To see other builder photos and details, see the Whitehall Galleries here.

Howard truly did a beautiful job and we’re so proud of his work! Enjoy…

Tuesday, February 21, 2012

This week I’ve been working on the dash and cowl. I laminated some Okoume to the DF dash that came in the frame kit to give it a little nicer appearance and I also wanted to make the curve of the cowl a little higher (personal aesthetics). Once the lamination cured, I used a router and trim bit to trim the Okoume to the DF dash. I reshaped the dash to allow easier access with legs because I know the Gran Kids will be sitting with their legs forward into the bow and I want to make sure that they don’t get stuck in there should they flip this thing. I made some blocks to mount the dash to the coamings. The bottom of the dash will be doweled into the crossmember on frame 2.

I had to use my Dremel with a cutoff wheel to cut and shape the Meranti cowl. It just shreads horribly so the cutoff wheel and sanding seems to be the best for all the shaping necessary to get a good fit. Today the dash was installed and encapsulated. Tomorrow I will finish fitting the cowl.

This shows the forward side of the dash. You can see the blocks that hold it in place and how I raised the curve of the dash for the cowl.This is the cowling rough fit and clamped in place. Once I established the width between the coamings, I trimmed it with the Dremel and block sanded to final shape to fit into the rabbet in the coamings.Another view of the cowl in progress. This is slow going and a lot of fitting and refitting, but necessary to get a nice fit.

 

Another view of the cowl in progress. This is slow going and a lot of fitting and refitting, but necessary to get a nice fit.This shows the dash now installed and encapsulated and ready for the cowling.Another view of the cowl in progress. This is slow going and a lot of fitting and refitting, but necessary to get a nice fit.

 

This shows the dash now installed and encapsulated and ready for the cowling.

 

Wednesday, February 22, 2012

 

Today I finished fitting the cowl and attached it as well as finishing the first coat of epoxy overall. I made some small attachment blocks to make sure the sides of the cowl along the coaming sat down and didn’t bulge up. The edges sit in that rabbet groove in the coaming. Tomorrow I will shape and sand the rest of the cowl and start filling in screw holes and other imperfections. The only construction left now is the transom knee.

 

Here is the cowl in place after checking the fit and determining where mounting screws will go.

This shows the mounting blocks I added (one on each side) and the rabbet in the coaming for the side of the cowl.

Here the cowl is in place and the deck now encapsulated with epoxy resin.A little sanding, filling, and shaping and the boat will be ready for finishing.

 

Tuesday, February 28, 2012

 

 After a few days of putzing (yah, I do that) I installed the transom knee in the Spartan. The knee is just a plank that runs athwartship from coaming to coaming and butts up against the transom. When I installed the aft deck planking I knew I would be boxing in the sides and make using screws difficult, so I decided to dowel pin the knee in place. Half inch dowels secure the rear to the transom and 5/16″ dowels secure the sides. The holes in the knee were well packed with thickened epoxy. The transom pins were set in place with glue in the transom and the side pins were packed with glue and slid into the holes in the coamings. Copious amounts of glue was applyed to all mating surfaces (and other things). Once the knee was set in and tapped into place against the transom, I was able to reach under and tap the side pins into the knee. Everything locked nicely onto place.This completes the construction phase of the Super Spartan. Now it is on to sanding and shaping areas, filling in and fairing where needed, and start the finish work and rigging.

 

Dowel placement in the transom and coamings. The dowels in the coaming will be packed in glue and slid flush so the knee can be set on the transom dowel pins. Once the knee is set, the pins in the coamings will be driven into the knee to lock everything in.

 

Knee in place and excess glue cleaned up.

 

Rod Hughes

Layton, Utah

Jubilee House Boat Spec’s

My plans come from Glen-L Marine

Characteristics

Length overall 29′-0″
Length waterline 26′-3″
Beam 10′-2″

…Hull draft (with skeg) 14″
Hull weight 2100 lbs.
Displacement 7310 lbs
Height overall 10′-0″

Headroom 6′-3″ to 6′-7″
Freeboard 3′-6″
Fuel capacity 100 gals.
Fresh water capacity 50 gals.
Sleeping accommodations 6

* Hull type: Garvey hull with considerable dead-rise forward, developed for sheet plywood planking.

* Power: Single or twin long shaft outboard motors, or stern mounted inboard out drive units. Total engine weight not to exceed 850 lbs.

 
This is a cabin mod I am thinking about doing to my jubilee

This is a cabin mod I am thinking about doing to my jubilee

I am in the drawing state of my build Of the Delta q House boat Glen-L design I have modification to upper deck areas and I am increasing the size of the boat by 10%.

http://www.glen-l.com/designs/house/deltaq.html#avail

boat was going to build it but didn’t like how it was framed
the frames are lighter and has less room than the Jubilee
After thinking it over we decided to build the Jubilee. We will have to make the beam smaller to conform to Utah state laws to make it trailerable.
We ordered the study planes and deemed them not usable to build the boat they are missing measurements needed to do the building even so they do have allot of information but not directly related on building the boat so the full prints will be required to build it.

June 2010

On arriving in Ohio found out I had a lot of hardwood available to start building my boat that I have been drying out the lumber for about 10 years so the trip even though it was made on a sad note has turned out with some good to it. We will be bringing the wood and some of my equipment to Utah when we return.
We have the wood now sitting in Utah waiting to start building our trip ended up costing us more than we planed do to repairs we had to do so we are delayed until cash flow is better.
Started looking for place to build again have good prospect now hope it works out.

Ordered the blue print for the Jubilee from Glen-l at a cost a little over 200.00 with shipping still looking for the perfect place to build.

spent last 2 days setting up a wood shop at my mother in-laws picked up a couple of pretty good shop equipment and got them set up and tied out, ordered in my epoxy when it arrives I will start building the bulk heads/frames will post some new pic’s then.

Ok shop is up and running all the wood has been planed and ready to be laminated together to make correct size of material. Talked to the right people today and found out i will be able to build the boat with out changing the plans. UN-permitted you are only allowed to have a 8’6″ wide trailer with permit you can go as large as 14′ 6 ” in the state of Utah

Start of the Jubilee Build

The plans seem to be pretty straight forward and pretty easy to read with full size patterns with plans. It will be a long term project.  Normally this boat would not be a trailer able houseboat but this one will be. I found out in the state I live in a yearly permit allows it to be transported. I am using air dried seasoned lumber that I cut myself from my own trees. I am using Hickory for the frames with being the wood that is available it is hard heavy and strong but not used in boat building often. but should be ok I will be encapsulating it with epoxy and fiberglass cloth. At this point in my build I am working on the bulkheads these are built up using scarfing and laminating shorter pieces together the reason for doing this due to the size of lumber I have I must make smaller pieces thicker and longer but in doing so I do gain some weight but due gain resistance to warping and gain some strength.

Got Some Work Done Over Summer

I started the build over the summer but put a hold on it for the winter. some pics to show the build

dragging 16 foot hickory boards that I had seasoning for 10 year out of the barn – jun 2010

cutting ruff ends off cutting to smaller lengths to transport

the results of all the cutting I did

July 12, 2010 at 6:37am ·

The wood I brought from Ohio is stored for now still looking for a place to build the boat but now gathering and cleaning tools that have been gathering dust and rust from the damp humidity in Ohio

July 14, 2010 at 1:26pm

Just ordered the blue prints for the Jubilee from Glen-l at a cost of around 200.00 with shipping·

my cheap thickness planer but it does a better job than the industrial I used in collage go figure

July 18, 2010 at 12:25am

My prints came in for my house boat and went out and bought a new thickness planer to use on the build also have line on a table saw it’s heck replacing equipment

July 20, 2010 at 8:06pm

spent last two days setting up a wood shop a mother in-laws just ordered in materials from http://www.glen-l.com/ to start building the bulkheads

July 27, 2010 at 6:18pm

Started planing my wood of my frames my epoxy came in and have been gathering construction material

making smaller pieces into bigger pieces then planing them down to thickness

cutout one of the bottom pieces from what I had epoxied together and laid out another to be cut I have one more at this size to make then I go to making a smaller curved one that goes in the bow area then it the pieces for the transom

August 17, 2010 at 3:39pm

Started building the boat but it is a long process, I also picked up our towing vehicle a 1968 ford f350 with a 390 v-8 with 5th wheel and tow kit and the trailer breaking system.

tow truck 1 ton f350 with 390 4 speed duel wheel

Progress is slow going due to lumber size, I have to epoxy up small pieces to larger sizes from my lumber I brought back from Ohio is only 5′ long and it needs to be over 7 foot so I am doing this by using Scarf Joints and staggering the joints on the lame beams I am making

August 28, 2010 at 9:43am

Well the towing trucks clutch cost more to fix than it did to buy it doing the prep work on it to get it to pass safety inspection

This will make one bottom piece for bulkhead unfortunately I didn’t have any material large enough to build out of one piece

This is the bottom piece to one of the bulkhead/frames

epoxying up a beam to be used at bottom of bulkhead frame- Aug 2010

October 2, 2010 at 11:18pm

Finished cutting out 4 of the five bottom frame/bulkhead pieces are pretty much the same in dimensions. I am in the process of truing them up so there are no drips or ridges in them. I am using a belt sander to do this with and a straight edge making sure the dimensions are the same to all of them. I clamped them together so when I do one the others get done as well

Truing up the bottom pieces using route, plane and belt sander notice the straight edge to make sure everything is true

October 7, 2010 at 4:15pm

I epoxied up 2 more piece to make the last frame/bulkhead this one is smaller the the others and has more curve to it as it is the point the angles change to go up into the bow of the boat

Making a dent in my lumber pile

February 14 at 1:43pm

Warm day today went to shop to see what I could do and I figured out I can’t do much until I make smaller pieces into bigger ones or go get more materials so things put on hold for now

Ran into Problems

Sunday Feb 20 2011

I put a hold on the boat for the winter, since then our fiances have went bye bye. We are working on fixing this problem but we are dealing with the Government……Wish us luck

Have had sell the truck I bought In August 17, 2010 up for sell to pay some bills

April 26 2012

Still working on getting finance and shop. Getting closer to that end in the mean time I’ve been studying there is allot of systems in this build that need to be learned. I have pretty much decided to go stern drive as doner boats are pretty cheap in my area of the world. The thing is finding a good one and the right size with what I want in add ons. I have just bought and have been studying Inboard Motor Installations by Glen L. Witt

Of course, building boats without help can have its downside; after all, most of us have only two hands (if you have more than two please send photos).  You can, however, overcome some physical limitations of working alone by using a few tricks and tools.

Here are a few that many have found valuable as they worked on their boats; maybe they might seem too obvious to bother writing about, but sometimes the simplest solution is the best solution. A little ingenuity often can replace a call for help and keep your project moving forward.

After reading our suggestions, please add your comments, tricks and ideas at the end of this article – we’re really anxious to learn from you, too!

Belt Clip

When working alone, I’m sure we all know just how frustrating it can be to finally get a workpiece in exactly the right spot to be fastened, only to realize that you’ve left your screw gun on your workbench or on the floor just beyond arm’s reach.  Avoid this by wearing a tool belt with a belt clip that holds your screw gun at the ready at all times. There is a multitude of cool belt, vest and apron accessories designed to keep your tools within easy reach. Get yourself a basic tool belt, vest or shop apron and use it just once and it’ll be the first thing you grab the next time you walk into your work area.

Store Lumber Vertically

When you’re alone, it’s a real chore to unearth boards from the bottom of a horizontal stack. Boards stored upright against brackets are easy to see and sort. Just flip through the boards and tip out the ones you want. You don’t have to lift anything.

Duct Tape

Need I say more than “Duct (or Duck) Tape”?  I don’t think there’s a do-it-yourselfer alive who hasn’t found a multitude of uses for this wonderful invention. That basic tool belt/vest/shop apron mentioned above should also have a spot reserved for a roll of duct tape; you’ll find it invaluable.

As a matter of fact, according to NASA engineer Jerry Woodfill, duct tape had been stowed on board every mission since early in the Gemini days.  NASA engineers and astronauts have used duct tape in the course of their work, including in some emergency situations. One such usage occurred in 1970, when the square carbon dioxide filters from Apollo 13′s failed command module had to be modified to fit round receptacles in the lunar module, which was being used as a lifeboat after an explosion en route to the moon. A workaround used duct tape and other items on board Apollo 13, with the ground crew relaying instructions to the flight crew. The lunar module’s CO₂ scrubbers started working again, saving the lives of the three astronauts on board.

Ed Smylie, who designed the scrubber modification in just two days, said later that he knew the problem was solvable when it was confirmed that duct tape was on the spacecraft: “I felt like we were home free,” he said in 2005. “One thing a Southern boy will never say is, ‘I don’t think duct tape will fix it.’”

Duct tape was also used aboard Apollo 17 to improvise a repair to a damaged fender on the lunar rover, preventing possible damage from the roostertails of lunar dust as they drove.

Of course, it’s more likely you are working on a boat rather than on a spacecraft, but you’ll still find duct tape handy for things like temporarily holding a piece of work in place, picking up fasteners which have dropped onto the floor, using it as an emergency clamp when all of your other clamps are already in use, or even as a baby-sitter if one of your young-uns wanders into your workshop!

So, what are your tips for working alone? We’d love to hear them!

I collected the engine and gearbox from a beautiful boat yard on the River Thames yesterday. The thatched cottage with river frontage next to the yard used to be where the actress Dora Brian lived.

Ski King Build in the UK

Like many people I am limited to the size of boat I can build by the size of my garage. Once I had decided the 16ft is about the maximum I looked around the plans that are available. I wanted to build a boat with inboard engine driving through a marine gearbox and shaft to the propeller and NOT through a LEG which I think looks TERRIBLE, others may disagree!

Eventually I decided on the Ski King, yes on the drawings it’s only 15ft long but it can be stretched.
Having ordered the drawings I set off to my local wood yard ‘English Woodland Timbers’ a super and most helpful company. They had recently decided to stop selling Utile Mahogany so I did a deal with them to clear all that they had in stock some 21cu ft.

This was transported home in five trips on the roof of my Citroen estate car. Being square sided and rough sawn I set about running each board through the planer so that I could expose the grain making it easier to choose the correct board for each part of the boat as building progressed.
When the plans were delivered I set up an 8ft x 4ft MDF sheet on the work bench and used that to draw each frame full sized one at a time then constructing the frame on the MDF. I know how big the boat will be because I have the plans but as I constructed the first

frame I thought WOW this is big, bigger than I had imagined!

The rule was run over the garage again just to check there is enough room to build the Ski King. With all the frames built I set about constructing the engine bearers, at that time I had to make the decision how much length I was going to add because the engine bearers are notched to accept each frame. I added 3″ between each of the frames: Transom – frame 1, frame 1 – frame 2, frame 2 – frame 3. frame 3 – frame 4 thereby adding 1ft to the total length. I hoped that this would help later in the build as some people have had a problem fitting the engine and gearbox due to the restricted length. I also don’t intend building in the rear cockpit, I want a long stern deck which I think will look terrific.

I have hunted for some time for a donor boat and eventually found one on eBay.co.uk which was 16ft long and had a Ford Essex V6 Engine and was shaft driven, it also had a trailer. This was exactly what I wanted so was less than delighted when I logged on one day only to find it had been withdrawn. I contacted the seller and asked if it had been sold? He said ‘how much were you going to bid then’? I told him a lot more that he had sold it for!!!!

I kept looking on eBay and found listed a Ford Essex V6 and a Velvet drive gearbox which I have now bought and it awaits my collection later this week.

Rick brought his beautiful Zip to the Gathering of Boatbuilders in Tennessee last year. His boat has so many beautiful features that I knew we had to get a video of it.

Rick has a CNC machine and did a lot of inlay work and custom wood parts that are really beautiful. I was impressed with his windshield brackets and his step plates that are made of curly maple.

This is a fine example of a unique boat, customized exactly as the builder wanted. Imagine what you’d have to pay to have something like this built for you. Rick did it himself for a fraction of what it would cost to have custom-made. And the best part of all, HE built it himself. You should have seen all the people looking at his boat and ohhhing and ahhhing over it.

Talk about pride of craftsmanship–Rick has much to be proud of! For details on the Zip, see the Glen-L website here.

Every project has a beginning and ours began several months ago when we ordered The Glen-L Book of Dreams – It is, in fact, nothing less than that.  For several months, my 14 year old son and I considered dozens of possibilities before selecting the McKenzie/Rogue Drift Boat.  With countless lakes and rivers in our region, the 16′ WB/STD will suit our needs perfectly.  When we’re not drifting for Steelhead, our reliable 1976 Long Shaft Johnson 6HP should be enough to get us upstream or across the lake.

Our plans were ordered, received, and reviewed for a few days.  From there we set out to create the perfect work space.  We’ll have approximately two feet passage fore and aft with three to four feet clear on each side.  The planer, saws, horses, and router table are set-up in the adjacent one stall garage.  Later this week we’ll pick up the materials needed for the jig base and fire up the tools.  All ahead full.

Days 1 & 2

Saturday, April 28th, 2012

Our busy lives are making this a slow go but we’re managing a little progress each day.  Today we finished the jig base.  While it may be somewhat over-done, it is plumb, level, square, and rock-solid!  We’ve gone to great lengths to insure the base is correct fearing errors here would likely translate into “alignment mysteries” somewhere down the line.  We’ve held all tolerances to (+/-) 1/8″.

Jig Base - Complete

Sunday, April 29th, 2012

Today we’re headed out to the barn to select prime cuts for the battens, chines, sheers, stem, and transom frames.  Not finding it in any of the suggested materials lists, I used the forum to question the suitability of our seasoned Maple – We have quite a bit to choose from.  Glen chimed in that his brother used Maple for many of his builds and that was good enough for me.  I suspect it will take us several days to mill things down to size.  I also ordered the Poxy-Grip adhesive which should show up in time to assemble the stem and transom components later this week.  So far, so good, and really enjoying this time with my son – Priceless.

Seasoned Maple Stock

Steady as she goes ……

With the advent of the internet, we added many of those designs back. The finned boats include the L Capitan, L Dorado and Swish. Other designs that are no longer in our print catalog are Blue Fin, Dragster and  Missle.

At some point we also removed the Ski King but a couple of catalogs back, we added it back in as popularity picked up. I think that’s due in part to one of our Forum members, Dwain the Ski King. Thanks Dwain!

Today’s history photo is a design called “Ernie Too” that never made it in any catalog. Ernie is my cousin Darrell’s middle name and it was named after him. The Ernie Too was designed in 1945 by my dad as a project for his design course through Westlawn.

Glen designed this while he was stationed in Okinawa during World War II. The paper it was drawn on is some type of linen vellum, that was real nice. He said that the Army let the paper set out in the weather and most of it was ruined. You had to be careful not to get it wet as it would spot real easy. So while designing, he had to constantly wipe his brow to keep from ruining the paper.  He said they even soaked the paper in water to make handkerchiefs from it. It was really humid, so you needed them.

He remembers that his instructor, Gerald Taylor White, wrote him a letter about the design stating that it was “too modern”.

Apparantly my father gave copies of this design and several others to  Mr. Hall, a local marine dealer on consignment. The owner loaned dad quite a few clamps at the time and he wrote “Hall” on them so he’d be sure and return them to him. However, the dealer passed away shortly thereafter, so dad lost his designs but gained a bunch of clamps.

Anyway, the Ernie Too was a 22′-9″ planked design with a 7′-6″ beam. My, how things have changed! Plywood does indeed make building much easier! There are several other designs that are no longer published. Maybe we’ll share some in future articles…