Build Thread: GIS in upstate New York

[newchatham]

Hi All,

After several weeks hanging around the forum and facebook page, I'm happy to announce a new GIS build in upstate New York. We're assembling materials and plan to start cutting by the end of the week. The goal is to have the boat ready for rowing by the end of May. Once completed, it'll split its time between New Haven, CT, and the Hudson Sloop Club in New York.

Huge thanks to everyone who answers questions and shares their experience on this forum.
I'll keep you fed with questions and pictures as they come up.

Cheers,
Zev


New Chatham Joiner
Malden Bridge, NY

[newchatham]

Hi all,

I have a large supply of cherry that I cut and milled in 2012. It's been stacked and stickered to air dry in the shop since then and should be ready for use by now. Since it's beautiful and it's free I'd like to find places to use it on the GIS. I know David Graybeal has talked on the forum about the suitability of cherry for boatbuilding. I'm wondering what folks would recommend as the best places to use it.

I think something more resilient would be better for the skids, gunwale cappings, and edges of the centreboard. So I'm considering cherry for the gunwales, inwales, knees, and/or tiller. Hopefully it wouldn't add too much weight compared to doug fir.

[BrianMCarney]

I can't really give you lumber advice, but the places where hardwood are specced would seem like the obvious places to me too. How far upstate are you? Welcome to the forum. I hope you don't beat me to completion. No offense...

[newchatham]

I can't really give you lumber advice, but the places where hardwood are specced would seem like the obvious places to me too. How far upstate are you? Welcome to the forum. I hope you don't beat me to completion. No offense...

My post above was a bit ambiguous; I meant to say I'd prefer something more resilient than cherry for the skids. I'm considering cherry more as a replacement for doug fir. I'm in Chatham (Columbia County). Are you also upstate?

[BrianMCarney]

Gotcha. As I said, I'll defer to wood experts on that. I don't know their relative weights or strengths.
I'm in Westchester, so downstate.

[Poit]

Hey Zev, Good luck with the build. At the rate I'm going you'll probably finish before me!

From what I can see cherry seems to be a similar weight or just a bit heavier than Douglas Fir, so it might be suitable.

[Alan Cohen]

Welcome to another Northeast GISer. I'm in Joisey and will be starting mine soon.

[newchatham]

Brian,
Did you end up using the MFC Okoume or Bruynzeel Okoume? I'm also planning to get mine from Condon, but they seem very vague about the country of origin of the MFC. If you went with the MFC, have you had any issues with it?

[newchatham]

Anyone have an opinion on using southern/atlantic white-cedar as a substitute for WRC?

[BrianMCarney]

Zev, in the end Alan and I ordered our ply from McIlvains in Connecticut. Can't say exactly where it came from--no stickers or anything as you sometimes see on Joubert for example. But no complaints about it so far.

[Alan Cohen]

Anyone have an opinion on using southern/atlantic white-cedar as a substitute for WRC?

If weight is an issue, and you would like to keep it as light as possible, Paulownia is an option to be considered. If not, and you have a pile of cherry, use it.

The Okoume Brian and I bought is Bruynzeel.

[davlafont]

Welcome aboard Zev!

It will be great to have another Goat in the Northeast herd. I'll have to remind Paulie that he has some duties to attend to, but please do plan to participate in the 2015 North American Northeast Great Goat Gathering, Camp-out, Gabfest, and Home-produced Beverage Extravaganza-palooza. You can bring a fully operational GIS, or a rowing hull, or a piece of cherry and a stack of tall tales. If you come with no boat, etiquette calls for some form of satisfying beverage as an offering. Alan brought home-roasted coffee last year; this year he's bringing a boat, right Alan?!? I think the herd is looking for someone that distills their own Grappa, but I may be mistaken.

By way of introduction, what are your goals for the GIS? What caused you to choose this design? I think cherry will make for really nice accents. But it might tempt you to get really serious about joinery and finishes and other aesthetics. If you are inclined in that direction, tell us up front so we know how to advise. Alan wants to go as lightweight as he can so we've advised him to drill a million holes in the bottom to reduce both weight and wetted surface; we can't wait for his launch!

Back to work you, May is just around the corner...

I'm in Westchester, so downstate.

As a Manhattan Native, Westchester has always been upstate to me! Our Aussie hosts might be shaking their heads about now...

[BrianMCarney]

Ha. I grew up in the West Village myself Dave. But real upstaters get upset when anyone with a 914 area code calls himself an upstater.

[newchatham]

Thanks guys. I ended up going with McIlvain as well. They have Bruynzeel for less than MFC at Condon and for less than Greek-origin okoume at Boulter.

Welcome aboard Zev!

By way of introduction, what are your goals for the GIS? What caused you to choose this design? I think cherry will make for really nice accents. But it might tempt you to get really serious about joinery and finishes and other aesthetics. If you are inclined in that direction, tell us up front so we know how to advise. Alan wants to go as lightweight as he can so we've advised him to drill a million holes in the bottom to reduce both weight and wetted surface; we can't wait for his launch!

I chose the GIS because it's a good looking boat and seemed like it hits a sweet spot in terms of size, cost, and weight. I wanted the lightest, easiest to build boat, that could still fit a few adults. Sailing at speed isn't too much of a concern as I expect to primarily use it for exploring and fishing in LI Sound and the Hudson River.

My primary motivation in using the cherry is that I have a ton of it that I cut and milled myself, so it'll save some dough without--hopefully--adding much weight. Plus it's beautiful wood.

I do like your idea of removing some of the material from the bottom. That might be a great option to offset any extra weight from the cherry.

[davlafont]

Well, we can certainly sail together in the LIS. Although I live in North Jersey, I've sailed in the Metro NYC waters and have yet to put in at any of the lakes I'm surrounded by. Besides the the 2015 Gathering, I want very much to sail with Pat Daniels in Jamaica Bay, or maybe entice him to venture out into the Sandy Hook area. I wouldn't mind joining you in your part of the Hudson, but at that point I'm halfway to the family's lake house in Vermont (my Goat's birthplace).

Regarding the cherry, here's another thought: the British GIS "Sneaky Shark" has an interesting boom that you might play of off. Many of us have experimented with a box section boom with plywood sides. Sneaky has a rectangular section boom of lumber (Doug Fir I think) but with lateral slots cut out, creating a truss form that's lighter than a solid lumber spar. Now that it's proven, you might do a prettier version that would really highlight the cherry.


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