Chesapeake Deadrise Build

East River - Mobjack Bay

In St. Michaels Chesapeake Bay Museum

The watermen on the Bay have some of the most elegant vessels which, in many cases, are build by themselves though now perhaps not so much. The Mariner's Museum in Newport News, Va did capture one such build all done by eye, no plans. Amazing really. 

See here:

Billy Moore: Chesapeake Boatbuilder

Keel, Stems and Boomkin

Got some key things accomplished on the "you know what" this weekend. They are:

1. trimmed the shear back 1/4" for a sliver of ash to cover the ply edge.
2. cut, planed, shaped and sanded the boom kin.
3. attached stems and keel. Shaped both.
4. watched the Redskins choke again.

So, here are some photos.

BOOMKIN

Bench with boomkin stock.

Boomkin 8-sided.

Boomkin 16-sided.

STEMS

Bow stem and template.

Markings from template

Rough cut of stem.

 

KEEL

Saw witnesses and chiseling.

Keel and raindrops.

Bow stem and keel shaped.

Oh, I also ordered filler for final fairing, primer, and paint. I'm dying to roll the boat over, but I'd like to get a coat of paint on while she is secured to the moulds. Much to do before that happens. C'est tout.

She's Got Her Wheels On ...

About 20 years ago one of my brothers gave me a 6 ton jack. I thought it was neat, but didn't know when I'd get a chance to use it. Well, today was the day. I just couldn't quite lift the end of the boat to slip in these roller skates quick enough. I dug through the shed, found the jack, and up, up, up she went. Thanks Bro!

I don't feel like pecking at this keyboard, but here are some pics from the "maiden voyage".

Jack and skateboard

1st daylight.

port side

Inverted. Bow to left

bow

stern

                             

That Plank

Whiskey Plank

Effort in and of itself can generate a sense of accomplishment, that a project is moving forward. There are, however, certain milestones that are particularly rewarding. Yesterday afternoon the last plank, the whiskey plank, was mounted and permanently cemented to join all those that came before it. A glass was raised in celebration and long views were attempted out in the driveway looking back into the cavern of the garage. The frame will grow wheels today and the boat will see daylight. I want a 360 degree inspection at proper distances before attaching the gunwales.

Here are a few of the cutting out process and the scarfs which should stain and finish nicely.

Port and starboard whiskey curves

typical scarf

You can tell the end grain of the ply soaked up some epoxy (can't be avoided), but a light stain should reduce the joint's visibility.

Screws are inside the rub strake's footprint.

quarter view

bow view

Despite all her pocked screw holes, I think she is looking good. Now the beginning stages of finishing can begin.

The stems have been laminated for some time. Would have been nice to have a functional band saw to cut their taper to the keel, but the hand saw got it done ... eventually.

Jack plane bevelled the sides.

The belt sander with 80 grit did the initial smoothing. That's that. More next time.

The Boat Goes On

Absent, but not out ... I'm close to scarfing the whiskey/shear plank. I pulled the last "truss" template last night. It is proper that this plank is last for it provides the most "show" for the boat. As the uppermost and outer edge, it has all those previous laps lifting it up. I'm frankly still not convinced that all my tweaking of the shear batten is right. A distant view isn't possible in the now tight garage, or for that matter, out on the drive. We'll have to wheel her out once the whiskey is down. In the meantime I'll add 1/4" to the shear line for safety and scribe a batten once upright and in the drive for good eyeballing.

So, planks 4 & % are on. Only the shear planks remain, and I am pausing on this. My intention is to bright finish this plank inside and out. Scarfs need to be best. The balance of the hull will be painted. I've made a mix from 2 MinWax satins that looks happy. I mocked up a test panel for confirmation.

Sample panel.

Paint is "Sky Blue" semi-gloss by Marshalls Cove. Bill Thomas on OCH seemed to like the ease of application for his Fox canoe. Seems to have an easier workability from the can vs. Brightsides, plus I like their color choices better. The stain is a 50/50 mix of Minwax "Golden Oak" and "Golden Pecan". It goes well with the various cherry accents I've planned. I'm going to use ash for the gunwales, but model has pine now (a close color match).

What else? Centercase slabs are cut. Here is a photo of the gain fence and rabbet plane. Works just as easily as on the manning benches. I do scribe the gain edge with a utility knife against the fence to help keep the edge clean. I had gotten some tear out previously.

Rabbet fence.

And one more looking forward from aft. I have 2 scarf joints together which was unintended. No issue I don't think, but I had intended to skip a beat. I've maybe 145-150 hrs now from nothing to something. I'm jacked. I think I can have a new boat come Spring.

Tail view.

I know she looks kind of brutal with all those filled holes and roughed up stem, but finishing will smooth and make all that go away.

The shear is still vexing me (though it looks good in this photo to my eye). I'm not confident it is where it needs to be. It does match the moulds. Perhaps I should trust the drawings? Well, I think I'll roll the whole works into the drive, paint the shear batten black or grey and study from a distance. As I say, this plank does mean the most aesthetically. Having fun!