Stalker Square Back

[dangermouse01]

By the way it looks like you need more clamps (top of the picture)

There are more clamps there than meet the eye. There are 12 of the big spring clamps, about 20 of the medium and about 30 of the small ones and 12 of the black ones. Found that keeping them on the inside of the garage door was a convenient place to keep them. When every thing is rolled out of the garage and the garage door is open, the clamps are just above my head, just have to reach up and get one. If the door is shut they are at waist or shoulder level. Also not in the picture is the bucket of 3" c-clamps, and the box of 4 & 6" c-clamps.

DM

[surfman]

Looks like I have some catching up to do!

Okay, I got the car port cleaned up on Saturday and it took me most of the day. What a mess and I wanted to get that done for a while. You would think that would score some points with the wife, right …not, she just said I only did it so I could work on my project. Well that may be somewhat true but at least it is clean for now.

Fairly clean car port.


I started laying out the panel pieces onto the plywood on Sunday. The plans are clear and very easy to follow and understand but, right away I started making some mistakes laying out the measurements for each panel. Each drawing has only 2 panels laid out on it (there are 4 or 5 panels per sheet of plywood for my boat) but, when you combine all the measurements for each panel on one drawing it can get pretty busy in a hurry and I found myself looking at the wrong measurements from time to time. So I realized that I had to come up with a system to keep things straight.

First I numbered each of the lay out grid lines on the plywood and corresponding drawing then I drew a circle around the pair of numbers that were common to one panel. The first drawing had panel 1A and 4B so I circled all the measurements that corresponded to panel 1A. That way my eyes weren’t drawn to the wrong set of numbers. I think there is a name for some sort of disease that causes that but, this method helped me keep track of the measurements for each panel. I could quickly look at the number on the plywood grid line and go directly to the corresponding grid line number on the drawing without searching around to make sure I was in the right spot each time. Maybe this procedure has already been described on here before. (the second drawing is shown in the picture)



Notice that the top panel is the bottom numbers except at the left end they trade places. My eyes were getting crossed. The old adage measure twice and cut once is a rule that everyone should always follow. The numbering system I described above also helped me go back and double check my measurements with relative ease. I got everything laid out on the plywood, between football and yard mowing but, was not able to start cutting yet.





The PVC idea didn't turn me on too much either so I used a piece of wood battan. I lays flat and is easy to scribe a line with. Nothing too exciting yet and my progress will be slow but this is it for now, Thanks for looking.

[Oldsparkey]

I noticed you have priorities and they are set the correct way. A clean work area, A couple of chairs for relaxing, A fan to keep you cool, A grill for those snacks while checking the measurements before cutting. (Is that a cooler or coolers between the chairs ?)

It does pay to double check all measurments before doing anything. I keep mistaking 4/16th inch for 4/8ths of an inch , those 16's and 8's are something.
By the way I did the same thing , used a 1/4 in by 3/4 inch , strip of red wood 8 feet long , I had left over from the last boat to connect the dots with. It worked really well.

Chuck.
PS. Going back and looking ..... this is a Florida Boat Builders Post except for that one out-of-state person in NC but I guess we need to let him join us. (Mick is an honorary Floridan)

[surfman]

Yea it is a 168 qt cooler.

Another project, someone threw it out. It had some cracks in it but other than that it was fine. I filled in the cracks with MarineTex Epoxy repair. So far it looks like it will work just fine. It also had a 1/2 layer of star board on the top for a cutting surface. Now all I need is a boat big enough to put it in.

Yes I looked into the JEM-boree and it sounds like fun I just hate to make a commitment since I never know what I am doing until it is time to do it.

[surfman]

Okay, I started making little pieces out of big pieces a few weeks ago and I now have all the panels cut. I used a small block plane and a larger smooth plane to straighten up the wavy jig saw cutting. This worked out very well. I then used the panels as templates as described in the tutorial and traced out the mirrored panel pieces. I cut then out with the jig saw and made them slightly larger (pencil width).

Next I used a small stapler to fasten the 2 mirrored panels together and then used a belt sander to smooth the edges and make each side match up. Now I need to order the epoxy and glass and start getting down to the real nitty gritty.

As was discussed on another thread I plan on using double thickness plywood on the very bottom of the boat for added stiffness. I will have to get another sheet of plywood since there is not enough with the basic cut out plan. I am sure that the single thickness would be fine for a basic canoe to paddle around the lake or river with but, I am planning on making this a “work boat” for fishing in some tough places with lots of oysters and such. I am also planning on using an electric motor for propulsion along with a push pole and/or paddle. I have some ideas kicking around in my head and I will post pictures as I develop them. I do plan on making a battery tray and I will use the plastic battery boxes for the battery in order to contain any acid leeks. Acid leeks are bad in any kind of boat. Thanks to all of you for your comments and suggestions they have helped a lot. Please keep them coming.

[jem]

When you say double thickness, do you mean you'll be using 3/8" plywood on the bottom? If so, You will have on hell of a time getting the wood to bend into the bow shape.

Or do you mean you'll cut an additional set of bottom panels and cold-mold them onto the existing bottom panels? That can be done but it will take a bit of work.

I'd say it would be easier and a lot lighter (possibly cheaper) to add some additional layers of fiberglass inside and outside of the bottom panel. You'll get a very stiff composite sandwhich.

Perhaps even get some bi-axial cloth for the bottom panel. Keep in mind with biaxial cloth, is a lot tougher to fill in the weave in.

[Kayak Jack]

Surf,

I haven't screwed up the courage yet to try poling. When you get it under way, and have some time to spare, please make some posts about it?

I can just see me planting the pole, pushing on it, and watching the boat disappear from under me. Like when the dock floats away as you're stepping out onto your boat with the outboard motor in your arms. And I hear a plaintive wail in the near distance, saying "OHHHHhhh SH ....."

[Oldsparkey]

I believe Jack said this, not sure because it is rare when he comes up with a good idea. Sorry , Jack ... I just had to say that.

In place of putting TWO layers of wood on the bottom so you can stand up and fish .... Why not make the boat from the wood you have, epoxy saturate it (that triples the strength of the wood) then glass it (that adds more strength) and if you still are not happy then cut and fit a spare piece of wood for the area you will be standing on.

Remember with the boat in the water, the pressure of the water on the outside of the boat will help to compensate for your weight inside the boat, it is nothing like trying it on dry land ..... those are two worlds which are definitely apart.

I am 6-1 and 205 pounds , I stand up in my pirogues when they are on the water without any problems and they are made from 1/8th inch thick plywood , epoxy saturated and glassed. The Swamp Girl (because of the wider bottom ) had a 2nd layer of 1/8 wood strips layed over it ...equals 1/4 th inch with epoxy and glass added..... No problems. see this article.... 5th post down for the picture.
http://www.neilbank.com/phpBB2/viewtopi ... 120f7cd00c

Personally I think you have the horse pushing the cart at this time.... I would not add more weight to the boat till I tried it. You made it , you can always add to it if you are not happy with the final item , subtracting something is almost impossable if not impossable.

My idea might save you a lot of problems and the $.02 cents with it will not get you anything today.

Chuck.

[Kayak Jack]

Yeah - and Chuck has that peg leg to boot. Stub end puts a lot of pressure on the wood.

[surfman]

I am using the 1/4" luan and I was thinking of adding the second layer later to the inside of the boat if needed (cold mold). Since I have not built one of these boats yet and I am not familiar with how it will come out I think I need this but probably won't. I like the idea of saturating the ply with a thinned down epoxy and then using the extra glass on the inside. It may turn out to be just fine and I am worried about nothing.

1/4" plywood seems so flimsy and light but, as was pointed out, back it up with water an glass and it becomes pretty strong and stiff. I will only add the extra layer if I think I will need it. The battery tray may turn into a seat up front and that will add a lot of stiffness and weight so keeping the boat light will be important.

Poling is not that difficult, it does require a little balance especially in a tippy canoe. Just don’t try to push too hard on the pole or lean too far into it and you will be okay. Take short strokes until you get the hang of it. Steering and maneuvering the boat in the direction you want to go can be a little tricky but, with practice you can figure it out pretty quickly. A flared foot helps prevent the pole from getting stuck in the mud.

PS. I like that swamp girl, that was one I was thinking of building before I got with Matt and we came up with this one. I hope it turns out half as nice as yours.