Hi,

I'm considering building a runabout and therefore I have some
questions:

Generally I stumbled over 2 plans: The plans from glen-l and the plans
from woodenboat. Glen-l suggests using the cold molding technique
(using a lot of epoxy - and I'm not trule a fan of that) and woodenboat
suggests using the batten seam planking (the Bermuda and Palm beach
boat). So far it seams like most are using the cold molding technique
(by searching the internet) but somehow the batten seam planking
appeals to me because it more looks like "real" boatbuilding. In by the
way I suppose that batten seam is this:
http://www.freewebs.com/woodenboatbuilder/101main.htm. Does anybody
know what material/wood the batten is made of? Has anyone some pictures
of a finished batten-seam planking boat/runabout because I wood really
like to see how it looks. Are there any good books on batten seam
planking?
What would you recommend? How did the old Hacker Craft and Chris Craft
guys build their boats back then? I just have to figure which plans I
wanna buy.

But correct if I'm wrong: If a wanna build a cold molding runabout I
need a lot of plywood. If I wanna build a batten seam boat I need a lot
of "real" massive wood.

Traditionally runabouts have been built using mahogany. Are there any
alternatives for that wood? I mean if the boat gets 10 coats of varnish
anyway - how important might the rotting properties of the wood be?

Regards, Lucas Jensen

PS: I forgot to ask. Are there any substitutes for epoxy glue when cold
molding. I mean glues which don't require an arsenal of safety
gear/equipment.

Lucas

I think Buehler mentions batten seam techniques in his "Backyard
Boatbuilding."

Epoxy is really rather benign from a safety standpoint. Latex gloves of
course and a dust mask for sanding, but once the hardener and resin are
mixed, the epoxy is really not that hazardous now.

Thirty years ago, things were different. I lost a good (non-smoking,
non-drinking) friend to a failed liver, but he practically bathed in the
epoxy he used in building his homebuilt aircraft. He also didn't believe in
ventilation for his shop.

Fiberglass itches for a while if you handle it carelessly, but not as much
as our local crops of ticks, spiders, and mosquitoes.

Roger

http://home.earthlink.net/~derbyrm

wrote in message
oups.com...
PS: I forgot to ask. Are there any substitutes for epoxy glue when cold
molding. I mean glues which don't require an arsenal of safety
gear/equipment.

Lucas

Realy it will be a better alternative it also will make a stronger more
flexible hull to consider lapstrake instead of batten seam , a few
modern lapstrake designs are avaible , I seen a few anyway and I am
sure that lapstrake will be when batten seam are gone.

On 18 Aug 2005 23:30:59 -0700, said:
...
But correct if I'm wrong: If a wanna build a cold molding runabout I
need a lot of plywood. If I wanna build a batten seam boat I need a lot
of "real" massive wood.

Cold molding does not really involve plywood as such, rather strips of
veneer. Plywood and cold-molded boat hulls are similar in that they are
both made from veneer, but veneer is not plywood.

Batten seam construction probably is not really for the beginner, the
actual planking is close to the old style carvel planking and unless
your edge to edge joints are very good indeed you'll be using a lot
of gap filler. This would probably best be some sort of epoxy putty,
and you'd end up turning a lot of that into powder when smoothing.

You'd want to use epoxy as the adhesive anyway, but really the safety
measures are no more than you ought to take for any adhesive. Or even
any significant woodwork: airborne wood dust is pretty nasty in its
own right, and more hazardous than epoxy fumes in a well ventilated shop.

There are several other methods and materials for planking wooden hulls
which you may wish to consider before making a decision. If you're
interested in a hull that looks like real timber when clear finished,
you might look at strip planking. Glued plywood lapstrake is also
very pretty, immensely strong for its weight and current thinking
seems to suggest will result in a boat that lasts forever.

For a first project, you might consider a plywood boat from a design
that uses the stitch-and-tape method. This is a very fast way to find
out if you have the particular disease that compels otherwise perfectly
sane people to build wooden boats .

Traditionally runabouts have been built using mahogany. Are there any
alternatives for that wood? I mean if the boat gets 10 coats of varnish
anyway - how important might the rotting properties of the wood be?

I'd only seriously consider using timber for strip plank construction.
And if you were going with a timber boat, be guided 100% by the advice
of the designer.

--Damian