Hey there! I’m about to pull the trigger on the Jimmy Skiff 2 for my first build. I had a couple of questions about prep and construction before I start and figured this is the right place to ask:
Am I going to need a strong back, or will it suffice to have a couple of saw horses?
Is the Jimmy Skiff 2 (with the sailing rig) something that I can transport car-top on my SUV? Or is a trailer basically mandatory?
What all do I need to do for registering the boat in North Carolina?
What’s something you wish you knew when you started building your first CLC kit?
I can’t answer all your questions, but… If all goes well, finished, the hull alone on the JS2 is 150lbs. It’s much easier to use a trailer than struggle with that weight overhead, especially with an SUV. Strongback and work tables a must. #4- slow down- there’s no rush. and, a boat that loooks good at 10 ft. sails just as well as one that is micromanaged to perfection. Enjoy
A strongback is not needed. Check out the JSII build class video at https://youtu.be/YSW9A4MbzjI and you’ll see that the boats were built on a pair of sawhorses. A separate workbench to provide additional flat workspace would be very convenient but not absolutely necessary - you can use the floor instead.
The first thing you need to do for registering a homebuilt boat in North Carolina is to type “registering a homebuilt boat in north carolina” into a google search bar. That’ll take you to:
I wish I’d known about tacking the joints and removing the stitches before filleting, that 6 or 7 very thin coats of epoxy would need much less sanding than 3 thick ones and that painted boats can have their weave filled with epoxy/microballoon mix and proceed directly to fairing from there (thereby skipping 2/3of the sanding).
I’m kind of glad he asked about the registration. I’ve been trying to find the best state to register my boat in and North Carolina is looking pretty good.
Most states have residency provisions. That is, after 30 to 90 days of operating in their waters you must switch your registration to them. Some states have a cumulative requirement. That is , 3 separate 10 day stays in the state waters trigger the registration requirement.
You can get around that and needing to display registration numbers by registering with the US Coast Guard as a Coast Guard Documented Vessel, but that’s only available for boats of 5 tons or more displacement.
Read the rules carefully and make sure that you understand them.
Follow-up question for y’all: I’ve got two weeks blocked out for the build, but I might not get the kit ahead of time. What kind of work can I be doing before my kit arrives so that I can hit the ground running once it gets here?
After I did the original stitching and gluing of the hull I built a 10 foot mobile bench to put it on. It has been invaluable for working in a single car garage. I used wheels that are marketed for mobile tool stands or work benches so it’s easy switching between being mobile and being stationary.
Two weeks would be a very aggressive schedule, even for an experienced builder. If you are planning uninterrupted work, you should get pretty far along, but epoxy, paint and varnish only cure/dry at a certain rate, and many steps are necessarily sequential. For instance, three coats of paint on the hull probably take 3 days. I’m not sure how that could be done any faster.
To be prepared, first I’d make sure all the tools and consumambles you’ll need are on hand. Gloves, plastic sheeting, sandpaper, varnish/paint, rollers, tape, rigging hardware, sanders, vacuum, etc., etc.. You can find some suggestions/lists for the things you’ll need on the CLC website. Then I’d watch as many videos and read as many tips from the CLC website, Youtube, etc. as possible.
You’ll speed your build if you have the workspace available to “work ahead” in the build manual and do some steps concurrently. For instance, while the hull forming steps are in progress (filets curing, etc.) you can probably be pre-coating and sanding seats and other flat parts - and I’m sure there are a number of similar opportunities to do steps in parallel, you just have to think things through. I use a “trick” with 3 nails thru scrap wood to allow me to coat both sides of flat pieces at one time prior to assembly, coating one side flat on a protected bench, flip over onto the support board (onto the projecting nail tips) and then coat the other side and edges (being carefull not to knock it off of the support). The 3 little remaing pin-pricks dissapear with sanding and subsequent coatings.
Anyway, I hope all goes well. You’ll hear many builders say that the building process can be (almost?) as enjoyable as using the boat, so I hope your timeline doesn’t create undue stress. My 4th build was a Rhode Runner. I worked pretty quickly on that (while still working a full time job). I kept a build log. That was 400 hours of work, taking 4 months to complete. Your Jimmy Skiff is much less complicated, but still…
I’m going to second Jeff’s opinion that 2 weeks is very aggressive for a first time builder. You have an awful lot of stuff to learn, even if you’re an experienced woodworker. There’s the whole world of fiberglass and epoxy, which if you’ve never done that kind of work will have to be learned. CLC’s JSII class is 6 strenuous days long with some prep work done for you before the class (gluing the puzzle joints). It’s also the perfect building setup - large dedicated space, sawhorses and workbenches provided, epoxy and fillers provided, gloves, sandpaper, mixing cups. etc. provided and a skilled experienced instructor who’s seen it all, knows what mistakes you’re likely to make and how to fix them. The instructor also keeps you motivated and making progress. Even so, at the end of the 6 days you only have a complete hull that now needs its finish sanding and painting and varnishing.
So much as you probably don’t want to hear it, I think you may need to reset your expectations.
Thanks for all the tips and suggestions! I really appreciate it.
I should have clarified: I had two dedicated weeks to work on the boat, and I was fully expecting the build to take longer than that. Given shop space constraints, outside temperatures, and my lack of experience I didn’t even manage to get a class’ worth of work done in that timeframe. The boat is still right-side up, and I’m going to start working on fitting the seats today after about 11 days of work (some longer, some shorter days).
For working ahead, I found it helpful to be thinking about “what is the next thing I can use this epoxy for?”. So for example today I’m going to try and get the carlins glued to the seat sides so I’ll look to see where else that epoxy mix is going to be used and have that ready to go.
Couple of quick questions for y’all: The instruction booklet doesn’t make any mention of stitching the seat sides to the bulkheads, but I’m seeing stitch holes in the bulkheads and seat sides. Is the guide missing something? Or is the preferred method to simply press them into place at the bulkheads with a piece of scrap wood?
Other question: for the Hull ID number, am I meant to put that on the inside or outside of the transom? And for the second location should it be somewhere inconspicuous but accessible, like underneath the breasthook? Or would I put it somewhere very inaccessible like the inside of a seat?
Not saying you can’t do it in two weeks. I’ve never built a Jimmy Skiff 2. But I know on my SW Dory I’m often limited by epoxy curing windows. It’s hard to stack tasks if the new task is depending on the old task completion and the old task has to sit for 24 hours with MAS slow cure epoxy. They are different boats with different builds but I’ve been moving briskly since April 20 and I’m not done yet.
Fellow first time builder here, just finished my Jimmy Skiff II. I figure the build was about 90 hours, sanding and finishing close to another 70 hours. Much more epoxy sanding than wood working, but I enjoyed every minute of the learning process. Will work on the sailing rigging next, but am already thinking of my next build…
I kept a list of “notes of a first time builder” that I can post if desired - the sage shipwrights on this channel would likely get a snicker from them, and looking back I do also!
That’s lovely! I’m thinking about options for the deck hatch right now, which did you go with? Did you have any trouble getting the painter ring installed?
Thanks, it’s been fun so far. The hatch is 11” by 7”, and at least offers some dry storage in the bow for light items. CLC and many marine supply outlets sell them. As for the bow eye, I started with a very small pilot bit as it’s very easy to “squirrel” off center, and then a 3/8 inch boring bit angled perpendicular to the bow curve at that spot. Just make sure the bolt comes through in a spot where you can reach it with a socket! I ended up using a flexible socket extension in the tight space.
