Building a Nutshell Pram - Small Scale

Helping my BBBS Little Brother to build his first boat - a 1/16th scale nutshell pram.  Here he is roughing out the templates from pinpricks of the plans.

And here the young gentleman is cutting the template out on a beautiful old scrollsaw I inherited from my grandfather.

Building the Nutshell Pram - Finishing Work

Just posted my video on completing the Nutshell Pram: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rGAQOQ_2Bpc

Maiden Voyage of the Amanda Louise

Sept 15 - tested her out on WBL.  Actually got the sails up and the daggerboard down.  She handles very well in light winds, and rows quite comfortably as well.  I do like the oars as compared to a motor as they're easy to swing down if you have to get moving or need a bit of help shifting tacks (which you may in a very light wind.)  No engine to get started/monkey with.

I would definitely recommend an extra set of oarlocks (which I installed on mine,) as they allow you to a convenient spot to stow the oars while you're under sail.  Would also recommend adjusting the tiller so it swings... if you go with the recommended build, whoever sits in the back is going to have to constantly shift to get out of its way.  Only major concern is the fact that the sail obstructs the view, a problem we resolved by occasionally ducking around it.

Successful Float Test!

... on Typo Lake.  The dagger board trunk is finally not bleeding water from the corners.  Read something on one of the wooden boat forums about using pressure (think they recommended a blow dryer) to cram caulk or resin up into a leak.  After sanding down with a shim covered in paper towels and sandpaper, I applied 3M 5800 caulk liberally both around the outside of the bedlogs as well as the inside of the trunk/seam of the hull and bedlogs/anywhere that looked like it could leak.

I then applied a duct tape patch to the daggerboard socket at the bottom of the boat and the top of the trunk, leaving just enough room for a duct tape-wrapped tube, which I connected to a shop vac.  I threw the shop vac on reverse, and while there were a few leaks allowing the air to get out (which I wanted... didn't want to generate enough pressure to do damage,) I believe it also created enough pressure to force the caulk up into the leaks.

Typo Lake is down, by the way.  Way down.  Damn this drought.

Leaky Daggerboard Trunk and Other Rites of Passage

First outing was about ten minutes on Typo Lake, where we discovered a small leak in the daggerboard trunk. It sounds like most suffer from this to begin with as the trunk is prone to jostle and the layer of bedding compound is very thin and narrow. Think it's coming up around the bedlogs mostly. Jammed it somewhat by sealing up the underside of the daggerboard socket with duct tape, dusting the leaky areas with wood putty powder and then throwing in some water, allowing it to leak in.

Second outing was on White Bear Lake, where we discovered the oars were in bad need of wrapping and the middle seat snapped under the rower's weight (half suspected this would happen as we routed the hole for the daggerboard a bit too long.) Wrapped the oars with 1/4" rope with a manila cap, cut a new seat and added a cedar support block in the middle to support the rower's weight.

Third test was on Martin Lake. Ended up seizing the halyard and boom to the mast when underway and not sailing to prevent it from draping across the boat and getting in the way. Rowing was much better, but the daggerboard got jammed on some of the resin we'd aplied, so the total sailing portion of the voyage was about fifteen minutes give or take as we made signifant leeway. Planning on sealing the inside of the boat with 5800 marine sealant, and then sanding down the inside of the trunk and sealing it up with resin now that I have a better idea where the leak is coming from. May use blocks of the soft packing foam to really apply pressure to get the epoxy in there and apply two layers, really getting it good and solid before sanding it down. May have a proper workflow down by mid-Fall.

The Halyard Hitch

Doing what it was born to: hauling a yard.

Almost Got Her Out

While the gunnel guards took a few hours to install, I got a pretty good workflow going using a pair of clamps to stretch the guard out and a third to hold it tight a quarter inch from where I intend to sink a pilot hole/screw.

Took her out for a float test on Typo Lake; one small drip where the centerboard meets the midships frame; threw two layers of glass down on the inside seam and a layer of epoxy where it abuts the deck.