I'm knee-deep in the process of building my first boat - an FL14. The intent is for this to be a serviceable, no frills boat for fishing and generally messing about. It will be rowed and at times powered by a small outboard. Nothing fancy, no effort to make a showpiece. This project is also meant to allow me to understand the basics of boat building so I can decide if I want to undertake a more ambitious build. My wife and I are taking sailing lessons this summer and I dream of someday building a camping cruiser.
The boat is being built in Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin but will live most of the time in Knoxville, Tennessee.
FL14 Tennessee/Wisconsin build
Re: FL14 Tennessee/Wisconsin build
Having said that the build wouldn't involve any fancy techniques, I'll begin by backtracking on that a bit. I have access to a CNC mill at my place of employment and did use it to cut most of the pieces for the boat. This was an absolutely unnecessary bit of technical gymnastics. The pieces are easily cut out by hand. I had simply been wanting to learn to use the mill and this project was a good opportunity for me to at least learn some flat milling techniques. As suggested in the instructions, I'm using BCX plywood from right off the shelf at the big orange box. All in all, the milling worked out well.
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Re: FL14 Tennessee/Wisconsin build
Be careful with HD bcx.TedS wrote: ↑Mon Jul 08, 2019 3:23 pm Having said that the build wouldn't involve any fancy techniques, I'll begin by backtracking on that a bit. I have access to a CNC mill at my place of employment and did use it to cut most of the pieces for the boat. This was an absolutely unnecessary bit of technical gymnastics. The pieces are easily cut out by hand. I had simply been wanting to learn to use the mill and this project was a good opportunity for me to at least learn some flat milling techniques. As suggested in the instructions, I'm using BCX plywood from right off the shelf at the big orange box. All in all, the milling worked out well.
I had some that delaminated with any screw. It was a temp trailer deck, so I did not care, but definitely not good enough for a boat.
Re: FL14 Tennessee/Wisconsin build
Fallguy, thanks for the heads up. I've had a bit of trouble with the plywood. It has delaminated in small areas along a couple of the cuts. I have just used a bit of wood glue and fixed it up. Seems to be working fine so far. I was just a little annoyed that the process used up some precious clamps for several hours.
Re: FL14 Tennessee/Wisconsin build
After getting the cut pieces to Wisconsin, a small snafu with the butt blocks, and some timely forum advice from Aripeka Angler, I was able to get the butt blocks in place. Really amazed at how strong and flexible the joints on the sides and bottom were.
Re: FL14 Tennessee/Wisconsin build
Once the splices had a chance to cure, the shape of the boat came together very quickly using zip ties. I predrilled for the ties using the CNC and found this worked very well. Only had to add a few holes with the hand drill to cinch a couple of places that needed a few additional ties.
Re: FL14 Tennessee/Wisconsin build
Lookin "Goooooood"!
Re: FL14 Tennessee/Wisconsin build
Good progress!! Jeff
Re: FL14 Tennessee/Wisconsin build
That is coming along nicely!
About the bcx ply mentioned in some of the study plans- it has been said here (I believe by Jacques M. himself) that there was a time when you could get good quality exterior plywood that was acceptable to use in building, but those days have passed, what is now available does not meet minimum quality for boat building. I don't know what your expectations are, but your boat probably won't last as many years as it would have if built with quality marine ply (there is some cheap ply out there posing as marine ply).
I do get the part about learning the boat building process without breaking the bank, so I say keep on building and enjoy the process. It sounds like you've picked up some new skills already!
About the bcx ply mentioned in some of the study plans- it has been said here (I believe by Jacques M. himself) that there was a time when you could get good quality exterior plywood that was acceptable to use in building, but those days have passed, what is now available does not meet minimum quality for boat building. I don't know what your expectations are, but your boat probably won't last as many years as it would have if built with quality marine ply (there is some cheap ply out there posing as marine ply).
I do get the part about learning the boat building process without breaking the bank, so I say keep on building and enjoy the process. It sounds like you've picked up some new skills already!
Hank
Re: FL14 Tennessee/Wisconsin build
Buddy of mine was visiting for a few days and he was curious about the process. He's a talented woodworker but has never built a boat. He jumped in and helped me get the cleats on and we were able to coat the interior with epoxy in short order.
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