Fiberglassing Completed

With the sounds of the Hallelujah Chorus still echoing in my ears, Im happy to say that fiberglassing work on the Utility hull is finally completed. Ive added a second layer of epoxy to the whole thing, and the next step will be to sand it down smooth in preparation for painting. Until then, at least, its nice and shiny.

The Next Problem?
For planing boats, the bottom of the hull is supposed to be flat along the aft 1/3 of its length. If its not flat, the boat will likely tend to porpoise (bounce up and down at the bow) at higher speeds.

For an 11-foot boat, 1/3 the length would be 3.67 feet. Checking the bottom of my boat with a 48" level, Ive found that the aft 36 inches is fairly flat. However, in the aft 48 inches, there is a noticeable hook that is about 1/16" in depth. So the unanswered question is, "will it porpoise?" Since the bottom of the hull is not as long the top, and the final 36 inches is flat... perhaps itll be okay. Perhaps not. Only time will tell.

Even though I dont know for certain just yet, Im tempted to go ahead and add a wedge to the bottom of the hull while its still upside-down and easily accessible. Ill think about it.

The gap between the hull and the level shows a hook of approximately 1/16" depth.

Progress on the Zip
Ive got the transom knee for the Zip built. While the plans call for a 1-1/2" wide knee (two 3/4" plywood parts laminated together), Ive added additional 1/4" pieces on either side to widen the knee to 2 inches. It should be plenty strong. 

Transom knee for the Zip.

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Bottom port forward is dry fit

On Fathers Day, I finally completed dry-fitting the bottom planking on the forward port side of the boat. Im very happy about that.

Port bottom planking, dry-fit with screws and washers.

The fitting started off wonderfully at the aft end, where the planking joins along the centerline of the keel. By the time I finished at the bow, however, there were some spots where the fitting was not as good as Id hoped. These spots can be filled with thickened epoxy, of course. Still, I wish the fitting had been better.

About midway along the keel, there is an open seam approximately 18 inches long, and about 5/32" at its widest point. There was also supposed to have been a transition joint just forward of the end of the keel. I did not pre-plan for this, and as a result, I kind of messed it up a little bit. 

5/32" gap along the centerline of the keel.

The missed transition joint.

In retrospect, I think both of these mistakes could have been avoided if I had overlapped the planking along the centerline of the keel, and trimmed the whole length to fit as I went.

There is another small gap between the bottom planking and the side planking at the stem. 

Another small gap up forward.

My plan is to use epoxy thickened with mahogany sawdust (ie: Wood Flour) when I glue this panel on. From what Ive encountered so far, this mixture seems to absorb impact better than epoxy thickened with #2 silica (which seems more brittle). The thickened mixture will fill in these gaps, and I believe that in the end it will all be just fine.

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Working on the Zip

This blog started off with a reference to the Zip plans I had just ordered back in April. The plans arrived a week after I made that first post, and I got started on the stem that very weekend.

During breaks while working on the Utility, I have slowly & purposefully been working on parts for the Zip. I have been taking my time, carefully shaping the parts. Im in no rush at this point, since after all I still have the first boat to finish.

Ive made it a point to cut just outside the lines on the parts so far, then sand them down to the line. So far Ive got the stem shaped, as well as the lower piece of the breasthook. I cut the top piece of the breasthook earlier today. Not much to show so far, but here are some photos.

Tracing the stem onto 3/4" Douglas Fir marine plywood.

First stem piece cut. Using it as a template to trace out the second piece.

Carefully filing out the notch in the lower breasthook piece.

The shaped Zip stem needs to be epoxied. Construction on the Utility is underway in the background.

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Unangan Aleut Kayak Accessories Sprayskirt and Kamleika

Spray skirts on Unangan kayaks were affixed to the cockpit coaming of the kayak and stayed with the kayak when it wasnt in use. When the paddler wanted to take off in his kayak, he stepped into his kayak and sat down and then pulled up the skirt and threw the strap that held it up over his shoulder. The top of the skirt had a draw string that the paddler could tighten to minimize entry of water. According to Jochelson (1925) some kayakers had a way of tying the shoulder strap by means of two rings which allowed the kayaker to quickly disconnect the shoulder strap in case of a capsize.

Back view of a kayak model showing the spray skirt and the single strap that goes over one of the kayakers shoulder to hold up the skirt.  The bottom of the skirt is tied around the rim of the cockpit coaming and the top of the skirt has a draw string that the paddler can tighten to minimize entry of water into the kayak.

This model shows the paddler wearing his rain jacket  in conjunction with the sprayskirt.

Unangan hunter fitted out with a water proof gut skin rain coat that also doubles as a paddling jacket.  He is also wearing a bent wood hat and water proof boots that would allow him to get in and out of his boat just off shore  to prevent damage to the skin of the boat that might occur if he ran the boat up on shore to get in and out of it.

The sprayskirt worked in conjunction with a raincoat that everyone wore both on land and while kayaking. The raincoat reached below the knees and was also fitted with a hood.  In addition, in times past kayakers would wear wooden head gear while out in their kayaks.
In the rest of the Bering Sea region, kayakers wear gut skin jackets similar to those of Unangan kayakers.  However, in the Bering Sea, skin jackets are fitted with a draw string on the bottom that fits directly over the coaming and eliminates the need for a separate spray skirt.  Part of the reason that Unangan kayakers did not use this method may be that their cockpits were relatively small and a jacket fitted to the smaller cockpit would have made the bottom of the jacket too narrow to walk in comfortably.

Paddlers on shore with their kayaks drawn up on the beach.  Spray skirts stay attached to the coamings of the kayaks. These kayakers are relatively modern and have adopted Western style hats to replace the bent wood hats and visors that they would have worn in the past.

If the kayaks were being stored for a little longer time, the sprayskirts could be cinched up at the top and held up with a stick to form a roof over the cockpit opening to keep the rain out.

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Keel batten

I have decided to break with tradition at this point, not wanting to have to turn the hull over four times.
I am going to install the bulk of the interior prior to flipping as many other builders have done.  This means i will put the keel batten, seats, CB trunk in place first.

Step one was to remove the aft bulkhead that was mistakenly installed.  this took 5 minutes with the multi tool.  It cuts through epoxy and glass like butter and is easy to control in a tight space.

Step two was to make the hole in the temporary center bulkhead large enough to get the batten through.  I know I could probably take it out at this point, but it really keeps things rigid.

Step three - cut rough batten to length.

next will be to cut an approximation of the bottom angles onto the batten with a plane.  Will rough out with the electric, then smooth out with the block plane and sandpaper.

August 31 update -
Took the batten stock to the sawhorses and roughed out the cut with the block plane at the stern and the power plane at the bow.  It actually fits pretty good!  This will help minimize how much goop needs to be mixed up to fit the batten.

the batten is anchored at the stern, and supported near that bow so that epoxy grout can be laid for 2/3rds of the length.  

Hole in the temporary bulkhead allows enough clearance for gluing. 

Two heavy bags help to weight down the stern part. 

I did make a HUGE, DANGEROUS, and EXPENSIVE mistake when fitting the batten to the hull.  I have been using chunks of lead, marine batteries, and other assorted heavy objects to make the batten lie flat to the hull.  Then I drilled pilot holes from above, then a smaller pilot hole from below the boat so that the batten would be held firmly and not need extra weight on top while the goop hardened.  I know how easy it is to split fir, so the pilot holes are essential.  During this process while drilling from beneath and into the batten, I accidentally drilled a small pilot hole INTO THE MARINE BATTERY.  My first thought was, "damned, where is this water coming from."  Then the obvious came to mind!  I boogied to get the battery out of the boat, and onto the cement floor, and eventually back into its battery box, where it could drain safely.  Then, after a short clean up of the puddles with gloves on, I wiped all surfaces down with a baking soda paste and rinsed thoroughly.  Battery acid will eat through just about anything metal, cloth, or wood.  I sure hope I neutralized the acid.  A quick note:  when cleaning the acid, it noticeably bubbles when the baking soda contacts it.  Wear long sleeves, eye protection, and rubber gloves.

Will never use a Marine battery for anything other than its intended purpose again.  I hope at least one builder has their skin, eyes, or boat saved by reading this posting.  I admit it was stupid and short sighted.

I will be putting a first aid kit on the wall in the garage, right next to the shelf for eye protection, hearing protectors, and gloves.

Hope to have this part done by Labor Day.  (putting a deadline on anything wont help. oops)

September 2, 2013
I finished putting in the batten today with the help of two volunteers!  Phil and Kenny came over to see what was transpiring and we got to work.  Phil mixed batches of epoxy and handed them to me in the boat while Kenny looked for gaps, drips, and spills.  It took about an hour to get the batten bedded down and held in place by the sheet rock screws (I used longer ones on purpose to ensure they are really in place.  Additionally, if they refuse to budge, I can heat up the end and it will melt the surrounding epoxy for extraction.  At least,  thats the theory.  It was nice to see the epoxy oozing out the sides and the batten was pressed into place.  Phil screwed the sheet rock screws in, while I stood on the batten to hold it flush with the bottom.  I hope to remember to pull the screws out tomorrow afternoon, as it gets more difficult as time goes on.

Kenny is thinking of building a CS 17, so he wanted to see the boat and plans close up.  I hope this was helpful.  At least we got another hand involved,  will reimburse with beer when the time comes.

No updates for a couple of weeks as spare time is limited, but it will involve putting in the stern bulkhead, and deck framing structures.  Seats and centerboard case to come as well.

September 3, 2013
Was able to successfully extract all the sheet rock screws.  going with the longer screw worked better as the helix is not a tightly wound on the make I used.  I did discover that I over filled the area that the centerboard trunk will abut and will need to chip out some epoxy from the batten with the multi-tool.

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The Utility part 3 Stem and floor battens

The Utility’s stem, as with the Squirt, Zip, and I assume several other Glen-L designs, is made of 2 laminations of 3/4” plywood. Fortunately, I had enough 3/4” marine-grade Douglas Fir plywood left over from Lusitania 13’s second transom to build both the transom and the stem for the Utility. 

The laminations are glued together with marine epoxy, (I used Poxy-Shield thickened with #2 silica), and bronze screws. The breasthook is basically made the same way, although the mating pieces are shaped differently: The top piece fits over the stem, and the bottom supporting piece fits around the stem. The breasthook is then epoxied onto the stem. I clearly marked all my centerlines, and tried to make the pieces fit as precisely as possible.

With the centerline on the keel clearly marked, I clamped the Utility’s stem/breasthook assembly into position. Next, using twine and a plumb bob, I worked carefully to make sure the whole assembly was aligned with the centerline of the keel. As a one-person job, this is rather tricky. If you have someone to help, it should be much easier.

With the assembly clamped into position, I drilled two 1/4” holes vertically through the forward part of the keel and aft section of the stem, countersinking the carriage bolts. After applying copious amounts of thickened epoxy, I bolted the stem to the keel with 5” long, 1/4” bronze carriage bolts. After tightening them, I filled the extra space from the countersunk carriage bolts with thickened epoxy.

Stem clamped and bolted onto forward end of keel.

Stem-to-keel joint after epoxy. Glue blocks added for reinforcement.

Having now learned my lesson from having to build up the keel thickness, I turned to the floor battens. As I mentioned before, the frame notches for these were cut to 1” deep. “1-inch” lumber off-the-shelf is typically only 3/4” thick. So, for the floor battens, I purchased an 8-foot, “5/4” mahogany board. (After they plane 1/4” off it at the lumber yard, you’re left with an actual 1-inch thick board.) The cuts for the floor battens were straight cuts, producing four 2” wide battens. Cutting the battens produces a lot, I mean a lot, of red sawdust. I decided to sweep up & collect most of it to use as wood flour to thicken epoxy later on. This turned out to work quite well.

The floor battens had to be fitted into the transom frame notches the same as the keel. The battens were fastened on with thickened epoxy and 2” bronze screws.

Transom knees attached to keel & transom. I put these on before adding the floor battens.

A note about bronze screws

Bronze screw heads are rather soft, and will strip out on you easily. This is particularly true when using a power drill as a screwdriver. Below is the method I used to remove a stripped screw during the fitting process for the floor battens:

Totally stripped-out bronze screw head.

I cut a slot in it with my Dremel.

Removal was then easy with a flat-head screwdriver.

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More fiberglassing photos

The next section of fiberglass cloth "draped and taped" before applying the epoxy.

After the epoxy is applied, the fiberglas cloth is all but invisible.

I have tried to be as meticulous as possible with the transom. However, I will have to sand those areas where the fiberglass cloth overlaps it.

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