This Page is devoted to our young WCCBer's. It is our club's sincere hope that more of our local youth will develop an interest and love of wooden boating.

Boy Scouts Build Wooden Skiff with Guidance from Wine Country

by Terry Holland

During this Centennial year of Scouting, a member of Wine Country Classic Boats, Inc. donated a kit boat to Troop 18 of Hammondsport.  Wine Country members Ed Wightman and Fred Mayer accepted the challenge of guiding the Scouts through boat construction.  Scout leader Tony Smolos recruited boys interested in earning merit badges in woodworking and painting.  Work sessions were Sundays from 2:00 until 4:00 in March, April through May.

Session 1:

Rules and expectations were established.

The finished boat will be 12 feet but the kit parts were 8 feet or less, so parts had

to be epoxied together to make them “long enough”.  After mixing the 2-part

epoxy, the parts were carefully aligned and their long, tapered “scarf joints”

buttered with epoxy.  Plastic wrap was used to protect innocent surfaces and the joints were

carefully clamped together and left to cure.

Session 2:

            The epoxied joints were now cured but pretty ugly.  Excess epoxy had squeezed out, leaving joints with jagged scars and bumps that had to be sanded smooth.  Safety glasses, face masks, and lots of patience was required, but the end result was worth the struggle.

            The sides were attached to the stem (front) using Sikaflex, a marine adhesive, and silicon bronze nails.  When the center frame was attached near the middle of the sides, it began to look like a boat.

Session 3:

            The center frame was installed last session and the transom was tacked in place to maintain the boat’s shape.  This session began by buttering the edges of the transom with Sikaflex and nailing it to the side with copper nails. 

The chine logs were next.  They were complicated because the sides are coming in at one angle and the stem and transom are coming in at second angle. Both angles need to be accounted for, creating a compound angle.  Creating compound angles at both ends of the chine log and cutting it to the correct length requires the knowledge of an Ed Wightman or Fred Mayer.  Thanks to Ed and Fred, the Scouts have now been exposed to that knowledge.

Oh, by the way, chine logs are the strips of wood that the sides and the bottom are fastened to.  Since they connect to the stem, front of the boat , and transom, rear of the boat, they need to be cut at the correct angle and length.

Once cut, the chine logs need to be set in Sikaflex and nailed in place using copper nails.  It can be quite a challenge keeping the Sikaflex on the boat and off the boat-builders.  They succeeded, sort of.

Once the excess Sikaflex was cleaned up, the boat could be turned right-side-up.  This is beginning to look like a row boat with really nice lines.  The group finally got a chance to pose for a photo.

They’re having more fun than the photo would indicate!

Left to right, the guilty are:

Front row:  Gabriel Barone, Jeff Thompson, Christian Coons, Adam Mitchell, Jordan Thompson, and Joseph Woods.

Back Row: Will Burlew, Ed Wightman, Tony Smolos, and Fred Mayer

Ed and Fred are teaching this class.  Tony is a former Scout Master and always Scout leader, that Hammondsport and the kids are lucky to have.