building inside or outside?

I'm getting ready to pull the trigger on a peeler skiff kit and contemplating where I want to build it.  I have a standard 2 car garage where I keep my workbench and tools.  But I also have a concrete pad along the side of the house where the boat and trailer will eventually be parked (previous owner put it there for his boat parking).  I'm thinking that I could put one of the 10x20 portable carport canopies that are sold at places like Harbor Freight and do a lot of the work outdoors.  I'm also thinking of building a wheeled work stand (basically 2 saw horses on a wheeled frame) that I can use to move the boat indoors and out when working on it...or just move it around in the garage to provide more space for working on one side or the other.

Clearly there are certain tasks like epoxying and varnishing that will be better to do in a controlled, clean, and wind-free indoor environment.  But I'm thinking that a lot of the endless sanding work might be better done outside.  And if I'm building the boat on a wheeled frame it will be easier to maintain full use of the garage during the construction process.

Any advice or thoughts here?  This my first boat project but far from my first woodworking project.


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RE: building inside or outside?

I'm building a Peeler and once I get the seats in,, it will be time to flip it on to a dolly cart to finish the outside completely before installing the Center Console. I will do all of the sanding outside via the dolly cart. I wish I would have put wheels on my building table from day one. Get the wheels that lock.  "surferbill"   and "robertmeyer" made carts for their Peelers. They participate on the building forum.  Good luck, Ken.

RE: building inside or outside?

   I have built two kayaks and am working on a Kaholo in an outside, covered area on a wheeled workbench that I made to fit the space.  I like it because all the mess is outside (I do fiberglassing outside too to keep the fumes outside, but varnishing is inside).  As long as temperatures are reasonable it works great.  I did rig up a tent-like system that I would lower over the boat with a heater when it got too cold for fiberglassing.  That was kind of a pain but it worked. 

RE: building inside or outside?

I built rolling sawhorses for the build on my dory. My agarage is only 17 feel long and so the Dory had to fit in diagonally when not being worked on. to move around in the garage or work on it I have to wheel it in and out. something I need to do by myself.

 

I built two, but the numbers given here are for just one. I got two movers dolllies (4 wheels on each under a rectangle of wood with carpet stapled on two parallel boards. these cost less than $20 each from home depot. I then got metal collapable saw horses, less than $40 from home depot. i then bolted a two by four to the top to give the boat some wood to sit on. (cosuntersink th ehole on top to recess the carriage bolt so it doesnt contact the boat)  then I drilled holes and through bolted two by fours to each leg running paralle to the top beam of the sawhorse. those then sit on the dollies. I then attached the dollies to the sawhorse frame with line which I then twisted with a batten to get really tight.  overall this give a very stable platform. I found tht if your wheel base isnt wide enough the wholr rig can fall over when y9iou push the boat around. but the width of the movers dollies seems to do the trick. one of these on each end of the boat has given me the mobility to move the boat around as needed single handedly. If I can figure out how to post a picture I will.  

RE: building inside or outside?

   I am building a Peeler and made a work table first to stitch everything and made it all perfectly level so you can make sure that you have no twist in the hull.   Although it is not really necessary.  Three good horses, some shims and tape to make sure all is level to start is fine.   After all was set with fillets and glass tape, I used 4 ratchet slings to lift the hull up and then used the table lumber to make a dolly cart.  I used big casters.  I could probably move a truck on it!  the mistake I made was not getting locking ones as Klitz said and spent too much $ on the larger size.  So, now I just wheel the boat in and out of my shop to sand outside mainly.  And yes, the sanding is monumental!  You will absolutly want a pristine environment to paint and varnish unless it doesn't matter about the finish.  For my last two projects - two kaholo's and a Grain surfboard, I made a temporary finishing room in my shop with some firring strips and plastic sheeting screwed into the ceiling.  That worked out great.  My Peeler is almost done, which is what I have been saying for about a year now!  Have fun!  Its a great boat and really a nice kit to work with.  If you have any questions once you get started feel free to email me.  [email protected].

RE: building inside or outside?

   Thanks guys:

I was thinking of building something like these sawhorses

http://www.clcboats.com/shoptips/stitch_glue/sawhorses_slings.html

in widths that are appropriate for the Peeler and then mount locking casters on the bottom.  Perhaps tie them together with 2x4 girders to make a single solid platform or at least make the bases of the sawhorses plenty wide for stability.

However the mover's dollies I see on the Harbor Freight web site are so cheap (about $15) that they are probably cheaper than buying individual casters so that is an option.

Even if I don't work on the boat outside, I can definitely see the appeal of being able to move it around myself during construction when I want the use of the garage for other things or when I'm working on different sides of the boat.

RE: building inside or outside?

   Here's the clickable link to the sawhorses

http://www.clcboats.com/shoptips/stitch_glue/sawhorses_slings.html

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