Boat Building: Plans, patterns, frames

Dave Gentry sends his  kayak plans as a booklet containing building instructions along with actual size patterns for the frames and stems drawn on heavy brown construction paper. Included is a list of suggested tools, actual build photos, a wood list and lots of tips and other helpful stuff. The building instructions are great and easy to follow if you take time to think about what you're doing. There are a couple of particulars left out (I'll address those later) but I think he's done a thorough job covering the build.  

 

After a trip to pick up a sheet of 1/2" thick Douglas Fir marine plywood for the frames and a couple of 16' long Southern Yellow Pine boards for stringers  I was ready to cut out the pattern for each part. I cut each a little oversize. After they were all cut I used an adhesive spray to glue each one to the plywood. 

 

By arranging the patterns carefully I was able to save about 2/3 of the 4X8 sheet of plywood for another project.

The next step was to cut out each pattern with a jigsaw. Cutting through the paper along the pattern lines seemed like the best way to do it.

Some angle cuts in the frames are more difficult than others. Drilling a hole facilitates cutting into tight corners preventing excessive rounding. This is important because when stringers are set into these notches later we want a relatively tight fit.   

When all the frame parts were cut I peeled the pattern paper off the plywood and sanded any rough edges with 150 grit sandpaper.

Frames and stems are done! Next step is to set up a strongback and rip the stringers. Stay tuned!