BYYB Forums

Hello everyone,

Let me first introduce myself before i get into my question being that this is my first post.

I have recently decided to take on the building of the Weekender. I have recieved my plans, watched the video over and over and increased up my tool collection. I live in Long Island New York, which during the spring/summer and fall can receive high amounts of humidity.

This leads me to my dilemma... I have limited space to build and have exhausted all of my options of building in any enclosed dry shop area. My last option left is to build outside.. My plan is to build a LARGE platform in my backyard roughly 20 x 25 out of wood, raised off the ground to avoid working in the mud if it rains; In addition i plan to anchor a 10 x 20 temporary enclosed tarp garage to this deck (http://www.hutshop.com/23573.html) Not at that price though! I found it at pep boys for $200) to keep the boat covered from the elements while i am not working on it.. I will be keeping all of my lumber in my garage attached to my house and taking the pieces i need as i progress with the boat.

So what i guess i am trying to get at is... Does this sound like a feasible option? Has anyone ever build their boat outside? I am also very concerned with the moisture and humidity warping my lumber.. Will i have to be concerned with the boat warping after the pieces are assembled or during the process? I have even considered running a dehumidifier in my garage to keep my stored lumber from warping before i get to use it.

Would anyone recommend an ideal layout for the deck i plan to build this on? (I am trying to take into consideration that the boat is going to be a tight fit inside this "temp garage" and i will need working space outside of this tent.. Any and all suggestions, alternitives and recommendations are GREATLY appreaciated!

Jason

Jason
I put my weekender together in the back yard in a 10X20 temp garage and had no problems. There is plenty of room to work on this boat in there. It does get a little tight when you get you get to the end and have it loaded on the trailer.

Welcome aboard Jason.
I am building a vacationer in a 10x25' portable carport I got a Walmart for $100. it is plenty of room for the vacationer so it should be plenty for a weekender I don't have a platform and I get very little water in there. What I did was to purchase some cheap blue tarps and built walls around it with little spring clips and ties, and use a propane heater when it's cold.
I have a bunch of tools in plastic storage bins and even have a small table in there, there's even room to store my table saw, but I like you have an attached garadge and keep my wood in there. I havent had trouble with warping as of yet . and I've been building for 2 years.

Brian.

Hi Jason, I've built plenty of boats in the yard, on the ground without a shelter. I kept the boat out of the earth on wide boards and at night, pulled a poly tarp over it and tied it down. Never a problem during or after the build. And so what if it gets a bit damp, it's wood, it's a boat, let it dry and then proceed. Hope this helps. I have a boat building friend on Long Island.

A cheap way to seal up your lumber is to shellac it. Use the "3 pound" stuff available at the local hardware store or you can mix up some yourself (it's real easy). Shellac is better then any other clear coating other then epoxy and better grades of polyester resin at keeping out moisture vapor. It removes easily during sanding and is easy to apply.

Most of the time you don't have to worry about your wood getting too wet, unless you want to epoxy or paint it the next day. I live in Florida where humidity is very high 6 months out of the year. I don't bother with sealing up wood, though I do protect wood with a cover if I need to epoxy or paint in the near future.

Thinking of wet wood, I had two sheets of 1/2" merenti (hydrotek) plywood on a pallet wraped in polly tarp. I hadn't checked it in about a year or year and a half. I noticed the polly tarp bulging a couple of week's ago and removed it. It was full of water the wood was completely soaked. I let it dry out in my garage and no rot or warpage like I had feared.

Brian.

A lot of people build a dolly to build their boats on. All you need is a 2x6 frame with a channel to hold the keel then some supports for the bottom that you can just screw into place to keep the boat from heeling before it gets on the water. Put some wheels on it and roll it out when the weather is nice or to have more room when you need it. That way your boat is not on the ground and you won't need to build a floor.

Keith

Jason The dolly is almost a must. You can build without it but a dolly makes it O so much easier. Another tip is if you can find some used belting to put down for the floor it makes your dolly roll around much easier and you can find what you dropped. You can sweep up easier when it gets so bad you cant stand it anymore also. Bud

Jason here are some photos of my dolly and keel.



I made it out of pine 2"x8" boards. I used joist hangers to hold the ribs.
Oh and I used cheap 2x4"'s to hold the keel. Oh yeah! I almost forgot, I got big pneumatic wheels for it to roll around the yard. No small hard wheels to sink in the grass or dirt, I havent tried them out yet. oh and they swivel.
Brian