Roller, Squeegee, Or Brush to increase Epoxy Worktime.
Brushes, Squeegees and Rollers all have advantages and disadvantages for boatbuilding epoxy coating. This explains and provides useful tips.
FAQ Boat Building Methods
What is a good boat to build while stuck in COVID virus quarantine?
COVID doesn’t need to end fun things. What simple boats could be built at home during quarantine and social distancing. Here are mine.
Videos Week by Week – boatbuilding videos for a Goat Island Skiff plywood sail boat
Teo’s Weekly Video series building a plywood sailing dinghy – the performance oriented Goat Island Skiff. Domonstration of building methods. He is currently up to week 18 (March 2020)
Why Plywood breaks – Real wood for Centreboards and Rudders
One recurring problem with plywood foils, centreboards, leeboards and rudders is that over time they tend to break unexpectedly.
Instructional Video for Plywood boat and Canoe Building.
One of the best instructional videos on the net. How will Chris Heubert of the creative steampunk website LostWax go building a plywood canoe – he normally builds amazing things out of common materials, provides patterns and “how to” videos.
Tip – boat details – spacing inwale spacers right.
How do I get nice looking intervals for the inwale spacers on my boat? Photos. How many expensive clamps do I need for the job?
Why I “hate” Boatbuilding.
By simplifying the design, you simplify the build. By eliminating or simplifying processes the build is further simplified. Examples that will make your boat simpler, lighter and better at what it is meant to do.
How to Lightweight – Balsa Canoe strip planked 12lbs (5.5Kg)
A 12lb canoe. The idea was to build a Rushton Wee Lassie in balsa strip with very light glass. The boat ended up being fairly durable despite not being interested in durability. As far as I was concerned I was going to be happy if it lasted a couple of years before being chucked into a dumpster somewhere. But five years later it was still beautiful despite good use.
Making NACA and highly accurate centreboard and rudder foils at home
A good centreboard or leeboard is as important as a good sail. We use a simple templates for quick and accurate shaping. Making without the templates … several were feeling that they couldn’t make them to a greater accuracy than 1/16th of an inch.
FAQ – Designing and building sailing and paddling canoes. Strip vs Plywood
How sailing and paddling canoe shapes differ.
How traditional canoe designs work really well and a lot of modern ones don’t.
Building a canoe – is ply or cedar strip better?
How to build a lightweight canoe – selection of materials – ply vs strip plank and timber species
Books for canoebuilding.
FAQ – Building a strip canoe or kayak that can handle some impact in the surf or with rocks. Cedar Paulownia
IMPACT! How hard is your boat going to hit something. For most of us it won’t be very hard at all. So it is better to save weight. For expeditioners they may require a lot more from their boats. What are the strategies one can think about?
FAQ Birdsmouth masts – butt joins OK? Scarfs are recommended.
A birdsmouth mast is a nice way to make a simple tapered hollow round mast. But what is the best way to join the wood. We show you how and why.
Are old, cheaper or free boat plans good value? 100 plans on CD?
Building boats from older plans often adds a lot of labour and materials cost. Some old plans are great. But many are utter rubbish. Having a living designer or other people building the same boat is really useful for most builders.
FAQ – Paulownia or Kirri – the “newest” lightweight timber for Boatbuilding.
We first started to see Paulownia becoming available from Plantations in Australia around 2004. Well before the current boom in its use for framing and hulls of dinghies, yachts and other boats. Paulownia is a very lightweight timber from China that provides one way of building lightweight boards and boats. How to overcome its weaknesses and make use of its strengths.
FAQ – Crimes against boatbuilding – never put a plywood deck join on top of a deckbeam
Never join boat decks the way you join up panels in a house. Cracks and big failures will result.
FAQ – Getting a hull smooth – Torture Boards for strip planking and decks
Torture boards are used for the highest grade of smoothing for visual smoothness of the whole structure. Fairing a strip planked hull.
Fairing a join between adjacent plywood sheets in a hull or deck.
Fairing a composite structure
Fairing deck substructure. Deckframes and deck stringers ready to take plywood.
FAQ – Materials for strip planked boat or canoe in Australia – for lightness and beauty.
Ultralight strip planked boats using Paulownia, Balsa and Western Red Cedar. Superlight Eureka Canoe and Goat Island Skiff and the amazing 12lb balsa canoe
I hate silicone sealant on boats – Silicone contamination a world of pain.
pointless, timewasting activities in boat repair and maintenance
Repair of old and antique plywood class sailboats for Racing or Cruising
OK … I decided to keep the old racing dinghy and fix it up. How do I put my effort in the right places to get the maximum results? A grab bag of methods for joining plywood, working out sizes, making centreboards and rudders and more.
Fixing up old Plywood Boats – Fix leaks and holes, replace bottom in 24 hours, low cost nonskid that works.
All the best material on boat repairs. From restoring old sailing dinghies for racing, fixing holes in canoe, replacing whole hull panels or the neatest and easiest way of doing a really nice texture of nonskid using sugar. And the non skid can be done in paint or varnish