Cutting Angles......That darn boat hull

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sheffsboat

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Hey tinboaters,

Got another mod question. So I'm trying to cut my plywood to fit exactly just inside of my 14ft aluminum jon boat. My plywood isn't going all the way down to the bench seat so I need more plywood to put a vertical wall if that makes since. My issue is that I can't seem to cut that picture perfect deck to fit in my jon boat. Now, I understand that I'm probably not the best carpenter nor do I really have much bragging rights with woodcutting but there has to be a way. I just bought a protractor/angle finder today so hopefully that helps me make my cuts. I've tried cardboard cutouts to trace already and that's just a pain. Can anybody show me how they did theirs......pictures would be awesome. I just need to see how you guys are able to cut the plywood just right (or almost right) to get it to fit snug in your boat and on top of your frame.

Thanks,
Sheff
 
Sheff
LOL I know what your sayn'! It took me forever to get mine right. I don't really have a good way. I layed a sheet of ply across the bow & traced the inside, I cut that out, then remarked, recut & repeated until it would fit were I wanted it.
I got one close & went ahead & used it for a year or so, just finished redoing it right.
Mine is a Mirro craft (12') if yours is a Morro I could make you a pattern?
 
try bending a piece of coat hanger wire or bare copper wire to fit the angle/radius, and then transfer to edge of wood. be careful, don't hurry Lay out is more important than cutting. and also more time consumming. I hope this helps....also measure width at top AND bottom of material (like 1/2 " plywood) that also helps.try a mockup of sheet insulation first. My shop was full of full sized patterns I only used once.. lol good luck!
 
Captain Ahab said:
I used cardboard and a sharp knife - bend the cardboard and them mark and cut
+1. I had good luck with thinner cardboard, almost like tag board. But I must say that my final wasn't perfect, which it really needs to be if one isn't using carpet. So I waved the flag with my fat fingers and bought a strip of vinyl 1/2 inch quarter round. For bow areas it bends to conform perrrrrfectly with the hull contour, accepts primer and paint well and is easily attached with ss wire nails.
 
I used cardboard or posterboard and a hot glue gun to make templates. Cut the cardboard/posterboard into long strips about 2"-3" wide. Now lay the first strip down in your boat against a flat edge. Cut it to length if it's too long or glue multiple pieces to the first to make up that side of the template if needed. Keep gluing pieces to the template until you have the outline of the complete piece needed. Use as many pieces (small or large) as needed to keep the outer edge of the template exactly where it needs to be. When you come to curves or notches etc that need to be cut, just cut short pieces and keep gluing them all together to form one piece that fits snugly in position in your boat. Then remove the glued up template and transfer the shape to a piece of plywood and cut the wood. I use this method whether I'm making aluminum or wood panels and it works great.

P.S. Once you have the outer edge of the template formed, glue some strips across the template to hold the shape and spacing between the sides or to keep the distance from the front to the rear of the template from changing due to flex in the template.

This may seem like a lot of time and trouble, but once you see the results you can achieve like this, I think you will be pleased that you took time to do it this way.
 
Though I haven't done exactly what you are doing, I have built wood boats. To get the shape of the deck I would make an undersize template. Cut a triangle of wood, say 6" on a side. Set the template in place. Position a corner of the triangle against the hull and trace the triangle on the template. Repeat this in as many locations as you wish.

Place the template on the plywood. Place the triangle in the tracing and trace it on the plywood. Do this in all the positions. Remove the template. Cut a pine batten about 1/4" X 3/4" X 8' Position the batten so that it contacts the point of each triangle and trace along the batten to get the cutting line.

Easy-peasy to do but hard to describe.

If there is interest I can probably do some sort of cartoon to describe it better.

Jack
 
I too used cardboard, and made templates. Also made a main body, and custom cut the edges and taped them to teh main body.
Should be some pictures in my build thread, see link in my signature.
 

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