plan boat

Wedge Issues

I often thing that Boat Building is the wrong name for what I do. Boat Carving would be more accurate, because I can never seem to get things to fit the first time. Im always trimming here and shaving there until it finally fits. Sort of.

Building this simple wedge is a perfect example. On the face of it, it seems incredibly simple. Just build a simple wedge, and bolt it on the transom.

Ah, but then God created the details.

The details are what get you, every time.

So, back in NY, I lavished 4 coats of oil paint on my beautifully crafted wedge.

Boring the holes for 3/8" bolts photo jalmberg

Then it was time to drill the holes for the bolts. I ended up choosing a long ships auger. I never thought Id own/need such a big bit.

I drilled the holes free hand, with a bit of help from Helena, who helped me keep the bit square to the wood.

Then I made the bolts I needed from 3/8" stainless steel threaded rod. The rod came in 3 lengths. I just cut off what I needed with a hacksaw, and then cleaned up the ends with a die. Another tool I never thought Id need! Actually, I needed this tool very badly for a different reason, later on.

Cleaning threads with die photo jalmberg

This was about as far as I could take it in NY. Next stop, Jacksonville!

After flying down to Jacksonville with 175 lbs of luggage (heavy motor bracket, block of wood, any number of books, clothing for hot and cold weather... it adds up!), my first job was to remove the old motor mount.

This was one of those jobs that was so frustrating, I forgot to take any photos. The old bracket was fastened to the hull with 4 bolts. Unfortunately, only 2 of the nuts were accessible on the inside of the boat. Someone had epoxied some wood over the other two nuts so it was impossible to remove them.

After consulting with some dock watchers, I accepted the loan of an electric angle grinder. This is basically a hand-held grinding wheel. The idea was to use this fearsome tool to grind the heads off the 2 stuck stainless steel bolts. Simple, if you dont mind leaning over the edge of a dock, holding an ungrounded power tool with a dubious cord, while creating a veritable fountain of sparks.

But, do or die, I always say.

I didnt die, and grinding off the heads did get the old bracket off.

Unfortunately, my carefully planned wedge did not fit. It would be too tedious to explain why it didnt fit. But it didnt. Long story short, I had to trim the angle of my wedge to make the bracket fit on the transom. All I had was my Japanese pull saw. The dock watchers said it couldnt be done, but, do or die...

Trimming block... the hard way photo jalmberg

Happiness in black

Next Episode: Go With The Flow

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Follow me on Twitter! My son Chris has been bugging me for a few weeks to use Twitter to make short, more frequent posts from my iPhone, for when I dont have the time for longer blog posts. I dont know how it will work out, but Im willing to give it a try! My Twitter ID is UnlikelyVoyager (UnlikelyBoatBuilder is too long, apparently), and the URL is http://twitter.com/UnlikelyVoyager. Twitter me back, or leave a comment below, if you think this is worth while. Thanks, Chris!

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