Build a Dinghy: Part 4

This boat, a Summerbreeze, designed by David Beede (http://www.simplicityboats.com/) uses plywood, 11'6" long for the sides. To get the length, I used a scarf joint and glued two sheets of ply together. This involves cutting mating bevels on the pieces to be joined. Here we see the begginning of the bevels; and then the nearly complete bevel. I did the cutting with a low-angle block plane and then finished with a sanding block. You could also use a power plane, a belt sander or a grinder. I like the zen aspect of hand-planing: here I put on some Pink Floyd, a pot of coffee, and just zoned-out for an hour.

A scarf joint is as strong as the original plywood and, when bent, wont show a hard spot like a butt block does. In Part 5, I'll detail the glue-up.

Build a Dinghy: Part 3

Here's a closeup of the limber hole in the frame. This allows any spray to flow aft where its easier to sponge out. I cut the limbers by butting another piece of one-by wood to the frame, then used a plug cutter in a drill motor to make the a circle. When I removed the sacrificial piece, I had a perfect half-circle. To protect the exposed grain inside the limber from water intrusion, I glued in PVC tube the OD of which matched the ID of the cutout. When the glue cures, I'll plane or sand flush with the bottom of the frame.