More Step Work

Ive been modifying the steps in the boat.  This came about at the front because the water level sender gauge needed recalibrating now its on the water.  Previously it was done when it was on dry land during the tank testing etc. It was necessary to remove the front steps to do this and a timely visit from Graham of Matilda Rose fame made the calibration easier as he called out the reading as I twiddled with the adjustment screw 45 feet away.

While I had the steps out I decided to make the top and bottom step liftable as well as the middle one which was already done.  Then it dawned on me that I could take the ply floor out under the steps and and have a cooler area to draw cool air from the bilge when its warm in the bedroom.  A quick temperature check revealed the base plate (black area) was 12.5 degrees while the inside of the room was 23 degrees.  I also changed the 5 micron primary water filter which was visibly quire grubby.  Next time the tank is empty I will move the main stop cock as removing the floor has made more room to position it in a better place right out of the tank.

Then it was on the the rear steps.  For ages now I have been intending to fit the rest of the of the tiny LED plinth lights. This has made such a difference to the appearance of the kitchen area and of course the steps.

Without Flash

With Flash

I am undecided about taking the floor out under the rear steps.  It would make a nice
pre- cooling area for beer and wine, but as the inverter is now under them this adds heat and makes the box area quite warm so I thinking this might be a source of condensation. 
I will consider it again one I have put some additional fans in the side of the steps to dump this heat out.

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Side Work

After 6 coats of varnish, I was tired of that operation and needed to get the sides done. The plan was to do some paint graphics to hide some fiberglass reinforcement tape at the plywood butt joints on the sides and at the side to transom junction. The tape at the bow seemed to fade away sufficiently to ignor it. I tried to get a graphic designer to work on a design with me, but he must be busy as he was not returning my recent calls. So my wife, Vicky said "Lets grab some paper, colored pencils and work out our own design"....and so we did." I added a beer to the operation to loosen up the creative juices. Then we went to an art supply store to get some 1/4" wide artist tape to do the masking in the curved areas.

After the curved areas were done another pass of wider tape was put down and then some masking paper over all the varnish areas to protect from the roller and splatter. I used 3/4" wide tape to define the boot stripe and then masked above and below it and then removed it. The butt end of a x-acto knife was used to burnish the edge of the tape to prevent paint bleed. (This worked well but I would recommend that the burnishing be done twice as I had a few areas where I got some bleeding where I must not have gotten the tape edge down tight).

After putting down a coat of primer and sanding, a coat of white was painted on just using a foam roller. The bubbles did not pop as the paint can said it would, so after sanding, the second coat was applied with a roller and tipped off with a foam brush - much better. Then the blue portion was masked off and painted. I decided that the blue areas will probably be finshed off with a border of 1/4" wide white vinyl tape as masking off a consistent narrow band seemed impossible. The blue dried overnight and a second coat applied. Next day it was mask removal time to see what was under the mess of paint, paper and tape. Looks pretty cool I think.

Later when I talked with the graphics guy, he showed me how to mask out a border band so I could paint it so I would have a perfect color match. He showed me how to mask using 1/4" vinyl tape that he gave me that bends easily without puckering. A couple of hours later I had another white strip outlining the blue areas.


Final side work was a 1/4" red-orange stripe put on by the graphics guy and the word "Squirt" done in a 50s retro script lettering.

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Drake 19 Design Work Continues

Drake 19 Rowboat Project

Oar-and-Sail Tandem Rowboat and Cruiser with downwind sail

Drake 19 Rowboat with "squgsail" for off-the-wind sailing. Drake is primarily a rowboat (no board; rudder not shown above)

The 19 is essentially a stretched Drake 17 with the hull lines tweaked to support tandem rowing and fast, camp-cruising. The boat is being modeled currently and the hull lines tested next with a quarter scale model. Once the hull form is all set, the interior will be modeled and strongback prepared for kit-building. Im excited about this boat and look forward to setitng up the first builder. I always offer an intro discount for the first builder as they are providing me with the help of documenting the build and providing feedback. If interested in being the first builder, please let me know. You can be experienced or a beginner, but one project of experience is helpful as is some good ole problem solving abilities. The discount is generally 25-30% and the plans are free to the first builder.

Preparing the quarter scale model for the Drake 19. 

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Glass Work Keel Bolts and Sheer

The pictures sort of jump around at this point. Work on the tanks and the interior of the hull alternate and overlay during October and November.



The top of the access stairs became a staging area for all things glass and epoxy.


During drying periods while glassing the integral tanks, Richard worked on securing the existing bulkheads/ frames to the hull. They were currently only being held by the epoxy applied during the strip planking.

In the above picture you can see the fillet in the far bulkhead joint. It is beige in color, due to the wood flour and fumed silica added to the epoxy to thicken and create structural filler. The fillet gives the joint a radius and strength. The glass fabric can not make sharp corners.


The strips of biaxial fiberglass were cut with Janes fabric rotary cutter. Cutting with scissors causes lots of fraying and frustration.

Epoxy was mixed by the small batch and applied with cheap disposable 1" paint brushes.

The glass was applied in 3 layers.

First layer was positioned mostly on the hull, barely onto the bulkhead. The second mostly on the bulkhead, and the third equally across the filleted joint.

On close inspection you can see the fillet with the fabric wetted over it.

The frames were only filleted.


This shows the glassing and filleting and epoxy work while it is drying in the head area.

The cedar is pretty wetted out with a couple coats of epoxy and fillets at the frames.

View of the stem, glassed, wetted, and filleted.

Structural taping was used at places that will be covered by veneers, paint or trim.

The engine supports were reshaped to fit the chosen Beta Marine, and glassed into space. The glass on the hull is sanded smooth. The blue tape is covering and protecting the bronze rod/bolts that are drilled through the rear deadwood.

A bit of head scratching went into design and construction of the quarter berth.

Lots of fitting and scribing....

In and out the bunk goes....

This shows the final quarter berth with access holes in place.

Epoxy work in the engine compartment is completed. This will be partially under the cockpit. Side walls will frame out the remainder of the compartment.

Don Goodspeed came over to assist with drilling the keel bolt holes. They will hold the lead keel in place and it is important to get them as straight as possible.

The extra long bit is very intimidating.

There was worry about it being strong enough to penetrate through the floor frames and the dense deadwood. They were created with many layers of wood and epoxy.

A jig was created at each keel bolt site to help keep the shaft plumb during the drill.

Fingers hold the bit evenly spaced from the jig.

Not much error fore or aft would mean coming out the side of the floor frame.

The bit had to removed and cleaned several times for each hole.

There were a total of twelve holes drilled through the hull of the boat. Every one was a success!

We started playing around with cabinetry placement. This is looking forward into the head compartment. The cardboard cutout will be a bench covering the toilet in the forward storage/workshop/head area.

The starboard settee needs to be adjusted to cover the frame in the middle....

Placement and dimensions being critiqued.....poor Richard. The first-mate is particular!

To shape the sheer from the designed offsets, the sheer needed to be marked at the appropriate height above the DWL (designed waterline) at each station. The mark showing DWL remained visible under the epoxy on the main bulkhead. A ruler was clamped in place and a water level was used to find the correct placement of the sheer on the outside of the hull. The clear tubing (on left) was run out through a keel bolt hole and filled with water.

Here it is hanging out the bottom. The water height at the interior end was held at the right height on the ruler, and the far end was held against the outside of the hull at the correct station, and a pencil mark applied.

A thin batten painted flat black was clamped in place along the pencil marks.

This helped us in visualizing the sheer of the deck, and fairing any humps or dips.

The sheer clamp was then trimmed and the top angled to accommodate the slope of the deck.

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Wooden work skiff plans Guide

Pictures Wooden work skiff plans RC Model Boat Plans Free Wooden Cabin Cruiser Boat Plans Lumber Yard Skiff Plans Wooden Skiff Boat Plans Free Small Skiff Boat Plans Free

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Aluminium work boat plans

Aluminium work boat plans Aluminum jet boat plans - boat design forums, I have made a futile attempt at finding plans for an aluminum jet sled. is there any plans on the internet besides glen-l's. i wanted ken hankinsons Aluminum boat plans???? - boat design forums, All these views and no one knows about any kinda aluminum jon boat or flat bottom/ v hull

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