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This
has been an experience I will never forget... The lighter wood, is Lacewood
and the darker stripes are East Indian Laurel. Basically all I did was
cut strips, tape edges, layout on plates to match both sides, then epoxy
and clamp. The rest was clean up. Pretty simple procedure, but a bit time
consuming. I took my boat out for the first time today, It was a true
joy. I do need to rework my seat though. She felt a bit tippy. But I soon
settled in for a great paddle... It was my first boat and hopefully not
my last. You are also correct on a statement you made. A boat can be built
anywhere. Believe it or not, I built my cirrus in a no ceiling, dirt floor,
badly lit polebarn!
...This boat seems to be drawing a lot of attention. A lot of comments
I get on the pattern overlayed on the deck, the use of carbon fiber and
the fact that the boat is so light. Your manual is very well thought out
and written and the web support is awesome. I’m already planning my next
one. Did I mention that the Cirrus handles incredibly well? A joy to paddle.
Believe it or not, panels #1 and #3 are 3mm okoume. I think the contrast
comes from panel #2 which is the reverse side of the same sheet of plywood.
An accident that worked out well. I ordered Lloyd’s certified okoume which
should have been an “A” face and back. They ran out of the Lloyd’s and
sent a less expensive grade. When I started stitching the panels together,
I realized that I had in fact gotten panels #2 turned around. I noticed
it right away but decided to go with it. The filler between the panels
is actually “slurry” made with okoume dust I harvested from some scrap.
I must have been really bored that day! The website where I bought the
veneer is www.veneersupplies.com . I did the entire herringbone pattern
for less than $40.00. Quite a bargain. Setting up the pattern was a breeze.
I layed out the pattern I wanted which was partially based on the material
purchased. Then, I stacked the pieces and placed a scrap piece of plywood
on the top and bottom. I drew guide lines on top to establish basic width
then carefully screwed the whole mess together. Putting a screw in the
middle of the width at both top and bottom ensured that when I ran the
block of material through the table saw, all strips would be exactly the
same width. Important tip? Make sure the table saw is cutting exactly
square. After that, using a chop saw set at 45 degree angle, I put an
angle on all the strips. Then I drew a straight line on my worktop and
set all the pieces together. Then, I taped all the edges with painters
tape. Next, I placed my rough cut panel on the strips, lined it up and
outlined it with a pen. Cut out the pattern, reverse it and lay it on
top of the next section, trace the pattern again, then lay the cut panel
on top. The fun part next.. drill 3 – 1/8” holes at each corner. One at
the top and one on each side, close together. What this does? Ensures
that when you layout the panels on the strips, both sides line up exactly.
Then I just cut out all the panels and sandwiched the panels and strips
into layers separated by saran wrap and slathered with epoxy into panels
cut from ¾” particle board and went clamp happy. That you should see a
picture of. Rather comical all those clamps. I let that set up for a day,
separated the plates then cleaned them up by careful sanding and patience.
This is where a combination sander comes in handy. I used the vertical
side to carefully sand all edges smooth and close to the line, then clamped
them together to finish sand and add the stitch holes. Seemingly a lot
of steps but only a couple of days work to produce the results you see
in the picture...Just thought I would thank you again for such an awesome
project. Everyone who sees this boat just loves it. A lot of time well
spent. Keep up the awesome work! Thank
you again Marc Minnich
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