Preview: How to Build a Beautiful Skiff, Part 2 – Getting Screws and Lumber

14 Responses So Far to “How to Build a Beautiful Skiff, Part 2 – Getting Screws and Lumber”

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  Earland Briggs says:

  I have bought 2 1/2 inch copper nails 10 gauge. What size washer goes with this nail?

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  Earland Briggs says:

  Can’t wait to get started on my skiff.

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  Tim Roberts says:

  Eric mentioned “drilling and plugging” some of the knots in the cedar. Could you explain how that is done? What wood is used for the plug? Which way does the grain run in the plug?
  How many plugs would be too many?
  Thanks.

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  Walter Baron says:

  Regarding plywood vs traditional planking, you can combine both approaches in one boat. I have built several Swampscott Dories using plywood for the bottom and garboards, then transitioning to cedar lapstrake for the topsides. I have also used oak, locust, and hackmatack framing for these boats, and oiled the interiors. This works out very well for other small lapstrake boats as well.

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  Detlef Duecker says:

  You are lucky to have all those wonderful boatbuilding woods close by in such a great variety and at modest prices !
  Living here in Austria we have local ash, oak,larch,spruce.
  Western red cedar is imported, but very expensive !
  You are really lucky guys !

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  Roger Mennillo says:

  Question, and forgive me if a) I missed this in the video, or b) I offend any purist sensibilities; but can the planking of this boat be done with scarfed or butt joined plywood?

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    Steve Stone says:

    Hi Roger. The plywood vs. real wood question is a good one, and rather than replying with a simple “yes”, I’ll elaborate.

    I suspect you may know much of what follows, and it’s more answer than the question you asked, but I’ve had the benefit of listening objectively to many experts in the various “camps” on this, so here we go, I’ll pass along what I’ve heard, plus the influence they’ve had on my own thinking.

    Yes, certainly, a boat like this can be made with plywood and it would be a good boat. But I now understand when someone like Havilah Hawkins says it will be a very different experience building it, and a different experience using it, if it’s made with plywood and epoxy.

    Some would say the process of building with plywood/epoxy would be much less enjoyable, both building it and using it (and they’d likely be right), and they might even go so far as to say that building this skiff in plywood would “miss the whole point” of this boat/design.

    Others would argue that building with plywood and epoxy would allow the boat to be stable and water-tight, and you could paint it with polyurethane paint and it would not shrink or swell, and it would be so durable that it would require very little maintenance over many years (and they’d also be right).

    And others would then make that point that the plywood and epoxy boat looks so shiny and slick that it looks and feels plastic, and when you’re under sail it sounds much more like plastic, so it might as well be plastic (and they would also have a good point).

    All these people would be right. Traditional plank-on-frame boats made of real wood have very different feelings, smells, sounds, etc. during both the building and the use of the boats. i.e. When you start seeing kids in the shop pretty soon in this video series, imagine them handling plywood and epoxy vs. the real wood, cotton and fastenings. I have imagined this several times while filming this series, and the ideas of kids using epoxy made that point for me while adults using epoxy never has.

    I love the low maintenance of our Caledonia Yawl that Geoff Kerr built of plywood and epoxy. I can trailer it anywhere and drop her in the water and she never leaks. I hung on a hammock last night between the spars and thought a lot about how confident I feel sailing her, and how effortless much of the experience of caring for her is. It’s the plywood and epoxy that made this particular boat possible, and it’s awesome.

    I also wish at times when sailing her that she had the weight and solid sound (less thin/hollow) of a plank-on-frame boat, with an oiled interior of cedar — that would feel wonderful under my feet and in my hands. The oiled spars add a great feel to the boat.

    It’s all about what you’re own intended use and environment is going to be for the boat, and what your own aesthetics are.

    I can say that from my own experience, both have their values. If you are trailer-sailing in the hot Australian summer and don’t have the best of storage facilities out of the heat/sun, building in plywood makes perfect sense.

    The more time passes, the more I find myself appreciating the feel and sound of real wood and imperfect workboat finishes. I’ve learned this from the old-timers around here — mostly Maynard Bray. Perhaps my current yearnings are simply more “grass is greener”, and wanting what I don’t have, because if I had several traditional plank on frame boats now I might just be lusting after the low maintenance of plywood and epoxy.

    I have the luxury of living in Maine surrounded by heaps friends and boat yards that specialize in caring for wooden boats, so the idea of real wood suits my location. The rest of the world does not have this luxury, and so plywood boats can make a LOT of sense. Imagine what the wooden boat world would look like today without plywood and epoxy, and the path that the Gougeon Brothers blazed over the past few decades. Wow, the sight of a small wooden boat would be pretty rare.

    After this long rant about the mythical and moral righteousness of “real wood”, would you believe that I just had a carbon fiber mast made for the Caledonia Yawl? And I love it! What a hypocrite.

    From the perspective of OCH, I like meeting people where they are, without judgement, and providing lots of good options for beautiful and seaworthy boats. Geez, I started out in plastic Lasers and Hobie Cats, and look where I ended up. It’s a journey.

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      Roger Mennillo says:

      Very helpful, Steve, thanks. I suppose if I ever get down to this project I’ll just have to step outside the Home Depot zone and survey the local lumber yards for suitable boards. Another adventure.

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  Charles Thompson says:

  That was great. Nicely done.

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  Konstantinos Lekkas says:

  Thumps up!!!

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  Kent Lewis says:

  A quick glance along the edges will help pick out boards that are fair as well, and save on a return trip to the yard to exchange a crooked board for a straight one. Down here in NW Florida, budget extra time to chat while the employees help you dig through the stack when they find out you are a boat builder!

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  Jim Purdy says:

  Should you have brought some of the “laborers” along to teach them what you taught us?

  There is some valuable stuff right there.

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  Jimmy Helms says:

  Very good video. I learned something from it. I am glad I joined the Off Center Group..

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  Larry Cheek says:

  This is wonderfully informative and helpful.

  One further tip I’ve taught myself through experience and expensive mistakes: I now budget an open-ended amount of time at the lumberyard to inspect each piece I’m considering. Even in premium-priced stacks of hardwood such as sapele or cherry I’ll reject four out of five because of checks, warping, cupping, sapwood infringement, or careless milling—the latter is remarkably common. As long as I’m careful to restack everything neatly I’ve never had anyone complain about the time and floor space I’m using. I prefer going alone to the yard so I’m not worrying about my wife or a friend being bored. At the stunning prices of quality wood today, using this critical eye is essential to one’s financial health.