Fairing Continues, Pressure Tank Purchased

I have finished fairing the transom through frame 2 on the top side. To do this I used a hand planer and then quick sanded everything down after it was level for a smooth finish. I took the 90 degree angle out of the edges on the downward sloping sides on the battens and keel and this made everything fit nicely. There was a major relief when this portion was done because after first having a leveler across the chine to the keel and the frames, there where a lot of gaps. I was thinking I was going to have to do some re-cuts but the hand planer took out the high spots with ease. This again goes to show that a little confidence goes a long way; you have to start somewhere. I tried to take the best picture I could to show the process, so the one below shows frame 1 level from chine to keel.

Frame #1 Faired

I have also been looking for a pressure tank on eBay and Craigslist, with not much luck locally on Craigslist, and was patient enough to get a newly repainted tank with a new hose, connector, and some new fittings. I had seen quite a few in rough shape that were pretty expensive, needed a hose or parts replaced, and had high shipping costs. (I'll post the price of the tank along with all my other costs in a post at the end of the bill). The tank I won will be ready to go and I am very excited for it to arrive as I still haven't been able to run my new-to-me outboard. Hopefully by the end of next week I'll have an update on it's performance on my 13' Zodiac.

Pressure Tank

 2-Line Hose and Air/Gas Fitting

Control Box and Fairing

It's been a while since I have had any updates and I can now see why it takes some people a few years for some of the projects; anytime I had a full day planned of work, an event would pop up. I have still been making steady progress though which has mostly consisted of sanding and making everything true and flat. This is a process called fairing and at first it was a little intimidating because of all the work I had read that goes into it but after finding the right tools and having some practice it made more sense. The best way I found to do it is using a leveler as a flat edge. It's hard to take pictures of this because your only removing small amounts of wood but I'll take more pictures after the fairing process is complete.

Fairing Chine

I have also been looking for a control box and found one for a decent price with working cables. I'm not sure what year it is but it's and Evinrude brand so it will go with the motor nicely after a new paint job. Concerning the outboard, I bought the gas tank on Craigslist from a nice guy who restored outboards and after telling him my motor's year and horsepower and the need for a 2-line pressurized tank, he said the motor actually used a single hose gas tank; which I ended up purchasing from him taking his word. Well when I arrived home I checked the fittings and they did not match. I called the guy and he said that most people changed to the single hose. He was nice about it though and we are going to do an exchange for some cleats and other hardware.

Evinrude Control Box

Gas Tanks and Fiberglass

When I bought the outboard it didn't come with a gas tank so that has been one of my missions to find during this past week. After a few looks on eBay and deciding hipping was going to be too much, I put my faith with Craigslist and found a few no problem; though there weren't any that came with hoses. I made a call about an ad where a guy was selling five or six 1950's and older outboards and the same amount of gas tanks and we set up a time for the next morning. The reason I'm explain this is because when I arrived at his house he had a ton of old boating equipment. He had cleats from old Christ Crafts, steering setups, throttle cables, etc. He gave me a great deal too, and I left with a brand new hose, a like new 6 gallon gas tank, and a smaller 3 gallon tank (I think it's 3 gallons at least). He also had an Evinrude throttle and shifter box that I would have also picked up if I would have brought enough cash with me. Anyway, he'll be another resource for some more equipment when I need it. I also received the fiberglass kit from Glen-L this week so I've got some more inspiration to keep things moving. I read over the how-to sheet that came with the kit and it seems fairly simple but I have a video an book I'm going to look over too. I don't want to make any mistakes in this part because it's already been an expensive 2 weeks and another fiberglass kit would help that. It looks easy enough though so I'm not worried.

Gas Tanks, 3 & 6 Gallons

Glen-L Fiberglass Kit

On a side note, my grandpa had an older Evinrude outboard, early '60's I think, that he didn't want anymore so he let me pick it up from him. It's a 3 horse, 2 cylinder, and it hasn't been ran it in the 20 some years he's had it. It was previously used on a sailboat and only used to get in and out of the slip. When I have some time  I'm going to try and get it to start.

3 HP Evinrude

2nd Sheer Screwed and Epoxied

I epoxied the last sheer laminations today, though I'm still behind the schedule I had planned out in my head. The lamination process was pretty easy because I pre-drilled all the screw holes and did any work I could before I started to mix the epoxy. I made a big batch of it since I wanted to do both laminations at the same time and still have enough to coat the inner sides of the sheers. I would recommend doing this with at one other person though. I was hurrying because I didn't want the epoxy to set and it would have been easier if someone was there to hold the sheer in place while I added to screws. The pictures below show the 2nd lamination and you can see the two by the difference in wood color (both are still African mahogany).

2nd Sheer Lamination Epoxied, Looking Towards Transom

 Sheers in Frames 1 and 2

On another note, I finally purchased an outboard; a 1957 Evinrude 18hp. I was originally looking for a 1950's 25hp so I could get the older style but still with speed. When I went to look at a 1957 Johnson 25hp I  quickly realized that was not going to work; the motor was HUGE! Then I decided on a newer 25hp but after I found this one on eBay I fell in love with it. I'm not worried about speed anymore because I'll still go plenty fast with the 18hp and it'll fit the boat better. I'm going to do the hull of the boat from the chine up a light blue to match the outboard and then leave it white below the chine (I'm thinking of making the transom completely blue but I might still change that). My uncle was nice enough to check out the motor before we bought since he lived near the seller but I'll have it at my place by Friday. I still need to find a gas tank for it but after a little research I found a lot on eBay and Craigslist. Below is a picture of it from eBay but I'l post more when it gets here.

2nd Sheer Lamination Fitted

Tonight I was able to attach the 2nd and final sheer lamination. It took longer than I was planning on because I wanted to make sure all the notches where the first sheer went in were faired enough o the 2nd lamination would fit snug. After doing this I went to get the sheers which had been soaking for a good 2 days and was expecting them to go on easier than the first ones. Surprisingly they did not and were actually a little hard to bend. I attribute this to the fact that when I had put the first laminations on it was around 90 degrees outside and I think the water which they were soaking in was pretty warm as well. Tonight it was about 60 degrees and I think the cooler water didn't give the wood as much bend. Anyway, I will complete the lamination tomorrow and start on fairing. It also looks like I'm going to need some more clamps. I ordered the Glen-L fiberglass kit for the bottom and sides and must have the plywood on by Sunday if I want to complete the boat anytime close to my goal of the beginning of July.

2nd Sheer Lamination Fitted, Side View

 Front View

Chines and 1st Sheer Lamination Attatched

While having the day off I was able to re-cut the chine notch in frame 2 and epoxy and screw it to the frame. I wasn't sure how to re-cut the angled notch in frame 2 so I just ended up sanding it until the chine fit snug. This actually worked pretty well since I was able to make a nice fit. One of the things about the chine is that the placement on the stem isn't mentioned in the plans so you have to just go with where it you think you want it. If you attach it too close to the breast-hook though you could cause the plywood to have a cavitation  when it's attached. I looked through a few different blogs that had good pictures and made my decision based on an average of theirs.

I also epoxied and attached the first sheer lamination. I was a little worried when I was unscrewing the sheers since they had dried and was afraid they would revert back to their straight shape but to my surprise they held the curve. On a side note, I have been having some trouble screwing in the bronze screws (I would pre-drill a small hole first but sometime I still had trouble) so I put some wax on them first and this help a ton; I highly recommend doing this. I have the second sheer laminations soaking overnight in the PVC pipe so they'll be ready for tomorrow. Below are pictures on the frame after today's work.

Chines and 1st Sheer Laminations Epoxied and Screwed

 Front View

 Rear Side View

Sheers Fitted

After letting the sheers soak over night I came home from work to find most of the water had seeped out the bottom of the screw attachment on the PVC pipe. The bottom 1/4 of the wood was still wet though and looked like it had still some what soaked so I tried to attach them and to my surprise they went on extremely easily. These are the first of two laminations that I will be using. I've got them fastened on to dry and when they are fully dry I take them off, fit the ends accordingly, and epoxy everything. I'll be ordering the Squirt Fiberglass Kit from Glen-L's website tonight so I'll be ready when it comes time to start planking. I also ordered a book and dvd on fiberglassing from Glen-L last summer so I'll be using those to prepare. I also have to finish the chines which I'll start on tonight.

1st Sheer Lamination Fitted

 Side View of Sheers

Chines and Sheers

After receiving advice from the Glen-L Forum I decided to go ahead and epoxy a piece of wood to the spot on frame 2 where the chine notch was (on both sides). Once the epoxy cures I'm going to re-cut the notch for the chine but this time make the cut on an angle so it will better fit with the bending chine. I'm not completely sure how I'm going to make this cut yet but I figure I'll just take a little off at a time and judge it that way. I also put the sheers (4 pieces which will be laminated together in pairs of 2) in a 10' or so PVC pipe filled with water. Tomorrow I'll screw them into place and let them dry before I make any final cuts and add the epoxy. I also finally epoxied the transom  knee on with the carriage bolts. Before I just had it dry fitted because the carriage bolts weren't long enough to hold a bolt on the exiting side. Hopefully tomorrow I'll make quite a bit of progress but we'll see what how much time I'll have.

Piece of Wood Added to Chine Notch

 Transom Knee Epoxied With Carriage Bolts

 Sheers In PVC Pipe Filled With Water

Chine Trouble

After dry fitting the chines I have been having some trouble getting them to fit tightly against the second frame. I posted my confusion on the Glen-L Forum and have received a lot of helpful advice. Below the pictures show the chine placement against frame #2 and the gap that I'm worried about. I'll post how I fix this after I decided which route to take.

Chine Against Frame #2 Notch

Above View

View Looking Towards Stem

Chines Part I

I had some time tonight so I decided to start getting the chines in place as well as the transom knee bolted to the keel and transom. The transom knee went into the keel pretty smooth, although after putting in the first screw, the knee moved away from the transom, leaving a slight gap. I made a change in the angle of the hole though and everything worked out. Next, I faired out the chine notches and nailed the chines to the transom and frame #1. In the first picture you'll see I cut a small piece off the end of one of the chines and used it to trace out the angle it will will need to fit. Once I got the chines on I used some string and tied them around the stem and will be leaving them there over night so they will go on easier tomorrow. I'm also going to look at a 1950's 25hp Evinrude tomorrow, which I'm hoping will work out because I'd like to get it running as soon as I can.

Fairing Out Chine Notches

 Chines Temporarily Attached