Recent content by ChallengeBoatworks

I keep seeing people mention that John Guzzwell was highly allergic epoxy, so he used some other type of glue for cold molding and wooden boatbuilding. Does anyone know what kind of glue he used? It seems like whatever it is has held well, at least with his 30 footer, Endangered Species. TIA...

This is purely hypothetical, so humor me, what are the reasons for not using Vinyl ester (or polyester for that matter) for cold molding or strip planking a wooden boat. Obviously, it has to have some sort of drawbacks since they are much cheaper than epoxy and if they were equal, you'd see cold...

I forgot to mention, I won't be doing this until this summer. Frozen ground isn't a huge concern of mine.

I realized I didn't address any of the other responses in my previous reply. First off, I'd like to thank everyone for their input. I do understand the benefits of modern tools and technology that could make this job easier, but I'm a bit of a luddite. By no means does that mean I'm...

Sadly, this will only be my fourth post. It appears as though I need a minimum of a half-dozen to be able to PM.

Part of the fun for me is doing it myself lol. I also like traditional methods of doing things, even at the expense of ease

I highly doubt plans ever existed. It's a trap net boat, native to Lake Erie. With a brief search the plans for wooden ones don't seem to exist and this is one of the few examples that exist. I'm a sailor, but the lines of these boats are sweet, and I hope to help preserve history.

Thank you everyone for your replies and advice. I have a better idea of how to take the lines now. I definitely can't make the boat level or do anything that could damage it. I have attached a photo of the boat just to show what I'm dealing with.

I need to take lines of a boat that is neither plumb nor level, and it seems like all methods rely on that being the case. I know Howard Chappelle took the lines off a lot of old rotting hulks. Does anyone know how he did it? Or have a good was to do it? I hope I'm not beating a dead horse.