PDRacer Sailboat

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Nail and Glue / Chine Log Construction

The most simple method of all boat building is Chine Log construction. You use a small strip of wood called a "chine log" that each piece of plywood is attached to. The resulting joint is very strong, and can be done with just Titebond II glue which is waterproof and very safe to handle, no epoxy is required.

The typical steps are to:
1 - Attach chine log to one piece of plywood with lots of glue and either nails or screws
2 - Sand the outer surface flush
3 - Attach the perpendicular piece of plywood to the chine log and other piece of plywood.
4 - Sand the outside edge flush.

This boat was built with 3/4" x 3/4" chines all around the inside perimeter. The chines can be on the inside or the outside, just depends on your preferences.

Attaching the chine to the bottom can be a little tricky because of the curvature. You need to start at one end and then curve it along the bottom nailing as you go. If you try to bend it all at one time, the log will probably break.

One easy method is to put the side panel against a wall, and then push with your foot.

Also it is important to use lots of glue. Having glue squirt out of the sides of the joint and make a big mess is perfectly acceptable and preferred, rather than to have a joint that has too little glue in it. You can use paper towels to clean up the mess, and Titebond II glue is very cheap.

An alternate to using a curved chine log, is to use 1x4 boards and cut the curvature to them. Here is the first step of that process, the boards are attached to the ends, and a board for the center is being held in place so it can be marked and cut to fit between them. After all 3 boards are attached to the side panel, everything is flipped over and a hand circular saw is used to cut the curvature in the chine boards.

This is a neat trick - to hold the hull square while attaching the bottom, a couple of sticks are screwed on diagonally. It does a great job and holds the hull very rigid.

Another trick is to use a prop stick as you attach the bottom. This holds the plywood at an angle so the stern can be attached first, it has the most curvature so is a good place to start.

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