Hi All,
I recently bought/acquired the Sea Knight plans and decided to document and post some of my progress, although I am not sure if the build will be a speedy process as I have too many hobbies and things going on but I really enjoy it so far so let’s see.
I just finished my first frame (no.5) constructed out of Siberian Larch and okume plywood.
More to follow soon!
So I have been a bit lazy on the posting side of things, luckily Dan was so kind to remind me of my duties.
I have been busy the last weeks with the production of the loose parts like all the frames and keel and the chines and sheers etc before setting up the strongback as the space in my workshop is limited.
Funny thing to mention, all the while I was busy producing my parts and having loads of fun while doing so, I found out that the lovely boat doesn’t fit through my access door… at least not in a level position. I should have thought this through. On the other hand, overthinking things is just not my cup of tea. Let’s just wing it and see what happens, it will be fine, otherwise my entrance will be upgraded…
The strongback should be hard fixed to the floor, but as my floor has been poored recently I just couldn’t bear putting holes in it, so thats why it’s weighted down with concrete tiles instead which I had laying around the house anyways. I hope it will hold up well when the bending of the sheer and chine will commence, fingers crossed.
More to follow soon!
back at it again, for some reason the motivation to post my progress is quite low, this is possibly due to the fact that I have absolutely no clue if this is actually being read. as I have never built a boat I am stunned that I have recieved no tips or tricks on the work done so far. but anyway moving on..
The fixation of the sheers & chines was quite the struggle to be honest, the tension was substantial to say the least. I had to thin out the sheers otherwise these would defenitely break without steaming them, I eventually made it work by wetting them out.
The fairing works was a pretty meditating process, I initially bought a battery operated electric planer but found myself doing all the work with my manual planers.
Fairing completed for 90%, next stop dry fitting (final touch ups on the fairing) the plywood and glue-ing/screwing them in place.
The plywood thickness here in europe (netherlands) is respectively 10mm, the 3/8 inch plywood as specified is actually a little bit thinner, so the tension on the plywood was substantial, I found that wetting out the panel helped a bit.
Filling up all the holes with thickened epoxy, there are probably better materials for this, but I choose to use this.
Currently busy with prepping the hull for the fiberglass, still not sure if I should make use of peel-ply or just do it without…
More to follow soon!
Related Images:
If you enjoyed this article, please consider sharing it!
Hi! Welcome to Glen-L!
Connect with us:
Recommended:
One Response to Sea Knight build
In the words of David Copperfield, … “More please.”