All Episodes 2016 - 2024

Lou is back to work in his Open Door Boatshop and gearing up for another season of Tips from a Shipwright. We will be building and filming our next series, the design and construction of the TotalBoat Sport Dory. The first of 36 weekly episodes will debut this August. In the meantime, enjoy this introduction to Dory design and concepts with shipwright Louis Sauzedde as he takes a look at the many different features in anticipation of drawing and building his own TotalBoat Sport Dory.

We've been having so much fun building our TotalBoat work skiff we wanted to take a moment and answer some of your questions about the build. I hope you are all having as much fun as we are, it's so great to feel the enthusiasm for the skiff and series, please take a moment and subscribe to our Youtube channel "Tips from a Shipwright," take a look back through the earlier episodes and send in any other questions you have and we'll try to answer those as well. Keep watching and we'll keep rolling!

In his latest series, Shipwright Louis Sauzedde shows how to build a work skiff right in your own backyard or garage. In the first episode, Lou breaks down the lumber needed for each part of the boat as well as some history of the heritage of the Rhode Island work skiff and how to go about best constructing a boat yourself at home. TotalBoat and all other products featured in the video are available at Jamestown Distributors in Bristol, RI.

In Episode 2 of our Building the TotalBoat series, Lou shows us how to rip a stem for his skiff from a 5x5 piece of white oak.

The next step in our skiff build is cutting and fitting the side planking together. Lou shows us how to use each plank as a guide for the next plank before cutting them with a skill saw and table saw.

In the latest episode of our skiff building series, Lou shows us how to slip board the side planking for a better fit as well as his method for cutting and assembling the transom planking together.

Lou and Andrew are back at it building the skiff. In Episode 5 they show us how they use a guide to drill and connect the two large white oak planks that make the transom of the work skiff.

Follow shipwright Louis Sauzedde as he shows us step by step how to build a boat in your own backyard or garage. In the latest video of this series, Lou shows us how to rip the starboard and port chines out of large piece of red oak using his custom circular saw. We also learn more about the differences and reasons for using red oak versus white oak in wooden boat building. Subscribe to the 'Tips from a Shipwright' and 'TotalBoat' Youtube channels for more boat building and wood working how-to videos.

In this episode the wooden skiff is starting to take shape. First, Lou straightens out some warping on the transom with water and clamps to make sure it is flat and tight. Next, Lou shows how he will bend and fit the planks from the stem to the transom on his custom built skiff building station.

Shipwright Louis Sauzedde's work skiff is coming together and starting to look like a boat. In this episode he shows us how he cuts and installs the chines inside the bottom planking. The first step is to make sure the bottom of the planking is flat and then each chine must be measured and fit at both ends before being sawed and then clamped into position.

The wooden skiff is continuing to take shape with Lou's old man methods of boatbuilding. In this episode Lou shows how to mark and prepare to fasten the chines from the stem to the transom on his custom built skiff building station. The chines are attached with galvanized screws and polysulfide bedding compound using a custom made drill bit. Next Lou hand saws the end of side plank off to be flush with the skiff's transom.

Lou is back at it building his work skiff in the Open Door Boat-shop. This week Lou cuts down the bottom plank with a saw and then planes it down so it's flush with the chines and transom. He then shows us how he plans to design and attach the frames to the side planking and chines.

Watch as Lou shows us his tips and tricks for manufacturing all the frames needed to build his work skiff. Several tools are used to accomplish the task and Lou has some great advice for each. Subscribe to Tips from a Shipwright and TotalBoat for more how-to videos with Louis Sauzedde.

In this episode, Lou sets out to hang the frames on his work skiff. He shows us how he divides up the chine and plank to accept the frames, before using a plumb bob to make sure each frame is hung on the boat nice and straight.

Lou's work skiff is really starting to take shape. In this episode he first shows us how to hang the last two frames all the way forward before then bedding and fastening the first plank on the starboard side to the frames.

Lou and Andrew are back at it building their TotalBoat work skiff at the Open Door Boatshop. In this week's episode, Lou shows us his method for making sure the boat is in perfect symmetry before fastening on the bottom planking. Subscribe to Tips from a Shipwright and TotalBoat for more how-to videos.

We're back at the Open Door Boatshop and Lou is just about ready to put the bottom planking on his work skiff. The final step is to surface the bottom on each side to accept the planking. Watch as Lou shows us his methods and how he sets up his tools to work properly for job.

It's finally time for Lou to start laying out the bottom planking on his work skiff, his first move is to rough cut and lay out the Douglas Fir planks on the bottom of the boat. Each plank is then edged on both sides on the jointer so that they fit together nice and tightly. Lou then uses an electric planer on the transom so that it too is perfectly level with the sides.

Master Shipwright Louis Sauzedde is back to work in the Open Door Boat Shop for the highly anticipated 17th episode in this skiff build series. In this episode Lou will reveal his 'old man method' for crowding up and bedding down the bottom planking with polysulfide aka spreading the mud.

Lou is working right away on his TotalBoat work skiff. In the latest episode and continuing with his hang over and cut off method of shipwrighting, Louis Sauzedde shows us how he uses a circular saw to cut bottom planks where they hang over the side planking before using an electric planer on the ends of the planks and then finally a number 5 handheld planer. We see Lou's homemade tool for removing screws and he checks all the fastening are ready for the application of TotalBoat TotalFair Epoxy Fairing Compound.

In our latest Episode, Lou shows us his method for filling the screw holes left by the fastenings with TotalBoat TotalFair. He then uses a scraper and sand paper to get the sides and bottom ready for paint.

Happy Thanksgiving - In this episode Lou fits the final two planks in position on the skiff. The next step is to sand and prep the boat for the first coat of bottom paint to be applied. In the next episode Lou will make and attach the runners.

The final step before flipping over his skiff over is to rip and attach the three runners to the bottom planking. In this episode Lou shows us how he cuts the center runner with a circular saw from a large piece of White Oak lumber. The piece is then planed flat on all four sides before being applied to the boat and cut to fit at the stem.

It's finally time for us flip the skiff over, but first we need to finish attaching the runners to the bottom of the boat. In this video Lou is going to show you how he pre-drilled the runners with three different bits before nailing them down using 3 1/2-inch boat nails or cut nails. After that we'll saw off the over hanging ends of the runners and then touch them up with a handsaw, planer and chisel blade. Now we're gonna flip it over and take a look at all our hard work.

The boat is flipped over and it's time for us to design and create the sheer. We're going to add the third plank and two more small planks up forward and then use a batton to sight and draw our sheer line. Once we have that we can remove the forward pieces and cut them on the band saw, while the longer planks we'll cut in place by hand with the circular saw. Then we can cut the tops of the frames off and touch up the transom some before putting our sheer planks back onto the boat so we can take a look at our new sheer line!

The cameras have been rolling at the Open Door Boat Shop and Lou is back with Episode 24 of his TotalBoat work skiff video series. It's finally time to install the lift rails! Join Lou in the shop as he shows us about this important part of the skiff as well as his methodology for installing them on the hull of the boat. Stay tuned for more episodes on the TotalBoat work skiff featuring Louis Sauzedde.

This week we are venturing out into the woods of the Hudson Valley in New York in search of a 60 degree timber to make the breast hook for our TotalBoat work skiff. We're going to do some cutting with a chainsaw and some milling of some larger pieces and hopefully we'll come out of here with a good piece of lumber to make our breast hook out of.

We're back in the Open Door Boatshop and ready to begin shaping the piece of lumber we're hoping will make our breast hook for the work skiff we're building. Before we do that though we are going to make a slight adjustment to the shear line now that we have the lift rails on the boat. The breast hook is still rough within the notch we took out of the tree so we're going to flatten one side down with an electric plane. Then we can pass it through our shipsaw to get it flat on both sides before heading over to our steam bag contraption so we can cook the piece.

It's time to install our breast hook and quarter knees!

It's time to install our Inwales!

It's time to add the guards to our skiff, all important in its finished look, but also for protection from bumps and scrapes throughout the life of the boat. Before applying the guards, Lou shows how to correctly nail down the floor planks, using a small but heavy sledge hammer to drive the heavy nails needed to secure these floor planks. Remember, we just "steer the hammer" on its way down. Lastly in preparing the guards for mounting, Lou shows us how to bevel off the bottom edge of the guards and so they look a little nicer and won't catch up on anything when we mount them on the boat for final fastening.

We're back and having a ball making videos in the Open Door Boatshop. Our skiff is coming along nicely, this week we're putting on the gunwales caps or cover boards. The lumber is still coming from that same timber we started with, in fact, we've built most of the main parts of the boat from that one piece of wood. The gunwale caps will go on in two pieces and be scarfed together using TotalBoat 5:1 Epoxy Resin. This will give us a very strong bond between the two pieces, effectively making them one long piece. Once both boards are cut out and in their final position, we can then bed and nail them down.

We're back cranking on our TotalBoat skiff build, it's time to install the hardware needed to fasten and secure the spring lines once the boat is in the water. By substituting plastic through hull fittings for much more expensive Hawes pipe fittings, we've fashioned our own holes that allow us to run a line down through the top gunwale and tie off below. This keeps the coverboard free of any and all obstructive hardware. Using a hole saw and a little effort, we now have a much cleaner design for tying up our TotalBoat work skiff.

The skiff is coming along nicely, we're just getting everything ready to apply our first coat of TotalBoat 2-Part Epoxy Primer. But first we need to touch up our stem, make it a little more functional and little prettier. We then need to fill and fair the sides above the waterlin, this is one of the most important steps in obtaining a flat and nice looking hull.

I have been waiting a while for this, today we are going to apply our first coat of topside paint, but first we need to give our primed surface a good sanding. I'm sanding the entire boat by hand because it gives me a better feel and allows me to keep a nice fair shape. We are also going to touch up the ends of our cover boards with a chisel and some sandpaper so they can act as chock for a line. We are going to paint our topsides with TotalBoat Wet Edge Cold Cure. It's pretty cool in the Open Door Boatshop this time of year and this paint can be used down to 45 degrees F so that makes it ideal for us in this case. For me, this is one of the most fun parts of building a boat because when I apply the paint, it really lets me see the shape of the boat and how fair the hull is.

In this week's episode we are out to varnish the gunwales. I've got my friend Ricky with me here at the Open Door Boatshop and the first thing for us to do is to make sure the entire boat is sanded smooth, we're going to start with some 80 grit and finish up with some 220, taking our time and doing a good job. Once the surface is ready for our first coat of varnish, we're going to thin our TotalBoat Lust with equal parts Thinner to make sure we get good penetration and the wood really takes the varnish. Once we get a good coat on the entire boat we are going to tip the varnish one last time. The last step for us at this point is to plug our screw holes, so we're just going to make our own plugs using a piece of wood, a drill press and my band-saw.

We're getting really close to putting our work skiff in the water but there are a few last things we still need to square away. In this episode we will fashion a new pair of Hawespipes from a pair of bronze through hull fittings. The pieces were turned on a lathe first and now I'm using a file and some sand paper to get them nice and smooth on the top and bottom so the line will run through them without any problems. Then we're going to bed them into the gunwale with TotalBoat 2:1 Epoxy Resin and Milled Glass Fiber and add two bronze rods below that you can tie off to.

Welcome back to the Open Door Boatshop and our TotalBoat work skiff! What a project it's been, this week we will finish off with some drilling of the quarter knees and install the last knee in our transom. Drilling is one of the most complicated procedures in all of boat building. We need to get our placement and direction right before we start drilling to avoid making any major mistakes at this late stage. Then I'm going to rip our final knee out of a large piece of lumber and scribe that into the boat until we have nice fit and we're happy with the look and shape.

The last thing for us to do is put on our final coat of bottom paint now that we have attached our deep runners. Then we are going to lift the boat up onto a trailer and bring it next door so we can mount an outboard motor to the transom. 50hp should do the trick. Before we swell up the bottom planking we are going to apply TotalBoat Teak Oil to the entire interior of the boat but not the bottom for now. Then we're just going to take a garden hose and run some water into the boat to help the planking swell up tight. Now we're all set to launch our skiff, down the ramp and into the water she goes. It's been almost 25 years since I've driven an outboard skiff like this I can't wait to see how it performs.

In Episode 1, Lou will show you the tools and implements he uses to actually plan and make up the drawings needed to build this sailing dory. He will then take you over to his friend’s saw mill, right here in Exeter, Rhode Island, where he will select the proper log of Atlantic White Cedar that he advises using for this boat. You will see how planning and cutting this log into the most and best possible planks is planned and done! Join us once again, as Lou and takes us on another adventure through the planning and building of this new and exciting 14 foot sailing dory!

In Episode 2, Lou takes us on a backstage tour of Thompson Saw Mill and gives us another lesson in choosing a proper log for his needs in building the TotalBoat Sport Dory. Looking for Quercus Alba, or white oak, Lou will show you just how the log is selected, what to look for in choosing the right log, and just how this log should be cut in order to get the best possible planks it has to offer.

In Episode 3 of Building the TotalBoat Sport Dory, Lou is taking us back to his all-important drawing board, where he explains the importance of all the specifics of the drawings needed to build the dory successfully. In this episode most importantly, he shows us very specifically how to measure the dimensions on his original drawings, and how to transfer those dimensions from the drawings to his "Table of Offsets". Once these dimensions are transferred, the Table of Offsets now has all the dimensions of each plank, at each station, and gives Lou all the specifics he needs to build the dory. Lou shows us that it is this Table of Offsets that is really his index and his guide for actually building the dory, more so than the actual drawings of the planks and stations themselves!

Episode 4 shows us just a little more planning needed in the design of the TotalBoat Sport Dory. Molds are required to replicate the shape and contour of the dory at each section of the boat. These molds will not be an actual part of the finished dory, but they will create the shape that the boat will be built around. Watch as Lou walks us through his Bevel Board System, to show us how to build the molds needed to represent each section of the dory, and how intricate these molds can be made, right down to the slight bevels needed to replicate the slight angles in the bottom of the boat. He also shows us his ingenious method for transferring the lines of his drawings right up onto the boards of his molds. As Lou says in this film, "You have to use this Bevel Board System to lift those bevels."

The Sport Dory is starting to take shape! In episode 5, Louis Sauzedde begins the assembly of his production Dory jig using the sections he created in the last episode. The molds each have two legs and are fastened to two strongbacks that keep all the sections properly aligned and spaced. The sections are first checked with a stiff baton to determine how close to bevel they are and if need be where to touch them up with an electric planer. Lighter battens are then positioned at the planking lines and sighted for fairness of shape. The process is like 3D lofting of planking lines and hull shape and allows Lou to make any final adjustments that may be needed.

We're rolling right along with our TotalBoat Sport Dory build and it's time for our first question and answer video of the series. Thanks for all of your questions and comments. The dory build will continue next week.

In this episode, Lou begins construction of the false bottom of his TotalBoat Sport Dory. The false bottom will be constructed out of 3 layers of 3 inch plywood that will be cut to size with a saber saw and then all glued together on top of the jig. Because the boat is longer than each piece of plywood, Lou will need to scarf two pieces together for each layer. This process will be repeated by tracing the first layer for each of the next two layers with help from apprentice Joe. The actual bottom of the Dory will be built over this false bottom.

In Episode 8 of Building the TotalBoat Sport Dory, Lou continues with the building of the all-important jig that the Sport Dory itself will be built upon. Last week, Lou showed us how to size and cut the pieces of the three layer "false bottom" and this week we're going to glue them all together. We're going to use TotalBoat 5:1 Epoxy to glue the sheets of plywood together, using the slow hardener so the glue does not set up and harden too quickly, while we are putting the scarfs and the layers together. Once the glue has dried over night Lou attacks the false bottom with a Ryobi electric plane. This is the perfect tool for the job allowing Lou to remove large amounts of material quickly while still obtaining a progressively beveled shape. A couple strokes of touch up with a hand plane and the mold is complete and we're ready to start putting our TotalBoat Sport Dory together.

With our jig complete, it's time to start building the TotalBoat Sport Dory. Lou starts by planing down the edge of our first layer of cedar bottom. Using an electric plane and then a block plane, Lou continues the progressive bevel from the mold up through the first layer of bottom. He then quickly touches up the sharp edge with a rabbet plane. Next, Lou shows us how he divides up the spacing for the boats frames. Each frame of the dory will be just over 9 inches apart. Once we have established where each frame will go, Lou sets up another jig that will guide the router bit to cut slots in the mold and bottom layer to accept the poly frames.

We’re switching it up this week and moving off our mold to make the stem for our TotalBoat Sport Dory. It’s going to be made out of a nice piece of seasoned white oak that we’re going to compression steam bend. Lou is going to do it using standard 6mil poly and pull the piece of lumber and metal brace into the bag for steaming. With a couple burners and some water Lou shows us how to feed steam into the bag with rubber tubing to heat up the stem and melt the Lignin in the wood, that’s the glue that holds the wood together. Once the piece softens up we can crank on the come along and pull the stem into the proper parabolic shape.

We're back at it with our TotalBoat Sport Dory build and this week Lou introduces us to Willow, his silver lab and new best friend and co-worker at the Open Door Boatshop. It's time to start building the bottom of our Sport Dory and the first plank to go on is the garboard. Lou gives us a walk-through of how the different layers of cedar bottom planking and carbon fiber and kevlar will overlap and work together to give the bottom extreme strength with little weight and nothing in your way on the bottom of the boat. Using an adaptation of an earlier patterning technique Lou shows us how he lift the size and shape of the plank off the mold. He then works that plank down to the proper size before scarfing it onto another piece to complete the first garboard plank on the boat.

In this week's video Lou shows us how he has installed the stem into his TotalBoat Sport Dory mold. He also gives us a peek at his first attempt at steaming a stem and what went wrong there. Once the stem is in position Lou uses a block plane to progressive bevel the stem to accept the planking. He has to be very careful not to take off too much material while constantly checking the angle with a baton in order to make sure the planks will be able to lay down flat against the stem. With the stem in place Lou moves onto the second layer of bottom. Like the first layer the, the second layer will be made of several long planks of thin lumber glued together at the seams. Each piece needs to be passed through the jointer, ripped on the table saw, re-sawn on the band-saw and then finally put through the planer. The pieces are then assembled in reverse order on a working bench where Lou can mix up some TotalBoat 2:1 High Performance Epoxy and spread it on the edge of each piece before bringing them over to the boat and placing them in their final position on the mold.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays from the Opendoor Boatshop. In our latest episode Lou moves on from the stem and bottom to fashion a transom for his Sport Dory. Built from a single piece of lumber and mostly quarter sawn the transom will be strong enough to accept fastening of the planking on both sides. With the transom roughed to shape Lou needs to transfer the measurements already on the mold onto the transom so he can draw a center line. With this center line he can then use his Dory drawings to measure out and mark several stations on both sides that represent where he is to cut and bevel to. After quickly cutting the transom to its new lines at 90 degrees Lou takes it back over and mounts it to his bottom and mold. Once in position he can electric plane the two sides down to bevel to accept the planking.

Things are really starting to come together on our TotalBoat Sport Dory build. In this weeks episode Lou will be gluing the frames into the first layer of bottom. The frames are made of UHMW plastic which despite its tremendous strength is still quite flexible. In order to set things up properly Lou needs to first tape off the frame slots in the mold with packaging tape. This will make sure the epoxy won't glue the mold and bottom together. The next step is put a frame in each slot and cut it off flush at the top of the mold. This gives each frame the proper angle at the top, or bottom of the boat as it were, where the frames set into the bottom. With our slots and frames ready its time to mix up some TotalBoat 5:1 Epoxy and set our bottom and frames in place. We took the time to poke some small holes in both the slots in the bottom and the frames where they touch, this will help to create a mechanical connection between the two pieces as well. Lastly we have added some additional stringers on the outside to help train the plastic frames in place as they dry. With our frames glued up and in position, the next step for us is to glue our garboard planks onto the boats. Stay tuned for more Tips next week!

Hold onto your butts! Everyone's favorite Shipwright Louis Sauzedde is back in action on his TotalBoat Sport Dory. You remember Lou's nail trick to pattern the garboards and now it's time to fasten the first garboard into place on the port side. We'll be using TotalBoat 5:1 Epoxy Resin mixed with the slow hardener and the first step is to apply to glue along the plank where it will touch the bottom as well as along the bottom itself where it will touch the garboard plank. This is where all that packaging tape we carefully put on the mold comes into play because the last thing we want to do here when we fasten the two together is glue our bottom or garboard planks to the mold. Once we have enough glue on both surfaces we are going to put the plank in position and use screws and nails to hold it down tight against the bottom. We'll let the glue dry overnight and then remove all the fastenings so now only the Epoxy is holding the plank in place. The last steps are to cut off the excess on each end of the plank with a handsaw and then plane down the edge of the garboard that extends beyond the bottom of the boat. We now have our first garboard plank fully glued into position with no fastening whatsoever.

It's time to put the bottom of our TotalBoat Sport Dory together, but before we can do that we have to set everything up properly. The idea is that we're going layup everything at once, the two layers of bottom and the carbon fiber in between. You'll remember we had glued our second bottom layer together some time ago and we've brought that back into position and placed it on top of the first layer of bottom with garboard planks attached and traced a line around it with a pencil. Then we take that second layer over the to the band-saw and cut it out around those lines. We then take that piece back over to our dory and put it into just the right position and then tack and weight it down so we can plane the edges down to the same bevel as the garboard plank. Now it's off to Jamestown Distributors to get our carbon fiber and begin laying up our bottom!

The final step before glueing up the bottom of our TotalBoat Sport Dory is to create our two broadstrake planks on each side. This is the next plank up from the garboard, or next plank down as the boat is being built upside down. In order to make this plank we need to pattern the edge of the garboard plank above it and then take that pattern over to our stock material and transfer that edge. While the plank is on the bench Lou is also going to roughly plane down the next edge of the broadstrake just to take some material off and make the plank more pliable when bending it around the mold. Before we can bring the pieces back to the boat Lou is going to electric plane down a scarf on both ends where they meet in the middle. Once both of our broadstrake pieces are ready we are going to glue them together with TotalBoat 2:1 High Performance Epoxy, on the boat. This makes sure we get the angle or relativity between the two exactly right, something that would be extremely difficult to do on the bench. We now have both layers of bottom, both layers of garboard planks and both broadstrakes made and fit into position and we can begin glueing our bottom together.

This is a big moment in our TotalBoat Sport Dory build, it's time to lay up our carbon fiber bottom. We have already made sure everything fits together, our second layer of bottom and our outer two layers of garboard plank. The first thing for us to do is cut our 5.8 oz plain weave carbon fiber. We're just going to do that on a small table with a pair of very sharp scissors, being very careful to roll the carbon fiber out as we cut it and not pull it on the table as that can disturb the weave. Once we have our piece it's time to mix up our TotalBoat 2:1 Epoxy and apply it to our Dory. We spread the glue with a plastic spreader until the surface is completely covered, we can leave some extra glue on the surface as it will soak up into our carbon fiber. Next we're gonna carry our carbon into place and roll it out the length of the boat and use our same spreaders to get it to lay down flush and soak up the epoxy. Adding more epoxy until the cloth is sufficiently saturated we then pull the tape and re-tape on the seam for the broadstrake. Then Joe is going to mix up some thickened epoxy and we're going to spread that onto the second bottom layer and both garboard planks and bring them over and place them into position on the boat. We still have our nail holes from before that tell us exactly where each piece goes. The final step is to apply larger clamps with wooden blocks and little wedges all along the garboards, this will pull the planks down at the top and at the bottom edge and also pull down the second layer of bottom beneath them giving us a strong tight bond between all our materials.

It's time to sit down and talk to the audience about the build and answer some of their questions. It's been a tricky build up to this point and we've got a lot of good action still to come, keep sending in the great questions!

We're back on our TotalBoat Sport Dory build and this week it's time to lay our final layer of Carbon Kevlar hybrid cloth over the bottom of the boat. The first side is already layed up and dry and we're going to run the other side up on top of that so they overlap in the middle. The first step is to wet out the bottom with our glue, we're using TotalBoat 2:1 High Performance Epoxy Resin again with the medium hardener. Once we have given that a good stir we're going to head over to the boat and spread the glue all over the entire exposed surface so it has a chance to soak up some of the epoxy. When we feel confident we have good coverage we're going to roll out our pre-cut piece of 7oz carbon kevlar hybrid weave on top of our bottom, making sure to line up that stitched edge of the cloth with the end of the Garboard plank seem. Then we're going to take a plastic trowel and work the cloth into the correct position so it lays down as flat as possible. Lastly we're going to mix up one final batch up epoxy resin and spread that on top of the cloth to make sure it's fully saturated and exactly where we want it before letting it dry overnight. Now that was a big step and strong solution to an age old problem, that should hold the boat together and protect the bottom when it gets pulled up the beach.

Now that our bottom is complete it's time for planking! The next pieces are the port and starboard broadstrakes. These planks will be bedded and screwed together through to the plastic frames. Because of the thickness of the planks you would have to do something to make them sit down flush especially up the bow where the shape of the Dory has a strong twist. So instead of steaming the planks we're going to actually cut the plank right down the middle and then glue it back together with epoxy when its BACK ON the boat. This allows the plank to flex far more easily and lay down just right through that twist near the bow. The next step will be to let the epoxy dry and then take the plank off before adding some bedding compound and then screwing the plank through the garboard and into the plastic frames.

This week Lou shows us how he patterns the next plank to go on, the binder strake. The first step is to transfer the curved shape onto his pattern using a spiling technique and then onto the lumber itself. Searching for the right piece of lumber that has curved grain to follow the boats curve, Lou then rough cuts the piece out so it will fit through his planer. The plank is then passed through the planer several times until it's the right thickness. The next step is to work on the gain and prepare the boat for the plank. Using a small rabbit plane he works the overlap with the broadstrake and then cut a gain into it as it approaches the bow so that the next plank sits a little proud in the middle of the boat but then runs flush at the stem.

It's time to fasten the first binder strake onto our TotalBoat Sport Dory. We glued the scarf together on the boat and that's very important so that the angle between the two boards is exactly right. If that was off even one degree the plank wouldn't fit when we bend it into position. With the glue dried we can take the plank over to the bench and touch up the scarf with an electric plane and then a block plane. Then we'll bring the plank back over to the boat for one last dry fit to get our clamping procedure worked out. Once that's done it's time to apply some poly-sulfide. We're going to apply a few beads to the transom and the stem where the plank will contact it and also to the broadstrake where the binder strake will overlap it. Once we get the piece clamped into position it's time to fasten it down. We're going to work our way from the middle fastening toward each end of the plank. Before we drill we want to apply an additional clamp to the frames so that they are pulled up tight against the inside of the plank. Then we can drill and sink our screws through the overlapping planks and into our plastic frames. We're going to put one more screw into each frame 3 inches up from the batten that way when remove that batten the frames will still be held in their proper position.

In this weeks Episode Lou shows us how he goes about getting out the second binder strake. This plank will made out of a single piece of lumber and will have a larger lap over the next plank, almost half and inch. Once Lou identifies the best flitch with the appropriate grain he can cut it down to a rough size. This is very important as the once the piece is cut it will take a set because of the build up tension in the larger piece. Once Lou gets the piece down to its rough shape he can then trace and cut the pattern so there will be as little movement in the wood as possible. We're also going to take another at the gains and how Lou feathers them down with a rabbit plane so all the planks come flush at the bow of the boat.

This is it! It's finally time to take our TotalBoat Sport Dory off the jig and flip it over! We have put all the planks on it the boat now, the final two had to go on in two pieces with a scarf in the middle because they had such a radical twist. We're going to rivet the seams in between each frame but in order to do that we need access to both the inside and the outside of the boat. It would have been too much trouble to crawl under the boat each time we needed to fasten a rivet so that's why we chose to screw fasten to the frames. The mold will have to come apart in several pieces but we're not too worried about that we could always re-create it and we would probably put more stations in it if we were going to build another one so we could have more area to attach to when planking. With the boat flipped over and the mold off you can finally see the very cool interior of our Sport Dory. The frames run directly into the bottom where we routed a slot for them. This keep the bottom free of any obstructions for your feet and makes it much easier to bail. There are still some things to do, we need to attach rails, seat risers, oar locks and a few other things but we're getting very close. Can't wait to take it out for a row in some heavy seas!

Thank you to everyone who made the trip to the WoodenBoat Show in Mystic CT this past weekend. It was so much fun to meet our fans and fellow boat builders for a fun exchange of stories and ideas. We even had some very nice volunteers lend a hand with driving some rivets onto our TotalBoat Sport Dory. Stay tuned for Part II where we will take a walk (and row) around Mystic Seaport and see some of the other great boats and projects on display.

We're back for day 2 at the WoodenBoat Show at the Mystic Seaport in Mystic, CT. Follow Lou as he takes a spin around this amazing place and gives us a behind the scenes look at some of the other great boats and projects on display. We're going to get back to our TotalBoat Sport Dory next week but strap in for another adventure because Lou has been invited by the University of Concepcion in Chile to visit the local boating community and boat builders and learn about their methods and offer his expertise in any way he can. We'll be bringing the camera so you all can come along and get an up close and personal look at Chile and their boating industry.

This first thing we need to do is make sure the stem and the hood ends are exactly perpendicular to the center of the boat. So we compare the angle from the planking on each side and then plane down whichever side is higher until the angle becomes exactly the same on both sides. Another very important step for us at this time is to create a series of guides that will help us locate the center of the stem after we have our laminate pile in position. So we cut out several small guides out of plywood and leave enough room for them to fit over the laminates. Before we get glueing our stem cap together we're going to give each laminate a quick sanding. We're then going to use a chip brush with the bristles cut off about midway through and apply TotalBoat 2:1 High Performance Epoxy to each laminate. We're also going to add some thickened epoxy to each laminate once they have had a little time to soak up the resin. Then we need to do the same thing to the stem and the hood ends because that's end grain and that will really soak up some resin. Once everything is covered in resin we're going to bring our stack of laminates over to the boat and fasten it into place at the bottom and then wrap it around to the top of the stem. We actually put a few more laminates on the pile than we needed just to help pull the different layers down in between the fastenings so we don't get a pillowing effect as the resin drys. We will also drill the hole through the laminates with a larger bit so that the screw doesn't grab and pull the layers apart. Once the glue dries we can then remove the screws and whittle the stem down with an electric and hand plane until it's flush with the planking.

We're moving right along on our TotalBoat Sport Dory build. This week we're going to install our seat risers. This was a tough decision about how to exactly install our risers so that we would have the most amount of flexibility in regards to moving our seats forward or aft. In the end we decided to make the risers out of one long piece of lumber so that we can move the seats position at any time. We also cut a 15 degree bevel into the seat risers on one side so we wouldn't have to steam bend or twist the pieces into position. Once we have one side of the seat risers done we can simply lift the position of the starboard side from the sheer and then transfer that to the port side and fasten the second seat riser into position. The final step is to prepare our breast hook for a final fitting. We've made this out of some great wood and the inwhales will actually run into the stem and transom and cover the stem and the smaller screws as well.

We're getting pretty close to finishing up and launching our TotalBoat Sport Dory!!! In this week's Episode we answer some great questions from our audience as well as taking a close look at how Lou installs the guards and inwhales. The guards go on first and are made out of one long piece of lumber. We will cut a 45 degree bevel on bottom side of each guard using a fence attached to our table saw. The pieces will then be bedded down with polysulfide and wood screws. The inwhales are slightly more complicated. Made out of much lighter pieces of lumber they will run inside the boat from the breasthook all the way to the transom. We need to transfer a series of angles and measurements in order to get the fit close and then use a final saw-fit cut to make the piece fit tightly into position. The inwhales are then secured to the boat with rivets that go directly through the guards and each frame.

We’re rolling right along on our TotalBoat Sport Dory build and it’s finally time to install the oar locks. The most important thing here was to find the right height and the right distance from the aft end of the middle seat. We did a lot of research and sat in the boat with a set of oats and tried it in several different positions until we found what we thought was the most comfortable spot. The oar locks are going to rest on pads that we’re going to make out of some nice quartered white oak. Because the sheer is curved and twisted we need to plane the pad down so that it will sit flat on the surface. Before we drill the holes for our oak locks we’re going to put some pieces of wood into the space in the sheer to stop the drill bit from wandering around as we drill. Once we have our holes we’re going to shape the pads to make them look a little more aesthetically pleasing. So we’re going to make a couple passes on the bandsaw until we get a nice shape we like. Then we’re going to spread some TotalBoat Thixo on the bottom of our pads, clamp them into place and drill and fasten them down.

This week we're setting up to prime the bottom of our TotalBoat Sport Dory. We applied TotalFair to the bottom and first garboard plank and then scraped and sanded it to make sure we have a nice fair surface for our primer. The surface must first be prepped and wiped down with TotalBoat reducer. For this project we're going to use TotalBoat 2-Part Epoxy Primer, a 1:1 mix that needs 30 minutes for induction before application. When the primer is ready we pour it into a small rolling tray and then roll it directly onto the bottom. It's going to be used above and below the waterline and will aggressively adhere to the bottom so we have a good surface to apply our TotalBoat Wet Edge paint. Once the Epoxy Primer has dried we need to sand the surface before applying any additional coats. We're also going to attach a skeg to the aft part of the bottom in order to help the Dory track better in a straight line. Stay tuned for that and more in our next Episode.

We're rowing right along with our Sport Dory build. In this episode it's time to build and fit the skeg to the transom. Using a straight edge we established the center of the bottom and then measured and drew a line 7/16 of an inch off of that line. That gives us a reference point for where the edge of the skeg goes. The next step for us is to scribe the curve of the bottom onto the straight skeg. We do this by placing two small pieces of wood under each edge to raise the piece off the bottom and then using another small piece of wood we draw a line along the length of the skeg. This transfers the exact curve of the bottom onto our piece. Once we have that line we can take it over to the band-saw and cut it. We'll touch that up with a planer and then also draw a line that continues the angle of the transom up onto the skeg and cut that in the band-saw as well. Then we are going to round off the forward and bottom angles of the skeg using some items around the shop that we think give us the proper radius we're looking for. We'll cut those in the bandsaw as well and then give the piece a quick sanding. Now it's time for us to grab a small trim router and use that round off the edges of both sides of our skeg. The most important thing to do here is make sure we keep the router down flat on our piece so we get a nice clean cut. Once that's finished we can touch the piece up with a planer and then a block with some sandpaper. Before we apply our skeg to the boat we're going to drill two holes on the same center line we drew earlier, those can be connected up inside the boat when we flip it over and then we can sink some screws into the skeg from the inside. The last step is for us to apply a few beads of polysulfide to the skeg where it will contact the boat and then place we can place it into position. We're getting mighty close to getting our Sport Dory into the water, stay tuned for more action next week!

It's finally time to paint our Sport Dory!! We're going to be using TotalBoat Wet Edge, a one-part polyurethane topside paint along with TotalBoat Special Brushing Thinner 100. The secret is finding the right consistency for your project so that the paint flows smoothly onto the surface. It also gives the paint a longer working time which gives you more time to tip the paint out and enhance the finish quality and extend the service life of the coating. Because the Wet Edge paint lays down flat after application you can roll, brush or spray it. In this case, we're just going to brush it because we don't have a large surface area and the laps between each plank may cause the roller to pool up paint and not reach into the corners. We're painting one plank at a time, bow to stern. Once we have enough paint on the plank we tip the paint from the wet edge onto the new paint. This minimizes any brush strokes and allows the Wet Edge to lay down flat on it's own. You can see the transformation from the matte primer to the smooth and glossy Wet Edge, it really brings the lines of the boat to life. We will most likely apply a second coat once the first coat dries and we are able to sand it. This will make sure we have complete coverage and our Sport Dory will shine white when she hits the water. Stay tuned for more next week when we flip our Dory back over and get started with some varnish!

It's time to Varnish our TotalBoat Sport Dory and we're gonna do things a little differently this time. We're gonna varnish our Dory upside down! If we had put caps on the sheer we would be able to varnish the guards, right over the caps and then down inside the inwhales. But with the sheer open and the frames exposed, we run a big risk of having varnish run down between the two into the interior of the boat. So we're going to hang our Sport Dory upside down from the overhead and let gravity work for us. We need to sand the guards, top of the sheer plank and the inwhales with 220 sandpaper to get them ready for varnishing. We want to focus on the edges and round those out a little bit so they will better hold varnish and not chop off later on. For our first coat we're going to use TotalBoat Wood Sealer. It's a varnish primer that will help fill the grain, seal the wood fibers and level surface to get us ready for our Varnish. We will let the Wood Sealer dry overnight and then sand again with 220 paper before applying our TotalBoat Gleam 2.0 Marine Spar Varnish. While brushing on this second coat we need to keep an eye on how much varnish we are putting on our brush and applying to the boat so that we don't get any runs. We want to make sure to tip the varnish as we go to help us achieve a smooth level finish.

Tips from a Shipwright has a couple big announcements this week. First we have finally found and secured a larger space and new home for the Open Door Boatshop. This additional space will allow us to make more boats and more videos and we couldn't be more excited about it. Second we are happy to announce that our next project will to be the full construction and video documentation of a very unique 23' V-Bottom Skiff. You've seen the model, now get ready for the real thing! Sit back and enjoy this episode as Lou gives you a sneak peek into our next project and series.

This is it! The final episode of Season 2 of Tips from a Shipwright. Join Lou as he launches his TotalBoat Sport Dory and takes a row around the harbor and shows you just how special this boat is. An original Sauzedde design, it combines a lifetime of methodology, with modern materials and products for a classic yet modern boat that is truly one of a kind.

Get ready for Season 3 of Tips from a Shipwright with Louis Sauzedde! Enjoy this introduction to our new shop and plans for the coming year. More boats, more woodworking, more videos! Join Lou on another adventure as he sets out to build his elusive v-bottom skiff!

This week we're headed out to Cornwall CT to visit our friend Duke at New England Naval Timbers and purchase some lumber for the 23' V-Bottom skiff we're building. We've rented a big truck because we expect to come home with some really large pieces. I really enjoy this, getting out to the source and selecting my lumber so that I know it will be right for what I need.

In this episode Lou breaks down the lumber he purchased and explains to use how its priced per board foot and other details. He then shows us how he sets up and uses his skill saw to rip the pieces he needs for the 23' V-bottom skiff he is building.

This week Lou sits down at his drawing table to begin producing the lines for the original flat bottom work skiff from our first series. Learn about how a boats shape is conceived and then also transferred onto paper as the lines drawings. Set up your own board and draw along or get ready to build as we will have plans for the work skiff available in the near future. And stay tuned for more on my panhead motorcycle in an upcoming episode!

This week we head to the mill to saw up our knees using a chainsaw. Lou shows us his tips and tricks for sharpening and ripping with a chainsaw in the field.

Change of plans, the knees we cut out looked so nice we're not gonna wait to enjoy them, they're going in the 18' foot skiff!

In this episode Lou shows us how to make one of the most used tools in his shop, the saw horse.

In this Episode we're fitting the side planking together as we are getting ready to spring our V-Bottom Skiff together. Each plank is still over 25 feet long at this point so it is quite a long edge to fit. We're going to do it on the floor so we can keep the planks trained down and use the planks themselves to plane the edge at 90 degrees. We will also have to do a saw cut with our modified skill saw before spot fitting the pieces together again with our planer. This will give us the full port and starboard side of the boat and they will go together. It won't be long now before we set up our transom and stem so we can bend our chines around a mold and connect them all together.

We're getting close to springing our 23' V-Bottom skiff together. This week Lou shows us how he built the transom from six layers of 7/16 inch white oak epoxied and vacuumed bagged together.

We're getting close to planking up our 23' V-Bottom Skiff. This week we are finalizing the set-up by taking dimensions off the model and then using them to create molds to bend our planking around. We're also going to set up our stem where the planks will attach to the boat at the bow.

We’re back working on our 23’ V-Bottom skiff, but before that we’re taking a trip back to New England Naval Timbers to see our good friend Duke about sourcing an extremely large flitch for the keel on our ORCA rebuild. Stay tuned for more videos and big announcements coming soon!

Our V-Bottom skiff is really starting to take shape and this week is a big moment because we're installing the chines. You remember we sourced these at the lumber mill and then processed them in my front yard and now they're going in the boat. The chines are very important pieces in the boat and that why we went through a lot of trouble to get just the right lumber. They need to be fit inside the bottom plank and up against the stem in the bow and then bent inboard back aft until they can clear the transom and then bend back against the back of the plank. We have to be very precise here so we don't cut them too short. We also want to take a moment to bevel the forward end of the chine to accept the bottom planking and that needs to be done off the boat because it would be hard to work on in position without damaging other parts of the boat.

Now that we have our chines in place it's time to hang our frames. We're going to get them out of pieces of white oak left over from the chines and other things. Once we have our stock we can divide up the boat and find where we're going to place our frames. We then hang them with a single screw and use a hanging string to plumb them perpendicular to the waterline and then clamp them in place. Then we can drill and sink our screws through the plank and into the frames inside. With the frames in place we can then go inside and drill and screw a second fastening into them. Lastly we're going to apply a batten to the top of the frames to coordinate the boat at the shear. This makes sure we keep the proper shape before our next step, putting on the sole! Stay tuned for that next!

We're making great progress on our V-Bottom skiff and with our frames in it's now time to lay down the sole. This will be the layer that you stand on when the boat is flipped over. We're using 1 1/8" edge-grain white cedar for our planking and attaching using a temporary system of nails and washers that will allow us glue the sole down and then remove the fastenings after so we can plane the surface of the chine and first plank down to accept the bottom planking.

We're getting pretty close to putting on our bottom, but before we can do that we need to install our keelson. This is the long timber that runs from the stem to the transom and accepts the bottom planking from the chines. In this episode we're going to show you how we create the slot in the transom with a chisel to accept the keep and also how we create a glue scarf between the stem and keelson at the bow.

In this weeks episode Lou shows us how he installs the keel and how the bottom layers and fiberglass all come together on the center line.

This week Lou takes us back in time with his V-Bottom Work Skiff and Sport Dory. Learn how to properly dock your boat and take a look back at the series that lead us to the here and V-Bottom and our next project and biggest build yet, ORCA, coming soon!

It's time to install our longitudinal stringers. These are the pieces of lumber that will span the space between the bottom of the boat and the sole. Each piece needs to be scribed on the sole, cut with the skillsaw to that angle and then progressively planed down with the electric plan so that it exactly spans the gap between the chine and the keelson and allows us to fasten down our bottom planking.

This week we're putting on our first layer of bottom planking. It's hang-over and cut off with a twist.

We're getting ready for our first layer of fiberglass but we still have a little more planking to go. In this episode we're going to take a closer look at what's going on underneath the deck before we close her up for good.

It's time to fiberglass! This is a a very important step in the construction of our V-Bottom skiff. The boat is a wooden boat at heart but the bottom will be a composite construction utilizing fiberglass for strength and rigidity. In this episode Lou shows up his method for prepping the surface and then applying the fiberglass to the hull. We're using TotalBoat 2:1 High Performance Epoxy and thinning a little bit with alcohol so it will soak into the first later of wooden bottom planking.

We're having a blast working on our V-Bottom skiff and things are really starting to come together. It's time for us to put on our second layer of bottom planking. We're going to use the same material as we did on the first layer but the fastening process is going to be quite different. We're using TotalBoat 2:1 Epoxy with the medium hardener and for our process we've found mixing up about 24oz gives us the right amount to put on a good number of planks before the epoxy starts going off. So we add our resin 16oz and then our (medium)hardener 8oz and mix together. Then we're going to pour some off into another smaller pot and thin that around 10% with alcohol to apply to backs of the planking. The remaining epoxy is then thickened in the original pot and applied directly to the first layer of fiberglass on the hull. Then using a combination of duplex nails, nuts and washers as temporary fasteners, we nail the planks down and let the epoxy go off. We can then remove the nails when the epoxy has dried and sink our final screws in the holes.

This week we're going to show you how we remove the temporary fastening used to secure the second layer of planking and use those same holes for our final fastenings. This way we can bury all our screws into both layers, after they've been glued togethere, with no risk of splitting the ends of the bottom planking or breaking off any screws. Once all our screws our sunk, we are going to fill the holes with TotalFair, a 1-1 Epoxy Fairing Compound from TotalBoat. We're now all ready to put our final layers of fiberglass on the bottom and then we can flip the boat over.

It's time to put the final two layers of 1708 fiberglass on our V-Bottom Skiff. This is a very important part of the construction as it was designed with the intention of keeping the look and feel of a classic flat bottom skiff but while adding the strength and rigidity of a fiberglass bottom. We're using TotalBoat 2:1 Epoxy with the slow hardener. The reason for that is because we have such a large area to cover we don't want the epoxy going off on us before we've had a chance to get both pieces of fiberglass fully saturated and on the boat. The other big thing we're out to do it get a nice corner on the edge so I've decided to nail down some battens with plastic in between them to pull the fiberglass down tight around that edge. Stay tuned for our next episodes, we'll be flipping our V-Bottom over and sawing our log to get the keel and more for ORCA!

It’s time to fair the hull of our V-Bottom skiff, but before we can do that we need to sand and prep the surface. We created a new vacuum system for our sander to help with any fiberglass dust. It has two vacuums, one of which is suspended above the boat to allow for easier movement of the sander and hoses. The final step is to mix and apply Totalfair, we’re out to fill all the low spots so when we apply our barrier coat we will have a nice fair surface on the hull and first side plank.

We’ll we’ve faired it and we’ve sanded it and it’s time to apply Totalprotect 2-part epoxy barrier coat to the hull of our V-Bottom skiff. This will act as a protection for the fiberglass and also helps continue to fair our out any last remaining imperfections in the hull. We’re going to thin the epoxy approx 10% and apply two coats with sanding in between. Our next step will be rip some additional lumber for the rails, in whales and few other pieces we’ll need, as well as our center runner. That’s the piece that will run down the center of the boat and helps with directional stability and also gives you a strong platform to help spread the load when you’re jacking or moving the boat as well as protection for the fiberglass.

In this episode Lou shows us how he's contructing the large wheels he's going to use to roll the boat over, right in place. In order to do this he need to find the exact center and how it relates to the boats shape so that there will be enough room between the ceiling and the ground for the boat to make it.

It's time to flip over the hull of our V-Bottom skiff using our wheels! We've got everything set up, our wheels are anchored to the boat with wedges and are sitting upon our rollers on the ground, two for each wheel. The safety line will gather into a slot at the edge of each wheel until the boat has rotated 180 degrees. Once the boat is safely turned over, we need to jack it down much lower to the floor in order to get ready for putting the next side planks on to the boat.

With our V-Bottom flipped over upside right, it’s time to finish the planking. You remember we put the first two planks on when we were springing the boat together. We’ve got four more planks to go, two on the starboard side and two the port. The planks have already been fit together on the floor before we started so there’s no fitting needed at this point, they just need to be lifted into position and screwed onto the frames. We also add some polysulfide to the edges of the frames to act as a bedding compound before fastening the down. We’re using flat head bronze screws and putting three screws in each frame and a few more at the stem and transom. Stay tuned for our next episode, cutting the shear!!

We've got our V-Bottom skiff all planked up and now it's time to cut the sheer line! In order to do this I've had to modify my skill saw to cut as deep as possible because we're not only out to cut through the planking but also the tops of the frame heads. Once we establish the angle of the cut, which will basically mirror the angle of the transom where it meets the sides we need to set up a batten the length of the boat to follow with our saw. Then we'll make our cut, remove the excess planking that's been cut off and then also finish off the cuts in the frame heads with a 10-point handsaw. Lastly, we need to lower the transom a bit to match our sheer line, so we'll cut that with our skill saw as well. The top of the transom does have a radius so we really need to tend the saw to make that curve and not drift off the line. Our V-Bottom skiff now has her true final shape, next week we will be attaching the guards outside the planking at the sheer line and then we're onto the brea

We’ve decided to adjust our sheer a little bit, we’re going to bring it down a little bit at the bow but mostly our goal is to reduce the angle on the heads of the frames and the sheer plank by a few degrees. I’m using my progressive beveling circular saw that I’ve modified with a ratchet handle to change the angle of the saw as I cut. This let’s me give the rails a nice progressive line from the transom all the way forward. We’re then going to rip out our 24’ white oak guards and get them ready for assembly.

In this episode it's time to laminate our cutwater. This piece will run from the very top of the bow down the front of the boat and connect with that scarf we made in the keel. We're using thin white oak laminates and we're going to glue them together with TotalBoat 2:1 High Performance Epoxy with the medium hardener. The first step is brush each laminate with a batch of thinned epoxy so that it can really soak into and saturate the wood. Then we're going to mix up a batch of thickened epoxy and apply that to each piece as we re-stack them up in reverse. We'll then coordinate each laminate and carry them over to the boat and apply them in position using jacks and a series of props so that we can temporarily fasten the cutwater in place until the epoxy dries and then remove them and replace them with bronze screws later.

This week we’re going to shape our cutwater, stem head and fasten on our guards. But first we need to make some final adjustments to the boat, we’re actually going to plane back the outboard edge of the plank down a quarter of an inch before we attach our guard in order to help tip the guards in. Once on the boat we’re also going to plane a quarter of an inch off the outside edge of the guards a quarter inch from the top tapered down in order to make them plumb if they were to come up again a dock or another boat.

This week we’re shaping and installing our breasthook. The first step is to make a paper pattern from the boat so we have a shape to go from. We’ll then take that over to our breasthook and find the best positioning and trace our cutting lines. In addition we’re going to lift the angles on the sides of the boat so we know what angle to cut our breasthook at. Then it’s on to my Atlas Power King bandsaw to cut the piece on all sides including the large radius in the center.

We're getting close to finishing up our V-Bottom skiff, there's a little word work left to do but first we need to fair and prime the hull. The hull needs to be planed first to get any of the high spots that are found near the steeple grain. We're then going to use TotalFair as our fairing compound to fill all the screw holes and any other imperfections. Once that dries we can come back the next day and sand it down nice a fair so we can apply our TotalProtect 2-part epoxy barrier coat primer.

We're back from a short vacation and ready to put the final touches on our V-Bottom Skiff! This week it's time for us to get out our corners knees and our inwhales and caps. The knees are going to be resawn out of a single knee on the shipsaw so the opposing pieces will be book matched and ultimately laminated in the boat. The same lumber that gave us our keel for ORCA has some great 25' quartersawn stretches that are perfect for our inwhales and caps, so we're going to cut those out with the skillsaw. Lastly we're going to put a coat of TotalBoat Topside Primer on the hull over our Epoxy Barrier coat, this will give us good coverage and get us ready for a final coat of Wet Edge Topside Paint.

This week we're going to show you how we saw up and laminate our knees. They're made from white oak laminates and will be over 2 inches thick when all glued up. Using the top figured knee as a pattern we're going to trace the shape onto our laminates and then cut them out on the band-saw. Then each layer will be taped together individually and then the whole bunch so that we can drill holes to coordinate them when we re-stack and glue them. We're using our TotalBoat 2:1 high performance epoxy with the medium hardener and we're going to thicken it a little bit so it doesn't run as we lay up our laminates.

Well you guys guessed it, those timbers are for our upcoming ORCA build, we’ll be showing lots more about the construction and design process very shortly, but first it’s time for us to install our quarter knees in our V-Bottom skiff so we can get her finished up and in the water.

This week we're installing the inwhales on our V-Bottom Skiff so we need to finish up our knees to accept them. The laminated knee and top figured knee have already been dry fit but they need to glued or at least clamped up in place. So what we're doing is we're going to mix up and spread our TotalBoat epoxy on the two pieces off the boat, then move them into the boat and pull both layers tight against the transom and side planking before then clamping them together vertically. This allows us to them remove the pieces from the boat so they can dry and then be re-installed as one piece. With our knees in place, it's time to saw our inwhales down to size and get them in the boat.

It's a Tips double header, two episodes this week and more to come! This week is a especially challenging step in our V-Bottom Skiff build, installing the inwhales. There is really no margin for error here and we're going to have to work to make sure we don't cut our inwhales too short. Ideally, we'll keep them a little long and saw-fit each end so we get the tightest best fit possible. But first we need to go around and make sure our inwhales are in exactly the right position. So we're created a little guage that we used on the starboard side and now we're going to mirror that difference between the guard and inwhales on the port side. Once we have them in exactly the right position we can begin with our saw-fit both aft and at the bow.

We're just about ready to put the caps on our V-Bottom skiff but first we need to prepare the tops of the in-whales and guards to receive them. I'm going to use a pencil to mark the edges of each piece that I DON'T want to plane down, that way I can focus on planing down each side with my number 5 planer until it starts to creep up on those pencil lines.

In this episode we're going to get out and fit the caps on our V-Bottom Skiff. These are white oak pieces of lumber that we specifically chose to help follow the curve of the boat. We cut them down to a rough size with a quick tracing and then more accurately traced the interior edge of the caps along the in-whale. Then we have to plane that saw cut from the band-saw out with a hand plane which can be very tricky on a curved piece like this so we have to use a few tricks to help us. Once that edge is good how we like it, we can use a small gauge to draw a line on the outer edge and then take that over to the band-saw and cut that also. We'll touch that up with the planer also, before putting it back on the boat and ultimately, we can make any minor final touch ups to the caps while they're in plane with a rabbit plane if needed.

This week we’re going to show you how I use my ship-saw and a rabbit plane to make the scarfs to connect the pieces that make up the caps.

We've finally come to the last bits of construction on our V-Bottom Skiff. This week we're out to glue up and fasten down our caps. This may seem like an easy step but it's actually pretty complicated and important that we get it right or we'll have spaces showing clear as day on top of our caps. The secret it to fasten it down from one end to the other and also prop the ends up when we drill them so there's a little space between them when we remove the prop causing the screws to pull the caps tightly against one another at the scarfs.

This week we’re going to show you how we create and plug the holes from our fastenings. We’re going to use the same material we used for the caps, in-whale and guards so they match in color and grain as best as possible.

We've got our V-Bottom Skiff all varnished up with TotalBoat Lust and she's looking absolutely fantastic. The next step for us is to cut down the transom to make it the right height to install our outboard motor. This is a very tricky cut and can really only be done in one way with a tough plunge cut using our circular saw. Check it out!!

The V-Bottom Skiff is going out the door! In this episode we put on our final coat of TotalBoat Wet Edge topside paint and also a final coat of Spartan Red bottom paint. This has been an amazing build and it's been so fun to share it with all of you. The boat is headed to the outboard motor shop to have the engine mounted on the transom and then we'll get her back, oil the interior and put her in the water for some sea trials in Rhode Island before delivering her to her new home in 10,000 lakes in Minnesota. We want to especially thank TotalBoat and everyone else who helped make this build possible. Next Project: ORCA!!

We've all been anxious for this moment, sea trials on our 23' V-Bottom Skiff! It's been 10 years in the making and to finally get it finished and in the water is a real achievement for us. We're not going to waste any time getting the boat up to speed and boy is it a thrill to drive. As soon as I get up on plane you could feel the weight of the boat, it rode smoothly even in light chop and stays on course almost automatically. It actually runs quiet and smooth and it turns very nicely, even at high speeds. This is an experience, even for me, you don't see this every day. And to have you guys along on the build just made it all the better, we couldn't more excited for our next project recreating ORCA from the movie JAWS.

We're back from a short break and boy do we have some exciting news, we've finally found the timber to get started on our biggest project yet, building ORCA! In this episode we head to Bristol Marine to look at an old NOVI so we can get more information about the shape of the hull and other things. Then it's off to New England Naval Timbers to find the right white oak log to start building the centerline. That log will include the keel, the horn timber, and several more parts of the boat. We are looking for material that is clear of the heart and quarter sawn. Next week we're headed back to get the log sawn and then we can take our timbers back to the shop and get started building ORCA!

This week is a big episode for us here at Tips from a Shipwright, we're headed back to New England Naval Timbers to saw up our log and get the keel and more for ORCA! We're buying this log run-of-the-mill that means we pay for the whole log no matter what we get out of it. Our goal is to secure at least one large quarter-sawn timber for the keel but we also expect to get several more large timbers from this same log that will comprise several other pieces of ORCA. We're going to work together with the sawyer to saw this log the way we want so we get just what we're looking for. Lot's of exciting news on our ORCA rebuild project coming soon and we will be returning to our V-Bottom shortly also to flip her over, finish the planking and get her in the water for some sea trials. The fun is just beginning, stay tuned for more!!

Construction on ORCA has begun!!! The first goal for us is to get our centerline set-up. This will consist of the keel, forefoot, stem, stern post and horn timber. ORCA will be 40 feet long and the keel will be just under 30 feet made from two large pieces of white oak. You saw us select and process these timbers at the mill in episodes 1&2. Before we can scarf the pieces together we need to make sure they are exactly square and parralel or the scarf wont match well so we're going to check them with a square and knock it back with the electric place where needed. Now we're ready to make our first plunge cut. There's no easy way to make this cut, especially trying to cut the 2 degree angel so for this first direction I have no choice but to plunge into the material before moving the saw forward. Once we have our two scarfs we're going to connect them and we've got our keel! Our next step is to attach the forefoot to the front of the keel, stay tuned for that and more exciting

It’s full-steam ahead on ORCA!! This week we’re in the drawing room with Lou as he shows us how he’s designing the keel and centerline based on his knowledge of Novi boats which ORCA originally was along with research, study and scaling of many ORCA photos and information. There’s many ways to get involved in the project, we just added a huge list to our website http://www.tipsfromashipwright.com of all the items found onboard ORCA that we will need to complete the boat, from the iconic yellow barrels, to Quint’s fighting chair, his rod and reel, the shark cage, engine, mast, we need it all! So take a look, see what you can find and leave us a comment if you know where we might find it or if you’re interested in helping us make it. More ORCA fun on the way!! Stay tuned!!

This week on ORCA we're assembling our center-line, composed of the keel, forefoot and stem. All this lumber is quarter sawn 6"x6" white oak, so it's incredibly strong and that's what we want for these pieces, especially below the waterline. Today we need to connect and create the scarf joint between the front of the keel and forefoot. We're going to have to plunge cut with our skill saw which is a very technical cut, so we have to set up a backing block to put the saw against as we plunge, well as a guide to follow the line. We're going to make two deep 3" cuts on each side in order to get all the way through the 6" timbers.

We're moving right along with the centerline of ORCA and we're also happy to announce that we have picked up the V-Bottom skiff and will be putting her in the water this week for a test run so stay tuned for that! This week on ORCA, we need to back-up the scarf between our keel and forefoot. To do this we're going to fashion a piece that will span the two other timbers and then be fastened with bronze bolts all the way through to create a strong connection. The rabbit line will then run right through this joint and allow us to set the planking into the keel and forefoot.

The week we're going to drill and connect our entire keel and forefoot together. Drilling can be tricky so we need to take our time to get set up properly. I'm using a barefoot ship auger because it can drill without wandering or pulling and also start off and stay nice and straight. The pieces are going to be temporarily fastened with ready-red or all-thread rod until we are finished with rabbiting the keel and then we'll swap it all out with bronze fastenings later. We're getting close to standing up the entire center line along with the stem and that will give us all a real good look at the shape of ORCA.

Moving forward on ORCA we've almost completed assembling our center-line and this week we're making the final connection between the forefoot and the stem. This joint will be made in a new and improved way that will work to hold the pieces together while also not allowing for any twist. We are ultimately going to be using all bronze fastenings in ORCA because they hold up best and don't disturb the wood around them the way stainless and galvanized fastenings can but we are going to keep the keel mobile for the rabbiting process before then lifting it into place to start framing and planking.

The centerline for ORCA is nearly complete so we're headed back to the saw mill for more lumber. We're out to find pieces for the stern post, horn timber and also our framing stock.

It's time for us to install the stern post for ORCA! This is an important piece as it will have the propeller shaft going through it and it connects the keel to the horn timber above it, which runs all the way back to the transom of the boat. In this episode we're going to show you a little trick to help us mortise our timber into the keel with a chainsaw. Using two wooden guides and some socket wrenches bolted onto the chainsaw to control the depth, we can chew out the material in a fraction of the time it would take us with a hammer and chisel.

This week we're getting out and installing our Horn Timber, the last piece on ORCA's centerline. We first need to cut the timber down to size with a chainsaw so we can get it up on to our shipsaw. The horn timber will run from the top of the stern post all the way to the transom of the boat. We then need to create another mortise and tenon to connect the two pieces, only this time the tenon in the stern post is going to go all the way through our horn timber. Once we chop that hole with our chainsaw we can connect both pieces and we'll have the entire centerline of ORCA together. The next step is making the transom and then rabbiting the entire keel.

It's a new day in the Opendoor Boatshop and we're finally building the transom for ORCA. We first need to lift the lines off our drawing and then transfer them onto our loft floor in full size. Then using a little trick we're going to hammer some nail heads along those lines to copy them onto a cardboard pattern. Simply by pressing the cardboard down on the nails heads we can see the marks on the other side and then cut out the pattern and use it to trace the shape onto our lumber.