Advice for a beginner builder
Peter Siepmann
I want to embark on my first boat building stint, and need some basic
advice. Might you be able to help?
I want to build a wooden motorised 3ft punt about 15ft long probably.
First things first, what type of wood is best?
Then, with what do I fill in the small gaps between the boards?
And finally, with what do I paint the thing with to seal it against the
water (N.B. I want the natural wood colour there and then to varnish
it)?
Also, I need a small engine - any wise words on this?
Thank you very much for any help you might be able to give me.
Best Wishes,
Peter Siepmann
http://www.theoffice.net/~siepo
Migchelsen
about boatbuilding. Second: Follow the advise of
H."Dynamyte" Payson: With the help of a Staedtler scale #987 18-34 build a
model to scale first. It will save you at least of having to buy the material
twice. Three:If you are succesful and not turned of by the excercise, choose
the most simple hard-chined hull. Wish you all the (beginners} luck. Signed
Barend.
brian whatcott
says...
Plywood with fiberglass taped joints is a popular starter method.
But if you're set on plank construction, I guess white cedar would
work well. It resists rot.
If you glue the planks up with epoxy it won't leak.
But epoxy mixed with a variety of filler powders - like wood flour is
hole-filling.
If you want natural color you go with spar varnish - these days
urethane spar varnish is used.
Evinrude/Johnson can never be a poor choice for an engine.
Remember the safety chain - they drop over the side quite easily.
Brian Whatcott Altus OK
mkpauls
----------
In article <TMLa0BAj...@arielpro.demon.co.uk>, Peter Siepmann
(Pete Cresswell)
>I want to embark on my first boat building stint, and need some basic
>advice. Might you be able to help?
I've built only one boat in my life, but when I did, somebody gave me some
advice that I thought was pretty good.
Two of your essential tools are:
- A nice, comfortable chair
- A refigerator or cooler full of your preferred beverage
There often comes a time during the building process - and you'll probably
recognize it when it comes - when you need to stop, put down all your tools, sit
down in that chair, and just relax and think things through for awhile....
Saved me from a couple of hard-to-undo mistakes...
-----------------------
Pete Cresswell
John McCoy
The other important one, is that once you're finished, if you never tell
anyone about the mistakes, they'll never notice. That's a truism for
most any kind of craftsmanship.
John
Douglas B. Wilde
Go to the library
Search on the word "boatbuilding"
Borrow those books
Read
If you know the URL for some libraries you can effect the same search
online from the comfort of your home.
Doug Wilde
John Gilman
Peter Siepmann wrote:
> I want to embark on my first boat building stint, and need some basic
> advice. Might you be able to help?
Find a local mentor. IMHO, this is the best thing you can do, particularly
if you want to build a traditional boat. Here are a couple of reasons why
you should do this.
First, you will experience difficult problems. When this occurs, you
invite your mentor over and they will be able to offer great advice. This
will save you a tremendous amount of time, and most importantly you will
build a better boat. They will see stuff you just can't see till you've
built many boats. For example, you may think that a curve is fair, but
when they lay their eye to it, they can see a little bump that needs
adjustment. Learning to see these things takes time.
Building a boat from a book is doable, but a book can only convey a
fraction of the knowledge needed to build a good boat. Traditionally,
boatbuilding was learned over many, many years as one worked beside
talented, experienced people. A book can only go so far in substituting
for hands on experience. There is nothing wrong with that. In fact since
most of the people who know how to build boats are dead, books are
essential. And if you can't find a mentor, by all means go ahead and build
from a book, but do realize that you are paying a penalty.
Second, they will have tools and clamps that you will want to borrow. You
can't have enough clamps.
Third, as you are deciding on a boat design, they will give you good
advice. To the unexperienced eye two boats may look quite similar in
difficulty, but one will take 300 hours to build, the other 1,000 hours.
DRP
Peter Siepmann wrote:
> Hello to all at rec.boats.building
>
> I want to embark on my first boat building stint, and need some basic
> advice. Might you be able to help?
>
> I want to build a wooden motorised 3ft punt about 15ft long probably.
> First things first, what type of wood is best?
> Then, with what do I fill in the small gaps between the boards?
> And finally, with what do I paint the thing with to seal it against the
> water (N.B. I want the natural wood colour there and then to varnish
> it)?
> Also, I need a small engine - any wise words on this?
>
> Thank you very much for any help you might be able to give me.
>
> Best Wishes,
>
> Peter Siepmann
> http://www.theoffice.net/~siepo
Click on Search, type in boat plans, hit enter. Follow the leads until
you find something you like. Call and order the plans. Ask for any
advise the designer can give, sometime they have videos. Study everything
very carefully and never, ever, give up. Remember this is suppose to be
fun.
Good luck,
Donald