Those Troublesome Skegs Mistakes Were Made

So the skegs have been cut, spliced, drilled, countersunk, stained, and finished. Now we only have to mount them. Easy, right? Ahem.

I looked for a long time to find just the right sealant and adhesive for the skegs. They get bolted down of course, but you have to seal them really well, both to adhere them and to keep water from creeping into the bolt holes. You want something that is flexible, waterproof, low adhesion (since you dont want to tear the boat apart if you need to replace the skegs), and wont cost an arm and a leg.

They had something that would probably have worked at the local marine supply place.  But I was suspicious that they turned me upside down and shook out my pockets to see how much money I had when I walked in. Everything there was ridiculously expensive. They sold tubes of standard window caulk for $20, the same stuff you can get at the hardware store for less than $5. I went to the internets and found something that fit the bill for much much less.

As a former contractor, Ive used caulk a lot. You apply a modest bead of sealant and apply pressure, wherein it spreads out nicely along the surface. That was my theory here too.

I mounted both bottom skegs before I realized that the caulk was not cooperating.  The thick sealant didnt really spread and remained as a modest bead.  I put all the bolts in, I had everything together.

At first I thought, eh, its probably okay.  Then the more I thought about it, a boat with inadequately sealed holes in the bottom was not a great idea. I realized as much as I hated it, I was going to have to do it over.

Removing the skegs was easier said than done.  If this is low adhesive, Im glad I didnt use anything gnarlier, and Im glad I didnt tear up the boat any more than I did in my efforts.

I removed the skegs, scraped off the sealant, sanded it down, and refinished.

Then I applied the sealant the way I should have from the beginning, very generously.  

I drove the bolts part way through and set the skegs in place, struggling a bit to line up all the holes.

Then I went under the boat, added washers and nuts, and tightened the shit out of everything.  I struggled a lot with this as some of the bolts were a little too short and needed to be replaced.  And some of the bolts were a little too long and needed to be cut. This time the sealant went squish out the sides like it was supposed to.

The bottom skegs met up nicely with the forward skegs.

The result was a much more boaty looking boat.

The last thing I need to do is a little finishing work to the countersunk ends of the carriage bolts.

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Boat Plans Choices Made and Not Made

So it looks like were building a boat.

Not merely throwing a bunch of shit on the deck of a couple pontoons, or strapping a bunch of barrels together, but making a boat.

You know, one of those things that floats in the water and has things like a hull and a deck, not to mention nautical terms Im still learning like bilge, stringers, chines, skegs, and bulwarks.

I checked out a half dozen plans seriously.  I ordered study plans, an abbreviated form of the full plans for study purposes, from a couple of boatbuilders, and looked at reviews of many more.

Retreat Designed by William Atkin, c. 1947 Length: 18 Beam: 7 Atkins Retreat is a sweet boat.  We liked the simple barge styling and how the cabin was positioned.  We ordered the study plans and particularly enjoyed dealing with Pat Atkin, Williams daughter-in-law who now manages Atkin Boat Plans in Noroton, Connecticut.  However this is an old design that suggests cedar planking rather than plywood. We thought William Atkin would be assuming we knew stuff that our generation had long ago forgotten.  More here.
Minnie Hill 20 Designed by Sam Devlin, 2008 Length: 20 Beam: 8 2" We took a look at this boat as well.  It seemed like a fine boat with a simple design inspired by the Retreat.  The scant study plans and coarse lines of the plan did not inspire a ton of confidence.  More info here.
Aqua Casa 20 Designed by Berkeley Eastman, 1990 Length: 20 Beam: 7 3" We liked the look of the Aqua Casa but thought the curved hull would confound us.  We also wanted a covered deck rather than an open deck that could be swamped.  More info here.
Waterlodge Designed by Glen L. Witt, c. 1990 Length: 20 2" Beam: 8 2" We liked a lot of the things about the Waterlodge.  The simple design and construction.  We did wish the cabin was pushed back toward the stern which it is in the 24 version.   More info here.

There were lots and lots of boat plans we looked at,  but these are the ones for which study plans were readily available.  Its worth mentioning that we also looked at the classic Coolwater, but knew that the plans that appeared in Modern Mechanix in the 1940s were sketchy at best and no competent boat designer had made a crack at developing complete plans.

In the end it came down to confidence that the boat designer could adequately communicate to us what we needed to know to build a boat.  Our choice came down to small details.  There were designs that had a centered cabin or one pushed a bit back toward the stern -- we leaned toward the latter.  There were designs that had covered decks versus open decks -- we went with covered decks.  There were designs that called for twin rakes fore and aft, and designs that had very little rake in back -- we were drawn to the latter.  We understood that all these things could be modified in the plans, but were not confident in our ability to freestyle from the designers intentions.

A few boat designers and builders suggested Glen L. Witts Boat Building With Plywood as a great guide to understanding plywood boats.  I picked it up first through inter-library loan at the local university library, read it, and, when it seemed like such an indispensable volume, bought it online.  Step-by-step, every aspect considered.  Sober and serious and refreshingly frank, the tone was perfect for what and how I wanted to learn.  I was impressed by Glen L. Witts ability to describe the nitty-gritty of boat building.

When it came time to shell out money for boat building plans, I was confident that the Glen-L plans would not only feature a great barge-style houseboat, but that the devil in the details would be on our side. 

I ordered the Glen-L Waterlodge plans for just over a hundred bucks.  They arrived promptly.  I opened them with excitement and was not disappointed.  These are beautiful large detailed blueprints.  Gorgeous.

Even if I dont build a boat, I now have beautiful nautical art I can hang.

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