JEM Watercraft

Matt:

What is your thoughts on thwarts, how many, size, do you put them under the gunnels or what?

Thanks

Mullet_Key

On my boats I epoxy saturate the wood then apply the glass and usually two coats of epoxy to smooth it out. If the weave is not filled then I would apply a 3rd coat ... it will offer more protection and should fill in the weave of the glass.

Some light sanding is recommended between coats of epoxy if it has been over 72 hours from the application of the last coat. This gives the old coat some tooth so the new coat will take hold. (It also helps to show any place you missed)
When that has cured, about 30 days, then lightly sand and varnish the boat. If you want a class finish then do a light sanding and re varnish till you get the desired results.
Al ( michstripcanoe) does 6 hand rubbed coats on his striper canoes and they are like mirrors.

Chuck.

What's the best way to make sure my stitch holes on my Top Panel will line up with the Mid Panel and so on? I can understand stacking the freshly cut "like sized" panels and drilling all the stitch hole at one time. Should I start at the butt joint on each of the three sets and work out 6" from there going in both directions? TIA

That's the way I do it.

When you get to the bow/stern tip, you may have to do some light trimming depending on how well you cut and butt blocked your panels. But trimming/sanding in that manner is easy.

Mulletkey,

If I'm going over plowed ground here, I apologize. Here is something that Pygmy Boats suggests, and it helps me a lot.

Make a simple template for use in spacing the holes. Take a piece of scrap 1/8” thick plywood, 7” long by 1” wide. Draw lines lengthways on it at ¼” intervals. Draw the lines on both sides of the template. A ball point pen works well for this. On the center line, ½” in from each end, drill a small hole.

When drilling your holes in panel edges, place the dill bit down through one of the holes in the template and drill. While the bit is still in the template and panel, rotate the template for the next hole, using the ¼:” spaced lines to line up along the edge for the panel so the next hole is 6” away form the first one, and 1/4” in from the edge. Drill and rotate right along the edge.

Kayak Jack, thanks for the tip using the Pygmy Boats jig to drill the wire holes. It worked great.

My new Swamp Girl question to all: If the bottom panels are 6 mm and the middle panel 4 mm. Which side should be flush. I would say the outside of the boat, by sliding in a shim where the temp. frames come in contact with the lower edge of the 4 mm middle panel. Then just use a fillet to even out the difference on the inside. James, what did you do?

I beleive James used 4mm throughout.

For yours, you could align it either way, or just center it. When you sand the seams for filleting, it'll smoth out.

Hi guys,

Have started the prep work for my practice Swampgirl - amassing wood flour - making spacers & preparing work space etc.

Have ordered the ply 3.5mm "blonde" structural stuff for the practice boat and templates. at AUD $11.00 a sheet can't go wrong. Also need to get epoxy etc yet.

I hope Matt doesn't mind but I plan to extend the fore and aft decks a little, install bulkheads with a screw in hatch just for a bit of extra floatation and to keep valuables (camera etc,) safe. Still considering seating arrangments.

What do you guys use to tint the final coats of epoxy. I plan to leave the interior as a wood finish with green exterior and contrasting wood-finish gunwhales inwhales.

will post progress pics as I go.

Mick

Dapper Al on Suthrin Puddler Net builds the Puddle Duck. Nice boat, even though it does have a keel. He'll have it on the Au Sable run in May.

On the Girl I made I used some pigment I got from Larry at Raka http://www.raka.com/ and it is mixed in with the epoxy so it becomes part of the epoxy and will not rub off. It is the green on the outside of the boat while the interior is natural wood.

Chuck.
It is in this section scroll down it...... http://www.raka.com/Accessories.html
Here is what they say about them. Our epoxy pigments are dispersed in epoxy resin, and will harden in the final mixed resin. These heavily loaded pigments will go a long way. The mix ratio is usually one ounce up to four ounce ( max ) pigment per one gallon of epoxy.