Boat Builder Central - Builder Forums

Well the construction has started. I was able to get the transom, clamping boards, frame F and motor well sides cut out. Need to glue up the transom and get it on the jig and cut out another frame and stringers and start aligning things up.

I'm kind of suprised at the scale of this boat. It's not untill you start cutting and mocking things up that it becomes apparent. This is a BIG 21 foot boat.

I had to relocate a bunch of stuff from the garage to the basement and need to push a car in and out when i need to work. I built the stronback out of 2X8 on large casters and braced it up good. I hope it stays aligned as i move it around the shop. I cant just keep it in the center since i still need to work on the cars and will need to move it around a bit.

I'm going to set up a gallery and post some pictures there soon.

Thanks

Good luck. I love the P21. You won't regret overbuilding your strongback and putting it on wheels. Also, pictures will be good.

Huck

Sounds like a great start! For the alignment, pay special attention whenever you are applying epoxy/glass or fillets. These are points where you 'lock in' the shape of your boat. I built mine on a castered jig as well and had to tweak things a bit every session until the hull was completely glassed. I wrote the critical dimensions of the jig on the stongback so I could quickly check to see if anything had moved. They are big, aren't they?

Good luck, post plenty pictures, I find it fascinating & informative to see how others do it.
Steve

fastlane,
That P21 seems to be a great design, its one I'd like to try one day, (wont be any time soon though). I think it would be perfect for the Cheasapeake, a year round boat.
If you havent checked out Copro's thread you should, he's built the P21 and has done a nice job on it.
Good Luck,
Daniel

Thanks for the advice and comments. marking the dimensions on the frame sounds like a good idea. I was also thinking of hanging some plumb bobs from the rafters to set some reference points so i can roll it into position and check the alignment along with measuring.

I did see Corpos album. Its a great inspiration. I hope i can do as good a job as him. Its also nice to have so many photos to reference. I hope to also keep a accurate log and photo of my build as well.

I put up some pictures in my album

http://gallery.bateau2.com/thumbnails.php?album=739

The poor old man from DHL came today with the resin and glass kit
I feel sorry for him. Thats a lot of stuff for him to cart up and down the driveway.

A quick update...

Things are going well. Most of the frames have been cut. The more complicated frames have been drawn on construction paper, cut up and traced on wood as per the nesting plans. I'm struggling with the stinger layout on the nesting plans. Don't see how to lay it out with the stringers being cut up into so many pieces. I'm going to scan the plans and cut the stringers out on paper from the nesting and see if I can make sense out of it.
Once I get the transom and stringers glued up I can start to assemble the pieces on the strong back. I'll have some new pictures up soon but for now things are moving along nicely

I got to work on the boat a bit over the holiday. Its starting to look like a boat. I have all the frames and stringers cut. I have notched the frames but not the stringers and mocked every thing up to test fit and check things over. So far everthing looks good. I have not laminated the stringers or transom yet but that is next on the list. I need to lower the frames on the strongback a bit since it sits too
high. I should start to laminate the stringers and transome in the next week or so and then can put it back to together and work on the cuting and stitching up the hull.

Some pics...

How goes the world of notching stringers? Any updates to warm the winter months?

Hey KS. Somehow missed your reply. Every thing is ready for the hull. Everything is notched and alligned Going to try and start working on the hull tomorrow with any luck.
Just waiting for it to warm up a bit then i can get cranking on this.

as she sits now