A place to share YOUR boat building story

• Another First-Time Boatbuilder Shares by Garry Stout
  
  
• Glen-L Boatbuilders of the Month
  
  
• Constructing a Curved Windshield by Stephen K. Yokubaitis
  
  
• Designer's Notebook: The Art of Scrounging
  
  
• The Door to the Head by ArtDeco
  
  
• Photos posted since the last WebLetter...
  
  
• Shop Talk: Truing a Square
  
  
• Recent email
  
  

• Finally, it's Spring in Southern California! Although we're getting our usual month of "June gloom" we can feel summer's arrival not far away. It's time to get out all of our outdoor gear and prepare our equipment to take full advantage of the warm summer months out on the water!
• We hope you enjoy this month's WebLetter. I especially can identify with Glen's "Art of Scrounging" being the pack rat that I am (just ask Gayle!). I trust that you all will find a number of people and situations in the WebLetter that you too will identify with.
• Once you've given this WebLetter a look, why don't you send Glen-L a short email telling us what progress you're making on your boat build, or what your plans are for the coming months, or what you've already done and how much you've enjoyed your time with family and friends?
  Enquiring minds want to know!

Until next month . . .      
Editor      

Another First-Time Boatbuilder Shares

by Garry Stout

"I NEVER BUILT ANYTHING OUT OF WOOD BEFORE"

I first ordered the plans for my Monaco in May of 2008, and 11 months later I launched the boat for its maiden voyage. My brother and I worked on the boat about 5 hours per day, 5 days a week, so I figure we have about 1200 hours into the total project.

All frames, keel, sheer, chine, longitudinals, etc were made from Mahogany with only the cold molded substrates made from Okume plywood. The engine is a brand new 310 HP Indmar marine V-8 engine of 350 cubic inches. The transmission came with the engine and is a 1.26:1 gear ratio. I'm swinging a 14"X16" 4 blade OJ propeller and the boat does an easy 50 MPH +.

I should mention that I'm an accountant by trade, recently retired, and never built anything out of wood before.

Continue

Glen-L Boatbuilders of the Month

Paul & Joe Bromley - Squirt

T he Isle of Man is a wonderful place of beauty and history which lies in the Irish Sea between the United Kingdom and Ireland. There is a wealth of Manx history from the Celtics to the Vikings.

We live In Ballasalla, a small village built from the remains of a once great Abbey which still holds to an old religious past. Ballasalla holds close ties with Castletown and is still remembered for monks and strawberries with cream. The village, named from Gaelic meaning "Place of the Willow Trees" was mainly built from the ruins of Rushen Abbey, a medieval Savignac/Cistercian abbey built on the banks of the Silverburn river, which was founded in the 1100's and dissolved in the 1500's.

After 2 1/2 years (on-and-off) our dream of finishing our Squirt has become reality today when she made her maiden voyage on the Irish Sea in the Isle of Man.

For anyone thinking they cannot do it, think again. I am a retired Police officer and my wife a retired Nurse. Both my son and daughter are Chartered accountants although Joe is not yet fully qualified. My son Joe and I fancied having a go at something different but don't have a lot of space at home, so Joe browsed the net for something which had a classic look and that we could make look a bit 1950's James Bond-ish. He came up with the Squirt after seeing your site and the Glen-L Forum where we could get help.

Joe and I have never built a boat before and started construction of the Squirt (which we extended to 10 feet 8 inches) in a 13 foot shed. It was a bit of a squeeze and required some organization, but with a will we made it! In fact, the excellence of the Squirt's design and the great help from the Glen-L Boatbuilder Forum enabled us to produce a craft of which we are proud.

She performs well even on a choppy bay and is a great tribute to the soundness of her design.

The Glen-L Boatbuilder Forum has been fantastic and because of it, even though we live on a fairly remote island, we have never felt short of advice.

Thanks for a great service and many happy hours of fun together building her. Because of this great experience, this will not be the last Glen-L boat we build.

Builders' Photos

Constructing a Curved Windshield

by Stephen K. Yokubaitis

W hen I decided that I wanted a curved windshield on my Riviera I realized that I was going to have to design it myself and work with whatever available materials I could find. After a lot of searching, primarily on the internet, I settled on a rather simple design composed of easily obtainable parts that resulted in what I think is a nice solid windshield with very clean lines. I thought that it might be worthwhile to describe the process and make it available to other boatbuilders.

Continue

Designer's Notebook: The Art of Scrounging According to the dictionary "scrounging" is the acquisition of goods or services other than by direct purchase. Almost everyone has a little "scroungability" in their makeup and it's often a requisite in boat building. Maybe it's help from a friendly neighbor when you are fiberglassing or unloading the lumber. Perhaps a friend is adept at metal working, has the tools and can do a little welding or machine work gratis. Another form of scrounging is using the stuff that you've stashed in the garage or workshop rafters or other special hoarding areas. This is the stuff that is too good to throw away but you have no use for at the time. The real addict usually can think of a good reason to keep most all stuff; it's probably not a valid reason but, hey, what you're keeping is a nice "thing." My garage has an old "small parts" metal file. It's mostly full of miscellaneous nuts, bolts, screws and the like gathered over the years. It's a good source for that special nut, bolt or washer needed for the task at hand. But what about that drawer full of old hinges? Barn door, flat, offset, you name it. There's a single hinge, don't know why it was saved . . . where did the other half of the pair go? Open another drawer; it's full of door pulls. Yup, all kinds, mostly ugly. Then there is the drawer labeled "Misc"! What a pile of stuff (almost said "junk") in that one! An inner tube repair kit? How old is it… is it still good… will it ever be used… should be thrown away… but who knows… perhaps it could be used to fix a kid's bicycle tire? It isn't a good idea to open more drawers; they'd probably evoke guilty feelings for saving the darned stuff. A good example of how "leftovers" and adapting items for a project is the steering wheel built by Porter Harvey for his "Sweet Caroline" skiff. The hub is turned on a lathe from a selection of scrap exotic woods. The spokes are stock turnings purchase at a local home store. The wheel perimeter is a length of copper tubing. The results - an inexpensive to build, but one-of-a-kind asset to any boat. Most scroungers are probably not as far gone as the stuff in my stash. But it isn't necessary for me to go shopping for that little something I suddenly need; it's generally in the items saved over the years. Of course, there is the problem of where is it stored? But the true scrounger categorizes things; lumber in one place, plywood another, metal in a rack, etc. And, it's kinda fun checking the old stuff over to remind you of the golden hoard you really have. So don't let the little woman conjure you into cleaning out your treasures she calls "junk". Remind her of all the money you will save from gleaning the stuff you'll need to build your project. Plus, true scroungers live longer!

"Worrying is the same thing as banging your head against the wall. It only feels good when you stop."

Shop Talk: Truing a Square

Framing squares are usually thought of as rough carpentry tools. But you might find it comes in handy in building your boat. They're great for checking large cases, cabinets, storage lockers and assemblies.

Unlike other tools, framing squares don't require much care. But since they tend to get dropped a lot, it's a good idea to periodically check yours to make sure it's still square (see box below).

If it's not, you can spread the legs of the square slightly by making a punch mark near the inside corner. To close up the legs, make a punch near the heel, see photos below.

Recent email:

Subject: Life-long Memories
Date: 18 May 2009

I'm getting a lot of enjoyment from the build of the Glen-L 15 and my 2 year old son loves to come out and help me.

My Gandfather built a runabout with my dad when my dad was about six years old (in the 1950's). I love hearing the stories of the build and the fun they had on the lake in that boat.

Thanks for helping me create some life-long memories with my kids.

-- Dave Chumley
Lavergne, Tennessee

Subject: Mini Life Guard Chair
Date: 26 April 2009

I thought some of your readers might like this. I wanted a seat in Hero,(my 26' Hunky Dory) so I made a mini life guard chair. A elderly "boat- grown" neighbor mentioned that in the old days they never nailed down the deck. That way when the boat sank, the floorboards floated up and you hung on to them.

I stowed 8 lifejackets in my seat and rigged a quick release pin so if the boat sinks, the chair/lifejackets will pop up. Old wisdom rules.

-- John Stevens
Cape Cod, Massachusetts

Subject: Sabotina
Date: 25 May 2009

Subject: Teleseminar
Date: 1 May 2009

Subject: Family Business
Date: 10 May 2009