I was asked by Dr. Jim Sanders to give an account of what brought me to
boat building. Up until the time I started writing this account I had
paid very little attention to how these sorts of things occur. Even as
I recollect the events that brought me here I can’t help but marvel
at the way time and events flow. This look backward only makes me more
certain that as great as the events in the past have been the events currently
unfolding and ones to come will be even more spectacular. This look back
has also provided me with a new perspective on events in my life. I would
like to thank Jim for this opportunity.
The next steps were the coach roof. These were strips of cypress 3 inches wide and attached the same was as the deck. The sealant between the planks is a two part polysulfide. I mixed this and applied it to the whole deck. When the sealant was dry I sanded the deck to give good seams. The deck was bunged before this step so that the deck only needed to be sanded once.
I decided that a laid deck was in order. I cut out cover boards for the
edges of the deck. These followed a traditional pattern.
Next I bought cypress and cut it into strips. Then I ran the strips edgewise through a bandsaw to get strips 3/8 inch thick. I ran these through a planer to about ¼ inch. I soaked these in the pool then screwed them down with ¼ inch spacer blocks in between. I let them sit until they dried and they took some of the curve of the deck.
I epoxied and screwed these down working from the cover boards in to the
king plank. I worked the full length back to the transom. Once the epoxy
dried I removed the screws and bunged each hole. The boards were too thin
to leave the screws in. I used a lot of epoxy but this would also provide
a water barrier.
I worked out a curved cockpit of tongue and groove pine.
There is framing under the deck that attaches to the seats
that is curved. The seat back (tongue and groove) attaches to the framing.
The seats have framing that is curved and attaches to the sole. The tongue
and groove is attached between the framing. The tongue and groove was
capped 
and
trimmed with more cypress. I chose cypress because it was light, rot resistant
and easily bent. The rub rails and cap rails were white oak. The wood
is very hard and when wet will bend. The rub rails and cap rails are three
pieces. The first piece covers the edge of the deck. The next piece fits
edgewise on the first piece and the top piece fits over the top it is
the cap. The picture below shows the whole assembly as well as the initial
profile cuts on the left and final profile cuts on the right.
To add a little color I ran a router with a bullnose down the rub rail and painted the cove gold.
There is a bilge built into the bridgedeck just ahead of the cockpit.
This area is divided in two parts. The bilge is on the left and there
is storage on the right. The bilge sits ¾ of an inch lower that
the cockpit sole. The cockpit drains through a scupper in the corner.
There is an automatic bilge pump mounted there. I built in a separate
anchor locker in the forepeak and there is a drain line that runs under
the bunk and into the bilge.
The hatch and the cabin doors were made from mahogany. I built these to fit the openings so there are no plans. Both pieces were made the traditional way. There is a description in Bud McIntosh’s book, How to Build a Wooden Boat, about how the hatch was made. The doors were made with stiles and rails and then slats set in pockets cut by a router. Any time there was repetitive work to do I try to develop a jig to make the job easier.
Back Yard Yacht Builders
A non-commercial association of amateur boat-builder enthusiasts.
All our wooden boats are Stevenson designs.