Would a Whitewater Dories subforum be a possibility?
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I have 238 photos in my Facebook album. Would have been nice to put a build thread in a Whitewater dories subforum on here.
Guess I'll give my photos and your attention Lord Zuckerberg instead of Vertical Scope.
Launched her Sunday. Rowed more beautifully than I imagined, and loading/unloading was crazy simple with zero straps.
I present: the Great Falls
Guess I'll give my photos and your attention Lord Zuckerberg instead of Vertical Scope.
Launched her Sunday. Rowed more beautifully than I imagined, and loading/unloading was crazy simple with zero straps.
I present: the Great Falls
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Natural Wood Sidewall?
Your boat looks amazing. Love the transom art.
Is the upper part of the sidewalls "natural"? No paint.
I was thinking of doing my next boat with a "Natural Wood" Strip. Didn't want to do the whole thing as I am sure there will be some repairs on the chines.
Your decks look like they turned out well.
Glad you had a great first float.
Your boat looks amazing. Love the transom art.
Is the upper part of the sidewalls "natural"? No paint.
I was thinking of doing my next boat with a "Natural Wood" Strip. Didn't want to do the whole thing as I am sure there will be some repairs on the chines.
Your decks look like they turned out well.
Glad you had a great first float.
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Yes..but the meranti was more blonde than I wanted, so I used a water-based wood stain that would still allow the glass to adhere. It was a "rosewood" color. I wish it were just slightly more reddish, but I do like how it came out.
Eric Sjoden told me that Kenton Grua also did natural wood sides on his GRAND CANYON. (pic attached)
I like showing wood on a wooden boat, but I think there's also sometimes "too much of a good thing" so I painted the lower. My primary reason wasn't for repairs, but I agree!!
The 2-tone color was inspired by Mike Boyd's dory (attached) which was based on Jerry Briggs' strongback.
The hatches/gutters were inspired by the way Chris Towles did his. I haven't been able to test them yet in heavy whitewater, but look forward to it.
So...I can't really take credit for some of the best ideas, but I've borrowed some ideas that appealed to me and combined them. It's pretty wonderful that everyones' dories are so similar and yet so unique!
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...and I'm not terribly impressed by the BS 1088 meranti I got. I thought it was very heavy and brittle, and it didn't have very interesting grain like the ply on Mike's boat.
The Doug Fir I used on my floors, decks, and bulkheads was a lot more resilient and lighter weight, but I did glass all exposed faces.
If you don't glass the faces of the ply, the meranti has the advantage of not checking like fir.
The Doug Fir I used on my floors, decks, and bulkheads was a lot more resilient and lighter weight, but I did glass all exposed faces.
If you don't glass the faces of the ply, the meranti has the advantage of not checking like fir.
NOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Just say no to Zucker*uck! Is everything that's wrong with the world today... :roll:
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I tried to follow the Deck Drainage on your build but would love to know more about it. It looks like you have 4 outboard drains on your main decks? I like the exposed Wood Grain on the upper end for sure. I know Chris helped you with some of the Deck design but I would love to see more and understand that initial outboard drainage.
Incredible build!!
Incredible build!!
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It's a double-step.
Chris' rationale:
There is currently only a seal inside the hatch lid, but I will add a seal on the 2nd step before I hit big water.
He has a great Google images album, I'll ask if he'd share with you.
2nd image is how I had to work a beveled hatch lip so it wouldn't bind at the hinge. It is a good idea, but my tolerances were too tight and I did have some binding. I think it would be better to plan for a 1/8" minimum gap between the hatch lips.
My footwell has a slot drain and sloped drain tubes out the side.
Chris' rationale:
- Get the water out and away from the boat as quickly as possible. Racing sailboats and kayaks do the same thing. Dory conventional wisdom of draining into the oarsman's footwell makes the footwell have to drain more than necessary. A couple of high holes will drain the deck before it puddles in the oarsman's footwell.
- The next rationale was to keep the gaskets out of the puddle. The double step ensures that standing water won't seep in...and a blast of water into the gutter won't force its way under the gasket the way it would if the gasket were at the bottom of the channel.
- The other cool thing he did was to make the drain holes slope from center to gunnel so water constantly rolls out.
There is currently only a seal inside the hatch lid, but I will add a seal on the 2nd step before I hit big water.
He has a great Google images album, I'll ask if he'd share with you.
2nd image is how I had to work a beveled hatch lip so it wouldn't bind at the hinge. It is a good idea, but my tolerances were too tight and I did have some binding. I think it would be better to plan for a 1/8" minimum gap between the hatch lips.
My footwell has a slot drain and sloped drain tubes out the side.
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After 2 seasons of rowing a wooden dory I'm still finding reasons I prefer it over any other boat.
Great looking boat, congratulations!
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I've been kayaking longer than rafting and I've always said, "I'd rather kayak than raft, but I'd rather raft with my family than kayak alone." A raft simply doesn't move in the water the way a kayak does...and the way a dory moves: incredible. I may now be finding excuses not to kayak.
Thank you!
Got pics of your boat?
My "everything" drains into the footwell where the pump sits, and in GC it seemed to work just fine. I can remember a couple times where the boat was completely swamped, hatches under water, and I got a negligible amount of water in the hatches.
Enough that a plastic water cannon filled a couple times on the side hatches, and about 2 or 3 minutes of "clean up" with a sponge, I have the standard single gasket sealing surface on Bears Ears. Will have to ask Mike G how his hatches sealed when he gets off the Grand.
I like your dual gasket detail, but not sure it'd make much of a difference. My friend Buck says the word dry, in relation to hatches, is a nice thought, but it's all relative anyway
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Why?Enough that a plastic water cannon filled a couple times on the side hatches, and about 2 or 3 minutes of "clean up" with a sponge, I have the standard single gasket sealing surface on Bears Ears. Will have to ask Mike G how his hatches sealed when he gets off the Grand.
I like your dual gasket detail, but not sure it'd make much of a difference. My friend Buck says the word dry, in relation to hatches, is a nice thought, but it's all relative anyway
So we have something to discuss around the campfire!!!
Eric said that few of the Briggs dories came off Jerry's strongback the same shape, and that GCD guides would spend endless hours debating which boat handled better in what conditions...and they all had a variety of hatch/deck solutions. Eric's Virgin hatches sit in a single step with one thin gasket and they're reasonably dry.
Pat (South Fork) was in on Brad's last class and took the boat home. he said fit-up wasn't perfect but she's pretty dry by Day 3.
Honestly? Flat hatches and lips, tight latches, and tight fit at the corners when installing gaskets probably make more of a difference than anything.
(and lest anyone think otherwise, this isn't a religious debate for me like draining coolers is to some. I have ideas, but I'm perfectly happy to change them)
It's wood, and warps, twists and such unlike metal, allowing minute sealing issues to become larger. I guess.. Like I said, I'm pretty happy with the way things on Bears Ears seal, considering the swamping she takes in the big ones, and I'm talking water running over the gunwales swamping. I was really surprised at how well the hatches sealed, the 2 on either side of me being the least water resistant, but being the lowest ones in the boat
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Chris' argument was for full-composite hatch lips for that reason.
I'm a "frozen-snot-on-wood purist"!
Neither am I, however I am a "Historically correct" sort of guy, much preferring the old school ways of doing things. Composite lips would be super sweet, but why not make the entire hatch out of composite material? Surely the cost / benefit of doing that would outweigh the cost / benefit of just the lips, and how much water would one be keeping out vs the wood hatches with the frozen snot method?
Enquiring minds and all
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Yup, that was exactly what he was doing. Full composite. Foam core hull, bulkheads, and decks, with foamcore hatches and composite lips.
I'm not yet into vacuum bagging and more comfortable with wood. His boat took him 2+ years and I was done in 7 months (minus a LOT of boating mid-May to mid-July my actual duration was more like 5 months)
A pro like Brad is building a traditional boat in 3-4 months easy.
I started running rivers in kayaks also and bought a raft for the family. The dory rekindled that love of moving water.
Been following your work for a while; you are a craftsman - please keep posting.
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=oa.1666120856757995&type=3
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Rick, thank you for the link and for attaching more photos! I see I already liked the photo of you doing a tailstand in your story on the Grand.
After rebuilding a boat, would you do it again, or would you build from scratch? I’m kind of itching to do a renovation.
After rebuilding a boat, would you do it again, or would you build from scratch? I’m kind of itching to do a renovation.
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