Cutting the transom angle.

I thought I'd mention the cutting of the transom angle.  I gave the degree of angle some serious thought before cutting.  I've recently finished the build of a Lumber Yard Skiff that was fitted with a 2005 Suzuki 25HP motor.  I followed the specs in the plans, and angled the transom 11°, however, when setting up the motor I was having problems with the boat porpoising.  I set the motor trim full negative, add a 1.5° transom shim, and fit the motor with a hydrofoil to solve the issue.  I really don't know if this is a motor problem for this model/year, or if it's common with bigger motors??  I've asked around in regard to the Perfect 10, and I haven't heard anything about changing/adding more angle to the transom, so...I'm going with the specified 12°.🤞

The transom angle was cut using a table saw, and having the convex, or back of the transom facing up.  In order to keep it perfectly level when cutting, I temporarily fit two curved pieces of wood on the underside.  I don't have any pics showing the actual cutting, so hopfully this explanation and photos with be enough.

I used the transom to trace the curvature on to some scrap 2x6, then cut it out quick with a jigsaw.  These cuts didn't have to be 100% perfect.

Here are the skis attached with a couple screws.  All ready to slide along the table saw.

A near perfect 12° cut.

After the bottom cut was made, I lined it up on the hull bottom and marked the hull side angle.  The above photo shows the lines I then marked with a carpenters square.  The side cuts were made with ease using a Festool track saw.  I'm sure any circular saw, straight edge and a couple clamps would work great too.

Transom, seat boxes, rear seat/compartment bulk head continued.

Here are some photos showing the seat boxes, rear bulkhead, and transom glued up/fiberglassed.

Here are the seat boxes glued up, and corners routed with a 1/2" round over.

Coating the inside with epoxy before filleting and adding glass tape to corners. 

Fillets were made of an even mix of wood flour and cabosil.

I pre-cut the glass tape for each joint, laid it out on poly sheet and precoated with epoxy.  I then laid the wet tape in place along the joint.  This method worked out great.  In the past I've laid the tape in place and wet out after with a brush and roller.

Adding a tripled up top lip to the rear former.  This wasn't in the plans,  I just wanted to add a bit more rigidity to the top where the seat will rest.  I rounded over the bottom edge and added a fillet before glassing.

Tripled up and filleted bulkhead.

Completed rear bulkhead.

The transom is glassed and cut, ready to fix in place.

Transom doublers, seat boxes, fence and rear seat bulkhead. Sept 27th-Oct 5th.

The hull bottom is now attached to the keel and flipped upright.  The boat sat this way for about 1.5 years.  The following posts are now closer to the present time...lol

I've recently measured and cut out the planing doublers to be attached.  The pieces that will make the seat boxes have been cut, as well as the forward fence, and rear seat box/compartment bulkhead.  The following pics show these pieces cut, attached, assembled and fiberglassed.

Dry fitting the planning doublers and fence.

Doublers epoxies in place, first wetting out all pieces, then spreading with thickened epoxy.  I've used a few screws in the back middle section, plenty of spring clamps, and paint cans to weigh it down.  

Here are the seat boxes assembled dry and set in place.  I've also cut the outside edge to match the curve of the hull bottom/side.  Next I'll round the edges over and epoxy/fiberglass together.

Fiberglassing hull bottom, joining to keel, fairing hull bottom/keel.

Aug 11, 2019 - Sept 24, 2019.  Now that the hull bottom was cut to shape I was ready to fiberglass.  I started by cutting and laying out two strips of cloth to cover the bottom.  I ran the pieces lengthwise, with an overlapping seam in the middle.  I mixed up some West Systems, and got to wetting out the cloth.  Once all the cloth was wet it was time to wait.  After the first layer was just tacky I mixed up another batch to fill the weave.  I ended up with 3 coats total.

After the bottom was cured, I laid it up over the keel, lined it up and screwed it to the place.  I traced the keel on the bottom then flipped it back over and sanded the area that would bond to the keel.  I then mixed some epoxy up and flipped it back over, screwed it back up and added some weights for good measure.

Once the hull bottom was cured to the keel I flipped it over, wiped it cleaned, sanded, and cleaned again.  At this time I added a thin skim layer of West Systems 407 fairing compound to the entire bottom and keel.  After that I carefully sanded the entire surface smooth.

My daughter wanted to put her name inside the keel, like a time capsule.  Hopefully never to be opened...😅

Joining hull bottom panels, filling transom holes, scarf joints, and cutting to shape.

Let's go back in time to my first time working on the tugboat in 7 years: Aug 5-10, 2019....

After a few too many years I finally got around to pulling out the hull bottom pieces.  I sanded them where I epoxied the scarfs, and laid them out for joining together with epoxy.  I'm now using the West Systems 105 resin along with the 206(slow) and 205(fast) hardener.  When joining the pieces, I laid the scarfed sections over a piece of 1x6, added the wood-flour-thickened epoxied to the joint, then screwed it down.  You can see in the picture I used vapor barrier plastic and a piece of mdo plywood on top to sandwich and screw down the joint. I also used some weights on top for good measure.  I let the glue joint sit for a day or two, then I removed the screws and plotted out my shape for the hull bottom.  The pics below show the finished shape, rounded corners, and V-shape cutout in aft planing surface to allow for the outboard. 

I also filled the holes in the transom that were left from the screws used in the clamping/molding process, and skimmed over the scarfed sections of the hull bottom.

Paul Elkins Little Miss Sally build x4

So...the other 4 boats I've started are all Paul Elkins' Little Miss Sally design.  I got talking with my dad back in February 2021 about small, easy-to-manage electric boats.  I remembered seeing Paul's design years ago.  One thing led to another, and we decided to build not just one, but 4!  This would allow us to go out in a family or friend group exploring the local waterways.  My parents are quite lucky - they just so happen to live on the Montague River with water access.  The mini boats might just be a perfect fit for them.

Here are a few pics showing Paul's boat, and the progress we have made on ours.  The boats are wood construction with fiberglass outside.  The power source is a modified trolling motor running on 12v.

~Ryan

Laying out hull side shape using fairing stick.

Starting to cut first of eight hull sides.

Here we are clamping the pine sheer clamp to the hull side.  Looking back on this now, it would have been much easier to bend if I made some band saw cuts where the bends were.  And simply filling in the cuts after with epoxy filler.

Using a windlass to bend the sides around the seat station.

This one is almost ready for the hull bottom, just need the steering column former installed.

One hull bottom installed, ready to router edges.

Simple slatted seat design from plans.  We will probably add a padded seat to this before any lengthly trip.

Dry lay-up of combing/front storage compartment.