Modified JEM Crawdad SS&G

[oldbuffpilot]

I promised a buildpost a few weeks ago, so I'd better get started. I have found it easier to post a build after it's complete, but I'm going to try this one in real time. The new forum makes it easier to post pictures. But I'm not sure how to add to my post after each work session, we'll see how it goes.

Last January I started a modified JEM craw dad but had to leave the project for a Texas visit that ended up being 6 months long because of medical problems. The build was basically abandoned for 6 months after gluing up the panels. I was concerned that the panels might "spring back" after sitting so long, that wasn't a problem they stored fine.
Attachments:

The cedar strips were cut.

Run through a planner.

Rough panel shapes glued over a paper pattern under plastic.

Starting again this week: I planned the glued panels and used a cardboard pattern to trace the final panel shapes, and cut them out, and belt sanded them to the line.

Hopefully more to post in a day or two.

 

[Kayak Jack]

Andy, I'm glad you're back on the job. Are the edges of your strips square? Or, bead and cove?

 

[oldbuffpilot]

Jack, Square. My best guess is that for "flat panels" bead and cove wold be extra work. No doubt Bead and cove would glue better and more evenly, but not worth the effort for SS&G. Maybe if I was 20 years old>>>>

 

[Kayak Jack]

I understand, and concur.
Good tailwinds.

 

[oldbuffpilot]

Stitching the Crawdad

The techniques I mention here are simply the construction techniques I've found work best for me , I'm always open to suggestions on better ways to do things, so don't hesitate to give advice or make suggestions.

With the panels cut out, I drilled the bottom panels for stitching, (both center and edges) spacing holes with a simple jig, I find that for most boats 9 inch spacing works good. Then stitched the bottom panels down the middle and unfolded them and proceeded to stitch the boat together leaving plenty of slack. I like to use the small tie wraps and an 1/8 inch hole where possible. Copper wire can be adjusted by loosening I just like the ty wraps better.

After it is stitched together I start tightening the wraps to obtain an angle on the seam edges that will hold epoxy and present an even seam. I gave up on spacers after the first boat! The edges seem to give me the most trouble, takes some persistence. Also I usually have to trim the floor to get it to fit between the sides at the bow.

Took me about 7 hours. This is where the boat starts to look like it's a boat.

Attachments:

Bottom panels drilled and stitched

Forms stitched to bottom panels

Short sides stitched

Sticks to hold sides for stitching

Trimming floor to fit bow

Finished panel edges

Stitching complete


We will see what tomorrow brings for boat building, My Bride has volunteered us for some project in town.

Good Fish'n

Andy

 

[Kayak Jack]

Your progress looks good, Andy. I used stovepipe wire, from the local hardware. Your 9" spacing seems to work for you. I used 6". I suspect that your panels are stiffer than was my 4mm mahogany plywood?

You will be using the boat on calm waters, not traveling with camp gear, I suppose?

Are your Grandkids helping with this boat?

 

[Gamecock]

Nice work Andy. Dave.

 

[oldsparkey]

For the stitching ( of the panels ) my favorite is the 18 gauge Copper Wire in 4 inch pieces.

 

[oldbuffpilot]

Your progress looks good, Andy. I used stovepipe wire, from the local hardware. Your 9" spacing seems to work for you. I used 6". I suspect that your panels are stiffer than was my 4mm mahogany plywood?

You will be using the boat on calm waters, not traveling with camp gear, I suppose?

Are your Grandkids helping with this boat?

Jack,
Strictly a short, light, stable boat to put in the truck for a trip to a local pond or creek. That's about all I'm up to any more! I suspect that a boat with more bends would take shorter stitching spaces . The TV 15 32 needed about 3" spacing in the curved bow. No grand kids building right now. In two weeks I'll have one boat building .

 

[Kayak Jack]

The boats that you, Joey, and JD (Beekeeper) build are similar - handy to load into a pickup and go fishing .

Engaging the kids is fun, and important. We're not building a boat with kids; we're building kids with a boat.

 

[beekeeper]

Andy thanks for posting your build.
Questions if you don't mind.
How wide is the floor?
How thick are the strips and any problems with the floor flexing?

bee

 

[oldbuffpilot]

Not much accomplished yesterday. I did get the "tack welds" in the outside seams. I didn't get any pictures of the actual laying the bead from a cut corner in a zip lock.

Make real sure the boat is square ie doesn't rock on the sawhorses, and recheck to make sure none of thee seams have slipped.

First picture is how I would like the stitched seams to look. I'm curious how the rest of you like to the seam to fit. I think Ron likes to plane the sides at an angle where there isn't a gap.

I like to tape off any area that will be bright finish, just to save on future sanding.Then I "primer" the seams with epoxy resin, and let it set a little while.

Next I use a small ziploc bag from Hobby Lobby or Walmart, fill it with wood flour mix, cut off a small corner, and use it like a miniature caulking gun. Sorry no pics of this process. I then clean up the excess putty with a putty knife or body squeege. You can save a lot of work if you clean up real good.

Attachments:

Squared up on saw horses

Stitched panel edges

Priming seams

Ziplock for epoxy

Funnel for epoxy

Good Fish'n

Andy

 

[Kayak Jack]

Andy, instead of the Ziploc pastry bag to dispense epoxy and wood flour, have you tried the plastic syringes? They work nicely for laying an epoxy bead on panel joints too.

 

[Kayak Jack]

On those joints, I, like you, used thickened epoxy, and then used a scraper or sandpaper. I tried planing a couple of joints so the edges would "match". When I got done, it just took more thickened epoxy to fill the now, wider gap. sigh

 

[oldbuffpilot]

Andy thanks for posting your build.
Questions if you don't mind.
How wide is the floor?
How thick are the strips and any problems with the floor flexing?

bee

Bee, The floor is 29 inches wide. However the "short sides" are really part of the bottom and contact the water when you lean or rock the boat. This is the most stable boat I have built. It also paddles and tracks well. The TV 15 32 does paddle faster as far as I can tell. I (we) have two of these in use and haven't had any floor flex problems. One has 6 oz cloth and the other 4 ounce. I use about 4mm thick cedar strips.
Andy

 

[oldbuffpilot]

Jack, The syringes worked well and maybe more controllable. I just got tired of cleaning them up, I may get them out I think I have several left. Thanks for sharing.

Andy

 

[Kayak Jack]

You must have remarkably better control of those Ziplocs than I ever did. If we do pancakes in camp, I prepack the dry stuff in a Ziploc, add water, squeeze-mix it, nip a corner, and squirt into a hot, frying pan. I have trouble getting a pancake that doesn't mimic Igor, the bell ringer.

Never tried syringe pancakes.

 

[beekeeper]

Bee, The floor is 29 inches wide. However the "short sides" are really part of the bottom and contact the water when you lean or rock the boat. This is the most stable boat I have built. It also paddles and tracks well. The TV 15 32 does paddle faster as far as I can tell. I (we) have two of these in use and haven't had any floor flex problems. One has 6 oz cloth and the other 4 ounce. I use about 4mm thick cedar strips.
Andy

My son's boat is about the same size, very stable and paddles well. Little difference between it and my longer pirogue at cruising speed.
4oz. on the inside or outside? What weight for the sides? Are these the panels you had stored and they warped? If so, looks like no problem?

bee

 

[oldbuffpilot]

My son's boat is about the same size, very stable and paddles well. Little difference between it and my longer pirogue at cruising speed.
4oz. on the inside or outside? What weight for the sides? Are these the panels you had stored and they warped? If so, looks like no problem?

bee

My son's boat is about the same size, very stable and paddles well. Little difference between it and my longer pirogue at cruising speed.
4oz. on the inside or outside? What weight for the sides? Are these the panels you had stored and they warped? If so, looks like no problem?

bee

Bee,
The boat with the warped sides is in Texas, same plans, different boat. These panels we stored after the strips were glued into panels. They stayed flat and true. On one of our crawdads I used 4 0z cloth everywhere and the other crawwdad 6 oz cloth everywhere, however I used 50" wide and drapped the cloth so that most of the bottom and the ends are double covered on the outside. I think I prefer the 4 oz because the boat is about 2lbs lighter ( on the bathroom scale). not much difference.

Andy

 

[texastom]

Nice work, thanks for the build thread.