Boat Project Registry
VEE GULL (aluminum) / Ron Hounsell / New
Zealand /
/ 12-11-03: Vee Gull is just completed. It is all Aluminium
with a 202 V6 working through a Volvo Penta leg. The hull is
identical to the plans, but I've designed a cuddy cabin
for it. I also moved the cabin forward 2ft to give more
fishing room and more room to lay out our dive gear. I was
worried that the motor might be too small, but this proved
not to be the case as we can cruise at 35 knots @ 3600 revs
with 4 adults with gear aboard. It is extremely economical to
run and only draws 2ft at rest. (see Customer Photos) Note: The plans are not detailed for
aluminum constructions.
VERA CRUISE / Keith Thom / Ayrshire, West
Scotland ( UK )/
/ 4-12-02: Very early collection of materials (plans,
ordered Ply Sheets and fasteners delivered). Are there any
other Vera Cruise in the UK?? 12-1-02: I now have frames,
stem, breasthook, knee and transom complete and ready to
frame up on the construction frame. Next to lay the keel and
install sheer, chine and battens. Perhaps then I'll
understand more of Mark's recent comments in the
WebLetter on fairing the hull. Thanks for the plans, given
time to think, re think and carefully cut I've
encountered few problems. The problem is that now in Scotland
it is only about 8 - 10 deg C in day light and epoxy cure
takes ages under a temporary canvas shelter. 4-24-03: April
in Scotland brings average temperature to something like 15
degrees and the keel, bottom battens, chine and sheer are all
epoxied in place. I had great difficulty bending the chine
log into place, and eventually abandoned the plan and
instructions. I laminated in place three pieces of half inch
by two and a half mahogany, (I actually work in metric so
these are approx) It really looks like a boat now, I intend
to add an additional longitudinal batten along the mid point
of the side planking possibly inch by two, for a little extra
stiffness to protect against possible docking damage. Next
step will be the physical workout with planes and sander to
fair up the hull ready for planking. December 2003: Hull
planking now complete and sheathed, final sanding and then
ready for paint in the spring when the weather warms up.
10-15-04: Still working... the hull was successfully turned
in May and the front deck sheets are epoxied in place and
sheathed, the deck hatch has yet to be finally fitted and
I've started work on the internal joinery for seating and
galley etc. When at least the frames for these are in place
I'll get the cabin sides (which are already cut) in place
and possibly the cabin roof on (The laminated ply beams are
already made ready to drop in place), then that will probably
be about it for the winter months.
3-24-08: After a long period of illness and spinal surgery I
hope that this email to you will help drive me to complete my
Vera Cruise "MOKOIA" The hull was mothballed in
sheeting and partly heated inside on a thermostat to keep
moisture at bay. It has done well and only shows some small
areas of a black mould growth which washes off the inside
surfaces. Some internal clean up and I hope to continue with
the internal construction of galley, heads and berths. Watch
this space for some photos soon. (see Customer Photos)
VERA CRUISE / Thaddeus Dolson /
/ 5-30-04: I purchased plans for Vera Cruise about three
years ago and planed to build it when I retired to the
Philippines. Well it's been a year and a half since I
moved here and I just started about two months ago. It's
very hot here so I only work on it in the mornings. I have
most of the hull complete and hope to be ready to fibre glass
at the end of this month will send pictures after turning.
VERA CRUISE / David Ellingson / Woodstock, IL /
/ 5-10-06: I've been working on my Vera Cruise several
months, sort of in backwards order. I've been working on
the electrical/electronics, accumulating hardware, etc. so
that when the hull is complete all this other stuff will be
complete and ready to install. I bought the frame kit now
because Allyn is retiring and it won't be available in
the future. But I won’t be able to start on the hull
for a year or two.
7-7-06: Here are some pictures of the electrical panels that
I've been working on. Helm switches: Will be mount on the
helm panel adjacent to the GPS and engine gauges.
Ignition: Start, stop, ventilation, hourmeters, and
stuff.
Battery switch.
DC panel: The DC distribution panel.
AC panel: The AC distribution panel.
Front Panel Express did the anodizing, machining, and
engraving to my specs. They do a really good job at a very
reasonable price, all 5 panels were about $350 delivered to
my door. You should add their link to your
"Supplier" page.
http://www.frontpanelexpress.com/
Next I start on the supporting circuit boards. They perform
the signal conditioning for the panel meters, drive the
indicator lamps on on the panels, and a bunch of other stuff.
Once all this is complete I build the helm box. My plan is to
mount all this stuff in/on the helm box then, when the hull
is complete, I just mount the completed helm assembly and
finish routing the wiring around the hull.
9-29-08: I have sent in some pictures of my Vera Cruise
project. The first 3 photos are the helm consoles. I finished
them this winter, they're all ready to bolt onto the
hull. The last 3 are of the hull. I started the hull in early
May. Right now I am fairing the keel, chine, and sheer.
2-20-09: Sent some more pictures of my Vera Cruise. Holy
cow! I thought I would never finish fairing the keel, chine,
and sheer! The white oak I used is really dense. After
destroying a couple hand plane blades, I bought two high
quality Hock blades. They hold a sharp edge considerably
longer and cut with less effort. Well, I am almost done
fairing the battens, that part is going pretty quickly. Next
I cut the limbers then start planking.
6-10-09: I finished planking the hull this weekend, its
starting to look like a real boat! The planking went on in
big sheets, scarfed together to span the entire length of the
boat. I couldn't see how butt joints would finish fair.
The big panels handled like giant cooked lasagna noodles, not
heavy, just unwieldy. A few neighbors helped me set them down
on the applied epoxy. The temperature was cool (about 50F) so
I had plenty of time to fasten the panel before the epoxy
started to cure. To glue the planking onto the framework I
used System Three GelMagic (slow cure). That stuff is great.
You just mix it up, spread it on, and there it stays, no
dripping or sagging even on vertical surfaces. I used System
Three T-88 to glue the scarf joints which worked just fine. I
included a picture of a finished joint. Scarfing was pretty
easy using the technique described in the "Boatbuilding
with Plywood" book. The strength of the finished scarf
was amazing. I destroyed a few sample pieces to check joint
integrity. In all cases the plywood failed before the scarf
joint. I used BS1088 9 mm Okume for the planking.
9-19-09: All went well. It took only about a week to apply
the fiberglass and fill the weave...many late nights. To
avoid sanding between coats of laminating resin, I applied
the coats within 72 hours of each other. After filling the
weave I sanded the entire hull, then applied a very thin coat
of resin. I'll lightly sand this thin coat then prime and
paint. I used blush free SilverTip laminating resin. It
worked well. I was mostly working at night when the dew was
settling outside but no blush developed. I can't stress
enough the importance of applying resin in a thin uniform
coat. Runs and sags are VERY difficult to sand out. While
filling the weave I wasn't careful enough and ended up
with a lot of stipple, runs, sags, and drips. I spent about a
week sanding the hull smooth, ugh! So how do you apply a thin
uniform coat? The "tipping off" technique shown in
the "How to Fiberglass a Boat" video works very
well. For my last coat of resin (after I sanded the entire
hull), I rolled on a thin coat and worked it in all
directions with the roller. I could cover about 3'x3'
with a single roller load. Then I used a clean roller, cut in
half lengthwise, to tip off the resin. I held the roller with
a Visegrip. I found that just letting the half-roller glide
over the resin, like you would do to tip off paint,
didn't really smooth it out. I had to apply considerable
pressure to smooth it out and usually had to go over it a few
times. The result is a mirror like finish. Also, use ONLY
1/8" nap foam rollers. For one coat I used 3/16"
nap foam rollers which applied the resin far too thick.
That's when most of my stipple and sags developed.
10-3-09: I just finished priming. I used System Three Yacht
Primer. It went on great, like latex wall paint. I used the
1/8" nap foam rollers and appled four thin coats (about
2.5 gallons). It only needs a light sanding, then I can paint
the bottom. Planning to turn over the hull on November 8th,
we're planning a big roller over party.
11-10-09: I turned over my hull on Saturday, 17 months after
starting construction. All went fine, just a few minor
scrapes and gouges to fix. I should have better padded to
ropes that I used to lift and rotate the hull. This boat is
big! Upside down in the garage, you can't tell how big it
really is. But on the trailer in the driveway, my Olds
Bravada SUV looks like a toy beside it. I hope it stays big
while my daughters and I are on weekend trips around the
Great Lakes. It's a little longer than the recommended
10% stretch because I goofed when setting up. The overall
length is 23'-8" versus the recommended
23'-1" stretched length. A little update on
materials a techniques. I applied three coats of System Three
Yacht primer over the fiberglass/epoxy. That went on very
nicely with an 1/8" nap roller. It is pretty hard when
cured, so sanding was a bit of a chore. For bottom paint I
used Pettit Old Salem Hard Racing copper bronze. As I
understand it, this is basically Tung oil based varnish with
copper powder mixed in. This was quite difficult to apply.
There are a lot of lap marks, and if the wet film is at all
nonuniform the dry film will orange peel. I had a big orange
peel area near the bow that I sanded off and re-painted. The
copper oxidizes to a tan color in about a year so the lap
marks should be less obvious. I spoke with a few people who
have used this bottom paint. They all said it is a very tough
paint. I hope so because I really don't want to repaint
the bottom anytime soon. The copper color looks very retro
which is the look I am going for. (see Customer Photos)
VIGILANT / Haji Kamal / Terengganu, Malaysia /
/ 2-10-03:
7-30-02: Received Videos, Books (Boatbuilding with Plywood,
How To Fiberglass Boats and Inboard motor Installations),
Transfer Papers and Vigilant (Plywood) Plans & Patterns.
8-7-02: Sent e-Mails and making telephone calls to local
Lumber Yards to negotiate the price and to establish
Estimated Time of Arrival at my worksite. 8-12-02: Pay a
visit at one of Lumber Yard, confirm order. Purchased a Log
with 56" overall diameter, cut to sizes and quantities
as required (given extra allowance of 1/8" for Widths
and Thickness). 8-15-02: Arranging Checklist & Work
Schedule. Built up 60' L x 30' W x 28' Height
Work Shelter & AC connections. 9-15-02: Constructed
building form for Vigilant using 2" x 6" lumber.
Made a first pre-cut for sixteen Frames, Stem (4" x
16" lumber laminated with 3/4" Marine Plywood= 5
1/2") and Transom. Joining 2" x 5" Chine logs
and 1" x 3" x 3 layers of Sheer Clamp. Hung all
Chine Logs, Sheer Clamps together with 2" x 12" x 2
layers of Keel lumber on the top of scaffolding. Clamped
longitudinals to scaffolding with C-Clamps hung a basket at
the other end. Every week putting an extra weight into the
hanging basket, the purpose is to curve the Chine Logs, Shear
Clamps and Keel in the slow and steady manner.
10-3-02: Pre-saturated all the Frames to avoid extreme
Tropical weather. Monsoon Season will be arrive soon. Glued
Frame Gussets and Fillers with Poxy-Grip and screwed and
bolted in place. 1-21-03: All Sixteen Frames with 3"
thick Floor Timber, Stem and Transom located on the Set Up as
per GLEN-L Blueprint. Precaution given to the Frame # 7 to 12
which located the CB of the boat. Keel, Chine Logs and Sheer
Clamps installed on the Frames without any problems
encountered. 2-9-03: Installation of Bottom and Side Battens
is on progress, hopefully by end of March 2003 the first
Marine Plywood for Bottom Planking will be put in place after
Fairing process is over. 4-27-03: Just completed 2 layers on
Bottom and Side Planking. The third layer for Bottom planking
held up for the while, waiting a Marine Plywood from Robbins
UK. 11-5-03: Several updates are included with the photos.
The hull has been completed, painted, and is ready to roll
over. (see Customer Photos)
WANDERLUST / Anthony Ciarochi / Browns Point, WA /
/ 3-2-03: Installing chine logs and sheer clamps. 8-13-03:
Coming along. Check my progress at http://www.ivplanet.net/~ciarochi/boat/Wanderlust.html
(continually updated)
WANDERLUST / Edwin S. Coraza / Ormoc, Leyte,
Philippines /
/ 5-31-04: I enjoy building my Wanderlust. I have just
completed fiberglassing the hull. I will start putting in the
spray rails and skeg this weekend, June 05, 2004. At the same
time, I started looking for the best engine and propulsion
system to make this boat run at least 30 knots. 9-2-04: I
already turned my boat right-side up and I have started
working on the decking.
WANDERLUST / Robert N. Holmes /
/ 4-11-07: Hull is mostly done! I am currently putting the
cabin together. Cabin overhead beams are now connected to the
side bulkheads. The two overhead sheets of plywood are on my
lofting table getting there fourth coat of varnish. The aft
cabin bulkhead with cutout for door is also in place. This
boat will weigh a bit heavy. Mostly from the false "self
bailing deck" and I went a bit heavy framing the cabin
deck.(sleeping area). I am not sure how much epoxy went into
this project. Lots! And more to go. It's been three years
since I started. I only work on it a couple nights a week.
This summer! It is realistic, I should be finished.
WEE HUNK / Matt O'Neill / Email address not valid
5-6-03 / 9-13-99: Plywood, lumber, SNG Kit on order, studying
plans. Sides and bottom stitched together, gluing up transom.
Planning to use a Honda 4 stroke. 11-16-99: Close to turn
over for fiberglassing. 2-28-00: Late Dec through early Feb
too cold to do anything. Now fiberglassed and turned upright.
The console and bench have been installed. Have purchased a
Yamaha 25 hp 4 stroke. 3-29-00: Fiberglass and resin work
complete. First coat of paint is on. Hanging the motor this
weekend. 4-12-00: Finished but not in the water yet. (See
photos in Customer Photos/Archives)
WEE HUNK / Steve Dziedziak / Olympia, WA /
/ 7-11-03: I have started cutting the bottom panels.
9-15-03: In the month of August I stitched the sides and
bottom, then filleted and taped the seams on the inside. Put
in front seat and breasthook, motorwell and inner sheers. I
turned the hull over on the first of Sept. Sanded bottom,
filled, radiused corners and preped for taping seams. Taped
seams this weekend (9/13-14) and applied some fairing
compound to level hull in preparation for fiberglassing the
sides and bottom. 10-16-03: Epoxied and applied fiberglass
cloth to the bottom and sides. Applied extra coats of epoxy
to fill weave and faired the bottom a little. Now I am
working on the bottom battens. 11-01-03 to 1-16-04: I have
finished the bottom (no paint yet). Turned back over to work
on the outer sheers, cold weather has slowed me down a
little. I am laying out the interior (seats, console and
front seating). I am going to go with a walk thru layout,
with bow seats. 5-4-04: I have built my consoles in (one on
each side) and I am finishing up the front seating. I have
cut the holes for, and mounted, the steering wheel and hub
assembley. Will be removeing to paint. i have also bought a
motor and controls. I am working on setting up control
location and routing of cables. I am going to mount motor and
then take off to paint then re-install. I hope to turn the
hull again and paint the bottom this month. 6-8-04: On
5/29/04 I completed painting the bottom and sides. I will let
it dry for a week then turn back over and start to prime the
inside and paint. I used the system three water based epoxy
primer and WR-LPU topcoat paint. the primer was rolled on (3
coats), then sanded smooth. The paint was applied with a
spray gun for the first three coats. I couldn't get it to
lay right so I rolled the next 2 coats and tipped it with a
brush. Came out excellent. I want to be ready for the water
in July sometime (might be a little optimistic). (see
Customer Photos)
WEE HUNK / Michel Grandbois / Lennoxville,
Québec, Canada /
/ 6-19-05: Now working intensively on a Wee Hunk and the
hull is now formed and look prett good. I hope to have it
ready for some whale wachting in the St-Laurence Gulf by the
end of August.
WHITEHALL / Brian McGowan / Melbourne, Australia /
/ 5-10-07: Modified the design and specs to
14’0”. Found that the Internet is the most
un-believable library and it is right at the finger tip. You
can read and see what others have done and the problems they
have resolved, tools they use for best effect, most
importantly the experiences and fun they are having/had, just
a wonderful adventure at every turn. Strong back and forms
completed and assembled. Have collected, scrounged, bought on
E-bay, most of the timber (Douglas-fir and some cypress) in
major beam form and piece by piece it is being ripped to the
various spec’s. Slowly building the laminations of all
stems and knees, Scarfing material for planking, risers etc,
could not get straight and clear in the lengths required.
Life at this stage seems to be at the end of a sander or glue
pot. Keel has all but been completed. Completion depended on
deciding just how thick the planking would be! The specified
half inch is too difficult to bend, when the timber is well
aged and dry (very), so we have opted for 3/8” which
means the bevel needed to be adjusted. That brings me to the
reason for the name “Square One”, we have been
back and forward so often and at times seemed as though we
would never make any progress. Part of the fun, enough of the
chit chat still a long way to go.
WHITEHALL Wood / Casey McGovern / Tacoma, WA /
/ 9-25-07: I started in 7-2007 and as of now I have a
building form set up under cover in the backyard, a transom
glued and screwed, and a stem laminated. I am getting a lot
of my mahogany and cedar cheap from Second Use Lumber just
south of Seattle. I am making sure all the wood is either
secondhand or certified-sustainable. I am surprised how few
builders there are for this nice design. I will be adding a
sail rig.
WHITEHALL / Bruce Kibler / Highlands, NC /
/ 2-25-08: I have photo's on the Glen-L website of the
17 ft. Whitehall that I built about two years ago. Here is my
current contact information in case anybody is looking for
help and would like to speak with someone (me) regarding the
building of the Whitehall or perhaps even of my whereabouts.
If you want more photo's, I can provide some during
construction. (See Customer Photos)
WILD THING / Bob Holt / Email address not valid 5-6-03
/ 8-6-98: In final stages, almost ready to paint. 6-14-99:
Finished. Performs really well with a Mariner 15 hp. (See
Customer Photos)
WILD THING / Neal Ball / Shropshire, England (
UK )/
/ 2-22-00: Plywood and other timber purchased today. Frames
marked out, first 3 cut out. Hull being marked out at
weekend.
WILD THING / Phil Harrison / Redwood City, CA /
/ 9-14-02: My son and I are working on finishing the Wild
Thing project that we began last summer (2001). We have just
finished fiberglassing the bottom and will put the first coat
of Easypoxy paint on this weekend. We plan on turning it over
next weekend to begin installing the frames and cowling.
We'll send pictures shortly. We are enjoying our Glen L
projects. 5-10-03: The Wild Thing and Tempest is progressing
at a slower pace these days. We have been working on the
projects when we can find a few hours on the weekends. We are
at the final finishing stage now on the Wild Thing. I have
just finished putting in the final screws and nails last
weekend and will spend part of today, filling screw holds and
sanding. I plan to start fiberglassing next weekend and then
paint the following weekend. We should have the official
launch in Early July after my son graduates. I've
attached pictures of the final stages of the wild thing and a
few pictures of the Tempests Transom Frames and Stem. I want
to complete the Wild thing first so we can get it out of the
way as it takes up all the room on the make shift work table.
I admit we have had a lot of good times with the Wild Thing
project and look forward to spending some quality time on the
Tempest when we get some room in the tent. (see Customer
Photos)
WILD THING / Dan and Alan Levenson / Barnegat, NJ /
/ 9-11-05: Bought the kit right before the summer but will
be reconfiguring the final design. Progressing on schedule.
10-26-05: Ready to fiberglass the topside. Still need to
design access to front. Cockpit is next. I will be using a 20
hp for this. Looking to bring the boats weight in under 250#
with the motor. (See Customer Photos)
WILD THING / David Henry / Dublin, Ireland /
/ 2-19-08: I purchased your plans in 2003 and completed the
project Feb 04, it was quite a challenge, I worked many late
evenings and still married, stitch and glue is very fast to
form the hull and Glen – L full size plans were
excellent, performance with 15 hp engine is superb and can
even catch a jet ski, second hand seats and visor from
motorcycle give a sporty look. (See Customer Photos)
WILDCAT "E-X-T" CUDDY / Nick Kay /
Australia /
/ 11-28-09: My name is Nick and I am currently building the
24' plywood version. I would like to put twin 150 hp
outboards on her.
XP-8 / Jake Buttrick /
/ 10-21-00: Bought plywood yesterday and started cutting.
10-24-00: Finished cutting out parts from plywood. 3-30-01:
Finished making framing and cutting peices. 5-11-01: Started
fiberglassing. 8-13-01: boat finished. 8-17-01: maiden
voyage. 5-8-03: I finished my XP8 a couple years ago. Up
until last summer I've been using a Merc110, getting
speeds just over 25MPH. This winter I finished rebuilding a
1950's Mercury Mark 25, and should get the boat going
around 35MPH. Sometime this summer I will finish my
1950's racing engine, a Mark 15H. That should push me
over 40MPH, and I could use the MK25 powerhead on the H
tower... That would be reeeaaaalllly fast. Can't wait to
try it out. My brother has a telephoto lens on this 35mm, so
we have some nice shots from the rowboat. As a matter of
fact, he has a Pee Wee(Ill send one of those pictures too).
The Pee Wee has a 1997 Johnson 9.9HP on it and goes slightly
faster than my XP-8 with a 70's Mercury 9.8HP. I'll
send a couple now, if you want more, just let me know. Have I
mentioned I'm only 19(I was 17 when I comlpeted
construction)? I did all the work myself. Only help I got was
my brother helped me flip it during construction. (see
Customer Photos)
XP-8 / Greg Gardiner /
/ 2-18-01: Built xp-8 in 1978. Put fiberglass over plywood.
Boat still in use. 25mph estimated with 9.9 hp outboard.
5-8-03: Email still valid... Great memories.
XP-8 / Darryl Mabee /
/ 10-31-01: Built complete XP-8 in two weeks during summer
vacation in 1990. Put fibreglass tape over bow split over
plywood. Boat still in use. 25mph estimated with 9.9 hp
outboard. 5-7-03: We finished XP8 about 15 years ago and it
is still in occasional use. I get the occasional email about
it now and then too.
XP-8 / Ed Carr / Natick, MA /
/ 7-5-06: Finished project, two XP-8's and trailer.
XP-8 / Cameron Murphy / Orleans, MA /
/ 3-7-2010: Finished gathering wood and began cutting
plywood.
3-13-10: Finished cutting plywood and frames. Laminated bow
piece, stem, motorboards.
3-14-10: Glued stem to bow piece, cut transom cap and
frames, athwartship brace, and ripped down wood for keel and
battens. Almost ready to begin assembling bow piece/stem,
frames, and transom to keel.
YUKON / Erik Jansen / Email address not valid 5-6-03 /
7-98: (started 01-01-92): is now almost ready, I have some
painting and interior work to do. Motor is installed.
Finished 1999 (see Customer Photos)
YUKON / Glen Zwicker / Nova Scotia, Canada /
/ 05-22-02: Started building in summer of '00. Turned
the hull in 09-01. I have the forward cabin area just about
finished, and am just now doing the side decks aft to the
transom. The cockpit framing is in, and I have all the roof
beams laminated, and the mast and spar is glued up. I live
just a few miles from Wayne Milner, who has completed his
Yukon, and whose magazine-published story is on this web site
(look in MISC in the
sidebar on the home page). Wayne has been a great help to me,
both with advice and physical help, and I would have been
reluctant to start building without his encouragement.
1-3-03: The project is now completely "closed in".
The windows and doors are in place with the engine (Ford
Senator 120) and fuel tanks (2 x 185 imp. gal.) inside but
not installed. I am now doing some wiring and plumbing on
milder days, and working at sub-assemblies in the shop on
most days. The project is outside. I am looking forward to
springtime when I can add the bulwarks, rubrails, swim
platform, flying bridge, and mast. Tentative launch date is
October '03. 5-7-03: Over the winter I installed the
engine and aligned it with the shaft, and did all the
below-decks electrical, fuel, exhaust, ventilation, heating,
plumbing, engine cooling, and other systems. Now I am taking
advantage of the improved weather to work outside, and have
the bulwarks about half done. It's a lot of fun.....sorta
takes over your life though! 05-22-04: The flybridge is now
ready for primer. I made a few changes up there. I moved the
helm to the far right, and made the seating back-to-back
athwart-ship with a two foot passage, fore and aft. She will
be then ready for exterior paint. Inside, a bit of sanding
will have her ready for final finish. I have all the various
mouldings milled and pre-finished. She is going in the water
for sure this summer! 6-8-05: Well, she didn't go in the
water last summer, but she is in now. Launch date was May
23,'05. I'll put a picture in the Customer Photos
section as soon as I can.
YUKON / Tom Schmidt / Frostproof, FL /
/ 5-2-03: I'm building the Yukon with some
modifications. I have completed the site preparation and have
the building form up and 9 frames completed.
1-20-04: I've completed the frames and have started
planking the hull as of this date.
6-16-09: I haven’t updated my building progress in
some time. I am currently working on getting the outside of
the boat weather-tight in case I have to move out of my
current location and finish the boat outside. I have most all
of the major construction completed at this point with the
exception of the fly bridge and swim platform. All systems
are installed and only require wiring and plumbing to
complete them. Inside requires work on paneling and cabinets
in the salon and stateroom and then flooring. It’s been
a long time since I started this project, just over six years
but I’m closing in on the launch date. I hope it
won’t be too much longer before I can sit on the aft
deck and enjoy a sleepy afternoon on the Molly B.
Visit my website. http://home.att.net/~schmidttl.
YUKON / Kaye Lenn / 60 miles southwest of Washington,
DC /
/ 7-7-03: We have completed the hull of our YUKON have the
Deadwood in place and are starting to cloth the hull. We
intend to use Vectra cloth as I put it on a previously built
boat and very pleased with it's application as well as
wear. We would like to correspond with some other YUKON
builders.
ZIP / Doug Hodder /
/ 2-5-00: Cut out frame members, built form. 2-12-00:
assembled frames, transom, and stem. 2-13-00 Installed keel
and battens. 2-19-00: Installed chines and sheers. 2-26-00:
Received plywood, began fairing. 3-2-00: Had heart failure at
price of outboard. 3-5-00 I scored a parts boat on the way
home from work. I got a 1957 Mercury 45 hp. motor, all the
vintage hardware, steering, etc... The beauty of it all is
that it matches the motor on the boat in the photo of your
catalogue circa 1957. 700$ for the motor and the works. Heart
failure averted. 3-17: Finished planking hull. 3-18: Fill and
finish screw countersinks. 3-20: Glass tape joints. 3-20-00:
Fiberglassed bottom. 4-1-00: painted the hull, two tone, 1/2
inch white stripe with aquamarine bottom and clear coated it.
4-3: took apart building cradle, will reuse parts to
fabricate cradle to build out the topside. 4-25-00: Boat is
turned over. Floor blocking and carlings in. Intruments are
in dash, design detail routed into figured maple with padauk
inserts. (See Customer Photos-Archives)
ZIP / Rick Stokes / Canada /
/ 5-15-00: Tranferring patterns to layout board and frame
members. 7-2-00: Completed frame and transom construction;
working on form and set up. 11-1-00: Completed planking and
fiberglassing hull, preparing to paint. Will transfer to a
friend's heated work shop for completion of deck and
interior. 7-22-01: Finished (See Customer Photos)
ZIP / David Robinson / Fairhope, AL /
/ 6-1-00: Fairing the frames, chines, shears. 5-9-03: Slow
but steady. Have turned her over and am fitting out the
interior. 4" wide slatted cedar side paneling (a la
pre-'50's Lymans or pre-war "gentlemans
sportster"), slatted cedar seats and duckboards. Am
running the wiring this weekend. Then I'll start putting
on the deck soon. (I learned over many boats that anything
you can do before the deck is on is easier than lying on your
back under the deck trying to do it.)
ZIP / Bryce Jeannotte /
/ 11-3-00: So far I have completed the Stem, Breasthook and
Transom Knee. I am working on the transom and have modified
it to allow the use of a long shaft motor. I plan to plank
the sides and bottom with Okoume/Mahogany plywood and use
Sapele for the deck. 5-20-03: Unfortunately my project has
been going very slowly. I have been working a lot over the
last year or two. I don't know where the time goes but it
does just seem to disappear, but I will be getting back to
the Zip this fall.
ZIP / Rob Simmons / Lookout Mountain, Ga /
/ 3-15-02: Built the building frame, leveled and releveled
everything... perfect. 3-20-02: Attached the frames, clamping
each one in place including the transom and stem. 4-3-02:
Bought about 68 board feet of White oak for the keel, chines
and decking. Since I bought random-random wood I cut the
boards to length and I am ready to attach and fair. 10-05-02:
Took a little time off but got back on the project ASAP
Right away found a mistake. The stem was off the
centerline by about 3/4 of a inch. I added extra material
along the stem to help compensate, plus I will have some
creative fairing to accomplish. (Please email me if you want
the complete details.) I have put the chines and sheers on
and I have started fairing away. 10-10-02: I hate fairing.
11-20-02: Got fed up and bought a power planer. Fairing
stinks. 1-17-03: Attached and fitted the battens. It was a
little too cold here to use epoxy, so I am waiting a little
bit to finish attaching them. Fairing is almost completed and
I am about to purchase the plywood for the hull and do the
last bit of fairing for a snug fit. I would like to recommend
a power planner for ANY AND ALL fairing. It speeds up the
process and is easier on your back.
ZIP / Rolando Perez / Paranaque City, Metro Manila,
Philippines /
(email address updated 1-05) /
2-17-03: Have done frames no. 2, 4, 5 1/2, breasthook, stem,
transom knee. 3-2-03: The form is up, frames & stem
secured, keel installed. Chines are being fitted. I am
building the Zip as an open utility. Haven't yet
determined deck layout. 4-7-03: All support structure have
been glued or fitted. The laminated shear took a lot of time
to fit & glue. Also had problems with chine: had to add
blocking at frame 5 1/2 so it wouldn't spring out and
laminated patch on at stem end which was set in a bit aft.
Now starting to fair. 5-15-03: Got delayed by holidays but
the planking is done. Ready for filling and fiberglass
sheathing. 6-10-03: Fiberglass sheathing done, hull
right-side up. 9-7-03: The deck has been laid, trimmed and
sheathed. 4-12-04: After four months of being idled, I
decided to throw the unfinished boat into the lake for a
splash test. A 5hp Merc made it plane on calm water! Fitted a
25hp Johnson for size. Gave the deck and the floorboards a
quick coat of white paint to keep them cool in the tropical
sun to prep her for The Easter holidays. Trailed her past
costumed penitents to the Hundred Islands marine park 200km
away. So why should we let a little finishing putty and paint
get in the way of fun! Isn't this what boating is all
about? (see Customer Photos)
ZIP / Bill Johnson / Rumson, NJ /
/ 8-3-03: Started construction. Built a wooden platfom in my
backyard to construct the boat on. 8-5-03: Received Frame
Kit. One frame had a large crack in it, but appears there
will be no trouble in getting it replaced. 8-10-03: Built
building form and begining to level/allign frames. 8-12-03:
Received replacement for the cracked frame. 8-18-03: Finished
leveling frames, Cut transom for Short Shaft motor (15")
9-7-03 - Fit the Keel, will epoxy it during the week
sometime. 10-13-03: Finished installation of chine and sheer.
Had to add some blocking to frame 5 1/2 because I had to
drill out a stripped screw in the frame itself. Added the
blocking for some extra support. Now to start fairing....
7-5-05: It's been a long time since I've sent an
update, so here it goes: Summer/Spring 2004. Finished
planking. Placed 3/16" Mahogany Veneers on the transom.
Fiberglassed hull. Lots of sanding... Winter/Fall 2005:
Placed skeg on the bottom of the hull. Painted the bottom
with Interlux VC Performance Epoxy. Lots of sanding... Turned
Hull over and placed it on a trailer. 7-5-05: Completed
framing for the floorboards. I diverged from the plans at
this point. Installed floorboards, but holding off on
painting them until the deck is faired and I am not stomping
around or dropping heavy tools on them. I have begun
installing the deck framing and hope to have that and the
motorwell complete in a few weeks. 10-28-05: Finished deck
framing and motorwell. Fit the steering and instruments.
Painted the inside of the hull with Interlux BilgeKote. Going
to seal it up for the winter months, but I think it will be
in the water early next summer! 10-10-06: I finished the boat
over the summer and launched last weekend Oct 8, 2006. It was
a complete success. The boat handles perfectly and is very
fast. I can't wait until next summer so that I can enjoy
the fruits of three years labor. The pictures of the boat on
the water are at the boat launch near my house on the
Navesink river. I plan to spend a lot of time there next
year! (see Customer Photos)
ZIP / Nathan A. Miller / Fredericksburg, VA /
/ 10-27-03: Frames 2, 4, 5-1/2 cut and planed from
quartersawn white oak. Ordered POXY SHIELD to begin assembly
of frames. 11-2003: Decided to trace and cut the bow and
stern sections for the side and bottom pieces separately to
minimize wastage and then scarf the sections together. Used
my power plane to scarf plywood for the sides and bottom.
Clamped a steel ruler to the inboard side of the scarf to use
as a guide and support for the thick end of the scarf and
then made many progressive passes until I got down to a
feather at the edge. Process worked fairly well. Only problem
in gluing the joints was that on one of the side joints, I
didn't have enough weight and ended up with a gap....
fortunately on the inside of the side piece so it won't
be showing.... looks like it will be ok mechanically and I
don't have enough plywood to do another full side so I
will proceed. 12-2003: Completed all frames and transom.
Installed on building jig anchored to floor of boat-shop
(which I will have to cut away part of the wall to get the
boat out.... but that's ok!) 03-2004: Sprung in the
chines. None broken. Wish I had done a better dry fit job and
cut notches during the springing in... had some misalignment
of notches to the log. 05-2004: Not much of a chance to work
on the boat. Have the sheers sprung in. 09-2004: Busy summer.
Have battens in and starting the fairing process. Had to put
3rd lamination on the forward part of sheers since I am
taking off so much wood. 10-2004: Received my shipment of
marine plywood from Boulter in Mass. Very impressed with the
rapid turnaround and shipping of my order. Got 1/4"
mahogany veneer for the sides, stern and forward bottom.
1/4" fir for the aft bottom and to underlay the deck.
3/8" for the motor well, and misc use. Finally done
fairing. 03-2005: Completed the hull and used water based
stain from Lockwood to stain the mahogany sides (and was able
to test it on the fir part of the bottom for practice.
04-2005: Completed the hull and fiberglassing with 3 coats of
West 105/207. Wish I had waited to get some higher
temperatures to get a thinner epoxy mix. Was above the 60F
recommended minimum temperature but the got a lot of sagging
due to the thickness of the mix and resulted in a lot of
sanding. 06-11-05: Flipped the boat with the assistance of my
wife.... (I thought we should have some more people there to
help but SHE insisted that we would be able to do it
alone.... now that's irony for you). Went over very
easily. I rigged the boat with two loops of strap: one around
the boat at the forward frame and one around just forward of
the stern. Had both straps run through a pulley and which I
then attached to a come-along rigged to the overhead of the
boat-shop. Just a matter on lifting the boat up and off the
building frame and then estimating how high I needed to jack
it up to have enough clearance to rotate it about the long
axis. Started to rotate the boat slowly.... didn't take
as much effort to get it started turning (or to control the
turn rate) as I expected.... single man effort. Unfortunately
I was about 5" short in the lift room available and when
I started to rotate the boat, the widest side near the bow
hit the ground. After temporary panic and profanity, I was
able to lift the bow up the extra 6" to get it turned
completely over. 08-24-05: Completed deck framing and most of
the way done framing for the motor well. Have 1/4"
plywood underlayment down on the foredeck. Need to figure out
how to start ripping 1/4" deck planks from my 8/4
Mahogany and Walnut stock for finishing the deck. 4-24-07:
She went in the water July of 2006.
ZIP / Howard Katzman / West Bloomfield, MI /
/ 5-2-04: Started project April 9th 2004. Built building
form, installed pre-coated frames (I purchased the frame kit,
what a bargain!), installed keel, installed chine logs. I
have a time clock in my garage and am closely tracking hours
spent on this project. To date I have 22 hours (an average of
2.75 hours/day worked). 9-28-07: I finally finished her this
summer after three years. I'm very pleased with her.
She's met or exceeded all my expectations. I have a 1960
Merc 400 (45 hp). I can pull a water skier and we have a lot
of fun tubing. (see Customer Photos)
ZIP / Brad Chupp / West Bloomfield, MI /
/ 6-9-04: I've completed Zip project. I hate to say it,
but it took me almost 3 years to complete. Not to say I spent
a solid 3 years working on it, but i did take my time. Please
feel free to share these on your website with my email
address. (see Customer Photos)
ZIP / David Grason / Nashville, TN /
/ 8-2-004: I've bought Bill Tyson's Zip. He started
it several years ago, but it has been lying dormant for some
time. Traveled to Ohio and brought the project back home to
Nashville, Tn. At the present, 08-01-2004, the hull has been
completed and fiberglassed. There is still some sanding to do
before it goes to paint and I want to add a skeg. Also, the
hull has not been taken off of the building form. I'll be
ordering the trailer plans very soon because I want the
trailer to be able to conveniently move the boat around the
shop as I work on the deck.
ZIP / Don Slomke /
/ 7-30-04: It starts again. My 9th boat. Purchased first
pieces of lumber today. 8-1-04: Transom knee, breasthook,
frames 2 & 4 cut out. 8-4-04: All frames cut out, transom
cut out, stem, transom knee and breasthook assembled.
8-14-04: All frames and transom assembled. All sheers and
chines ripped and planed to size and ready to install.
9-3-04: All framework is done. I will begin plywood planking
today. 9-5-04: Rear half of hull planked, screw holes plugged
and sanded. 9-30-04: Bottom planking done, ready for
fiberglass. 10-2-04: All bottom seams covered with fiberglass
tape. 10-7-04 All deck framing complete, ready for plywood.
10-22-04: All decking cut and ready to install. I am going to
finish it as an open cockpit since I will be using a 1958
18hp Johnson manual start outboard. 11-18-04: Haven't
worked on it for a while, it's deer season, but this week
I trimmed the decking, cut out the flooring and got the back
seat built. 2-12-05: It's been a while, but I had some
nice weather, so I got back to work. The wood work is
complete. Now as soon as it warms up a little, I'll start
the fiberglass work. 4-12-05: We've had a stretch of warm
weather lately so I got to work 'glassing. All the cloth
is on, and I hope to be ready for paint soon. The goal is to
have it in the water by May 1. (see Customer Photos)
ZIP / Nedelin Karnolski / Sofia, Bulgaria /
/ 10-26-04: At the moment I am building something like a
garage for being able to build my boat. In the same time all
the project was translated by a professional and now I am
converting all the mesurements to the metric sistem. Hope to
have it built it by the end of March.
ZIP / Ernie Arena / Orlando, Florida /
/ 11-02-04: Started making ribs and transom mahogany. Plan
on using ribbon cut mahogany ply.
ZIP / Kevin Wright / Courtice, Ontario /
/ 3-20-05: Just starting, strongback members are cut to
size. Starting the tracing of the frame members.
ZIP / Gregory Mazurek / Oxford, MI /
/ 11-3-05: Well I have finally settled in and started
building the Glen-L Zip, again. I say again becasue I
originally started back in April this year but we sold the
home we were in and moved. I was not at the point where I
felt comfortable moving the entire boat and building platform
together so down it came. The good news is I have a lot more
room and a heated garage to boot this time around. The plan
is to work through the winter and have the hull flipped by
spring. We'll see how that goes. Anyhow, I have the
building platform set up square and level with the frames in
position. I decided to go with the frame kit since this is my
first boat and was anxious to get going. So far all of the
lumber is quarter sawn African mahogany that I found from a
local mill. I am planning on mahogany plywood for the rest
but have not searched out a source yet. I'll try and keep
this registry updated as I continue. Hopefully I'll get
some pictures posted once I take some.
ZIP / Rick Canton /
/ 6-28-06: I faired the chines, battens and sheers with a
bosch power planer I purchased on ebay, I highly recommend a
power planer, especially when fairing white oak. Next was the
application of the plywood, I used ribbon striped mahogany on
the side planking and meranti marine plywood for the bottom.
I had some trouble bending the plywood at the transom but it
worked out fine, just make sure you trim off enough plywood
in your rough cutting and clamp it good to keep it in place.
Several trial and errors when applying the plywood at the
stem, but managed to get that applied as well. 8-17-06: I
just finished painting the bottom and the transom of my Zip
with green Nautical bottom paint. A great deal of sanding,
cleaning and re-sanding but it looks great. I am planning to
add a white stripe just above the green at the waterline. I
am looking forward to turning the boat over in the next few
days and put it on a trailer I picked up with my purchase, a
14’ 1960 Crestliner boat with a 1960 Evinrude Lark II
motor. I plan to take the hardware off the boat along with
the motor to convert it all to my Zip. Things are progressing
nicely!. 9-23-06: I have my deck battens on and I have faired
them using my power planer and scrap plywood to get the
proper fit. The power planer works great, It took me about an
hour to get it done. I will be working on the carlings and
the seats next as I wait for my shipment of marine plywood to
come in for the top decking. I installed my floor, I used
½ inch plastic plywood, it works great, I used
1” x 2” white oak for my floor blocking and then
sealed them with epoxy resin. Seats are next, I am planning
to go with a 10” height seat at this point, not sure of
the design my next picture should give a good view of what I
decided. I have 2 months until basketball starts so I hope to
have everything done except the finished top decking and
hardware. That I will tackle next spring and my Zip should be
ready for the June launching! (see Customer Photos)
ZIP / Jerry R. Lindamood /
/ 10-24-06: Cutting out frames, being built in my shop.
ZIP / Tom Drake / Mount Dora, FL /
/ 10-24-06: I am just starting my GlenL Zip runabout. At
this stage, I have completed the installation of all framing
members on the building jig. I am waiting for my fasteners
and epoxy from Glen-L which should be shipping this date.
While I am quite comfortable with woodworking, I haven't
built a boat since my early teen age years which was nearly
60 years ago. I am building this as a project and from a
desire to own a classic looking runabout. 9-7-07: I have just
completed my first wooden boat and it has been a great
experience. Living in Mount Dora, FL, there has not been a
shortage of help as this area is a Mecca for wood boat
restorers. My wife, Tina, and I are looking forward to our
trip to the Gathering to visit with other Glen-L builders.
The two photos indicate the influence of our local antique
boat restorers in detailing my Zip. If I can be of help to
anyone working on a Zip, just e-mail me. (see Customer
Photos)
ZIP / Todd Arnette / Williamsburg VA /
/ 3-7-07: Purchased plans & book "Boatbuilding with
Plywood" - Glen L Witt in December 2006 with intention
of a Feb 1 2007 start (my 42nd birthday). Construction frame
is built as of Feb 1. Transom & Frames are mounted.
Transome Knee & Stem/Breasthook assembly is complete As
of March 1. I have started to encapsulate the Stem/Breasthook
& Transome Knee. I have already learned two lessons I
hope to not learn again. Forethought & preparation is
pretty handy. And, don't rush; it takes longer to re-do
than to do.
ZIP / Eben blue Traywick / Ukiah, CA /
/ 10-25-07: I am building your Zip. I am 13 years old and we
just started the plywood planking. (see Customer Photos)
ZIP / Mark and Donn Shipley / Thousand Oaks, CA /
/ 12-4-07: My dad built his first Zip in 1956 (in
five weeks!), so he's been having a blast working on this
one. Status is as follows:
August 11-12: Frames and transom, stem and breasthook
fabricated. Mahogany was used for the framing and all plywood
is A-A Royal Marine Douglas Fir. We spent the following
weekend sanding and preparing everything for assembly.
Sept. 1-3: We built the assembly fixture and attached the
aforementioned pieces per the plans, and laid the keel.
The next couple of weekends were spent laminating and
installing the sheers and chine logs. I highly recommend
laminating these. We experienced no breakage and this allowed
us to keep these members full thickness. We added T-sections
to the keel and battens, between the transom and Frame
Two.
We spent several weekends fairing everything for planking.
We did have to do some shimming of the chine logs aft of the
stem, to keep the chines positive. I can say that all the
time spent fairing and checking everything was very well
spent. Tool recommendation: The "David" razor
plane. I've used these for years in my model airplane
hobby and they work beautifully for fairing the chines and
sheers. Lightweight yet extremely robust. Made in Holland,
they are available from a number of sources on the internet
for about $25. We began installing planking on Thanksgiving
Day, while the turkey was on the barbecue. This brought back
memories for my dad, because he and my granddad began work on
Zip Number One under the exact same circumstances in 1956.
All planking was completed over the long weekend. We did have
some concerns about plywood cracking due to the Santa Ana
wind conditions that weekend, so we lightly misted the
planking with a plant sprayer up forward and had no
problems.
This past weekend, Dec. 1-2, we got the fiberglass on.
Despite the cold weather, we were able to get the cloth
wetted out. We put down a ply of six-ounce E-glass followed
by a second ply of two-ounce to aid finishing. This will
finish out extremely well. We'll be keeping the creature
comforts to a minimum to keep the weight down. We expect to
have this boat on the water sometime this spring. Power will
be a restored 1956 Mercury Mark 55E, and I've already
constructed the trailer using your plans as a guide, but TIG
welding everything from two-by-three-inch steel tube rather
than C-channel. Since this will be a fresh-water boat the
tube will not present a problem. One problem with trailers
for lightweight boats is finding springs having a low enough
rate to allow the suspension to work. Because of this I
intentionally built the trailer on the heavy side to obtain a
gross weight of approximately 1,000 lbs. using 1,500 lb.
springs. We are also willing to share our experiences with
other builders.
1-21-08: We righted the hull over the weekend and
successfully mated it to the trailer. My guess is that the
bare hull is well under 200 lbs. and four of us were able to
do this with no scratched paint or hernias.
2-4-08: Now that the boat is righted, we've made some
serious progress with the deck framing. Since the majority of
our work is done over the weekends, I'll try and provide
you guys with a data dump every morning, with photos to
follow when we get around to taking them (this seems to fall
through the cracks more than anything else). In spite of the
rain, wind and cold temps in our drydock/carport over the
weekend, we were able to get the forward deck battens and
carlings installed. We also began working out the motorwell
details before running out of mahogany. We initially had
thoughts of making the carlings as one-piece items so that we
could "egg-crate" them into the frames. We quickly
discovered that this would not be practical since the
carlings follow the sheer line. We could have laminated them
to do this, but just following the plans turned out to be the
best approach. Funny how that always seems to be the case....
We also installed the seatback beam for the front cockpit.
This was angled eight degrees from vertical, a figure that
just felt right. The rear seatback beam installation
didn't go as smoothly. We had originally thought that we
could have a 32-inch cockpit with a 12-inch motorwell. On
paper this would have given us a small bridge deck between
the well and cockpit. When we fitted the outboard to confirm
this, we discovered that tilting it up caused the motor's
front to foul the deck. Solution? The rear seatback beam is
now the front bulkhead for the motorwell and the rear cockpit
is shorter at 28 inches. When we get thing cleaned up and
hide most of our sins I'll get some more photos onto a CD
and send it over. Until then, stay tuned...
2-14-08: Last weekend we faired the forward deck beams and
battens for the planking. This was as time-consuming as
fairing the hull structure. It really takes a good eye to get
everything to flow nicely. Tool recommendation: The
Porter-Cable compact belt sander. This is the one that looks
like an armadillo. What's nice is that it has sufficient
grunt for fairing, but is easily held in one hand. I got mine
through Amazon for $109. It's been a real time saver. P-C
tools are darn near indestructible, so I consider this one to
be a great value. I hope my updates are of some use to
others. I'll keep sending them until somebody tells me to
stop!
2-20-08: This past weekend we finished the woodwork for the
motorwell. We really had to take our time with this one, but
we're satisfied with the result. We'll be even more
satisfied if the motor fits. Once that was completed we
turned to the seating. We wanted something lightweight, but
with enough curvature in the right places to keep our butts
and backs happy. A couple of hours spent mocking things up
and sitting in them finally got us something we could live
with.
2-25-08: Here's what we did over the weekend... Most of
our effort was spent sanding and cleaning up the hull
interior in preparation for applying our epoxy encapsulation.
It's amazing how many small details get missed during
construction, so this was time well spent. I've heard it
said that the difference between a good job and a bad one is
usually determined by sandpaper. Once this was done we
applied the first coat of epoxy, using a rubber squeegee to
work the resin into the wood and to minimize runs and
puddles. I've sprayed epoxies thinned with alcohol on
other projects, and while this works well it's extremely
messy and trashes the spray gun. My advice? Wear an old,
long-sleeved shirt and use brushes and squeegees. We also
fabricated and installed the mount for the motor controls.
This was made from mahogany and ties the right-hand seat
support to the dash frame (#4). Our restored 1956 Mercury
controls should look really good when bolted up. I'll
make sure we get a detailed photo of this area onto the next
CD. We'll be installing a Teleflex rotary-rack steering
system when it arrives this week, and I'll be sure to get
photos of that as well. We briefly entertained thoughts of
finding a 1950s Ride-Guide system, but decided that steering
is sufficiently critical to use modern equipment. We'll
get more photos of our progress on a third CD and get it off
to you when we have stuff we think you can use. Stay
tuned...
3-3-08: Here's another Monday-morning update detailing
our progress over the weekend... We're pretty much
finished adding wood until the decking goes on. We spent much
of our time nit-picking our fairing of the deck beams.
It's amazing how having a 1/16" difference between
the sheers can throw things off visually. Again, the
Porter-Cable compact belt sander came in really handy.
It's light enough that you can really feel where the
bumps are--just before they go away! I was astounded at the
amount of sawdust we were making, but any wood that goes into
the dust collector makes the boat lighter. Fairing is a funny
process, and one that is really dependent on the available
light. We finally got everything right and, as Dad said, any
more carving is only "...like putting lipstick on a
pig."
We applied the first of several coats of oil-based urethane
varnish to the hull interior under the forward deck. As you
know, this is much easier done before the decking is
installed. We used Minwax Spar Urethane and I can't
recommend this stuff highly enough. Unlike many urethane
finishes, the Minwax dries fairly quickly and sands easily.
We needed to do this to provide a UV barrier for the epoxy
encapsulation. I've used this finish on a sailboat rudder
and daggerboard with good results. I did hear that California
has banned the Minwax oil-based urethanes, but we found
several quarts at the local Lowe's Hardware.
While the varnish was drying, we concentrated our efforts at
the other end of the boat. Fitting the controls is proving to
be a challenge in several aspects. First, the modern Teleflex
cable end, at 5/8" diameter, will not fit through the
1/2" ID tilt tube of our 1956 Mercury Mark 55. Because
of this I'll be machining a secondary guide tube from
that will attach to the motor forward of its tilt tube.
Another item that came really close to biting us is the size
of the motorwell width. At 24" wide it's scaled to
the boat nicely, but we almost had to cut a clearance hole
for the cable when it was fully extended. I think we have a
good solution and I'll get photos of it to you when
it's installed. In the meantime, my advice to other
builders is to make the motorwell 30" wide.
We are getting a few more photos onto a CD for you this
week. You won't see much added material, but the hull is
starting to get a finished look to it. When we rolled it out
onto the driveway for photos on Sunday, we spent a lot of
time just looking at it.
Glen certainly has an eye for giving a boat nice
lines.
3-5-08: When I mentioned increasing the width of the
motorwell, I should have had my set of "Squirt"
plans in front of me. Glen showed a really nice method of
incorporating the carlings into the sides of the well. If I
were to do this again I would move the Zip's carlings
more to the boat's center as they transition through the
rear cockpit. It would allow the 'well to follow the
boats lines more closely and increase its width.
3-17-08: Last weekend was a bit of a bust, but we were able
to make up for it yesterday and Saturday. The deck is finally
planked! All of the time spent fairing and shimming has paid
off. We used Luan Mahogany plywood, which is sold as
1/4" and stamped 5.2MM. It appeared to be on the thin
side, so I miked a piece and it's much closer to
3/16" than 1/4." Unlike the junk stuff often used
for door skinning, this ply has a mahogany core, making it
much better than the common poplar core. It was fairy cheap
as well, at $70.00 for four sheets. Although it means nothing
to the guy building a boat in Saskatchewan, we bought this at
Mayan Hardwoods up in Oxnard. Nice folks and very helpful.
All of our mahogany used for the framing came from there as
well. Something worth mentioning is that we did see some
1/4" mahogany ply that had an MDF core. It was heavy,
very expensive, and I'd hate to see what that MDF does
should any water get in there. For clamping, we used our
proven combination of Harbor Freight C-clamps and a series of
small plywood cawls retained with self-drilling wood screws.
You've probably seen all the little square blocks in the
photos of the bottom and side planking, and that's what
those are. The self-drilling screws are nice because they
exhibit no tendency to split wood and are easily removed for
reuse. We'll get some more photos onto a CD this week and
I'll get it in the mail to you. I think this project is
coming on to the home stretch!
3-24-08: We reached another milestone this weekend, when we
applied the sheer cap and fiberglassed the deck. We spent a
lot of time preparing the surface since we'll be leaving
this area clear-finished. The two-ounce glass cloth pretty
much disappears under the resin, so the Luan mahogany grain
is really visible. We'll apply another two coats of
resin, sanding after each one, and then apply PPG Concept
clear topcoat for UV protection. Trim color will be the
Sunset Orange Mercury used on their outboards up to 1959.
With the Quicksilver Green outboard this thing will be one of
the more colorful boats on the water.
Many builders choose to paint a stripe up the center of
their boats to hide the panel joint over the strongback, but
we wanted to do something different. Using the router and a
straightedge clamped in place, we routed out a 1/8"-deep
channel 1 1/2" wide down the center of all the deck
planking. We then inlaid a piece of mahogany in this channel
and sanded it flush with the decking. It was easy to do, it
hides the panel joint, and it looks really great.
One point worth noting here is that the 5.2MM-thick Luan
mahogany ply we used for the decking has really thin veneers,
and I suspect this is the current industry standard. Anyone
using this stuff for their decks needs to be really careful
with the sandpaper. We didn't look at the Okoume ply, but
my guess is that it's no different. We gave our decking
the once-over with some #220 sandpaper to remove any lumps
and got on with the fiberglassing.
Now that it looks like we've made serious progress, I
can get some more photos taken and get you guys another CD.
Stay tuned...
3-28-08: We put another CD together for you this week,
showing the inlay that covers the decking joint. We now have
three coats of resin on the deck, which has completely hidden
the cloth weave. We can now wet sand this in preparation for
the automotive clear coat. One point I've neglected to
make involves wet sanding of fiberglass finishes. Once of my
associates at work has a lot of composite experience from his
years working for Burt Rutan and he mentioned that
wet-sanding of fiberglass can cause a lot of problems later
on if the cloth is exposed. Fiberglass is hygroscopic and
modern automotive finishes don't breath well, so any
water that manages to permeate the glass will be trapped and
cause the paint to bubble. Dave was one of the engineers on
the 'round-the-world Voyager aircraft and has also built
and flown a Vari-Eze, so I trust his knowledge. His advice:
Dry-sand fiberglass if there is any chance the cloth might
become exposed.
3-31-08: We made some more progress this weekend, but
we're really into the detail stuff now. Saturday began on
a low note, when I scored a direct hit on my left thumb with
a dead-blow hammer. We had temporarily mounted the bow eye
using a 3/8" dowel in place of the threaded stud. The
idea behind this was that we could apply whatever filler that
was needed to fair the eye without the possibility of
accidentally bonding in the threaded stud. Worst case would
have us drilling out the wooden dowel. As it turned out,
wrapping the dowel with tape worked really well and we were
able to drive it out with a few well aimed (and one not so
well aimed) blows from the aforementioned hammer. We
finalized our helm mounting and this was no easy task. We
used a Teleflex rotary-rack (Safety QC?) and most modern
steering systems are on the large side for a 14-foot boat. We
finally ended up making a mahogany bezel that we bonded onto
the dash frame and mounted the helm behind this. The
appearance is reminiscent of an early Austin-Healey dash.
I'll get photos when things are sanded and cleaned up.
Much of our remaining effort was directed at sanding the
sheers, where the decking fiberglass carries over to the
sides. We had sanded this area with #80 paper to provide a
good bond between the two, and only a small amount of filler
was needed to clean up the sheers. Once this was done we
rolled on two coats of PPG K36 urethane primer, using the
foam rollers I had mentioned in a previous message. The
primer flows out nicely and there was no spray gun to clean.
It seems to produce less smell when applied this way. Moving
to the aft end of the boat, we finally cleaned up our
motorwell and encapsulated it with epoxy. It looks nice, but
I really hope its small size doesn't bite us when we make
our cable runs to the motor. All projects have those details
that keep us awake at night and this is one of those. At this
point the only woodwork remaining is in the seating area.
We're starting to think that the final paint and fitting
out will take another couple of weekends and we'll then
be ready for the water.
4-7-08: We're now on the home stretch! On Saturday we
applied the final coat of Sand Tan to the hull and masked off
the areas that will receive the red trim. As I've
detailed previously, we used PPG Concept urethane and applied
it with a foam roller. Now we have to decide on the right
shade of red.
On Sunday we carpeted the trailer bunks and set the hull on
the trailer. With a lot of furniture pads around everything,
two of us were able to get the boat onto the bunks without
scratching anything. I estimate that the bare hull weighs
around 250 lbs. This thing is light!
When I built the trailer last year, I guessed at the
boat's center of gravity when calculating the axle
placement--and almost got it right. With the outboard mounted
I have about 25 lbs tongue weight, but by the time I get the
bow stop and spare tire mounted I should be much closer to
the design goal of 100 lbs. As a last resort I will fill the
bow stop's vertical post with bird shot. If I were to do
it again I would place the axle four to six inches aft of its
current location.
As I mentioned earlier, the small size of our motorwell is
trying to bite us. Fortunately we can fully tilt the motor
without fouling the 'well's forward bulkhead, but the
steering gear is proving to be a challenge. I've machined
a surrogate tube for the Teleflex pushrod, but we've been
torn between securing this to the motor or to the hull.
Whichever we end up doing, the small space we made for
ourselves has created an interesting challenge.
Our latest photos show the decking with the mahogany center
inlay and fir sheer cap. Once we get the steering finished
I'll get photos of that. It may help someone else
who's integrating a modern steering system with an older
motor.
4-17-08: We're moving forward with the cockpit trim and
a myriad of other tasks. We didn't want to have the edge
of the plywood decking exposed, so we're laminating
mahogany strips to form a cockpit surround. It's been one
of the more labor-intensive tasks to date, but I think the
effort will be worth it. I may have mentioned in a previous
email that we had some interface problems between our 1956
Mercury Mark 55 and the modern Teleflex steering system. Old
Mercs used a tilt tube having a 1/2" ID, but the
steering cable's pushrod is 5/8" OD. I had
considered building a surrogate tube that would reside in
front of the motor, but decided instead to ream out the motor
clamps and machine a tilt tube with a larger ID/OD. There
seems to be plenty of material in the clamps, but I guess
we'll really know when we run this thing! Our small
motorwell is working against us as well, but I'll
photograph our method for getting around that problem. We
have a little more paintwork to do as well. I had a pint of
red PPG Concept mixed, for our trim color, and we hope to
have that on the boat in a few days. Once we're happy
with our painting efforts we'll shoot the deck with a
clear topcoat for UV protection. I could believe the price of
automotive finishes these days, since my last car-painting
project was in 1993. I'm sure I'm putting
somebody's kids through college with what I've spent
on paint.
I know I keep saying that we'll be "...on the water
in a couple of weeks," but I think we're really
getting closer now. It's looking like Lake Piru will be
the venue for getting this puppy wet the first time, since
Casitas is still messing around with their Quagga mussel
problem. There will be lots of photos taken that day!
4-24-08: Our progress has been more or less continuous over
the last few days. As I mentioned last week, we've been
concentrating our efforts on getting the cockpit trim
laminated and installed, which has been an incredible amount
of work. My dad's been spending his days sanding and
fairing all the little pieces we installed over the weekend
and his efforts are paying off. Once the cockpit details are
completed we'll finish up the seating. One reason for
deferring the seats is that I learned from airplane builders
that progress tends to slow once you're able to sit in
it! Paintwork should be completed this coming weekend and
we'll be sure to get photos of that--if it's to our
liking. If not we'll be doing a lot of sanding. We'll
also install the steering box and cable permanently in the
next few days, and figure out where the motor's control
cables will route. I also have to make up a wiring harness
for the motor's electrics. We had debated on whether or
not we wanted electric starting, but finally opted to leave
the starter in place on the MK 55. Power will be from a small
garden-tractor battery located behind the front seat and next
to the fuel tank.
4-30-08: We're still making progress on the boat,
although we're down to the little tasks that are hardly
worth photographing. We try to spend time on the boat every
day, even if its only for 30 minutes. At this point, momentum
is a good thing. We spent last weekend building mounts for
the battery and gas tank. The former will reside under the
seat on the passenger's (left) side and the tank will sit
under the bridge decking between the two cockpits. We're
doing what we can to keep the center of gravity in a
reasonable location, wherever that is. We've seen a
number of folks having trouble getting their boats trimmed
properly and we've surmised that some of this may result
from having the CG too far aft. I guess we'll know when
we're on the water. On the subject of batteries, all the
marine units I saw at Sears were way too large and heavy for
a 14-foot boat, so I settled on a small, garden-tractor unit
that weighs only 17 lbs., but has 340 cold-cranking amps
available. Any doubts about its ability to crank an old Merc
were quickly dispelled when we decided to take the motor out
for a little bucket cruising. The only concern I do have is
that a tractor battery may not like the pounding it will get
in a small boat. If we have any leakage issues I'll try a
gel-cell battery from a wheelchair. I wish the various marine
suppliers would realize that there are boats out there that
need smaller hardware and support equipment. I still need to
get the trim color applied and finish the seating. I had to
do a little back-tracking when I realized that I wouldn't
be able to remove the battery once the seating was finished.
A few minutes with the hand saw, a new piece of mahogany, and
we were back in business. Some folks paint their way into a
corner; I glue my way in. We did finally finish and
encapsulate the cockpit surround. As I mentioned in an
earlier email, laminating small pieces of wood into this area
was one of the most labor-intensive aspects of this project,
but we're really happy with the results.
5-14-08: I think we'll finally have all our painting
completed this coming weekend--if the winds don't return.
We've had pretty good luck rolling on color, but this
didn't work so well when we attempted to roll on clear
PPG urethane. Time to break out the spray gun.
Last weekend I reamed out the motor clamps for the 7/8"
OD tilt tube I had to fab to accommodate the Teleflex
steering cable. If anyone else is planning to do this
it's worth noting that the thread is 7/8-14. Due to the
size of our tiny motorwell, we had to cut a hole in the left
side to allow the steering linkage to attain full travel.
I'll be sure to get photos of this on our next CD. When
it comes to motorwells, wider is definitely better, but I
think we came up with a sanitary solution to a sticky
problem. The only steering-related task remaining is to fab
up the link between the motor and cable.
Hopefully we'll have something worth photographing this
weekend. Until then, stay tuned...
5-27-08: It's been a couple of weeks since my last
update, but we've been making progress on the endless
list of small tasks that seem to eat up all the time on this
project. We took advantage of the long weekend to permanently
install the helm and steering cable, and to get the
electrical details worked out. With the latter, we decided to
install the magneto, choke and starter switches on the dash
rather than use the locations on the Mercury engine controls.
We also made up and installed the battery cables that will
run from the battery's location under the right seat back
to the motor. Early Mercury outboards with electric start
used a mil-spec Amphenol connector to connect the motor to
the boat's electrical system. I tried to locate a new one
through Amphenol and other sources, but had no luck with this
effort. After attempting to clean all the 50-year-old potting
compound off of the original connector, with the idea that
I'd be able to solder in new wiring, I elected to
eliminate the connector entirely and bring the motor's
wiring out as a pigtail that will make its connection inside
the boat. I think our solution will look sanitary and be
reliable, and I'll get photos once everything is
installed and smoke-tested. We did do a little more bucket
cruising to get the outboard dialed in, but I finally broke
down and bought a set of fixed-jet carbs from a Mercury Mark
35A. The debate over fixed-jet versus adjustable-jet carbs
continues to rage on several forums, but Mercury went over to
the fixed-jet units sometime after our motor was built. I
think the guys who take old motors and tune them for
"maximum scream" like the adjustables, but we want
reliability THEN performance. We still have some minor
painting to complete. We sprayed on the final coat of
automotive clear on the deck and it looks great. I broke down
and bought a HVLP spray system and I highly recommend one of
these for anyone who does a lot of painting and is tired of
overspray getting all over the place. Once we get all this
rubbed out we'll spray on the red trim I've been
talking about for weeks. Since our last exchange I was able
to get our registration taken care of. Once again, the nice
folks at the Simi Valley DMV office made this quick and easy.
They all wanted to see the photos of the boat and thought
that it was a cool project. I was in and out in 30 minutes
and only $19 poorer. I know I've been describing this
project as "being on the home stretch" for several
weeks now, but I really think that we'll see water in two
or three weeks, barring complications. I'll keep you
posted.
6-11-08: We are making progress! I finished the painting two
weeks ago and last Sunday we found the best way to get 30
gallons of water to leave a trash can in a big hurry--and
this was with a test wheel fitted in place of the prop! So
far, our 50-year-old motor appears to be a good one. I
replaced the adjustable-jet carbs with units from a Mercury
Mark 35A (same engine as our Mark 55E), so I wouldn't
have to adjust the top-end mixture at full throttle. I think
this will turn out to be the right decision. All that remains
now is to finish the seating and some steering linkage
details, and tie off all wiring and hoses. There are also a
couple of trailer issues as well. I slightly miscalculated
the boat's CG and we only have about 40 lbs of tongue
weight and I'd really like to see 60 - 80 lbs on the
hitch, so the bow stop upright will be filled with birdshot.
As an occasional bird hunter I can think of a better use for
that much #8 shot ... I suspect we'll be taking her out
for the first time in a couple of weeks. The detail stuff is
just taking a phenomenal amount of time, but I try to get at
least one task - however small - finished daily.
6-17-08: We are making serious progress. As I mentioned in a
previous message, the hull painting is finally completed and
this past weekend we turned our attention to the electrical
and steering systems. The biggest challenge was integrating
the 1956 Merc with the 2008 Teleflex steering and controls. I
had to fabricate a steering link that looks like it will do
the job, and also ended up machining new pieces to allow the
throttle and control cables to connect directly with the
motor. Mercury, for reasons known only to them, used a 1/4-40
adjustment thread on their cables, while the modern items
have a 1/4-28 thread. Having access to a lathe and mill has
been a big plus for these unexpected surprises. We also
confirmed that all our electrical runs work--including the
all-important kill switch--and our dash installation looks
great, at least to our eyes. One thing that drives me nuts is
to see wiring not secured properly, so I spent several hours
carefully securing everything behind the carlings with Adel
clamps. Having no wires exposed really cleans up the
interior. The seating is finally in! After getting everything
glued in place, Dad and I commented that "It looks like
a park bench." Actually, it looks pretty good and, more
importantly, it didn't add much weight to the boat.
Project weight gain creeps in gradually and we've put in
a lot of effort to ensure that we didn't end up with a
heavy boat. I was also able to install the tie-downs to the
boat and trailer and only have to finish the bow stop, before
being able to trailer this thing. I'm still kicking
myself for not guessing the boat's CG correctly, but
these things happen. I had originally figured that the back
of the front seat would be the correct CG, but it's
actually several inches aft of this--and this is with a light
motor. Anyone doing this with one of the modern four strokes
is advised to carefully plan axle placement with this in
mind. I once towed a trailer with too little tongue weight
and it was a memorable experience. With the motor running
well and only some minor detail work to complete, I think we
could be on the water this week. Unfortunately, I have a
large project at work that is likely to mess up any weekend
plans, so the maiden launch will probably happen late next
week, barring complications. We will take pictures!
6-25-08: We're finished! Last weekend my dad and I
agreed that there is nothing keeping us off the water at this
point. There are a few little cosmetic details we can deal
with later, but after another bucket cruise on Saturday to
set the idle, we realized that we can't put it off any
longer. I intend to have an "eye problem" tomorrow
(you know--the one where you can't see yourself going to
work!), and we'll be heading up to the lake early in the
morning. As promised, I did get a close up photo of how we
accommodated our steering in a motorwell that is way too
narrow. I also had to fabricate the linkage integrating the
old Merc to the Teleflex steering. I used some 316L stainless
tube that had the correct ID to allow it to be tapped 5/16-24
for the Heim joint. I have to say that this has been one of
the most rewarding projects I've undertaken. Start to
finish for everything (boat, trailer, motor) has been 14
months. Cost-wise, I think we have about $6,000 in this
project, including the trailer materials and motor. This
makes me feel really good, as a friend is about to dump $18K
on a new Bayliner! As a bonus, I think I have enough scrap
lumber to get most of the way through something smaller, so I
just bought a set of "Imp" plans. It never stops
... Anyway, many thanks to you guys for all the support and
for posting almost all of my craziness in the registry.
Thanks especially to Glen for a really nice design. We've
had compliments from everyone who's stopped by, and while
we like to think it's our craftsmanship, none of our
efforts would matter if the design hadn't been right to
begin with.
6-27-08: I thought you and the rest of the gang would like
to know that we launched yesterday morning, at Lake Piru.
Another ZIP is on the water! It was a little more windy than
I would have liked, but we got in a couple hours of running
and on one pass I saw 5,000 RPM. With the wind and the chop,
I got the prop out of the water a couple of times. We
couldn't get full RPM with the 13"-pitch prop, but
the 11" really woke things up. The attention we paid to
getting the bottom straight must have paid off, because the
boat jumped up on the plane with absolutely no porpoising.
She does ride a little bow-high, so I suspect we need to
re-trim the outboard. After we deal with some issues with the
motor (unreliable idle), we'll head out again, hopefully
under calmer conditions. Motor troubles aside, it was a very
successful day. We were the subject of a lot of attention
from other boaters and all were amazed that we'd built
the boat from plans. There's just something about a wood
boat that seems to attract folks nowadays. Lake Piru
unfortunately has no convenient area for someone with a
camera to catch a beach run at speed, so all the photos of us
up on the plane show a lot of water with a little, tiny boat
out there somewhere. I certainly appreciate your efforts in
sharing our project with everyone. This was my first-ever
drive at speed in a wood boat and I was amazed at the sound
made by the water against the hull. I would describe it as
the sound an acoustic guitar would make if someone were
compelled to beat it on the water! It's definitely a
smooth-water boat. We should have our motor troubles licked
pretty quickly and we'll get back out there again. I can
see myself using up all my comp time at work this
summer!
7-15-08: I addressed our magneto issues mentioned
previously. Thanks to Arlie in Missouri, I got a later
throttle linkage that allowed us to fit the later magneto
into our Mark 55. When we took the boat to the lake last
Sunday, our idle problems were gone, but we now have an
unreliable top end. When things were running well I think we
saw close to 40 MPH at 5,000 RPM with an 11-inch-pitch prop,
with three of us in the boat. I've located a magneto
rebuilder in Maine and he's offered to send me a spare
coil to see if this is the problem. I guess I could have
bought a new motor, but that would have been expensive and
way too easy.
The boat is meeting all expectations and we hope to be able
meet you guys and show off our handiwork. I'll keep ya
posted... (see Customer Photos)
ZIP / Amaurí Cascapera / São Paulo,
Brazil /
/ 2-18-08: I am beginning to cut the frames and beginning to
mount. 3-31-08: Everything is going well, soon I will plank
the sides, I will need to make butt joints in the sides and
bottom. As I want to leave the sides with natural finish
(wood), can I put the fastens from inside to outside the
boat, to avoid marking the surface of the wood, and get a
good finish surface?
7-22-09: Visit my blog.
2-21-10: The service is ready, the boat finished and has
been named with Champagne, is now called BEER BOAT, the
reason for the name already reflects a hope, I chose the
English name as a tribute to the designers and wooden boats
Cris Craft of my childhood. Now we await budget for a mercury
40. Was a great fun, friends and neighbors applauded and
I'm proud of my work. I hope I can be included in the
select club of the wooden boat builder, I hope that you have
also liked my work too. Thank you very much! (See Customer
Photos)
ZIP / John Burgess / Cincinnati, OH /
/ 2-25-08: Lumber all collected back in Nov. All African
mahagony. Started construction Jan. 5th 2008; as of Feb. 24th
2008 ready for planking. Motor: 1973 Johnson. Sides &
Bottom will be glassed and painted. Top will be stained.
Interior will be coated with Epoxy paint.
ZIP / Shane Dickinson / Edmonton, Alberta,
Canada /
/ 10-17-08: A few months in and so far the build has went
excellent; I have just turned the boat over and now starting
the floor. The weather is getting too cold for epoxy so not
much more will get done until spring. (See Customer Photos)
ZIP / Todd Broadlick / West Palm Beach, Florida /
/ 5-27-08: Progress - Plans in hand, lumber ordered, space to
build rented. Thanks.
2-27-09: Progress was made as follows...
May 2008 - 7 hours put in; Received plans, Shopped for lumber,
Rented workspace, Moved tools into workspace, Assembled building
form.
June 2008 - 49 hours, 56 total put in; Received mahogany frame
order, Cut and assembled frames, Cut out breasthook, knee, and
stem.
July 2008 - 37 hours, 93 total put in; Coated everything with
two coats of epoxy, Mounted frames on building form, Mounted
stem and transom on building form.
August 2008 - 14 hours, 107 total put in; Fought with chines,
Defeated chines and glued into place, Fought with Tropical Storm
Fay.
September 2008 - 25 hours, 132 total put in; Mounted keel,
Faired, faired, & faired chines. Mounted sheers, Faired,
faired & faired sheers. Faired keel and frames.
October 2008 - 18 hours, 150 total put in; More fairing,
building up low places, and more fairing, Mounted and faired
bottom battens.
November 2008 - 40 hours, 190 total put in; Mounted plywood
sides, Started plywood bottom.
December 2008 - 35 hours, 225 total put in; Finished plywood
bottom. The crayon trick really works to mark the final pieces!
Mounted decorative plywood on transom, Filled and sanded about
400 screw holes on bottom, Faired plywood seams, Coated hull
with two coats of epoxy.
January 2009 - 45 hours, 270 total put in; Filled and sanded
about 300 screw holes on sides, Fiberglassed entire hull, Picked
up motor, Built motor dolly, Multiple coats of epoxy to fill
fiberglass weave, Mounted skeg, Final sanding and prep of bottom
for paint, Marked waterline, Started painting bottom.
February 2009 - 35 hours, 305 total put in; Bought used
trailer, TURNED OVER! Trimmed side overhang, Faired sheers,
Started mounting carlings. (See Customer Photos)
ZIP / Garry Walker / Perth, Western Australia /
/ 7-7-08: Just starting to build a Zip 14' sports boat
in Perth, Western Australia. var hostname =
"hotmail.com";
ZIP / Chris Atwood / Avon, Indiana /
/ 5-22-09: Zip started April 2009.
ZIP / Fred Johnson / Everett, Washington /
/ 6-30-09: I started building the Zip on June 12, 2009. I
spent the first week gathering materials and the last two
weeks building frames. I have enjoyed the build so far and am
really looking forward to getting the frames in the building
form…… I can’t wait to see that boat
shape. I’ve taken a lot of pictures and hope to share
my photos and add them to the thousands of photos on the
Glen-L website that have inspired me and informed me. I am a
carpenter by trade but I’m a manager now and look
forward to the evolving challenge of building a boat and
getting my “fix” of woodworking while making
something I can actually ride in and share with my family. I
hope I can apply the things I know and learn a bunch more in
the process.
ZIP / Dave Coleman / San Francisco Bay Area,
California /
/ 9-8-09: See "A ZIP-Builder's Diary" in
WebLetter 118 for the complete account
of Dave's Zip build. For photos of the project and its
progress see Dave's website.
ZIP / Oliver Korber / Cape Coral, Florida /
/ 12-29-09: Building the frame.
ZIP / Jeff Peters / Columbus, Ohio /
/ 1-1-10: I got the plans for Christmas. I have all the
patterns transferred to plywood and cut out to use to make
the parts needed for each frame. I have purchased wood to
build the building platform. I have cut and assembled the
stations. Hope to go to the wood supplier you recommend in
Ohio to get all the wood to do this boat in the next few
weeks. I want to build this boat to resemble an outboard
version of the Century Thunderbolt.
ZIP / Tom Blair / Salem, Oregon /
/ 2-6-10: Started project on January 1st of 2010. Hand built
all frames, keel, battens. chines and have now just finished
the two layers of the shear clamps.
2-15-10: Using white oak for all the battens, keel, chines
and the shears. Using mahogany for frames and all interior
work. The white oak is easy to get from our local hardwood
mill up the street from my house. My daughter and the
owner's daughter went to school together. Makes it handy
for being able to hand select all the oak from his warehouse.
Thanks Dennis for the great selection of hardwoods and the
advice.
3-1-10: Going to order the fiberglass kit today after I call
and get some information regarding the transom. (See Customer
Photos)
ZIP / Andy Garrett / Wichita, Kansas /
/ 2-23-2011: Materials gathered – setting up form.
ZIP / Jack Graham / Dartmouth, Nova Scotia,
Canada /
/ 5-27-2013: My name is Jack Graham an I am
building the Glen-L Zip. I ordered the plans in 2009 the year
I retired. That first year was very busy and I was able to
fit in building the frames in 2010. 2011 was house
renovations and winter travel. The summer and fall of 2012 I
was able to complete the hull, flip it over and start the
deck framing.
I will be starting back to work in June (the spring honey-do
list is almost completed) and hope to have the project
finished by the end of August.
I have been following the Boatbuilder Forum and picked up a lot of tips
from the builders especially Roberta and Chris. I was at a loss on how to build
the transom frame and get the proper angle on the sides and
bottom until I read Roberta's method on the Forum. That
was slick.
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