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Posted By: Don Schroder
Date: 8/21/06 10:38a.m.

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In Response To: Almost done! (pic) (Don Schroder)

For those interested, I mail ordered my solid wood from Wall Lumber at www.walllumber.com. It's quarter-sawn African mahogany (aka: sapele) and you'll need 6 pieces of 5/8"x6"x72" for the slats, a 1"x10"x96" piece for the boom crutch, cleats and misc pieces, plus a piece for the center thwart at 3/4"x13"x96" (laminate two left over pieces and you can make the motor mount). For an extra charge, I believe they'll thickness the lumber for you. The quarter-sawn wood is straight grained and produces a pretty "ribbon" figure. Of course, double check what you need for your restoration. The marine plywood was ordered from Boulter Plywood at www.boulterplywood.com. I had the 4'x8'sheet of African ribbon-stripe sapele mahogany cut up in two 12"x72" pieces for the sides plus a 30"x24" piece for the anchor-well cover (grain direction in the 24" dimension) plus the left over. It's about $100 per sheet plus delivery and is drop-dead gorgeous. I ordered #10 square-drive boatbuilding silicon bronze flathead screws (1-1/4" & 1-1/2") from McFeely's at www.mcfeelys.com. Remember to order some Lloyd's Akempucky lubricate to make the screws go in easier---works great. If you haven't used square drives, you're in for a treat! All the holes were drilled and countersunk before finishing. Silicon bronze will oxidize to an almost black color but will look fine with the wood. I used the old pieces as templates. Just trace out the pieces, rough cut with a jigsaw, then rout to final size with a pattern bit (bearing on top). Then ease all the top edges and the bottom edge of the inside slat with a 1/8" round over bit. The edges of the access holes in the plywood were eased with a 1/16" round over bit. Assemble all your pieces to make sure they fit on the boat and then disassemble for finishing. Remember to slide the thwart in the plywood sides before attaching the seats. Also, since the seats are mirror images of each other, you can layout/assemble the starboard seat on the port side. Yes, it's upside down, but this lets you position the underside cleats and position the slats properly. As you'd expect, it does help to have a woodworking shop that includes a table saw, 10" sliding compound miter saw, drill press, jointer, planer, band saw, router(s) and jigsaw. And lots of clamps! For a finish, I brushed on five coats of high-gloss spar varnish on all pieces before final assembly. It probably could have used eight coats for a glass finish because of the open grained nature of the wood, but enough was enough. I thinned the first coat 50%, the second 25% and the remaining ones 5% to 10%. Sanded lightly in between coats, wiped down with a tack cloth. After the last coat dried for a week or so, I rubbed it down with polishing compound for a smooth finish (experiment on the undersides first because this also cuts down on the gloss somewhat). Here's a trick when varnishing: rip a couple 1"x2"x6' scraps of pine with a 45 degree cut on one long edge, clamp or tack each to a saw horse with the bevel up. Place the pieces bottom side up and varnish, when complete, flip them over and finish the top sides. The only part that comes in contact is along the knife edge of the bevel and it's the bottom of the piece to boot. Think that's about it. Hope this helps anyone thinking about trying it. You're probably looking at $550-$600 in materials to do the job. Let me know if you have questions or concerns. Thanks, Don