Clean and Scarf(s)

Well the title of this blog post is not in reference to the weather.  As usual, the weather remains nice in Las Vegas.  Highs in the 60's.  Yep, it's December tomorrow.

So on Thursday, very little work occurred in the boat shop.  Football needed watching and Turkey needed consumed.

Friday I went out to work pretty early in the day.  I spent some time getting the shop cleaned out.  This involved clearing one side, sweeping it clean, then moving everything back from the other side to do the same.  I also had to consolidate a table for the scarfing that needed to happen.

I then worked on getting the transom laid out:

Chad came over and we got it cut out and ready to lay up.  Had to cut out and get to the JT show, so bigger plans for Saturday.

After breakfast I set about building on to the white folding table to better perform the scarfs.  I didn't take much of a picture before I set to scarfing, so the basic outline can be seen above.

Once I had the new work bench/scarfing table set up, I set about lining up the plywood and the scarfing jig.

They were not the best looking scarfs, had to do some clean up with the belt sander to make them serviceable, but we were able to get the first side panel epoxied along with the transom. 

 Matkat Boatwerks First Scarf Joint

 Laying up the Transom

These should all be kicked by morning, then we will prep the 1/2" sheets for the bottom and epoxy the other side.  Still looking good to build next weekend.

Thankful for Frames

Well it seems this is an early post to be writing for a weeknight, but it will be spanning 2 days worth of work.  When I last posted on Sunday, we were preparing to bust out all of frames on Monday night (today is Tuesday).  You know what they say about the best laid plans right?  It didn't quite work out that way.  So it goes.

A quick note.  I received a comment on here about which boat we are building.  This is indeed a boat from Roger Fletcher's book.  This is the Colorado River Dory (a likeness of the boat Jerry Briggs built).  I also had a question regarding sourcing for the Port Orford Cedar.  I was able to source this through one of my Millwork Subcontractors.  They sourced it from a local wood supplier.  Anyhow, back to the building...

Gary picked up the borrowed compound miter saw Monday moring from a friend.  It had last been used with a metal blade to cut a bunch of steel studs for a deck project.  The Owner had then left it out in the weather and all of those little fragments rusted the saw together.  We decided that building boats isn't fun enough, we should spend 3 hours getting the saw cleaned up instead.  We were not to be defeated and finally got the saw in working order again.

Here is the saw before it yielded to our manly good looks, er muscles:

Here's a few shots after.  It was an SOB, but we won.  Looks pretty nice too!

 Victory!

So we then had to run out and get the appropriate blade (12") before we could start cutting wood.  We cut frame #8, and the Transom frame before we started on the expensive stuff.

Working with the cheap stuff:

Our first frame out of the Port Orford Cedar:

We decided to call it a night and regroup on Tuesday (today) to get some more work done.  Luckliy, Gary had an easy day and was able to come by mid-afternoon for layout and cutting of some frames.

A stack of frames ready for finish cuts:

When I got home Chad and Gary were hard at work, so I jumped right in and in no time we got the rest of the frames cut and were ready to get them together:

I have to say.  Brad Dimock warned us all on his blog about this stuff, but the Port Orford Cedar smells heavenly.  I mean just fantastic.  I imagine it is what heaven smells like. That and wet sandstone...

Gary and family went home about 6:30 to have their Thanksgiving dinner since Gary and his wife are outta here for Turkey day, so I finished up the frames.  There they are, #1 through #10.  Just waiting to become a boat:

All of the final frames are built and ready for assembly! They look kinda lonely.  We will fix that soon!

Here is what the garage looked like post assembly:

I was also given some Mahogany for miscellaneous trims and other goodies.  We will have to break it down, but this is definitely a huge score for us (like 140+ LF).  Thanks Glenn!

 
Finally, I also had some assistance getting the Stem Post cut down.  It was just too big to handle on our equipment, so GMMW got this big mother taken care of.  We are really getting ready to build this thing:

The next few days we will start scarfing the sides, bottom and transom in preparation for building the boat.  Looks like a boat building party the weekend of December 7th and 8th.  Mark your calendars!  Come one, come all, bring beer and other refreshments!

Getting JIGgy With It

Today was a great day in the boat shop (garage).  I went off to Lowe's this morning to grab a few odds and ends in preparation of the frame build.  Picked up some stainless wood screws, finish washers for the Gunwale Bolts, along with a wide variety of sandpapers in preparation for all of the fairing and subsequent fun with fiberglass that awaits us.

One I got back to the house, I decided to build frame #6.  This is a very simple middle of the boat frame that is square with no bevels.

 For those keeping score at home, we have now built Frames 1, 3, 5, 6 & 10.

After building frame 6, I moved onto finishing the scarfing jig, then playing with some junk plywood.  This thing works like a dream and should aid greatly in my Thanksgiving weekend projects.

We spent some time discussing the next work we will complete.  Since Gary is heading out of town for Thanksgiving, we are going to really be pressed to get the frames done before he leaves.  The plan is to build Frame #8 and the Transom Frame out of Doug Fir tomorrow.  We are then going to break into the Port Orford Cedar and get all 11 final frames made tomorrow evening/night.  Gary scored by tracking down a compound miter saw for us to use for a few weeks.  This will make the frame building so much quicker.  While Gary is gone I will get the side and bottom plywood scarfed so we can look to assemble the boat next week.  I am also going to take our big hunk of Poplar for the Stem Post to GMMW tomorrow and get it cut out, while also grabbing some left over Mahogany to use in the boat.  Our garage will smell like cedar tomorrow and then 'Rich Mahogany' for sometime thereafter.  Stay Classy...

Framed

So not much tangible regarding physical construction of the boat in the last week.  Schedules, work, kids, rain (nearly our annual average in the last few days), and other items have prevented forward progress.

We have spent some time working out several different mundane details that are hard to explain, but let me try.

The decision on HOW we are going to build the boat was the first part of what we needed to figure out.  I know what you're thinking, "Josh, didn't you know how you wanted to build the boat before you bought the stuff and started building the boat?"  Yes.  Well no.  Well kinda.  There are several ways to build these boats:

- On a strongback
- Free Form
- Stitch and glue
- Probably other ways

We are building free form.  But not the entirely traditional way.  So we have to start by building frames (or ribs) to exacting dimensions.  We have plans that show these dimensions.  These frames have different angles, dimensions, bevels, etc.  We decided earlier in the week that instead of cutting all of our expensive Port Orford Cedar, we would get some cheap wood and mock up the frames we were going to use to build the boat.  We started with 2x4 framing lumber.  This didn't work.  At all.  We couldn't get the dimensions on the bevels correct.  We figured the problem was that we needed to use wood that was the same dimension as the wood we would use to build the final frames.  So Gary picked up a bunch of 1x4x8 pine from Lowes or Home Depot and we started building the frames.

After some time on the lofting table, we have been able to get several frames built, all with the correct taper and side, bottom bevels.  Quite an accomplishment.  In my book at least. 

Frames made so far:

Notice we have 3 frames out of 1x4 pine, another out of 2x4 framing lumber.  Each of these has the proper side and bottom bevels trimmed in, along with the proper taper on the vertical rib itself.

So the plan is to mock up a few more frames, which should give us frame numbers 1, 3, 5, 8, 10.  Once these frames are fabricated out of the cheap pine, we will proceed with building all 10 permanent frames, along with the transom panel out of the P.O. Cedar.  The decision to only build the 5 mock up frames noted above, will make more sense as we assemble.

The final milestone hit this week was the fabrication of a scarfing jig.  This will be put to use next week as the scarfing of 4x8 sheets of plywood starts.  So scarfing may be a new term, it is basically taking the top ply's off two sheets of plywood (in a 12:1 ratio) and then laying them up at these joints, applying epoxy and sandwiching them together to create a big sheet of plywood.  Soon, I will have 2 sheets of 1/4" plywood in the garage about 23'-3" long, and 2 sheets of 1/2" plywood 15'-6" long.  Stay tuned...

Lofty Expectations

Well we did some lofting tonight.  It was definitely a learning experience.  Well, now I'm getting ahead of myself.

The day started with going out to West Marine with the girls.  We picked up some epoxy, fillet material and accessories, then headed over to Home Depot to grab some 2x4 studs for frame mock ups, screws, and other miscellanea.

Gary came over to the house mid-afternoon and we decided to try our hand at scarfing.  Bottom line we are not going to use hand planes.  Belt sanders are the answer.  Glad we got that figured out.  Could you imagine?

I also spent some more time getting the shop in order for the task at hand.

At this point we started lofting the frames in.  I happen to have a few extra sheets of 1/4" ply so we lofted on this.  After dinner, we confirmed my lofting, made a few corrections, then got started on building some mock up frames.  The plan here is to build this boat free form (no strongback).  So we will construct the boat, then remove the temporary frames in order to glass in a chine (in lieu of a traditional wood chine).  I have a feeling we are going to get very tired of working with epoxy by the time we get this boat done, but I digress....

So, we spent several hours playing with some cheap Doug Fir framing members, and working out some bevel issues.  Chad came over and had some very good input.  He's from Boston after all, so he knows things.  And stuff.  But he was definitely a valuable addition.  In the next few days we are going to get the rest of the mock up frames done then cut the permanent frames.  All-in-all, very productive for our first day of the build. 

Black Canyon

From Wikipedia:
"The Black Canyon of the Colorado is the canyon on the Colorado River where Hoover Dam was built. The canyon is located on the Colorado River at the state line between Nevada and Arizona. The western wall of the gorge is in the El Dorado Mountains, and the eastern wall is in the Black Mountains of Arizona. The canyon formed about 15 million years ago during the Miocene Basin and Range uplift.^[1] Black Canyon gets its name from the black volcanic rocks that are found throughout the area.<sup>[1]"

So why is this interesting to us?  Well first of all, it is just a mere 25 miles from my home in Las Vegas, NV (well actually, in Paradise, Nevada, in unincorporated Clark County).  Even more so, it is relevant because this is what the girls and I decided to name our Dory tonight.  Yes, you heard that right, tonight I impregnated our garage... errr... my new boatshop.  My garage is now officially re-dubbed as "Matkat Boatwerks" and the first child will be an 18' Briggs Colorado River Dory named the "Black Canyon".  It all makes sense now, right?

So why build a boat?  I'm not sure exactly why.  I guess I could go to the internet and buy a raft, and get a frame and put all of that together and then go run some rivers.  That just seems too easy, I guess.

If I think back, I believe the story goes something like this:  

I have been a long time Grand Canyon hiker and backpacker.  Some may say obsessed, I just figured I was getting experienced.  Sitting on the Beach at Cardenas Creek, with my friend Jim, 3 days into an Escalante Route hike in 2010 with another 4 days to go (we went down to the LCR and out the Tanner Trail), we were invaded by a private river trip.  They were nice.  They were from Canada.  They didn't say 'eh' after every sentence, eh.  They were on day 6-7 of 23 days.  It was a multi-generational family trip.  Grandparents, parents, children, grandchildren, friends,  It looked like a great time.  We had been laid out on the beach for a little while when they pulled up.  Offerred us beer, margaritas, and food if we would share our camp with them.  We obliged, then Jim and I discussed what a great time it would be to run the river.  I started putting into the River Lottery immediately ( http://www.nps.gov/grca/planyourvisit/overview-lees-ferry-diamond-ck.htm ).  In my third year I got drawn for a permit.  Yippee!

February 2012, I paid my $400 to NPS and had a permit to launch from Lees Ferry on March 18, 2013.  While planning for this epic trip ( http://elveschasm.com/grand-canyon-colorado-river-journal/ ) I corresponded some with Tom Martin. For those who don't know Tom Martin (or know "OF" Tom Martin), he is nearly a legend.  Co-author of the best River Guide on the market ( http://www.vishnutemplepress.com/ ) "Guide to the Colorado River in Grand Canyon" and author of the best hiking guide from the River "Day Hikes From the River", Tom is well-versed, well-educated, and a great resource for the Private Boater. Check out the River Wiki: ( https://rrfw.org/RaftingGrandCanyon/Main_Page ). Tom's books, webpages and general availability made planning a private river trip a breeze.  In some email correspondence prior to launch day, Tom suggested building a boat.  I thought about it, but placed it on the backburner.  No time for that now.  

So we went on our river trip.  My first on any type of white water.  My first time rowing a boat.  Yes, some oars were destroyed.  I flipped once in Horn Creek.  Got it out of the way early on my boating career.  A life changing experience was had.  Brady Black did a fantastic job outfitting us ( http://www.moenkopiriverworks.com/ ).  When we got back and assimilated back into normal life, I just could not shake the experience of being on the River.  I looked at buying my own raft.  I finally decided to build a Dory.

I researched and researched.  Read.  Dreamed.  I landed on Wooden Boat People ( http://westcoastwoodenboats.ning.com/ ).  I read, soaked, and absorbed as much as I could.  I then found Brad Dimock's Blog ( fretwaterlines.blogspot.com).  Brad is also a phenomenal author and has written many books on historical River Runners and has replicated many of their boats and runs!  I couldn't stop reading.  Dreaming.  Planning.  I bought Roger Fletcher's excellent book ( http://www.riverstouch.com/ ) did a take off and got a wood package together.  After a few months, I got my wood package, and here we are.  See the pictures below.</sup>

^{The package consists of:
160 LF of 1"x4" of VG Douglas Fir for the Chines & Gunwales
200 LF of 1"x4" Port Orford Cedar  for the Frames and Decking Frames
20 LF of 2"x4" Poplar for the Gunwale Boards
55"x5"x6" of Poplar for the Stem Post
6 Sheets of 1/4"x4'x8' of Douglas Fir Marine Grade Plywood for the Side Panels
2 Sheets of 1/2"x4'x8' of Douglas Fir Marine Grade Plywood for the Bottom Panels
3 Sheets of 3/8"x4'x8' of Douglas Fir Marine Grade Plywood for the Decks & Hatches.}

^{Now it's time to get to work.  I plan on updating this blog as often as meaningful progress is made on the boat.  I am hoping that translates into several times a week, we will see.  I have a friend helping me right now, who I will introduce in my next post.  Until then, I need to get my fasteners lined up, get some epoxy in hand and order the fiberglass.  Still have to get oars, oarlocks, oarlock braces, lifelines & fasteners, etc.  At least I have throw bag and drag bag already...}

<sup>Now, join us, in the building of the BLACK CANYON!  A Whitewater Dory!

I hope you all find this blog interesting, informative and feel free to comment on the goings on.  If you do not feel like any of that, please send us Lumberyard IPA or bottles of your favorite Whiskey (or Whisky if you're a Makers Mark type) to 7676 Borealis St., Las Vegas, NV 89123.

Cheers!

-Josh</sup>