Moving the cockpit deck beams

The holidays and the start of skiing season put a huge dent in my boat-building time.  I've been getting little bits done here and there however - my current completion target is February.  (Frustratingly enough, we're having an unusual January thaw and the local rivers are clear - if I'd finished up already, I could be paddling now!).

So, the float test indicated that the cockpit needed to move.  But not all the way to the next space between deck beams, sigh.  That means taking the beam at the front of the cockpit out and putting in two new ones half-way between the existing ones.

Of course, since I pegged the beam, the first step is to pull the pegs.



Simple enough - drill a hole in the center of the center of the peg, twist a screw into the hole, and use vice-grips to work the peg out.  The gunwales are flexible and spread just enough to get the deck beam tenon out.

Now I have one last chance to recheck the dimensions of the cockpit.  I put the boat on the floor and do another mock-up of the position of the front and back of the cockpit.



The plank is at the height of the back of the cockpit (where I will sit when sliding in).  The underside of the gray bar is at the height of the underside of the forward deck beam.  Yes, I can slide in, even with shoes on.

The vertical 4x4s are the width I need for my hips (including a bit of space for clothes).  This gives me final positions for the deck beams and it gives me the coaming dimensions both forward-back and side-to-side.



Now that I am sure where the new deck beams will go, it's time to cut new mortises.  But the boat is too long for where the bench was - so I had to get the mover's dolly to slide it down far enough that the mortise positions are on the bench.



Hmm, last time I put guides on both sides of my router so it would cut in just the right place.  But there are ribs on one side now.



So, a block on only one side, exactly 1/2 inch from the cutter.  And I'll have to be very careful to hold the guide against the gunwale!!!



A quick test - yes, perfect.  The ruler is at the 2nd test hole.  The closer hole was my first try - I didn't hold the guide tight against the edge and the router wandered, making a wavy slot.  Y'know, with software you can make a back-up copy before making tricky changes.  If I screw this up, the whole boat's toast.  No pressure.



The clamps set the limits of the hole.  I've roughed out the first deck beam to check the hole width.



Here goes!



The last step is squaring the ends of the mortise with chisels.  One end done, one to go.

I cut the mortises on one side and then went to turn the boat around.  Hmm, now that the bow and stern are attached, if I poke the bow into the bottom corner of the basement  and tip the boat at an angle I can just swing the stern just past the lally column where it holds up the ceiling.  If the boat was an inch longer I'd have had to trim the bill off the duck on the bow!

The next step will be to make the two replacement deck beams and lash everything in place.

In the mean time, I've started on the cockpit coaming.  It will be 1 1/2 inches high and half an inch thick.  I want to make it out of that nice green oak, but I need more than 12 feet to wrap around my 2 foot cockpit (circumference of a circle is pi * diameter - this is oblong so will be a bit less, but I need extra to overlap for the joint).  The log is only 5 feet long so I'm going to build the coaming up from multiple 1/4 inch strips.

I've used up the oak I cut for the ribs, so I need a new slab.  Luckily we had a warm spell and the snow melted off.



Cutting straight lines by eye is tricky.  If I were going to cut many more slabs I can see the advantages of getting a chain-saw mill.  I'd need a longer chain saw though - this is just a 1/4 pie slice of the log!



The jointer is really handy.  I used it to squared up one edge of the rough board,  Then took the board to the band saw and trimmed it to six inches wide (the width of the jointer blade).  Then back to the jointer to get a flat side.

Next, a bunch of passes through the planer made it into a pretty 1 1/2 inch thick board!  Have to admit, the jointer and planer are so much faster and easier than a hand plane - and produce a gorgeous square flat result.



Next was to cut four 1/4 inch strips.  The carbide blade on my table saw has lasted for more than 20 years - but cutting through the 1 1/2 inch green oak did it in.


The dull blade heated up and started to burn as it cut.  Even with two windows open and two fans running the basement filled with smoke (setting off the smoke alarm).  I guess it's time to replace the blade!

Next step on the coaming will be to make scarf joints to connect the ends of the strips, to cut an oval plywood form to shape the coaming around, and glue it up.

It's getting to where I can see the end of this project!