BYYB Forums

i am starting to think about how to cut the hole i need for the daggerboard into the bottom of the stripper and to be honest i am a bit afraid of doing so... so i thought i would ask the experts; i am still trying to figure out why i am asking it here then :lol:

but anyways any ideas would be welcome, what has worked for you and what have you used to do it. i have a router, but not a plunge, or a jig saw, or a chain saw hock:

and secondly how is the best way to make sure that the joint where the box meets hull is water tight?

as always thank you for the advise.

bill

Bill,
I've done it a couple different ways.

First was the jig saw and then a wood rasp to bring it close and then a finishing file. I sealed the interior with resin. I used a marine caulk between the box and the keel and again on the interior to form a fillet after it was secured.

Then I used a spiral pattern bit on the next one. It was quick and slick as all get out and then used the rasp and a finish file on the corners. I made a pattern out of 1/4" tempered masonite the same size as the interior of the box and positioned it with alignment pins. Then just zipped out the opening. Used a double bead of marine caulk on the box to join with some simple 1/8" spacers to keep the caulk as a bead while it set up. Then scrwed the entire box down and pulled it tight. Filled of caulk on the outside of the box.

I wanna see how to use the chainsaw :lol: :lol: :lol:

bill o If your shop is a little ill equiped, drill a hole at each corner saw from hole to hole dress out with a rasp. After folowing Barry's instruction about sealing and calking (I would use 3M 5200) the best way to check the joint is to put the boat in the lake with a couple of people in it, if water starts to run in recalk. :wink: Bud.

Bill -

as you know i am a hack. I would drill a hole on either end and use a jig saw to cut the opening and a file to make it right....waterproofing and sealing is a whole nother thing.

a.

I made my trunk with posts at each end (just the continuation of the 3/4" wood sandwiched in between the sides) and trunk logs (2X2 or 1X1 depending on size of hte boat) even with the bottom of the sides of the trunk. I then painted the bottom of the logs with thickened epoxy, sliped the posts through the slot I cut into the bottom, and then drove screws up from the bottom. I knew I had a good joint when thickened epoxy oozed out both inside and outside the hull. You could probably get away with using weight instead of mechanical fasteners but I prefered something more than a surface joint. I cut my hole in the bottom using a drill at the two ends and a jigsaw to connect them. I rounded the posts to fit through the rounded ends rather than rasping the opening rectangular. I then flipped over the boat (all the above was done with it upright), cut off the extra posts from the trunk, and used a router to round out all of the edges in preparration for fiberglassing.

As for fiberglass, I did the inside of the trunk before assembling it. I then used little strips of fiberglass to glass the rounded opening to protect the edges of the plywood and the ends of the trunk post. This would be a great location to use Kevlar on your boat BTW.

I used the above proceedure on three boats and never had any problems with leaks or rot. On the pocket Cruiser I actually had the trunk extend below the bottom of the boat alongside the keel to give me a little more width to my board without taking up too much cabin space.

You can probably use any sharp object you want, since you have all that open space. My only thought about the box. Don't prebuild it. I made my box square, and then couldn't get a perfect joint with the floor. I would put the lower framing for the box in first, so you can bend it to the floor, and get a tight joint. Caulk that, and then add the plywood to make a box. Other option is a monolithic concrete pour I hate daggerboxes, leaky buggers. Good luck!

Another thought Bill,
What about a leeboard? Then you wouldn't have to cut a hole in your beautiful boat.

The simple answer is cut a slot slightly larger than the trunk with whatever is handy and glue it in place with a fillet of thickened epoxy. You can get real tricky if you want to though.

Bill, did you ever see my first boat "Gimli"? She's a little Glen-L Bull's Eye.



The trunk design is ingenious. Read the section titled "Making a fiberglass shaft tube, daggerboard trunk, spar tube."

http://www.glen-l.com/weblettr/webletter...l#shoptalk