My
Backyard Boats:
The
Quark
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A
good beginning
14
March 03: I went out this morning and got the wood to
build my next boat, the Quark. The pile of lumber and plywood
doesn't look like much, but it will do the job. It felt good to
get going on the boatbuilding season. I got a sheet of bc pine
instead of luaun, which I had assumed would be fine, but sometimes
Home Depot runs out of luaun, so I got the pine ply. I love the
way it smells. And it has three equal plies, unlike the luaun.
It is a bit heavier, but that isn't a problem in a boat this small.
I'll build this one in the basement while waiting for the weather
to warm. There is still snow on the ground, though the weekend
is supposed to be in the 50s for the Ides of March.
Cost
so far: $49.06 for lumber, $25 (I think) for the plans -- bought
about a year ago, and seemingly no longer available (visit Jim's
website to email him if you want plans). I have a few boards and
some epoxy that are left from other projects that I'll use on
this one, but I want to have a fair idea of cost, too, so we'll
say $30 for epoxy and $20 for boards on hand, for a grand total
so far of $124.06.
Quark's
story takes a single sheet of blueprints.
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Detail
of blueprints shows profile, top view, and the way to cut
the sides and bottom from a sheet of 1/4-inch plywood. |
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Detail
of temporary frame, left, and the stem. |
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A
sheet of plywood, a select-grade poplar 2x4 that is 9 feet,
4 inches long, and a 1x4x8 feet long pine board for the
temporary form don't take up much room in the truck. |
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Our
house is more than 100 years old, and the steps to the basement
are probably about that old. Someone along the way learned
that a notch in the landing at the mouth of the top of the
basement stairs was needed to persuade a full sheet of plywood
to go on down. |
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Jokes
and puns notwithstanding, I'm eager to build this little
boat. It won't take much more than the plywood and three
boards to make it, either. |
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