Welcome to my blog in progress. I may be alone on this one but I find the constraints of using a blog format quite cumbersome. In fact I can hardly stand the word "blog". Go ahead, say it aloud a few times and see if you don't agree. My goal however is to document and archive the various projects I have done and will do in the future. Use the navigation on the right hand side keeping in mind that if you're like me and prefer starting at the beginning of a story you will have to scroll to the very bottom post and work your way back up. I have a wide array of interests that centre around woodworking, music, boating, and biking, so you never know what I'll tackle next. Hope you enjoy!

Saturday, July 7, 2012

Got wood?

First I'll tell you that this boat is going to have a modern twist...

Some Background:

In the good ole' days woodens hulls would be planked with solid lumber that exhibited three qualities: durability, resistance to decay, and low weight.  A difficult combination to come by, planking stock was limited to certain cedars, larch, fir, and other select woods.  Today, long clear lumber in these species are becoming scarcer and the price reflects that fact.  In addition, the shrinking and expansion that the wood goes through when wetted and dried makes it somewhat difficult to keep a boat watertight.  Knowing that my boat will be kept on a trailer, I didn't want to be forced into continual maintenance so I'm going a different direction: marine plywood planks with epoxy glued laps. 

The glued lapstrake method is fairly new, requiring both the advancement of epoxy adhesives and plywood glued with water resistant glues.  The advantages are many: it becomes a monococque hull with no swelling and shrinking, the added strength reduces the need for ribs, the planks can be cut out of large clear sheets, thinner stock can be used for less weight, and once completed under paint the look is identical as solid wood.

So what did I buy?

For planking stock I purchased 4 sheets of 9mm Okoume marine plywood at about $130.00 each.
I also bought 1 sheet of 12mm Okoume marine plywood for the keel at about $135.00 
Supplier: Windsor Plywood

For Solid wood components I went with African Mahogany.  I purchased about 20 boardfeet of 4/4" lumber at around $4.20 per bf.  I also purchased a few boardfeet of 8/4" at around $5.50 per bf.
Supplier: P.J.White Hardwoods

So the running total so far is about $900.00ish in total.  I'm leaving out small odds and ends like 2X4's for moulds and such because I'm already typing a lot as it is.  I promise that once I get into things it'll be more pictures and less blah, blah, blah.

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