AppShip1 Photo Gallery AppShip2 Photo Gallery AppShip4 Photo Gallery 5-Byker Boat Gallery 6 Joan Dixon Gallery 7-Bede's Boat Gallery
Here are a selection of photographs from AppShip3, which took place within Bedlingtonshire Community High School http://bchs.uk.net/ in the spring of 2010.
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As with all project we start by building our workshop and the "strong-back" building boxes which will hold all the moulds for the boat. These tasks allow the participants to begin the process of bonding into a team.
The boxes are like a 3D jigsaw puzzle, lots of screws need to be put in while the boxes are held in place.
I tend to stand back and let the participants figure out how best to put the boxes together, gradually the team leaders step up and find their voice. As there are two big boxes, two teams often get competitive to be first to finish.
Classic team working photo, each student takes on a task to speed up the process.
Before we begin to make the oars we practice using the drawknife, starting with the smallest drawknife first.
Then, using the plans we measure our timber ready for cutting up and gluing together into the oar blanks.
Here the oar blanks have been glued up and the spoon profile has been cut on a bandsaw.
The mast will be made from this single piece of Douglas Fir.
The mast starts to take shape, here the marks for the taper are being drawn on ready for planing down to size.
The oars also have two tapers planed on, here the oar team are measuring the shaft taper into the blade.
Once the building boxes have been assembled and leveled, the process of drawing the centre line and fitting the moulds can begin.
The moulds tend to get a bit damaged with every boat, here we are cutting a new mould
This project (AppShip3) needed to be completed in 6 weeks rather than the usual 10 weeks, this was achieved by shortening the time taken on some tasks like building the stems. Looking carefully, you can just see that this stem is cut out of a single piece of Douglas Fir rather than laminated (glued) out of many strips which are bent around a Jig, this save some time.
This shows the oar blanks one of which has the blade outline cut with the Jigsaw.
All four blades rough cut.
In preparation for later stages of the build the strips of Ash for the gunnel have scarph joints cut and glued together, doubling their length. This sort of job is best carried out early in the project as there is more space in the workshop and also this sort of joint can sometimes break, so working ahead of time allows the mistakes to be corrected well before the item is needed for the boat.
We practice in preparation for cutting the planks, taking turns, learning how to safely use the Jigsaw.
As with previous boats we always find a safe place for our spare hand.
As the planks are stapled in place while the glue sets overnight we practice using the staple gun and also the fence pliers for pulling the staples out once the glue has dried. Note the lollypop sticks which prevent the fence pliers from denting the planks.
Teams grow stronger by helping each other, noticing difficulties and giving advice where needed.
When all the moulds have been accurately placed the first plank can be rough cut. With this Skerrie Skiff design there is a bottom plank (similar to a dory design) and this plank needs to touch all the moulds so that the second planks will join without leaving gaps.
After the rough shape of the bottom plank has been placed on the moulds the position where the second plank will joined can be transfered onto the first plank with many small pencil marks. Here we see those pencil marks being drawn into a gentle curve using a spline batten.
It is not so uncommon for the curve of the batten to miss some of the pencil marks, here we can see the debate where the participants decide if it is better to force the batten to hit all the pencil marks and have a wiggly line or to take an average of the marks to keep a nice smooth curve in the batten. The latter option is the correct answer.
When the line is "fair" and everyone is happy with the curve a single pencil line will mark where to cut. It is importaint that we remember to cut on the inside of the plank as there will be a bevel (angle) planed along the outside edge of the plank. It is very easy to get confused and cut along the outside bevel line, but as the inside needs to be wider this would make the plank too narrow for the moulds.
With the bottom plank in place the "first" plank is glued and stapled, but the plank length still needs to be trimmed.
First plank with the length trimmed to size, this job must be left until the glue has set as the sawing action will loosen the staples.
Here the Ash battens for the inside gunnel are clamped in place for marking the sheer plank.
The view from outside the school garage where we were working. This shows how the moulds form a skeleton to give the planks the final shape. These moulds are only for creating the shape and they are not part of the finished boat.
Fitting the second plank on the opposite side with the electric staple gun firing staples in to hold the plank while the glue sets overnight.
Protective equipment is essential for this sort of work.
Sheet materials will only bend in one dimension, in boat design these are called "conical" curves (like the sides of a cone). Take a piece of paper, gently bend it and make a cone or cylinder, now try to bend the cone or cylinder in the other direction, it will only kink and break -a smooth second curve can not be achieved.
Two dimensional curves (like a sphere or donut) must be made up from many separate smaller conical sheets which are linked together in some way (like the narrow planks on a boat). Two dimensional curves are also called "complex curves", they are very difficult to accurately describe on paper and much of the skill of boat building is in the "Artistic Licence" shown when deciding how the curves of the boat come together to give a "fair" shape without bumps or hollows.
Here the third plank and gunnel are fitted. Notice the datum black marker line on the bow. This helps us to align the new plank and avoids silly mistakes like offering the plank up back to front. Silly mistakes can happen, especially when working in a restricted space where planks are rotated and moved about for gluing. Also these sort of movements are where the plank scarph joint is most severely tested, a couple of scraps of ply can be clamped on to form a temporary "splint" strengthening the plank scarph during this sort of movement - it is best to try and keep the scarphed plank on its edge when moving it around the workshop.
Clamping the gunnel batten as part of the final plank gluing saves some time in the project, but by this stage there may well be glue everywhere! In this photo we can see that each clamp has a piece of scrap to protect the Ash gunnel from getting dented and the blue disposable glove has been used to avoid the scrap being accidentally glued to the gunnel.
The hull can look a bit uneven at this stage, the ends of the first planks need to be trimmed flush to the stems so that they do not project and prevent their opposite planks from "landing" correctly. These clearances can be checked with a flexible batten held against the moulds to check if the shape is "fair". A typical "fairing batten" will have a uniform cross section and no joints, this is so that it bends evenly without "hard-points" (areas that want to stay straight).
These two images were altered aswe were going to create a poster for the family evening.
By adjusting the contrast and colour saturation I changed this photograph to form the background for the family evening poster, but we did not need the poster in the end.
After the glue has set all the staples are removed, the holes from the staples are filled and the end grain of the plywood gets a coat (or three) of waterproof glue to prevent de-lamination (plywood will eventually fall apart if water gets in through the edges). The gunnels are masked off to allow the inside edge to be filled without covering the gunnel in glue. The gaps between the plank ends are filled (centre bottom of this photo). The small keel and rubbing strakes can be seen glued onto the uppermost section of the boat.
The joint where the planks from both sides meet is usually covered up by a nice strip of hardwood, bent around, glued in place and varnished. On this project we did not have enough time and had to press ahead to be ready for the launch day. You probably would not have noticed if I did not tell you.
Here we are trying out some new tools which we shall be using to trim the edges of the planks and sand down the hull before painting.
This tool is a "multi-tool", a very interesing and useful reciprocating saw which I first used while working in a boat yard in the south of France. The blade just moves back and forth about 3mm and if you have ever had a plaster cast for a broken arm they may have cut it off (the plaster cast- not the arm) with a saw like this (the original commercial brand was called a Fein saw). These saws are relatively safe and can make precise cuts in areas other saws can not. This saw is like an "electric chisel".
I have included this next section of photos to illustrate that everyone gets their turn on each tool. For some the anticipation of using a noisy, dusty, heavy electric tool can be off-putting, but in the safe workshop environment this is a chance to try out different tools to understand their uses and stafe safe while working.
Using any tool starts with a firm footing on a clear floor, check that the route you intend to take with the tool is clear and that the tool is in perfect working order. The work must be held firmly on the bench, if the wood slips stop and reclamp, yes it takes lots of time to get set up properly, but cutting corners is practically guarnteed to end in an accident - Ouch!
The multi-tool is precise, but it is quite slow for this thickness of plywood.
Hmmm... what is the best way to do this?
Having taken the time to learn the power tools, the team opt for the traditional hand tools - this is an excellent choice, they have the confidence to choose the most appropriate tool for the job. Hand tools only use as much energy as you put in, meaning more control. The more force that is involved in any action the more chance there is of an accident, so take your time and if you need a differnt tool or have a problem with a task - speak up - we can sort it out.
Cutting the excess wood off the gunnel is tricky as you can not see what you are doing and we do not want to cut into the Ash gunnel.
Once the "pull-saws" get started the excess plywood is trimmed off quite quickly.
Meanwhile on the other side of town... the sanding begins.
But even with the finest grade of sanding belt, the power sander is a bit too agressive for the job, leaving dents when it is not held completely flat to the planks. So, again the traditional methods are adopted. The power sander can quickly remove the hard glue and the hand sanding gives the smooth finish.
Parents evening and we prepare to lift the boat off the moulds for the first time.
Most of the moulds are removed. Despite all the packing tape around the moulds some are accidentally stuck into the hull.
In preparation for lifting and turning the hull we talk through the process, who goes where, where the boat is turned and what to do if you think you are going to drop the boat. Sometimes when moving a boat, one person may find themselves holding more than their share of weight which is a problem.
To make this problem worse many folks, when the big load goes on- just pull a face, raise their eyebrows and fail to alert the rest of the group when they are about to drop the boat. If that was not bad enough, other people can think it is hilarious to "pretend" to carry the boat and this is why we talk through the lift to avoid accidents.
If you are struggling during a lift, complain, grunt, moan, cry... communicate your feelings and those around you can rush to assist - do not suffer in silence.
The parent's evening is very important, everyone can feel like they have built a boat, even if they only sanded off the gunnel or painted a plank.
With the hull turned up the correct way we can begin to reinforce the seams with fibreglass tape.
Each strip of glass fibre tape is cut to length, it is best to "wet-out" the tape in a more accessible location and bring it folded up to the seam which has already had a coat of resin applied. We had found on this day that is was easier to "wet-out" the cloth insitu after our first attempts got all tangled up.
This type of work is hard on the back muscles, stand up slowly, bringing your hips under your shoulders. If you find yourself working like this for longer periods, get higher benches and raise the work up to a more comfortable height.
Cutting out the bulkheads which will be glued into the interior of the boat to add stiffness. Here we see the slot for the daggerboard case being cut.
Slightly blurred photo of the daggerboard case all glued and clamped.
Here we can see the bulkhead glued in place with the slot at the bottom ready for the daggerboard box to be glued in.
Daggerboard box glued in place and a coat of primer, some areas have been left without primer as the air-tight decks have yet to be glued in.
The hull is turned back over again and the exterior primed and sanded several times to give a smooth finish for the gloss.
This photo shows the air-tight compartments glued in place with a glass fibre tape seam all the way around. There are deck beams supporting these deck so that they can take someone standing on them. Best step down into the bottom of a small boat, standing on the higher decks can make the boat quite unstable.
The first coats of gloss have been applied, with the seating masked to keep it clean for varnishing.
Second coat of paint and some varnish applied.
This might look like the bow (front), but it is actually the stern (rear). This boat is a "double-ender", almost identical at either end. There are two small clips on the stern which is where the rudder slots in.
Fitting-out is a great stage where everything comes together, the mast is fitted and ropes cut to length.
Finally AppShip3 takes to the water, well done everyone, she looks beautiful!
There is a great sense of achievement when you launch a boat, I encourage you all to get creative! - Alex
AppShip1 Photo Gallery AppShip2 Photo Gallery AppShip4 Photo Gallery 5-Byker Boat Gallery 6 Joan Dixon Gallery 7-Bede's Boat Gallery
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