Plywood Arrives!

While trying to figure out where I was going to get the plywood needed for this build, I was able to make progress by cutting out frame components as noted in the previous post. Alas, the time came when I had to take action towards obtaining this important building material. I called several lumber and/or plywood suppliers in the mid-state area and the only thing I could find was some marine grade Douglas fir. The build requires a little bit of Douglas fir, but I was really needing a local supplier of the "exotic" plys that are typically used in plywood boat building - Okoume or marine grade Meranti. Despite my best sales pitches, I couldn't convince any area supplier to carry a selection of the "exotics". In fact, I couldn't even get them to place an order for me.

I've been conversing with a fellow Malahini builder who lives about 1.5 hours away from me and I asked him to combine our plywood orders to get a quantity discount. He thought that was a great idea but we still had the problem of locating a supplier. A little reading on the Glen-L forums gave us a couple of out of state options that fellow builders seemed to be satisfied with. We decided to go with a supplier from my former home state of Ohio - Homestead Hardwoods. We called in our orders separately and had Homestead combine the two orders into one shipment which was going to his dairy farm. We received a better quantity discount and saved money on the shipping.

The granddaughter and I borrowed a full sized pickup truck and headed out to the dairy farm to pick up 20 sheets of plywood. I was looking forward to finally getting the ply, but I was also excited about meeting the fellow builder whom I only talked to on the phone up to this point. It would also be educational to see a working dairy farm. As luck would have it, my contact forgot that I was going to his place to pick up the ply. Fortunately, a friend of his was able to give me access to my portion of the plywood order and he gave us the 10 cent tour of the dairy farm. The personal introductions would have to wait for another time.

Ashlee helping Pappy

Frame positioned on layout board

With the ply and lumber needed for the project in my shop, I now have what I need to build the hull. I cut out gussets for the frames from 3/8" marine grade Douglas Fir ply. I stacked (4) layers of ply and cut them all at once using the bandsaw and sander so that they are identical. I repeated the process for each set of gussets since they were not identical from frame to frame.The frame pieces were set on my layout board,  tacked in place with my brad nailer, and gussets epoxied at the joints by my wife, granddaughter, and I. Once dry, (I waited until the next day) I flipped the frame over and added the other two gussets. It is important to plan each session of epoxy work to minimize wasting this expensive material. We typically set up three stations during the frame glue-ups: 1) a new frame set up on the layout board 2) 2nd set of gussets installed on the previous days' frame 3) plywood component glue up. I estimated how much to mix and did the mixing and the wife did the spreading. I would go behind her and fasten the components together. This is working out well so far and my waste has been minimal.

My wife riding in the back of a 14' runabout
with "Ski King" who came from Oregon

A view of old dam from the
floating cabins dock

Now a side bar.......Before finishing the glue-up of all the frames, we took a break and joined fellow boat builders from the U.S. and Canada at the 7th annual Glen-L Gathering at Lake Nickajack near Chattanooga, TN. Even though the weather was rainy for about a 24 hour period, everyone had a great time. For a first timer like me, the experience was invaluable. To see the home built boats in person and to tap the brains of their owners was just phenomonal. EVERYONE was super friendly and were very patient with all of us newbies asking questions which I'm sure some of them have been asked over-and-over. I finally did get to meet Andy who is the gentleman whom I bought the plywood with and who is also building a Malahini. Next year's Gathering has already been scheduled and I am so looking forward to it even though my boat won't be ready.

Frames 1-4

Back from the Gathering and more energized than ever, we continued building 4 of the 5 frames and the plywood components. There are 5 frames (0 to 4) for the Malahini but I am holding off on the frame associated with the transom temporarily until everything is clear to me on how I need to make the transom. I am using very expensive Meranti 3/4" ply for the transom and I only get one shot at getting it right. The build of the other four frames went along and I double checked measurements of the components layed out on the board relative to the plan sheet to ensure accuracy. I tried to be extra careful in building frame #4 which is the forward most frame. The instructions state that this frame determines the shape of your hull and this is where the plywood stem will be mounted. The stem is the component that forms the "sweep" of the front of a V hull. This relationship will be shown in a later post.

One last note...I did purchase a boat and trailer for use on this project. The boat was junk but I was able to salvage the steering cable off of it and I will use the trailer. Until next time..........

Frame Components

The Malahini hull is constructed of marine grade plywood over a lumber "skeleton". The "skeleton's" main structural members are called frames, of which there are five. The frame components must be made as accurately as possible and assembled accurately per the plans.

To assist in the assembly, I set up a layout table made out of a sheet of 1/2" mdf which was painted white. Using a drywall square, I drew a line along the length of the mdf which will be the setup reference line. I then drew a perpendicular line about halfway down the setup line and this will be the center line. Setup and center lines are annotated on the plans and are a critical component of the boat build to ensure the hull is built in the proper planes.

With the set up and center lines drawn on the layout table, I now have to transfer the full size frame patterns to the layout table. The instructions state how to do this using carbon paper and sighting holes made on the patterns. This process is a bit cumbersome, but with some patience, I was able to transfer the frame patterns to the layout table.

The African mahogany I purchased was already surfaced both sides and one edge and came in 13' lengths.

African mahogany

In order to transfer the frame component patterns to the lumber, I used the tracing paper and transferred each pattern to posterboard in order to make templates which I then carefully cut out. I chose boards that would generate the least amount of waste as possible when laying out the parts.

template on lumber

The picture shows an example of where I layed out a frame 1 vertical on a wide piece of lumber and I will flip the template so that the other vertical is side-by-side, which will leave waste to a minimum.

The pencil lines that are made on the lumber after tracing around the templates are hard to see due to the lumber color and texture. To help this "blind as a bat" builder, I outlined the perimeter of the template with white chalk. I taped the template into place on the lumber and traced around the template, with the pencil lines cutting through the chalked areas. With this method, the lines become a little more prominent.

chalk the perimeter

 

more pronounced lines

 With the component shapes transferred to the lumber, I then go to my 14" bandsaw and cut the individual parts out. I do not go all the way to the lines, but stay about 1/16" away. I finish up fine tuning the component shape by using an oscillating spindle/belt sander (Ridgid). Where possible,attach like parts together using double backed tape prior to sanding. In this way, you are guaranteed that they are identical.


To help with accuracy, I taped the template to the lumber and finished the sanding by using the edges of the template as a guide. Once I finished sanding, I layed the component over the paper patterns and checked for accuracy and tweaked as necessary. After many hours of work, I now have all the frame components cut out and packaged together awaiting the arrival of plywood.

A frame "package"

Introduction

I am originally from the Cleveland, Ohio area and I spent a lot of time enjoying boating on Lake Erie while growing up. My family owned a 1970, 16' open bow fiberglass boat that was powered by a 60 hp Evinrude engine. With this little boat, I learned how to drive it, how to pull water skiers, how to water ski, how to maneuver a trailer, and how to catch walleye! Upon graduation from high school, I immediately went in to the Navy, so you can say that I have an affinity for marine craft.My career has taken me to Tennessee where we don't have the Great Lakes, but it has many smaller lakes and a couple of major rivers. Career and family responsibilities have an influence in one's life and owning a boat hasn't been high on the priority list up to this point.

So why a boat now? I've had this desire to build a boat for at least 5 years. Being a hobbyist woodworker, I have an appreciation for things made out of this beautiful, natural material. The desire fell into remission until about a year ago when I saw a unique looking boat heading for a floating pier along the Cumberland river. I just knew, even at a distance, that this was not a cookie cutter fiberglass boat from one of hundreds of manufacturers. When the boat docked, I started talking to the owner and looking over his craft. He verified that it indeed was a home built boat and he told me a little bit about it. I told him of my desire to build a boat and he helped give me some confidence that it is doable. He told me that he had gotten the plans from a company called Glen-L out of California. I had stumbled across their website in the past and told him I would check them out again.

I went to the Glen-L site (www.glen-l.com) and spent quite a bit of time looking at various boat designs as well as tons of pictures of boats that others had built. That was all it took to get me to seriously start planning a boat build. If there were no real life obstacles (money, skill set, etc), I would have chosen a retro design reminiscent of the old Chris Crafts. It would have a barrel back shape and it would be powered by an inboard motor. However, I had to think realistically and I realized that my skill level, shop space, and finances should probably dictate that I build a boat that is no more than 16' in length and powered by an outboard motor. I had about 5 designs picked out and then I finally nailed it down to Glen-L's Malahini. It is a 16' runabout which can be powered with up to a 75 hp outboard engine.

So why not buy a boat instead of going through the time and expense of building one? I suggest you go to the  Glen-L site and look at builder pictures and the answer will be there. Most builders will tell you......it's not so much about being a boat owner, but rather about the boat building experience. I will share my experience of building the Malahini over probably the next 2 years. Yes, it is not something that is normally done quickly. The winter months will be too cold in my shop to use epoxy and so during that time frame, I will go back to being a hobbyist woodworker. Besides the weather factor, life responsibilities will also get in the way at times. I am looking forward to the journey and will share some of the experiences in this blog.