Stitch and Glue Construction

The 1/4" plywood hull of the Apple Pie is constructed using a method called stitch and glue. There are numerous books and websites on the subject so I won't go into detail here. Here is a link to Duckworks Magazine, they have extensive links and files for boat builders, designs (free and pay), and an entire webstore with everything you need to build your own boat.  Devlin Designing Boat Builders is a great resource for information on stitch and glue boat building. I purchased the book, "Boatbuilding For Beginners (and Beyond)" by Jim Michalak. I found it to be very helpful and quite interesting. It also comes with plans for six boats. The book can be purchased at Duckworks Store.

I will start by saying, that this method of boat building allows even a novice to build a strong yet light watercraft. Stich and glue uses wire or zip-ties to hold bowed wood panels together. Then, while all the parts of the boat are snugged in place each seam inside the hull is filled with epoxy and wood fiber. The seams are reinforced with more epoxy and fiberglass cloth. Once the seams dry the wire or zip-ties can be removed and then the builder repeats the same steps on the outside of the hull. After the seams have been sanded smooth the entire hull is covered with epoxy and fiberglass cloth. The finished product is surprisingly light and strong.

The Plans

Here is one of the 16 pages provided in the file for the Apple Pie 7' Yacht Tender. All of the drawings are easy to read and understand, not to mention they really get the imagination going. I can almost see my finished boat floating in the water with fishing poles extended.
The plans are prefaced by the story of the origin of the design for the boat, "Slogging to Windward", penned by Chuck Merrell. I like that there's more to this nifty little boat than meets the eye. Merrell had a unique experience with the original boat which makes his plans special because it's obvious how much care and attention to detail went into these well made blueprints.

The Apple Pie's plans gives one all the information needed to build the hull. A comprehensive set of drawings with plotting information, so sketching the design on wood will be a breeze, is just the beginning. Merrel also includes a recommendation for a book about the stitch and glue building method called DEVLIN’S BOAT BUILDING (How to build and boat the Stitch-And-Glue Way) By Samuel Devlin, International Marine Publishing Company (perfect for DIY boatbuilders). After that, it's left up to you how to outfit the inside. Be sure to take into consideration how any changes may effect the way the boat sits in the water. A couple of the Apple Pie projects I've seen had adjustments to the design in that a seat was added at the bow and flotaion compartments were included under all of the seats. A flotaion compartments is when a builder encloses the space under a seat and fills it with foamboard or expanding foam. This little update would make the boat difficult if not impossible to sink. The Apple Pie allows for some room to really make it yours for fishing or rowing, even tending a yacht.

You can download a set of the Chuck Merrell designed plans here. Just click on the image and download the .zip file.

The Boat I'm Going to Build

So, I've decided to build a boat. A tiny little boat for fishing named "Knucklehead". I spent a bunch of time looking and researching designs and techniques. Apparently one can built a nice boat from some 1/4" plywood and epoxy resin (and fiberglass cloth, and wood flour, and expanding foam, etc.). After copious consideration I've decided to build the Apple Pie Yacht Tender by Chuck Merrell for three reasons.

1) The plans were free. A Christmas gift from Chuck to everyone in 2000. Thanks!

2) A guy named Dale Austin aka Mr. Wizard has a beautiful photo diary of his build. His finished product is quite exceptional. Not to mention his whole website is very cool. He's a real Renaissance man.

3) Most importantly I like the Apple Pie. I will be perfect for fishing in the Skokie Lagoons with the kids.

I am starting with a 1/2 scale model so I have a nice little boat to use in case I shrink to 1/2 my original size. Once finished the full size Apple Pie should be cake.

I purchased some 1/4 super cheap plywood from Owl Lumber in Des Planes. It was about $9.00 and they cut it into 4-24"x48" pieces.

The plotting of the pieces was the hard part so far. With kids and work and my maniacal desire to sleep it took about 2 weeks to plot the cut lines for the bottom and one side piece. My estimation is the boat will be finished in about 5 years. We'll see.