Tools and Materials
Tools:
Before starting building a certain number of basic tools are needed these are pretty normal DIY tools that most handy people will already have.
Electric Jig Saw:
This is probably the most important item for cutting the panels. Get a good one preferably with adjustable pendulum action and robust construction. I also used a cheap panel saw for ripping the panels down to smaller sizes.
Wood plane, spoke-shave and files:
I found these useful for shaping the panels after cutting to shape. An old fashioned spoke-shave is very useful for shaping small arcs.
Measuring:
A 5 metre tape is useful as well as a steel straight edge for marking out. A piece of bendy plastic curtain rail makes striking the curves an easier task when marking from the plans.
Benches:
I have a trusty old "Black and Decker" "Workmate". As well as acting as a small bench, the clamping action of the top is ideal for holding the panels together whilst shaping them up. To make a building platform, I used the 2 sections of an extending aluminium ladder laid across 2 trestles and covered with 1/2 inch plywood panels. This was ideal to use in my garage to keep everything off the concrete floor and save my back from too much bending!
Electric drill:
Used for drilling the small holes to take the stitching wires and any other holes needed. This is a matter of personal preference, I use on old 3/8 Black and Decker mains model, a battery drill would be just as good but I always find the battery is flat just when I need to drill a hole. Maybe it is just me!
Spirit level:
This is not strictly necessary but I like to line and level everything up using my trusty 3 foot long spirit level!
Clamps:
I found plenty of "G" clamps are useful in various sizes from small to large, some of the many uses are: holding pieces together for shaping, holding temporary jigs in place and holding sections down whilst glue sets.
Sander:
The plywood needs a good smoothing before painting, there seems an awful lot of wood to sand and a small orbital electric sander makes the task much easier and quicker.
Marine or Exterior Grade Plywood ?
I pondered over this problem and looked at a number of different grades. I chose Far Eastern Exterior Grade Plywood 3.6mm thick. I was careful to examine the sheets to ensure that the panels were of good finish and free form voids in the internal layer. The life of this material will be sufficient for the envisaged life of the boat so I couldn't justify the much higher price for marine plywood.
The various softwood gunwales and runners seemed to be non-standard size sections so my local timber shop prepared these to the correct sizes on their planing machine.
Resin and Glue:
I used SP systems epoxy resin throughout the construction and was very satisfied with the results.
This is a typical 1Kg pack of SP resin. Mix ratio is 5:1, the largest portion being resin. Be absolutely accurate and use a syringe to measure the ratio, too little or too much will affect the hardening speed. (Too much caused a paper cup to smoulder!) I used a fast hardener with a working time of about 10 to 15 minutes and mixed no more than about 30ml at a time when taping.
IMPORTANT WARNING!
Read the instructions on the tin and take careful note of the Health and Safety Data sheets, follow all the instructions carefully, paying special attention to mixing.
Always wear disposable protective gloves when handling these materials. Protect hands and skin at all times and take special care when mixing the resin and hardener. A serious allergic reaction can occur to the hardener which, once started, will always return in the future. this makes the further use of epoxy resin products almost impossible.