Duckskiff first time build questions

Thanks for the info and advice. It would appear i did things a bit backwards. I already have the inside filleted and taped. So i guess I'll have to leave the braces and temporary frames in place and flip it to fill and tape the seams on the outside. Once this is complete I'll glass the entire exterior in 6 ounce cloth and epoxy and then I'll end up flipping it again to finish the interior of the boat. I guess if I'm getting your drift, then once everything is complete on the interior, I'll paint the interior and then flip it once more to finish painting the exterior. I'm lucky enough to have a couple of strong friends to help with flipping part! I'll keep posting as I go. Thanks again.

 

Most of the time you'll have to flip the boat a few times. On a boat like that, I'd build upside down, then flip it to complete the seams on the inside, mostly because it's light and a relatively easy thing to do. On a bigger boat I'd do as much of the interior seams as practical, even cutting access holes at the chine, so I can run the fillets and tape (usually pre-planned). Of course, this means working on overhead surfaces. The only reason I'd do this is to save a flip.

You can complete the interior if you want, but I like to have the hull shell pretty much buttoned up before the full internal structure goes in. This permits me to make adjustments to any twists or distortions that may occur in the process. Each build requires slightly different approaches to this. For example, I might install some of the bulkheads or seating supports/partitions, to lock the hull shape down, then flip for completing the exterior finishes. The reason for just some of the bulkhead and partitions is to keep the boat fairly light for the flip and exterior finishes. Generally I like to get to a point where the boat is able to have the exterior completed, then she's flipped, often right onto her trailer or upright cradle, to finish the inside.

 

Hello PAR, thanks for the info. I'll have to decide if I'm going to install some temporary bracing flip the hull and then see about finishing the bottom. I'll be at it tomorrow morning we'll see how things go.

 

Well I got the seams on the inside sanded and ready to fair when I'm ready to finish the inside of the boat. I did get some temporary braces installed and I'm going to flip it over to get the exterior seams filleted and taped. I'm going to use 6 inch wide 17 ounce bi-axial tape for this, doubling it up on the long seams and transom and tripling up the 17 ounce glass on the bow for extra strength and possibly installing a steel cover over that. I'm hoping to get the whole exterior covered in 6 ounce cloth as well. Does anyone see any problems with my plan or the materials I've chosen? Your advice and ideas are always welcome. I'll post some pics once she is flipped and the seams are taped and the bottom glassed. Thanks!

 

17 ounce biax is way over the top for the typical scantlings you'd see on a 15' full plane skiff. On 1/2" plywood, a couple of layers of 12 ounce is fine. On 3/8" you can get by with a single layer of 12 or better would be two of 8. It's common to double up the centerline seam and some like to also double up the chine, though I don't see the need, unless beaching regularly is desired. Lastly sheathing the whole exterior is always a good idea on plywood.

 

Thanks for the info and encouragement PAR. I'm trying to get my muscle lined up for the flipping of the boat so I can work on the bottom. Hopefully this weekend. I am hoping that I can finish this project before the end of April....lakes should start opening up by then.

 

Hi ... I was browsing the forum and saw you build. I'm doing a non-stitch-glue by using regular hard chines, but the boat profiles look very similar. So it's fun to read this post.

I'm about a month out from completing

https://solomonsislandskiff.wordpress.com/

Trying to talk the wife into letting me buy a new Yamaha 20 for it ... the hardest part of the build ... ha ha

My whole exterior is 6oz cloth, and overlapped on the chines.

But more pics, sound like your doing great!

 

Thanks for the encouragement!
I checked out your build, really cool.
I'm at the point of fiber glassing the bottom of my hull but had to order another batch of epoxy. I didn't want to get started only to find I'd be a tad short.
Here are a couple of pics of where I'm at today.
Pic 1 is the hull prior to adding the 17oz biaxial tape
pic 2 & 3 are the side views and
pic 4 is the transom.
All are have been made fair and ready for glass.

 

Very nice and good work!

 

Thanks a bunch.
I received my epoxy today so it would appear that Saturday is the day I glass the bottom of the boat. I too will struggle with true captain as she is in control of the beans for the motor. I have my heart set on a 15hp Tohatsu with electric start. May have to settle for my electric trolling motor this summer but as soon as I can get the money together....gas powered all the way.

 

Well folks it's coming together. I laid out the fiberglass cloth and got the the exterior of the hull completely glassed. It was surprisingly quick to do with the great help I had from a friend. One guy mixing epoxy and the other spreading it out. Then we both worked at removing any bubbles with a roller and our fingers. It went really well. Phone died but I'll post some pics of the finished glass later but here are a couple of the hull with the glass draped over it waiting to be wetted out

 

Hey there fellow builders, for anyone who's interested the link below shows the stages of my build as of March 14th. I'll be posting more to the site as work continues. Let me know what you think.

https://duckskiff.wixsite.com/duckskiff

 

Good site, it may help someone down the line!

Recommend you keep good build details here (like you've been doing) so readers have good access to good info.

Boats coming together!

 

Well it's been a while so I'll update you folks on my progress,
I got the exterior of the hull completely covered in fiberglass and epoxy. My friend and I worked at it and in only a few hours we had the job done.

Next we tackled the stringers and keel of the boat. That went really well too. The problems arose when I decided to glass the keel in 17 oz. bi-axial tape without properly rounding the boards. Not good. Air bubbles and headaches!
I did manage to repair the screw up by cutting/sanding out the bubbles and employing a router to put on a nice round edge. That went really well. I have since glassed in the stringers and keel and all is going quite well. I am at the pint where a good sanding of the hull and a coat of epoxy to fill the weave is in order. Maybe 6 weeks till completion???

 

Looks really good! I think you're going beat me to the water ... haha