1999
Where to build, space requirements and health safeguards.
By Dale Hedtke
I have the chance to speak with lots of people about building small boats and there are a few subjects that come up again and again. Where can I build? How much space do I need? Will I stink out my family with the fumes? What is a good layout for the shop? How can I safeguard my health? Does anyone rent building space?
You would be surprised how many spots there are to build a boat, especially if you can convince your family, landlord, parents, etc. that Noah was right, the tide is rising, you'll not make a mess, etc. The very minimum space you need is about 4' longer than the boat and 3 times as wide. Make sure you arrange good lighting; I am constantly amazed at the (avoidable) mistakes that I make just because I didn't have enough light. It is nice to have a long table parallel to the boat to work on strips. I keep all my epoxy supplies on a rolling metal cart. The cart I have was popular in the 50's in kitchens and they show up at garage sales. I keep the resin, hardener, gloves, stir sticks, fillers, FG tape, plastic spreaders, rollers and covers, and brushes on it.
Here are some possible building areas: basement and laundry room, an unused bedroom, the attic, a 3 season porch, the garage, a neighbor's basement or garage, etc. (heat is necessary during glue and resin curing stages only.) The main requirement is that you can get the completed boat out! Measure the windows and their rough openings. It may be feasible to remove a basement window frame and pass your boat out through the rough opening. Perhaps you will need more than one work site, depending on the phase of construction. Plank the boat in the den, move to the garage to sand, back to the den for glassing, etc. Planking a boat is not messy or dusty. Sanding the outside can be accomplished using a sander with a dust collector attachment (minimum airborne dust.) You can usually get away with glassing the hull with epoxy if you are in or near living quarters the smell is usually not objectionable. Just be sure to provide some ventilation when you are working with resin. Sanding the inside can be messier, because it is harder to get a disc sander with dust collecting equipment into the stems.
To protect your health there are a few simple precautions that you can take. Cedar dust seems to be one of the most irritating wood dust to the respiratory system. Always use a dust mask when sanding. I strongly recommend using a dust collector attachment when power sanding. The setup I use is a random orbital disc sander connected to a Fein dust collector. Any Shop-Vac type of collector works, but the Fein is made for fine dust. It is also very quiet. It is also expensive. Another critical safety task is keeping epoxy (any uncured product) off your skin. Always wear rubber gloves of some sort to keep from getting skin problems. Avoid breathing the dust as well. Read the safety information available from the epoxy suppliers. Speaking of sanding, Bosch has just introduced a nifty new compact belt sander that has a pointed snout designed to reach into crevices. I think it would be a great tool for sanding in the stem area on canoes. The belt is 1.5" x 12". The tool has a dust collector port and sells for about $135.
If you cannot find a space to work on your own there are a few limited other choices. A few of the canoe shops around town give classes. The MCA periodically has a building group working somewhere, but right now we don't have anything going on that I am aware of. REI has expressed an interest in us building a canoe in their store. I'll let you know if something materializes. Good luck and be safe!
