PlyOnFrameManual.pdf

Illustrated Guide

to Building a Spira International

Illustrated Guide

to Building a Spira International

Ply on Frame Boat

Spira International, Inc.

Huntington Beach, California

All Rights Expressly Reserved

Building a Spira International Ply-On-Frame Boat

The unique Spira International Ply-On-Frame boat designs are perhaps the easiest to build of the

traditional, wood framed, plywood planked boat designs available today. They are alsoa reliable, seaworthy

small boats able to handle most lake and near coastal conditions. Of course, there's no substitute for com-

mon sense and anyone contemplating taking one of these boat out in any rough water should be thoroughly

familiar with small boat handling in poor weather conditions.

To build the boat, you should also be familiar with using wood working hand tools and hand-type

power tool such as saber saws, electric drills, and electric sanders. You could build this boat using only hand

tools but power tools sure makes the construction go much faster. I personally find the time savings using

power tools allows me to do a better job. For instance, if Iset out to sand a boat, I get bored in a few hours

and if I'm hand sanding, I won't have made nearly as much progress by hand than if I'm using a power

sander, so I’ll generally do a much better job if using a power sander than the “good enough” attitude after

my hand gets sore wnen hand sanding. In any case, if you have spent sometime using wood working tools,

you'll have no trouble building these boats. If this is your firstendeavor into any kind of wood working, I'd

suggest building a tune up project of some type before building the boat. One great idea is to build a pair of

saw horses. You'll need them to build the boat and it will give you a chance to get used to the tools.

Tools

To build a ply on frame boat, following is a list of suggested tools you'll need. This can be considered a

minimum list.

Power Tools

Saber Saw

Electric Drill

Power Sander (random orbital)

Electric Screwdriver

Hand Tools

Block Plane

Screwdrivers (both straight & phillips)

20 (or more) 2" or 3" "C" clamps

Hammer

3/4" or 1" Woodworking Chisel

Wrenches for the bolts. Plenty of clamps always come in handy when boat building

Materials

Standard construction grade materials are called out on the boat building plans. You may upgrade

materials, of course, but it is not necessary to use expensive marine grade products, especially not if you’re

planning to fiberglass cover the hull. The materials called out are common in the Western United States and

your area may not have the exact materials. You may substitute with the local equivalent. If you are not sure

if your local materials are OK, drop me an e-mail and I’ll check them out for you.

Building Procedure

Building a wooden framed boat is best accomplished on a strongback. Generally this is made of a

strong wooden beam just long enough to fit inside the boat. This brings the boat up to a omfortable working

height and keeps everything aligned while the boat is under construction. On some of the boat designs the

strongback is detailed and on others it’s left up to you. This is usually dependent on how complex the

strongback needs to be. If a smaller boat, it’s usually quite simple to construct.

Strongback Jig

Traditionally, the frames

of the boat are built first. Using

the plans, lay out the frames full

size on a piece of plywood

(some cover it with butcher

paper so it is fresh for each

frame). The wood frame

members are then cut and laid

out on the pattern, then drilled,

glued with epoxy, andbolted

together to form the shapes as

shown on the drawings.

Next, you need to set the ribs on the strongback.. On some boats like the Carolina dories, or some of

the Grand Banks dories, the bottoms are straight, so there’s no need to block up the frames. Just tack them

to the strongback in their correct longitudinal locations. Still other boats, like many of the vee bottom hulls,

have the strongback designed so that you do not need to worry about heights. But on many boats, you will

need to raise the ribs up from the strongback to create “rocker” or a curve to the bottom. Temporary

simple blocks may be used, or more complex, notched blocks can be created to create this curve.

Blocking Up Frames

The keelson is next to be attached. Drill through the frames and keelson and bolt frames in place using

epoxy glue as shown in the drawing. Pay close attention to whether the frame risers are toward the forward

or aft side of the frame bottoms.

After the frames are in place, add the stem and any stem knee (filler between stem and keelson) that is

called out on the drawings. Rough shape the joint where the keelson and stem come together keelson with a

saber or band saw. Epoxy it and bolt it into place as shown.

Build up the transom and cover the outside with plywood. The aft end of the keelson should be

beveled to a 12 degree angle so the transom aligns properly once it is located. Drill starter holes, epoxy the

joint and attach it in-place to the end of the keelson using the lag screws.

The chine log comes next. You must cut out notches in the frames as shown on the drawings. Drill

through the log and frames. Using epoxy as a glue bolt the joints together. You'll find it's easiest to begin at

the transom and work forward going from one side to the other. This minimizes the tendency to warp. As

you approach the keelson stem area, you must cut away the material to smoothly transition to the bow.

Fitting the Chine Log

Repeat the process used for the chine log for the two shear clamps.

Once the framing is complete, the

next step is to "fair" the boat. This

involves planing the frames and chine log

so that plywood will smoothly fit on the

outside of the boat. Take your time

doing this so the fits are tight and

smooth. Some people (and I include

myself) like a drawknife for this work,

but be careful, it takes some practice to

keep from removing too much material.

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