Finally… after three years of struggles getting the shop built… I am finally starting the build for Bish. Bish was my dad’s nickname (for Erwin Walter Bischoff… I don’t blame him). He loved the Canadian Voyageurs, tug boat captains, world adventurers, exploring by canoe, exploring caves (spelunking), and was a voracious reader. He never really did his big adventure, so I felt it would be a great tribute to name a cruising wooden schooner after him. Bish will be a 30′ Murray Peterson “Susan” wooden schooner. So it starts……..finally.
Bischoff Boatworks
We make boats, not money
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The first thing to do was to cover the building area, now car decking over concrete, with 3/8 plywood. Paint it white. Start lofting the lines. Lofting is the process of drawing the boat on the floor full size. This is done by using a set of “offsets” (numbers on a chart developed by the architect) and referring to the lines drawing. Patterns are made from this.
This is great! I can’t wait to see progress…. now’s the time to set up a time lapse camera in the corner of the shop. Better get one with a big battery.
Karl, I am a 30-year Bainbridge Islander, sailor, lighting designer and fabricator, and friend (I hope!) of Korum. I have owned four sailboats over the years.
Korum helps me with my website. I would love to be kept in the loop as you continue with your project. As I looked at your photos, I recognized the person with the long goatee as the owner of a sailboat next to the one that I race on every Wednesday out of Eagle Harbor. I know he and his family took a long cruise and that they are also musicians, but his name escapes me. We were anchored once off of Portland Island and a woman rowed over to ask me if I knew him, as she had hung out with him in the South Pacific. I believe her boat is moored in Victoria. I was able to tell her, “yes, I will say hi to her as I see him and his boat every week or so.” Anyway, small sailing community. Regards, Richard Vancil
The fellow you are referring to is my lovely brother, Kurt. Also known as Korum’s father. Yes, they cruised the South Pacific a few years ago. Before that they cruised Mexico, Panama Canal, to New Orleans with Nancy, Korum and his brother Jherek as crew. I got to sail with them from Isla Mujeres to New Orleans.
Wow, Karl. This is amazing. I have known Korum for some time and have talked with Kurt without ever asking his last name. Thank you for the responses.
Richard
Richard:
Howdy Do! Yep, I’m Korum’s father and co-owner of Gumbo Ya-Ya. Itsa small world!
See ya on the dock or on the water.
PS. The lady you ran into on Portland Island is Dama Hanks who owns the cold-molded 8-meter “Reality”. We met her and her family while we were all cruising in Mexico. And Jherek (Korum’s brother) and I sailed with them on Reality from LaPaz to Hawaii. Quite a blast since their boat is FAST (we once hit 19.5 knots!).
Kurt
How great! Can’t wait for more chapters..
So the lofting is done. Now it’s on to the build. First off, get the mold built for the lead keel. I’ve decided to let someone else poor the molten lead (I already had treatment for toxic levels of heavy metals due to my repeated bottom painting on Eglantine). But I still need to build the mold for the foundry to use. Due to the fact that there will be 4400 lbs of lead in this box, I’ve made it super stong.. I am estimating the box weighs over 400 lbs. So I have built it on a heavy duty rolling table that will hopefully allow me to slide it onto the truck.
Next step will be to cut out the wood keel (6″x12″x20′) out of purpleheart and attach it to the lead keel. Haven’t gotten around to figuring out how to off load and position the lead keel yet.
Now the dirty part starts. Non Ferrous Metals just delivered the mold with the lead poured. My good friends down the block at V. Van Dyke Hauling drove their big forklift down to offload it and bring it into the shop. It is designed to be a 4400# ballast keel, but it turned out to be 6500#. We think the sloped bottom collapsed so it filled with the molten lead… added a couple inches overall. Now I have to work the lead, using chisels, chain saws, power planers, files and rasps. I will make full size patterns for top, bottom, and sides to aid in the shaping. I designed the mold to accommodate 1/8″ shrinkage per foot, but it actually grew a bit instead. The foundry supplied a box I can use to collect the shaved off lead for a refund.
Meanwhile, I am also starting to build the molds for each station. So far #5 completed and I’m set up to speed that up (once the lead in shaped). Still waiting for EdenSaw to get my 20′ purpleheart wood keel piece in. It will be bolted to the lead keel. I now have a palette jack to use when it’s time to move the keel into position.
You might want to use a mask when shaving that lead! When I think of all the time I spent handling lead at The Printer for typesetting and not even washing my hands before eating lunch, I shudder!
OK… I was really right. Working with lead is really dirty, messy work. But, today I returned the extra 2,000 lbs of lead to the foundry (1,000 lbs of chunks and 1,000 lbs. of flakes/chips). I basically had to sculp the entire keel with a chainsaw, powerplaner, hand planes, chisels, hammers. But… it’s done now. I have a pallet jack to move it around on, so when I finished with the sculpting I jacked it up no problem. The funny thing was I didn’t plan on the weight preventing me from actually MOVING it. Ultimately, once I cleared the crap from the floor around it I could slowwwwly get it rolling. Have you ever thought about moving something around that weighs 6500 lbs… basically three cars? I had to flip it alot to work on the various sides, patching voids, routing edges, etc. Ended up using my jack from the truck to slowly tip it each time.
I am SO happy to get back to woodworking (once I spend a week cleaning the black dust and lead particles from every surface and item in the shop).
Sorry for the posting delay… holidays etc. In the meantime, dear readers, I have completed the moulds for all stations, and am about to complete templates for all backbone pieces. The sails are on order from Nat Wilson in Maine… he sailed on the original SUSAN with the architect/owner, Murray Peterson. He will be using Oceanus cloth… it looks and feels like cotton, but is actually hitech synthetic. Murray Peterson’s son, Bill, has designed a topmast rig for me as Nat and I thought it would look great and sail well. I am currently searching for a SABB 2h… an 18 hp diesel engine. They stopped making them (Norway) in 1985. I love the idea of a crank start, along with an electric start. If the batteries bottom out, I can still power up.
The moulds for all stations are now complete
Using drywall nails to transfer lines from lofting to plywood template stock
Templates for the various pieces of the backbone/stem
Last week Edensaw delivered my wood keel. A piece of purpleheart: 22 ft. long, 6″x12″, 800 lbs of South American hardness. This stuff is like stone. It “pings” if you hit it with metal. Using my shop hoist (bought to move the diesel around when I get one) I put it on blocks.
Then: how to make it 4.5″ instead of 6″ thick? I found a Beam Saw on Craigslist. I found out that many people need a beam saw for one particular project, then want to get rid of it. So I bought it cheap, will do all the big timber stuff, then sell it for what I paid. Something to remember for future limited projects.
So first lining it off, then one pass with a 7 1/4″ circular saw, then a followup pass with the 16″ beam saw. That puppy is HEAVY. One pass down the 22′ length produced about 5 gallons of very fine purple dust. Then flip it over and repeating the process to complete the 12″ deep cut. All this done 1/4″ shy of the final line. Then cross cuts to make final cut depth and planing down to that line.
Next will be cutting it out to shape to mate with the lead ballast keel.
And for a lovely distraction, one whole day cleaning off graffiti from the shop exterior. Some poor soul really needed to let it be known they exist. At first I was pissed, then I realized that at least no one got hurt, nothing was broken or stolen, and the only loss was my time. Pretty pathetic that someone sinks so low in their self-esteem that they make such a futile attempt at recognition. Well, at least they didn’t go shoot up a post office or school.
Needed to find wood for all the pieces of the backbone. Tough to find old-growth timbers that are big enough. Nothing available in white oak, and purpleheart is so hard to work and is pricey. Found a huge savage yard in South Tacoma that sells beams from old torndown buildings. They have THOUSANDS of em. Got some 6×12 and 8×12 18 footers (doug fir). Interesting getting them off the truck and in the shop by myself. Me and my trusty shop hoist, with my favorite tool… the 4×8 metal welding table on wheels.
Also finished drilling the keel bolt holes in the lead keel. 7/8″ thru 12″ of lead… eight of em. Very slow going. Other people have mentioned how easy it is to drill these holes in lead… and how easy the lead is to plane. I think the difference is that most people don’t mix in a hardener when they do the pour, so the lead is soft. I used hardener, which seemed like the right thing to do in case of groundings, but makes it much tougher to work.
Keel is now roughed out to shape and keel bolt holes drilled. I can almost lift one end by myself now. Have started cutting backbone pieces out of beams. Moving big stuff through the planer and bandsaw is… interesting.
Time to plan for an engine. Chatting with Roy Jackson about his build, he highly recommended putting in the engine before planking (being short-handed). So I finally found what I wanted… a SABB (not Saab) diesel, made in Norway, discontinued in 1985. It’s a two cylinder, 18 hp, hand-crank start. 500 lbs.
Found everything from a totally rebuilt one in Seattle for $10k to a clunker needing a rebuild for $500 in Port Townsend. Settled on a 1979 SABB 2h from Craigslist in Vancouver, BC. Never been used… installed in a boat never launched. So hopped in the truck and headed up to Horseshoe Bay to board a ferry to Bowen Island.
Beautiful crossing, even tho it was snowing, hailing, ice-storm, etc.
Pulled in to Snug Cove and found the house. The diesel worked great. We hoisted it up in a tree and lowered it down into the truck bed.
Missed the 12:30 ferry but caught the 3pm. Going thru customs was a breeze (didn’t even have to show the reams of paper I had to prove it was ok for me to import it). Terrible traffic around Vancouver, so didn’t get to the shop till 8pm.
Anyway… back to the wood!
Finally making a bit of headway. The last few weeks were spent cutting out and finishing the pieces that will become the backbone. Also a lot of time spent sourcing stuff to assemble it. 1/2″ silicon bronze rod to make up dozens of bolts, lead sheet to make lead washers for attaching the ballast keel to the wood keel, drill bits that can drill a 4′ long hole. I also finally found the Port Orford Cedar I wanted from a small family mill in Gold Beach, Oregon. It is being milled now and will show up in about a month. Still needs some air-drying, but at my current rate of progress that should be no problem.
Assembly of backbone
Rudder template
Transom template
A little more progress. I now have the stem attached and am now drilling for all the bolts and drifts for the aft section of the backbone. All will be 1/2″ silicon bronze and threaded (in the case of bolts) and straight for the drifts. Most of the floors will be 2″ white oak through-bolted to the keel with 3/8″ SB bolts.
Also, I received the delivery of 1400 board feet of Douglas Fir milled by Brett at Bainbridge Custom Woodworks on Bainbridge Island. My nephew Korum (and Sara, Calder and Garner) donated 2 doug fir trees to the cause as they are prepping their land on Bainbridge Island for their new house. Thank you so much, guys! This wood needs to dry for a bit, but we got it stacked and stickered. A lot of it will be milled for use as ribbands, and some will be used in the interior, samson posts, etc.
Next weekend the Metcalfs of Gold Beach, Oregon, will be delivering a whole bunch of Port Orford Cedar that will be air dried and used for planking. POC is the gold standard of boat planking and I feel so lucky to find this small family-owned and operated mill. They are even driving it up themselves for me! Now I just have to figure out where the hell I’m gonna stack it!
So the Port Orford Cedar arrived! I could smell it coming as they drove up my street. It is all milled 5/4 with a live edge. Some of it is 24″ wide. Quite rare to find wood like this any more. Mark Metcalf bought the log from South Coast Lumber Company in Brookings, OR. It had over 1,500 bf log scale. 36″ at 27′. It was five feet in diameter on the butt and over 225 years old.
His machine could not begin to lift it! He rolled it off and ripped it with a big chainsaw.
He will have a booth at this years’ Wooden Boat Festival in Port Townsend. I’ll sure there will be a great deal of interest in what he can provide.
Anyway, Mark brought some family along to help unload. The stack is about 4′ x 4′ x 21′. As soon as the backbone is up, rabbet cut, moulds and floors in place, I will restack it a little more out of the way (if that’s possible!).
Man, I bet that shop smells good!
Bit of a delay due to cycling from Seattle to Vancouver (and training for same), a few weeks in Sun Valley to attend concerts and events for Sun Valley Summer Symphony (our client), and various summer stuff. Anyway, back at it now. My friend (and sister-in-law) Nancy complained I haven’t posted any new pics, so here we go. Spent a few days bolting up the backbone and fairing all the pieces. Each piece needed to be coated with red lead paint (made by mixing turpentine, boiled linseed oil, Japan drier, and lead tetraoxide) on the faying edges to seal and poison from bugs. Then coated with peanut butter (Dolphinite) and 1/2 silicon-bronze bolts made up to size from 1/2″ stock and bolted together. Some connections use 1/2″ SB drifts instead of bolts. Then a couple days of sweating over various power and hand planes to shape the final contraption. So I’ve now shaped one side and marked the rabbet line. Next I need to cut the rabbet, and attach the transom knee that will hold the transom frame. Then I turn the whole thing over (somehow… it’s now almost a ton) and start again (shaping, cutting rabbet). It felt good to sweep up and vacuum so I could take these pictures. I filled up 80 gallons of sawdust and shavings.
My friend Roy Jackson was right… I should have started when I was a LOT younger.
A couple of the bolts are temporary till I bolt on the lead ballast keel. It can’t be bolted on till I attack the floors to the wood keel. I have attached the first four floors (white oak) as they needed attaching prior to the deadwood being attached. They will be shaped once the moulds are in place to obtain the correct bevel. After the lead ballast keel is attached, the worm shoe (purpleheart) will be attached to the deadwood. This is meant to be replaceable if it gets banged up on rocks or gets eaten by worms (which is why the bottom of the deadwood still shows read lead paint and exposed bolt/drift holes.
Spent a little time with the SABB 2h. Put up a Raccor fuel filter, hooked up a wet exhaust and water intake, all fuel lines, and… bango… she started up on the 3rd try. No battery, just a hand crank. Pretty amazing little diesel. Now I have to repair the transmission controls for the variable pitch prop (does not have a reverse gear), and wirebrush it for some touch up paint (well… a lot of touch up paint). WordPress wants $60 for uploading videos, so I posted on YouTube. I love the sound of a two-banger… so mellow and quiet compared to my Perkins 4-108 on Eglantine (80hp vs 18hp).
Gee. A lot of time has gone by since an update. A complete house redo took away from this project, but I am back at it. Since the last update, I have stood the backbone up, attached some blank oak pieces that will become floors, attached the lead ballast keel (have you ever tried to maneuver a 4500 lb. chunk of lead around accurately?), started to design and build the transom frame, and put on most of the moulds.
Things are lining up pretty well. I next have to align all the moulds in all dimensions and stabilize them. I need to bevel all the moulds as well as the transom frame. Then finish cutting the rabbet now that I am assisted by the moulds showing me the angles… and cutting the frame sockets. Then I finally get to use some of Korum’s doug fir to mill all the ribbands to line off the hull to prepare for planking. Timing should be good as it takes one year per inch for the Port Orford Cedar to air dry… the planks are 5/4 so they will be ready late summer. At my current rate that should be about right.
I’ll be ordering the clear green white-oak for the frames from Eden Saw in Port Townsend so it will bend easily out of the steam box (oh yeah… I have to build an extension onto my steam box for the longer planks and frames on this boat).
Karl, I just got caught up on your blog. You are doing such amazing work–I’m totally impressed with you and this project! I never knew if you ended up being able to mill the trees from our property, and think it is so cool that our trees will live on in the Bish! I’m looking forward to more updates.
Hi Sara. I haven’t been able to use much of your tree wood yet as it has another 2 years to air-dry properly. However… the ribbands need to bend quite a bit and be the length of the boat, so the fact that it is still green, and long, is perfect. Thanks again.
Bro, All I can say is WOW! Moving along a lot faster than I ever imagined….keep the pics and updates coming.
Yo Captn
Nice to see thar ribs-yar be float’n her be open’n day! Light the fire in yer steamer!! Looking very seaworthy KB!
this is quite impressive karl….not many people can make something that will live on through so many generations after they are gone, your dad would be proud for sure .
Gone quite a long time due to holidays and skiing in Idaho. Now about to head to NYC for a week to see Jherek (nephew) perform his orchestral pieces with David Byrne. But I have managed to finally get the transom frame built and mounted. It took quite a while… first a lot of head scratching, then some mulling, then pondering, then laminating, then routing, lots of planing. I needed to use my hoist and some scaffolding to lift it up high enough to attach. At least I can start with my ribbands now… and shaping some floors.
friggin’ beautiful!!