Category: How to build a boat

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FRS-12 Solo Micro Skiff Build Part 5

This is the fifth video in the FRS12 how to build a boat series where we build a plywood boat.  We cover how to pull epoxy fillets.  This shows how the frames are epoxied to the hull with epoxy fillets and the individual plywood pieces become one large piece.  This is where a boat is born!  These plywood boat plans and more are available for purchase, and come with full size patterns.

How to Pull Epoxy Fillets

We’ve mixed thickened epoxy and spread it out on the board, because it’s so hot, so it doesn’t cure in the cup.  We will pull fillets in between the zip ties.  That will hold our boat together, and then we’ll cut out the zip ties.

Once the fillets are pulled (but not cured) we use a putty knife to clean up all the epoxy that pushed out the side and smear it on the board to reuse it.

We pulled the fillets and cleaned it up.  Now we’re going to let it cure and cut our zip ties.  Then we’ll pull the fillets in between.  But first we’re going to pull the fillets in the whole boat, all the way to the front.

All the fillets are pulled, and we’ve cut all the zip ties out, expect for those holding the bottom to the chine.

After You Pull Epoxy Fillets

We supported the keel all the way down the center with a straight 2×4.  Then we covered it in plastic (or tape) so the epoxy doesn’t drip down and bond the 2×4 to the boat.

Now we’ve mixed up some thickened epoxy, got a spreader and are going to use the flat side.  We’ll use a little pressure as we pull to shove it into any cracks or holes.

We’ve applied just enough pressure so that we’ve pushed the epoxy down into the crack of the wood.  This fills the holes, but we haven’t applied too much pressure that we’ve bent it into a full curve.  So there is epoxy built up above the plywood.  That’s what your glass will lay on.  And we’re going to do that all the way from the front bulkhead to the transom.

Let the Epoxy Cure

So after we cut our zip ties and applied our thickened epoxy, our plywood wanted to lift and relax a little bit, not staying in contact with the 2×4 underneath.  To ensure we keep a straight keel, we apply a little bit a weight at the keel from what ever we had around the garage, which keeps our bottom on the 2×4 and keeps our bottom straight.

You can build your own boat using our plans and instructional how to videos!

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FRS-12 Solo Micro Skiff Build Part 4

 

This is the fourth video of the FRS12 how to build a boat series where we build a plywood boat.  We cover installing the frames and longitudinal and transverse stringers, which give the boat its strength.  These plywood boat plans and more are available for purchase, and come with full size patterns.

How to Install Stringers

We installed our front, middle and rear transverse frames.  We glued a piece of 1×1″ cypress to the transverse frames before we installed them which helps keep them straight.  And also when we put the floor down, it gives the screws something to bite into.

For the stringers we have left and right.  They notch in and we also put a 1×1″ piece of cypress on them and they’ll also notch into the front, which we can secure with a screw.

How to Install the Bow Support Brace

We’re going to install our bow support brace.  We put in a piece of wood to serve as a guide.  We have it parallel to our front bulkhead and that will give us something to serve as a guide as we push the bow support in.

First, we want to dry fit the bow support, so we have it screwed together with no glue.  We slide it in, and it will push the sides of the boat out.  We’ll slide it down until we hit the chines.  Then we’ll use a level to make sure we’re vertical and use a screw from the outside.

When we remove the guide board we can secure it with zip ties and glue it in, but for now we know it fits.  If you need to take a little off, you can pull it out, sand a little off and drop it back in.

You Can Build a Boat!

You can build your own boat using our plans and instructional videos documenting exactly how to build a boat!  Check out our plywood boat plans for the FRS-12

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FRS-12 Solo Micro Skiff Build Part 3

We’ll show you how to build a boat using our stitch and glue boat plans!

In the 3rd video of the FRS12 how to build a boat series we cover assembly of the hull using zip ties with the stitch and glue method. This method can be used for other boats and wood working projects.

These boat plans come with full size patterns for you to trace on plywood and cut out.

Before we Stitch and Glue the Boat

We have the pieces for our boat that have already been scarfed and sanded.  If they aren’t perfect, don’t worry, we’ll cover them in fiberglass.

We’re going to start at the bottom, at the front.  If you lay the pieces flat on a table, you’ll notice an inward bulge.  You want to put them tangent to start.  After that we’ll line them up and drill holes for the zipties to go through.

To size the drill bit pick one that’s about the same diameter as the width of the ziptie so the ziptie will go straight through the hole without binding up.

How is PVC used in Stitch and Glue Boats?

We also cut small pieces of PVC pipe.  As a result, when the zipties go through the hole, the PVC will sit on top to keep the boards aligned.  What happens without the PVC is that you’ll put the boards together, work your way down, and one board will slide behind the other, or one will buckle in, or buckle out.  We don’t want that to happen.  Instead, we want to keep them aligned, so the PVC will hold them in place.

We’ll start in the center, using PVC and a ziptie, and work our way to the front.  Once we pull the front together, we’ll go back to the center portion and work our way back.

We finished stitching our keel all the way down to the transom.  Then we worked our way down the chines.

How to Stitch and Glue the Boat

The spacing for our holes is about 8″ at the transom, and as we work our way forward into the compound curvature, we’ll go back to 2-3″ spacing.  We used 2 or 3 pieces of PVC at the back just like we did at the front to help our wood.

At the end, we’ll grab our front zip tie without drilling any holes in the chine.

We zip tied from the transom up to the front bulkhead.  The holes are about 4 inches apart at the front bulkhead, and about three inches at the front.

Don’t zip tie all the way up to the front.  We’ll get close and use a zip tie to hold the very front in place without drilling any holes.  For the last hole, we’ll grab the bottom and pull it to the side and sandwich the chine, so there’s no need to zip tie it to the chine.

To zip tie the bow together, we’ll use PVC to push our boards apart and at the bottom we won’t need it.

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CS-21 Custom Boat Jig Assembly Time-Lapse Video

This video shows assembly of the CS-21 jig kit.  The plywood shown here is what is included in the CNC cut jig kit.  The jig kit includes temporary frames cut from standard paint grade furniture plywood and permanent components cut from marine grade plywood.  Included permanent components are stringers, transverse frames, front bulkhead and transom.

This design is available as the CS-21 (shown) an the CS-18.  

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FRS-12 Solo Micro Skiff Build Part 2

You can build your own boat using our plans and instructional videos describing how to build a boat!

In the 2nd video of the FRS12 ‘how to build a boat’ series we cover scarfing plywood using epoxy. This method can be used for other boats and wood working projects.

Boat plans with full size patterns are available for purchase.

Plywood Scarf Setup

We are going to go over how to scarf thin plywood together.  To do this, we have a flat, concrete floor.  We set up a flat, sacrificial board that is about 8-10 inches wide and is covered with a thin plastic film.  This will keep the epoxy from our joint from sticking to our guide boards.  We have guide boards in the front and in the back, and they will carry the load of the plywood sheets as we lay them out.

Scarf with Epoxy

First we’ll position our boards and grab mixed epoxy.  We’ll use the brush to paint the boards.  We’re only going to paint the portion from our mark down, which is the part we’re going to bond.  We don’t want to get a bunch of epoxy everywhere else.

We’ll paint one side, flip the other piece over to expose the scarf, and paint it as well.  We’ll let that dry.  The reason we paint it first is because it is a lot of end grain.  The plywood will suck the epoxy into the end grain and dry out the joint if we don’t pre-paint it.

Then we’ll take fender washers and screws – we always use fender washers to keep them from ripping out a hole in the plywood – and fasten them to the board.  Use 2,3, whatever you need to hold it flat.

Using Thickened Epoxy

Then, we’ll take thickened epoxy and smear it on our joint area.  Because we have plastic down, we’re not worried if some goes over.  With the thickened epoxy smeared, we’ll take the next piece, make sure it’s oriented the correct way, and lay it over the bottom piece with the edge very close to the line.

We’ll take a tape measure, or a pre-measured guide block, and measure from the marks we placed when we cut the scarf.  These marks should be three inches apart for a three inch scarf.  The mark on both side should be three inches.  We’ll use more screws to fasten the top piece down.

Let the Epoxy Cure

Then we let everything cure and dry.  Don’t be concerned if you have a lot of epoxy to fill up a mistake or a low spot, as long as your dimensions are ok.  We’ll sand off anything we don’t need, it will peel off the plastic and we’ll clean up any run-through on the back.

Now you’re ready to build a boat!

You can build your own boat using our plans and instructional videos documenting exactly how to build a boat!  Check out our plywood boat plans for the FRS-12

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FRS-12 Solo Micro Skiff Build Part 1

This is the first video of the FRS12 ‘how to build a boat’ series where we build a plywood boat.  We cover building a plywood scarf jig and cutting a plywood scarf joint using a router.  These plywood boat plans and more are available for purchase, and come with full size patterns.

How to Build a Plywood Scarf Jig

We use a one inch piece of plywood, two 2x4s and a half inch piece of plywood on the sides to create the angle.  The center plywood is screwed to the 2x4s and the sides are fastened on an angle.  We generate the angle by knowing the length of the scarf is three inches for the 3/16″ thick plywood.  We set the sides based on the angle, so we can get a cut that goes from zero to 3/16″.

To find the angle, we can use a scrap piece of wood and measure it, use an angle finder, or if we know the degree that the angle should be, we can use an angle finder with the degrees already labeled on it.

We set the front up at the same height and we’ll raise the back so they are parallel and the correct height.

Using a Router for Scarfing Plywood

We mounted the router to a piece of PVC board, using dissimilar material because they slide better.  We used countersunk holes to mount the router.

The height at the front of the jig is also the same height we set the depth of our router bit, so when we touch the router bit to the front of the jig, it just barely touches.  When we cut the scarf and pull the router back to us, the router slides up the hill and creates the scarf cut.  When we move the router, our wood will have a scarf cut in it.

We will adhere our plywood down with screws and fender washers to ensure the wood doesn’t move.  Make sure the fender washers are far enough back that the router doesn’t hit the washers.  It could ruin your router bit.

Aligning Wood on the Scarf Jig

Once we have the jig set up ready to scarf, we will align our wood flush with the edge of the jig.  We made a three inch mark, for the three inch scarf and have screws and washers holding the plywood down.  We have supports off the back of the table to hold the other end of the plywood.

We’ll bring the router and work from top to bottom to cut our scarf.  If we make a mistake – we have a bur, so something we don’t like – don’t worry about it.  The sander will take care of it, and if it’s a low spot, you can fill it in with epoxy.

You can build your own boat using our plans and instructional videos documenting exactly how to build a boat!  Check out our plywood boat plans for the FRS-12