Slipper again

Captain Coochie

Captain Coochie

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Im now the proud owner of the plans to build an 18-20' Henley Slipper Launch . After a few hours of looking at them and reading the spec i thought why not ask you lot a few questions ( it could save a few days ) .
I spoke to boats designer this morning and said i wanted to use American white oak for the frame and that was fine but looking at the plans the frames and moulds are ply and look like they stay there . If this is the case and i think it is then id rather use meranti as i have a stock of it i could do with using up .
The plans also show alot of the joints held together with epoxy , can i not do this in timber . I take it they are using epoxy to save time where as i would prefer to joint the timbers together .
Any tips are very welcome /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif
 
At the start of the spec it says stich and tape may not be the best construction best to use ply over frame but it seems all the way thru they but the timber joints clad it with ply and smother it in epoxy .
Having not built a boat from scratch before i think its the terms of construction that have me at a loss at the mo . plus ive only scanned the plans and spec for a few hours and there is more detail in these than i get when building a loft conversion .
 
Funny, I was only just thinking about starting a thread entitled "Any progress on the Slipper..."

I can't help with this query at all, I'm afraid, just reaffirming my support and renewing my offer of assistance in fields I can be of help in... which are admittedly sparse...

/<
 
Thanks Kristal , its looking alot more involved than i thought !
Ive got another question if i may .....
Ive had quotes today for the marine ply and have found there are a few grades ranging from £16 - £76 .
It also looks from the drawings that the ply frames and moulds stay in place with the frame getting beefed up with oak .
Can anyone see a problem ive missed with using the cheaper grade ply for frames and moulds (the structure and shape) and the top grade for just the hull ?
 
How long do you want it to last? I restored a 50 year old frame and skin dinghy and the major work was replacing the mahogany frames and refixing the frame joints which had almost all given up the ghost. Old fashoned glue and brass screws hadn't stood the test of time. And it was built by Fenn and Wood who were well-respected motor launch builders.

2ndframe.jpg
 
Your right for the cost of two sheets of ply its not worth it . The spec also says use doug fir i asked the designer if i could use American white oak and he sounded very happy about that but speaking to a boat builder today he said dont use a w oak and to use a good soft wood . From my experiance oak or mahogany is always going to be better than any soft wood but then my yexperiance is in houses and not boats .
 
A few points to take into account. From experience, admitidly only building a Mirror and a canoe, the epoxy is used in that way to "seal" the wood as well. The likes of Glen-L go further and saturate the whole structure in epoxy.

It would'nt be anygood using the stitch and glue methods for a boat as big and heavy as the slipper. The end product would flex too much. The frames are there to add a bit of stiffness.

For the money, ply is spec'd as its strong in all directions. Normal timber only really gives strength along the grain, but being a chippy you'd know that anyway.

I've found in the past that using the "good" grade of ply for the hull and the lower grade for the frames/bulkheads has been ok. I'm pretty sure that if all the timber was purchased in one go a favorable discount could be had.

Wouldn't mind having a gander at the plans to see how they're proposing to build. Normally the frames/moulds are laid first on a jig or stongback. Gives the finished job a good chance of being true without too much rocker in the hull.

I'll give you a bell tomorrow for a chinwag.
 
From your last post i thought youd had it with boats /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif
Your welcome round anytime mate but i warn you this is a long project .
 
Not had it with boats.....just not allowed out on them. It was never going to be quick. From start to finish I think you'd be looking at a min of a 1000 man hours.
 
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