Mushroom Boat Anchor

 Materials for a mushroom anchor: a couple plastic containers, mortar or cement, and an eye bolt. I used an old paint jug to mix up the mortar.

This has been a rough weekend for anything related to boating. It's been raining and cold. And I have had to work.

But I have had a little free time. So I made my own mushroom boat anchor. You can buy them for only fifteen dollars, of course. I just thought it would be more fun to make my own from a few things I found around the house. I used a one liter soda bottle and a plastic lid from a bakery cake. I poked a few holes in the bottom of the bottle so that the mortar could cement the two pieces together. Also a poked more smaller holes in the bottle and put some wires and screws in to serve small scale rebar.

Cut a few holes in the bottom of the bottle and also attach some wire or screws to work as rebar.

Finally, I filled the containers with wet mortar and placed an eye bolt in the top of the bottle. That's it! I will wait a day or two until the mortar is completely set and I will spray paint the whole thing with a can of Tool Dip. This is a soft rubber coating which will prevent it from scratching the boat.

A mushroom anchor

Then again, there is an easier method. Get a plastic jug and fill it up with rocks. Works every time!

 a larger and a small version of the mushroom anchor

 

The Prodigal is Completed

I did not post this weekend. I chose to finish the boat instead: another coat of paint as well as a handy little carrier/launcher.

It feels good to be finished! And yet at the same time I am a little disappointed. It's been a lot of fun! I'm going to miss working in the shop.

On the other hand, I can't wait to launch. I want to check the handling characteristics: buoyancy, windage, tracking, etc. The trouble is that our Minnesota weather has been cold and wet. It's going to take a while for the lakes to warm up and for me to find the time. Patience!

The Build

Want to make your own boat? Maybe these photos will help. Feel free to check the internet. Just google "stitch and glue."

A special thanks to my dear friend Rachel, who helped me build The Prodigal. We had a blast!

I start by staining 2 sheets of exterior grade 1/4" Baltic birch with a coat of Minwax water base stain. The product is also supposed to be a sealer, but that would be undesirable .  I want to keep the wood grain open so that it will absorb the epoxy. So I dilute it with five parts water. After the Minwax dries, the epoxy goes down. I chose Polygem 1319 ultra. It's both safe and simple to use. I thoroughly mix A and B at 2 to 1 and follow all the other directions. 

Mix 2:1 follow directions. 5 ounces will cover 2 sheets

Rachel preps plywood by dusting first with a tack rag

 Next a very thin coat of the epoxy is applied in a with a fine finish foam roller. 

Apply another coat some time after the first coat sets up (about 7-8 hours). Sand the second coat lightly with 150  or 220 grit  paper and apply a third coat. It doesn't hurt to put as many as five coats on, sanding each time.

Joining components requires a thicker type of epoxy. I like Polygem LCR which stands for liquid concrete repair. But don't let the name fool you. The product works on wood too. It's a lot like peanut butter and it has a working time of about an hour. It takes longer to set all the way.

Mix LCR at 1:1

I butter up the surfaces of both components and press them together until the epoxy squishes out. I use  brad gun loaded with stainless steel brads to hold everything in place until the cement dries.

 

Two components are joined with enough pressure to "squish out" some of the LCR

 Then wash away any excess with  a rag and some water

Water cleanup is unique to Polygem. Keep in mind that you can't do this with other epoxies.After most of the LCR is wiped away, Rachel "paints" the joint with wood flour. Wood flour is a fine dust which I collect from the sanders. The brush gently presses the flour into the epoxy and fills the crack. The wood flour can be stained after the LCR has set.

 Paint the seams with wood flour

The next step includes fastening some of the major structural components: the stem, stern, keel, and keelson. The keel is traditionally made from white oak sawed into a gentle curve. LCR is used as well as stainless steel brads. Forward and aft are two large fir knees which stiffen the whole boat, especially while the cement cures.

 

The stem and stern are joined with a white oak keel and keelson

 Bilge panels go on next. note that the joining surfaces are well buttered with LCR.

 The bilge panels are held in place with stainless steel brads. 

 The boat is flipped over to check the glue joints. Any excess on the inside should be washed away. Also note that the bilge panels extend beyond the stem. These will be trimmed later.

 The strakes are getting stitched. I use baling wire held loosely in place until the surfaces can be treated with LCR.

A closeup of a stitch and glue joint: with the cement on the edges, the wires are ready to be tightened.

After everything is wired in place, I will reinforce the joints with 1/2" stainless steel brads.

A view with both strakes cemented in place

Next, a small reinforcing chine is cemented into the inside of the seam. Use plenty of LCR! There should be no air pockets or voids.

 The chine is cemented in place and held with stainless steel brads. All of the excess LCR will be wiped away with water and rags.

 Wood flour is brushed into the seam after the excess LCR was removed

After the seams have set up, I flip the boat over and start working on the hull. This is a case of sand-and-prime, sand-and-prime. I keep this up until the surfaces are perfectly smooth.

The hull is sanded and primed

 

Time now to attach the details: bilge battens reinforce the floor. Inwhales and rub rails reinforce the top edges. Smaller knees support the corners where the inwhales meet the stem and stern.

 Fitting in the seats

The last step which involves carpentry is fastening the seats.  I'm almost there now. I will keep you posted as The Prodigal nears completion. It won't be long!

Scratch Building

Call me crazy. I chose to build from scratch. I could have built from a kit or sent away for plans. There are some wonderful packages out there. I really liked Chesapeake Light Craft and Glen L, but I preferred to do it my way. I wanted my boat to be completely unique, totally mine, as custom as a signature or a fingerprint.

I did not draw anything out. I did not even make a model. I just started cutting and joining, letting one piece determine how the next would fit. Oddly enough everything came together. And why not? People have been building boats that way for thousands of years! 

Not My Father's Boat

Years ago, boats were often made with a solid wooden frame over which a plywood skin would be attached. "Skin-on-frame" construction had become state-of-the-art. It was solid and dependable. Plywood made everything easier often lighter. My dad built our first boat this way. 

The trouble with this was water. Leaks were common. Rot was always a threat. Paints and varnishes were pretty soft. So we had to keep up by sanding and brushing on new stuff.  

Epoxy changed all that. It offered up a much harder finish than paint or varnish. And, with a test strength of 1,300 pounds per square inch, the plywood seams would never work their way loose and leak. Epoxy was, in fact, so strong that a supporting framework was no longer necessary. 

Nowadays a plywood hull (or skin)  is made a series of thin plywood pieces which are temporarily stitched together with wires (or some other material) and then joined with a thick epoxy bead or fillet. After the epoxy hardens, the stitches are removed. The holes for the wires are filled with more epoxy and the entire hull performs as though it were one continuous piece of wood. Stitch-and-glue is the new state-of-the-art.

Fiberglass is Old School

Here in Minnesota, I  would imagine that 90%  of our beloved small craft are made from glass. Aluminum is , of course, a popular second choice  followed  by a percentage of other materials. Wood is pretty rare, definitely an "old school" curiosity featured in vintage boat shows and such.

The truth is that fiberglass has "issues." Water works into it and creates blisters. Fiberglass is not a good structural material. So, it is still used with wooden substructures. If (when) water gets to the wood, it rots fast. Fiberglass is also heavy, not good for boating, especially for fuel economy. Most importantly, it is not easy on the environment. During manufacture, the glass was sealed with a polyester resin, which released a highly toxic gas into the air, ultimately contributing the demise of the ozone layer. Lastly, fiberglass can never be recycled.

Old School is New Again

On the other hand, epoxy/wood boats offer up some real advantages for boating in  an urban  environ. They weigh half that of their fiberglass counterparts. very useful for handling: loading up the car and launching at any number of locations, many that have no ramps. At 65 pounds and 7 feet long, you can store it in a mudroom or even your apartment.  No need for a trailer: two people can carry it down to the water and even carry it back home.

Epoxy/wood, stitch-and-glue is totally "green."  The chemistry involves little or no air pollution.  Wooden boats can be recycled. Thanks to epoxy, old school is new again!

The Joy of Owning Your Own Boat

The Prodigal under construction: Made from 1/4 inch marine grade plywood, sealed in epoxy and fiberglass. The top coat of paint will be.black Brightsides polyurethane

What kind of boat do you have?

Share your boat with us! Send me a photo along with comments and I will post it on this site. Please also tell us where you like to sail, row, or paddle. Also, if you are looking to buy a boat, let me know! Send me an email: seemann@csp.edu

Lake City Boating: The Joy Of Boating in the Twin Cities

The Joy of Boating in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis/Saint Paul

Welcome!

April 9: A little bit of ice still lingers on Lake Como. It won't be long!

I've been thinking about starting this blog for some time. I wanted to write about boating. Now that winter is losing its grip and the ice is melting I realize Ihad better get started! I have no big adventures in mind., no tall tales, and no fish stories.To be honest, it's been some time since I've owned a boat or even set foot in one. But why should I let that stop me!

I want to write about the little trips. Why not? If you like to bike or jog or walk your dog in the park, then you might just be right for boating. You get fresh air and you get exercise. None of the city lakes permit power boats. That's the beauty of it all. You row or sail or paddle. You can  put in any kind of craft into any city lake. And, unlike the bigger bodies of water, you don't have to worry about turning your boat into the steady stream of wakes from all those power boats.

Most importantly, there is a strange phenomenon which takes place when you get out on water. Your primal instincts and intuitions kick in. You pay attention to the wind and the water. You become a "child of nature" at home (or at war) with the elements.  You can even lose your sense of time and maybe, just maybe, you lose your cares. 

And that is the muse behind boating the cities. You can capture that feeling of getting  away from it all. You can take a little mini holiday, if only just for an hour or two. You can go out every day if you like, or every weekend. The point is that you are getting away. It's therapeutic. It gives you a different perspective, a chance to meet different circles of people and to reinvent the simple sense of play missing in most of our urban lives.

A little dinghy chained to a bike rack in uptown Minneapolis: urban boating at its best!

The twin cities are perfect  for this. Minneapolis calls itself "city of lakes."  Saint Paul has a lot to offer as well. Chances are that you if you live here in the cities, you are just minutes away from some body of water. My plan is to explore all of these lakes and to share them with you. 

Along the way, I welcome you. Join in with me. Send a photo or two. Submit a story. I'd love to hear from you and share your experiences here. Better yet, maybe we will actually meet on the water!

The Joy of Choosing a Boat: Which Boat? What Boat?

No doubt about it. A boat is a very personal choice. More often than not, you can tell a lot about a person by his or her boat. A single seat kayak says it's owner wants to be alone. A six person day sailor says just the opposite. There's a lot of choices to be made. You can sail, row, or paddle. You can also cruise city lakes with an electric trolling motor. Then again, there's wood, aluminum, fiberglass, and kevlar. You can buy a boat, or you can build one. One thing for sure, every person who owns a boat has one thing in common. They made a decision to own one!

Maybe that sounds easy, but actually it's not. Last fall I bought a little duck boat for only $150.00. It was a perfect little boat for beginners. My students took it out and had a blast with it. I stored it at my shop over the winter. A lot of people saw it. Almost every man who came by asked about it. They all expressed a desire to have something like it. In every instance, I offered to sell it. Funny thing: they all had the same reply, "I'll have to ask my wife." Of course, none of them ever made an offer. This is the first rule about boats: You will never own a boat if you have to ask someone else. 

Better to go out and just buy a boat. A hundred and fifty won't break the bank. And we all know, forgiveness is much easier to obtain than permission! Your significant other and a lot of your friends will come around. Just wait and see!

I chose to build a row boat. You can row in any weather. Canoes are great,  but they work best with two people paddling. It's very hard for a single paddler to hold a canoe on course on a windy day. Sailboats are fun, but they can be difficult to transport and launch. 

I also liked the idea if a very small boat: something between seven and eight feet long. You can put it on a car top carrier, launch it yourself, and store it anywhere, even inside your apartment if you wanted to. Boats under eight feet also require no license in Minnesota. They are easy to row and easy to maneuver in the wind.

I suppose that I could have bought a boat. There's a lot on Craigslist. West Marine sells a little polyurethane dinghy for a little over a thousand, but I had my own reasons. I've owned fiberglass and aluminum speed boats. They were just fine.  But the best boat I ever had was home made. It was light and fast and totally unique. Most of all it was built by my dad. I learned a lot about boats  from watching him. Most of all I learned a lot about my dad. Building my own boat brought on a special kind of nostalgia. I think I'm going to call it "The Prodigal."

There is no need to tell the story of the prodigal son, but building this boat turned out to be a variant. My dad and I used to be out on the water whenever we could. My ancestors were sailors and sea captains. It's almost a part of my DNA. The Prodigal becomes my own personal story, a way of coming home and embracing my own heritage.