BYYB Forums

All weekended builders. What have you learned from the weekender in hind sight that may be improved during the build? Yes I know many recommend a tiller over a wheel and bigger jibs and such. But before I cut, before I measure, before I shop for materials, please share your wisdom. Please tell what are some problems that pop up later that can be avoided.

For example reading far back into these forums I discovered many having trouble with the lamented keel boards warping. So should I set out to use one solid board instead of three for the keel?

Has anyone cut the keel to a different shape and gotten better performance? 

Another problem that keeps turning up is moisture getting between the fiberglass layer and plywood. Would I do better to not fiberglass?

What are some other trouble spots that can be address in the build?

Warping of the boards used to fabricate the laminated keel is primarily a function of the cut of the lumber being chosen to use for the keel.   Plain sawn lumber will warp regardless of how you treat it.  Look at a 2 X 6 or what ever boards are used for home decking after  being out in the weather.  Since the wood has been cut as plain sawn lumber the grain runs )) as a slice off of the outside of a log.  It will cup and twist.  NO amount of screws/epoxy or other adhesives will keep it from doing so. You have only so many ways you can put three laminations together  (((, )((, ()), etc.  The fact that wood moves with changes in the weather and if exposed to freeze cycles virtually assures you that you will have seperations of the laminations.  Glassing it will only hide the seperations until the damage is significant and in may cases past the point of repair.
Solution?  Quarter sawn lumber, straight grain and hand selected.  More expensive but far less prone to any warping, cupping or lamination issues.  If you are in an area where there are good recycled lumber dealers it is possible to pick up old growth close grain quarter sawn or vertical grain lumber that would make excellent keel stock.  Far better choice than solid one piece lumber which will more than likely be plain sawn as well and still subject to warping and cupping with weather changes and freeze thaw cycles.   
There have been extensive discussions in the old forums and a few in the new forum on this matter.  Just take the time to find out just what is appropriate for the building of a small boat.  www.glen-l.com  look at wood choices and take the time to read up on what and why.  Still one of the best sources for good info on appropriate woods to use for boat building.

Pick the best quality marine ply you can afford.  Glass it using either epoxy or vinylester resins and you will have minimal seperation or water incursion issues.  Seal any drilled holes with epoxy before putting screws thru the glass and into the plywood and no moisture can get into the plywood that way.  Caulk seams and bed attachments with marine caulk rather than just screwing them on.  Most problems with moisture getting under the glass is due to short cuts in drilling/attaching things to the plywood without concern for sealing the exposed edge.  Freeze/thaw in just one cycle and you can have major problems and most new builders just don't know what to look for until it is a major problem.

Thanks Barry that's excellent input. I'm looking over the website you suggested. I feel much more at ease sticking to the original design and yet setting out to use the best materials.

One thing that concerns me is the lack of cockpit drains. The free plans page offers a design change to add The Cockpit Drain. Has anyone had experience with this? Is this free design the best options out there? In Florida it is not too hard for rain water to start filling the cockpit, on the water or off.

(05-07-2009, 04:04 PM)Gene Harm link Wrote:One thing that concerns me is the lack of cockpit drains. The free plans page offers a design change to add The Cockpit Drain. Has anyone had experience with this? Is this free design the best options out there? In Florida it is not too hard for rain water to start filling the cockpit, on the water or off.

I added a cockpit drain to my Weekender when I got tired of bailing it out after thunderstorms and leaky tarps.  I just purchased a standard cockpit drain tube:



by drilling throught the bottom and keel at the aft end of the cockpit.  slathered it up with 4200 and put it in the hole.  6 years later it is doing fine.

Hi Gene, if you check my blog (address in sig) you will see that I did some stuff different, like the keel.  I also on other suggestions did away with the seat front lockers as places that just fill with water.  Under the seats opens into the cabin for about half the length, and then are sealed as floatation to the transom, tiller, no wheel so this was easy to do.  Forward bulkhead is solid and doesn't open to the cabin.  These would be the main changes, good luck.

Yes, I agree with omitting the oval shaped storage hatches in the seat faces, they leak badly, and I couldn't find a way to make them stop so I glued them shut and put waterproof screw-out deck plates on there instead. Also I like Ryerson's idea of making the cabin doorway smaller with the bottom edge at deck level.

I also would make the deck/side joint smooth, like the chine, and then put on a separate toerail, then water would just run overboard instead of pooling between the cabin side and the rail. I used the wheel as per the plans but I sprung for real pintles and gudgeons as I regard this to be a pretty important part of the boat.

Also, if you rig the shrouds per the plans, they will interfere with the gaff jaws and may even rub on the side of the mast as they head aft. I rigged my shrouds to a pair of terminals on each side of the mast, which are through-bolted to each other.


Anyway I also used epoxy and six ounce cloth on all the outside surfaces of my boat, and it won't delaminate. Epoxy is really sticky and I don't think water can get under it if it's applied properly. Then I painted it with polyurethane paint. Ryerson painted his with Tremclad rust paint and it looks pretty much just as good. :-[

Good luck with your boat.