Dave's Boatbuilding page The diary of building the Outboard Skiff 15 from bateau.com The Jig |
|
| Building pages
In the Beginning Finishing & Rigging Visit Jacques Mertens webpage's |
Sunday, June 9, 2002 After cleaning up the garage (it didn't take as long as I thought), the next thing was to make a BOM for the jig. I figured I'd need 5 2 x 6's for the strongbacks and 12 2x4's for the molds. We'll know soon if I need any more. I used some plywood we had that was supposed to be used as protection for hurricanes but it was too thin for that use (only 3/8" and should have 5/8"). It looks like you could get away with 3 sheets of plywood for the molds but may need 4 due to the width of the molds. I knew that I want to use strongbacks for the jig as opposed to the method shown on the plans. The method on the plans was to make a T-shape out of 2 2x8's and set the molds on that. I figured (and hope I'm right), that strongbacks would be easier to set the molds and be a little more stable. The plans do mention this as an option. Just make sure that the strongbacks are square, level and well supported. As with any garage, the floor is sloped so I used wood supports under the strongbacks to level it. I also used rectangular pieces of plywood at each end to help keep it square and some additional 2x6's along it to help tie it together. I'm thinking the 2x6's should be strong enough to support the molds and hull. They jig was pretty easy to build, just check your diagonals for square many times. After the strongbacks were assembles it was time for the molds. I lofted the molds form the plans. Seeing as how I don't have an elaborate woodshop, a tool worth getting to help keep things square while lofting is a drywall square. It's basically a large T-square that is 48" long. This can help tremendously while lofting. Using a good side of the plywood you can easily draw perfectly square line the entire width of the plywood. I will only use one side of the wood while lofting in case something isn't square. Drawing longitudinal lines can easily be accomplish by making a few marks on the wood and connecting the dots with the drywall square. Just make sure there is enough marks to overlap and check dimension constantly. After lofting and cutting the molds, I attached 2x4's to the hull sides of the mold. Make sure you mark all major positions on the molds for later use (chine, stringer locations, sheer, etc.). As of 07/10/02 I have all molds made except for the transom and 2 of the molds set on the strongbacks. Time spent, 10 hours. I will be added more bracing when I get all the molds placed, level, squared & true Sunday, June 23, 2002 I finished the jig this after noon. Got the transom laminated and installed along with the front two molds. Put in a bunch of hours this weekend to get my equipment set up. My brother gave me an old Craftsman table saw that needed some work. I had to mount it on a table I bought and then get a movable base for it. Building such a large object in a garage takes a lot of space. I needed to be able to move the saw around. I also had to make a rip fence for it. 15 bucks and a few hours work compared to $150 works for me. Of course it doesn't look as good or is as easy to use as a new fence, but it's accurate My next process is to get all the molds squared and true. I used a string line when installing the molds and know the keel is straight. I just need to make sure the molds are true. I took a bunch of dimensions and need to sit down and analyze them to determine what needs to be adjusted. After the molds are all true and square, I will add a bunch of bracing to hold everything solid. I should be able to get this done during the week. Next weekend I plans to loft the hull bottoms and sides, butt block the panels together and cut them out. I should also be able to stitch the bottom and get it set on the molds. Only time will tell. Time spent this weekend, approximately 15 Wednesday June 26, 2002 Well, I sat and looked at the measurements I took Sunday and didn't like what I saw. An 1/8" off here, 1/4" off there, you know how that goes. I ended up taking all 4 molds off and reinstalling them. This time I made sure they were located exactly where they should be on the strongbacks. I added a bunch of cleats to the strongbacks at the proper dimensions to help reinstall the molds. Before I removed the molds I marked them so I could line them back up on the strongbacks. I knew they were all level so that was an easy thing to do. I added some cleats to the molds after removing them where the attached to the strongbacks. I used a square to install them perpendicular to the vertical support. This will help plumb them when reinstalling. Once you see the picture, you will realize what I'm talking about. Once the molds were back in position, which didn't take as long as I expected, I add more bracing between each mold (once again, a picture is worth a thousand words. The installation and checking of dimensions was much easier after reinstalling the molds because the reference dimension were very precise. All I need to do now is wait for the weekend so I can start lofting the bottom panels. Should able to get the bottom setting on the jig this weekend no problem. I also ordered the complete fiberglass kit from Jacques Merterns. Should have that in about a week. Perfect timing to start filling the chine and taping the hull. Time spent, approximately 5 1/2 hours. This page last updated Monday, December 08, 2003. |
New Install of Molds
