Herkimer & Perkins: Building Backyard Boats in Buffalo, NY

My Backyard Boats:

The Quark

Twice-thwarted in good form

I installed the two thwarts in the Quark today, and did some planing on the excess plywood on the bottom. The only thing left to install is the skeg; the rest of the work will be sanding, trimming, and epoxy coating and fiberglass taping. I still like the look of this little boat, more so because I didn't expect as much boat as it is.

I decided to get some good screws for the thwarts, so I went to West Marine, a few minutes from the house, on the Niagara River, and got eight brass screws at 40 cents each. I couldn't touch the stainless steel ones. Still, it was better than going to the home emporium, though the screws are a lot cheaper there.

Time spend so far: Add two hours for the thwarts and planing today, for a total so far of 19 hours.

Cost so far: Going into today the coast was $127.66. Add $3.46 for the eight brass screws, for a total so far of $131.12.

The Quark building log

Telephoto closeup of brass screw and thwart. The thwarts, of which there are two, are made of 1x2 poplar. The plans show a simple butt joint. I opted not to do a fancy curved thwart of the traditional sort. I may make some kind of seat back after I try the boat out, though.
After gluing and screwing the thwarts in, I took out the temporary form. Still haven't shaped the stem where it stands proud of the hull. The plans show a rounding and the drilling of a hole for a painter.
There is about 1/4 inch of plywood to trim with the block plane and wood file before rounding for the fiberglass tape.