Sneakbox Renovation

[Steve Sanford]

Good morning, Chuck~

Disparaged Brotherhood of Decoy (and other duck hunting related items) Seamstresses ! I am truly honored. It brings back memories of my early carving days - when a friend founded The Clan of the Short Sabres. I remain a member in good standing to this day.....

SAll the best,

SJS, D.P.D.S., C.S.S.

 

[Scott Swain]

Steve.... I need to build a hatch cover too, so I was excited to see this chapter come up I just cant figure out how to cut the fore and aft frames to match the crown of the boat. Hope there is a secret you can share?

 

[Steve Sanford]

Scott~

Funny you should ask....

I had photographed the scribing process when I made the hatch - but edited it out. So, I just re-staged the process.

1. Start with either the actual framing piece or pattern stock - clamped to the coaming. I always put both a center-line and other verticals about every 3 inches. This allows me to check for symmetry as I proceed.

2. The "classic" way to scribe is with a compass. The key is to hold it vertical as you draw with the pencil up top and follow the deck contour with the pointy end down below.

3. If you want, you can scribe the top profile, too, while the stock is clamped in place.

4. Another approach - not truly accurate but close enough for duckboats - is to use a block that you move along the deck. The pencil should stay at the same location on the block as you move it.

NOTE: IF your cockpit is a true rectangle, the rest of the job is easy. You can use the same pattern for each of the frames.

However, if yours is shaped like mine - bowed out amidships to follow the gunwales - the width and the crown change with each frame. If so, I will need to send you a few drawings to show that process.

In the meantime, I did put the cloth on the hatch just now. My neighbor came to help - so he could learn about covering plywood with cloth + epoxy.

He is a skilled woodworker but also restores cars. He arrived in his '46 Ford Super Deluxe:

I had previously sanded the sealer coat. We rolled on a heavy coat of epoxy then laid own one layer of 7.5-ounce cloth from U S Composites. I will roll on another coat later today - to fill the weave - while the resin is tacky but not yet hard - so the 2 coats will bond chemically.

On the corners, I cut a dart and wrapped the cloth around the sides but also added another little triangle of cloth on each corner - because they are vulnerable and too easy to grind through.

It took us about 45 minutes to lay the cloth.

All the best,

SJS

 

[Scott Swain]

Thanks Steve, almost too obvious to be true after looking at your post. I knew you would hit the easy button for me!

 

[Steve Sanford]

Good morning, Scott~

I hope you are enjoying this sublime summer weather on a truly Fine Fourth.

Here is the finished hatch - although I still need a finish coat of pale grey gloss oil on the inside.

Since this is storage hatch - mostly for use here at the farm off-season - I do not need a locking cover. Two brass hooks-and-eyes will keep the wind - or raccoons - from removing it prematurely.


I paint my usual white forward arrow on - so I can get things headed in the right direction on the first try - especially in low light.

Ready to flip her now.

All the best,


SJS

 

[Scott Swain]

Every aspect of her has gorgeous lines! Hatch and all. Happy 4th and thanks for sharing!! Sitting here laughing at my lab who thinks the fireworks is the gunning on the Bay we can hear from our home.

 

[Capt Rich Geminski]

Steve, how about thin plastic tubing or shrink tubing over the bolt... Don't think it is needed.

 

[Steve Sanford]

All~

Well - the boat itself is done! I still have to spruce up her trailer - and freshen the paint on her 1980 Evinrude 15-horse.

The bottom was in good shape - even better than I had remembered. So, it was mostly just putting on some new paint and registration numbers.


The heat gun warmed the adhesive - and I measured the location for the new tag and numbers.

I sanded the entire hull with my orbital and discovered that I had already - several years ago when I had started a rehab - reinforced the hull along the keel. I do not recall the exact layup - but it probably included a couple of layers of heavy woven roving as well as some lighter cloth. The black was the hint: I had added graphite powder to the epoxy to toughen the outer surface.

The lower "grip" - carved from treated 2-inch stock and coated with epoxy - always served as both a lifting/pulling handle and protection for the feather edge at the bow when on the trailer. It used to be covered with firehose - but I think the new bow chock on the trailer will obviate the need for such protection this time around.

I sanded the new s/s eye with 150-grit so it would hold the paint.

This view shows the "deadrise" (vee) and the 8-inch wide reinforcement along the keel.

I had also reinforced the skeg while still using the boat on Great South Bay. The original molded skeg would wear through and let water inside the hull (aka: it leaked!). So, I had epoxied on a length of White Oak and encapsulated it in a skin of cloth and epoxy.

The deeper skeg solved another problem. When picking up the rig under power - as when the water is too deep to wade - I like to approach the decoys in reverse. This hull behaves well in reverse at very low speeds, but will spin like a teacup with too much throttle. By adding the oak shoe, the skeg is a bit deeper and so grabs the water better when going astern.


Here are several views that show this lovely, very seaworthy hull.

The new registration and numbers went back in the same location - on the forward half of the hull just below the gunwale. The numbers are from http://doityourselflettering.com/

I re-located the fire extinguisher - deeper under the deck - because its original location would be in the way of my elbow when gunning.

The "ground tackle" - my 15-pound Navy anchor with 50-foot rode - is lashed in its chock. The coil is also lashed to maintain order. I rarely use an anchor - but it's ready-to-go - just a tug on the slipped square knot when I need it - with no tangles.

I wound up getting some inch-thick closed-cell foam from Hamilton Marine to cushion the backrest-rowing seat.

The foam machined well on the table saw, band saw (fine-tooth blade) and router table. I glued it to the plywood seat top with contact cement.

Here it is in gunning position.

Finally - the piece-de-resistance - this old Sneakbox has now been christened RED LEG.

The DIY lettering site includes a design tool to help you lay out the letters on any radius. I just scribed the aft coaming radius onto a piece of paper and laid it on my laptop screen when designing the nameplate. I played with the radius until it matched.

As you can see, the name is only visible from the inside of the cockpit - when I'm not in gunning mode.

All the best,

SJS

 

[Phil Eager]

Steve, WOW,,,,, This box is so well thought out, So cool yo follow. Great job.

Phil

 

[John Unruh]

Very nice Steve, that is one fine waterfowling boat you have built , may your hunts in the Red Leg , be pure joy!
John

 

[Capt Rich Geminski]

Steve, got a pic of the anchor chock? I keep a large anchor also, but use the folding grapples usually. The large one is always in the wrong spot.

 

[Steve Sanford]

Good morning, Rich~

Here is my set of chocks for my Navy anchor (from earlier in this post):

This is just something I worked out when I first gunned this boat in the 1980s.

Hope this helps,

SJS

 

[Joe Bruno]

Steve how do you stop the seat from sliding down when you release pressure and sit up without a chock? Also what is this the width of the back.

 

[Steve Sanford]

Good morning, Joe~

What keeps the backrest from sliding down are the 2 "legs". The upper one wedges beneath the forward coaming while the bottom of the backrest board itself sits on the top of the same coaming. On the lower end, both the "leg" and the end of the backrest board wedge onto the floorboards. I ensured this by measuring for the position and height of the legs when I had the backrest board laying at the angle I wanted.

This would be easier to explain with a drawing - but I am at my Mom's on Long Island without my scanner et cetera.

BTW: I am in the middle of thatching RED-LEG right now - so she'll be ready for the SSWA Duckboat Show tomorrow morning.

All the best,

SJS

 

[Steve O]

Steve Sanford,

First, thanks for all the info you shared in this thread (and in the Southbay Spa treatment thread).

Going through them has convinced me to try adding some Sanford-style mahogany thatch rails to my duck boat (utilizing spacer pads of 1/4 inch meranti plywood sanded down to 3/16 inch height) .

If you read this and have a few moments i'm hoping you can weigh in on the following:

1. RE 5200: I have an unopened tube of 5200 lying around and no spare epoxy, so 5200 seems like the logical adhesive choice. I have no idea, however, why you choose it. Is it pretty much the same reason (that is, you had it, and no epoxy on hand). Are there any advantages or disadvantages to using it on thatch rails?
2. RE Titebond: Somewhere in one of your posts I think you mentioned using Titebond to affix the 3/16 or 1/4 inch spacers to the thatch rails. Is there a reason not to use 5200 for that step? What is it about Titebond that made it your choice, and is there a particular specific brand, type version of Titebond most suitable for this part?

Thanks

 

[Steve Sanford]

Steve~

I use 3M 5200 when I need to permanently attach something (thatch rails, cleats, motor boards) to a vessel with a watertight seal. Because 5200 cures to a rubber-like consistency, it can accommodate some movement between the 2 pieces. Note, though, that it takes about a week to fully cure. And, I view 5200 not as a glue but as an adhesive sealant.

I use Titebond III for attaching the spacer blocks to the thatch rails. An alternative would be epoxy. Both are waterproof glues (I use Titebond II only for interior work.) I clamp Titebond more tightly that I would epoxy - but either will cure overnight and so will be ready for machining, sanding, sealing, etc the next day.

So, I recommend gluing the spacers onto the rails with Titebond III and fastening the rails to the hull with 3M 5200. BTW: I prefer bolts rather than screws if Ican get to them inside the hull.

Hope this helps!

SJS

 

[Steve O]

Steve S,

That helps very much. Thanks.

I hope to get started on this soon.

Steve O

 

[Steve O]

Question for Steve Sanford (if you have a moment):

I'm about 1/2 way through fabricating a set of thatch rails in the manner you illustrate in this thread.

These should be great for my boat, since I hunt almost exclusively in saltmarshes.

Did you end up going with a distance of 8 inches from the the center of one spacer block to the center of the next spacer block (thereby leaving 6 inches of grassing space between each set of blocks)?

My presently intended front deck thatch rails are 37 inches long. If I go with a similar spacing system to that noted above, it looks like mine will run 8.75 inches from the center of one spacer block to the center of the next spacer block (leaving 6.75 inches of grassing space between each set of blocks).

Before I glue on the spacer blocks, I'm hoping you can weigh in on this plan. If not, guess I'll run with it.

Either way, thanks for all the past help you've already given us on this forum.

Steve O

 

[Steve Sanford]

Steve~

Spacing can probably range anywhere between 6 and 12 inches. The OCD in me requires that my spaces all be exactly alike - regardless of which spacing I choose. The key thing to watch is the flexibility/stiffness of the thatch rails themselves. I would not want them to bow upward in the middle of a space - which could presumably allow loss of grass in transit etc. So, the rail stock needs to be thick enough to not bow up or down between spacers.

Hope this helps!

SJS

 

[Steve O]

Thanks, Steve.

8.75 inches, then, is well within the acceptable range, so I plan to go with it.

By the way, I'm constructing these rails of mahogany. They are 1 inch wide and 3/4 inches top to bottom (without the spacers).

The spacers, as specified, are exactly 3/16 inches.

I've already stuffed some spartina grass under the rails with the unglued spacers in place, and 3/16 inches really does seem to be just right.