| An Inspirational Project
I am writing this because I want to share with others an experience which has turned out to be a wonderful new lease of life for me!
I am 70 years plus and embarked on building a wooden boat just over 15 months ago. The boat is called NAVIGATOR and is a design by John Welsford. John is a New Zealander and has designed a range of very interesting and attractive boats specifically for the amateur boatbuilder but many are built by professionals. Navigator is a 4.5 meter (15feet) sailing cruiser. It is of robust design weighing around 140 kilograms (300pounds) and 1.82meters (6feet) wide. I chose it because I wanted a day sailer that would be very safe and stable but attractive to look at. The days of my boat going over and then being pulled back by climbing onto the centre board are well and truly over for me. For those of you reading this who are, or who are approaching my age, such a project is exceptionally stimulating. Not only do you have to use your DIY skills but you certainly have to use your brains. A good set of plans is supplied by the designer but with such a complex project much has to be left to your own initiative and of course you can customise the boat to your own needs. Another important aspect is that the build is doable even if you suffer, like me, from arthritis or similar debilitating conditions. Boatbuilding requires a certain amount of skill and dexterity rather than brute force. It is also absolutely ideal for those who are retired because you do need lots of time.
I have been an amateur woodworker for many years and I like things which are robust. Navigator is certainly that. It has a flat bottom and lapstrake sides... There are 8 bulkheads (frames) with a stem and a stern. All are connected with long stringers forming the skeleton of the boat. The materials are basically 12 sheets of good quality marine plywood and some lengths of hardwood and soft wood. Everything has to be cut out and built up from these materials. The boat is glued and screwed together using two part epoxy resin. I learnt many new skills and I had to understand concepts that I had not come across before. But I emphasise, this is so much a part of the challenge and fantastic buzz you get when you start to create your boat and get things right which at first completely baffled you.
One thing that really springs to mind is the lofting process. This is the process where you are given a scale drawing of a part, eg. the stem, and a set of coordinates and by plotting these in the way you would a graph you obtain the profile to be cut out for the part you are making. Eventually, after having made many parts, you start assembling them and it all comes together, almost magically. Great accuracy in drawing out the parts is key. But it does all come together and is fantastically rewarding. You can't stop thinking. Did I do that? And, it is not THAT difficult!
Many people have written articles and published pictures describing the build of Navigator and apart from including a few photos of proud achievements and landmark stages in the build, I won't reiterate these, but I will give a few pointers as to how I overcame certain difficulties.
FINDING THE MATERIALS: Obviously plywood is important and its provenance depends where you live in the world. But just find a good boatbuilder supply company like Duckworks or in UK, Fyne Boat Kits, but there are many others, and they will happily point you in the right direction. Perhaps more problematic is the soft wood. This is because as far as possible you need soft wood that has a good straight grain and no knots. That is not easy to find unless you buy dressed timber which will cost you a fortune. I solved it by going to local builders merchants and talking nicely to the managers. If they will let you, by sorting through their rough sawn building timber stocks, you will find the odd piece without knots. (But don't leave the pile in a mess afterwards and get us all a bad name) You will need lots of
20 X 20 (3/4X3/4) or similar which you can cut out of roof laths or larger pieces. And it is well worth finding a wood yard who will cut it to size for a small charge. For several months before I started the actual build I searched and eventually successfully found what I wanted. Just keep your eyes open; demolition timber can also be a good source. A note: buy your plans and study them for several months whilst you are making other preparations. If you are a novice, like I was, you need that period to read your way into the project and start to understand unfamiliar terms.
ESSENTIAL TOOLS: Buy a good jig saw. I have a Matabo STE Quick. An excellent tool. Also, a good cordless drill and a sharp hand saw, a sharp chisel with a wet stone and guide to sharpen it, a good long ruler, 1 meter if possible, mine is 50cms, not long enough. A good supply of soft pencils that don't score the plywood and a square and protractor and an erasure. A small hand plane and rebate plane and lots of medium size clamps. Non essentials include an electric plane and various sanders but I found them invaluable with my stiff old hands and worth every penny of their cost.
THINGS THAT WORRIED ME MOST : Getting the jig straight and level, lofting (see previous), things fitting together, bending wood, scarf joints, forming the complex bend at the bow, using epoxy and fibreglassing. All these can be overcome in the following ways:
LEVELLING THE JIG: Obviously you must start with straight timber and as long as possible, depending on the length of the jig. People use all sots of fancy laser beams and such but I just used a NEW spirit level and a long aluminium straight edge. Then it is patience, numerous adjustments and just do your best. Then you must very securely fasten it down to the floor using metal angle brackets or such and these can be useful to help you lower or raise the jig when levelling it.
LOFTING: Previously mentioned. Buying patterns if they are available is easier but lofting is easy once you get the concept and creating your own components completely from these sets of numbers is so satisfying.
WORRYING ABOUT THINGS FITTING TOGETHER: Trust the plans, they work, and many have been there before you. But above all, TAKE EXTREME CARE AND READ YOUR MEASUREMENTS ACCURATELY! Double check several times.
BENDING WOOD: If you apply pressure to wood, it will bend. For long lengths I lay them out on trestles and then weight them, slowly increasing the weights. You can do this outside allowing natural rain to help or wet them. Once bent the shape will stay.
SCARFE JOINTS: There is lots of stuff written about this by the likes of Jim Michalak and others. Read and then practice on scrap wood. I used my electric planer and sander. I glued the parts together using a nail gun then pulled the nails out later.
COMPLEX BOW SHAPE: If your boat, like Navigator, has a fairly complex bow shape you need time to achieve it. Go as far as you dare bending the dry wood with clamps and screws then don't be afraid of using a bit of steam or in my case boiling water on wet towels then pull it in, carefully. (A note of caution, you can only do this with top class ply that will not delaminate).
USE OF EPOXY: This becomes second nature once you get into the build. I found pumps essential, longish mixing sticks, 15 to 20 cms (6 inches) and lots of throw away plastic cups and gloves. (Try not to get any epoxy on your fingers. This is difficult when you are screwing things together because the fragile gloves can easily be ripped. I have suffered mild doses of an excema type reaction but nothing serious. For filleting I use a small pointing trowel, works fine and will clean off if you use very hot soapy water quickly after you have finished or an old sharp chisel if a bit of epoxy sticks on it. You may eventually get a thin film of epoxy on these tools but you can skim this off with a carburundem disc.
FIBREGLASSING: This is more problematic but to me, and I am certainly no expert, be generous with the epoxy resin allowing the fibre to quickly absorb it. But do study the advice of others for large areas. There seems to be several schools of thought on this subject.
PROGRESS SO FAR. Here are a few pictures:
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This is the bottom panel with bulkhead 5, the first one I made, mocked up on it. This is a split bulkhead, which is 6 feet wide, and the centre board case has to be fitted first, but it was the first bit of assembly I tried and I was sort of amazed that it seemed to fit. |
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Bow with some stringers fitted showing the boaty shape developing and you begin to realise what you are achieving. |
I built my first boat, a Mirror dinghy, over 30 years ago for my kids, but I had largely forgotten how I did it except that I do remember it did arrive in kit form (you can still buy them). I bought my plans for Navigator nearly 2 years ago and commenced the build 7 or 8 months later; I started effectively as a novice and here I am, well into the project and having built up my confidence to the extent that I have the will to definitely finish what will be, I hope, a beautiful sailing craft. 'Bonne Chance' to all who are prepared to have a go, WHATEVER your age. I guess I am proud of myself!
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Hooray! Planking is finished we have a boat! |
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