Glen-L.com

I assume to get the finished wood look on the sides of my Monaco, I will have to apply a thin mahogany veneer. I'm thinking 1/8" think x 4" wide. I would bevel the edges and ends as I did with the plywood layers. Also, I can't decide whether to start at the chine or the sheer location. Any thoughts? Thanks.

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Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds. Albert Einstien

The chine is easier. It will sweep like a viking ship though,

Bill

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Mini -Tug, KH Tahoe 19 & Bartender 24 - There can be no miracle recoveries without first screwing up.
Tahoe 19 Build

Speedracer,,,, I suggest you read all of the posts on this forum about spiling. If you want the planks to look somewhat level with the water, you will have to spile each plank. If you want to end up with four inch planks, you may have to start with 8" or 10" wide boards. When the planks are ready to be installed, they may have the shape of a banana...Again,,,read up on spiling...Have fun,,,,Neel

I will read up on spiling but I think I understand the term and process to achieve such on compound curvatures. I think the result would be best to start along the sheer and work my way to the chine. Doing so, though, would require me to establish the final (or near final) location of decking edge. This is about 8" off the ground now and would seem to be difficult [since the boat is upsidedown] to do; although not impossible.

Would guys tend to agree with my approach?

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Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds. Albert Einstien

here is my link to a few shots of the process.
-Billy
http://www.metrocast.net/~bcheckerberry ... .html#grid

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(insert witty phrase here)
Billy's Belle Isle website

Gidday Speed
Great to see your progress shots..........looking good !

Re the Mahogany veneer 4" wide is good but try for a little thicker than 1/8" as when it comes to "fairing time" you might find that 1/8" thick, in places, won't leave much mahogany after sanding. My planking is 4"x 3/16" and I found it best to start my first plank at the chine. Check my Customer Photos "from image 19 on". On the Monaco very little spiling is required using 4" planks except for the independant tapered spiles required toward the bow. Image 19 shows my first laid full length plank running parallel and to the edge of the chine for most of the boat length then allowed to follow the shape of the hull heading toward the bow. You have to experiment a little to just see what works. I found most planks laid nice and close from the transom through to frames 4 or 5 (i think?) then, following the hull shape, opened up to varying degrees toward the stem. After fixing each alternate plank I would shape and fix the independant spile to fill the tapered gap between planks.
I would advise against bevelling the edges of your planks in general. The reason for this is that as you fair your planking across the plank joints you will showing more of a glue line as the mahogany is faired away (not sure if this makes sense). I discovered early on that back-bevelling of any finishing timber (sorry, wood) is a mistake for the same reason.
There are a lot of really valuable photographs on the Customer Photos pages. I personally learnt as much or more about the various steps in boat building by studying these shots during my build. That's what they are there for, lets use-em.

Monaco's rule

OK, getting the idea for the veneer. I think I will go with 3/16" as opposed to 1/8". Tim the pics are of great help and the finished product is - WOW.

I have one question on something that's been keeping me awake at night. Budget won't allow purchase of the engine and transmission at this time but I can afford to finish the bottom and attach the rudder items, strut, etc. Do most builders own the powerplant before turning the boat?

Would it be a mistake to set all the hardware on the bottom without having the engine and transmission making the best possible calculations without such?

Thanks.

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Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds. Albert Einstien

Speedracer... I would go ahead and mount the strut with the angle, drop, and position called for in the plans, drill the shaft hole, and mount the rudder hardware. It will be much easier to do these things before you flip her over. I fiberglassed and painted the bottom first, before mounting anything. One thing you may want to consider is offsetting your rudder from centerline an inch or so to allow for future shaft removal without removing the rudder. If you do decide to offset, then you will have to pick which way to go and then when you buy your motor, make sure it has left or right hand rotation based on which way you went with the offset. If you offset to the right of the shaft, then you will want left hand rotation, and right hand if you offset to the left. This will help compensate for torque. I am sure others will chime in with other ideas...... Neel