The Gougeon Brothers On Boat Construction . Wood and WEST SYSTEM Materials . Contents Acknowledgements 1. Introduction.............................................................. 1 2. Before You Build ......................................................... 4     Should You Build Your Own Boat? ......................................... 4     Choosing the Right Boat ................................................. 6     Boat Plans .............................................................. 6     Modifying Plans for WEST SYSTEM* Materials .............................. 7 3. Estimating Materials and Labor ........................................... 9     Rough Estimates ......................................................... 9     Detailed Estimates — Hull Costs ......................................... 9     Detailed Estimates — Hardware Costs ..................................... 12     Detailed Estimates — Labor .............................................. 13 4. Tools and Boat Shop ...................................................... 15     Gougeon Brothers Power Tool Inventory ................................... 17     The Boat Shop ........................................................... 20     Temporary Shelter — One Option .......................................... 21 5. Wood as a Structural Material ............................................ 25     Engineering for Wooden Boats ............................................ 25     Wood Strength ........................................................... 27     Wood Stiffness........................................................... 29     Wood and Moisture ....................................................... 31     Moisture and Physical Properties ........................................ 32     Wood/Epoxy Composites.................................................... 32     Dry Rot(and Other Vermin) ............................................... 34 6. Buying Wood .............................................................. 37     Quality — What to Look For .............................................. 38     About Veneer and Plywood ................................................ 39     Buying Veneer ........................................................... 39     Buying Plywood .......................................................... 40 7. WEST SYSTEM Products ..................................................... 42 8. Safety ................................................................... 51     Boat Shop Safety — Detailed Information ................................. 53     How to Use WEST SYSTEM Epoxy ............................................ 54     Solvents ................................................................ 55     Wood .................................................................... 56     A Note on Safety ........................................................ 57 9. Laminating and Bonding Techniques ........................................ 59     Principles of Laminating Lumber ......................................... 59     Preparing Stock for Laminating .......................................... 60     Forms for Laminating .................................................... 60     Using Core Materials .................................................... 63     Bonding with the Fillet ................................................. 67 10. Scarfing ................................................................ 72     Scarfing Lumber ......................................................... 72     Scarfing Plywood Panels ................................................. 76     Scarfing in Place ....................................................... 79     Scarfing to Reduce the Scrap Rate ....................................... 80 11. Coating and Finishing ................................................... 81     General Coating Guidelines .............................................. 81     WEST SYSTEM Pigments and Other Additives ................................ 84     Flocoat Procedures ...................................................... 85     Primers ................................................................. 86     Paints .................................................................. 87     Clear Coatings and Natural Finishes ..................................... 88     Applying Paint and Varnish .............................................. 89 12. Synthetic Fibers and WEST SYSTEM Epoxy .................................. 91     Fatigue Behavior of Synthetic Fibers .................................... 92     Common Uses for Fiberglass Cloth ........................................ 92     Surface Preparation for Reinforcing Fabrics ............................. 93     Applying Fabric ......................................................... 94     Applying Unidirectional Graphite Fibers ................................. 95 13. Lofting ................................................................. 97     The Table of Offsets .................................................... 98     Materials for Lofting ................................................... 98     Laying Out the Grid ..................................................... 100     The Sheer Line .......................................................... 102     The Deck Line ........................................................... 104     Body Plan Sections ...................................................... 104     Fairing the Longitudinal Lines .......................................... 106     Lofting Hull Components ................................................. 108     Developing an Angled Flat Transom or Bulkhead ........................... 109     Curved Transom Development .............................................. 110     Subtracting Planking Thickness .......................................... 112 14. Making Mold Frames and Permanent Frames ................................. 115     Planning Permanent Frames ............................................... 115     Mold Frames ............................................................. 116     Transferring the Shape .................................................. 116     Assembling the Frames ................................................... 119     Permanent Frames ........................................................ 122     Precoating and Prefinishing ............................................. 123 15. Setting Up .............................................................. 125     The Centering Cable ..................................................... 125     Anchoring Blocks......................................................... 125     Setting Up .............................................................. 127     Nailing and Screwing Legs ............................................... 130     Permanent Bracing ....................................................... 131     Beveling ................................................................ 131     Fairing ................................................................. 132 16. Keels, Stems and Sheer Clamps ........................................... 133     The Keel/Stem Assembly .................................................. 133     Planning the Keel/Stem Lay-up ........................................... 133     Laminating Forms ........................................................ 135     Joining Keel and Stem Blanks ............................................ 136     Installing the Keel/Stem in the Set-up .................................. 137     Beveling the Keel/Stem to Receive Planking ................... .......... 137     The Keelson ............................................................. 139     Centerboard and Daggerboard Cases ....................................... 140     Laminating Sheer Clamps ................................................. 141 17. Laminated Hulls — A General Discussion .................................. 143     Laminated Hulls ......................................................... 143     Hot and Cold Molding .................................................... 143     The Mold Method ......................................................... 145     The Strip Plank Method .................................................. 145     The Stringer-Frame Method ............................................... 146     Wood for Laminating ..................................................... 147 18. The Mold Method: Building the Mold ...................................... 149     Setting Up the Mold ..................................................... 149     Planking the Mold ....................................................... 150     Fastening Ribbands to Mold Frames ....................................... 152     Finishing the Mold ...................................................... 153 19. The Mold Method for Laminating Hulls .................................... 155     Preparing the Stock ..................................................... 155     Inserting and Removing Staples .......................................... 158     Applying the First Layer of Veneer ...................................... 160     Spiling ................................................................. 161     Applying WEST SYSTEM Epoxy .............................................. 163     Applying the Second Layer of Veneer ..................................... 165     Mechanical Spiling....................................................... 166     Applying the Third and Succeeding Layers ................................ 167     Applying the Final Layer of Veneer ...................................... 168     Final Fairing ........................................................... 169 20. The Strip Plank Method for Laminating and Strip Composite Construction .. 172     Setting Up for Strip Planking ........................................... 172     Stock for Strip Planking ................................................ 173     Applying Strip Planking ................................................. 174     Edge Fastening .......................................................... 176     Veneer Laminations ...................................................... 177     Final Finishing ......................................................... 178     Strip Composite Construction ............................................ 179     Building a Stripper Canoe ............................................... 180     Strip Composite Components .............................................. 181 21. The Stringer-Frame Method for Laminating Hulls .......................... 182     Notching Frames for Stringers ........................................... 185     Fitting and Fairing Stringers ........................................... 185     I-Beam Frames ........................................................... 187     The First Lamination .................................................... 189     Installing the First Layer .............................................. 191     Cleanup ................................................................. 193     Applying the Second Layer ............................................... 193 22. Hard Chine Plywood Construction ......................................... 196     Frame Assembly .......................................................... 196     Setting Up .............................................................. 198     Fitting Panels .......................................................... 200     Applying Panels ......................................................... 202     Composite Chine Construction ............................................ 203     Final Fairing ........................................................... 204 23. Building and Developing Compounded Plywood Hulls ........................ 206     Constructing the Keel Joint ............................................. 210     Folding Up .............................................................. 212     Bulkheads, Frames and Deck Beams ........................................ 216     Fairing and Finishing ................................................... 218     Design Guidelines for Model Building .................................... 219     Building the Model ...................................................... 222     Using Fiberglass Cloth on Compounded Plywood Models ..................... 225 24. Interior Construction ................................................... 227     Installing Interior in Set-Ups .......................................... 228     Installing Interiors in Upside-Down Hulls ............................... 228     Installing Interiors in Upright Hulls ................................... 229     Bulkheads and Partitions ................................................ 233     Cabin Sole (Floor)....................................................... 234     Icebox Construction ..................................................... 236     Tanks ................................................................... 236     Windows and Ports ....................................................... 238     Electrical and Plumbing Systems ......................................... 239     Interior Final Finishing ................................................ 239     Painting and Varnishing Interiors ....................................... 241 25. Deck Construction ....................................................... 243     Developing Deck Camber .................................................. 245     Deck Framework .......................................................... 246     Laminated Deck Beams .................................................... 248     Cockpit Construction and Installation ................................... 248     Decking Over ............................................................ 249     Sandwich Constructed Decks .............................................. 251     Blocking for Hardware ................................................... 253     Cabin Construction ...................................................... 254     Deck Finishing .......................................................... 255     Teak Veneer Deck System ................................................. 258 26. Hardware Bonding ........................................................ 260     Shear Load and Fasteners ................................................ 262     Procedures for Bonding Fasteners ........................................ 264     Preparing Metal Surfaces for Bonding .................................... 266     Procedures for Bonding Hardware ......................................... 268     Casting Hardware in Place ............................................... 269     Bonding Ballast Keels to Wood Hulls ..................................... 271     Bonding Through Hull Fittings in Tubes .................................. 276 Appendix A: Wood Data ....................................................... 277 Appendix B: Material Fatigue ................................................ 282 Appendix C: Scantlings for Well-Known Boats Built with WEST SYSTEM Products.. 286 Appendix D: Impact Testing on Reinforced Laminates .......................... 288 Selected Bibliography ....................................................... 290 Index ....................................................................... 291