Category: Projects

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Deck Beams for the PB22

Using 3/16″ plywood to pattern the deck beams

It’s time to start working on the deck.  And the first step is to make the deck beams.  You might think the shape of the deck beams is a simple curve that’s given to you in the plans, and you’d be right–kind of.  You’re given the curve of the deck in the profile view in the lines drawing, and from that you can derive the deck beams curves using your lofting.  You might be surprised to find out that the deck beams aren’t all the same radius curve (“camber”).  Most of them are very close.  But they tend to be a little different forward and aft.  Boats just seem to look better when the deck camber (curve of the deck) is a little steeper forward. Continue reading “Deck Beams for the PB22”

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Developing the Sheer Line

A sweet and fair line is what you’re after when developing the sheer line.

One of the most critical steps in building a boat is to develop a fair sheer line and trim the hull to that line.  The sheer line is the line where the hull joins the deck.  It’s probably the most scrutinized line on the boat.  It’s what everyone notices. Continue reading “Developing the Sheer Line”

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Spraying the PB22

The bilge is masked before applying coats to the inside of the topsides.

We applied 3 coats of clear urethane to the inside of the topsides of the Palm Beach 22 with the roll and tip method.  After sanding it flat, I decided it was finally worth it to upgrade my shop with a spray booth.  Once you think about the difficulty of all those different surfaces, it’s easy to convince yourself of the efficiency of spraying finishes. Continue reading “Spraying the PB22”

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Building a Temporary Spray Booth

The completed spray booth is 30 ft long by 10 ft wide.

I finally answered all the questions I generated in my previous post.  So it was time to get all that stuff out of the boat and prep it for varnishing and painting the inside.  As you can imagine, it’s much easier to do all this coating before enclosing the hull with the deck. Continue reading “Building a Temporary Spray Booth”

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Nip and Tuck for Lady Jane

Lady Jane with the bilge exposed.

A couple of months ago, Lady Jane came into the shop to get some paint and varnish.   She’s a “Handy Billy” design by one of my favorite boat builders, Harry Bryan.  You can read more about the design here. Continue reading “Nip and Tuck for Lady Jane”

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Fitting the Mechanicals on the PB22

With sole pieces in place, it’s easy to check the fit of hoses, battery boxes, etc.
Here’s a look at some of the sole pieces I talked about patterning in an earlier post.

I’m trying to get ready to coat the inside of the boat before I begin construction of the deck.  It’ll be much easier this way with an open boat to work in.  But before I can do the coating (clear coating on the sides and white paint in the bilge), I need to make sure all the pieces that make the boat go will fit.  In the process, I’ll drill some more holes, glue in backing blocks, fabricate platforms, etc.  As usual, what seems like a straightforward process requires many steps. Continue reading “Fitting the Mechanicals on the PB22”

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The Strut, Shaft, and Shaft Log

Getting the engine in the proper position requires a lot of test fitting to establish location of engine beds and all the other items.

When you’re building an inboard boat, getting the engine and propeller shaft in perfect alignment is an interesting process.  It’s a logical process that involves aligning the engine and transmission, shaft, shaft log, and strut.  It starts with the strut (the piece that holds the shaft in place just forward of the propeller).  There is a tube the shaft passes through that gets glued into a hole bored through the keel.  Getting that tube, called the shaft log, glued in line with the shaft and engine is the aim of this process. Continue reading “The Strut, Shaft, and Shaft Log”

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Back to the Palm Beach 22

Making a pattern for the irregular shape of the engine compartment platform.

It’s been a long time since I posted anything about the Palm Beach.  I haven’t forgotten it, and I haven’t stopped working on it.  But there have been some intervening projects like the Riva, shoulder surgery, a trip or two… Continue reading “Back to the Palm Beach 22”

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Finishing the Riva: Out With the Old, In With the New

Removing the old deck using a router.

After the new deck pieces were fabricated and trimmed to final size, it was time to focus on removing the old deck.  It was a pretty lo-tech process actually.  I used a router to turn the old deck into a lot of sawdust, removing the same thickness as I had fabricated the new pieces to. Continue reading “Finishing the Riva: Out With the Old, In With the New”

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Riva Iseo – Trimming to Patterns

The final pieces just about ready to glue to the boat.
The original patterns are made from cheap, pliable luan.

Remember long ago (by now it seems long ago to me) when I talked about the painstaking process of making patterns out of cheap 1/8″ luan?  My process was to use the 1/8″ luan to make my original patterns because it’s so pliable and easy to carve to shape.

But by now, you realize how much time and energy is invested in laying up the mahogany and holly blanks and laminating them to the backing board.  It’s too risky to use such a thin pattern to cut out those blanks.  One slip of the  router, and you’re starting over on those layups.   So I used the original patterns to first cut out new patterns of 1/2″ thick birch plywood.  The 1/2″ thick plywood, with no voids is much more secure for cutting the blanks. Continue reading “Riva Iseo – Trimming to Patterns”