Young's Log: BONNANZ

In 2006, I finished the construction of a 14' 3" cedar strip rowboat, named "Bonnanz", after my grandma, Abbondanzia Calise. I'm often asked about the process of building a boat, so this post is going to be a rough outline of the build process. In later posts, perhaps I will go into more detail on each step, but for now, a rough outline will have to do.

There are many ways to build a boat of a given type, but I settled on Cedar Strip for its beauty, weight, and relative ease of construction. The boat I built is called a "Cosine Wherry", named for the curve that was used by the designer to develop the lines of the hull. If you are looking to build a cedar strip rowboat, I highly recommend the books, "Rip, Strip, and Row!" and "Canoecraft," which contained the plans and general directions that got me going.

If you take on a project like this one step at a time, and make sure each step is correct along the way, it is suprising how easily something like building a boat can come together.

Here's how you do it:

Build a strongback. This is essentially a long, straight beam that will serve as the "workbench" your boat will be built on. Great care must be taken to ensure that the strongback is secured tightly to the shop floor, level, and straight. Problems with the strongback will transfer into your boat's shape, so it is very important to get this part exactly right.
A form in the shape of the hull is attached perpendicular to the strongback at around 1 foot intervals. (The last form is actually the back of the boat, so use an appropriate pice of wood there) These are basically cross sections of your boat at each point. Once the forms are cut and securely attached to the strongback, you are ready to make some cedar strips.

You are going to need cedar strips that are about 16 feet long to avoid unnecessary splicing. The strips will need to be about 1/4" thick, with a bead on one side, and a cove on the other. Cut the beads first, then the coves, or you will damage the coves while cutting the beads. Expect a lot of sawdust on this step...

Now you're ready to start building your boat. Start one strip below where you want the rail to start, and securely nail a strip into the forms, following the line you want the upper rail to take. Now, you take another strip and glue it into the strip below with wood glue, clamping it tightly to the form with wedges as you go. I worked in sets of threes, laying six strips a day. Once you reach the waterline, stop working in that direction, and start working from the top down.

Once all the strips are on, it is time to start smoothing out the hull. Use a hand plane to shave off the high spots, then carefully blend the strips in to each other and fill any gaps with a sawdust-epoxy mixture. Be very careful not to take off too much wood here.

Now it is time for fiberglass. Sand and fair between glass applications, then add one or two final layers of epoxy to get a smooth, clear finish. Heating up your shop helps during fiberglassing to eliminate air bubbles and get a nice clear finish by reducing the epoxy's viscosity

Now the keel can be added, and the boat can be flipped over. The same process of fairing and fiberglassing will be done on the inside of the boat , then the interior features can be added (like seats, rails, foredeck, etc).