Dave's Boatbuilding page
The diary of building the Outboard Skiff 15 from bateau.com
The Inside
In the Beginning
The Jig
The Hull
Finishing & Rigging
Bruce's Boat
Send me a message
Visit Jacques Mertens webpage's
bateau.com
amateurboatbuilding.com
Well at least I'm back and working on the boat (from now on referred to as Woody). It's been a while since I've updated the webpage and actually got some work on the boat. But I'm back in action now and kicking butt on it. Since Woody was flipped in January (god was it that long ago) things have progressed slowly until this past week. I now have all the inside seams filleted and taped, have the stringers installed, have most of the upright frames installed and just glued the rear seat back/bulkhead in. I would like to thank a one of my best friends (who happened to be visiting from Connecticut in march) for helping me fillet and tape the transom. It was great (and very unusual) to have someone help get something done. Thanks Dan!!!!
Unfortunately, my digital camera broke so I had to send it in to get fixed so the pictures will no be as good as usual. I am using my digital camcorder to take pictures and the quality from that is not very good. It should be good enough to make it by for the next couple of weeks though.
Tuesday July 15, 2003
I can't believe I haven't updated this webpage in such
a long time. Hopefully I can start a regular schedule now. I have been quite
busy though. Taking a two week vacation in June actually put me back a month.
Well, I'm back an finally getting more work done. It felt great to work on it all
last weekend. I am in the process of sealing and fairing the inside now. I
plan to have the entire inside sealed tomorrow night. This weekend I can start
working on the sole. I hope to have it dry fitted this weekend.
Since that last update, I have the motor well complete and filled with foam, faired and
sealed. The motor well is a little different than the plans call for. I have
the center portion open to create a bilge. I will drain the cockpit to the bilge
& use a pump to drain it. I also wanted to leave the center open so I can
install the lower bolts for the 50hp motor. In order to create a bilge, I added two
longitudinal bulkheads and some additional cleats. This should add a little more
strength also. I then covered each side (after sealing the inside) and filled them
with foam. Once I faired and sealed the motor well, I started on the cockpit.
I faired the taped edges along the chine and am sealing it now. I will post pictures
when it is completely sealed. Next step the sole and chase tubing. As you can
see by the pictures below, I broke down and did a lot of sanding on the inside over the
weekend. Someday I will not have to sand this thing anymore but who knows when that
will be. I'll probably still be sanding it while I launch it on it's maiden
voyage. Maybe I should name it "I HATE SANDING"
Sunday July 20, 2003
This weekend I fit and installed the sole. To go along with that was some chase tubing for the controls and electric. Fitting and placing the sole was much easier than I had anticipated (for some strange reason). Friday night I pretty much had the sole cut and fit. I added some chase tubing Saturday morning & got all that fit. Sealing the sole (just the bottom) before installing is what took the time. I added the first coat Friday night and two Saturday. I added one more coat Sunday morning before setting it. It looks like it came out pretty well. I hope I can keep up this pace.
Thursday August 7, 2003
Well, the sole and cockpit are pretty much finished up. After setting the sole, filleting and taping it I put three coats of resin on it. I sanded it with 120 grit & then put another coat on it. Very smooth! A quick hit with 220 and it will be ready to paint. Hopeful this weekend I will get the aft seat and forward deck cut and dry fit. The forward deck will take a little bit of time because I plan to mount the fuel take there. Will be checking my sources in the area this weekend to order the right size. I hope to have them done by the end of the month as I will be taking a long weekend on labor day for the Southern 500 in Darlington South Carolina. After that its the rub rail and gunwale. Should be ready to paint by the end on September. Painted by the end of November and rigged during December. We will be camping at Long Point Park (where the get together was a few months ago) for New Years (five days I think) and that will be the launch date.
The first picture is just to see what it will look like on the water taking the waves. Actually It was for installing the floatation foam under the sole. I had to get some extra foam to completely fill the sole and estimate I will have around 800 pounds plus of additional floatation in it after everything is said and done. I bought an extra two gallons of the foam locally and so far have used about 2/3 of a gallon plus the two gallons I got with the kit. I also plan to foam around the fuel tank to secure it. I don't think I'll have to worry about sinking (not that I would with these great designs). Will update after the big race.
Thursday September 25, 2003
Well I am getting very close to paint. I have the front deck and rear seat deck installed and am currently sealing them with resin. The rubrails are installed and I plan on having the gunwale dry fit by the end of the weekend. The only major time left is the center console. I am debating whether or not to build one or buy one form my brother-in-law who just happens to be the production manager for Pathfinder. Either way, by next weekend, I will be ready to start the final sanding for paint. I am not looking forward to the sanding, but the final paint job keeps me going. I can't believe I am almost done with this thing. What a great project this has been.
Monday September 29, 2003
It's getting closer! I have the inwale stringers installed & cut out a template for the gunwale tonight. I had a few delays over the weekend with the weather & a few things I had to consider (mostly custom fitting things), but got it all figured out and am progressing nicely. I plan to scribe the template on to a sheet of plywood (in a few pieces of course) and seal it with epoxy before I cut the it. I figure it should be a little easier than sealing the pieces after their cut. I will oversize the cuts and then flush cut the gunwales with a router after they're are installed. I think that will be a lot easier than trying to get them to fit prior to installation. Will be camping with good friends this weekend so I probably won't get the gunwales installed until early next week.
This page last updated Monday, December 08, 2003.