My
Backyard Boats:
The
Piccup Squared: single file
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This
page presents the Piccup Squared building log
in a single file; the log entries are stacked chronologically.
For an index of the individual log entries, click
here.
Piccup
and start over again
04
May 03: Yesterday
I was wet and disappointed because the Quark
that I built dumped me in the Erie Canal when I launched
it. Today? Today I started another boat, one I've been
planning to build since sending away for the plans a
few weeks ago.
This
new boat project is the Piccup
Squared, another design by Jim Michalak.
I chose this design over Jim's Piccup design, which
is a multichine version that is assembled with the stitch-and-glue
method, which I am not interested in for aesthetic reasons
and also for pocketbook reasons. Rather than use even
more epoxy, I'm moving toward using more Elmer's
waterproof glue. The multichine
version of the Piccup is said to be better in rough
conditions; I want a boat that I can throw around by
myself; it needs to be of a size to stand on end for
storage in my ever-shrinking garage. I'll use this boat
in sheltered waters, such as behind the breakwaters
on the Buffalo waterfront on Lake Erie or the various
breakwaters on Lake Ontario. My next sailboat will be
a multichine project, but it will be a while, and I
may put a strip-built canoe or kayak ahead of that project.
Love this stuff!
Today
to start the new project I cut a pine 1x4 to 4 feet
in length and used it as a batten to join an 8-foot
piece of 1/4-inch bc pine to another piece just over
3 feet long. The Piccup Squared is 11 feet long and
four feet wide, with pram bow and flotation lockers
in bow and stern. I think it's a pretty boat, and Jim
sez it's a Bolger
Box, which means that the bottom curve
and the side curves are the same. Bolger examples include
the Micro and the Old Shoe, both of which I have the
plans for and like a lot. So now I have a mondo sheet
of plywood. The next step is to draw the side on this
sheet and cut them out. The center piece that will be
left over includes a temporary form that uses the pine
1x4 as its centerline and batten. Clever. I haven't
encountered a Michalak design that takes this time-saving
approach to batten use.
Time
spent so far: 2 hours to go to the home store
for wood and to make the mondo sheet of plywood.
Cost
so far: Four sheets of bc pine, 1/2 inch, at
$46.44; $3.49 for a 1x4x8-foot piece of pine; and the
half gallon of epoxy left over from the Quark project,
at $28; and $6 for a pint of Elmer's glue, for a total
so far of $83.93.
The
pine 1x4 I got was a beauty -- No. 2 but with few and
tight knots and no warp. Beats paying for Select stock.
Pine shows centerline for the two pieces of plywood to
butt together on. The better side of the plywood will
be on the inside of the boat, for ease of filling and
sanding the exterior of the hull. As it turns out, I got
two sheet of bc pine that were almost perfect on both
sides. |
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Mondo
sheet of plywood finished at 11 feet, 1 and 5/16 inches
long. The single batten makes cutting out the sides
and other pieces a snap. Instead of making separate
battens for each side, one batten does all the work.
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Lofty
work comes first
06
May 03: I
did all the lofting onto the mondo piece of plywood
I pieced together the other day. By using a 4- by
8-foot frame that I had left over from the Harmonica
project, placed atop my workbench, I was able to spare
my back on what proved to be a long day of good work.
First
came the sides, which the plans divide into 12-inch
stations. I put a nail at each station point and used
spring clamps to clamp a batten to the nails. After
cutting out the first side, the plans called for laying
out the bulkheads on the remaining plywood while there
was still a straight edge to use in the lofting.
To
cut out the bulkheads and the sides, I used a power
saw set just over the 1/4-inch thickness of the plywood.
This is my first time for that; before I have used
a hand jig saw, which is not nearly as accurate, as
it turns out, which accords with the advice of many
people in print.
The
pieces are warped and floppy, but the cuts are accurate,
though I did have some trouble with the bulkheads
and a jig I made from a piece of poplar to use as
a saw guide. My cuts were right on top of the lines,
but the problem is uniform, and amounts to 1/16 to
1/8 inch, so I'm going to live with it. The fairing
process will even up the differences, and I usually
have tended to cut on the line instead of beside it
anyway, so I'm still doing things the same way, but
with a new tool choice -- power saw instead of jig
saw.
Time
spent so far: Add 8 hours for today's lofting
and cutting out work, for a total so far of 10 hours.
Cost
so far: Holding at $83.93.
In
the beginning, a 4- by 11-foot sheet of 1/4-inch bc pine
plywood. The blue object is the plans. |
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Closeup
of the plans shows the boat and its sail in profile, with
the spars drawn to the right. |
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Spring
clamps hold batten to the curve of the sides of the hull. |
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After
drawing the arc of the bottom on the side piece, I cut
it out with a power saw set to a light depth of cut. |
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At
the end of the day the mondo sheet of plywood had yielded
the sides and bulkheads and bow transom.
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Bevels
-- sticking to the plan
18
May 03: I
had expected to breeze through the putting of 1x1
1/2 pine boards with bevels around the edges of
the transoms and bulkheads. Four days and 16 hours
later, I was finally done with this part of the
project.
The
bevel thing gives me fits sometimes, because Jim's
plans say to allow for extra for the bevels, but
I never really felt certain of how much to leave.
His new
book, however, has a section on bevels
that clears up all this confusion for me. I could
see that my old way of cutting the bevels threw
off the lines by 1/16 of an inch, more or less.
What I did this time was to cut the bevel with my
chop saw, which is dead-accurate and has a degree
scale that I trust. I took the pine scrap with the
bevel to the 10-inch table saw, which has a degree
scale that I don't trust. The pine scrap, butted
against the raised saw blade set the proper bevel.
Then I cut a bevel piece of pine such that the face
one sees was 1 1/2 inches wide (making the glue
face a bit wider or narrower, depending on the bevel
being cut. The
pix show all this clearly.
I
took my time and did the best job I could, and I
was pleased with the result. I had no errors beyond
1/16 of an inch. That's acceptable for me.
A few days ago, I bought
a 1x12x12-foot Select pine board and cut all the
chines, gunwales, and skids -- eight pieces in all.
I got a good deal on what seems a lot like New Zealand
radiata pine, for about half the price I paid the
last time I bought radiata pine. It smells wonderful
and cut well, too.
Tomorrow
I plan to put the hull together after trimming the
bevel sticks on the transoms and bulkheads. The
weather has finally cleared after about a week of
rain and cold.
Time
spent so far: Add 16 hours for cutting
bevel sticks for the transoms and bulkheads, for
a total so far of 26 hours.
Cost
so far: Add $3.49 for a 1x4x8-foot pine
board and $39.96 for a 1x12x12-foot pine board,
for a total so far of $127.38.
You
can check a bevel by placing a cut board directly on the
plans. This one is perfect. Now I can use this angle to
set the table saw angle to rip a beveled stick of 1x1
1/2 pine. |
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Sticks
in place on the stern transom. |
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Sliding
bevel gauge helps you check the angle on a cut piece of
plywood to see how accurate you were. And you can pick
up an angle to take to the saw that makes the bevel cuts.
You also can cut the bevels with a hand plane if you wish.
I've done that before. The sliding bevel gauge will tell
you how accurate that sort of cut is, too. Just slide
alone the cut edge and look for flaws. |
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The
annual rings in wood can be placed to minimize problems
with shrinking and swelling with changes in moisture level
in the wood. I would flip this piece and glue so that
the annual rings won't pull the board away from the plywood
on the edges. This is a good trick to keep in mind no
matter what the wood project. |
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Chop
saw has a dead-accurate degree gauge. The sliding bevel
is used to set the angle picked up from the cut plywood. |
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Scrap
of pine with desired bevel, cut with the accurate chop
saw, is now butted against the table saw blade to set
the proper angle for a bevel rip cut. Raise the blade
high enough to get a good mating of the surfaces. This
blade has carbine bits, so I raised the blade high enough
to avoid them. |
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Closeup
view shows a bottom bevel stick and side bevel stick,
with the bevels oriented correctly according to the blueprints.
I'll trim the extra on the side bevel stick with the Japanese
pull saw. |
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The
bc pine does not like to go untwisted, so I clamped each
finished bulkhead or transom to the workbench to encourage
the piece to take on flatness as the glue dried. |
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All
the pieces finished and lined up in order, with the bow
transom at the top and the temporary form with butt strap
in the middle. |
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It
looks a lot like a boat now
20
May 03: Yesterday,
I trimmed the transoms and bulkheads, and transferred
the lines for these pieces from one side piece
to the other. I found a few slight errors when
I transferred the lines that locate these pieces.
Today
I assembled the hull sides to the bow, stern,
and bulkheads. I had an error in depth of 1/4
inches on the sides; rather than worry overmuch
about the extra, since it was uniform, I decided
to build up the bulkheads that are short in height
by that amount. I used a batten to see what it
would look like to reduce the sides to the heights
of the bulkheads, but the curve was no longer
fair.
Next
step is to install the gunwales and chines, then
the bottom.
Time
spent so far: Add 4 hours for trimming
pieces to get ready to assemble the hull and 6
hours for nailing and gluing sides to bow, stern,
and bulkheads, for a total so far of 36 hours.
Cost
so far: Holding at $127.38.
Yesterday
was warm and sunny; I assembled the parts for the hull
-- various chines and clamps, the pile of transoms and
bulkheads, and the two side pieces. I used the 4-footx10-foot
trolley that I made out of 2x4s for the Harmonica as a
big table on top of the workbench. It made the hull work
easier. |
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Wood
sticks and clamps line up the two side pieces to ensure
accuracy in transferring the location lines for the transoms
and bulkheads. |
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After
the lines were in place, I clamps the sides together and
trimmed the ends and bottoms to match. |
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Today
was rainy; we are to have a week of such weather now.
Pic shows the temporary form in place with the sides,
at the widest point of the boat. The yellow presence at
the top of the pic is the Quark,
now hanging form the rafters. I have three finished boats
and one a-building in my shop space. |
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Bulkhead
2.5 sits ahead of the temporary form, with rope to pull
in the sides showing at the top of the forming hull. The
sheer line is largely as shown. The tendency of bc pine
to warp played in my favor, since each side warped in
the shape it would take permanently. The sticks I cut
the other day for chines and clamps are warping nicely,
too. |
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Ropes
in place at stern and bow, and all pieces in place except
for the bow transom. |
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The
hull job is done; all pieces in place. A 10-year-old neighbor
stopped by at about this point and informed me that I
was building a native canoe because he had a picture in
a book that said so and because my boat, which I tried
to explain was a sailboat, was the same as the one in
his book. |
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Another
view of the finished hull job. |
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I
decided that I no longer needed the services of the 4-footx10-foot
trolley frame that I had put atop the workbench. Since
I work alone, it took some rope work to get the hull raised
so I could pull out the trolley and set it on its side
along the edge of the work space. |
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Clamping
down -- gunwales go on
21
May 03: Call
'em gunwales or call 'em sheer clamps, but call
'em installed. The clamps went on well, and
I also put stainless steel screws in the holes
left by the deck screws used for installing
the sides to the transoms and bulkheads. I used
3M5200 caulk to drive the screws and seal the
holes. By using Elmer's glue instead of epoxy
for joints, I like using more fasteners. Also,
the caulk will seal the hole better than the
Elmer's glue mixed with wood flour to make a
putty.
The
next step is to install the external chines.
Cost
so far: Add $14.73 for glue and a 1x4x8-foot
select board that is currently holding the hull
in untwisted condition and later will be available
for whatever, and add $15.07 for a pound of
3/4-inch boat nails and 100 1 1/4-inch stainless
steel screws, for a total of $157.18.
Time
spent so far: Add four hours for the
gunwales, for a total so far of 36 hours.
It
only seems like overkill to use a select pine board like
this. After this service, it'll be available for use,
and I opted for Select grade because No. 2 pine didn't
have a straight edge, which is the whole point here, at
this point in the hull process. Have a pun; I have enough
to go around. |
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Clamps
hold the starboard gunwale in place while the glue sets. |
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Stainless
steel screws bedded in 3M 5200 caulk at the corner of
the stern and the side. Someone in a recent issue of WoodenBoat
said that after trying several things to make driving
screws easier, include the old standby of bar soap, the
winner was 3M 5200. I agree. It makes the screws glide
even better than soap does, and it seals with waterproof
stuff, too. |
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Port
gunwale in place and being held with clamps. The guy across
the street came over to see my fleet yesterday and said
he had some clamps lying around that he would give me.
Can't have too many clamps. I have about 15, and I wish
I had 10 more. |
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Upside
down and done
27
May 03: Although
I have gotten behind on posting, I am moving
right along on the Piccup.
The
chines are installed, and the bottom is on,
and today I put fiberglass on the chine seams
and other seams. Used up all the epoxy. I
cut my own fiberglass tape strips because
I was looking at $25 for a new roll. I liked
cutting the tape from scraps of 6 oz. cloth.
It wet out faster and better than the 9 oz.
tape. I did a better job of rounding the edge
of the bottom and chines. It was colder and
cloudy today, so the epoxy resin was cloudy,
thick, and granular. Still, the strips I cut
were easier to process than the tape.
The
hull is still upside down, but I'll turn it
over after the epoxy sets and gets a sanding.
The
next step is to sand the fiberglass.
Cost
so far: Add $30 for glue, masking
tape, anothe5r 1x4x6-foot pine board, and
some belt sander belts, for a total so far
of $187.18.
Time
spent so far: Add 15 hours for the
finishing of the hull, for a total so far
of 51 hours.
Inverted
hull with chines and gunwales in place. The board in the
center of the boat is to maintain stiffness and accuracy. |
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I
cut the bevel on the aft bulkhead the wrong way, so I
added a shim from offcut pine that I had been saving for
just such a need. |
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Shim
is in place, and I clamped it while the glue dried. |
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Only
a 1/16th of an inch in depth was needed to bring the bulkhead
level. After I planed the chines, there almost wasn't
a problem. Pic shows the shim glued to the bulkhead at
the centerline. |
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I
had a good time with the fairing of the chines and bulkheads.
I use a block plane mostly and a 12-inch jack plane some.
I also have an 18-inch floor plane that I used for this
type of work. The block plane sits on an oak board that
I reserve for fairing. |
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Large
section of bottom glued, nailed, and clamped. |
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Completed
bottom of hull has three segments and two butt joints. |
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Flipping
over the Piccup
02
June 03: I've
been working daily on the Piccup, and the
hull is coming along well. The other day when
we flipped the boat over after I had grinded
down the epoxy and fiberglass tape, I was
surprised by how much the boat weighed. The
Reverend informed me that I'm on my own with
this one, in view of the weight.
I
have a plan, though. I'm going to made a wheel
dolly so I can wheel the boat out of the garage
upside down and get under to place it on the
rack of the pickup. It's heavy, but not too
heavy.
Along with being surprised
by its weight, I also was surprise and pleased
by its size and shape. I've been wanting a
good sailboat since I started building boats
-- four boats ago. This one will fill the
bill. It has ample freeboard in the sitting
zone. I like that, too. Jim Michalak says
that this boat should take water over the
gunwale before the point of capsize -- a wet
warning instead of a total immersion.
There
has been a lot of cool weather, and the epoxy
that I put on the fiberglass stripes for the
chines, and the first coat on the bottom of
the hull, did not really set up until today,
which was four or five days after I did the
work. Sunday, I took the angle grinder to
the stuff and basically had to grind off the
second application, which was the dregs of
the gallon of epoxy I was working from. It
was cold enough that the hardener had granulated,
and this was reflected in the epoxy on the
hull. It was a mess on the surface from being
pock-marked. I got another gallon of epoxy
and will coat the skids, which I installed,
and the sides, and a second overall coat on
everything I grinded down.
I'm
sold on cutting my own fiberglass tape; it
wetted out much better that the heavier and
more expensive tape. I had very little problem
with unraveling, which I was grateful for.
After flipping the
boat, I installed the second lamination of
the gunwales, cut out the deck pieces, and
put shims on the tops of the bulkheads, which
were about 1/2 inch shy of the top of the
plywood -- don't ask me why, because I don't
wanna know.
Next
steps are to put a doubler strip behind the
forward bulkhead, to strengthen the place
where the mast partner will be bolted; mask
off all the edges and trowel on thickened
epoxy; to paint the interior of the forward
and after air chambers; to fit and install
the deck pieces; to make the forward and aft
hatch combings and hatch tops; and then finish
with the sailing parts.
Cost
so far: Add $30 for the half gallon
of epoxy used so far; $4 for more Elmer's
glue (going to buy a gallon for $10 next time);
$10 for 3M blue masking tape and regular masking
tape; $12 for stainless steel screws for the
skids and gunwales, for a total so far of
$253.18.
Time
spent so far: Add 20 hours for the
work done since the last posting, for a total
so far of 71 hours. NB: I work slow.
The
second coat I put on the fiberglass strips was generally
a mess because it was too cold and the hardener had
become granulated. I'm storing the epoxy in the house
now, to avoid a repeat.
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The
skids went on with the help of deck screws from the outside
and permanent 3/4-inch stainless steel screws countersunk
from the inside. The skids are pine. |
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Second
course of gunwale glued, screwed, and clamped to the first
course. |
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To
get a more comfortable working height for what I'll be
doing inside the hull, I took the hull off of the workbench
and put it on my four-wheel cart. |
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The
rocker in the forward part of the boat is more extreme
than the rocker in the after section. |
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Bulkheads
were 1/2 inch shy of the tops of the sides. I put in shims. |
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Shim
clamped to the forward bulkhead. |
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Fillets
for all my friends!
06
June 03: The
fillets on all the seams inside the hull
look very good.
Today
I trimmed the gunwales and gave them a final
sanding; I also gave the deck ply a final
shaping.
Next
step is to put a fillet on the top of the
external chines. This is where the Harmonica
leaked on its maiden voyage.
Cost
so far: Add $27.95 for a quart
of Sea Green Brightside paint by Interlux,
12 acid brushes for glue-spreading, and
$250 for black plastic oarlocks and sockets,
for a total so far of gunwales, for a total
so far of $289.93.
Note:
I got the three items at Obersheimer's;
the oarlocks were incorrectly tagged, but
they gave them to me at the tagged price
-- $1.50 times two. I got two sets because
I need two rowing stations, for single use
and use with a passenger. It was good of
them to sell the pieces at the price marked.
I didn't even have to ask. They deserve
your business, too!
Obersheimer's
Sailors' Supply 1884 Niagara St., Buffalo,
NY 14207.
Time
spent so far: Add five hours for
taping all the seams inside the hull and
applying the thickened epoxy, and three
hours on the gunwales and deck pieces, for
a total so far of 79 hours.
Fillets
in place on all interior seams. Using 3M blue masking
tape and newspapers made a job that required no sanding!!!
If you wait to pull the tape until the epoxy is starting
to set up, you get a ridge and clean edge to the fillets. |
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This
is the top of the exterior chine. It'll get a fillet next
time. I guess I should explain that most of Jim Michalak's
boats place the chine on the outside of the hull, which
means no notching of frames. On a displacement hull, any
interruptions in the flow would be impossible to notice.
The beauty in Jim's designs is in form following function. |
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The
four deck pieces are dry-fit in place. Sanded gunwales
just gleam. |
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Down
the hatches
10
June 03: The
hatch combing fore and aft are in place,
and a second coat of epoxy is on the entire
hull. The combings went together well;
I made lap joints for the corners using
the table saw. The combings are pine.
The decks are in place now, too, and are
good.
I
decided to put a fillet on top of the
external chine and do some more rounding
in hopes of significantly softening the
chine, and to ensure a water-tight joint.
I did an OK job of applying the epoxy;
it still took a few hours of sanding with
a sanding drum to get the effect I was
looking for.
Next
step is to do final fairing and then paint
the exterior of the hull.
Cost
so far: Add $25 for a quart of
gray Interlux primer, $10 for more Elmer's
glue, $6 for more blue 3M masking tape,
$10 for two-part putty, and $3 for duct
tape, for a total of $343.93.
Time
spent so far: Add 10 hours for
installing the combings and sanding the
hull, for a total so far of 89 hours.
After
installing the decks and combings for the hatch covers,
I wheeled the hull outside for a photo op. The dark line
above the chine is the fillet that I added for rounding
and for waterproofing. |
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Close-up
of the fillet at the chine. |
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Lots
of room in the cockpit; its 6.5 feet long. |
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Prime
time
16
June 03: I've
been spending a lot of time with the
ear protectors on and the industrial-strength
dusk mask in place, sanding the hull
in preparation for painting. I've put
two coats of primer on, sanding between,
and one coat of the enamel, which is
a dark green.
Cost
so far: Add $17.23 for four
14-foot spruce 2x4s for spars, for a
total so far of $361.16.
Time
spent so far: Add 15 hours
for more sanding and prepping of the
hull for paint , for a total so far
of 104 hours.
Hull
after first of two coats of primer. The dark primer is
meant to make darker top coats cover better. |
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The
hull after the first of at least two coats of Interlux
Brightside green. My hull prep work is improving; no runs
or curtains from the epoxy undercoat. |
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Getting
my oars in a row
19
June 03: Since
I'm still letting the topcoat on the
hull cure, I tackled the oars today.
Yesterday I roughed out a yuloh for
the Harmonica, too. I've been using
my new bandsaw to make the oars and
the yuloh. I have a way to go before
I can say that I'm proficient with the
bandsaw, but it's fun to use, anyway.
I've
been saving a 4x4x8-foot Douglas fir
fence post, almost clear, for a year
now. I had big plans for it, but after
I ran it through the bandsaw, which
barely could cut it, I ended up with
enough pieces to add to some spruce
to makes the oars and the yuloh.
What's
a yuloh?
It's a long, blade-heavy oar for sculling.
Do a Google
search on yuloh;
there's some interesting stuff.
Next
step is to shape the oars, coat with
epoxy, and topcoat with varnish.
Cost
so far: Add $10 for the doug
fir I used, for a total so far of $371.16.
Time
spent so far: Add 4 hours for
the work so far on the oars, for a total
so far of 108 hours.
I
used spruce for the center and fir for the outside pieces
of the oars. I could have made the oars from the spruce
along, but the piece had some back dings, and I like the
two-tone look anyway. The fir also will make the oars
loom-heavy, which the plans call for. |
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Since
I have the bandsaw, I did some additional shaping before
gluing up. I'm working in the basement on this stuff;
it a lot more isolated that the shop but has the heavy
power tools. |
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They
look like a dog's breakfast now, but I know they will
be beautiful when I'm finished. |
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All
but in the water
04
July 03: I've
been working hard on the Piccup but not on the
updates. This is a roundup of the work done in
the past two weeks.
The
oars were a big job -- about 15 hours of work
-- but well worth the extra effort that I put
into them. They're lovely.
The
spars and mast blanks are all glued up from spruce
construction-grade 2x4s from the home store.
Hatch
covers and combings are done and look great.
Two
coats of varnish on the gunwales, decks, hatch
covers; two coats of 50-50 mixture of turpentine
and linseed oil on the interior of the hull.
Ditty
box for rowing seat done; looks great.
Mast
partner and mast step cut out and installed.
We're
taking the boat up to the canal later today for
a row.
Cost
so far: Total so far of $371.16.
Time
spent so far: Add 11 hours for the work
on the oars and 20 hours or the other projects
mentioned in this post, for a total so far of
141 hours.
I
did the work on the oars in the basement to make use of
the big power tools. I used some Gorilla Glue that I had.
Elmers would have been fine. The Gorilla Glue, like all
poly glues, is a holy mess. The squeeze-out looks like
foam. No complaints about its strength; it's just a mess,
especially if you get it on your skin. |
|
I
swear ... it took an hour to clean up the excess glue. |
|
The
oars are spruce and fir; here they show results of shaping
and rounding. |
|
The
combings were a challenge. I tried to make them with some
fir I had, but that just reminded me why I don't like
to work with fir if I can use pine instead. You have to
pre-drill all holes for nails and there still are splits.
The combings on the boat are pine, and the hatch cleats
are spruce. |
|
After
15 hours of work, the oars are ready for varnish. I work
slowly because I want more control over the removal and
shaping of wood. I could grab a more aggressive power
tool sometimes, but I'm making enough sawdust as it it,
and I hate to waste good wood by going too fast. |
|
Ditty
box/rowing box. I modified the box to use shock cord instead
of a rope bale. |
|
With
some poplar that I had on hand I made the mast partner,
using the bandsaw mostly. |
|
The
two spars and the mast are all glued up, waiting for final
shaping on the table saw. This is the yard spar, made
up from two trim pieces of spruce. I like to laminate
as many parts as possible, because that controls the grain
better than making pieces from stock, which often will
take a sudden bend as soon as it is clear of the saw blade.
And since the glue line is stronger than the wood, usually,
that is a plus, too. |
|
It
took a bit of work to bevel the mast step, also made from
poplar, so that it would conform to the curve of the hull,
which is severe in the forward portion of the cockpit. |
|
Piccup
passes put-in process
04
July 03: The
only hitch in our initial launching of
the Piccup Squared was operator error.
I got in backwards and rowed for pictures
facing the stern ... .
So
I turned around and the
Reverend took some
more pictures. The boat is a sailboat
that can be rowed, so it's not a burner
under oars, and I need to do some adjustments
to the oars and placement of the oarlocks,
but it was promising. Cozy, too, compared
to the space in the Weekend
Skiff or the Harmonica.
We
launched at Gasport Marina on the Erie
Canal. It was a nice evening.
I'm
looking forward to the sailing launch.
The boat seems lively and light.
Cost
so far: $371.16.
Time
spent so far: 141 hours.
At
the launch ramp in Gasport on the Erie Canal. |
|
I
think that this boat has pretty lines, much more so than
the original Piccup design, which is multi-chine and hammer-headed.
It may be more seaworthy in rough water, but it isn't
as elegant. |
|
Oars
were in need of adjustment -- shortening the looms by
about 2 inches and moving the oarlocks so I get better
extension. |
|
The
Reverend took all the pix of me in the boat. This one
captures the quality of golden and blue light at dusk
on the canal in summer. |
|
Ditty
box worked fine. |
|
Mast,
spar partners rounded up
14
July 03: Work
is going well. Mast and supporting spars
-- yard and boom -- are glued up, ripped
into rough form, planed, and sanded. All
the other parts that needed to be laminated
-- leeboard, rudder, rudder cheek, and tiller
-- are cut out and glued. The end is in
sight, though it will take another 20 hours
or so to finish at the rate I work, which
is slow for a fairly high level of finish.
The
last bit that isn't started is the polytarp
sail, though I have the materials in hand.
I
called the state Dept. of Motor Vehicles
and was told that as long as a vehicle and
its load are less than 40 feet long, a red
flag is all that is needed to be legal.
That is a relief, because this boat is a
bit heavy at the launching end to get off
of the rack on the pickup truck. I can put
the boat inside the bed with one arm, using
a hand truck jammed into the space between
the bed and the tailgate. It sticks out
5 feet. Red flag. Legal.
Cost
so far: Add $5 for glue for the
laminating, $4 for nuts and bolts to finish
the oarlock fastening, and $5 for poplar
for the tiller, mast partner, and mast step,
for a total so far of $385.16.
Time
spent so far: Add 10 hours for
the work on the mast, yard, and boom and
5 hours for the other projects mentioned
in this post, for a total so far of 156
hours.
The
spruce blanks for the boom, at left, and the yard, center,
and the mast, right, are ready for planing and sanding.
I ended up with a hook in the mast that I'll align fore
and aft, and there's a crook in the boom, too, but it
won't be a problem. Spruce 2x4s yield all the spars. |
|
My
workshop in the basement has the stationary power tools
and a long bench with vice. That's where I've been working
on the spars and laminations. The spar job took about
10 hours. It's funny, but I don't use my router on boat
work. It would be quicker, but harder to control, and
any boo-boos would be glaringly permanent. I like the
irregular quality of the hand work.
|
|
The
mast after sanding. It's ready to roll. The setup with
clamps and the block were how I sanded by turning while
running the random-orbit sander to touch up the belt sander
work that came first. |
|
All
three spars are planed and ready for sanding here. I settled
for eight-sided, squarish profiles for the yard and boom
but rounded the mast after initial planing. |
|
Finished! |
|
The
leeboard is three courses of 1/4-inch bc pine plywood.
Because I went with a larger leeboard to go with a larger
sail that Jim Michalak added to the original plans, I
had to use two pieces for the middle course. It won't
be a problem, though. |
|
After
putting about a quart of Elmer's glue on the leeboard
plywood, I screwed the whole thing to the workbench to
clamp the courses and get good squeeze-out. |
|
The
plans specify a 2x4 for the tiller; I laminated two pieces
of 3/4-inch thick poplar to get the blank right. I prefer
gluing up to using single pieces, to avoid warping and
twisting. Just pay attention to the annual rings of the
pieces. |
|
Piccup
the pace: Rush to launch
23
August 03: It's
been a while since I've posted on this
project, but it's done. Launched for sailing,
too.
We
spent a week with family at Selkirk Shores
State Park on Lake Ontario over by the
Thousand Islands. I launched the Piccup
Squared during
the week at Salmon River Reservoir, a
favorite place of the group that went
on vacation together.
The
boat sails well, and I'm pleased with
its performance. I had a stiff wind just
short of whitecaps, and I sheeted in to
see how it would handle. I felt total
confidence in this boat at speed, with
the rail almost buried.
In
the rush to finish this boat, and a Flats
Rat, too, I haven't posted the details
of finishing up the Piccup, but it went
well, and I've posted a
lot of pix of the
finishing.
Cost
so far: Add $20 for lines, $10
for hardware, and $10 for varnish, for
a project total of $425.16.
Time
spent so far: Add 25 hours for
the finishing work including making the
sail, handing the rudder and leeboard,
and final coats of varnish , for a project
total of 176 hours.
I
had some fun in making cleats out of some poplar. The
one in front went on the tiller. |
|
Leeboard,
rudder, and rudder stock ready to be varnished. |
|
Toothpick
plugs one of the holes from the deck screws I used to
laminate the leeboard.
|
|
Piece
of poplar acts as lower leeboard guard. |
|
Upper
leeboard guard in place. |
|
It
took only a few hours, on a hot and humid day, to make
the polytarp sail. It helps to have a big space in which
to work. If you have a big lawn, that is even better,
since the sun smoothes out the wrinkles in the polytarp. |
|
The
night before we left for vacation, I finally had the boat
done and the rigging tested. |
|
Maiden
voyage at Salmon River Reservoir. |
|
Salmon
Creek Reservoir is a beautiful lake, with no, I repeat,
no cabins or houses on the shoreline. For New York state,
that is an oddity. There is only one launch ramp, and
it's a beautiful setting, too, with room to swim and lazy
around. |
|
My
lanky father-in-law takes a turn with the oars. The boat
rows OK, but it's a sailboat that you can row, not a rowboat
you can sail. |
|
|
|
Herkimer
&
Perkins
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