Attaching the Bottom, Stem and Transom

It is very important to remember that when these steps are being that the bottom of the boat is level.  We had to on numerous occasions get out the level and lay it across the transom to check and recheck that it was still level with the rest of the boat.  Once we got the transom level, we put this long piece of lead on top of to keep pressure on the new joint, this way we did not have to put in any screws that would not be staying.  Also, When we pulled the bow of the boat down to join stem there was a lot of force trying to spring back, so we had to put about every cramp that we could find on the stem in order to keep it down in addition to screwing the stem horn into the stock.  Lastly, once we attached the transom and then the stem we noticed that the bottom was slightly port of the centerline, but we already had all of our cramps in place on the stem.  Vaughn showed us how to attach another cramp sideways across the stem and force the bottom and the stem back inline. 

Midship Laminated Frames

Stem

While part of the group was working on the bottom plank we had a member working on getting the stem cut and planed to size.  On the plans we had all of the stem section details and so it was just a matter of transferring the correct information over to the laminated stem.  The tool of choice is a sliding bevel and plane.

Setting the Frames in the Jig

These are the glued pieces set in their respective jigs after the cramps have been put on.  When we were put the pieces in and began tightening the cramps we found that the pieces wanted to slide up or that they werent perfectly even on either side despite being dressed the same.  We took another piece of wood and as one person would began to tighten down the cramp the other person would firmly press down on the laminated pieces near the cramped area and force the pieces back down how we wanted.  If the pieces are really being stubborn you can hammer them down instead of trying to just force them down.  It is also vital that you don't get any of the plastic stuck up in between the pieces of wood because that wont allow for a solid seal.  Then last thing that also happened to us was the laminated pieces getting crease marks under intense pressure despite being steamed.  We decided to just make enough pieces that we could afford to have one extra piece crack or ding.  We did not apply any glue to this piece.  In the second photo you can also see how we used each frame to brace the other frames by setting a straight piece as opposed to angle bracing each individual frame. make sure that these braces do no get in the way of future work. 

Applying Glue Technique

There is a specific way to apply epoxy to ensure that you don't make a mess out of your product but also that you don't spread glue all over the entire shop.  This video is myself and Clovegro applying glue to the laminated frames in the proper way.  Notice how I stack the pieces are stacked and from where I am taking glue, not from the container it was mixed in.

Jig for Laminated Frames and Stem

Our boat has laminated midship pieces and a laminated stem.  In order to get the shape exactly as we need we had to build a jig for it.  We printed off the full scale size stem and taped it down to a piece of particle board.  Then we screwed jig blocks into place (when we did this we made sure that the forward/outside face of the stem/midship frames exceeded the needed dimensions).  Then we used plastic and tape to make sure that the pieces of wood would not stick to the jig.  One thing that we found was that the pieces of wood would not bend around the jig as needed, so a trick that we used was to steam the wood and then bend it into place.  After the wood had been steamed we could bend it easier and not crack or break it  

If Cramps Don't Fit...

One of our problems that we had when trying to keep pressure on the new scarf is that the cramps dont fit with the shape of the table compared to the boat.  This video shows a simple solution and the importance of location when you start to build your boat.