Huge Error CLT 17

 As you can see I cut my panels wrong.  I made my line to the wrong mark and cut away.  Gotta live with it now.  The side hull bow has more of an angle than intended.  Should I trim my bottom panels to match the sides or...Trim the sides to match the bottoms?

 

 


15 replies:

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RE: Huge Error CLT 17

What do you mean by trimming the sides?  It looks like you only have one choice, to trim the bottoms.  After all you can't trim what isn't there.  

RE: Huge Error CLT 17

Here's another tack you could take: Wire the sides to the bottom as if the missing bow section were there; make a form for the missing piece from waxed cardboard lined with polyethylene sheet and tape it in place; fill the gap with thickened epoxy; remove the form, sand to shape and cover with a few extra layers of fabric.  You'll probably want to paint the hull instead of varnish, but that's not a bad idea anyway.

RE: Huge Error CLT 17

I'd cut two pieces of 4-mm Okoume to fit the missing triangle section, then wire them in.  You would have to pay careful attention to wiring the bow, including a wire or two through the stem area of the hull panels, to achieve the correct bow shape and alignment.  You'd also have to be creative with glass on the inside to back up the splices, probably leaving the through-hull wires.  Or shape small wood blocks to fit the vee and epoxy them in with plenty of thickened epoxy (in addition to glass).  Trim the wires on the outside of the hull after the bow's shape is solid.  And be sure to overlap the external glass on the hull so that the splice joints are covered with two layers of glass.  The tip of the Chessie's bow is already sharp, making it more pointy, like yours is now, is just asking for the tip to be broken off sooner, rather than later.  Good luck, and don't sweat it.

RE: Huge Error CLT 17

 I would cut both. Cut the top to get the angle right and the bottom to match probably have to cut the sheer clamp back a bit too. Boat would be just a few inches shorter and you would not be able to tell you made a mistake.

RE: Huge Error CLT 17

I'd probably think fairly seriously about just cutting new side panels.

But perhaps you could cut of the panels 3 or 4 feet back from the bow and scarf new pieces on so that you could recut the bow to its desired shape?

-- Ogata (eric) 

RE: Huge Error CLT 17

Yet another option - use a piece of 2x4 to make a stem piece to fill the gap. It's cheaper and lighter than casting one out of epoxy, it replaces the endpour and, if made carefully, will let you preserve the bright finish option. The big cost will be the labor involved in getting all the bevels right, but in home-builts labor is free anyway, isn't it?

Good luck,

Laszlo

 

RE: Huge Error CLT 17

With Laszlo's idea, you could get the bevels right without too much work, assuming you fastened the two-by-four and shaped it in place.

For the rough cutting, several tools in decreasing order of speed:

a. handsaw (to make a series of cuts almost to the desired line) plus 1" chisel to remove the chips between the saw cuts

b. belt sander,

c. spokeshave

d. bench plane

For the near-final shaping, these tools would remove material (from the two-by-four) and are straight (so that you can maintain alignment with the hull). 

a. Shinto rasp

b. block of wood with 30 or 60 grit paper (progressing to finer paper), the paper held to the block with spray adhesive. To protect the plywood while sliding the block along it for perfect alignment, used sandpaper glued on upside down could be used as a spacer which matches the thickness of the sandpaper t the working end.

c. bench plane or block plane.

 

RE: Huge Error CLT 17

A botch job has a way of intensifying and getting worse as time goes by.

In the end, it will bother you ever time you look at it.

You will put more time and energy into trying to patch, fix or work around the mistake than you will just by starting over and cutting new side panels.

I am not a man of great wisdom and I cannot say that I wouldn't be thinking what you and most everyone else is thinking but I do know the right answer was first posted by ogata, cut new panels. 

I would like to think if it was me who did it, that I would just accept my mistake as a learning lesson that happens to everyone, take a step back, cut new panels and move on with my life and build a nice boat that offers no (big) regrets when I look at the finished product 3 months or so down the road.

http://shearwaterkayak.blogspot.com/

 

RE: Huge Error CLT 17

Fishbuster's solution is easiest, and it's sure to create a result you will be happy with. You'll end up with some spare okoume, too, which is a really nice thing to have in the shop.  A benefit that by itself is almost worth the mistake, not even counting the satisfaction you will have in overcoming a challenge. 

The only reason I would consider Laszlo's solution is that, in this case the result of the mod would be not a jury-built patch that you'd regret seeing, but instead, a solid wood stem, which is the traditional way to build a boat.  Therefore, it would be both practical and beautiful.

Whichever of the above ways you decide to go--most of them sound good to me--enjoy your build. It's going to be a great boat.

RE: Huge Error CLT 17

With the right piece of wood, and a lot of patience, a solid wood stem could be made to look very nice.

I'm thinking, let it run up above the level of the deck, then carve a nice dolphin, dragon's head, mermaid, or possibly Yosemite Sam up there. How cool would that be? :)

Anyway, no worries, have fun with it.... 

RE: Huge Error CLT 17

Out of all the ideas there a 2 of them that stick out to me.  1. I like the idea of simply trimming the bottom panel to match up with the top panel.  The reason for this is because I like the  idea of that extra sharp point and it will create and it will probably be the easiest option. It would look really nice.   The second idea that I like is that you could cut 2 small pieces of Okume to fit the  missing section, wire them in, possibly add a small reinforcing backer piece and the endpour will hold it all togther well.  Asthetically both of the ideas would add character to your boat and are the simplest approaches you can consider.  If you cut the okume pieces to fit in you could use some cardboard for making a template.  Good luck!!

RE: Huge Error CLT 17

 

If it was me, I'd just cut off the offending length on the bottom panels and forget about it.  The boat, and observers, will never know the difference.

RE: Huge Error CLT 17

Or... If you don't worry about hydrodynamics, it would look pretty cool if you just taped and filleted as-is and paint some shark teeth around that mouth.

I can't help but notice the two pairs of spectacles on the bench in the background.  Is it possibly time for a new pair? ;)

Actually, I applaud your willingness to share your 'oops' with us, because I imagine that we have all been there in one way or another.  Lots of good suggestions above, just pick one, and don't look back, or as John say's, "forget about it". - Ron

RE: Huge Error CLT 17

It is still a 17.  I took John's advice and trimmed the bottom piece of the bow.  The easiest way to go.  Took about 5 min. 

I have been talking to a local yak builder about my predicament.  He suggested what Lazlo did.  I do have a piece of mahogany to fit into the bow.  But his promise to help did not materialize.  And I need the help to go that way. 

I did tack the side hulls and the bottom hull pieces together in preparation to fit the mahogany insert.   That eliminated the idea of making new side panels. 

Big Thanks to All

Kim

RE: Huge Error CLT 17

I must say, that this reminds me of my own mistake on the stern of my build.  An improper measurement caused the lower panels to be about 2 inches longer than the upper panels.  I agree with what you've done, the easiest solution for me was to trim off the offending length and sand the edges smooth.  Since then, I have nearly forgotten about the mistake and do not notice any difference in the appearance.  Good luck with the rest of your build, and I sincerely hope you don't imitate my second blunder of cutting the deck panels too narrow.

Jordan

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