# Self Sufficiency/Living off the Land or Off the Grid > Making Stuff >  My first boat[PIC heavy].

## NCO

I currently study to become a boat builder, specializing in wooden boats made by traditional techniques. The first practice work at school is getting there nicely, so I thought to share with you few of the pictures I have taken along the way.

The boat is actually being built from plywood as it is my first and high quality boat wood costs a small fortune. The school wouldn't want us to screw up hundreds of euros worth of good materials. We study by doing which is one thing I really love about the school. Of course, plywood is no where near as nice to work with as good boat wood is, but it is cheap and will do the job of teaching us the basics of small boat construction.

I will be updating this thread as we make more progress so that you will see the different stages of the construction. At the moment we are on Christmas holiday and will return to work at 3rd of January.

The boat we build is a 6.5m, six oar, three rower competition boat. It ought to be finished well before midsummer 2011.

Here on the first picture we have the first pair(of planks) attached to the keel. The frames are there to guide the angles of the planks to go as desired. After the boards are done the frames will be removed and the ash(Fraxinus Excelsior) ribs will be installed.
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Riveting on the 2nd pair.
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Here we have both 1st and 2nd pair on and the 3rd pair in progress. The first two pairs were made from 9mm plywood and the rest will be made from 6.5mm plywood to cut down excess weight. This is a competition boat after all. All the planking is riveted by hand with copper rivets. We use Sikaflex-291 in between the seams.
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Here's where we are now. Fourth pair on, last pair to go. We'll be building this one with five pairs of planks.
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The stern from inside.
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Towards the bow.
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## Justin Case

Looking Good there Noah !   :Smile:

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## NCO

When you can fit a pair of elephants on that, give me a call, I'll hire you once I have my own boat building business... lol.

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## BENESSE

That is really amazing, NCO! (what are the dimensions...21' long?)
I look forward to watching your progress. Can't wait to see it on water.

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## Justin Case

> When you can fit a pair of elephants on that, give me a call, I'll hire you once I have my own boat building business... lol.


lol,, ok  :Smile:

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## canid

a lot of people substitute decent grade exterior plywood for marine plywood, and to acceptable result. i don't know how you grade plywood, or if the grading system we use here is international, but AAX or ABX are free from defects on one side, and either free from defects, or free from any but minor defects on the other, with an acceptable core.

i can't testify to that personally as i haven't done this yet, but i've seen a lot of boats using it.

will you be caulking the planks or glassing the hull?

That is looking like a fine boat; Thank you for sharing. Best of luck to you.

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## NCO

Going metric again, sorry. 6.5m long, 1.5m  wide... cant remember the height by heart.

The 9mm plywood is marine grade spruce plywood and the 6.5mm is outdoor grade birch plywood. ABX I think. I get lost in translation with technical terminology...

For making  it watertight we use the sikaflex. First spread a layer of it on the lower plank to the seam area. Then attach the next plank on it. I hope thats what you asked, canid. No glassing of this boat.

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## canid

That is just what i was wondering, thank you. It sounds like just the ticket as long as you've got a little bit of headspace between planks. I don't think plywood moves nearly as much as board planking with moisture though, so I bet it's a minor concern.

It's my understanding that marine plywood uses the same glue as outdoor. As I understand it, ABX means that the good face is grade 'A' (supposed to be free from imperfections), which the opposite face is grade 'B', allowed to have only minor imperfections and the core inside is 'X', meaning that they used whatever was handy, since it's a lot less important to integrity and doesn't have to be pretty.

My knowledge of boat-building is mostly academic, so anybody with real experience could straighten me out if I'm off about anything.

I hope you keep us updated as it comes along. It's a beautiful boat so far.

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## canid

All my dreams lately have been filled with images like this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GvkWjQYzuCM

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## crashdive123

Cool project NCO.  Looking forward to your prgress.  How many students are working on it - or does each student build their own?

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## NCO

Canid, on the video, i know the feeling. one day on a boat i build with my own hands...

Crash: two, me and one other. There is 10 students studying boat building. Rest 30 of our unit study carpentry. There is three boats and a canoe being made, and two students are at a local boat factory for fibreglass training.

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## hunter63

Very cool.
I like the old ways of doing things, kinda like following in your ancestors foot steps.

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## canid

or oar-strokes.

i'm watching the documentary on this right now: http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/programmes/vikingvoyage/

it's inspirational.

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## Camp10

Thats a great project!  Nice work, I cant wait to see it finished as well.

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## rebel

From what I've read that's a great boat.

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## huntermj

I've built a couple of small stitch and glue boats. Its the sanding that will drive a man mad.
The difference between marine grade and outdoor grade plywood is marine grade plywood will be free of voids in the inner layers, a void can cause a structural weakness.
Nice work NCO.

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## canid

i think it was a youtube video i watched where the builder said he spent about 500 hours on a boat, of which 450 was spent sanding and 30 spent looking for his pencil  :Big Grin:

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## Rick

Wow! I am genuinely impressed. You should be rightfully proud of that! I'm having some trouble visualizing what you are riveting to. Is there an overlap in the plank that ties row 1 and 2 together (for example)?

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## klickitat

very inspiring.

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## Rick

My cousin had a boat he dubbed the Leakin' Leana. When he took it out he carried a coffee can of gasoline and some roofing tar. He'd mix some tar with the gas and fashion a plug to jab in the holes to keep it from sinking. He did about as much pluggin' as he did fishin'.

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## canid

i see it now; they're lapped.

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## NCO

Thank you  all. To be honest, there is so much to learn that I mostly see the mistakes made in building that...
Rick: Yeah, there is 20mm overlap with each row. Just like viking boats... the first row is riveted to the keel, which is T shaped, the second row is riveted to the first and so on.

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## Rick

Thanks. I was looking at the second boat in the pictures, which has a smooth surface, and trying to figure out how you accomplished that with rivets. I decided there had to be overlap. 

When you do any kind of wood working you will always see your mistakes. No one else will notice them but they will stand out like a big flashing sign every time you look at them. You just have to get past that. Everyone makes mistakes. Once you get some experience you'll learn to minimize them and blend them in with their surroundings. Once you've made enough mistakes you learn to call it "character".

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## NCO

Actually we call it 'hand made'...

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## Erratus Animus

It looks like ship wrights are on the rise here lol. I have been building and designing touring kayaks from both ply and strips since 2001. Building another stitch and glue right now for my future son in law to take on a week long trip. I spend approx 400+ hours on the strip boats and mill every piece my self from rough sawn cypress and cedar. Oakumme for the ply wood yaks but I have started using ultraPly XL, much cheaper and is doing great. It the glue that is used to hold the plus that determines marine grade or not. Ultraply has passed the boil test so it's good to go. 

NCO I would love to be doing what you are but not any ship wright schools near by. Awesome boat as well and yes it is akin to your child being born to paddle or sail a craft you built and designed. Work hard brother and let the craft be he reward.

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## canid

i haven't heard of anybody using oakum to caulk ply panels; how's it do? does the plywood even move much?

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## Rick

Oakum would be an easy make from natural ingredients. Pine tar and any plant used for cordage.

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## Erratus Animus

BS 1088 oakumme ply is all that is used in high-end stitch and glue kayaks. Nothing better and is what is also in most all kits you can purchase,however it's not cheap and the shipping cost run it up even more. That is why ultraply XL is such a good find for the avg builder. 20 bucks a sheet from lowes vs 40 plus 100 for shipping.

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## tipacanoe

My Grandfather worked at Harvey Gamage Shipyard his entire life. It was wonderful to walk in to the assembly building that had the way's built into it for launching and see the craftsmanship that went into their finished products.  If they were to ever open that small yard again, I would quit the shipyard I work at today to go there even for one day. Very nice job NCO

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## NCO

It is funny, from my point of view how the canoe is such a huge hit there..  I have tried some earlier in my life and i can see their advantages, but still when i think of a boat i think of a millenia old eastern-finnish design for one or two rowers, overlaping pine planks and the smell of pine tar...

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## Erratus Animus

lol you need to get out mor-ra  :Idea:  lol its all good, the kayak is even a bigger hit than the canoe as of late. Damn yuppies!

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## canid

hey now; there ain't nothing wrong with a kayak.

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## welderguy

AWSOME craftsmenship, very nice.

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## Erratus Animus

> hey now; there ain't nothing wrong with a kayak.


I hope there's not as those the only ones I build !

NCO do you have more pics?

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## crashdive123

> NCO do you have more pics?


You've gotta ask the right way.  It's ------ NCO do you have any mora pics?

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## rwc1969

Awesome! This is something I've always wanted to do, but never had the time or space to do it.

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## NCO

Finally, more, (and even one mora) pics!!

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## Pocomoonskyeyes3

Is that you laying in the boat with a Mora? I never thought I'd see this day!!

Boat looks good too!

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## Pal334

Nice project, look forward to seeing more

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## NCO

> Is that you laying in the boat with a Mora? I never thought I'd see this day!!
> 
> Boat looks good too!


Yes it is. And it has proven to be every bit as crappy as i remembered...

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## Justin Case

> Yes it is. And it has proven to be every bit as crappy as i remembered...


LOL,,,  Yet seems to have been your "Go To " knife ?   :Wink:

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## Rick

AHA!!!!! I've downloaded that picture and will keep it at the ready Mr. Grappy Mora. Oh, by the way, I don't see a puko anywhere around.

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## NCO

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Those are where the boat is now. We have scraped all extra fill otc the plank seams and begun to attach more stuff...

Next an other project that my classmates are doing. They started a month earlier.

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## Justin Case

Nice !  Have you named it yet or do we have to have a contest ?

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## Justin Case

'The Finland Ferry" ?  lol   :Smile: 


NCOha's arc ?

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## crashdive123

> Yes it is. And it has proven to be every bit as crappy as i remembered...


Even a Mora can only go so far in compensating for the lack of skill of the user. :Innocent:

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## hunter63

Cool, looks like it coming along
Thanks.

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## Rick

That really is an outstanding job. You should be very proud of that.

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## tipacanoe

Maybe you could name it NOTAMORA.  Just thinkin, with time on my hands.  I for one like my Mora.

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## NCO

The mora is strictly for scraping glue. I have a puukko too for any knife work. 
I can't name the boat as it wont come for me. Her project name is Ursula...

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## NCO

Further update on Ursula.

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Today we prepared and made two of the three stiff ribs. The third one will be my exam to judge my level of skill with basic wood working. The ribs are formed of three 10mm thick, 40mm wide and from 170mm to 185mm long pieces of knot free pine strips.

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## Rick

Looking very good. I'd give you an A on the project so far.

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## NCO

Thank you Rick.

We actually use rating from one to three, three being the best. I would give the design of the boat a one, and the build a two... But it's a good learning process!

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## NCO

A little update:

My Exam, the third stiff rid has suffered a little setback for reasons not under my control. It was going alright, I did everything according to safety regulations and so on to the point of perfection. I managed to pick good quality wood for the project, the laminating process didn't have any issues and finishing the piece went well also. Then started the fitting. The piece was just the right size and all I needed to do was to carve spaces for two slap joints and the gunwale on the rib to make it perfect. As soon as I started making the first slap joint embedding slot on the rib the first laminated layer snapped loose like a leaf spring. I examined the glue seam and it turned out it hadn't set properly. I begun to wonder why. I was certain that the hardener ratio was correct and I had had it on suitable clench. Soon it hit me, it was colder than usual INSIDE the workshop. Only +12C(53.6F) when normal temp is around 18C(64.4F). It was too cold for the glue to set!!! The heating had partially broken down due to the -40C(-40F) night temps on few consecutive nights and -30C(-22F) days... It would appear that my exam is slightly delayed due to weather issues. The temp should rise to around -20C(-4F) this week, so hopefully I can get the project moving soon.

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## hunter63

I wish we had projects like that in school, but I do still have my book ends and gun rack.

I am impressed in the build and effort,..........Nice Job.

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## NCO

Hunter63, you would have had if you had studied boat building...  :Smile:

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## hunter63

Well there was a project we (3 of us) did involving a Class B Hydroplane, w/ 9.5 HP Merc out-board.
Built with 1/4 plywood and fiberglass.
Did float, went like h@11 on a straight-a -way, but was a real treat to TRY to turn, usually involving a multi flip, spin and a dunking.
Somewhere there was a basic flaw in the design, guys in the following classes also tried to make it work?????

Good thing we had a kill switch on the wheel so the motor wouldn't get completely trashed every time we dunked it. Kinda got to the point, where we waold just look at each other and say, "Hey, why don't YOU try it?"

Got to tell ya, that was about the fastest I ever felt I was moving,(about 50 mph) hitting those little waves with just a 1/4 plywood between your knees and the water was a trip.

I think a project like yours would have been more satisfying.

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## NCO

My guess is that you didn't have any part of the h-copter in the water... effectively making turning a b1tch. It's like having a 100hp engine on an old U-pattern row boat. The thing will glide/fly and not turn stably.

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## Rick

I still have my lamp and dust pan. I have no idea where my DC motor ended up. Probably part of a Toyota. 

Looking forward to more pics on Ursula.

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## copybiz

Its a milestone for you. Congratulations.

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## NCO

Another update, after a short course of fiberglass repairs and laminating I got back to Ursula, and now we have both gunwales finished and we have begun to work with the interior.

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## Justin Case

Looking Good !  :Smile:

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## woodsman86

That is one awesome project. Looks great

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## NCO

woodsman86, not a project, it's school work...

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## hunter63

Looking good, did the vikings have power sanders?    (LOL)

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## canid

no; just a lot of time on their hands. picture it: it's 1000AD, it's cold, rainy and you're looking for a project. you're almost out of mead and your choices are 1.) work on your boat, 2.) hang out with sheep.

i'd work on the boat  :Big Grin:

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## Melissa Montana

That's pretty cool.Do you have a date to set sail?

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## Winnie

Ursula reminds me very much of a Cornish Pilot Gig in design, though she seems to be wider at the waist. Looks really good, can't wait to see her out on the water.

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## Rick

I really enjoy this thread. You're doing a great job. 

It looks like another boat in progress on the other side of the bench. It looks like a different design. What is it?

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## crashdive123

> woodsman86, not a project, it's school work...


Just a school project.  Whatever you call it, it looks fantastic.

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## NCO

It was a short working day today due some theory lessons on glues. I stayed after school to take pictures for you!!  :Yes: 

Note, most pictures are taken from bow towards stern. In the picture taken from the side the bow is on the right.

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Rick, there is total of five boats under construction or repair in that space, the one you asked of is a project that one of our student's is building for himself. It is an old western Finland fishing boat design, originally a sail boat but later they usually had a middle engine.

The launch date of Ursula is "before midsummer"(of undisclosed year). I doubt I'll get a chance to get a picture of her in the water let alone row her, she was ordered by one of the teachers from the metal department(?).

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## Winnie

I think you and the others should at least do a Sea Trial to make sure she is seaworthy and of sound build. (There has to be a rule somewhere!)

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## NCO

Might, with luck get to do sea trials... Hopefully... It's a well known design though and the teachers have kept an eye on us building it.

We have the interior works now mostly done, so more pictures coming your way!

These two were taken earlier while there still was some interior work to be done.
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And these were taken after days work, today.
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We certainly are getting there.

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## Rick

You are doing a great job on it. It looks like copper fasteners are being used throughout the boat. Is that correct? While copper won't rust it will corrode. Is that a concern with salt water? I assume that's pretty traditional as well?

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## NCO

Yeah, the copper rivets are used throughout the boat, though with the benches and other similar structures where it is very difficult to rivet anything we use stainless steel screws. The salt water is not really an issue since the boat is made for lake use. Also the tar, or what ever the teacher say we paint it with will protect the rivets. From what I have seen from the repair projects we have is that the rivets are the last thing to fail. The Sikaflex-291 boat sealant we use as a caulking material rots away before the rivets do, and the 291 does last a long time.

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