The Bear Mountain Boat Shop

I have used hot soaking (boiling), a steam box, and a heat gun. The heat gun works best, and is the quickest with no drying time required - glue the stem up as soon as it cools. My web site has the illustrated details. Go to http://michneboat.com , click on Builder's Corner, then scroll down to Maki...

See my web site, http://michneboat.com. Click on Builder's Corner, then scroll down to Gunwales. A technique is described for making scuppered inwales by glueing blocks on to the straight inwale, then installing it. This allows you to use different colored wood for the scuppers.

- John

For a complete description of how to convert rough sawn planks to high quality strips, see my web site, http://michneboat.com. Click on Builder's Corner, then scroll down to Making Strips.

John

Getting a book from concept to coffee table is no trivial task. I can speak from experience – let me explain. About four years ago, another builder and myself had this idea to write a book detailing how we built our reproduction Adirondack guideboats. We had only met over the Internet, but we agreed...

From time to time there is a thread about gunwales, their installation, and replacement. A while back I wrote a few paragraphs about gunwales that are repeated below. In addition, a few other thoughts come to mind. For lack of space, I store my boats outside. They only get paddled or rowed a few tim...

Hi Jim -

There is a section on my web site, http://michneboat.com, that deals with filling the cracks. Click on Builder's Corner, then scroll down to it.

- John

Hi Pete - I have a couple of Bob's Specials, and didn't do any beveling on the inwales at all. The only thing I did was taper the thickness of the outwales as they approached the stems. The inwales are consistent thickness throughout with no bevels, and follow and complement the lines of the hull. I...

The Bob's Special can be built in 15, 16, and 17 foot versions. For the 15 or 16 foot boats, the form spacing is changed slightly. To build it at 17 feet, a second form 0 is used in the middle and the form spacing adjusted. I have built the 15 and 17 footer. The 17 foot version is also called the Je...

I let the squeeze out harden to the point of being leathery (Titebond glue) and then scrape it off with a sharpened Pro-Prep scraper. A sharp paint scraper works just as well. A curved blade in the Pro-Prep works great on the inside. Even if it has fully hardened, the scraper will pop it off. As not...

Jim -

Don't even try to wrap the cloth around the stems. You will be frustrated and get a mess.. If you feel you must glass the stems, bias cut cloth is the way to go. See my web site, http://michneboat.com, click on Builder's Corner, then scroll down to Fiberglassing-101.

- John

See my web site, http://michneboat.com. Click on Builder's Corner, then scroll down to Making Strips. The article may not exactly fit your situation, but will be helpful if you have never made your own strips.

- John

See my web site, http://michneboat.com, click on builder’s Corner, and then select Making Stems. I use 1/8” spruce laminations for stems and can almost tie knots in it with a heat gun. They can be glued as soon as they cool – a few minutes. No drying time required.

- John

You have it correct, Dean. Use 1/8" radius bits to get the 1/4" bead and cove on strips that are 1/4" thick. For a description of making bead and cove strips, see my web site, http://michneboat.com. Click on Builder's Corner, then select Making Strips.

- John

François has it correct. The rising or falling temperature effect on bubbling in epoxy is a complete myth. Consider an air pocket within the wood. If you cool it, it will contract. How cool must it get to become eliminated and replaced with epoxy? If it were cooled enough to be eliminated, wouldn’t ...

I have used MAS exclusively. The slow hardener is just that – slow. It is very comfortable to use for the wet out (I don’t precoat), and will be leathery with an overnight cure. For the fill coats, I mix 25% fast with the slow hardener. That mix allows me to get two fill coat on the day after wet ou...