This week I accomplished a major milestone. The Ebihen was turned over for hull planking. To get to this point of construction I have been building for four months. I am amazed that it is looking so good based on my unknown boatbuilding abilities. Taking my time on each phase of construction, spending an equal amount of time in planning as in construction appears to have been a good plan.
Finished primer coating and ready for turn over
Turning the boat over has been a long term thought process for me. I wondered how I was going to do it. My priority was to figure out a way that I could do it myself. I had a number of volunteers who would help me, but I wanted the challenge at this stage; and I might need them latter for the next turn over after hull construction. After reviewing a number of U-Tube videos and chat room conversations on boat turning, I decided to make extensions to the boat that would allow me to balance the boat and spin it on it’s axis. I did not want to screw anything into the boat that would need removing and patching, so I designed a clamp system using standard two by fours and 10 inch bolts.
Bow turn over clamp
Stern clamp bracket (boat has been turned over)
Clamps used for turning Ebihen
Boat hoisted from the construction frame and is ready for turning
In less then a minute the boat is flipped over
The boat flipped easily and I was able to control the rate of turn over. I had purchased two hoists but one was defective so I used a rope on the bow after hoisting to the approximate height. This was a bit of a problem because I did not raise the bow enough to clear the ground after turning. I was able to simply lift the bow to the center point,but in hindsight I would have one hoist each for bow and stern that I could adjust as necessary.
Here are all the photo’s from the day.
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- Finished primer coating and ready for turn over
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- Bow turn over clamp
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- Stern clamp bracket (boat has been turned)
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- Clamps used for turning Ebihen
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- Boat hoisted off of frame and ready for turning
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- Each flip over accomplished.
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- View of bow with clamp and hoist
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- Hoist point in rafter, backed up with 2×4 across joists.
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- Large drill bits needed for boring bolt holes in clamps.
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- The construction frame being shortened to new length.
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- View of stern turning clamp, (used four bolts due to distance to pivot point)
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- Aft Pivot, be sure to extend out past top of stern.
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- Tied additional rope as insurance from slippage.
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- My first look after turning over. ( I still love the lines)
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- Another view of stern clamp with hoist attached.
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- Closer detail of stern clamp. (doubled up on clamps for stern)
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- Pivot eye close up construction
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- View forward of Ebihen
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- Completed turn over with new shorter and lower frame in place
And finally, with the garage cleaned up and the Ebihen resting on its new shorter and lower construction frame.
My next agenda items will be to complete the sealing of floorboards and the purchase of plywood for the hull strakes (planks).
Ebihen now ready for planking on the shorter and lowered construction frame.
