The Lost Coast Chapter of the
Traditional Small Craft Association
Building a St. Lawrence Skiff
Page 3: Finishing touches
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Follow Jim Swallow as he builds a 20' St. Lawrence Skiff.
It's now time to finish up, but that means time to be doubly careful, as an urgency to get the thing in the water and row it increases. On the previous page (Page 2), the gunnels and rub rails were added, then we completed the interior, and finally put on the fore and aft decks. Finishing touches will include the deck cowlings, stem and stern, then painting/varnishing, and finally putting in the rowing stations.
Send Jim your comments, observations, and suggestions.
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November 30, 2008
Making the cowlings has required lots of planning. The idea is to cut some available old-growth redwood into thin sections 4 1/2" wide to mount vertically in the hemi-circles cut into the decks. These can then be laminated to make a curved cowling the same thickness as the inwale, which it will "blend" into.
1/8" pieces were cut on a band saw; several extras were made. With some effort, the first lamination went into place, and is seen here glued and clamped. |
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December 3, 2008
It was hoped that the others could be bent into place and epoxied in, but the boards were too stiff, even at 1/8" A fresh batch was cut and planed on a thickness planer, giving a uniform thickness with no weak spots; they were bent and fit immediately into the front of the hull and left to sit a couple days, while they "relaxed" into the curved shape. |
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December 8, 2008
The first lamination went into place, was glued and temporarily clamped, then the next one was glued in over it, and so on until four pieces were in place. Lots of clamps are needed, as usual. |
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December 14, 2008
Everything was left in place for a few days, again, then the clamps were removed and the cowling shaped with various sanders, a planer, and various files. It was also generously coated with penetrating epoxy. Inwales and their spacers were cut and glued in, with careful attention to where the oarlocks will go. We want to assure plenty of solid wood where the oarlocks will be attached. |
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December 20, 2008
It's starting to rain during the day and there's some frost in the morning. Time to move inside. The trash can and lawn mower are moved aside, the truck will have to survive the elements for a while. The boat is turned over and put on its building frame in the garage. Stem and stern are trimmed up with a power plane, and several strips of chinquapen are epoxied on, which laminates up a nice stem and stern. Care is taken to keep everything square. |
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December 26, 2008
A major shaping (yes, some of us have to lower ourselves to using filler), sanding, and cleaning job is done in preperation for painting. Paint will be applied from under the rub rail down and varnish will go from sheerstrake up. |
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January 5, 2009
Final finish is so important. Use the best paint, good brushes and thinner, plan on doing lots of sanding. With the primer, paint and sand, paint and sand, and keep repeating until you're satisfied with the finish or get tired of it and decide you're satisfied then. Two or three coats of topcoat (sanding lightly in between) should be enough. |
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January 12, 2009
Same thing holds true for the varnish, but it seems to take fewer coats. That redwood and chinquapen really look good when smoothed and varnished. |
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January 16, 2009
The various fittings and hardware are attached . . . |
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January 20, 2009
. . . and the boat is put on a trailer and taken to its new home, a boat house in the Harbor. |
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January 23, 2009
The hinged outriggers (perhaps another Boatbuilder's Corner topic) were contracted out to a machinist, an expense well worth it. Each is held in place with 1/4" carriage bolts, bolted through the gunnels and pads glued in with careful attention paid to their placement. Sliding seats are constructed and put in place. |
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January 25, 2009
The seats were sculpted out of some spalted, curley maple donated to the project. Foot stretchers were made from various pieces left over from this and other building projects. |
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January 29, 2009
The boat is ready to put in the water. 9'8" Piantedosi oars are used. Being in a hurry to get it in the water, and wanting to get any major "bugs" out before the public launching, results in a clandestine launch. The results were great, and just a few adjustments need to be made. |
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