G Browning Weekender

Welcome.  The following set of pictures and text detail the construction of a weekender.

Here are two shots of the finished boat for reference as the construction pictures unfold.

Construction steps

Laying the Keel

The keel of this boat was to be an oak finish to contrast the white hull.  The keel is made of three layers of 3/4 plywood ....G1S flat sliced oak for the outside two layers and construction spruce for the inner layer.  Exterior layer butt joints are offset with the inner ones.  Layers are held together with countersunk screws and oak bungs to cover them.

The bottom of the keel is covered with a layer of oak comprised of 3 butt jointed pieces. The forward piece was soaked in water overnight then clamped in place to match the profile while drying.  The 2.5 inch wide layer of 3/16 thick oak was epoxied in place with slightly countersunk brads to hold it while curing,  then trimmed flush with the 2.25 inch wide keel using a roundover router bit. 

Now the bottom and sides of the assembled keel are given a layer of epoxy and then a couple coats of marine varnish for UV protection.  Finished keel looks as below as it is being attached to the hull bottom.

Next chapter will be the hull construction....preview as above.

The Hull

The inside of the hull bottom is oak to match the keel and trim so it made of 1/2 G1S flat sliced oak.  Stringers were screwed and epoxied to the outer edge to facilitate joining the hull sides. The hull bottom is epoxied and screwed to the keel and has the same oak bungs covering the countersunk screws as the keel laminations. The topside of the hull bottom is marine varnished and the bottom side has a coat of epoxy then white marine enamel.

Next comes the stern, which is joined to the hull bottom stringer with epoxy and screws. In the background is the deck which has been cut from 3/8 Baltic Birch plywood. It has more layers than regular plywood of the same thickness and no voids. 

Now the deck is positioned on the stern and the top of the keel and epoxied and screwed in place.  Underside of deck is pre-painted with white marine enamel as well as the inside of the stern. Bottom side of deck has stringers epoxied and screwed in place prior to mounting on stern and keel top. The cans of paint and clamps are to ensure proper surface contact for the epoxy while curing so that the sheer of the deck matches the angle of the stern stringer and top of keel.

Now the three bulkheads (forward, rear cabin, and lazarette) are  epoxied and screwed to stringers already located on the underside of the deck and top side of hull bottom. The bulkheads are pre-painted with white marine enamel. The oak trim around the openings in the forward bulkhead for access from the cabin to the anchor locker are done before installation of the bulkhead on the boat.

Last, cut the hatch opening on the forward deck for access to the anchor locker and the opening for the mast.  The deck is now complete.  

Next chapter.... the cabin.  Update 10 Jan 2009

After looking at my picture file, I realized that there were a couple of small jobs done before going onto the cabin proper. 

The  bowsprit was made up from two vertically oriented layers of 3/4 plywood epoxied together then encased in 3/8 oak on all four sides and finished with a round-over bit, except for the aft-most foot or so of the bottom side where it meets the deck to allow for a watertight seal when the bowsprit is attached to the deck. Here is the oak outer casing being epoxied to the inner plywood core.                                            

The deck hatch needs to be trimmed with oak to prevent water from going in.

The bits (cross like structure that holds the aft portion of the bowsprit down on the deck and transfers load down to the keel) are made up using lap joints, finished, then epoxied in place with the bowsprit. Here is the bowsprit, bits, and the trim around the forward hold  finished and in place with a coat of primer on the deck as well.

The cabin walls need to transfer load from the cabin roof to the deck as well as be a watertight seal. This requires an upper and lower stringer similar to the ones where the hull and the deck join.  Without a steamer, there is no way to bend the oak stringers 180 degrees so several pieces are epoxied together with alignment dowels using the opening on the deck as pattern.

Once the lower cabin stringer is in place the upper one is epoxied up and then taken off for round-over on the router and varnishing.

                                  The cabin wall is 1/4" Baltic Birch plywood which has more layers than other plywood. It comes in 5 foot square sheets so the cabin walls will be made form three pieces.  The forward piece is bent in place and epoxied down along with the port and starboard pieces. Cut the portholes out before installing the cabin walls.

The upper stringer is now epoxied in place, then notched to accept the ends of the rafters. The rafters are made from two layers of 5/4 oak and fitted with pegs for hanging wet clothes when camp cruising.

The rafter location and the joint in the cabin wall were coordinated so that the forward rafter chock (the vertical member that transfers load from the rafter to the deck) provides a large surface behind the plywood butt joint.

Now the cabin roof is set onto the rafters and epoxied to them and the upper stringer.

Here is a shot inside the cabin.

Finish the cabin roof and then make the cabin hatch slide mechanism.

Somehow, I forgot to take pictures of the cabin hatch cover during construction. It is made up from a curved oak member forward and aft (with different radii) and longitudinal slats fit into a routed dado. The outer slats in each side fit into an oak member with a routed dado. The inner side of the outside members have a routed dado that matches one in the outside of the slide tracks mounted on the cabin roof.  Here is a shot with the cabin hatch and the slides in place.

Another break to do a small job....the rudder and the housing that it fits into.

Now on to the hull sides. Again, Baltic Birch plywood is used. The plans call for 1/4 inch but I went up to 3/8 to cover for the off chance of smacking a dock some day. Each panel is dry fitted,  marked with pencil lines to allow the inside of the panels to be finished before final installation, and then alignment pegs are used to make sure the panel goes back on exactly in the same place. The pegs are cut flush with the hull and finished so they are invisible just like the bungs over the screw holes.

 The hull sides extend above the deck and below the hull bottom. Once the epxoy dries the bottom can be trimmed flush with a bearing bit in the router for a perfect fit.  It is starting to look like a boat. 

The plans call for simple painted plywood seats, but I wanted a park bench style seat that would have a more spacious look, better comfort, and drain water for a dryer seating experience.  The first step is to make a framework for the slats to mount on.

Next make a template for the slats that follows the contours of the boat hull and deck (as does the framework for the slats) and them make up the slats. The template for each side takes some work, but the subsequent ones are easy with a bearing bit int he router.

And then the slats get screwed down to the supports with brass screws. The back slats are thinner and do not need to have a contour.

The mast is made up using a series of long slats (staves) that are milled on one edge with a birds mouth bit.  This allows an octagonal mast (nearly round) that is hollow, light, and very strong. 

The staves are scarf jointed up to the right length and then trimmed to taper around 1" in width over the 16 feet or so of the mast height. The net effect of this will create a mast that tapers in diameter from the base to the top.