# Jayne's Rowboat Rocker



## captkerk (Jul 11, 2009)

*Gotta Start Someplace*

This will probably be a pretty short blog, but wanted to share some progress of the next rocker I'm building. This one is for child #4, Jayne. It became tradition for each of my kids to get a rocker on their second Christmas and after plenty of thought about what to build, I finally decided on the boat.

I have never built a boat so I hope the more nautically inclined folks out there cut me a little slack about my construction methods (or suggest a better method!). I want it to look close enough to a boat to look good, but still be relatively easy to build. For that reason, I went with a flat, plywood bottom to simplify the construction and provide an easier platform to attach rockers to.









I plan to curve 1/4 plywood around wooden ribs to create the sides of the boat and attach to a flat plywood back (transom?).


























The ribs are created with bridle joints between the uprights and the stretcher connecting each pair. I then drilled a 3/4" hole in each to receive a short dowel plug. Hopefully this will be plenty strong enough to keep the sides in place when bending the 1/4" ply around.










At the bow, I made a glued up block to hold the plywood sides in place and fit to the front of the plywood base.










I still need to shape the tops of all the ribs and the bow-piece, but I wanted to get the angles set first then worry about how tall to make the sides later (I still haven't figured out all the dimensions). I suppose I'll go back to my tried and true method of sizing these rockers; grab the nearest kid and put them on/in the thing and eyeball it!

More to come in the next few days since I only have about a week to get it done!


----------



## Splinterman (Mar 13, 2009)

captkerk said:


> *Gotta Start Someplace*
> 
> This will probably be a pretty short blog, but wanted to share some progress of the next rocker I'm building. This one is for child #4, Jayne. It became tradition for each of my kids to get a rocker on their second Christmas and after plenty of thought about what to build, I finally decided on the boat.
> 
> ...


Hey,
Looking real good so far…nice job.


----------



## greasemonkeyredneck (Aug 14, 2010)

captkerk said:


> *Gotta Start Someplace*
> 
> This will probably be a pretty short blog, but wanted to share some progress of the next rocker I'm building. This one is for child #4, Jayne. It became tradition for each of my kids to get a rocker on their second Christmas and after plenty of thought about what to build, I finally decided on the boat.
> 
> ...


It's looking real good. You definately don't need to worry much about the construstion methods. I built a boat rocker a while back, and from what I can see, the construction methods you've used so far are way superior to what I done.


----------



## captkerk (Jul 11, 2009)

*Sizing up the Sides*

Today I did a bunch of sanding on the rib assemblies, back and bottom. I then did a clamp together assembly (with help from the wife) to make some layout marks to determine the size of the sides.










I used some leftover Luan plywood to make a rough shape for the sides since it was already pretty warped and thus a little easier to bend. I then transferred the shape to the 1/4" oak plywood for the finished piece and fine tuned the shape.










After I got one side shaped the way I wanted it, I transferred markings to the other and cut it out. Then I pattern routed the shape onto the second side using the first side as a template. Once the sides were clamped in position, I transferred marks to the rib uprights so I could trim them down.


















The bow upright was marked for cutting as well and hopefully the next installment will have the basic shape complete.


----------



## chrisstef (Mar 3, 2010)

captkerk said:


> *Sizing up the Sides*
> 
> Today I did a bunch of sanding on the rib assemblies, back and bottom. I then did a clamp together assembly (with help from the wife) to make some layout marks to determine the size of the sides.
> 
> ...


Looks like your ROCKIN and rolling now … man im cheesy


----------



## captkerk (Jul 11, 2009)

*Basic Shape Complete*

Yesterday started by doing final shaping on the ribs. I marked and cut them to length the night before and yesterday was the trial fit. All was well, so I needed to round-over the edges and sand them. Then it was time to install them permanently. A little bit of glue and a few well positioned screws hold each in place.










I made a few adjustments to the bow upright, sanded it and installed it in place as well. Some more glue and screws here.










Then it was time to bend the plywood into place to layout for screw holes.



















I would have loved to keep the sides of the boat free of any visible fasteners, but I couldn't think of a good way to accomplish that so it got carefully spaced screws along each side.



















I like the way the screws turned out. Makes it look like rivets along the hull of a bigger boat. Now I need to focus on making a cap rail for the top of the sides, a cap piece for the bow and stern, a seat, and some rockers. I need to inlay a piece on the bottom of the transom board to hide the screws and was thinking of using purpleheart since this is a girl's boat. If I do that, I will likely find a place to use more purpleheat as I add finishing touches. A few more days to go!


----------



## ND2ELK (Jan 25, 2008)

captkerk said:


> *Basic Shape Complete*
> 
> Yesterday started by doing final shaping on the ribs. I marked and cut them to length the night before and yesterday was the trial fit. All was well, so I needed to round-over the edges and sand them. Then it was time to install them permanently. A little bit of glue and a few well positioned screws hold each in place.
> 
> ...


Looks great. You are doing a very nice job on it. Thanks for posting.

God Bless
tom


----------



## greasemonkeyredneck (Aug 14, 2010)

captkerk said:


> *Basic Shape Complete*
> 
> Yesterday started by doing final shaping on the ribs. I marked and cut them to length the night before and yesterday was the trial fit. All was well, so I needed to round-over the edges and sand them. Then it was time to install them permanently. A little bit of glue and a few well positioned screws hold each in place.
> 
> ...


I like this better than the rocking boat I built. I hope it's alright with you, the next one I build I may steal some of your design ideas.


----------



## captkerk (Jul 11, 2009)

captkerk said:


> *Basic Shape Complete*
> 
> Yesterday started by doing final shaping on the ribs. I marked and cut them to length the night before and yesterday was the trial fit. All was well, so I needed to round-over the edges and sand them. Then it was time to install them permanently. A little bit of glue and a few well positioned screws hold each in place.
> 
> ...


Thanks guys. William, I really like your boat rocker. Lots of neat ideas on it that kids would love, especially the ship's wheel. This boat was intended to be a row boat but part of me wants to make it a sailboat so I can put in the wheel, too. I don't think it's big enough for all that and a kid, though.


----------



## greasemonkeyredneck (Aug 14, 2010)

captkerk said:


> *Basic Shape Complete*
> 
> Yesterday started by doing final shaping on the ribs. I marked and cut them to length the night before and yesterday was the trial fit. All was well, so I needed to round-over the edges and sand them. Then it was time to install them permanently. A little bit of glue and a few well positioned screws hold each in place.
> 
> ...


I'm watching your blog series on this closely for ideas though. I've got a project going at the moment that's going to probably take at least a month. After that, and after seeing how you finish this, I'm thinking of building another boat rocker. 
Of course, while this is my plan, I can't guarantee when it will actually be. I'm constantly pulling ideas from all over the place. I'll get to them all eventually. I get a lot of ideas from projects here on Lumberjocks. If I just stopped everything and simply worked on all my ideas in my idea tablet, it would probably keep me busy for a year.
The ribs (I think that's what you'd call them) you've incorporated into your boat combined with a few other ideas I have would make for a much better boat rocker than I build before. I want to make it much bigger than my last one though. I want to go long enough to add big enough casting deck (like on my bass boat). Then I want to add a seat (like on my bass boat) and add a toy rod and real for a package deal. Your ribs are required to make this happen though. The boat I built would not hold up enough for a casting deck to be sat on.
Also, another idea I've had for over a year now is to combine two of my loves, woodworking and fishing/boating. I think you can already figure out where that one is going. I seriously think that it would be a blast to build my own functional wooden boat. I think I know where I can get a sturdy enough trailer for it to. I thought about building it over a long period of time on the trailer so I'd be able to move it if needed. I've seen ribs similar to yours on homemade wooden boats. This is the first photos I've seen though of a closeup technique to give me a better idea of the construction.
Ok. I'm getting way ahead of myself and stealing your spotlight. I do apologize. You're building a real nice boat rocker. Can't wait until the next installment. I'm going to add you to my buddy list so I can be sure to be able to come back later and see it.


----------



## captkerk (Jul 11, 2009)

*Capping the rails*

Now that the sides are on the boat, today was about getting some cap rails installed to hide the plywood edging of the sides and give the boat a more finished look. Easier said than done since this is a compound curve. I started by creating templates out of 1/4" hardboard by clamping it in place and tracing the shape of the sides to it.









Then I cut out the outside line, sanded to the line and drew in the inside dimension 2" from the outside line. Then I had to make one for the other side since they aren't exactly the same. They fit onto some 1×6x4' boards that I would later resaw to 1/4" thick so I could bend them. The resulting cap is 1/2".










After lots of clamping the templates into position to get references for installation, I finally put the right side cap on with glue and two screws per rib.


























I'm actually fairly disappointed that I had to use screws through the top cap. I would have preferred to keep it clean and fastener-free, but I couldn't think of a better way to keep it on securely. I originally thought about pocket screws running up from the ribs to the caps, but the cap material isn't very thick and besides, I hadn't drilled the pocket screws before installing the ribs to the bottom, so there is not access for that anymore.

The other side will go on tomorrow and then there will be significant work to be done to fit the bow cap so it matches up with the sides. We'll see how it goes…


----------



## ND2ELK (Jan 25, 2008)

captkerk said:


> *Capping the rails*
> 
> Now that the sides are on the boat, today was about getting some cap rails installed to hide the plywood edging of the sides and give the boat a more finished look. Easier said than done since this is a compound curve. I started by creating templates out of 1/4" hardboard by clamping it in place and tracing the shape of the sides to it.
> 
> ...


I know it is too late now but could you have doweled it? You are doing a very nice job on this piece. Looking forward to next step. Thanks for sharing.

God Bless
tom


----------



## captkerk (Jul 11, 2009)

captkerk said:


> *Capping the rails*
> 
> Now that the sides are on the boat, today was about getting some cap rails installed to hide the plywood edging of the sides and give the boat a more finished look. Easier said than done since this is a compound curve. I started by creating templates out of 1/4" hardboard by clamping it in place and tracing the shape of the sides to it.
> 
> ...


Interesting idea, Tom. I hadn't thought of that. Part of my dilemma is that I am bending the cap boards into shape right in position, so there is a decent amount of spring to them. I wonder if glue between the dowel running through the cap would be enough to hold them down against the force of the boards wanting to return to flat. If it is, I would be willing to go back and replace every screw with a dowel to achieve the cleaner look.

I thought about bending the wood ahead of time but didn't want to try to duplicate the same compound curve on some other jig structure. That's why I just bent it in place.

Thanks for the idea. Always interested in constructive criticism.


----------



## captkerk (Jul 11, 2009)

captkerk said:


> *Capping the rails*
> 
> Now that the sides are on the boat, today was about getting some cap rails installed to hide the plywood edging of the sides and give the boat a more finished look. Easier said than done since this is a compound curve. I started by creating templates out of 1/4" hardboard by clamping it in place and tracing the shape of the sides to it.
> 
> ...


Ok. I've decided to take Tom's advice and go dowels. Only I'm going to try a wedged dowel in an elongated, tapered hole to act as a mechanical means to better hold the caps in place. Now I just need to see if I can actually make it happen and meet my deadline!


----------



## ND2ELK (Jan 25, 2008)

captkerk said:


> *Capping the rails*
> 
> Now that the sides are on the boat, today was about getting some cap rails installed to hide the plywood edging of the sides and give the boat a more finished look. Easier said than done since this is a compound curve. I started by creating templates out of 1/4" hardboard by clamping it in place and tracing the shape of the sides to it.
> 
> ...


Clamp and glue the cap rails in places to the ribs. Drill the holes thru the top caps into the ribs. ROLL your dowels in glue and drive them in. Take a scrap piece of wood about 4 X 4, line your dowels up that you need for each cap piece you are working on. Squirt glue over them and take a scrap piece of wood 1 1/2" X 3 and roll the dowels back and forth with egde of this piece. Do not just put glue in the holes like a lot of people do. Rolled dowels make a stronger dowel joint. Let the dowels dry before removing clamps. It would look like the dowel joint you used in your ribs. I would use 3/8" X 2"- 2 1/2" dowels if your cap rails are 3/4" thick. I do not think you need to make wedged dowels in an elongated hole.


----------



## captkerk (Jul 11, 2009)

captkerk said:


> *Capping the rails*
> 
> Now that the sides are on the boat, today was about getting some cap rails installed to hide the plywood edging of the sides and give the boat a more finished look. Easier said than done since this is a compound curve. I started by creating templates out of 1/4" hardboard by clamping it in place and tracing the shape of the sides to it.
> 
> ...


The cap rails are only 1/2" thick, glued up from two 1/4" thick pieces so I could bend them in place. The thinness of the cap rails is part of why I was thinking of having some form of mechanical holding instead of just glue, since there isn't a whole lot of surface area. Do you think just the glue would still hold ok against the springing effect of the rails wanting to return to flat, or am I not giving enough credit to the glue in both the dowel joint and the glue used when attaching the two 1/4" thick rails to each other?


----------



## ND2ELK (Jan 25, 2008)

captkerk said:


> *Capping the rails*
> 
> Now that the sides are on the boat, today was about getting some cap rails installed to hide the plywood edging of the sides and give the boat a more finished look. Easier said than done since this is a compound curve. I started by creating templates out of 1/4" hardboard by clamping it in place and tracing the shape of the sides to it.
> 
> ...


Yes, I think the glue would hold it in place if you let it dry. You could go to 1/2" dowels which would give you a little more surface but do not know if it would make that much difference other than appearance.


----------



## Chip (Mar 13, 2007)

captkerk said:


> *Capping the rails*
> 
> Now that the sides are on the boat, today was about getting some cap rails installed to hide the plywood edging of the sides and give the boat a more finished look. Easier said than done since this is a compound curve. I started by creating templates out of 1/4" hardboard by clamping it in place and tracing the shape of the sides to it.
> 
> ...


Very exciting piece Kerk. I'm glad you decided to try the dowel wedges. Purer look IMHO. Looking forward to seeing more…


----------



## captkerk (Jul 11, 2009)

captkerk said:


> *Capping the rails*
> 
> Now that the sides are on the boat, today was about getting some cap rails installed to hide the plywood edging of the sides and give the boat a more finished look. Easier said than done since this is a compound curve. I started by creating templates out of 1/4" hardboard by clamping it in place and tracing the shape of the sides to it.
> 
> ...


Thanks for the input. Time to get to work.


----------



## captkerk (Jul 11, 2009)

*Unscrewed*

I mentioned in the last entry how little I liked the screws in the top cap rail so I took a fellow LJ's advice and I'm going to ditch the screws and use dowels instead. Problem is that there are marks from the screws so I need to do something to cover them up. I decided to inlay a diamond shape of walnut where the screws were and I will be drilling a hole through that to put in the oak dowel that will ultimately help hold the cap rail to the ribs of the boat.



















I hope I can be more accurate with the placement of the dowels than I was with the screws I originally used. I laid out the screw locations on the template, but when I installed the rails, the pilot holes shifted and the screws didn't align well with the screws already in the sides of the hull.

I also need to fix a little slip of the router that occurred when I was template routing the rails. I'm thinking I will just sand that area more to smooth out the transition, but if someone has a better idea, I'd love to hear it!










I have conceded that I won't get this done in time for Christmas (sorry Jayne) so I won't be working on it quite as much over the next few days so I can enjoy what's left of my vacation time with the family without a deadline stressing me out. I don't want this to go on forever, but I think I will enjoy the process more and be easier to live with now that I'm not so worried about a deadline. Hopefully this will clear my thinking and keep me from making future mistakes. We'll see…


----------



## sras (Oct 31, 2009)

captkerk said:


> *Unscrewed*
> 
> I mentioned in the last entry how little I liked the screws in the top cap rail so I took a fellow LJ's advice and I'm going to ditch the screws and use dowels instead. Problem is that there are marks from the screws so I need to do something to cover them up. I decided to inlay a diamond shape of walnut where the screws were and I will be drilling a hole through that to put in the oak dowel that will ultimately help hold the cap rail to the ribs of the boat.
> 
> ...


For your router slip, I usually go for a patch. In this case, I might smooth out the divot so I can glue on a strip of scrap that can conform to the smoothed shape and then reshape. If that does not work out to your satisfaction you can always go with the modified shape plan you describe above. Just a thought…


----------



## captkerk (Jul 11, 2009)

captkerk said:


> *Unscrewed*
> 
> I mentioned in the last entry how little I liked the screws in the top cap rail so I took a fellow LJ's advice and I'm going to ditch the screws and use dowels instead. Problem is that there are marks from the screws so I need to do something to cover them up. I decided to inlay a diamond shape of walnut where the screws were and I will be drilling a hole through that to put in the oak dowel that will ultimately help hold the cap rail to the ribs of the boat.
> 
> ...


Thanks for the tip, I'll give that a try and be sure to post the results.


----------



## ND2ELK (Jan 25, 2008)

captkerk said:


> *Unscrewed*
> 
> I mentioned in the last entry how little I liked the screws in the top cap rail so I took a fellow LJ's advice and I'm going to ditch the screws and use dowels instead. Problem is that there are marks from the screws so I need to do something to cover them up. I decided to inlay a diamond shape of walnut where the screws were and I will be drilling a hole through that to put in the oak dowel that will ultimately help hold the cap rail to the ribs of the boat.
> 
> ...


If you can clamp a 1/4" ply straight edge on the top rail. Just go as deep as the dip, Make several passes, moving straight edge in a little at a time. Then glue strip in as sras suggested.

I really like the idea of gluing walnut pieces on the top rails. Sorry you can't get it done for Christmas, but you made the right choice to enjoy family and your vacation. If one rushes, you are more likely to make mistakes. My vocational instructor always told me, it takes less time to do it right than do it over. Looking forward to seeing the finished project.


----------



## captkerk (Jul 11, 2009)

captkerk said:


> *Unscrewed*
> 
> I mentioned in the last entry how little I liked the screws in the top cap rail so I took a fellow LJ's advice and I'm going to ditch the screws and use dowels instead. Problem is that there are marks from the screws so I need to do something to cover them up. I decided to inlay a diamond shape of walnut where the screws were and I will be drilling a hole through that to put in the oak dowel that will ultimately help hold the cap rail to the ribs of the boat.
> 
> ...


Thanks for the extra advice, Tom. I have you to thank for helping to make a better end product.

Once I decided to go with the dowels and realized I would need to hide the screw marks the idea for the diamonds came to mind. That idea was do put in the diamonds, then drill for the dowels so both the diamonds and the dowels would be visible in the end product. After I did four of the diamonds, I got to thinking that I should have just done the dowel first, then covered them with the diamonds. Now I need to be really careful about where I put the dowel hole so it is the same on each diamond. Doing the diamonds after would have simplified this. I suppose I can do a few of the dowels through the diamonds and see how I like it and change it later if I don't.

Spent very little time in the shop today; might make some progress tomorrow.


----------



## captkerk (Jul 11, 2009)

*Finally out of the clamps*

I'll end any suspense right now and say that I didn't make my Christmas deadline for this project and at the rate I've been going, I'll be lucky to make her birthday in June! At any rate, I finally have the boat out of the clamps that were holding the top rails on until I could glue in some dowels.










I cut the dowels flush and then turned my attention to the bow cap. I cut it out and template routed it and worked on the joints with the rails a bit today.










I have a little more shaping to do on the bow cap and some splines to cut for lining it up with the rails. I also need to figure out how I am going to attach it! I think I might do one more dowel and walnut diamond inlay right at the bow, but not sure if that will be all or not. Anyway, I made a little progress and it's nice to see it without the clamps!


----------



## spunwood (Aug 20, 2010)

captkerk said:


> *Finally out of the clamps*
> 
> I'll end any suspense right now and say that I didn't make my Christmas deadline for this project and at the rate I've been going, I'll be lucky to make her birthday in June! At any rate, I finally have the boat out of the clamps that were holding the top rails on until I could glue in some dowels.
> 
> ...


That is just neat. Deadline shmedline.


----------



## ND2ELK (Jan 25, 2008)

captkerk said:


> *Finally out of the clamps*
> 
> I'll end any suspense right now and say that I didn't make my Christmas deadline for this project and at the rate I've been going, I'll be lucky to make her birthday in June! At any rate, I finally have the boat out of the clamps that were holding the top rails on until I could glue in some dowels.
> 
> ...


Glad to see you are back at it again. It never hurts to take a little break sometimes. Your boat is coming along nicely. No matter how long it takes, seeing the look on someones face will make it all worth while. The main thing is to have fun. After 35 years of dead lines it is kind of nice working on something because I want to and not have to. Looking forward to seeing your progress.

Tom


----------



## Splinterman (Mar 13, 2009)

captkerk said:


> *Finally out of the clamps*
> 
> I'll end any suspense right now and say that I didn't make my Christmas deadline for this project and at the rate I've been going, I'll be lucky to make her birthday in June! At any rate, I finally have the boat out of the clamps that were holding the top rails on until I could glue in some dowels.
> 
> ...


One sweet looking project…nice job.


----------



## Dennisgrosen (Nov 14, 2009)

captkerk said:


> *Finally out of the clamps*
> 
> I'll end any suspense right now and say that I didn't make my Christmas deadline for this project and at the rate I've been going, I'll be lucky to make her birthday in June! At any rate, I finally have the boat out of the clamps that were holding the top rails on until I could glue in some dowels.
> 
> ...


I don´t know if its going in wather but nomatter what you need to make 
some to knot the robe to at the bow so one more diamond is right
and you need something simular in both sides near the back of the boat

looking good sofare

take care
Dennis


----------



## captkerk (Jul 11, 2009)

*Trimming and sanding*

Got a few more things done on the boat, starting with attaching the bow cap. I ended up changing the shape a little bit to help blend with the side caps and decided on one more dowel at the bow and splines where the bow cap meets the side caps.









Once the bow cap was in place, I worked on trimming the walnut diamonds flush with the cap rails.









I did this with a trim router, a straight bit and a shim on half of the baseplate that the bit was set flush with. I was then able to nibble away at the inlays that were standing proud to leave them close to flush. I didn't get the smoothest of surfaces when I was done, but some time with the sander took care of that.









I added a trim piece to the top of the transom plywood piece to cover the edge and have been doing a bunch of sanding and scraping on the cap rails and bow piece to get them to look right.









I originally thought I would just do an inlay piece to cover the screws at the bottom of the transom, but since I have the edges of the sides to cover as well, I'm going to trim the whole back with walnut. I'm also thinking about doing a thin edge of walnut around the entire cap rail as well. I just need to figure out how to make it go around the point of the bow.

After trim, I just need to make a seat and some rockers and it should be done!


----------



## sras (Oct 31, 2009)

captkerk said:


> *Trimming and sanding*
> 
> Got a few more things done on the boat, starting with attaching the bow cap. I ended up changing the shape a little bit to help blend with the side caps and decided on one more dowel at the bow and splines where the bow cap meets the side caps.
> 
> ...


Looks like you're making good progress!


----------



## shipwright (Sep 27, 2010)

captkerk said:


> *Trimming and sanding*
> 
> Got a few more things done on the boat, starting with attaching the bow cap. I ended up changing the shape a little bit to help blend with the side caps and decided on one more dowel at the bow and splines where the bow cap meets the side caps.
> 
> ...


Very shippy looking little rocker. I'd have taken you on as an apprentice in a heartbeat. Looks like you may have missed your calling. I'll be watching this one.
Nice work.


----------



## captkerk (Jul 11, 2009)

*Please remain seated*

This is the last blog entry for this project. I tied up all the loose ends by adding a seat, finishing trim, adding the rocker base and fixing a mistake. First the seat…



















I made a few slips making the seat frame, but after some time sanding that cleaned up ok. Next the trim for the transom. A few small boards and some roundover and that was done.










Finally, the slip up. I had made a big slip with the router while truing up the edges of the rails and this is the patch I made to fix it. From a normal distance, it's not even noticeable.










As for the rocker base, well, see the finished pics 

All in all, it was a fun project that sent me a couple of curveballs and took way to long to complete. But I'm glad I built it and so is Jayne. Now I need to start thinking about what to make for number five. He's due to arrive in February, so I still have some time.


----------



## rrdesigns (Sep 4, 2009)

captkerk said:


> *Please remain seated*
> 
> This is the last blog entry for this project. I tied up all the loose ends by adding a seat, finishing trim, adding the rocker base and fixing a mistake. First the seat…
> 
> ...


Boat looks great! Now for next Christmas you can add her name to the back in scoll sawed letters.


----------



## Tomcat1066 (Jan 3, 2008)

captkerk said:


> *Please remain seated*
> 
> This is the last blog entry for this project. I tied up all the loose ends by adding a seat, finishing trim, adding the rocker base and fixing a mistake. First the seat…
> 
> ...


OK, that's pretty cool. I'm going to have to save this one since I've got a baby due in March and, at some point, this might be a neat project for them.

As for your slip up, I had to look at the picture for a while to find it, so you definitely did a good job of disguising it.


----------

