Cackler

Dave E

Dave E

Active member
It has been about a month since I worked much on my boat. I had been on vacation: 6,700 miles on my motorcycle, 18 states, 6 National Parks. It was fun.

The last thing I did before I left on vacation was to scarf some plywood for the decks. When I got home, I cut the decks out and installed them. I did one side at a time and after gluing/screwing them down, I turned the boat sideways and filleted the underside of the decking. This made gravity work with me instead of against me. After the fillets cured, I glassed the joint with 4 inch tape and two coats of epoxy.
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This is the underside of the deck.
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I can see the "Cackler" shape taking place with the decking in place.
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Once things were "set" I removed the deck screws and filled in the holes.

I trimmed the edge with a router. That router threw crap all over my work shop. I had obtained some straight grain fir from a neighbor (it used to be flooring at one time). I trimmed the 16 ft piece into 1/2 inch strips and epoxied them in place. This would allow me to transition from the decks to the shear with a nice rounded corner. This also filled in a gap between the deck and the shear. The deck was tight down on the shear, but the top of the shear was cut at a wrong angle and dropped down away from the deck edge (its sort of hard to put into works, I guess). This allowed me to fix all of that and let me route the corner in solid lumber rather than in plywood. The rounded couners will come later after things set up. Soon I will be able to glass the decks.

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Here I have filled the rabbet with my insert.
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I installed the trim pieces and pinned them in place with small nails. Tomorrow I will belt sand them even with the decks. It doesn't look like it here, but they stick up too high about 3/16 of an inch.
 
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Dave,
The boat is coming along great. By turning the boat on it's side like that you are missing one of the most memorable parts of the build- putting in fillets while you on your back while feeling like you are working inside of a large suitcase, getting epoxy in your hair, etc.... : ) .

Have you been out chasing ducks yet?

Take care!
-Bill
 
Have you been out chasing ducks yet?

Take care!
-Bill

No, I have not been out yet for ducks. I spanked a couple Pheasants Wednesday, but I have been spending most of my time working on the ark. I am still a long way from the final paint job.

Today I trimmed the inside of the decks and finished installing the front part of the decking. I filled the flotation chamber with more foam (I had run out, then ordered more) before attaching the decking up there. I ran the wiring for the navigational light through the deck. The hole in front of the cockpit is for the dog.
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After this sets up I will shove the boat outside and take the belt sander to the outer edges, round over the shear edge then glass the top stuff. After that it will be time for the combing and then some hardware. That should keep me busy all week. My weekend this month is Tue-Wed-Thur so I go back to work tomorrow (if I can remember where it is). I have been off for 5 weeks.

My neighbor gave me a copy of Wooden Boat Magazine (Nov-Dec 2009). In it there is a formula for determining the length and optimum placement of oars in a boat. that is something I never really gave any thought to. The way it goes is this: (quoted from the mag)

Fitting Oars to the boat: The aim is coming as close as you can to achieving an oar length that gives you a 7:18 ratio. Using this ratio will put 7/25th of the oars length inboard of the oar lock and and 18/25th outside of it. To calculate your boats oar length, begin by measuring 1/2 of the boats width at the oarlocks in inches. Add 2" to that measurement and divide the sum by 7. Next multiply the result by 25. Then divide by 12 to give you your length in feet. Round the number to the nearest half foot. That will give you your proper oar length. Placement is another measurement taken from the aft edge of the seat (a fixed position in most boats). measure a 14 inch line from the aft edge of the rowers seat to the oarlocks. The article goes into different types of rowing for calm and choppy water and stuff like that. Its more than I needed to know about rowing for sure.

The first time I read all that I got a little dizzy. Then I re-read it and got out the calculator. I found my oars should be 7 footers. I suppose I will have to make oars now too.... Oars (according to my neighbor) are expensive to buy, but cheap and easy to make. He made a bunch of paddles for the canoes he makes. They are just about the same except for the shape of the handle (sounds like a whole 'nuther thread).

Dave
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I haven't had a lot of time to work on my boat lately. I did manage to pick up some Red Oak the other day for the combing. It was 5/4 stock and I re-sawed it so it was only one inch thick.

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The top edges were rounded over with a router and I attached the pieces to the hull with bronze screws.

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I have spent a lot of time looking for just the right hardware. With some help from this site (thank you) I was able to locate a source. I had to order some of the pieces, however. That will be for attaching the cover on the forward hatch.

I will be starting on the forward hatch this next weekend. After that in installed, I can do the last of the fiberglassing on the boat.
 
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Man, I wish during my build I'd thought of tipping the boat on its side (and that I'd thought of putting the front deck on one side at a time) when it was time to install the deck. It would have saved a whole lot of physical discomfort.
 
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If you used the red oak and its already in place as it appears, make sure you glass the crap out of it.

I think you might have liked the durability of white oak instead. Just an observation.

The boat looks great.
 
If you used the red oak and its already in place as it appears, make sure you glass the crap out of it.

I think you might have liked the durability of white oak instead. Just an observation.

The boat looks great.

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Someone ( I can't remember who) advised me to use red oak and not white oak because it was better around water. It will be covering it completely with a couple layers of glass anyway. I figure that part of the boat will take some punishment. I thought about using other softer woods because of ease of construction and cheaper cost but I wanted something durable. The guy at the lumberyard told me red and white oak were just about the same hardness. I personally have no clue. I do know that fir would most likely dent easily even with glass on it. Pine is soft as butter, hemlock is not too hard either. I have spent so much money on this thing now, I don't want to scrimp on the last couple of parts and cheapen up the job. I plan to hunt out of it until I can't do it any longer.

I have to say that I am having a lot of fun fiddling around with this project.

Thanks for the input.
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Man, I wish during my build I'd thought of tipping the boat on its side (and that I'd thought of putting the front deck on one side at a time) when it was time to install the deck. It would have saved a whole lot of physical discomfort.

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I got the idea by reading stuff on this bulletin board. I heard how some people had epoxy in their hair etc. I just grabbed my son and son in law and picked the boat up off of the trailer and set it down. It really wasn't too hard to do. And, yes, it did save me a bundle of frustration. Yesterday I got another "easy idea." Since I buy latex gloves in boxes, I just just used one like a cake decorator. I filled it with thickened epoxy, cut the tip off of one finger and squeezed it into place where I wanted it. Then I smoothed it into a fillet with the rounded end of a stir stick. It went along really fast.
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I finally got my combing finished around the forward hatch. After the fillets harden, I will do the last of the glassing on the boat. I am starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel....

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Part way through routing the roundover on the upper edge of the combing, my router quit. I think the switch went out. I had to run down the block and borrow a router from my neighbor John, the carpenter. His equipment puts mine to shame.

Through the process of trial and cursing, I have learned just how much torque I can put on bronze screws before I strip out the square drive socket part. Oak is hard on them.
 
I picked up some Mahogany today. I had a hard time getting a piece 14 ft long. I had to settle for 13 ft 11 inches (close enough). Actually, this stuff is African Mahogany or what they called "Khaya." I wanted 5/4 stuff, but this is as close as I could come without buying 3/4 stuff. I suppose I could have saved some money if I had bought the 3/4 stuff and just glued it together. I guess I had a hard time changing gears while I was at the lumber yard. I ended up buying way more than I needed. Hardwoods, they tell me, comes all sorts of weird sizes. I guess it depends on the tree. There was a TON of 13 ft stuff. Because of the bending I will have to do, I didn't want a splice in it.

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This stuff is THICK

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I am going to have to take it down the street to John's house. He has a table saw that will take it. Mine it too whimpy. This stuff is 6 3/8" wide and 2 inches thick. I think I will have him rip off two lengths 5/4s wide, then temp glue them together to make my working piece. Then I will cut them out and route them like the tutorial shows. I believe I will have less waste if I do it that way. This hunk of wood cost me $80 and I don't need most of it. I don't want to cut up more of it than I need to.

I had some runs in the epoxy on my decks, so I sanded them down a bit and put another coat on today. This should make them nice and smooth. The decking you can see in these pictures are before I sanded them today.

I don't know if John will help me cut my boards today, it is pouring outside right now.
 
Dave,

So it's raining at your house, too?? Someone on this site once posted that it rains twice during duck season here- rain #1 lasts the first 53 days of season, we get a break, then rain #2 lasts the lasts the last 54 days of season. I'm starting to think they were not kidding.....

Take care and hope to see the Cackler in the water soon!

Bill
 
Not to hijack the thread, but ... Bill there is a reason it is green here, you see the green trees? green leaves? green moss? green mold? green houses, green cats and dogs........

I often tell people we are like the Eskimos. They have 43 words to describe different types of snow. We have 43 different words to describe the amount, intensity and duration of rain. Have you ever used the word "sunbreaks" anywhere else in the world? And did anyone understand it?

Actually Huntsvile, Alabama gets 57.18 inches per year and Olympia, WA only gets 50.59 inches. Only difference is in Alabama you get all that rain in 3 afternoon thunderstorms and her it takes 8 months to fall.
 
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Well.... I got my boards cut out and I glued two ot them together edge to edge and I even got them measured and marked. I picked up a new 1 1/2 inch Forstner bit, but when I opened the package, it turned out to be a 1 1/4 inch bit.

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So, instead of getting my grass rails drilled out, routed and cut apart, I just quit for the night and took a break. I will take the bit back to the store and try again tomorrow.

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I took a bit of time laying out the standoffs and found I needed to "move" one a bit to clear a bulkhead. Most of the spaces between the standoffs are 12 inches apaart, but I made one of them only 10 inches. I will have to get some pictures of the cut out spaces tomorrow. The reason I cut two pieces and glued them together was to cut down on waste. I have enough mahogany left now to make a set of oars.

Taking the night off gave me more time to read Duckboats.net! It's all good.
 
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Also looks like a Freud bit in an Irwin packing clamshell.

I guess so. I got it at Tacoma Screw Products. They will take it back, I am sure. I just figured it was packaged wrong.
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Oh man I hate it when that happens. Boats looking good Dave. You can actually take a piece of red oak stick one end in some water and blow air through it. You can't do this as easily or at all with white oak. Make sure its is sealed.

I do like living in the middle of the cascades, its like being on an Island. If its to rainy, I just go to the leeward side.
 
Today, after I got the the correct drill bit, I cut out the rails and shaped the ends so they "go along with" the rest of the boat. I made them just like the tutorial Eric has on the main page. I just changed the ends. I made a forward angle in the front and a taper in the back so it matches my combing. I just have them roughed out so far. I can see that those rails are stronger than I imagined they would be. I set them on the floor and stepped on them. They are plenty stiff and strong. I guess I was all worried for 'nuth'n.

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I wanted to start on the paint job, but I ran out of time to the sanding and necessary prep work. I didn't want to rush through it so I just bagged it for the day. I am really not a painter, but I know is not a good idea to rush that part.
 
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White oak is less porus because the large cells have tyloses in them, little wall like membrains that slow down the absorbsion of water. Red oak doesn't have these, so the large cells act like straws. I also recomend sealing the devil out of it.
We had 6'' of rain in 24 hrs earlier this week. It's double what they recorded at Warrenton Airport, which I think is in a little bit of a rain shadow compaired to our house.
Nice workmanship! Where do you go for your lumber?
 
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