have requested more photos and explanations of my boatbuilding days, thank you for sending me into my stacks of old photos and allowing me the enjoyment of remembering a youth spent doing what I loved and creating just really cool stuff. My days building wooden boats, from age 22 to 55, are all magical memories to me from the aromatic smell of yellow cedar coming out of the planer to the amazing geometrical shapes of bent frames to the sheer mass of some of the timbers we shaped with chainsaws, adzes, planes and chisels. (I may enjoy this reminiscence more than you, the reader.)

To start the show I will go through some of the photos of "Smaug" the 34' Pinky Ketch I built in 1978 in my shop in Coal Harbour B.C.. I say 1978 because she was laid out and the hull built that year. She was completed on the owners' timetable
over the next couple of years.

The first requirement is of course to gather together the required materials. This required a trip to the sawmill in Telegraph Cove. The mill is no longer there but in 1978 it was in full operation and was located a very short distance from a dry sorting yard where I was able to pick out a couple of good looking yellow cedar logs and have them floated over to the mill. Then one fine sunny morning I went to the mill and stood beside the sawyer and watched as each slab was taken off. Depending on the quality, I would choose the size for the next cut and the sawyer would run the piece. If the log was clear where we were cutting, I would ask for 1 3/4" for planking and beam stock. If it had a few knots we would cut thicker stock for timbers and so on. This place smelled like heaven but was noisy as hell. Here are the earliest photos of what would become "Smaug"

One log section is in the headrig as another awaits it's turn.

Wood Brick Brickwork Building Beam


This piece would have been clear enough to render planking.

Wood Water Road surface Asphalt Floor


This is about 1/2 of what I got from two logs. The larger timbers were for a troller that a local fisherman wanted me to build. He backed out and I still have one of the 10Ă—10s.

Sky Wood Building Lumber Hardwood


I'll try to get back to this tomorrow and go through the backbone timbers and framing.

Feedback is encouraged. Criticism is always welcome also, I'm new to blogging.

Can anyone suggest what tags to put on this?... Thanks.

'Till next time

Paul
Hi Paul. I guess you posted this series while I was away from LJ for awhile and I missed it then. Very glad that I found it via a link from your comments to a current boat building blog. I buy Wooden Boat every month just to enjoy the build, sailing stories, history and culture of wooden vessels.

I will be reading through this blog series a little each day just to stretch out the enjoyment factor. Thanks for taking the time and effort to post all of this. It is always very interesting to see true craftsmen go about their business creating beautiful things, including wooden boats.

I found the submariner's comment above about the Juan de Fuca Straights amusing. I was at the helm of our Navy freighter through there once on our way to Seattle. we had to use right standard rudder just to keep the ship on a straight course!
 

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#16 ·
The Smaug Blog: Wood Boatbuilding 101, A Trip to the Sawmill

To those of you who have requested more photos and explanations of my boatbuilding days, thank you for sending me into my stacks of old photos and allowing me the enjoyment of remembering a youth spent doing what I loved and creating just really cool stuff. My days building wooden boats, from age 22 to 55, are all magical memories to me from the aromatic smell of yellow cedar coming out of the planer to the amazing geometrical shapes of bent frames to the sheer mass of some of the timbers we shaped with chainsaws, adzes, planes and chisels. (I may enjoy this reminiscence more than you, the reader.)

To start the show I will go through some of the photos of "Smaug" the 34' Pinky Ketch I built in 1978 in my shop in Coal Harbour B.C.. I say 1978 because she was laid out and the hull built that year. She was completed on the owners' timetable
over the next couple of years.

The first requirement is of course to gather together the required materials. This required a trip to the sawmill in Telegraph Cove. The mill is no longer there but in 1978 it was in full operation and was located a very short distance from a dry sorting yard where I was able to pick out a couple of good looking yellow cedar logs and have them floated over to the mill. Then one fine sunny morning I went to the mill and stood beside the sawyer and watched as each slab was taken off. Depending on the quality, I would choose the size for the next cut and the sawyer would run the piece. If the log was clear where we were cutting, I would ask for 1 3/4" for planking and beam stock. If it had a few knots we would cut thicker stock for timbers and so on. This place smelled like heaven but was noisy as hell. Here are the earliest photos of what would become "Smaug"

One log section is in the headrig as another awaits it's turn.

Wood Brick Brickwork Building Beam


This piece would have been clear enough to render planking.

Wood Water Road surface Asphalt Floor


This is about 1/2 of what I got from two logs. The larger timbers were for a troller that a local fisherman wanted me to build. He backed out and I still have one of the 10Ă—10s.

Sky Wood Building Lumber Hardwood


I'll try to get back to this tomorrow and go through the backbone timbers and framing.

Feedback is encouraged. Criticism is always welcome also, I'm new to blogging.

Can anyone suggest what tags to put on this?... Thanks.

'Till next time

Paul
Glad you found them Mike.
I hope you enjoy reading them as much as I enjoyed writing them.
 

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#17 ·
The Smaug Blog: Wood Boatbuilding 101, Backbone and Framing

Besides the yellow cedar which will be used for planking, deck framing and various timbers and knees, an assortment of other woods and materials have been gathered together from their various sources and the actual building can now begin. The traditional "laying of the keel" was not however, the first step. In this case the main body of the keel will be the lead ballast casting which we will come to much later so for now the backbone setup will consist of the erection of the stem, sternpost, keelson and the stubby bits of the keel that will fit in front of and behind the lead keel.

In the first photo the stem has been assembled and mounted on the forward end of the keelson. The stem was cut from 6" thick gumwood. These pieces are too big and heavy to cut on the bandsaw so they are roughed out with a chainsaw and fitted with chisels, power planes and final fitted by repeatedly running a handsaw through the joint until it fits perfectly. The fit is checked by chalking one side and fitting them together and then checking for chalk transfer. At the waterline this assembly is about 18" through….. very strong. The pieces are bolted together with 1/2" galvanized steel rod bolts.

Wood Hardwood Composite material Beam Lumber


The next photo shows the sternpost assembly with the top part of the propeller aperture ellipse. The sternpost itself is douglas fir and the deadwood is yellow cedar. There are some interesting locking joints here. This photo also shows the bit of actual keel that will fill in behind the lead and the after end of the keelson with the pockets chopped in anticipation of the ribs. These parts are douglas fir.

Wood Building House Beam Hardwood


The next shows most of the building stations erected on the keelson. The gap for the lead keel is easily seen here. This is the first real chance to see her in three dimensions and excitement is running high. There aren't enough hours in the day. If you look closely you may notice that the bottom ends of the station frames have a big jog in them making the bottom foot or so much bigger than the rest of the frame. This will be easier to explain later, but it's interesting.

Building Window Wood House Composite material


Now the stations are all up and the permanent stringers are being fitted. Normally the stringers go in after the ribbing is done but for the same reason as the jogs mentioned above we had to do it this way. I will explain when we get there. The stringers are clear 2" x 3 1/2" douglas fir.

Window Building Wood Composite material Hardwood


This was from the start and still is one of the nicest angles from which to view this hull. Her sweet lines are the work of yacht designer and personal friend Jay R Benford. During this setup period constant checks are being made to assure that everything is plumb, level and square. A small mistake here can cause a lot of grief later. As I remember the sternpost was 6" x 6" and at this point has been rough shaped as has the stem.

Wood Lumber Beam Hardwood Plank


The permanent stringers alone don't give enough support or shape to bend the ribs over so "ribbands" are added to fill in the spaces and the sheer clamp and beam shelf (deck edge members) are fitted to strengthen the frame for the stresses of bending 1 1/2" oak. Again you will notice that the ribbands at the bottom fit over the stem while those above fit against the side of the stem.

Building Wood Beam Composite material Hardwood


In the last picture the deck framing has been added because with the ribbing method we are going to use, the stronger we can make the frame the better. Bending all those ribs puts a tremendous strain on the whole structure. The deck framing is all yellow cedar and for the most part it is sided 1 1/2" with strong beams larger.

Boat Wood Water Window Automotive wheel system


Tomorrow we'll fire up the steam box and bend some ribs. See you there!

As usual all feedback and questions are welcome.

Paul
 

Attachments

#18 ·
The Smaug Blog: Wood Boatbuilding 101, Backbone and Framing

Besides the yellow cedar which will be used for planking, deck framing and various timbers and knees, an assortment of other woods and materials have been gathered together from their various sources and the actual building can now begin. The traditional "laying of the keel" was not however, the first step. In this case the main body of the keel will be the lead ballast casting which we will come to much later so for now the backbone setup will consist of the erection of the stem, sternpost, keelson and the stubby bits of the keel that will fit in front of and behind the lead keel.

In the first photo the stem has been assembled and mounted on the forward end of the keelson. The stem was cut from 6" thick gumwood. These pieces are too big and heavy to cut on the bandsaw so they are roughed out with a chainsaw and fitted with chisels, power planes and final fitted by repeatedly running a handsaw through the joint until it fits perfectly. The fit is checked by chalking one side and fitting them together and then checking for chalk transfer. At the waterline this assembly is about 18" through….. very strong. The pieces are bolted together with 1/2" galvanized steel rod bolts.

Wood Hardwood Composite material Beam Lumber


The next photo shows the sternpost assembly with the top part of the propeller aperture ellipse. The sternpost itself is douglas fir and the deadwood is yellow cedar. There are some interesting locking joints here. This photo also shows the bit of actual keel that will fill in behind the lead and the after end of the keelson with the pockets chopped in anticipation of the ribs. These parts are douglas fir.

Wood Building House Beam Hardwood


The next shows most of the building stations erected on the keelson. The gap for the lead keel is easily seen here. This is the first real chance to see her in three dimensions and excitement is running high. There aren't enough hours in the day. If you look closely you may notice that the bottom ends of the station frames have a big jog in them making the bottom foot or so much bigger than the rest of the frame. This will be easier to explain later, but it's interesting.

Building Window Wood House Composite material


Now the stations are all up and the permanent stringers are being fitted. Normally the stringers go in after the ribbing is done but for the same reason as the jogs mentioned above we had to do it this way. I will explain when we get there. The stringers are clear 2" x 3 1/2" douglas fir.

Window Building Wood Composite material Hardwood


This was from the start and still is one of the nicest angles from which to view this hull. Her sweet lines are the work of yacht designer and personal friend Jay R Benford. During this setup period constant checks are being made to assure that everything is plumb, level and square. A small mistake here can cause a lot of grief later. As I remember the sternpost was 6" x 6" and at this point has been rough shaped as has the stem.

Wood Lumber Beam Hardwood Plank


The permanent stringers alone don't give enough support or shape to bend the ribs over so "ribbands" are added to fill in the spaces and the sheer clamp and beam shelf (deck edge members) are fitted to strengthen the frame for the stresses of bending 1 1/2" oak. Again you will notice that the ribbands at the bottom fit over the stem while those above fit against the side of the stem.

Building Wood Beam Composite material Hardwood


In the last picture the deck framing has been added because with the ribbing method we are going to use, the stronger we can make the frame the better. Bending all those ribs puts a tremendous strain on the whole structure. The deck framing is all yellow cedar and for the most part it is sided 1 1/2" with strong beams larger.

Boat Wood Water Window Automotive wheel system


Tomorrow we'll fire up the steam box and bend some ribs. See you there!

As usual all feedback and questions are welcome.

Paul
Wow! Incredible!! There is simply nothing more beautiful that wood boat. I really appreciate seeing this series of photos.
 

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#28 ·
The Smaug Blog: Wood Boatbuilding 101, Bending the Ribs

OK, the time has come to explain the reasons for the jogged frames and the inside and outside ribbands. (I hope I'm not just confusing you) The usual way to set up for ribbing is to make the station frames to fit the inside of the planking. Then the ribbands go outside the frames and the ribs bend entirely inside the boat against the inside of the ribbands, That puts the outer faces of the ribs where they should be, at the inside of the planking. Then stringers are bent inside the ribs. In this method the ribbands remain in place to brace the ribs as the planking begins. They are only removed as the approaching planking demands. The plans for this hull however required that a 5" x 1/8" bronze strap be installed in an "M" pattern over the ribs and under the planking to stiffen the ship against the strains of the square rigging she was to get. In order to install this strip we needed to be able to access the outside of the ribs over the whole hull before any planking was on.

The first photo jumps ahead to show this bronze strap and you can see that it could not be installed with ribbands outside the ribs.

Building Wood Beam Composite material Engineering


In the second photo, we are bending one of the 1 1/2" x 2 1/4" oak ribs. Hot from the steam box the rib is pre-bent at the bottom and then inserted between the ribbands at the jog so that when the rib sockets into it's pocket in the keelson, it can be bent outward against the inside of the lower ribbands and then back inward over the outsides of the upper ribbbands and stringers. It should be becoming clearer now. Sorry for the intrigue but it was a complex process and required a lot of planning at the time.

Building Tradesman Wood Window Composite material


In photo #3 I've moved up to the deck to finish the bend while my helper (on deck with me) and the owner stand by with clamps to secure the piece. Once clamped carriage bolts are used to fasten the rib to each stringer and the sheer clamp. Two screws go in at the pocket.

Wood Art Window Blue-collar worker Painting


In this one the bending is finished and the lower ribbands have been removed to allow the bronze to be inset into the ribs. It is screwed into each rib and after planking, back screwed into the planks. You can see the heads of the carriage bolts holding the ribs to the stringers. I just love the patterns made by these pieces. They just look good from any angle.

Wood Beam Composite material Metal Building material


Here you can see the bronze strap let into the ribs and the stem.

Wood Tool Composite material Hardwood Metal


In this photo the hull is completely framed, the ribs trimmed off at the sheer and she's almost ready for her skin.

Wood Window Fixture Composite material Natural material


This photo shows the "floors" that are bolted to each rib pair and drifted into the keelson to form a rigid and very strong unit. The beginnings of the engine beds are in the background.

Stairs Wood Grille Symmetry Tints and shades


Before planking can begin the rabbets must be chopped in the stem, sternpost and deadwood with a mallet and chisel and the deadwood must be faired. There's no tool made that does this job like an adze.

Standing Musician Tints and shades Hat Wood


Thanks for watching and as always comments , critiques, and questions are encouraged.

Tomorrow we plank!

Paul
 

Attachments

#29 ·
The Smaug Blog: Wood Boatbuilding 101, Bending the Ribs

OK, the time has come to explain the reasons for the jogged frames and the inside and outside ribbands. (I hope I'm not just confusing you) The usual way to set up for ribbing is to make the station frames to fit the inside of the planking. Then the ribbands go outside the frames and the ribs bend entirely inside the boat against the inside of the ribbands, That puts the outer faces of the ribs where they should be, at the inside of the planking. Then stringers are bent inside the ribs. In this method the ribbands remain in place to brace the ribs as the planking begins. They are only removed as the approaching planking demands. The plans for this hull however required that a 5" x 1/8" bronze strap be installed in an "M" pattern over the ribs and under the planking to stiffen the ship against the strains of the square rigging she was to get. In order to install this strip we needed to be able to access the outside of the ribs over the whole hull before any planking was on.

The first photo jumps ahead to show this bronze strap and you can see that it could not be installed with ribbands outside the ribs.

Building Wood Beam Composite material Engineering


In the second photo, we are bending one of the 1 1/2" x 2 1/4" oak ribs. Hot from the steam box the rib is pre-bent at the bottom and then inserted between the ribbands at the jog so that when the rib sockets into it's pocket in the keelson, it can be bent outward against the inside of the lower ribbands and then back inward over the outsides of the upper ribbbands and stringers. It should be becoming clearer now. Sorry for the intrigue but it was a complex process and required a lot of planning at the time.

Building Tradesman Wood Window Composite material


In photo #3 I've moved up to the deck to finish the bend while my helper (on deck with me) and the owner stand by with clamps to secure the piece. Once clamped carriage bolts are used to fasten the rib to each stringer and the sheer clamp. Two screws go in at the pocket.

Wood Art Window Blue-collar worker Painting


In this one the bending is finished and the lower ribbands have been removed to allow the bronze to be inset into the ribs. It is screwed into each rib and after planking, back screwed into the planks. You can see the heads of the carriage bolts holding the ribs to the stringers. I just love the patterns made by these pieces. They just look good from any angle.

Wood Beam Composite material Metal Building material


Here you can see the bronze strap let into the ribs and the stem.

Wood Tool Composite material Hardwood Metal


In this photo the hull is completely framed, the ribs trimmed off at the sheer and she's almost ready for her skin.

Wood Window Fixture Composite material Natural material


This photo shows the "floors" that are bolted to each rib pair and drifted into the keelson to form a rigid and very strong unit. The beginnings of the engine beds are in the background.

Stairs Wood Grille Symmetry Tints and shades


Before planking can begin the rabbets must be chopped in the stem, sternpost and deadwood with a mallet and chisel and the deadwood must be faired. There's no tool made that does this job like an adze.

Standing Musician Tints and shades Hat Wood


Thanks for watching and as always comments , critiques, and questions are encouraged.

Tomorrow we plank!

Paul
Very interesting. Have enjoyed seeing how this is done. Thanks for sharing.

God Bless
tom
 

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#40 ·
The Smaug Blog: Wood Boatbuilding 101, Planking

Probably the most anticipated part of building a wooden boat is the planking. The old boat builder I learned from used to call it "boardin' 'er up". It represents the transformation from a building project to something an owner can start thinking of as "My Boat". There are many tricks and nuances to planking that I will not try to explain here; suffice to say that it's not as easy as it looks - until you've done it a few times anyway. If done well the boat looks "right"and it won't really be noticed, but if done poorly it really shows and will most definitely be noticed. On this job it was made a bit more critical because the owner wanted to finish bright, no paint. The planking here is 1 1/2" yellow cedar, fastened with silicon bronze screws.

The first photo shows a batten that has been tacked to the ribs about mid girth. This batten represents the most important line in the planking scheme. It is the dividing line between the topside planking and the bottom planking and getting it in the right place before you start to cut any boards is crucial. All planks above this line will be the same width at any station on the hull. This not only gives a handsome appearance but makes it much easier to mark out, cut and fit the planks. Below this line there is a great deal more area to be covered aft than forward so it is not possible to have the repeatable pattern used in the topsides. It's an acquired "eye" that lets you fiddle this batten into the "just right" position.

Wood Composite material Building Engineering Art


Once the dividing line is defined, a pattern is drawn up for the topside planking and the bottom is planned out "a row at a time". Here the topside planking has been started and the keelson is being prepared for the garboard, the first plank above the keel.

Boat Window Naval architecture Wood Composite material


In this one three rows of planks have been fastened on the bottom and the fourth is clamped in position. This is a good shot of the bronze straps from the inside and the 3" sided yellow cedar floor timbers.

Wood Fence Tree Split-rail fence Rectangle


I put this photo in to show the extent of the stationary tools I had at the time, a 36" Crescent band saw, a 6"x 20" Park planer and a General 10" cabinet saw (souped up with a 5 horse three phase motor). I think there was a small drill press around somewhere too.

Wood Composite material Engineering Boat Plywood


Here the planking is progressing nicely, probably about four or five days in. If you look carefully at the picture above and the two below, you can see how much space had to be "caught up" aft on the bottom. This is often done as was here by using "stealers", where one forward plank buts against two aft allowing one strake of planking to go from say 6" at the stem to maybe 14" at the stern post.

Boat Window Wood Naval architecture Watercraft


The planking is finished here. Two things to note. The topside planking is usually narrower than bottom planking because 1) It is more likely to dry out and the resulting shrinkage will be less trouble spread out over more seams, 2) It looks better and 3) The bottom has the large area differential forward to aft discussed above. Second interesting thing here is that one plank is quite a bit darker than the others. It got left in the steam box too long and became discolored on the surface. It wasn't in long enough to damage it and the color sanded off easily. It is worth saying that all planks are steamed, even if they are easy bends. As steaming drys the wood out, this insures that all planks are dried equally.
Boat Wood Vehicle Composite material Building


As I said last time, I just love the stern view of this boat, It makes me think of a big mandolin. This is freshly planked and rough. It will now be faired and sanded and it will look much sweeter.

Wood Beam Hardwood Lumber Plank


I apologize for not having more detail photos or more shots of work being done but back then I didn't know I'd be doing this now. I have to work with the photos I have.

Thanks for checking in. As always questions and critiques are encouraged.

Next up is decking and lead keel.

'til next time
Paul
 

Attachments

#41 ·
The Smaug Blog: Wood Boatbuilding 101, Planking

Probably the most anticipated part of building a wooden boat is the planking. The old boat builder I learned from used to call it "boardin' 'er up". It represents the transformation from a building project to something an owner can start thinking of as "My Boat". There are many tricks and nuances to planking that I will not try to explain here; suffice to say that it's not as easy as it looks - until you've done it a few times anyway. If done well the boat looks "right"and it won't really be noticed, but if done poorly it really shows and will most definitely be noticed. On this job it was made a bit more critical because the owner wanted to finish bright, no paint. The planking here is 1 1/2" yellow cedar, fastened with silicon bronze screws.

The first photo shows a batten that has been tacked to the ribs about mid girth. This batten represents the most important line in the planking scheme. It is the dividing line between the topside planking and the bottom planking and getting it in the right place before you start to cut any boards is crucial. All planks above this line will be the same width at any station on the hull. This not only gives a handsome appearance but makes it much easier to mark out, cut and fit the planks. Below this line there is a great deal more area to be covered aft than forward so it is not possible to have the repeatable pattern used in the topsides. It's an acquired "eye" that lets you fiddle this batten into the "just right" position.

Wood Composite material Building Engineering Art


Once the dividing line is defined, a pattern is drawn up for the topside planking and the bottom is planned out "a row at a time". Here the topside planking has been started and the keelson is being prepared for the garboard, the first plank above the keel.

Boat Window Naval architecture Wood Composite material


In this one three rows of planks have been fastened on the bottom and the fourth is clamped in position. This is a good shot of the bronze straps from the inside and the 3" sided yellow cedar floor timbers.

Wood Fence Tree Split-rail fence Rectangle


I put this photo in to show the extent of the stationary tools I had at the time, a 36" Crescent band saw, a 6"x 20" Park planer and a General 10" cabinet saw (souped up with a 5 horse three phase motor). I think there was a small drill press around somewhere too.

Wood Composite material Engineering Boat Plywood


Here the planking is progressing nicely, probably about four or five days in. If you look carefully at the picture above and the two below, you can see how much space had to be "caught up" aft on the bottom. This is often done as was here by using "stealers", where one forward plank buts against two aft allowing one strake of planking to go from say 6" at the stem to maybe 14" at the stern post.

Boat Window Wood Naval architecture Watercraft


The planking is finished here. Two things to note. The topside planking is usually narrower than bottom planking because 1) It is more likely to dry out and the resulting shrinkage will be less trouble spread out over more seams, 2) It looks better and 3) The bottom has the large area differential forward to aft discussed above. Second interesting thing here is that one plank is quite a bit darker than the others. It got left in the steam box too long and became discolored on the surface. It wasn't in long enough to damage it and the color sanded off easily. It is worth saying that all planks are steamed, even if they are easy bends. As steaming drys the wood out, this insures that all planks are dried equally.
Boat Wood Vehicle Composite material Building


As I said last time, I just love the stern view of this boat, It makes me think of a big mandolin. This is freshly planked and rough. It will now be faired and sanded and it will look much sweeter.

Wood Beam Hardwood Lumber Plank


I apologize for not having more detail photos or more shots of work being done but back then I didn't know I'd be doing this now. I have to work with the photos I have.

Thanks for checking in. As always questions and critiques are encouraged.

Next up is decking and lead keel.

'til next time
Paul
This blog just gets better and better…

You have nothing to worry about in terms of the photos--I am amazed they look so good and you took so many all those years ago…

I guess its like when you have your first child--tons of picts…maybe your future boats will have fewer photos, lol…

I am enjoying the technical details and explanations…

Matt
 

Attachments

#58 ·
The Smaug Blog: Wood Boatbuilding 101, Decking and Casting the Keel

One of the more common complaints against wooden boats is leaking decks. With a traditional caulked deck this can certainly be a challenge. Decks are exposed to the sun and if they dry out too much leaks are almost inevitable. We wanted to have a traditional looking deck on Smaug but wanted to make use of "modern" technology to see if we couldn't eliminate the problem. The deck we designed for her was built in three layers.

The first photo shows the fore deck from the inside of the boat. What you see is a 3/8" layer of red cedar strips that have been chamfered to simulate T & G. The opening will be the forward cabin skylight.

Wood Composite material Grille Beam Rectangle


The next shot shows the second layer, 1/2" marine plywood and the third layer, 5/8" fir strips. Each fir strip has a rabbet of about 1/8" x 1/8" for Thiokol seam compound and the fir is bedded in Fibergum (bituminous roofing compound). The 4Ă—4's are gumwood sampson posts that go below decks and fasten to the stem. They will anchor the bowsprit and serve as forward mooring bits. The pieces sticking up through the covering board are called stanchions and they will support the bulwarks to be added soon.

Wood Water Door Tints and shades Plank


Here you see the completed fore deck. All that shows is a traditional looking fir deck, sprung and fitted to a king plank in the center. In the foreground you can see the cabin has been started. Also more stanchions have been fitted, although they haven't been fastened yet and some have slid down inside a bit.

Property Table Wood Building Floor


This shot shows the completed after deck with cutouts for the cockpit and the cockpit lockers. The hole at the after end of the deck is actually beyond the end of the hull. The rudder head will come up through this hole. This rather different type of after deck is known as a "pinky" or "pinked stern" and owes it's heritage to fishing boats on the East coast in the early 1900's.

Property Wood Flooring Floor Wood stain


This is what the pinky stern looks from the outside. Yes, the plywood will be covered up.
Window Fixture Wood Building Wood stain


Some time has passed.The cabin is started and the bulwarks are going on. The rubbing strakes (or guards) are in place and the heavy "channels" are installed in way of the chain plates that will support the rig. (Will be clearer later.) This job is now a back burner affair. The other boat you can see is a salmon troller that we are replacing the wheel house on.

Boat Naval architecture Watercraft Wood Vehicle


Here you can see the mold for the 9,500 pounds of lead that will be cast for the keel. This was my first one and I had been told that you could use an old bathtub to melt the lead. Well, maybe you can but it better be cast iron because this one cracked on us before we even got started. I built another one from an old hydraulic fluid tank and it worked for several keels including this one eventually. The mold is made of planks, heavily re-enforced against the weight of the molten lead and coated liberally on the inside with water-glass to reduce charring. A mold like this for a keel that must fit in an already existing space is layed out 1/8" in a foot oversize to account for shrinkage upon cooling. It worked very well.

Automotive tire Wood Bumper Flooring Gas


In this last photo the keel is installed. An interesting story I often tell about the installation recalls a moment when we were raising this massive bar of lead up into position with three 5 ton hydraulic jacks. A thought crossed my mind that if this thing were to roll off the jacks and land on my leg, it wouldn't likely stop until it reached the concrete floor. That wouldn't have left a lot of room for my leg. The thought passed and we got it in position without any trouble at all… but I do remember the thought. (Notice the troller is gone and a 19' catboat is started.)

Wood Boat Composite material Building material Lumber


Well, that's it for now. After this point the photos are mostly of the finished boat so I'll get some together and you can see how she came out next time….or two

Thanks!

Questions / critiques welcome.

Paul
 

Attachments

#59 ·
The Smaug Blog: Wood Boatbuilding 101, Decking and Casting the Keel

One of the more common complaints against wooden boats is leaking decks. With a traditional caulked deck this can certainly be a challenge. Decks are exposed to the sun and if they dry out too much leaks are almost inevitable. We wanted to have a traditional looking deck on Smaug but wanted to make use of "modern" technology to see if we couldn't eliminate the problem. The deck we designed for her was built in three layers.

The first photo shows the fore deck from the inside of the boat. What you see is a 3/8" layer of red cedar strips that have been chamfered to simulate T & G. The opening will be the forward cabin skylight.

Wood Composite material Grille Beam Rectangle


The next shot shows the second layer, 1/2" marine plywood and the third layer, 5/8" fir strips. Each fir strip has a rabbet of about 1/8" x 1/8" for Thiokol seam compound and the fir is bedded in Fibergum (bituminous roofing compound). The 4Ă—4's are gumwood sampson posts that go below decks and fasten to the stem. They will anchor the bowsprit and serve as forward mooring bits. The pieces sticking up through the covering board are called stanchions and they will support the bulwarks to be added soon.

Wood Water Door Tints and shades Plank


Here you see the completed fore deck. All that shows is a traditional looking fir deck, sprung and fitted to a king plank in the center. In the foreground you can see the cabin has been started. Also more stanchions have been fitted, although they haven't been fastened yet and some have slid down inside a bit.

Property Table Wood Building Floor


This shot shows the completed after deck with cutouts for the cockpit and the cockpit lockers. The hole at the after end of the deck is actually beyond the end of the hull. The rudder head will come up through this hole. This rather different type of after deck is known as a "pinky" or "pinked stern" and owes it's heritage to fishing boats on the East coast in the early 1900's.

Property Wood Flooring Floor Wood stain


This is what the pinky stern looks from the outside. Yes, the plywood will be covered up.
Window Fixture Wood Building Wood stain


Some time has passed.The cabin is started and the bulwarks are going on. The rubbing strakes (or guards) are in place and the heavy "channels" are installed in way of the chain plates that will support the rig. (Will be clearer later.) This job is now a back burner affair. The other boat you can see is a salmon troller that we are replacing the wheel house on.

Boat Naval architecture Watercraft Wood Vehicle


Here you can see the mold for the 9,500 pounds of lead that will be cast for the keel. This was my first one and I had been told that you could use an old bathtub to melt the lead. Well, maybe you can but it better be cast iron because this one cracked on us before we even got started. I built another one from an old hydraulic fluid tank and it worked for several keels including this one eventually. The mold is made of planks, heavily re-enforced against the weight of the molten lead and coated liberally on the inside with water-glass to reduce charring. A mold like this for a keel that must fit in an already existing space is layed out 1/8" in a foot oversize to account for shrinkage upon cooling. It worked very well.

Automotive tire Wood Bumper Flooring Gas


In this last photo the keel is installed. An interesting story I often tell about the installation recalls a moment when we were raising this massive bar of lead up into position with three 5 ton hydraulic jacks. A thought crossed my mind that if this thing were to roll off the jacks and land on my leg, it wouldn't likely stop until it reached the concrete floor. That wouldn't have left a lot of room for my leg. The thought passed and we got it in position without any trouble at all… but I do remember the thought. (Notice the troller is gone and a 19' catboat is started.)

Wood Boat Composite material Building material Lumber


Well, that's it for now. After this point the photos are mostly of the finished boat so I'll get some together and you can see how she came out next time….or two

Thanks!

Questions / critiques welcome.

Paul
Thanks for the story and photos. I can't wait to see some photos under sail!
 

Attachments

#68 ·
The Smaug Blog: Wood Boatbuilding 101, The Big Day: Launching

Now we are nearing the big day, launching. The hull has been faired and sanded and is ready for it's finish. The chosen product was Deks Olje, a two stage system where you first apply several coats of an oil (Deks Olje #1) followed by a couple of gloss coats (Deks Olje #2). Very much the way I use Cetol Marine / Cetol Marine Gloss now. The seams above the waterline are filled with a thiokol product and below the waterline with cement.

Wood Boat Composite material Building material Lumber


The finish is on, the bottom is painted with anti fouling and the bowsprit is in place, Just about ready to go.

Boat Naval architecture Window Watercraft Vehicle


Smaug sees the sun for the first time. My shop was in an old second world war era hanger that once housed the Stranraers, PBY's and Cansos that patrolled the west coast looking for Japanese submarines.

Wheel Tire Vehicle Motor vehicle Sky


Launching day at my shop was always a big party. We supplied food and usually had a dinghy full of ice and beer and the whole town came out to watch. Fortunately Coal Harbour was a very small town. This shot is my choice for "best launching photo ever". What's so cool about it is that up in the air, about 20' above the owner's head (right where he's looking) the original photo shows a tiny spec. That spec is the cork that he just popped off the champagne bottle in his hands as the keel hit salt water. Sadly the scanner, try as it would, was unable to pick it up.

Cloud Sky Boat Water Watercraft


The launching ramp here was originally built for large seaplanes, not boats. It isn't quite steep enough for boats. In this photo the truck can't go any further and the boat is not quite afloat. We got her off by the boat mover lifting on the front of the trailer while I did tugboat duty with my 19' catboat.

Water Cloud Sky Boat Watercraft


She nestled into the water just like a duck and seemed very happy to be there. In this shot you get the best look I have of the forward cabin skylight. It is a tricky little construction. It has more than one challenge but the most interesting is that to be right a hatch or skylight like this should have plumb ends, not square to the deck which is rising forward… and it has dovetailed corners. Not that hard, but it gets you thinking. Another feature in this shot is the "catheads", the 4×4 gumwood spars angling out from the sampson posts to act as bowsprit shroud spreaders. Traditionally these were used to "cat up the anchor" keeping it away from the hull. They frequently had cast bronze cat faces on the ends.

Boat Naval architecture Boats and boating--Equipment and supplies Vehicle Wood


And here's that stern view that I like so much again. You get a good look here at the rudder head coming up through the pinky stern and the little sternpost at the end of the bulwarks.

Water Sky Boat Watercraft Naval architecture


This last photo I included because I love the little jewel of sunlight sitting on the rail cap. It was a perfect day and that just seems to have been a blessing bestowed upon her on her big day. The other interesting feature in this angle is that you can see the yellow cedar inlays in the mahogany hatch covers.
Water Boat Watercraft Vehicle Naval architecture


Thanks for checking in again . Please feel free to ask questions. I'm having a great time with this.

Next time I'll show some interior details and then we'll finish up (just for Hal) with some sailing photos.

Thanks again

Paul
 

Attachments

#69 ·
The Smaug Blog: Wood Boatbuilding 101, The Big Day: Launching

Now we are nearing the big day, launching. The hull has been faired and sanded and is ready for it's finish. The chosen product was Deks Olje, a two stage system where you first apply several coats of an oil (Deks Olje #1) followed by a couple of gloss coats (Deks Olje #2). Very much the way I use Cetol Marine / Cetol Marine Gloss now. The seams above the waterline are filled with a thiokol product and below the waterline with cement.

Wood Boat Composite material Building material Lumber


The finish is on, the bottom is painted with anti fouling and the bowsprit is in place, Just about ready to go.

Boat Naval architecture Window Watercraft Vehicle


Smaug sees the sun for the first time. My shop was in an old second world war era hanger that once housed the Stranraers, PBY's and Cansos that patrolled the west coast looking for Japanese submarines.

Wheel Tire Vehicle Motor vehicle Sky


Launching day at my shop was always a big party. We supplied food and usually had a dinghy full of ice and beer and the whole town came out to watch. Fortunately Coal Harbour was a very small town. This shot is my choice for "best launching photo ever". What's so cool about it is that up in the air, about 20' above the owner's head (right where he's looking) the original photo shows a tiny spec. That spec is the cork that he just popped off the champagne bottle in his hands as the keel hit salt water. Sadly the scanner, try as it would, was unable to pick it up.

Cloud Sky Boat Water Watercraft


The launching ramp here was originally built for large seaplanes, not boats. It isn't quite steep enough for boats. In this photo the truck can't go any further and the boat is not quite afloat. We got her off by the boat mover lifting on the front of the trailer while I did tugboat duty with my 19' catboat.

Water Cloud Sky Boat Watercraft


She nestled into the water just like a duck and seemed very happy to be there. In this shot you get the best look I have of the forward cabin skylight. It is a tricky little construction. It has more than one challenge but the most interesting is that to be right a hatch or skylight like this should have plumb ends, not square to the deck which is rising forward… and it has dovetailed corners. Not that hard, but it gets you thinking. Another feature in this shot is the "catheads", the 4×4 gumwood spars angling out from the sampson posts to act as bowsprit shroud spreaders. Traditionally these were used to "cat up the anchor" keeping it away from the hull. They frequently had cast bronze cat faces on the ends.

Boat Naval architecture Boats and boating--Equipment and supplies Vehicle Wood


And here's that stern view that I like so much again. You get a good look here at the rudder head coming up through the pinky stern and the little sternpost at the end of the bulwarks.

Water Sky Boat Watercraft Naval architecture


This last photo I included because I love the little jewel of sunlight sitting on the rail cap. It was a perfect day and that just seems to have been a blessing bestowed upon her on her big day. The other interesting feature in this angle is that you can see the yellow cedar inlays in the mahogany hatch covers.
Water Boat Watercraft Vehicle Naval architecture


Thanks for checking in again . Please feel free to ask questions. I'm having a great time with this.

Next time I'll show some interior details and then we'll finish up (just for Hal) with some sailing photos.

Thanks again

Paul
Simply beautiful, all the way around Paul.
Thanks for showing us.
 

Attachments

#87 ·
The Smaug Blog: Wood Boatbuilding 101, Interior and Stepping the Mast

The interior of the boat was completed before launching, unfortunately without any progress photos so I'll just show some finished shots here. Interior woods are Red cedar deckhead, teak cabin sole and salon table, yellow cedar beams, knees and sparring (ceiling) on the hull and largely Honduras mahogany trim. The bulkheads are 3/4" marine fir plywood. In the salon and galley areas they are sheeted with 1/8" ash and in the forward cabin the bulkheads are veneered with red oak.

The first photo is taken from amidships looking aft to starboard, at the galley area. The companionway ladder and the gimbaled stove can be seen.
Wood Beam Wood stain Hardwood Kitchen stove


The next one is taken from about the same place but looking to port at the chart table area. There is a built in place ice box with a refrigeration unit under the chart table as well as a stowage cubby next to the hull..

Furniture Table Wood Interior design Wood stain


This is a shot from the galley looking forward to port. You can see the main beam with the official number and registered tonnage carved in it. The cabin sides are composite like the deck with 1/2" plywood for stiffness sandwiched between vertical mahogany on the exterior and red cedar on the interior. With all the dark wood you can see the value of the lighter colored ash here. The table is teak and both sides are drop leaves. As well the whole table can be easily removed and stowed. The arched doorway leads to the forward cabin. You can see the main mast just inside it.

Furniture Wood Hardwood Varnish Wood stain


Next up is one taken from forward looking back on the starboard side. The little wood burner has a coil that can heat domestic water. Notice the double copper sheet heat barrier. The door you can see aft on the port side leads to the head and the door behind the ladder leads to the engine room / tanks..

Wood Floor Flooring Hardwood Vehicle


This is the forward cabin showing the yellow cedar sparring and the recessed storage forward.

Wood Building Wood stain Floor Flooring


I just added this one because I like the grain in the mahogany skylight.

Wood Floor Flooring Wood stain Hardwood


So the boat is in the water and ready to rig. Here we are transporting the main mast from my shop to the government wharf. I'm the tall guy at the far end…. It's not always good to be tall.
Automotive parking light Car Wheel Tire Vehicle


Here we are at the dock slinging the mast to the crane we'll use to step it. The mast is a "grown stick" that is to say a tree pared down to size as opposed to a lamination of boards. It is sitka spruce and came from less than five miles away, by water.
Cloud Sky Wood Dock Building


Lowering gently.

Water Sky Cloud Boat Vehicle


This is the owner (remember the ribbing photo where he looked a little like a garden gnome?) guiding a very large mast coming from a fixed structure,the dock, into a floating structure, the boat. This is a much better photo of him. He really doesn't look like a gnome at all. ... and that is a tricky bit of work he's doing.

Water Wood Boats and boating--Equipment and supplies Lake Dock


That's all for today.

Next up some sailing photos and some shots of the square rigging being set up.

Thanks again. questions are encouraged.

Paul
 

Attachments

#88 ·
The Smaug Blog: Wood Boatbuilding 101, Interior and Stepping the Mast

The interior of the boat was completed before launching, unfortunately without any progress photos so I'll just show some finished shots here. Interior woods are Red cedar deckhead, teak cabin sole and salon table, yellow cedar beams, knees and sparring (ceiling) on the hull and largely Honduras mahogany trim. The bulkheads are 3/4" marine fir plywood. In the salon and galley areas they are sheeted with 1/8" ash and in the forward cabin the bulkheads are veneered with red oak.

The first photo is taken from amidships looking aft to starboard, at the galley area. The companionway ladder and the gimbaled stove can be seen.
Wood Beam Wood stain Hardwood Kitchen stove


The next one is taken from about the same place but looking to port at the chart table area. There is a built in place ice box with a refrigeration unit under the chart table as well as a stowage cubby next to the hull..

Furniture Table Wood Interior design Wood stain


This is a shot from the galley looking forward to port. You can see the main beam with the official number and registered tonnage carved in it. The cabin sides are composite like the deck with 1/2" plywood for stiffness sandwiched between vertical mahogany on the exterior and red cedar on the interior. With all the dark wood you can see the value of the lighter colored ash here. The table is teak and both sides are drop leaves. As well the whole table can be easily removed and stowed. The arched doorway leads to the forward cabin. You can see the main mast just inside it.

Furniture Wood Hardwood Varnish Wood stain


Next up is one taken from forward looking back on the starboard side. The little wood burner has a coil that can heat domestic water. Notice the double copper sheet heat barrier. The door you can see aft on the port side leads to the head and the door behind the ladder leads to the engine room / tanks..

Wood Floor Flooring Hardwood Vehicle


This is the forward cabin showing the yellow cedar sparring and the recessed storage forward.

Wood Building Wood stain Floor Flooring


I just added this one because I like the grain in the mahogany skylight.

Wood Floor Flooring Wood stain Hardwood


So the boat is in the water and ready to rig. Here we are transporting the main mast from my shop to the government wharf. I'm the tall guy at the far end…. It's not always good to be tall.
Automotive parking light Car Wheel Tire Vehicle


Here we are at the dock slinging the mast to the crane we'll use to step it. The mast is a "grown stick" that is to say a tree pared down to size as opposed to a lamination of boards. It is sitka spruce and came from less than five miles away, by water.
Cloud Sky Wood Dock Building


Lowering gently.

Water Sky Cloud Boat Vehicle


This is the owner (remember the ribbing photo where he looked a little like a garden gnome?) guiding a very large mast coming from a fixed structure,the dock, into a floating structure, the boat. This is a much better photo of him. He really doesn't look like a gnome at all. ... and that is a tricky bit of work he's doing.

Water Wood Boats and boating--Equipment and supplies Lake Dock


That's all for today.

Next up some sailing photos and some shots of the square rigging being set up.

Thanks again. questions are encouraged.

Paul
Wow, this is a beautiful boat. Thanks for showing it to us.

Erwin, Jacksonville, FL
 

Attachments

#99 ·
The Smaug Blog: Wood Boatbuilding 101, Under Sail

The only sailing photos I have were taken before the square rigging arrived, too bad. I say arrived because we didn't build the yards and their rigging as we did the rest. The designer, Jay Benford, at the time owned a (the only as far as I know) sistership "Sunrise" and was in the process of changing to a "great pyramid rig" that made his yards and square sails surplus, so we were able to buy them as a package and they were fitted a few months after the rest.

In order to be chronologically correct I will show the pre-square rig photos first. These two pics are Smaug under fore and aft sails plying the waters of Quatsino sound just off our dock in Coal Harbour. In the first she's just ghosting along and in the second there's a bit of breeze. What is immediately obvious when you sail on her is that she is a big strong heavy boat. She doesn't ride up and down the waves, she plows right through them like a tank.
Water Boat Watercraft Mast Sailing

Water Sky Cloud Boat Watercraft


Here she's tied up at the fishermans' dock in Coal Harbour getting her squares bent on. Neil, the owner used to say that while most sailors these days want to be able to control all the lines from the cockpit, he was happy if he could handle most of them from the deck. You only had to go aloft to secure or shake out the topsail.
Water Boat Vehicle Tree Sky


This one is about 15 years later as Smaug arrives in Victoria to participate in the annual "Classic Boat Festival". She was still owned by the original owner.

Water Sky Boat Watercraft Boats and boating--Equipment and supplies


In the last photo for this blog, I get a turn at the helm in the "Schooner Classic" race for gaff riggers at the Classic Boat Festival. This late summer event is often, as shown, a rather windless affair but it was fun to see her again.
Water Boat Sky Sailing Naval architecture


Well folks, that about wraps up the "How to build a carvel planked sailboat" class. If any of you are still interested, I could go on to cold molded, classic plywood, or stitch and glue construction. I do have a lot of old photos.

Thanks for bearing with me and my sometimes over-technical rantings and thanks for enjoying the show. If you had as much fun with it as I did then my job is done.

Until next time

Paul
 

Attachments

#100 ·
The Smaug Blog: Wood Boatbuilding 101, Under Sail

The only sailing photos I have were taken before the square rigging arrived, too bad. I say arrived because we didn't build the yards and their rigging as we did the rest. The designer, Jay Benford, at the time owned a (the only as far as I know) sistership "Sunrise" and was in the process of changing to a "great pyramid rig" that made his yards and square sails surplus, so we were able to buy them as a package and they were fitted a few months after the rest.

In order to be chronologically correct I will show the pre-square rig photos first. These two pics are Smaug under fore and aft sails plying the waters of Quatsino sound just off our dock in Coal Harbour. In the first she's just ghosting along and in the second there's a bit of breeze. What is immediately obvious when you sail on her is that she is a big strong heavy boat. She doesn't ride up and down the waves, she plows right through them like a tank.
Water Boat Watercraft Mast Sailing

Water Sky Cloud Boat Watercraft


Here she's tied up at the fishermans' dock in Coal Harbour getting her squares bent on. Neil, the owner used to say that while most sailors these days want to be able to control all the lines from the cockpit, he was happy if he could handle most of them from the deck. You only had to go aloft to secure or shake out the topsail.
Water Boat Vehicle Tree Sky


This one is about 15 years later as Smaug arrives in Victoria to participate in the annual "Classic Boat Festival". She was still owned by the original owner.

Water Sky Boat Watercraft Boats and boating--Equipment and supplies


In the last photo for this blog, I get a turn at the helm in the "Schooner Classic" race for gaff riggers at the Classic Boat Festival. This late summer event is often, as shown, a rather windless affair but it was fun to see her again.
Water Boat Sky Sailing Naval architecture


Well folks, that about wraps up the "How to build a carvel planked sailboat" class. If any of you are still interested, I could go on to cold molded, classic plywood, or stitch and glue construction. I do have a lot of old photos.

Thanks for bearing with me and my sometimes over-technical rantings and thanks for enjoying the show. If you had as much fun with it as I did then my job is done.

Until next time

Paul
She's a real beauty. At what point does a boat become a ship? I mean there are rowboats, flat bottom boats….etc. How big does a boat have to be to be considered a ship?
 

Attachments

#126 ·
The Catboats: Framed Plywood Construction, Scarfing and Setup

Plywood construction probably presents the easiest method for an amateur to build a good boat, but it is also a useful construction for a professional shop wanting to satisfy a customer who doesn't have a large budget. It is a straightforward process and the plans tend to be easy to follow but there are a few tricks of the trade which I will try to cover.

The two boats covered here are quite different sisters from the same plan. The first, "Catspaw" was built on spec in 1981 specifically to enter in a floating boat show in Vancouver and give me a venue to market my business of custom yacht construction. I used it as a sales office to show photos of other boats and to sit and talk to potential customers. I had a great time but didn't sell anything (Anybody remember the economy in 1981?) so Catspaw became my boat for several years. I didn't mind that a bit.

The second, "Sylvester" was built on contract for a customer who loved my boat but wanted many aesthetic and practical upgrades. These made what had been a very economical build (Catspaw) into a quite pricey but lovely little yacht.

This photo shows just about everything that you need to build a 19' Catboat, from portholes and plywood to glue and oil lamps.
Blue Drinkware Bottle Wood Gas


Here the bottom (3/4" fir ply) is being scarfed up. If you stack your pieces in a staggered pile at a 1:8 ratio, ie: 6" setback for 3/4" thickness, and then plane the slope, you can glue them together and achieve the same strength as if the plywood had been made up full length. In this photo the end scarf is being cut and the side scarf has already been done. This will render a single piece of 3/4" plywood that is 16' long and 8'wide (minus scarf width). Another small bit scarfed on at the front end and the whole bottom will be done. The trick here is to keep an eye on the gluelines in the plywood as they will guide you to an even plane if you keep them straight.

Table Wood Rectangle Outdoor furniture Hardwood


In this one the bottom and one side have been rough shaped and epoxy sealed on the inside prior to fitting on the jig frame just visible on the left. Yes, that's Smaug, of course, on the right.

Window Wood Flooring Floor Hardwood


Now the sides have been fitted and fastened to the transom. (I don't have any photos of it but it's just a boring flat piece of 3/4" plywood) The stem has yet to be fitted. The line down the length of the plywood is just a veneer joint in the sheets as they came from the factory, but the faint vertical line you can see is a scarf.

Boat Naval architecture Motor vehicle Wood Watercraft


This is a scarf, seen from the edge on one of the bent sides (1/2" ply). It's a perfectly fair curve and maintains full plywood strength. It's a little hard to see but it travels back left from the seam you can see on the face of the plywood. The notches you can see here in the jig will have the permanent chine pieces fitted before the sides are finally fastened at the stem.

Wood Loom Wood stain Rectangle Hardwood


Last photo for now. Here the sides, chines and stem are fastened and glued and the bottom awaits. Notice that the sides have been planed down fair and ready for the bottom.
(We replaced 52 ribs and several other parts in the big powerboat in the background left. That was fun!)

Wood Flooring Floor Naval architecture Hardwood


Next time we'll get her off the jig and have a look at the keel, centerboard case and cabin features.

As always Thanks for watching.

All comments, questions, and critiques are welcome.

Napaman, this one's for you.

Paul
 

Attachments

#127 ·
The Catboats: Framed Plywood Construction, Scarfing and Setup

Plywood construction probably presents the easiest method for an amateur to build a good boat, but it is also a useful construction for a professional shop wanting to satisfy a customer who doesn't have a large budget. It is a straightforward process and the plans tend to be easy to follow but there are a few tricks of the trade which I will try to cover.

The two boats covered here are quite different sisters from the same plan. The first, "Catspaw" was built on spec in 1981 specifically to enter in a floating boat show in Vancouver and give me a venue to market my business of custom yacht construction. I used it as a sales office to show photos of other boats and to sit and talk to potential customers. I had a great time but didn't sell anything (Anybody remember the economy in 1981?) so Catspaw became my boat for several years. I didn't mind that a bit.

The second, "Sylvester" was built on contract for a customer who loved my boat but wanted many aesthetic and practical upgrades. These made what had been a very economical build (Catspaw) into a quite pricey but lovely little yacht.

This photo shows just about everything that you need to build a 19' Catboat, from portholes and plywood to glue and oil lamps.
Blue Drinkware Bottle Wood Gas


Here the bottom (3/4" fir ply) is being scarfed up. If you stack your pieces in a staggered pile at a 1:8 ratio, ie: 6" setback for 3/4" thickness, and then plane the slope, you can glue them together and achieve the same strength as if the plywood had been made up full length. In this photo the end scarf is being cut and the side scarf has already been done. This will render a single piece of 3/4" plywood that is 16' long and 8'wide (minus scarf width). Another small bit scarfed on at the front end and the whole bottom will be done. The trick here is to keep an eye on the gluelines in the plywood as they will guide you to an even plane if you keep them straight.

Table Wood Rectangle Outdoor furniture Hardwood


In this one the bottom and one side have been rough shaped and epoxy sealed on the inside prior to fitting on the jig frame just visible on the left. Yes, that's Smaug, of course, on the right.

Window Wood Flooring Floor Hardwood


Now the sides have been fitted and fastened to the transom. (I don't have any photos of it but it's just a boring flat piece of 3/4" plywood) The stem has yet to be fitted. The line down the length of the plywood is just a veneer joint in the sheets as they came from the factory, but the faint vertical line you can see is a scarf.

Boat Naval architecture Motor vehicle Wood Watercraft


This is a scarf, seen from the edge on one of the bent sides (1/2" ply). It's a perfectly fair curve and maintains full plywood strength. It's a little hard to see but it travels back left from the seam you can see on the face of the plywood. The notches you can see here in the jig will have the permanent chine pieces fitted before the sides are finally fastened at the stem.

Wood Loom Wood stain Rectangle Hardwood


Last photo for now. Here the sides, chines and stem are fastened and glued and the bottom awaits. Notice that the sides have been planed down fair and ready for the bottom.
(We replaced 52 ribs and several other parts in the big powerboat in the background left. That was fun!)

Wood Flooring Floor Naval architecture Hardwood


Next time we'll get her off the jig and have a look at the keel, centerboard case and cabin features.

As always Thanks for watching.

All comments, questions, and critiques are welcome.

Napaman, this one's for you.

Paul
Thanks Paul. Terrific as always.
 

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#137 ·
The Catboats: Framed Plywood Construction, Backbone and Structural Components

Before going on to the backbone and structural components of the cats, I found a photo today that belongs in yesterday's entry. This is what the jig looked like that both were built on. None of what you see here is part of the boat except for the chine pieces at the joining area between the bottom and the sides. My Skill 100 (best powerplane ever made) is sitting on the chine.

Wood Composite material Engineering Gas Hardwood


In this shot you see the substantial keel about to be assembled from two parts. It is made in two pieces to facilitate proper preparation of the centerboard slot. The centerboard swings down through the keel in the recessed area shown here freshly coated with epoxy and 6 oz. 'glass cloth.
Wood Floor Flooring Hardwood Plank


This is the centerboard trunk that sits above the slot in the keel and houses the centerboard when in the "up" position. It extends to well above the waterline and with it's cover off you could look right down into the water. We used to talk about fishing through it but a problem would have arisen if we had caught anything more than 2" thick.
Wood Floor Flooring Naval architecture Hardwood


These boats have minimal framing and are really supported by their bulkheads, so when the hull is initially turned over, it is quite floppy and must be jigged back into shape and be held that way until the bulkheads are installed. Here the main bulkhead is being fitted. This is where Catspaw and Sylvester first start to differ. Catspaw, the economical, is all marine fir plywood while Sylvester, the POSH, as shown here has Brynzeel (African Mahogany) plywood for all the interior and cabinside areas.
Building Wood Window Flooring Floor


Now the accomodation bulkheads and bunk framing have been installed. In a small boat it is a good idea to get as much painting and finishing as possible done before you get it all closed up. Also installed here are the foredeck beams and the chain locker bulkhead. You can see the forward half of the centerboard trunk also.
Boat Watercraft Vehicle Naval architecture Boats and boating--Equipment and supplies


Once the cabinsides are in place they, along with the hull sides, get sheathed with 6 oz. 'glass and epoxy and re-coated / sanded until glass smooth and transparent. This is probably after the first re-coat and before sanding. The bottom was sheathed when the boat was still upside down.
Boat Wood Naval architecture Watercraft Building


Here's an interior shot from forward. Visible are the teak flooring and countertop, the centerboard case, half in and half outside the cabin, preliminary seating construction and roughed in hanging locker. Yes Hal, this is the biggest 19 footer ever! The tile for the wood stove is being laid out as well.
Wood Architecture Stairs Building Floor


Same time frame but from the cockpit looking back in. The cockpit sole will be at the level of the top of the centerboard case so that the cockpit scupper is the case slot itself….cool! This photo also shows the massive forward vee berth. With no mast to contend with ( it's forward in the chainlocker) and the beamy hull this is a comfortable berth for two and you can sleep with your heads together (sort of). Sylvester had a drop-in filler between the berths that made a very large berth indeed for a 19 footer.
Hood Wood Motor vehicle Naval architecture Architecture


Here's a picture of the plywood deck about the same time. It was 'glassed in Catspaw and non skid painted but here, in Sylvester it is not because it will be covered in 3/16" x about 2" teak strips with black epoxy seams.
Wood Naval architecture Vehicle Boats and boating--Equipment and supplies Motor vehicle


This is the last picture for today. The hull is pretty well finished and the interior is complete as well. The teak decking has been laid and the seams filled with black epoxy although not all sanded yet. Next up will be the cabin top and cockpit.
Naval architecture Wood Boat Boats and boating--Equipment and supplies Building


Tomorrow we'll get to the fitting out.

Thanks for checking in.

Please ask questions, comment or critique. I'm having a ball with all these old memories and am more than happy to discuss your thoughts.
Thanks again

Paul
 

Attachments

#138 ·
The Catboats: Framed Plywood Construction, Backbone and Structural Components

Before going on to the backbone and structural components of the cats, I found a photo today that belongs in yesterday's entry. This is what the jig looked like that both were built on. None of what you see here is part of the boat except for the chine pieces at the joining area between the bottom and the sides. My Skill 100 (best powerplane ever made) is sitting on the chine.

Wood Composite material Engineering Gas Hardwood


In this shot you see the substantial keel about to be assembled from two parts. It is made in two pieces to facilitate proper preparation of the centerboard slot. The centerboard swings down through the keel in the recessed area shown here freshly coated with epoxy and 6 oz. 'glass cloth.
Wood Floor Flooring Hardwood Plank


This is the centerboard trunk that sits above the slot in the keel and houses the centerboard when in the "up" position. It extends to well above the waterline and with it's cover off you could look right down into the water. We used to talk about fishing through it but a problem would have arisen if we had caught anything more than 2" thick.
Wood Floor Flooring Naval architecture Hardwood


These boats have minimal framing and are really supported by their bulkheads, so when the hull is initially turned over, it is quite floppy and must be jigged back into shape and be held that way until the bulkheads are installed. Here the main bulkhead is being fitted. This is where Catspaw and Sylvester first start to differ. Catspaw, the economical, is all marine fir plywood while Sylvester, the POSH, as shown here has Brynzeel (African Mahogany) plywood for all the interior and cabinside areas.
Building Wood Window Flooring Floor


Now the accomodation bulkheads and bunk framing have been installed. In a small boat it is a good idea to get as much painting and finishing as possible done before you get it all closed up. Also installed here are the foredeck beams and the chain locker bulkhead. You can see the forward half of the centerboard trunk also.
Boat Watercraft Vehicle Naval architecture Boats and boating--Equipment and supplies


Once the cabinsides are in place they, along with the hull sides, get sheathed with 6 oz. 'glass and epoxy and re-coated / sanded until glass smooth and transparent. This is probably after the first re-coat and before sanding. The bottom was sheathed when the boat was still upside down.
Boat Wood Naval architecture Watercraft Building


Here's an interior shot from forward. Visible are the teak flooring and countertop, the centerboard case, half in and half outside the cabin, preliminary seating construction and roughed in hanging locker. Yes Hal, this is the biggest 19 footer ever! The tile for the wood stove is being laid out as well.
Wood Architecture Stairs Building Floor


Same time frame but from the cockpit looking back in. The cockpit sole will be at the level of the top of the centerboard case so that the cockpit scupper is the case slot itself….cool! This photo also shows the massive forward vee berth. With no mast to contend with ( it's forward in the chainlocker) and the beamy hull this is a comfortable berth for two and you can sleep with your heads together (sort of). Sylvester had a drop-in filler between the berths that made a very large berth indeed for a 19 footer.
Hood Wood Motor vehicle Naval architecture Architecture


Here's a picture of the plywood deck about the same time. It was 'glassed in Catspaw and non skid painted but here, in Sylvester it is not because it will be covered in 3/16" x about 2" teak strips with black epoxy seams.
Wood Naval architecture Vehicle Boats and boating--Equipment and supplies Motor vehicle


This is the last picture for today. The hull is pretty well finished and the interior is complete as well. The teak decking has been laid and the seams filled with black epoxy although not all sanded yet. Next up will be the cabin top and cockpit.
Naval architecture Wood Boat Boats and boating--Equipment and supplies Building


Tomorrow we'll get to the fitting out.

Thanks for checking in.

Please ask questions, comment or critique. I'm having a ball with all these old memories and am more than happy to discuss your thoughts.
Thanks again

Paul
Hey Paul, I am enjoying the posts.
Tremendous work. Fun to watch the progress pictures.

Do you ever epoxy ply or wood for anything else now days? It always intrigued by its strength, for things liike shop built tools or jigs. I built lap strake ply canoe once, it was a fantastic journey, but nothing like this.

Still watching,
Steve
 

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#150 ·
The Catboats: Framed Plywood Construction, Fitting Out

Completion of the hull is a milestone in any boat building project, but while many think of it as half way, those who have done much of it will be hard to convince that it's a full third. In a sailboat I think of the parts as Hull, Fittings,and Rig.

The first photo today is one of Catspaw at Coal Harbour on the north end of Vancouver Island, where I had my shop. I have inserted it here to show the placement of the motor. Again Catspaw is the economy model of these two and you can see that she sports an outboard motor on a custom mount on the rudder. This was plenty of power and could be tipped up out of the water for no drag when sailing but it did have an interesting effect on rudder balance.

Water Sky Cloud Boat Watercraft


This is the high end model with an inboard saildrive version of pretty much the same motor. It was a beautiful, quiet power plant but the fact that it was inboard and gasoline powered meant that I had a thick stack of "safety regulations" that had to be satisfied. That added a lot of work.

Bumper Automotive tire Automotive exterior Vehicle door Gas


This is the centerboard in glue-up. It was designed to pivot at the lower forward corner and incorporated about 20 pounds of lead to help it drop. It was eventually shaped to a foil for the part that extended below the keel and was then skinned, like everything else, with 'glass cloth and epoxy. With the board up these boats draw only 16" but when the board is down it increases the draft to 4' 8".
Wood Automotive exterior Gas Automotive tire Hardwood


When this photo was taken the hull had been moved into the "heated shop" and painted with "Midnight Green" Endura. Here the rudder has been shaped and awaits painting and installation. I know that this was about Christmas time because I remember taking this rudder home and using it as an extra coffee table for a party we were throwing. It was a big hit. My first "art furniture" perhaps.
Building Wood House Hardwood Flooring


Next up is the fresh water tank. It's often hard to get a tank to fit well in the odd shaped spaces afforded by small boats and I've found it frustrating and expensive working with welders to get complex shapes just right. Consequently a lot of my tanks, both water and fuel were made out of plywood and epoxy. This one will fit forward under the vee berth and yes it does get a top :) . The filler is at the back and the drain is at the front. The box shape at the back fits over the end of the mast step.
Wood Gas Crate Wood stain Plywood


This is the transom with the rudder gudgeons and pintles being fitted. They are cast aluminium bronze and were made from patterns that I designed and made specifically for this boat. You can also see the position of the saildrive leg here.

Wood Automotive exterior Floor Tints and shades Gas


This last shot is a custom anchor / rode box that I designed for Catspaw. It served to keep the anchor secure, the wet rode outside the cabin, and it stiffened the foredeck sufficiently to allow me to take a pass on the deck beams. That made for more room and a cleaner appearance inside.

Wood Naval architecture Hardwood Automotive exterior Plywood


These are obviously only a few of the many bits and pieces involved in outfitting these two but they are included here because, well, they're the things I have pictures of.

For info about any of the other fittings, just ask and I'll fill you in as best I can.

Thanks for checking in.

Tomorrow finished shots and some under sail.

Thanks again

Paul
 

Attachments

#151 ·
The Catboats: Framed Plywood Construction, Fitting Out

Completion of the hull is a milestone in any boat building project, but while many think of it as half way, those who have done much of it will be hard to convince that it's a full third. In a sailboat I think of the parts as Hull, Fittings,and Rig.

The first photo today is one of Catspaw at Coal Harbour on the north end of Vancouver Island, where I had my shop. I have inserted it here to show the placement of the motor. Again Catspaw is the economy model of these two and you can see that she sports an outboard motor on a custom mount on the rudder. This was plenty of power and could be tipped up out of the water for no drag when sailing but it did have an interesting effect on rudder balance.

Water Sky Cloud Boat Watercraft


This is the high end model with an inboard saildrive version of pretty much the same motor. It was a beautiful, quiet power plant but the fact that it was inboard and gasoline powered meant that I had a thick stack of "safety regulations" that had to be satisfied. That added a lot of work.

Bumper Automotive tire Automotive exterior Vehicle door Gas


This is the centerboard in glue-up. It was designed to pivot at the lower forward corner and incorporated about 20 pounds of lead to help it drop. It was eventually shaped to a foil for the part that extended below the keel and was then skinned, like everything else, with 'glass cloth and epoxy. With the board up these boats draw only 16" but when the board is down it increases the draft to 4' 8".
Wood Automotive exterior Gas Automotive tire Hardwood


When this photo was taken the hull had been moved into the "heated shop" and painted with "Midnight Green" Endura. Here the rudder has been shaped and awaits painting and installation. I know that this was about Christmas time because I remember taking this rudder home and using it as an extra coffee table for a party we were throwing. It was a big hit. My first "art furniture" perhaps.
Building Wood House Hardwood Flooring


Next up is the fresh water tank. It's often hard to get a tank to fit well in the odd shaped spaces afforded by small boats and I've found it frustrating and expensive working with welders to get complex shapes just right. Consequently a lot of my tanks, both water and fuel were made out of plywood and epoxy. This one will fit forward under the vee berth and yes it does get a top :) . The filler is at the back and the drain is at the front. The box shape at the back fits over the end of the mast step.
Wood Gas Crate Wood stain Plywood


This is the transom with the rudder gudgeons and pintles being fitted. They are cast aluminium bronze and were made from patterns that I designed and made specifically for this boat. You can also see the position of the saildrive leg here.

Wood Automotive exterior Floor Tints and shades Gas


This last shot is a custom anchor / rode box that I designed for Catspaw. It served to keep the anchor secure, the wet rode outside the cabin, and it stiffened the foredeck sufficiently to allow me to take a pass on the deck beams. That made for more room and a cleaner appearance inside.

Wood Naval architecture Hardwood Automotive exterior Plywood


These are obviously only a few of the many bits and pieces involved in outfitting these two but they are included here because, well, they're the things I have pictures of.

For info about any of the other fittings, just ask and I'll fill you in as best I can.

Thanks for checking in.

Tomorrow finished shots and some under sail.

Thanks again

Paul
What a joy it is watch your transformation of these materials into a beautiful hull. The photos are Great!

Thanks for sharing
 

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