Funding SV Sojourn

As you have probably gathered from my previous posts, I am on a very tight budget. Yes this is a project of my own choosing and I will find a way to make it work. I used recycled or inexpensive materials when I can. I am blessed to have a few friends and neighbors willing to lend a hand or donate materials.

While I really don't have the money to put out for such a project, I have time. Lots of it. especially during the winter months.

Some have suggested I look at buying a boat instead of building one. For some this may make sense and really if I had the money on hand to do so I would. For me this project is something I want to do. I want to build and create something with my own hands. Something I can be proud of. Also a way of stretching out the cost over a long period of time to make it more easily affordable.

I suppose the reasons I made a blog is not only to share my project and of course get suggestions, but also to earn a little money (very little) from adsense revenue. Of course the more people that visit the better it pays if even a few dollars.

While this project may be a great one for myself, I am not sure how important or attractive it will be to others.

Some have blogs with many different types articles and they do quite well I imagine. Some even sell books or journals of their build which certainly could help. others sell Tshirts, Mugs and whatnot with their logo or vessel name on it. I see even more have donation buttons and or links to affiliate sites. That's all fine and dandy but I don't really want to make this a place for commercialism.

I have even heard about other that get sponsors but most of those are actual cruising boats with the ability to try, test, and review various products. How does one get a sponsor anyways?

Forgive my rambling here. I think the end purpose for this particular article is to express my position and to make justification for putting things like maybe a paypal donation button or something else.

I am not one who will beg for money etc but if a company were to send me a nice power tool to try and write a review on it or other products I would probably be elated!

Maybe I should put a working wish list on here and see what happens? Maybe Santa will be good to me this year. Yes, I have been very good Santa!

So if any of you have comments, ideas, or suggestions I would love to hear them.

Until then, Fair winds and following seas

Scotty

Tools for wood boat building

Minimums

Tools for building a wooden boat can be as many or few as you desire. What I use for building SV Sojourn will likely vary greatly from what someone will use building their own boat.

If you are an experienced wood boat builder already this is probably all old news to you. For the novice it may be of interest. If you are even considering building a wood boat for the first time, you probably already are some sort of DIY house project person (Yes ladies too) and likely have some of the basic tools to get started.

Some of the minimums are your basic hand tools such as Hammer,Tri square, perhaps a few chisels, a cross cut saw, crescent wrench, a plane, level, and so on. A few more deluxe and labor saving tools would be a bevel measure, rip saw, and a block plane. 

To really make your project easier a few power tools are essential such as a Skill saw or circular saw which you will use for just about everything. Another important power tool would be a 10 inch table saw. You don't need to go out and buy a big industrial brand or model. A cheap one from Harbor freight tools or even craigslist would be fine. In fact after you are done building your wood boat you could even sell the table saw for what you bought it for. Maybe more. 

Some more deluxe power tools would be a chop saw. I got my 10 inch compound chop, miter, bevel, and sliding saw at harbor freight for $100 on sale. I paid the extra $20 for 2 years full warranty. 

A bandsaw would be great to have although expensive. A cheaper solution would be a high quality sabersaw. probably best to get one with a scrolling head.

You need at least one 3/8 inch chuck reversing drill. Corded or cordless is up to you. I would have two available so you can use one to pre drill and the other to drive screws.

For me and the design I am building, a chainsaw would be handy. Another worth considering is an electric plane depending on how much you might use it for your particular design.

An air compressor would be handy as well. Aside from using air to blow off sawdust, all sorts of tools can be run with an air compressor. I am thinking about when it comes time to bolt the keel and ballast up.

Clamps! You can never have enough clamps! I think at a minimum you would need to have 8 C clamps large enough to cover the frame and planks plus a couple of inches. Twice as many would be preferable. 9 sliding pipe clamps 4 foot long is great for many things. Also one or two deep throat 2 foot bar clamps come in handy everywhere. Of course you can make the pipe and bar clamps with a little effort and save some bucks.

So unless you have no tools at all, I would just start building with what you have already and then later when you find yourself needing a special tool that is the time to buy it. Browse yard sales, garage sales, clearance sales at hardware stores or Craigslist is a great source for not only tools, but parts and materials as well.

Just now did a search for clamps on Craigslist and found these assorted clamps for $10 total.

Of course you always find that tool for the bargain price when you don't need it. Think ahead and save!

I know many of you will have a gazillion suggestions for the proper tools to have when building a wood boat. These are my basics and I will probably expand on them as time goes by. As always open to comments and suggestions.

Fair winds and following seas,

Scotty

Life...It happens

Greetings all, It has been awhile since I posted anything here on the progress of SV Sojourn.

Funny how life has other ideas for us while we are making plans. I seem to have become extremely busy with the fire dept. We have a new Chief and there are many changes being made. This includes extra responsibilities for some like me.

In addition it is wildland fire season here in USA. So being also on the Wildland team, this takes a lot of my time as well.

It seems Building SV Sojourn will be mostly a winter time project. I have not even began to build the shop yet. I hear and have read that the hardest part is actually getting started. Once that happens the rest just falls into place. I hope so.

Other than that, I have spent a little free time looking for bargains on tools. I know I hardly have what I need to do this project. I know I need lots of clamps so I found a few bargains on those.

I am making a list of must have tools for wooden boat building. I am sure many of you out there will have great suggestions and would be great to hear them.

As far as what else is going on in my life, Aside from the fire department and making sure My Dog Iris and newly acquired stray kitten are cared for...Nothing really exciting going on with me for now.

This will be a short post as I am really just checking in.

As always Fair winds and following seas,

Scotty