Construction of Two Portuguese Style Dinghies (Small Boats)

Step 13 Ok, Let's Review. OR - Boat 2...What I learned.

I had pretty much finished the first boat. Now it was time to make one for my wife. ;)

Of course the second time around it's much easier. And faster.

Note here I SOAKED the wood in water. (A tarp held by scrap wood.) for a while until I was ready to begin. Helps a lot!

We both pulled the sides over the ribs together and got a very nice bend to the wood. In the photos below you can see how I outlined the bottom on the extra 1/4" ply.

Also, this boat is the "smaller" design from Hannu's plans.

Note I added the 1" trim to the back of the sides to screw the transom to. Much easier.

In this boat, I used all 1" screws and left them all in. In Boat #1 I took the screws out and fiberglassed over them. Here I left the screws in and fiberglassed over the heads. The advantage is that I didn't have to make 2 passes witht he fiberglass, just went over it all at once.

Comments

[kiffakitty]

does soaking the wood damage the inside?

[rook999]

No, not once you coat the inside of the boat/wood with some sort of sealant. The hot/warm water temporarily loosens the wood fibers so it can bend. Once it dries, you just coat the inside with some sort of sealant. In my case I used Deck Stain. Paint, or polyurethane or something better would be advisable.