Building The Vera Cruise

[jenko]

very nice Carl

[vupilot]

Yes, looks great Carl.

[steveh41]

Ditto!

[mrintense]

Thanks guys!

[Craig Aho]

I agree with the others that your work is Mighty Fine.

[mrintense]

Thanks Craig.

Today I got the port side chine fairing completed by fairing the last stretch between frames 4 and 5. It makes a major transition here so I left this until I had everything else nearly done so I could get a better idea of what needed to be done. Still have the starboard side to do as well as all the frame edges on the bottom.

Cut the notches to various depths before blending them together.

The chine after blending the notches together.

[vettepilot]

Really nice precise work....

[hoodman]

I love when my shop has piles of shavings in it.

[mrintense]

Thanks for the compliments.

No I'm not dead nor have I fallen off the face of the earth. I've been rather busy with non boat related projects but I do get in a little time now and then. Still trying to get the fairing completed by the end of the month. Going to be close.

I'll post some updates when I have something more photogenic

[mrintense]

I have a one line status report!

Fairing the bow area is a PITB!!!

[mrintense]

Not a lot to report on right now. I am working through various issues with fit of the paneling, tweaking the fairing and making corrections where needed. I hope to have all of this completed soon, maybe in a couple of weeks , so I can move on to all the last minute tasks that need to be accomplished before fitting the skins. I will be ordering plywood probably in a month.

Regarding fitting of the skins. I am considering scarf joining all the panels for the entire length of the boat. I am also considering installing from the front and moving aft. This is primarily because I have no room forward of the boat so I need to get this part mounted first. It seems to me that I will have more leverage as I bend the skins around the structure while moving aft and I can avoid some of the difficulties I see other's having when trying to get the skin down to the stem after attaching the skin to the rest of the boat.

I would appreciate any comments on this approach. Thanks in advance.

[rbrandenstein]

If I understand your plan, you want to use narrower strips of plywood and then scarf then longitudinally in place?

I don't think this is a good idea. Most plywood scarf joints are in an area of very little bending or stress. I doubt scarfed plywood would bend or conform to the fairing the same way as a normal piece would.

I also think attempting to start the skinning at the stem will be very difficult to get correct. I made templates for the skin by using some tarpaper attached to the frames. Trim with a knife and you have a pretty accurate template for the plywood. Just leave a couple inches all around and you have a workable piece. This might make it easier to start in the back and finish at the stem, even though tight.

[Bill Edmundson]

Carl

On page 8 of the Bartender build you can see how I got a little more leverage to bend the topsides ply.

Bill

[mrintense]

If I understand your plan, you want to use narrower strips of plywood and then scarf then longitudinally in place?
I don't think this is a good idea. Most plywood scarf joints are in an area of very little bending or stress. I doubt scarfed plywood would bend or conform to the fairing the same way as a normal piece would.
I also think attempting to start the skinning at the stem will be very difficult to get correct. I made templates for the skin by using some tarpaper attached to the frames. Trim with a knife and you have a pretty accurate template for the plywood. Just leave a couple inches all around and you have a workable piece. This might make it easier to start in the back and finish at the stem, even though tight.

I wasn't real clear on my intentions in the last post. Sorry about that.

My boat requires three sheets per side because of the length. I was planning on scarfing them together as full sheets of plywood and then starting the fit from the bow. The first scarf joint should be far enough aft to avoid the worst of the of the bend. All scarf joints would be accomplished before any fitting takes place. This will be clumsy to work with and the piece will be too long for my garage and both of these drawbacks are a problem I have not worked out a solution for yet.

I like the idea of using the tar paper as a rough pattern. Thanks for that tip. The tar paper allows me to cut the panels down to more reasonable dimensions before fitting. I will definitely have to allow excess material. That might also allow me to work from the aft end first. I will have to see how that looks. The main concern, as you mentioned, is the bend and how it relates to the scarf joint. I am not too concerned about the side planking bends but the bottom planking will be more difficult as there is also a curve in the plywood as it passes over the second frame from the bow.

Anyway, I have about a month or two before I will begin this process so I have time to think about it.

On page 8 of the Bartender build you can see how I got a little more leverage to bend the topsides ply. Bill

Thanks Bill, I will revisit your build thread. Since I am in the preliminary planning stages for skinning, I have the luxury of considering multiple approaches.. The biggest challenges I face are lack of side space, no space at the bow, and a garage that is too short for three sheets of plywood scarfed together. I will also have to figure out where to store 12 sheets of plywood and still give myself room to work.

[mrintense]

Well, barring any final fit issues when I get the real plywood planking, I think I have completed fairing of the longitudinals and only have the bottom frame edges to go. It's been quite a struggle with the chine around frame 5 but the fit now seems to be acceptable. I need to pick up some material for the remaining battens and cut a couple of batten notches in frame 5 (by the stem). Then I will temporarily mount them and finish up the fairing of the frame edges on the bottom.

Here are a couple of progress shots.

Test fitting the planking

The inside joint of the same test fit. There is no outside pressure on the center so there is a slight gap in the middle, but overall I am satisfied with the fit.