Thread: Goat Island Skiff - New Build - Walnut Creek CA

Jamie ... now California ... wonder how many States are left!

Good luck and keep us informed. Often you can simply paste a blog view straight into the forums here depending on the formats.

MIK

Thanks MIK... I might add that you are welcome to use any pictures, etc I have for your documentation - either as "how-to" or "how-not-to" - and if you need me to capture anything specifically during the build process, please don't hesitate to let me know.

Mik & Jamie -

There's another California fellow I'm in contact with over at WBF, Bob W from Sacramento. He's mid-build, and is hoping to have his done in time for the Big Lagoon messabout in Humboldt County (northern california coast) next May. I'm also intending to attend.

Jamie, maybe you'll have yours done by then also, and we could make it 3 GIS's at one event. Mik, has there even been three sail together anywhere? Two? Maybe we'll be in line for a World Record, eh?

Jamie, even if you aren't done, you might consider attending, just to get a ride in one.

http://www.luckhardt.com/blmessabout.html

http://www.luckhardt.com/bl_messabout08.html <--- photos of this years event



"Every decent man is ashamed of the government he lives under" -- H.L. Mencken

Thanks for the info - I sure hope to have her done by next Spring! My wife went to school at Humboldt St - this would be a good excuse for a trip back.

I have been lurking a bit at WBF - I will post my build info there as well, once I am a bit further along and have more to share.

Actually,

When Jamie mentioned his goat island skiff building blog I went ... oh yeah ... another blog ... but it is really rather a nice bit of writing.

He had a shot at getting one of the Lumber Yard Skiffs from Woodenboat Magazine underway first.

His experience was in line with my confustification about why that particular boat would be offered as a first "free plan" for someone to build. If you lived in a boatshed by the water it would make some sort of sense but a Rowboat that cannot be handled by two people on shore without a trailer or a jinker seems strange and the building of something that looks simple may not be as simple as expected by a first time builder with no reference points.

Really impressed that Jamie picked himself up and dusted himself off ...

This is true of ALL boats in a way. The test, I think, is when lots of people build the same design that they tend to have different problems during the building.

ie their problems don't match up.

If their problems match up - builders have the same problem - then there is something wrong with the plan.

Actually it is one of the really interesting things about plans. One person will build and say the build went fine but they had trouble marking out the bulkheads. Another will build and say it went fine but the section about allowing the clearances on the buttstraps was a problem.

I think that to understand that this is the "shape of the universe" has been useful for me as a designer (ie don't try to fight the universe or get frustrated with its shape) and the best strategy seems to be to have a forum just like this one. In fact, I suspect it is the only time efficient way to deal with the normal problems of building. So here ... I really have to thank the builders of my boats for their enormous contribution.

From Biting_Midge (who built the first Goat, then the first Eureka and sponsored the PDRacers) right through to Jamie with his first post yeserdayand his blog ... I am really, really grateful to you all!!! I really never expected to have so many connections to other parts of the world ... USA, Canada, Mexico, Argentina, Ecuador, UK, Senegal, Capetown, Romania, Denmark, Sweden, France, Hungary, Slovania, Slovakia, Poland, Russia, the Phillipines ... all something I really did not expect.

Like following Bjarne (Maximuss) build, it is amazing the multinational nature of the help and advice. World Peace might be only one step away - providing those GIS sailors don't get too aggressive with each other at the Big Lagoon Messabout!!!

ok ... now that is off my chest .. have a look at some of the stuff written by Jamie.

Setting out to build a boat

I have been around boats my whole life. I still don't know a whole lot about them, but not for lack of exposure. I had never contemplated building my own boat before; then I stumbled upon the Wooden Boat magazine series, "Getting Started in Boats".

I was looking a way to get back on the water. The Lumber Yard Skiff (LYS) by Maynard Bray seemed like the perfect choice, inexpensive and challenging to a novice boat builder (or at least to me- is there a level below novice?). I excitedly described my intentions to my wife. She was skeptical. Still is. I bought the plans. I studied them intently. I picked up and read a few excellent references, two books from Greg Rossel, The Boatbuilders Apprentice, and Building a Smallboat.

Excitedly, and in retrospect, too hurriedly, I began building the LYS. Disaster stuck early and often. First, while trying to mate the hullsides to the inner stem, I repeatedly lost control of the hullsides and they continually toppled over to the pavement. Then one hullside broke. No problem. I quickly decided to press on, shortening the length from 14' 8" to 10' 8". I was also determined to keep the same beam, 48".

I moved the second station (the location of the mold, and widest section of the boat) back to compensate for the shortened length. I set about mating up the sides the stem again.

Disaster struck again. While bending the sides around the mold, a plank broke at the mold. I shut things down on the LYS and went back to the drawings board.

I spent the next week or so considering different designs. The boats I intially considered were Herreshoff's Biscayne Bay 14 and Coquina, Alden's O Boat, and Joel White's Marsh Cat and Haven 12 1/2. All of these boats are classics that would be a dream to build and sail; the problem is that they are all ambitious for my skill level. Undeterred, I continued to poke around and then stumbled across the Goat Island Skiff design by Michael Storer.

The more I read about the GIS, the more I came to like the design. Mr. Storer has designed an extremely capable boat with great lines. In addition, the detail of the plans, the method of construction, and personel support given by Mr. Storer lends the GIS to be a great first build. In the end the decision was easy. I am building a Goat Island Skiff.

I learned many things in failing to build the LYS - slow down, be patient, spend the time to make it right. As an example, I had a lot of trouble with the inner stem. In the end, I did not spend enough time with the plane getting it right. That lead to my problem fitting the sides to the stem, the bulk of my frustration, which lead to further problems down the line.

There is only one innaccuracy here ... Mr Storer (haha)? You have a nice eye for boats Jamie, many of those are in my list of favourites too - but are all quite complex builds or quite long builds. Do one of them next time round maybe!

Small Steps Forward



Not much progress has been made when it comes to actually building the boat. I have cleaned out the garage and built shelves to create more floor space. I bought the okueme marine plywood and the epoxy kit from Duckworks.

The plans include a large step-by-step booklet, as well as enough detailed drawings to get a very good understanding of the build sequence and requirements.



Next steps are to finish the buy-out of wood (western red cedar, doug fir, and some hardwood), as well as begin the step-by-step building of the boat. I plan to lay out the bottom, sides, transom, and bulkhead as called for in the plans when I have a few hours to work uninterrupted.

I also plan on building a small cart to easily move the boat in and out of the garage.

For the rest ... we will all just have to follow Jamie's blog. I might steal some interesting bits from time to time.

MIK

Cool, another N. California GIS! Jamie, I look forward to following your GIS build.

There are a few points I need to clarify for David - and everyone else:

1. I am "BobW" over on the WBF (BobW wasn't available - or I did something wrong when I registered here!). So, BobWes here is BobW there.
2. While I would love to be at "mid build," I must confess to only being at "mid planning" on my GIS. (Not to dwell on the negative, but these past few months since Karen passed away have been challenging. I will be moving next month - possibly to a place without a garage, so I am working on finding an alternative workspace.) Where there's a will, there's a way, and I'm using that Big Lagoon Messabout in Humboldt as motivation.
3. You'll know when I start my build - I'll be asking plenty of questions!

Bob

Originally Posted by BobWes

Cool, another N. California GIS! Jamie, I look forward to following your GIS build.

There are a few points I need to clarify for David - and everyone else:

1. I am "BobW" over on the WBF (BobW wasn't available - or I did something wrong when I registered here!). So, BobWes here is BobW there.
2. While I would love to be at "mid build," I must confess to only being at "mid planning" on my GIS. (Not to dwell on the negative, but these past few months since Karen passed away have been challenging. I will be moving next month - possibly to a place without a garage, so I am working on finding an alternative workspace.) Where there's a will, there's a way, and I'm using that Big Lagoon Messabout in Humboldt as motivation.
3. You'll know when I start my build - I'll be asking plenty of questions!

Bob

Bob

How on earth was I supposed to figure out that Bob Wes & Bob W were the same guy... I can't think of two more dissimilar screen names, can you? OK, I think I've got it now.


Good luck on your new situation. In terms of questions, feel free to look through the old threads, I think you'll find a lot of answers there. Then, of course, there's Mik's site - lots and lots of good info there. The plans themselves are jam packed with precise (though sometimes sneakily understated) info. If none of that serves, feel free to ask here or at WBF. I'm happy to supply info and even occasionally, the right answer. If I don't have info on tap, I'll make something up - or refer the question to Mik (so he can make something up). Seriously, Mik is great at responding to serious inquiries.

Remember, you're welcome at Big Lagoon whether the boat is done or not.


"God made Truth with many doors to welcome every believer who knocks on them"

LOL Well, I'm sorry for the confusion, but sometimes even I have a hard time remembering who I am - or maybe it's that I don't always know who I am!

Thanks for the words of encouragement. I'll get it figured out and start my boat as soon as I can. A friend here in town has offered the use of his shop to mill the lumber for my project, but he just doesn't have the room to let me build there.

To be sure, I have been reading through the threads here, and every once in a while review Mik's site - lots of good info available. I've enjoyed reading your contributions and pics here and over on WBF.

I do plan to attend the Big Lagoon event - with or without a boat. If I show up without a boat I am trusting I can catch a ride or two. I'll be watching for the dates so I can pencil them in on the calendar.

Bob

Bob,

Dates are May 8-10, 2009. Here's a link.

http://www.luckhardt.com/blmessabout.html

Thanks, David. The '09 Big Lagoon messabout is on my calendar!

Bob

Howdy again Bob,

Sounds like you are in for a sail if you can get to the Messabout!

Nice to see you again ... even if I haven't quite come to grips with BobW and Bobwes! David has a much greater flexibility of mind than me.

Best wishes
Michael

It is probably a bad sign that I have to ask repair questions this early in the build process...

I was cutting out one of the centercase sides, unknowingly I cut into the leading edge of the aft bottom section of ply.

I thought of a few ways to fix this mistake, but would like the advice of the experts here on the forum:

(1) Fill the cut with epoxy glue and wood flour.
(2) Cut a small piece from scrap mahogany ply, and epoxy glue in place.
(3) Combine item 1 or 2 with increasing the width of the butt strap (called to be 75 mm total, I would have to double the width).

Here are the pictures:

http://picasaweb.google.com/jamiefes...11789787690562

http://picasaweb.google.com/jamiefes...11821574771906

Any advice is appreciated - thanks!

-Jamie

There is a new blog update:

www.fessendenboat.blogspot.com

Sunday found me back in the garage for a few hours. Sunday also brought my first blood and first mistake. Both were inevitable. The mistake is detailed below; the blood will remain between me and the hammer.

I finished with laying out the bottom and faired in the curves. I used finishing nails instead of clamps to keep the fairing batten in the correct position. My batten is also a little short, so I use the finishing nails to create a "track" to run the batten forward and aft on, maintaining the curve.



From Goat Island Skiff - 27 Sep 08

Then I cut out a bunch of the plywood pieces - bulkhead 1, 2, 3, and 4; the sides of the centerboard case, and the bow seat. I used the jig saw to cut near the mark line, then planed down to the line (without removing the line).



From Goat Island Skiff - 27 Sep 08



From Goat Island Skiff - 27 Sep 08
In cutting the pieces out, I was using both the saw horse and the cart I built to hold the GIS during the build. The cart offers a nice stable platform for cutting out the smaller pieces. Unfortunately, I was so excited the cart worked so well, I failed to notice that the piece I was cutting overlapped slightly with another piece of ply - the aft section of the bottom. I made a small cut, about 7 cm, into the leading edge of the aft bottom section. I thought of a few ways to fix this mistake, which I will run by the experts at the Michael Storer forum:

(1) Fill the cut with epoxy glue and wood flour.
(2) Cut a small piece from scrap mahogany ply, and epoxy glue in place.
(3) Combine item 1 or 2 with increasing the width of the butt strap (called to be 75 mm total, I would have to double the width).



From Goat Island Skiff - 27 Sep 08



From Goat Island Skiff - 27 Sep 08
I did not cut the transom out yet, as I could not remember how the discrepancy between the drawing and the text for the cut marks was resolved. I have since looked this up (again on the Michael Storer forum) , and the text is correct: cut 7 mm outside of the transom side marks, and 12 mm out of the transom bottom mark.

Here is a shot of the various ply pieces on the cart:



-Jamie