Dad's 12' Springbok reborn - "Dad's Buoy"

[great white]

Only got another half day to work on the boat today.

Took a fair bit of figuring to get the front supports laid out in the configuration and spacing I needed while still supporting the deck right out to the edges:

Lord my garage is a mess! That drives me freakin' nuts!!!

Still, it's better than working outside in -10c and 3 feet of snow.......heated and insulated, that's the way to go boys!

:LOL2:

The forward deck is a bit more "conventional" construction compared to the way the stern was built.

The two center beams are a full 2x4 for strength since the span is long. I stood on them today and bounced the trailer up and down without deflection.

That'll do!

I had to make a notch cut in the ends to have them sit on the seats. The front seat is at a different height so the cut is different front to rear. I made the notches nice and tight to the seat ends, so it will keep the platform from moving for and aft.

The cooler is visible in the picture and will be on a platform hung from the deck in order to make it level at the top. Don't get excited, the cooler isn't for fish.

It's for my lunch!

8)

I'm usually catch and release if I fish recreationally. Might go barbless this year as well. Fishing is really just an excuse for me to go for a nice nap anyways...



There will be a hatch in front of the cooler and the battery will be under the hatch. The battery will also hang on a platform from the deck.

I'm following the theme from the rear deck area; everything will lift out and nothing will be attached to the hull or ribs. Everything is supported by the seat boxes, like the OE intended the weight to be supported in the boat.

There will be a small angled hatch on either side for misc storage (ie: life jackets, nets, etc) and that will all just sit on the hull on some foam floor pads.

There will also be a compartment built on the front seat in order to house the anchor and anchor line.

It's coming together, slowly but surely...

 

[great white]

Worked on the front deck today.

Cut the 3/8 plywood to shape and then put 4 screws in to hold it to the frame. Then, removed it all from the boat and flipped it over:

Then I traced the cavities and removed the framing:

Now I had the exact layout of the openings and where the supports were located.

I could have measured and laid out the lines, but tracing was just much easier.

Then is was a simple matter of adjusting the lines 3/4" this way or that to make sure the cut line was in the middle of the 1 1/2" width of the 2X4 in order to support the non hinged sides of the hatches.

Deck reinstalled (screwed and glued) and hatches/openings cut:

Hatches in place:

Hatches open:

I need to buy some piano style hinges for the hatches.

I also have to build the hanging structure under the deck for the cooler and batteries as well as the anchor compartment under the bow.

Little bit closer every day....

 

[Kochy]

This is shaping up nicely, Good work.

 

[great white]

Last bit of work for a couple days.

Anchor locker:

Probably won't get to work on the boat until Sunday now.

But then it will be the hanging boxes for the battery and cooler....

 

[Jdholmes]

Doing a beautiful job...show us the framing you added for your anchor locker. I like that.

 

[great white]

Doing a beautiful job...show us the framing you added for your anchor locker. I like that.

What you see is what you get for framing.

Nothing is attached to the boat so there's no "frame" per se, it's all self supporting.

I built it that way so it will lift out easily.

 

[Jdholmes]

So, I take it you attached wood braces to the lower piece of plywood to push it up against or something?

 

[great white]

Did some work on the cooler well today.

As I've mentioned before, it hangs from the deck and doesn't touch the hull. It still all lifts right out in one piece.

Unfortunately, I had to accept 1/4" clearance from the hull (would have preferred minimum 3/4-1") at the bottom so now the cooler doesn't sit flush with the deck surface:

I needed 15" depth to sit flush, I only got about 13 3/4" because of the bow taper and rise.

However, the picture actually makes it look like it sits higher than it does. There's about 1 1/4" above the deck. That's just about the height of the red cooler lid protruding.

I've got a piece of 3/8" plywood on the base right now, but I'll switch that to 1/4" that I'm going to use to panel out the rest of the well and the side boxes. That will lower the cooler another 1/4". Then the carpet will go on which will gain about 1/8". So the net effect will be about 3/8" lower/closer to the deck.

Miniscule measurements, but it all helps.

Next up will be the battery tray in front of the cooler well.

Hopefully, I don't run into the same hull taper problems that I did with the cooler well. I'll probably do a "stepped tray" in the compartment if it becomes a problem. I'm only going to install one battery anyways....

 

[novaman]

Really nice workmanship, and plannig in Your build. =P~ I'm sure You dad is smiling down on what You've accomplished, with a little bit of envy in his grin.

 

[great white]

Really nice workmanship, and plannig in Your build. =P~ I'm sure You dad is smiling down on what You've accomplished, with a little bit of envy in his grin.

Thanks, but my dad hasn't passed. He's institutionalized and doesn't recognize us anymore.

The damnedest thing of it all was he was originally trained as a shipwright and built boats. Probably would have thought this much work on a 12' aluminum doesn't make any sense. He is/was a practical man that way; works fine as is why mess with it? All that wood is just extra weight that takes from the purpose of the boat.

He would have appreciated the work in it though.

Now he barely recognizes a screwdriver. I take in a board with a bunch of Robertson screws, a screwdriver and a coffee when I visit. He might not recognize me, but he still grabs the screwdriver and starts working those screws and knows how to handle that Tim Hortons coffee cup.

Although, it's a bit heart wrenching to watch him unscrew a screw and then just keep unscrewing it in the hole for 20 minutes.

God help me, I'd put a bullet in my skull if I inherit that disease....

 

[novaman]

I totally understand Your last staement, as I went through it with My Mom for 4 yrs. And the really sad part was She didn't want to languish with it either. Hope You ,nor I never get that way! [-o<


The boat is really loking GRAND! Carry On!

 

[great white]

I totally understand Your last staement, as I went through it with My Mom for 4 yrs. And the really sad part was She didn't want to languish with it either. Hope You ,nor I never get that way! [-o<


The boat is really looking GRAND! Carry On!

I understand.

My Dad was asking for us to end it for him just before he totally disappeared into himself.

I'm thinking I'll tow the boat back to the cottage once done and go land a couple fish in the harbor for him.

We never got to fish from the springbok together, guess this will have to be the next closest thing....

 

[fool4fish1226]

Great work on the boat, it is coming along nicely =D>

 

[great white]

Not much progress lately, life has a funny habit of getting in the way....

But after cleaning up the garage some, I found some time to get a couple bits done.

Cased in the front and cooler compartments:

(yeah, you can see where I messed up one measurement, no big, carpet will hide it)

Decided to put a cover over the cooler after all. Had to rework the bottom of the cooler well a bit:

The hull pulls double duty for the walls for the side compartments:

Nothing touches the hull still. It's all suspended off the factory seats, all in the original places and with the floatation foam intact, didn't touch one thing on the original hull. The two side compartments are for things like life jackets/pole nets/heaving lines/etc and there's only about 1/4" clearance for things to slip under so we're good there. Even if something manages to slip under the sides down to the middle of the hull's "V", the cooler well is open on the bottom so extraction is easily done.

All closed up:

Nice and flat for an afternoon nap on the lake!

So, I've got just under 2.5 sheets of 3/8 plywood in the boat so far. My goal was to keep it as light as possible, I don't think I could have gone much lighter without compromising strength unless I had gone all aluminum. I haven't weighed it yet, but I'm going to WAG it at no more than 50 lbs of added weight.

Then, decided to build myself a little station to keep my chargers, drills and accessories with some of the half sheet and scraps I had left over:

Threw in a couple drawers because I'm tired of all my spare bits all over hell and creation or rifling through my stuff just to find a driver:

So, the wood working is essentially done on the boat. I've got a few trim panels to add to just clean things up, a bit of sanding on the doors (for carpet clearance) and some hardware bits to install but it's carpet next and wiring up the accessories.

Well, gotta seal the wood up too. I'm thinking spar varnish will fit the bill.......

 

[great white]

A little bit closer every day:

(The blue bag on the rod tip is so you don't put your eye out when walking past!)

I can see the final form of the boat and decks coming together.

I like it!

8)

Rear seat will be on a slider, the front will be on a removable post with a second socket on the port side of the vessel (counterweight the pilot when two on board).

 

[UtahBassKicker]

Looks awesome.

 

[blink]

i like how the deck lifts at the very front.
I may need to do something like that to mount my front trolling motor.

 

[ChitownBasser]

=D> Damn. Looking nice.

 

[fool4fish1226]

=D> =D> =D> Great wood working skills, the boat turned out awesome.

 

[great white]

Thanks guys.

I'm thinking since Dad is never going to see outside the institution again, I'll trailer the boat home this year (Newfoundland to Nova Scotia) and take the boat out on the harbor at the cottage.

I'll fish the flats my Dad knew so well and maybe have a fish fry on the beach or the porch of the cottage like he would have......kind of a "full circle" thing for the boat.....