Feb. 10
Before varnishing the rails I planed and sanded the top of the sheer where rails, planks, frames and knees all come together. I remembered that on my other boat, the Trumpy Tender, I had taken the corners off of the top of the frames to avoid chipping of the sharp corner, so I did the same on the skiff. Here is a picture of before and after that little chore:




Feb 8-9
Went to an antique show in Bath and found an old wooden tool box and an 1908 booklet, "Forest Trees of Maine". Building this skiff has stirred my interest in the sources of my materials.


More painting and varnishing each day.




Feb 3-7
Finally a visitor! Jane came for the week and is helping me with the painting and varnishing which is coming along nicely. Each day I do a little something, like varnish the interior or the bottom with me painting above my head so that the paint doesn't run into the space between the bottom boards. That would impare the swelling necessary to float the boat.



Attending to little details like the oval brass screws for the oarlock holders. I bought copper by mistake but was able to find the brass at Grovers, the local hardware store in Boothbay Harbor.

Feb 2
Why would anyone build a house with a flat roof in Maine? This sort of question puzzles me.
The second skiff is moving along. The keelson and the chine logs are smaller than on the first skiff and I am wondering if it truly qualifies as a Mathis skiff if the scantlings are changed? The stem is also shaped slightly different where it meets the keelson, as is the size of the sheerstrake.



January 27 - 31, 2003
Oak rails were attached. They have a groove for a rope on outside surface.
Moved the skiff to a heated shop, 55 degrees, so that the paint will dry in a timely manner. This will free up space for the next boat to get started, a second Mathis skiff, and won't restrict the sanding that is necessary in Rick's shop. Started to paint!




January 24, 2003
It was zero today. Rick and Michael test the ice.





January 23, 2003
The paint order arrived from Kirby Paint Company in New Bedford, Mass. The colors that I decided to use are the circled ones.




January 18
Primer applied to the outside of the hull after all holes were filled with surfacing putty.



January 17, 2003
Chalked and painted red lead on groove in stem.







Rick created a groove in the transom to put chalk and red led it, so it would be water tight.




January 13 - 16, 2003
Filled rivet holes with putty. Cut the pieces of ash that make up the back seat. There are five pieces with a small spacebetween them.





Made the oarlock pads which are small rectangular pieces of oak that the oarlock holder gets set into.


Made cardboard pattern for frount seat and transferred that shape to the ash boards. Painted the outside of the boat with primer. Sand, sand, sand.




January 11, 2003
Cut and shaped the ash braces that hold one side of the back and frount seats. Sand, sand, and sand.





January10, 2003
Sanding, sanding, sanding! Plus took riser off and hammered rivets to below the surface of the planks where needed. Then put riser back on and rebunged. This was so that we could get that Corvette finish on the outside of the hull…….

December 20, 2002
The boat is looking good! After the holidays we'll add the thwarts and rails, and then it's on to paint and varnish.


Dec 16-18
Using a pattern from the old skiff as a general guideline, I cut pieces of hackmatack crooks for breasthook and the quarterknees. (Remember Newman's Knees?)

Rick and I transfered the multiple bevels from the boat to the rough wood, planed and sanded them and fastened each to the boat using rivets. Screws will be added.



Dec 9-13
Cut, fit and sanded 8 frames for each side of the boat. Sealed them before installing in the boat.


Screwed frames into place and cut small piece of ash that serves as a spacer between the inwale and the planks at stem and transom. Took the measurements for the length of inwales.


Clamped the inwales into place for screwing and riveting.


Dec 6
Patterns were made to make the frames for the interior of the boat. I cut each one out on the band saw before fitting.



Dec 2 - 5
In preparation for the bottom boards to be put on we ran a bead of Boatlife caulk in the groove cut for that purpose in the bottom of the chine log.



Bottom boards were attached with 1 1/2" #8 bronze screws, 3-4 in each, while the boards were clamped tightly together side-by-side. Four screws were put in the from each plank into the keelson also. This process took a few days. Then the ends were sawed off and planed to the edge of the boat. Seam compound was used to cover the screws on the bottom.



White oak skeg and runners were attached, which strengthen the bottom of the boat and made it more rigid.




The final piece to go on the bottom was the oak strip that follows the line of the bottom of the stem. The bottom is complete.



On Thursday the boat was taken off of the strongback and turned over. A brace was placed across the boat amidships to maintain the correct width as the planks wanted to straighten.



November 26
Started riveting sheerstrake to garboard before Thanksgiving and finished it the Monday following.


Monday, November 25
Rick cut groove in bottom of chinelog where it meets the garboard to use for laying chalking in to seal this seam.


Finished gains and fit sheerstrake to the boat and attached to stem and transom with screws.

November 19 - 22
Attached the chinelog to keelson at stem.



Fit garboards to boat and attached to stem and chinelog with screws.



A bevel was cut on the edge of the garboard so it can receive the sheerstrake with a tight fit.


By Rick's suggestion we took the shape of the sheerstrake off of the boat by holding an uncut piece of cedar against the boat while scribing lines from the inside at the molds, stem and transom. Cut and fit and then used this plank as pattern for the other side. Both planks were clamped onto garboard at lap.



Started cutting the gains, which are the approximately 12" edge at the stem and transom end of each plank, where two planks meet, and are blended into each other by tapering each board.



Cedar was planed and cut for bottom boards.



A small impression was forced into the thickness edge of each board, then it was planed down leaving just a small amount of that groove. When the board swells with water this groove will give a space for expansion so that the bottom boards won't be too tight.

November 18 Monday
We lined off the boat by tacking long battons along the plank line on one side of boat, and also along the sheer points in order to establish the plank shape. Used the marked points on the molds for the most part, but adjusted accordingly to establish a fair line. Spiled the garboard. (Unfortunately I didn't get a good picture of the lining off. Next boat!)







Spiling is the process of placing a wide (4-5"), thin batton down the center of the space where the plank will go, and using a compass to strike an arch onto the batton from known points on the boat, such as the corner of the chine log at each mold, and along the other side at the lined off edge of the next plank.
The batton is then carried over to the cedar board and moved around until it fits in a way to use existing "sweep" of the tree, and to avoid sapwood. Sapwood is the outer layer of the tree and is not as dense and strong. Two archs are struck from the one arch on the batton, and the point where they cross is the edge of the plank. A batton is struck along those points and it is pondered as to fairness. We then cut the garboard plank for starboard side and used this plank as a pattern for the port side. Amazingly, they both fit.