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.

Just about Done

Just stepped the mast yesterday. Since the last post, I've:

• Painted the insides (I only gave this about 5 coats as opposed to the 12 on the outside; I'd like to leave a bit of a rougher finish for traction anywhere crew are going to step.)
• Painted the daggerboard and rudder (and added hardware for both)
• Painted the numbers (surprisingly more tedious than it seems.)
• Installed the foam for the seats (call me cheap, I bought standard insulation and waterproofed and sealed it.)
• Finished the mast
• Finished the yards
• Finished one of the oars

Just have the gunnel guard left to add and she's done.

The Final Countdown

Sanded down the inside of the boat, and got the first layer of white on there. Unfortunately, it revealed several screw holes that blended right in with the mahogany. Going to have to putty those up.

The Joys of Brass

Mounted the brass rub rail along the keel. Screwing soft brass through slightly harder brass into moderately hard oak is NOTHING if not loads of fun (and pre-drilling! and cursing!) Last strips of red along the side. Tomorrow I'll start finishing its insides.

Progress this weekend

Put on the first three layers of the red along the top strip. The blue you see is painter's tape. Never mind the messy garage; I generally don't clean up until the end of the day. Completed this weekend:
* Finished white top coat
* Started red strip
* Mounted oarlock blocks
* Have the yardarm and boom roughly circular
* Finished the daggerboard
* 90% done with the rudder.

Still to do:
* Finish the outer paint
* Sand inside
* Paint inside
* Mount the oarlocks
* Paint the guard rail
* Mount the rudder
* Drill stations in the Daggerboard

Putting the name on the Nutshell Pram

Three hours in the 90 degree heat with a very small paintbrush was, in all likelihood, worth it. Boat is getting insanely close to being completed. Included in this picture: my wife's gardening knee pad. Thanks to it I can still stand like a hominid.

Gilding the Lily

About 80% done on the Amanda Louise's dagger board cap ornamentation. Ordinarily, this sort of thing would only be reserved for the figurehead and stern transom.

Priming the Nutshell Pram

When it comes to boat building, there's little that is more exciting, glamorous or all-around romantic than priming. There's the prepping, the mixing, the rolling, the blast oven that was my garage this weekend, the process of sanding and checking and repairing small scuffs and nicks with auto body repair gel; the smell of the primer (part of a balanced breakfast; the component list includes butane and calcium,) the smell of acetone, washing brushes and buckets and roller pans.And now I've got a boat with three solid coats of pollution grey that I will never see again once the paint goes on. A weekend well spent.

Time Lapse of Carving Name on Boat

Used a dremel tool with engraving and grinding bits I carved the name into the back of the pram, then washed her down with denatured alcohol and sealed her with a very light layer of epoxy.  Spent about three hours on the garage floor.  Sweet fancy Moses, I hope my knees forgive me one day.

Mast Step Reinforcement

Considering how thin the mast step is along the bow transom, we thought it might be a good idea to reinforce it with a small oak block. My father cut it, I routed and polished it up. Ready to be mounted.

Building the Nutshell Pram

Puttied up screw holes, polished down the hull and seats with 220 and 400-grit sandpaper, coated the seats in three coats of high-gloss varnish.

Seldom get a good, full-body shot of the boat. Here she is, seen from the prow. Note that the hole in the bow transom supports the painter; a rope tied to the forekeel.

Mast Building: Getting it to fit in the mast step

Spent about an hour and a half whittling it down with a power planer and random orbit sander to get it to fit in the mast step. Next time going to save myself the time by originally cutting the mast about 1/10th smaller than is absolutely needed. Will also help make way for the varnish.

First Sailing Weekend

Making a Stopper Knot

Overhauled the running rigging and launched the Springtide. Had the lake almost to ourselves this weekend, save for seagulls, great blue and green herons, and a noisy band of terns. Temps in the 40's with winds so light it took us two hours to run as many miles.

Mast-Making: The Eureka Moment

I've tried various things to clamp my mast in place while allowing it enough give to turn when a reasonable degree of pressure is applied.

I attempted to clamp it (this failed; every clamp in my arsenal is intended to attach rectangles to other rectangles; they either fall off or need to be constantly adjusted.)  

I attempted to screw its ends into sawhorses and make it turn like a 10' lathe (the screws came loose or simply snapped.)

May have found a simple solution; place the mast on the sawhorse and sandwich it between two chunks of 2X4.  Adding a shop cloth makes it a little less wobbly and protects against gouging and scratching.

Great Lakes History

According to the journal of David Wingfield (officer of the RN in the War of 1812,) there used to be ice on Lake Huron as late as mid-June.  I know the air on Superior can be in the 40's into mid-July (when I was out on the Hjordis,) but can't imagine ice that late.

http://www.amazon.com/Four-Years-Great-Lakes-1813-1816/dp/1554883938/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1335532457&sr=8-2

Mast Making: Knotty Procedures

I'm not sure if there's a SOP for knots when it comes to mast making. Perhaps the protocol is "just don't buy wood with knots in it." Perhaps making a mast out of a recently felled Sitka Spruce (as opposed to a kiln-dried construction-grade 4X4) would make the knots less likely to rattle their way out as the mast is shaved and sanded into shape.

I personally chose to ignore some knots (like the top one) because they were too shallow to be much of a consideration. One other (the one at bottom) was too deep to be ignored, and has been braced with epoxy and a little scrapwood.If the mast breaks in the middle of the lake and someone takes a gaff to the eye (and dies,) I guess we'll know I did something wrong.

There's Little Difference Between Tradition and Frugality

Just finished fine-tuning the form of the pram's rudder on my grandfather's old hobby saw. Beveled it down with a 60 grit on my RO sander, then polished it up with a 120 grit.

Mast Making (cont)

Found that drawing a circle on either end of the mast can be extremely helpful in getting a general idea of its curvature in relation to your notion of a perfect circle.

Mast making Pt 4: Getting the Mast to Turn (Controllably) while working on it.

I've tried a lot of ways of anchoring the mast, and generally speaking, if you're not too worried about turning it while you're working (this is almost a must when sanding,) I found that l-clamps work the best.  During the sanding process, I attempted to screw it into the saw horses.  This was somewhat difficult as getting it screwed into the center point of the mast was difficult, and depending on which way you turn, the screws will generally want to either want to tighten or come loose.  That being said, it worked alright.

Here's the process I used:

1. Center the sawhorses, and make a lateral line on them.
2. Measure up a certain amount from the floor.  Where this line crosses the lateral line, drill a hole.  Make sure the hole is level.
3. Drill a level hole through the centers of the mast.
4. Screw through the sawhorses into the center hole of the masts.

This is really pretty simple, though I could have improved it by using bolts and washers (to allow the bolts and mast to turn together,) and by bracing the horses with sandbags to keep them steady.

Update: This failed.  Badly.  The screws came loose or snapped altogether.  Considered bolts, but this would have meant boring fairly large holes into the ends of the mast.  Figured out a fairly simple solution here.

Mast making Pt 3

While there's something almost therapeutic about hand planing, I've come to respect the conveniences of a power planer. Not only is it faster, but you can easily control the exact depth of the planing blade. Mast is more of a slightly tapered tube now. While the base had to be fairly exact to fit the seat and mast step, the tapering at the peak (which has less exact specifications,) was more instinct and guesswork. Bottom is sanded with 60 grit; next weekend will involve finishing the tapering, then sanding the peak with 60, then the whole thing with 120 grit.

Mast making Pt 2

My 10' 4X4 is looking more hexadecagonal. This involved drawing circles of various sizes on the 4 original faces, dividing those circles into four, drawing lines through the points... you know what, let's just say that in the end, two compasses, a vernier caliper, a 4' rule, a straight-edge, a power plane, and a lot of bad words were involved.

Masts and things

New halyards and sheets for the Springtide. Made slip arrangements as well. Have been planing down the Amanda Louise mast out of a solid 4X4. I made one attempt with Wooden Boat Works' instructions for cutting the Peapod mast, but found it was too difficult to get the equal angles with a table saw. Ended up using the instructions found here. While I made an honest go with a hand plane, I ended up using the power planer in the end, and it went pretty smoothly.

Mastmaking

The pile of sawdust created doing a rough-cut of the mast. Took out the SpringTide's running rigging to get it replaced. Believe it may be what came with the boat - getting pretty brittle.

The D-Bag Part the Second

While my latest efforts (top) are an improvement over the machine-gun attempts that came before (top), I am no master of the flat stitch.

D-Baggery

Progress on the ditty bag is hampered by my apparent inability to sew a straight line. It has been suggested I use a sewing machine; a suggestion that I have refuted with an argument I find myself using commonly in the line of sailing: 'that's practical and faster and likely better and all, but not the point.'

Am re-pinning and adding a sew-to line.

Progress on the Nutshell Pram

A Mast in Progress

Rudder and tiller cheeks completed

Fid-ling about

The first step in learning to sew a sail is learnign to sew a ditty bag. What do you need to sew a ditty bag? Well, a needle, some marline and a yard of canvas (all commercially available,) some beeswax (got plenty of that,) and a fid (think of it like a rounded, blunt wooden stake.) As you can't find proper fids on Amazon these days, this is my first attempt at carving one out of 3/4" oak. I'm fairly okay with the whittling portion. Still need to sand it down quite a bit.