Outboard Trawler Build - Dinghy Stitching -
January 24th, 2023
I wanted to write this yesterday but I fell asleep.
This is our first experience with 'stitch-and-glue' boatbuilding. I love the method because it eliminates a lot of framing work. I suppose it can be compared to 'unibody' car manufacturing, where the structure of a unitized body replaces the traditional 'framing' of a separate chassis. The method saves weight and material. Yes, I love the method. . . . but I don't like doing it. It doesn't feel right. When it comes down to the actual work, I prefer traditional framing for boat building with wood. Come to think of it, I prefer traditional full-frame cars as well.
But I digress.
Yesterday we began the installation of the last two panels. As the plans indicated, we attached them to the center frame first.
We progressed slowly from the center, working alternately forward and aft.
Before too long, I realized that these last two panels would be more challenging than I originally thought.
We tied lines fore and aft to bring the panels in as we went. It was still very difficult. The bend in the side panels is quite severe.
I feared that the thin plywood might snap. To help the panels take the bend, we wet them down around the middle, on both the inside and the outside.
Eventually, the sides came together and nothing has snapped. . . . yet.
Donna removed all the wood bits and drill dust. We kept the furnace and ventilation systems off while we drilled and swept.
Even at this early stage, I think the boat looks quite nice.
We turned it over. It was very wobbly and loose.
I taped all the outside seams. This was to prevent epoxy from seeping through when we turned it back over to seal the inside seams.
We turned the heat and ventilator back on and prepared the epoxy.
Making sure she sat straight and true when we turned it upright, we trimmed all the zip-ties and wet out all the seams.
Donna mixed up some thickened epoxy and I pushed it into the seams using a plastic bag (like a cake decorating thing). The two horizontal sticks inside the boat are there to reinforce the upper panels and they are temporary.
We worked together to smooth out the epoxy 'putty'.
The flour turns the epoxy to the color of our fir plywood.
We will let the boat sit for at least 24 hours to let the epoxy cure.
In theory, we should be able to remove the ties when the epoxy sets. However, I don't trust it. I'm no engineer but my gut says it's risky to remove the ties with only the inside of the seams glued. I want to add some epoxy to the outside of the seams before removing the ties, especially at the bow and stern where I'm sure the panels still want to open up.
Stay Tuned!
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