The Utility Rough fitting the 1st forward panel

The aft port side panel is now attached. I followed exactly the same procedure as for the aft starboard panel, except this time I did remember the rag.

I decided to go ahead and rough-fit the forward panel on the starboard side. First, I marked and cut one of the Meranti panels in half lengthwise, giving me two 2 x 8 panels to use for the side planking.

Using one of these panels, I began to fit it to the starboard side. I had to go through several cycles of "Clamp, Mark, Remove, Cut, Repeat" in order to cut away extraneous material from the front of the panel. This was due to the low height of the construction form. For several attempts I could not bend the plywood all the way around to the bow without the floor getting in the way.

Finally, I got it roughly fit & it is now temporarily clamped into position. Once Im satisfied with the fitting, I will check the starboard panel against the port side. If everything looks like a suitable fit, I will then use this panel as a template to mark and cut the second panel from the other 2 x 8 piece of plywood.

So far, Im pretty pleased with the Meranti. It is a nicer-looking wood than I expected, and it seems to bend much easier than the Douglas Fir plywood.

Forward panel rough-fit & clamped into position on the starboard side.

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Fitting the Utility’s port side planking — and a little more progress on the Zip

Having previously used the starboard side planking as a template to draw and cut the port side, fitting the port side planking was relatively quick and simple. Busy days full of other obligations have meant that I’ve had to work on the boat incrementally... 20 minutes here, 45 minutes there... but, its getting done.

Thanks to a little help from my daughter, I’m now most of the way through driving the screws to hold the planking down. The new DeWalt titanium drill bits I bought have been a real pleasure to work with, particularly since my older ones had become almost too dull to use.

Dry-fitting the forward port side planking.

February brought with it an unusual amount of snow this year. In addition to school cancellations, there were a few days when I got snowed-in at home. I took advantage of these days to draw out the construction drawings for my Zip on a big sheet of eucaboard.  I drew the frames out as they would overlap one another, based on their shared x,y axis & set-up level. This will be a great reference for checking  the frame parts for accurate shape & for assembling the frames. It is also a very useful tool for checking the relative dimensions of various aspects of the hull.

My Zip construction drawing on a big sheet of eucaboard.

Last Christmas, I received a copy of How to Fiberglass Boats, by Ken Hankinson, along with the accompanying DVD. I finished reading it recently, and I’ve enjoyed watching the DVD. It’s useful information for those, like me, with minimal experience at working with fiberglass. It takes a lot of the mystery out of the process, and its very helpful to watch someone else actually doing it. 

Additionally, the book is very enlightening about precautions to take when working with epoxy.

With any luck, Ill be able to fiberglass the Utility’s hull before summer.

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The Utility Fitting the first planking panels

After a brief debate about whether to plank the transom first, or last, I eventually came to the conclusion that it’s a matter of individual preference. Other boatbuilders I trust kindly offered me their opinions, reasons, and techniques. I weighed all of their input before deciding on my own course of action.

I’m going to plank the sides first, and the transom second. That way, the aesthetics of the bright-finished transom should be consistent all the way out to the sides, with no end grain from the side planking visible.

Then I’m going to plank the bottom last. The reason for this basically boils down to ease of construction, regarding the transom. It seems to me that it will be easier to plank the transom while I can still access both inner and outer surfaces of it for clamping. I wouldn’t be able to do this after the bottom is planked. Since the lower edge of the transom will be underwater, then it won’t matter if the end grain is visible (whether or not it’s an aesthetic matter).

Planking
I started by cutting two 2’ x 4’ panels from a sheet of the Meranti. These will be the aft side panels. I clamped the first one into place on the starboard side. Then I roughly traced the trim line with a pencil, and removed the panel. I drew a second line 1” outside the trim line, so the panel would still be slightly oversized after I cut it. I cut it, and checked it against the port side. Since it looked good against the port side also, I used the cut piece as a template to trace out the second panel.

With both panels cut, I clamped them back into position. I’m very happy with the fitting on the starboard side. The port side still needs a little fairing, but it’s close.

Initial fitting of the aft starboard panel.

Aft starboard panel-to-transom fit. This gap will need to be filled in.

Aft starboard panel to frame #1 fit.

Aft starboard panel-to-transom inner fit.

Aft port panel-to-transom fit.

Aft port panel-to-sheer fit. This area needs a little more fairing.

Aft port panel-to-sheer fit, forward of frame #1. This area needs a little more fairing.

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Completion of dry fitting starboard bottom

With the first forward panel dry-fit, and the Raptor staples sanded off the transom, the next tasks ahead of me were:

1. Decide how to finish the transom.


2. Fit one of the aft panels.


3. Drill & screw the remaining holes in the forward panel.

I had originally planned to stain the transom before fiberglassing it. This is mainly because I felt that Meranti had too much of a dull brown look to it. I wanted the bright finish to have a good bit of red. I was having a hard time finding the right type of stain to do what I wanted. I was also beginning to get the idea that staining and finishing plywood is a bit different than staining and finishing solid stock. Another boatbuilder, with far more knowledge about woodworking than I have, convinced me to at least try a large sample swatch of epoxy over some un-stained Meranti to see what I thought. I did, and was happy enough with the result that I decided to abandon the idea of staining it first.

Un-stained Meranti with a layer of SilverTip epoxy.

Un-stained Meranti with a layer of SilverTip epoxy.

Next came fitting one of the aft bottom panels. Compared to the front, this was quick and easy. Since the aft end of the forward panel is so far back on the boat, the aft panels only needed to be 33 inches long. I cut 33 inches off of one of the full-size sheets of plywood, then cut that in half. I used the factory-cut straight edges to align the panel on the keel’s centerline and to butt up against the forward panel. It fit together very well & I started placing screws every 6 inches, just like the forward panel.

Aft starboard bottom panel fitted into position.

With both pieces fit, and the overhanging edges trimmed down considerably, I looked for any humps or hollows along the surface. Fortunately, I did not see any that I could discern with the naked eye. So, I decided not to shim the chine any on this side.

Thankfully, I did not see any visible humps or hollows on this side.

Lastly, I placed all the remaining screws in the forward panel. Now, there are screws located every 3 inches, so I will not have to worry about trying to do that at the same time as I epoxy the panel down permanently.

The next step will be to remove the forward panel and use it as a template to cut the forward port panel.

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April 2015 Masts continued Hatch fitting and finishing

April 2015 - 

The goal this month is to get all below deck level stuff installed and finally get a chance to put the deck on.

Major delays due to this stuff!  WAAYY too much snow this month, and COOOLLLLDDDD. 

Forward hatch frame being fitted.  no glue yet. 

April 12, 2015 - Hatches

All hatches have been fitted with 3/16 foam gasket and fitted to the boat for a watertight seal.  These came out pretty good.  The boat should float for quite a while with the hatches dogged down.  (add photos) 

Forward hatch being fitted

under view shows kayak style plywood clips to hook shock cord on to. 

Foam gasket is seated all around.

Another view from below showing tie down clips. 

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