Author Topic: Fairbanks AK 22 Widebody Build  (Read 23800 times)

Offline Kobuk

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Fairbanks AK 22 Widebody Build
« on: March 13, 2019, 08:18:25 PM »
Well, I'm not sure if I can say I've "started" yet(?)...  I have a jig frame built, UHMW cut and drilled, and today I cut stringers... But there's really not too much more I can do until the CNC cut plywood arrives from West Coast Boats. Hopefully it will be here in about two weeks.  It's going to be a looooong two weeks!

By the way, a few others have previously sung the praises of this tool, but I'll take the opportunity to reiterate that this thing is the best invention since the automatic bread slicer!  Throw away your Surform, put your trusty planes into semi-retirement, and get one of these suckers. Your life will not be the same!

« Last Edit: January 23, 2022, 01:29:32 PM by guldam »

Offline Rbob

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Re: Fairbanks AK 22 Widebody Build
« Reply #1 on: March 13, 2019, 08:23:12 PM »
Welcome Kobuk,

Cant wait to see your progress, and yes those are the cats meow!  have 2 different styles. They are my go to tool.

« Last Edit: January 23, 2022, 01:29:43 PM by guldam »
Not as smart as I once was

Offline Easygoing

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Re: Fairbanks AK 22' Widebody Build
« Reply #2 on: March 13, 2019, 08:44:15 PM »
Ok, I'll bite.  What is that tool?


Offline Jaron_Ayres

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Re: Fairbanks AK 22' Widebody Build
« Reply #4 on: March 13, 2019, 09:47:14 PM »
We had one of those rasps, and it came in very handy for a few things. Have fun! We also used a CNC kit from West Coast boats which saved lots and lots of time.
Blue Clover – 20', tiller-steer, Tolman Widebody

Offline fogdart

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Re: Fairbanks AK 22' Widebody Build
« Reply #5 on: March 13, 2019, 09:51:44 PM »
Stringers are an accomplishment in themselves... you've definitely started.  Post pictures when the 'goods' arrive!
I'm going to have to get one of those Shintos… now that I don't need it!   >:(  ...for the next boat.. ???

Offline David Nolan

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Re: Fairbanks AK 22' Widebody Build
« Reply #6 on: March 14, 2019, 09:42:08 AM »
You can take a couple hours and glass those stringers....   both sides.....  and if your worried mask off the bottom 1.5 inches....  2 hours each side for 4 hours now will save you 12 hours on your knees when you flip the hull and your back will thank you for it....   

are you cutting tape.... cut and roll up your tape now.    4 6 8 inch rolls....

organize your shop    get your glass jar with acetone to wash off your brushes to get lots of uses out of them...

buy four boxes of harbor freight gloves...

make your epoxy heating compartment

make a sawdust bin so when your gloves get sticky you put them in the wood flour... eg  no more sticky gloves...

cover your mixing scale readout with clear platci.   when it gets dirty replace...

run multiple cords around the shop, make sure tools have their own plug.  unplugging takes hours on a build...

wash and clean any plastic jug you find to mix in.

etc

Offline Kobuk

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Re: Fairbanks AK 22' Widebody Build
« Reply #7 on: March 14, 2019, 04:29:57 PM »
This morning I rough cut the aft gunwale shelves and scrubbed them down with the Shinto rasp. These are Boise Cascade 1.4 grade Versa-Rim LVL which is 1 5/16 thick. Chuck is CNC cutting the forward curved sections from the same material and these will be scarfed to those once they arrive. My intent is to use the LVL as is; not plane it down, and not cap it with additional plywood. I cut these two pieces from 14" wide stock, and will take advantage of the available width at the transom corner joint to fit them as one piece, dispensing with the normal built up corner brace...

« Last Edit: March 14, 2019, 04:51:22 PM by Kobuk »

Offline Kobuk

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Re: Fairbanks AK 22' Widebody Build
« Reply #8 on: March 14, 2019, 04:43:05 PM »
Dave, great tips, all, and much appreciated. I'll be taking your advice to heart...

I have tremendous respect for Renn and believe he had the build order dialed in terms of efficiency, but the one place I'm really going to buck the rules is with some of the glassing order. Mind you I'm fully aware of the potential cons and am not doing so out of some misguided notion that I think I can outsmart Renn. I'm doing so for one reason only: I despise sanding epoxy! And so I'm going to do everything in my power to lay glass/epoxy such that I can avoid having to sand between applications whenever possible. Even if it means suffering less convenient, perhaps less efficient conditions.  Yeah, I know...

Offline david.nolan.940

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Re: Fairbanks AK 22' Widebody Build
« Reply #9 on: March 19, 2019, 09:00:05 AM »
i meant wood flour  don't dip sticky gloves into sawdust [emoji23]


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Offline Grady300

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Re: Fairbanks AK 22' Widebody Build
« Reply #10 on: March 22, 2019, 08:00:36 AM »
Jon, your kit shipped yesterday!!! make yourself a wet-out box to pre-wet your glass tape it will save you a ton of time.
Chuck M.
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Great Alaskan Kits Available
On the Western Half of USA
<a href="http://www.wcboatworks.com">West Coast Tolman Skiff Kits</a>
21' 4" Wide Body Launch Oct. 2012
31' GA Kodiak launch Sept 2021

Offline Kobuk

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Re: Fairbanks AK 22' Widebody Build
« Reply #11 on: March 27, 2019, 07:58:06 PM »
Thanks Chuck!

So, crate arrived Monday and I made the trip into town to retrieve it...  +34 deg.; two inches of sloppy snow and freezing rain at my place; mostly just rain in town...

Was raining when I arrived back at my place, and slop grenades falling off the roof, so popped the side off the crate, unloaded into the garage as quickly as possible, and disassembled the crate. (Chuck, note all but one of the dunnage bags were completely deflated...but the contents pristine, save for some rain leaking in during the trip back from town).



Got the transom all glued up Yesterday, and today began gluing up the gunwale shelves and bottom panels. Found a use for those vinyl dunnage bags! Not sure if the epoxy will adhere to or react with the vinyl...will find out tomorrow.





Note I don't have a fancy shop, and most of my power tools stayed behind during a relationship change some years ago...so there will be plenty of low budget "MacGyvering" taking place during this build.
« Last Edit: March 27, 2019, 08:05:26 PM by Kobuk »

Offline David Nolan

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Re: Fairbanks AK 22' Widebody Build
« Reply #12 on: March 28, 2019, 08:48:56 AM »
that's funny...  remember this.... perfection is the enemy of good enough...  build FAST and go fishing

Offline Kobuk

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Re: Fairbanks AK 22' Widebody Build
« Reply #13 on: March 31, 2019, 12:33:31 AM »
Today turned out to be something of an unplanned marathon. One thing led to another...and there's no clock in the garage. I was surprised at how late it was when I finally wrapped it up for the day. There's nothing like coming in for lunch at 10 P.M.!  :-\

I finished gluing the panel scarfs last night, so reconfigured the jig this morning and got the bottom panels set up.







I laid 6" 12oz biax and 8" 17oz biax wet on wet on wet...





Have used approximately 5 quarts of epoxy thus far.

Offline pfithian

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Re: Fairbanks AK 22' Widebody Build
« Reply #14 on: March 31, 2019, 06:30:10 AM »
Nice work!
Made It Jumbo 25
Skiffkits No. 7025 1/2009
Build Start:  3/2009
Hull Flipped: 1/31/2010
Maiden Voyage:  9/16/2011