The Work Cart

Until now, I have been workin with the canoe on a pair of sawhorses.  I like to sand outside.  Getting the canoe in and out of the garage by myself is an ordeal.  Then the final straw - the sawhorses are never the right height for comfortable work.  After sanding the underside of the rubrails, I spent the next day moving gingerly because of back spasms.

I needed a cart.  The requirements?  It has to be capable of supporting the canoe (16') and the D4 dinghy (7 1/2').  It has to roll in and out of the garage.  The height has to be adjustable 24" to 40".  It has to be stable and sturdy.

After a couple of trips to Lowe's for 2x4's, sheet rock screws, castors, and dowels, here is the result, nearly finished.

The uprights are two 2x4's with a sliding 2x4 in between.  The height is set with 2 dowels in each upright.  Working is so much more comfortable now.

In the picture below, it is finished.  The bracing makes a handy lumber storage rack.

Beginning the D4

I'm working on the D4 again, after 9 years.  I was at a waiting point in the canoe, so I stitched it together with my son, Alston.  He has watched me carry the parts for this boat around the entire time, so he was excited to help.

Recapping what was done 9 years ago,  I cut out all of the panels and the frames.  The panels are a luan plywood, and the frames are AC.  The transoms are 3/4" laminated from 1/4" plywood.  I wanted the option of putting a small motor on it.  I misunderstood the directions and laminated the bow transom as well.  I added an extra pound or 2.  Oh, well.

I am stitching it together with tie-wraps and 3/4" dowels.  I started by screwing the panels to the frames, mid-seat bow fore frame first, stern transom second, bow transom third, then the rest.  We loosely stitched the pieces together.  We will tighten, adjust, and tack the seams later.  Alston came in especially handy, since he crawled under that tiny boat, and fed the tie-wraps back to me.

Side view, through my work cart (next topic).

Front view.

Rear view.  Notice the daggerboard trunk halves, coated on the inside with graphite and epoxy.  These have been done with left over epoxy.

Materials

Happy Bastille Day!

I started the D4 back in 1999, and set it aside after cutting the frames and panels. I used 1/4" lauan plywood for the panels and 3/8" AC for the frames. The transom and bow transom were made of 3 pieces of lauan laminated with epoxy to 3/4". The lauan from that period was a stiff and good-looking plywood, although the center ply was thicker than the outer plies. The cut pieces were stored and moved around carefully. I can't say the same for the epoxy.

The epoxy was System Three epoxy purchased in 1999. It was stored in garages and storage units with temperatures in excess of 110 degrees in summer and hovering around freezing in winter. I was considering throwing it out and buying more, but after reading that epoxy has a very long shelf life, I tried it first. I am thrilled to say that after 9 years stored in bad conditions, the epoxy performed like new. The pumps had to be replaced.

Because I liked the lauan plywood I purchased 9 years ago for the D4, and because I wanted to build the canoe on the cheap, I purchased lauan plywood again. It isn't the same lauan plywood. The face veneer looks good, but the back veneer is ugly and full of knot holes. The veneers are very thin, and the wood has three equal plies inside. On the minus side, it splits along the middle ply. It bends like wet spaghetti. Still, I think the canoe will do what I need.

I'm using Marinepoxy for the canoe. It isn't as thick as the System Three. I have the medium speed hardener for both. In the heat of a North Carolina summer, neither allows much more than five minutes working time for a three ounce batch.

Beginning two boats - finally!

Years ago, in 1999, I ordered plans and supplies to build a small boat - Jacques Mertens's D4 dinghy. (The D4 has since been replaced by the D5 at bateau.com.) I had a garage then, but thanks to divorce, apartmentaliving, and long-distance dating, it was carefully put aside after I had cut the hull panels and frames out. Now that I am remarried and living stably with a garage (at least for the time being - until I move again), I pulled the parts and plans out, and picked up where I left off.

But wait! I like to canoe, and building a canoe looks quicker. Even with my schedule, I'll be able to get a canoe in the water before fall. So why not build a canoe first? I looked at plans on bateau.com where I had bought the dinghy plans, and chose the 16' Hiawatha. Progress on the D4 will slow, but Renee and I will enjoy the canoe sooner.