Day 16 What a beautiful smooth bottom you have ;-)

Tea Count 1
Injuries 0
Time Spent 5 Hours
Stickiness Dust Factor 1000/10

Sorry once again for the belated post but after much rigorous right arm action I felt truly unable to type following my day of bottom smoothing on Saturday. Doing her bottom, was not too taxing and much easier than getting around all her nooks and crannies inside and I finally managed to feather out her seams ready for another coating. Hopefully you will of course have guessed that I am talking once again about my favourite pastime of sanding rather than assume I have a new hobby of writing bad porn scripts!

Whilst this is possibly the most tedious of activities I was going to be much rewarded in the afternoon as I had promised myself some construction. Bilge runners and gunwales! Who on earth thought of all these weird names? Fitting the bilge runners (that be the bits of wood than run along the bottom to stop it scrapping along the river bed when it sinks) was a fairly straight forward exercise albeit arms two feet longer would have been useful to be able to work on the inside and outside at the same time. The gunwales on the other hand was another matter. I've read about people making steamers to help bend and twist the gunwales into shape, in hindsight I can see why. Bending an eight foot strip of wood into a gentle curve is one thing but then bending in another plane at the same time and getting it to twist to match the shape of the canoe still at the same time took every inch of strength I could muster. I used all four of my G clamps but could have done with a dozen more and at least twice as many arms that I was born with.

As you can see from the photo I not only succeeded in attaching the gunwales but also turned the patio in the back garden into something resembling a boat yard slash bomb site! Also of note in the photograph are the rather spooky "devil eyes" watching me work.  Freaky huh? Still, it was a satisfying day with all planned activities completed. I find it helps to make the plan of activities retrospectively at the end of the day, that way I always achieve my goals and often far exceed them!

Day 15 How to sheath a hull in two and half minutes...or Does anyone remember Benny Hill?

Tea Count 4

Injuries 1 (I sawed by knuckle with a tendon saw, just a graze.)

Time Spent 7 Hours

Stickiness Factor 9582/10 That's very sticky!

Today was one of those days I had been dreading. I was going to sheath the hull of one half with fibre glass cloth. Some people may snigger at the term "sheath" but they're just showing their age. Now I have never done this before. I have read many articles, watched a couple of videos but I was still seriously lacking in confidence. If this bit goes wrong it could pretty much ruin the whole project.

I started early determined to put in a full day. I laid the cloth out across the hull to see what was going to be the best way to do this. The cloth was only a metre wide so I know there would have to be joins but where best to join so they wouldn't be too obvious and require yet more sanding ( I really don't like sanding).

The boss came in and started to assist which was very welcome indeed if not a little tense at times due to the fact that we both know we are correct about everything all the time. The trouble is, more often that not we have opposing views so one of us is bound to be dissappointed and wrong!

Anyhow, imagine laying a bed sheet over a very long curved surface, say something like...oh I dunno, a canoe, and imagine all the wrinkles and folds that will appear as you try to get said sheet to cling tightly to the surface. Now you have an idea of what we were up against. After some warm but not quite heated debate, we decided on the best method of laying the fabric. It's pretty expensive stuff so I had ordered only just enough to complete the job so we couldn't afford much wastage and hence had to cut our cloth accordingly. The pun is intentional.

Pouring the resin onto the fabric did indeed make me very uneasy, however as soon as I started to spread the resin my fears subsided. The cloth almost immediately went from it's normal white opaque state to an almost invisible clear finish. As it did so the resin seeped through the cloth into the wood beneath giving it a varnished look emphasizing it's grain, beautiful.

The weave of the fabric is loose enough so that as you spread the resin across it the fabric moulds itself to the shape of the canoe with no wrinkles, bubbles or creases. The whole job took an hour and thanks to Zena for her poxy mixing!

I'm very excited to see this part of the job done!

More work done today was that of cutting up my eight foot by 38mm by ten inch plank to make the gunwales and bilge runners. The gunwales were routed to give slight roundover to their edges and I temporarily installed the outer gunwales onto half number one. That was fun and games. Bending such a long piece in two directions at the same time was a painful experience with lots of stress on both me and the boat. I can see why people use steamers to bend wood. The inner gunwales will prove even harder as they are nearly twice the depth. Oh deep joy!

It was good catch up today with lots done but I'm still dubious about meeting my self imposed deadline. If I'm not careful I could end up rushing it and build in slightly more "character" than I require. I'll keep you posted. Enjoy the video and come back next week for some more ramblings.

Day 14 Hot Bot...

Tea Count 1

Injuries 1 See Below

Time Spent 2 Hours

Stickiness Factor 6/10

Well once again I am behind schedule. An inpromtu trip up to the frozen north during half term meant no progress was made during the week. It was a nice break though with lots of yummy food, a few pints of the dark stuff and good catch up with Zenas family. A welcome break indeed, (other motorway service stations are available) which was finished off on Friday night with a trip to the footy. One nil doesn't sound very exciting but it was.

So to day 14. I was undecided as to what to do next and as much of Saturday was spent working so I only had a couple of hours. I opted for the thrilling task of filleting and taping. The inside seams of one half were are still to do so it seemed a logical place to carry on. Following on from my first taping experience I was determined to get it right and so avoid the unesessary joys of more sanding than is required. You know how much I enjoy sanding!

So after masking off along all the joints to avoid over spill (another lesson learned - less sanding!) I was set. Incidentally my estimating skills have improved vastly. I was four inches short of masking tape after using all five rolls. I improvised with electrical tape for four inches. I won't be doing that again!. My fillets were a work of art, smooth neat and a good depth. Masking and electrical tape removed and I started applying the glass tape. Now for those who want to know a bit about the technique of applying the tape here goes. The tapes applied on the first half of the canoe were applied to a dry surface and I got a lot of bubbles and wrinkles which were difficult if not impossible to work out. This time I applied some resin to the seams first and applied the tape to the wet surface. Also note that by letting the fillets go off a bit first and to start skinning over, I was able to brush out the edges where there was a slight ridge where the masking tape had been. Bored yet? OK, come back to me non boating people, the next bit is amusing and slightly painful.

To keep my garage at the optimum eighteen degrees I have a fan heater on my bench. The heater has a thermostat which kicks the fan in and out maintaining the perfect temperature in which to apply poxy resin. Applying the tape is a critical process and once started it's nigh on impossible to stop until you have laid the whole length. Can you see where this is going? Bending over with my head pretty much in the bottom of the canoe I started to apply the first tape. Tape in one hand, brush in the other, the process started well. Then a small but significant wrinkle formed. Not a disaster, just needs working out slowly.

Sub consciously I hear the heater start up behind me and my rear starts to feel pleasantly warm, then warmer still and then too warm, far too warm. I can't go anywhere due to tape, resin, brush wrinkle etc. The only thing to do was to grin and bear it, work as quickly as possible and move along the boat. Just in the nick of time as the smell of burning overalls was beginning to become a little too strong for comfort my wrinkle released itself from the grip of poxy and I could continue along the seam, albeit with what must have looked like a slightly alarming posture as I tried to keep hot material away from sensitive bottom skin by forcing my pelvis forward whilst still bent over a canoe. Hmm nice!

The final upshot was a collection beautiful smooth seams, a lovely glossy resin coat for the inside of half number two and a slightly sore arse.

No images today but tomorrow I have a special treat for you all by way of video. Ooh how exciting!

Day 13 Soft hands...not!

Tea Count 1
Injuries 0
Time Spent 3 Hours
Stickiness Factor 0/10

I was wrong, today was the dullest day so far. It didn't help that I spent the first two hours in my loft finishing the insulation and came out knackered and very hot! This was followed by assisting Zena and Jason cleaning his room... a grim challenge indeed. The industrial style dust mask I bought for using when sanding the boat came in very handy in the loft when dealing with fibreglass insulation but it was no match for the dust and eco systems in the bedroom! Still, credit where credit is due, he did win “Best Cadet of the Year” at his Air Training Corps Squadron dinner on Friday night. Well done Jason, daddy is very proud.
A blinding headache after the mornings jobs did dampen my enthusiasm somewhat but I still managed to get off to B&Q and pick up the corner sander previously authorised by the finance director (yes she has been promoted). Goodness, what a difference having the right tool for the job makes. Feathering down those tape edges on the inside of the canoe was so much easier. A worthwhile investment without a doubt although I could probably have saved the money and used used my hands - they are now as rough as badgers behind and do a fine job smoothing plywood!
Unfortunately with the head still pounding that was enough for today. One half is ready for it's second coat of poxy (love that word) and the other ready for taping and first coat. I'm hoping to get this done through the week so I can have a weekend of sanding to look forward to... deep joy!
Seriously though, I'll have to make some headway on weekdays as launch day is fast approaching, I'm running out of weekends and I'm seriously worried that I may not be finished. Worry not party goers, we'll still party just no launch! Watch this space (blog) and I'll keep you posted. Fingers crossed, I may still make it!

Day 12 Smooooooth..

Tea Count 2
Injuries 1 (A slightly sanded hand)
Time Spent 3 Hours
Stickiness Factor 0/10

Probably the dullest day of the build to date. Sanding, sanding and more sanding. Both hulls were sanded on the outside, outside where it was very cold. There was still snow on the ground and the thermometer said -5 when I started, brrrrrr. Fortunately my android app proved incorrect in issuing a yellow snow warning, the snow was white as usual and the advice given by a wise old sage of “don't eat yellow snow” was not needed.
So the seams that had been previously filled were sanded flat and the rest of the hull was given the full random orbital treatment. Without wanting to sound too weird, it was a very satisfying feeling running my hand over that smooth bottom. Sanding the seams has really rounded off the shape nicely! Very exciting, so much so that I did both hulls in an hour or so.
More sanding was done on the inside again, boring!!! But it's almost ready for the second coat of poxy and the finance manager has authorised the purchase of a corner sander which is going to make things much faster and easier and far less taxing on the poor old arms.

Interestingly, sanding anything with my power sander makes it very smooth as you would expect, everything that it is apart from my hand, which after accidentally giving it a quick going over with the Bosch is now even rougher (and hurtier) than before. How does that work?

Stepping back in time slightly, I have now got the second plank of American Ash with which to make the gunwales. The same metric, imperial fiasco occurred as before at the timber merchants with me eventually purchasing an 8 foot by 38mm by 10 inch plank and I have absolutely no idea if this will be enough to complete the job or not but I enjoy the experience of buying it so much, no matter. Why I find it amusing that the guys at the wood yard mix their measurements so, I have no idea but it really is very funny and desperately confusing. Guess you have to be there.
Whilst we're on the subject how on earth do you pronounce “gunwales”? Is it gun-uls or gun-wales or as my ever so slightly geordie but not quite mackam wife might say goonels man. I must learn as apparently we have both inner and outer varieties on this boat!
I also managed to lay my hands on a new blade for the table saw in preparation for cutting of said gunwales – watch out fingers...
Well that was that day, short I know but after getting the central heating fixed at home I have decided to properly insulate the loft. I'll be damned if I'm letting any of my newly acquired heat leave through the roof!

Day 11 Easy for you to say...

Tea Count 2
Injuries 0
Time Spent 3 Hours
Stickiness Factor 6/10

Well here we are again folks, Sunday evening and I am having to write up three days of blog posts. The up side of this is that I'm spending more time boat building and less time writing! The downside is that I have to remember what happened a week ago. In case you were worried thinking that I may have given up, worry no more. Progress has been slow but progress there has been. I am certain that many (maybe even all three) of my readers will have had countless, or at least up to seven sleepless nights concerned for my elbow. I am happy to report that all is well and the damage was not permanent.
So after day 10's run of ill fortune I was determined to get things back on track. So with another freshly purchased drill bit I created a dozen or so holes in the bh with much more care. Once the bh's were then bolted together I was surprised at how well they matched up to each other. I'm almost thinking that the seal may be watertight with any form of gasket...hmm watch this space.

That job done, I unbolted them and then glued and screwed the bh into place. The it was onto the never ending and enthralling job of sanding. As you remember, if you have been paying attention, one half of the canoe has been taped and epoxied already. It was a little lumpy around the taping, a bit like bad custard so this needed sanding back and the flat parts required some flatting too. The edges of the tape have feathered down nicely so I'm hoping that the tape will become pretty much invisible when finished. It's a little disconcerting to be scratching the wotsit out of newly poxied wood but I am assured that a second coat will help achieve a flawless clear finish, if not it'll be pained magnolia.

The last job of the day was to mix up a little poxy (that's the official abbreviation for epoxy and I like it so it shall be used from now on) and fill in the outer seams. All edges masked off with masking tape, seems like a good choice of tape and a boring yet satisfying task completed.

Sorry about the lack of pictures today but there really is nothing of note to show. Sanding is just sanding after all, apologies to all the sanding fetishists out there. That's a very hard word word to say...fetishists!

Day 10 Who is Pete Tong Anyway?

Tea Count 3

Injuries 1 - A very sore elbow joint!

Time Spent 5 Hours

Stickiness Factor 8/10

With the social calendar clear, today promised to be a day of good progress, it also promised snow. Unfortunately only the latter proved correct. It started off ok with some more joint taping inside the buoyancy compartment at one end. I successfully cut out the whole for the hatch cover on the BH, although I wish I'd done that before the BH was installed. I was pleased to be able get much more filler into the crumple zone prior to taping and I'm pretty confident of surviving some hefty impacts but hat's as far as my good fortune went and from there on it all started to go Pete Tong.

A trip out to B&Q for some much needed supplies proved a welcome break from the epoxy fumes. Flying to B&Q is much more fun than driving. The main item on my shopping list was an 8mm drill bit. I was excited to be unscrewing BH number two, lining it up with BH number one and drilling the holes for the securing bolts. Once these are tight I'll really be able to see how good the seal is. Back from shopping and with a burst of enthusiasm I took half number two onto the drive and began sanding those fillets. It went well, much sanding was done, then it snowed! Not wanting to get my canoe wet (that would be just silly) it went back in the garage to join it's sister. The sanding would have to be finished another day. In case you're wondering, I have a self imposed ban on sanding in the garage now that the epoxy coating has begun, dust is not required!

Never mind, snow won't stop me, oh no, I'm made of sterner stuff than that. Time to remove the the BH and get those holes drilled. That's when it happened. Unscrewing the second last screw, a tear inducing ripping sound screamed from the port side (or starboard). The top most seam had split it's fillet along more than half it's length. Gutted! "Oh how unfortunate" my inner voice exclaimed, or words to nothing like that effect! Recovery mode kicked in and I quickly stuck in a couple of wire ties to keep it together and stop in spreading further. Ok, it can fixed but I could of done without the extra work.

Right, BH out, moving on. The BH's lined up as expected and I started drilling my first hole. There's nothing more satisfying than powering through solid wood with a brand new drill bit. Well there is but we can't talk about that here. I was feeling very smug. Normally I would have persevered with one of my trusty ten year old blunt drill bits but today...I had planned ahead. Like a hot knife through a soggy butter I powered my way past the halfway point. Then the drilling started to get harder, much harder, much much harder. Not deterred I pumped the drill to get past the tough bit using all the back pressure my elbow could muster. I had to stop, my elbow had completely given out and I had a horrible painful feeling of tendentious running deep in the joint. I don't actually know what tendentious is but it sounds right and it really hurts! Yeah I know, I can hear you, “man up...”. Then the horrid realisation struck... I had hit a screw that was securing the BH frame to the hull! Doh! And now my brand new shiny drill bit was as blunt as f....Oh dear, you know what? It's time to head indoors, tomorrow is another day!

Day 9 Life on the edge

Day 9
Tea Count 2

Injuries 0

Time Spent 3 Hours

Stickiness Factor 11/10

Some in the boat building community may well question my decision to apply fibreglass tape and a coat of resin on the coldest night of the year (-7 here last night), but hey that's just the way I roll. Call me reckless, irresponsible or even just crazy man, but I'm a man who likes to live on the edge, take a risk and dance with the devil. So yes, I did apply tape and resin on the coldest night of the year and you know what, it was fine, the epoxy has cured overnight and the joints are tightly taped.
My irresponsible inner voice persuaded me to go for and I really must listen to it more often as every once in a while, well about one in a hundred times it turns out to be right!

Having learned my lesson when it comes to sanding fillets I made the unusual decision to spend time preparing the joints by masking off the rest of the boat to avoid spillage and thus reduce sanding time. I say unusual, preparation prior to starting a job has ever been my strong point, just ask my better half on that one. I'm pretty sure I get that trait from dad. The story of angle grinding mortar joints on a house extension with all the windows open still does the rounds now and then.

It turned out that this preparation was time well spent and I am thusly proud (is thusly actually a word – it should probably be “thus I am very proud” but never mind.) The fillets were finished nicely and very neatly and the tape applied. I also glued in the first BH. I put a coat of resin over the whole of the inside of half number one with great trepidation. This was the first time I have used the epoxy as a coating rather than an adhesive and it is vitally important to get a good finish if I want to leave it clear and see the wood through it, rather than painting.

It was by far and away the stickiest day so far. If there were prizes for stickiness yesterday would have won the gold medal. At one point I thought my wedding ring had become permanently stuck to finger. Not a problem you understand as I don't ever plan removing it but welding it to my skin is probably a little extreme. There are better ways of showing by devotion and loyalty.

Applying the tape was trickier than I thought and it seemed to bobble up a little in places and I'm not quite sure how bad this is. Everything has cured beautifully this morning, there don't appear to be any air bubbles under the tape but there are a few sort of “bobbles”. I had tried to get these out when applying the tape but this proved impossible. I wonder if I can sand them out or will that weaken the joint – who knows? Someone hopefully! The finish on the wood is not at all bad although it will require sanding before another coat is applied. Oh joy more sanding! This also concerns me. I have a nice clear finish, although not quite as smooth and flawless as I want, so sanding it and applying another coat seems logical. However, scratching the shit out of the clear resin with sandpaper seems a little risky. Will it a) simply look like a scratchy mess when I apply the second coat or b) will the second coat cover the sanding marks and give me a clear smooth finish – answers on post card please (or in the comments box below would probably be easier).

So I shall be having a busy weekend with her this weekend and see if I can make further progress. Snow is forecast so I may well take the two halves to the nearest hill and see how they slide. Sledging racing in two halves of a canoe, what fun!

If anyone can be bothered, I have forgotten to keep a tally of my hours spent thus far (I like the word “thus” it sounds good) so feel free to add them up and let me know. First correct answer wins a Mars Bar!
Happy weekend everyone.

Day 8 A moment of truth

Tea Count 2

Injuries 0

Time Spent 3 Hours

The moment of truth has arrived. With both BHs in place I made the courageous decision to put my two halves together for the first time. Clamps to the ready and a couple of long bolts...da da dahhh (you have to sing that bit) they fit...they blooming well fit. OK, not 100% seamless flawless fit, but it's pretty damn good and a little sanding here and there and you'd have thought they were made for each other...err well they were! The next big test will of course be for water tightness, of that I am not quite so confident.

Despite my own good advice about quitting while you're ahead, I thought another couple of hours out in the cold couldn't hurt. I was wrong, it did, oh my how it hurt. Sanding, sanding and more sanding to get those fillets prepared for glass taping. My sanding was interrupted numerous times by at least six people over those couple hours. Having the canoe on the drive it seems caused something of a stir in our sleepy close as all the neighbours wanted a closer look. To all those who dropped by, I thank you from the bottom of my heart and if I kept you talking for what may have felt like an uncomfortably long time, it's not because I'm weird or I really like you, I just wanted a rest from the never ending sanding! Thank you neighbours.

So there's not much else to say about day eight. Sanding really is not that interesting. The cold eventually got the better of me. I realised things weren't quite right when the sweat forming on my brow was freezing solid where it appeared and I lost all feeling in my toes. Sweating and frostbite at the same time, hmm nice! Early finish before Sam arrives for her wedding makeup test - another victim to bore senseless with canoe antics.

Day 7 Quit while you're ahead.

Day 7

Tea Count 2

Injuries 0

Time Spent 3 Hours

Well readers, apologies for the lack of posts recently but progress has been a little slow. My social calendar has been in overdrive recently and with dinners, trips to London and house guests, canoe building has been 2nd on the agenda. I am however, happy to report that things are back on track and I am once again very sticky.

Day seven, Saturday last proved most productive and saw me complete the routing and sanding of the second bulkhead and screwed into place. I was rather hoping that it might develop the same warp as the first bulkhead but in the opposite direction so they might fit together in perfect harmony. No, that was never going to happen. This one is perfectly flat. The left side of my brain , the one in denial, says that the bulkheads will simply flatten out when the securing bolts are tightened, whilst the right side, the sensible side, is desperately trying to work out a plan for getting the warp factor out! The rounding of the edges and cutting of the slots in the bulkhead frame went without a hitch. Apparently I had learned from my mistakes when using the router on the first BH (bulkheads are hear-by known by the abbreviation BH as BH is much shorter to type than BH...)
So, perfect slots, perfect rounds and a good fit into the canoe. One major incident worthy of note however was the splitting of one of filleted seams when I pushed the BH into place. Normally this would have upset me greatly but it was far too cold to get too precious about anything. This can be repaired when it comes to taping the joints.

So feeling smug with myself for now having two halves that look like they could soon become one whole I decided to call it a day, go inside and get warm before our trip to London to see Cirque de Soleil. Experience has taught me that when a build of any kind is going well and a the day has gone without any major problems, don't push your luck, finish early before it all goes pear shaped.