Monday, August 16, 1999
AHOY!
Welcome to the Dayson Compass! This is the third status report for
the 14' Flat Skiff we're building on the web at
Dayson Boat
Building. This is an opt-in subscription, but if you wish
to stop receiving these updates, please reply with the word
unsubscribe in the subject.
WEB STATS
This week our web site reached a total of 1560 hits! That's
an average of 54.3 hits each day! Our record still stands at
117 hits in one day which was on July 26, 1999. We came real
close to breaking it this weekend when we hit 114 on Saturday!
A big thank you goes to
ClickOregon.com
who provided about 27 of those hits on Saturday! They featured
us as Web Cam of the Weekend!
THIS WEEK
I got a ton of work done on the skiff this week. If you were watching
on the web cam, it was probably the most exciting stage, because you could
see the entire construction process of the hull!
I started on Monday with the starboard side. It is actually
made of two panels joined together with a butt block. A butt block
is just a 6" wide piece of wood that lays over the joint for added strength.
I did not use the full size patterns that came with the plans, because
I felt I had a better chance of accuracy if I measured out each piece according
to the plans. This all took about two hours which may seam like a lot
of time, but getting the starboard side exact was critical to the rest
of the project.
So with all the measurements laid out and checked for the starboard panels,
I cut them from two sheets of plywood on Tuesday. The designer
suggested using staples to join the panels with the butt block, but even
with a powered stapler, they would not go into the wood. So, I
used some small nails that worked just fine. Now that the starboard
side was complete, the next step was to make the port side. This didn't
take long, because I just laid the starboard side down on two more sheets
of plywood and traced the outline. Then I laid them side by side to
mark where the bulkhead and frames would go. They were a mirror image
of each other! I used another butt block and joined the port
panels together on Wednesday.
With both sides of the skiff complete, it was time to begin the bulkhead
and frames. This was no easy task. My goal was to fit the bulkhead,
transom, and four frames on one sheet of plywood. There was no nesting
diagram with the plans so I was on my own. With a little math
and some creativity I was able to get all but one frame on. The last
frame was cut on Thursday from some extra wood that would not be used
for anything else.
I began assembling the hull on Friday. The hull
was assembled upside down, because the hull gains it sheer (curve) as
the frames are added. I added the mid seat stern frame (bulkhead) first
since it was the widest point of the boat. There was enough tension
that the nails would not stay in so I used a couple stitches top and bottom
on each side to attach the frame to the side panels. Then I reinforced
it with small nails. Using the stitches also made it a lot easier working
alone. Rather than copper wire, I used weed eater string for the stitches.
It's very strong and will grind a lot easier during lamination than
the copper.
With the sides attached to the bulkhead, I tacked the bow. I put
a stitch in every 6" or so to pull the panels together. It
worked great. From the bow, I headed to the stern and installed the
transom the same way, but used small nails to reinforce it. I now had
the basic shape of the hull. Just four frames to go!
Using stitches and small nails, I installed the rest of the frames on
Saturday. The hull was beginning to look better and better,
but it still was not very strong. With the hull still upside down,
I laid the last two sheets of plywood on the hull. I fastened
a couple stitches to hold them in place and then cut the excess wood
off like cutting the extra crust off a pie. It was really
easy this way and turned out nice.
I used stitches about every 6" to attach the bottom to the hull. The
skiff now looked like a boat! It became much stronger once the
bottom was installed and will become even stronger during the lamination
phase. I expect to put the first layer of epoxy on Friday,
August 20, 1999. This will be shown live on the web cam so be sure
to catch it!
completed hull
LIVE WEBCAM!!
The best viewing times this week will be Fri. 8/20 7pm EST and Sat.
8/21 all day.
If you visit regularly you may have noticed periods of "recorded earlier"
views. I currently have guests at the house and for their privacy
will not be showing live shots 24 hours a day. Be sure to visit
during the posted times to get live shots, and I'll let you know
when we go back to 24 hour views.
Once again, thank you all for joining the crew as the skiff is
built. I hope that you all remain active participants and
stick around to see it launched! Until then...
See ya online or in the water!
Christopher Day
Dayson Boat Building
builders@dayson.com
http://www.dayson.com
|
