The Utility Trimming the floor battens

Some days you just dont have a lot of time to make any major progress. Still, there are usually some small things you can do to help the project along. Last night was just such an occasion. I took a few minutes to trim the forward tips of the outer floor battens. Now they match the inner battens, which Id trimmed a while back. This will look much better than the squared ends once the bottom is planked.

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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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More fairing on the Utility This time the transom

Warm greetings from Barnacle Mike’s crowded little boat shop. You know, one of the great things about the boatbuilding community is the fact that you meet some really cool people, both online and in person. The level of support and insight that you get from more experienced builders who kindly share their knowledge and give advice can truly help a newbie keep pushing his or her project forward. I’m very thankful for that.

An online boatbuilding friend, who has also been kind enough to follow my blog, sent me an e-mail the other day asking about the status of the Utility. It does seem like I’ve been paying a bit much attention to the Zip project lately. Truth is, I have still been slowly, slowly... s-l-o-w-l-y... fairing away at the Utility all the while. Still, his inquiry about its status gave me a little more motivation to get off my “transom” and put more elbow grease into getting the little boat past the fairing stage. (Thank you, Paul!)

So, that’s just what I did Saturday, fairing away at the transom sides until they were finished. The starboard side had a bit more excess material than the port side. So, I roughed it in with the belt sander, then worked it the rest of the way down with the mouse sander. Unfortunately, I did not follow the “best practice” of checking my work frequently with my test piece of plywood. (I thought the transom sides would be a no-brainer. I was wrong.) When I tested my “finished” work with the plywood, expecting to feel a broad smile cross my face as I witnessed my handiwork, I was disappointed to see several gaps appear. The culprit was an overly sharp bevel in a couple of spots. More gaps to fill with thickened epoxy. I’m getting pretty good at that, if I do say so myself.

Needless to say,  I was more cautious with the port side. I also went about it a little differently. This time, I started by carrying the line of the sheer and chine through the transom material first. Then, I “connected” the two spots by fairing the area in-between. This time I alternated between the mouse sander and a small block plane. I worked slowly and purposefully.

The results were much, much better.

I do still have a good bit more fairing to do, primarily in the mid-section of the boat. I also have to make a decision about the chines in that area, (more on that later). I could’ve worked on all this Sunday. However, yours truly decided he needed some time on the water. So, I spent the day canoeing. I’m sure you understand.

By the way, I met another boatbuilder out on the river. He was piloting a very nice-looking red drift boat upriver. It looked about 16’ long. The handsome-looking boat glided smoothly through the water, pushed by a silent electric trolling motor. He proudly said “yes” when I asked if he’d built it himself. He had some very nice things to say about Don Hill’s drift boat plans before we each went our separate ways. 

Yep. You’ve gotta love the boatbuilding community.

Starboard transom-chine joint after fairing.

Starboard transom-chine joint after fairing.

Starboard transom-chine joint after fairing

Starboard transom-sheer joint after fairing. As you can see, Ive got a heck of a gap in that "Marine-Grade" plywood that Im going to have to fill.

Port transom-chine joint before fairing.

Port transom-chine joint before fairing.

Port transom-chine joint after fairing.

Port transom-sheer joint before fairing. Notice all that epoxy thickened with #2 silica?

Port transom-sheer joint after fairing. I still have some thickened epoxy to file away.

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The Utility New motor First bottom panel cut

This first half of April has seen some progress on the Utility project, although not much that is visible on the actual boat itself. I ordered a new Nissan 8hp motor from onlineoutboards.com. The motor arrived very promptly... and I promptly realized I’d never operated a tiller-controlled boat before.

New 8hp Nissan Marine outboard

So, the kids and I fixed that by taking a weekend getaway at a nearby lake. I rented a 14 ft Jon boat fitted with a 9.9 hp Yamaha, and we ventured out on the water. There really is a lot to be said for the simple Jon boat. They may not be the prettiest things on the water, but it’s hard to imagine a more versatile boat in that size.

In any case, our little aluminum Jon boat was by no means a rocket on the water, but it did what it was supposed to. The Utility will have a shorter, and more streamlined hull, although somewhat heavier. I imagine performance with its 8hp motor will be similar to the 14’ Jon boat with the 9.9 Yamaha. Time will tell.

Over Easter weekend, I began the break-in period for the Nissan motor. The first two phases were to let it run at idle for 10 minutes, then to run at <50% throttle for two hours. That’s done. The next phase is to let it run at <75% throttle.

On the boat framework, I have faired down the side planking on the starboard side. I have not yet tried to fill in any of the low spots, or “hollows”, along the chine. Instead, I decided to go ahead and cut the panels for the bottom planking by cutting one sheet of Meranti in half lengthwise.

My plan is to begin dry-fitting the bottom panel into place, and to use that as a gauge to determine just how much I’ll need to fill in along the chine. It is possible that any gaps will be minor enough that thickened epoxy will do the job adequately.

Rough placement of the first bottom panel

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The Utility First planking panel attached

Over the weekend, I was finally able to attach the aft starboard side panel with epoxy and screws.

First, before I removed the panel from the boat’s framework, I traced the lines of the chines, sheers, and frame to the inner surface of the plywood. That way, I would have an easy visual reference for where to spread the epoxy. I also drew reference points on both the plywood and the chine to help align the panel when it was time to put it back on.

I removed the panel & set it aside, and staged all the items I’d need nearby: chip brush, extra latex gloves, awl, clamps, screwdriver, and the silicon bronze screws. I kept extra screws close at hand just in case I stripped any screw heads. This time, I put some old newspaper down on the floor to catch any drips of epoxy... right next to the earlier dried globs that I’m going to have to sand off of the concrete at some point.

Planking panel removed & waiting for epoxy.

Frame outlines made a great reference for spreading the epoxy.

Waiting for epoxy.

Some of my alignment was a bit off when I drilled into the sheer. Ill have to be more careful next time.

Same drilling alignment issue with the transom frame.

With everything ready to go, I mixed 6 oz of Silvertip Gel Magic epoxy. Gel Magic is a highly-viscous 2:1 mixture (2 parts resin to 1 part hardener). Its thickness makes it ideal for applying to vertical surfaces and for filling gaps. In this way it is very similar to Glen-L Poxy Grip.

The GelMagic components are color-coded.

Using the chip brush, I applied epoxy to both the plywood panel and the mating surfaces on the boat’s framework. At one point, I was concerned that 6 oz of epoxy would not be enough to do the job. Luckily, however, it was just about right, with a minimal amount of waste.

Wearing 2 layers of disposable latex gloves, I roughly aligned the panel with the reference marks I’d made earlier, and held it in place with one clamp. The Irwin spring clamps are great for this, as the springs in them are quite strong. Next, I used the awl to align the first holes, adjusting the clamp as necessary. I hand-threaded the first screw, then changed gloves to avoid getting too much epoxy onto my screwdriver.

After driving the first couple of screws, I clamped the rest of the panel into position. Hand-driving the screws went very smoothly. I found that using a ratcheting screwdriver with an oversized handle is just ideal for this task. I also found that I’d over-beveled some of the holes, as a few of the screw heads went slightly below the surface of the plywood. I’ll create less of a bevel next time.

With the panel fully “glued and screwed” into place, I used the putty knife to scrape away excess epoxy from the areas where I’ll need to join more wood: the chine and sheer where the forward planking panel will butt up against the aft panel; and the interior joints of the chine and sheer to the aft panel where the backing piece for the butt joint will be attached. I then used the putty knife to fill the screw holes with epoxy.

It was while using the putty knife that I realized the major component of this process that I’d forgotten: 

A rag. 

Thankfully, the laundry basket was nearby. 

There’s one less item I’ll have to wash, dry and fold. Hopefully, however, I will remember to get shop rags next time.

Alignment marks & filled screw holes along the chine.

Excess epoxy was scraped away from the chine so it wont interfere with fitting of the forward panel.

The small gap on the side of the transom is now filled.

Seam of cured epoxy against frame #1.

On the interior seams, I scraped away excess epoxy so it wont interfere with fitting of the backing block for the butt joint.

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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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The Utility Preparing for Planking

A fellow boatbuilder pointed out to me that if I cover the transom first, before planking the sides and bottom of the boat, then the end grain of my planking is going to show around the rim of the transom. (Thanks Chris!) Of course, this only poses an issue if you plan on bright-finishing your transom, which is exactly what I’m planning to do. I’m planning to paint the rest of the hull. So, paint will cover the end grain of the transom as viewed from the side.

So now, my plan has changed to planking the sides and bottom of the boat first. The first pieces of planking that go on will be short 4’ aft sections on the sides. I will be butt-joining these pieces to longer 8’ pieces that will plank the forward sections on the sides. This will allow the butt joint to be located in the flatter aft section of the boat, which means it will be easier to do, and there will be less stress on the joint. I have to join the planking in sections like this, because plywood comes in standard 8’ lengths, and my boat is 11’ long.

In preparation for planking these aft sections, I’ve been sanding away dried runs of epoxy, etc from those parts of the boat I can’t easily get to once the planking is on. I’ve also worked to clean up the shape of the seat riser cutouts in frame #1. Still, before I can plank this aft section, I need to encapsulate these frame cutouts, as well as a couple of other places I won’t be able to reach once the planking is on.

Then, God willing, I should be able to begin planking the little boat.

Dried runs of epoxy have been sanded off of frame #1 and gussets. This is the starboard side.

Starboard frame #1 after sanding. The seat riser cutouts still need to be encapsulated with epoxy.

Port frame #1 after sanding.

Port frame #1 after sanding.

Port frame #1 after sanding.

The globs of epoxy are now sanded off of the transom.

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The Utility More incremental progress

As predicted, progress on the boat over the last 24 hours has been small and incremental. Little things have to be done in preparation for the larger tasks. So it was yesterday evening. I sanded & filed away at some big globs of cured epoxy.

I should not have been so careless as to let these big globs cure in place unnecessarily. It only makes for more work to do after-the-fact. Of course, you cant always reach some places to scrape away extraneous epoxy.

Equally, sometimes you cant reach a dried glob of the stuff with a sanding block or a file, when the thin blade of a putty scraper wouldve gotten rid of it easily before it cured. Such is the case with those spots behind the chine at the sheer. I decided to just leave them. Technically, I suppose these spots are already "encapsulating" that small area of the wood. Its just not pretty. So be it. That part of the boat will only be visible with a flashlight, anyway.

Moving forward, Ill just have to strive to work more neatly with epoxy.

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The Utility Finally a little progress

After being held up by various delays, including a week of unusually harsh winter weather, Ive finally made a little progress. Ive added the first coat of epoxy to encapsulate the stem, as well as the undersides of the breasthook, sheer, and chine at the forward end of the boat.

These surfaces will need 2 additional coats before Im ready to resume planking.

It is possible that my epoxy mixture was not entirely accurate; or that the curing process was slowed by exposure to cold temperatures; or a combination of the two. Whatever the cause, it is taking a considerable amount of time to cure. It is, however, progressively curing. 

This happened to me once before, early-on in my Squirt build. Some epoxy that I applied during rather cold weather remained pliable for a couple of days. It did eventually harden, however. I will know in a couple more days if this batch is going to fully cure or not. I think it will.

The forward end of the boat, all taped up for encapsulation. This is so I wont get epoxy on the surfaces where the planking will attach later.

UPDATE: The epoxy did eventually cure, although it took 2 days. I had mixed and applied the epoxy in low temperatures on the borderline of the 50 degree F limit of the Silvertip slow hardener.

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The Utility No sudden moves

Yes, progress is slow on the Utility. I like to think I’m being cautious and methodical.

Beginning to fasten the bottom planking panel (fwd, starboard) to the keel.

With the panels for the bottom planking cut, the next step of course was to fit one into position and begin fastening it into place. The 8-foot panel is long enough that I decided to position it 4 inches aft of frame #1. That’s just far back enough to fit a butt block to join this panel with a much shorter aft panel later on. (Just how much the butt block in the floor will interfere with water movement through the limbers, time will tell.)

First, I marked the centerline down the full length of the keel. Then, I measured and marked a perpendicular line across the keel, 4” aft of frame #1. That gave me a clearly marked “corner” in which to fit the panel.

I clamped the panel into position & adjusted it until I was satisfied that it was accurately fit into position. The next step was to begin fastening the panel to the keel.

I wasn’t real keen on drilling holes into the keel, but it had to be done. I carefully marked positions for the holes... 5/8” starboard of the keel’s centerline, and spaced 6” apart. (When the panel is fastened down permanently, the screws will be spaced 3” apart. For now, I’m just roughly fitting the panel into position so that I can trim it and twist it into position.)

Next, I began drilling the holes and driving the screws — cautiously and methodically. I used plywood washers over the planking panel. The washers are to help hold the planking down, and prevent any screw heads from pulling through when tension is put on the plywood to bend and twist it into place.

So far, I’ve only gotten about two feet done along the keel. Like I said, though... “cautious and methodical.”

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The Utility part 2 The Keel

The Utilitys keel is made from a 1" x 3" x 8 board, laminated on the inner surface with an additional 1/4" x 3" x 8 plywood backing piece. Optionally, the builder can substitute a 1-1/4" thick solid board. I chose the standard laminating method.

This is where I ran into a little trouble. 

Firstly, I had cut the frame notches as precisely as possible, as-drawn on the plans. For the keel notch, it was 1-1/4" deep. 

Secondly, the "1-inch" mahogany board Id bought for the keel was in fact only 3/4" thick. (I touched on this in my last post.) So, after laminating on the 1/4" plywood keel backing, the keel was at this point only 1" thick overall.

I briefly considered scrapping the keel and buying a full 1-inch mahogany board to re-build it. The problem there is that mahogany is quite expensive. Also, as youll read in other boatbuilding blogs (and certainly this one), problems arise. Its a given. If you re-start every time a problem arises, it will take you forever to get the boat built. What Ive found is that boat construction, particularly for the first-time builder, involves a lot of troubleshooting. Frankly, thats part of the fun. At least, I think so.

I decided to simply add a second lamination of plywood in order to make up the needed thickness to match the 1-1/4" notch. I did still have some left-over 1/4" marine plywood, but not enough to cut a full 8 length. So, I decided to try my hand at a scarf joint.

Instructions for making scarf joints were included in the plans. Basically, to scarf two sections of 1/4" material, you bevel the ends of each piece along a 3" span. Then, you flip one piece over, fit one diagonal bevel over the other, and glue the two together with epoxy. Creating the bevel is probably best done with a plane, but I didnt have one at the time. So, I used a small Black and Decker sander.

Scarf joint before being glued.

Scarf joint after gluing.

I glued the scarf joint together and added the second keel backing with Poxy-Shield thickened with #2 Silica. The end result wasnt exactly pretty, but it was functional and felt very solid along the full length of the keel.

As with the Squirt, the Utilitys transom is raked backward at a 12 degree angle. Notches in the transom frame members must be cut before fastening all the transom parts together. This is because the keel and floor battens do not pass through the transom. Instead, they butt up against the transom. Ideally, the transom frame notches should be cut in such a way so as to match the fitted angle of the transom.

I did not do this. Instead, I simply made perpendicular cuts into the transom frame members. As a result, when the assembled transom was fitted to the construction form, my notches turned "downward" 12 degrees. This meant that for proper fitting, I would need to bevel the ends of the keel and floor battens. I did this using a circular mitre saw cutting on a bias, in addition to using a rasp, file and sander.

In the end, it worked out fine. However, Id recommend cutting the frame notches at an angle if possible. I believe the final joint would be stronger.

Aft end of keel after beveling.

Beveled keel fit into its transom frame notch.

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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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