JEM Watercraft

And so it begins............
After 4 weeks of work & study headaches & trying to find a decent ply supplier, I'm finally able to start this project.
Step 1, lay out Ply, Plans, some straight things & some bent things.
A Pencil also helps.



6 sheets of 4mm Gaboon should do the trick. Provided no stuff ups, I'll have most of what I need for the next project as well.

The plan of attack is to spend about 1 hour a night this week measuring & marking. I've set myself a deadline of 2 weeks from today to have everything marked out ready to cut. Should be achievable............

Al

G'day Al,

6 sheets of 4mm Gaboon should do the trick. Provided no stuff ups, I'll have most of what I need for the next project as well.

Welcome to my world mate. GO YOU GOOD THANG!!!

Where in Oz are you?

G'Day Mick,
I'm in Hornsby in Sydney.
Nice & close to Berowra Creek, Bobbin Head, Manly Dam & Narrabeen Lakes.
Should be able to find somewhere to paddle
Once the Freedoms are built I might look at a SOT for chasing snapper off Long Reef.
I figure I can build the 3 Yaks for less money than a rough as guts tinny & get some excercise while I'm at it.

Not much work on the Freedom tonight, Had to dyna bolt the shadow board I built yesterday onto the wall.
I hope to get an hour or so in tomorrow.

Al

Slow progress thanks to a few heavy duty days at work.
Measuring & marking continues.





Al

Take your time mate, enjoy the build. That is the secret. I get so bloody obsessed with the build and getting it done and looking forward to the next part of it that I go too fast and make mistakes.

Check your measuements before you cut -ALL of them. what works for me, is I measure and mark in inches, then check in millimetres.
The QA sheet checks are a Godsend. Check the QA measurements also, before you cut.

I really like the Freedom 11 and think she will go very well down your way. Lots of real nice places to paddle there!

1 month on & not a lot of progress to report unfortunately.
A promotion at work has meant less time at home & a minor but painful back injury has meant even less time in the shed.
Spent a few hours on it today & hope to finish marking & start cutting tomorrow.

Al

Progress at last.
Sheet 1 measured, marked, checked, swearing........................... remeasured, remarked, rechecked & the cutting begins.


I should have sheet 1 cut by the end of the week & traced to sheet 2 shortly after.

Al

Good work, Al. It gets fun when you start putting panels together and a boat starts to emerge.

Slow progress but progress none the less.

All cut & sanded ready for the next step


Floor & lower panels ready to be joined (1 side panel has already been joined & sanded. It is below the 2nd one to make sure they are exactly the same).


Joined & weighted.

The lumber on the right is for my new gate which I better do soon or I'll be sleeping in the shed.

Today is raining & the coldest it's been for weeks so no more work today. The epoxy will take hours to set.
Tomorrow I'll be out fishing so Sunday I'll glass the joints & prepare to start stitching.

Al

A couple of the local distractions come to visit.



Floor & lower side panels joined & fiberglass spliced on both sides.

The upper side panels have been match sanded, QA checked & are clamped on the build table waiting for the joint to set so I can apply fiberglass.
That gives me 2 more days of work (1 day each side) before I start stitching. By Boxing day should have something that resembles a boat.

So far things are moving along slowly but smoothly. I figure a little extra care & not rushing will pay off in the long run. Matt's plans make it fairly easy to follow so don't expect any issues other than pilot error.
A bigger build table would help but isn't an option at this point. Might look at options before I start the next build.

Al