I just received my kit for the Chesapeake 17 LT but I was going to wait a few moths until it is warmer (I am in the Tidewater Virginia area). Is there a best way to store the kit? Standing up, leaning against a wall, laying flat? No difference. I’d prefer leaning up to save space. It will stay in the attached garage. I have the box with the epoxy in the house.
I’ve stored my boxed kits in all those ways with no trouble. The record was my West River 18 kit that spent 10 years in its box in a finished, climate-controlled basement. The box was on its long side leaning against a wall.
The wood is thin and will be bent into the hull shape. Any warping will be slight and will be taken out by the assembly process.
Laszlo
Thanks. I called CLC. They store them in the boxes on the edges also. The rep suggested I put the box up on blocks to prevent water damage from rain dripping off the car.
i have stored for years in the box. climate control/dry and not exposed to water as they suggested…and no signifcant bending force so that it stays flat. so if you are using blocks support the ends and the middle.
Howard,
Ah. The middle. Going out to the garage now! Thanks!
Sounds like the duration of storage will be a relatively short period for you. But here I add one small consideration to look out for. I’ve used “scrap” okume from previous builds for patching significant damage, making new add-on pieces, etc.. I do highly recommend saving all scrap of even moderate size, these pieces come in very handy in the future. I’ve noted that over time (even stored inside, clean and dry in a non-climate controlled shed) the okume (like most wood, but seemingly more prounounced than most) surface will a age - develop a darker surface patina - especially on pieces directly exposed to air. I still have some scrap aged over 8 years now, and it doesn’t match the color of the fresh ply when received with a new kit. Where I’ve had multiple pieces stored in contact with each other stacked side-by-side on edge I can even see where the outline of one piece will “print” onto the other piece, the exposed area being darker. Not a big deal; some sanding will usually resore the surface to a uniform color, but even so, it might be slightly darker than fresh okume unless you sand pretty deeply. All of this discussion is of no concern unless you are doing a bright finish. But if you are, take aging patina into consideration and just watch for it. I learned from experience that the slight shade differences will be highlighted when hit the wood with the first coat of epoxy or varnish - and then it is really too late to do anything about it.
For instance, last fall I made a brand new rudder blade of my own design for my 9 year old NE Dory using scrap okume ply that had aged for several years. I can’t remember how long I’d had the scrap piece; 3 years, I think, from my Rhode Runner. You’d swear the rudder blade was stained a different color when compared to the color of the rudder head. Seeing as each is a separate piece, the color difference actually looks like a nice feature; it is certainly noticeable.
I swear that these are both pieces of okume ply (not sapelle or such) and that the color difference in only due to age of the wood used. And note that the rudder head has the natural “yellowing” of 9 years since initial construction, so the color difference is probably even LESS pronounced than it would be if the head was brand new. The aged ply used for the blade always stayed clean and dry. I’m not sure if there is something unique about my storage situation - Georgia humidity and temperature cycles in my non-climate controlled shed are probably pretty pronounced - but as they say, this is an “unretouched photo” and thus factual evidence of what happened to my plywood after several years of storage. I didn’t try to sand or bleach (oxalic acid) the wood prior to use, just went with the color difference as a nice feature.
On another subject, the original reason I took the picture was to document how I “fixed” the large angle at which the NE Dory rudder pivots - note the “fin” installed on the transom. I now get much more turning force and much less braking effect during hard-over turns. Luckily my original modification of the rudder head (I use a removable dowell for the stearing tiller-link) allowed me to use the same rudder head in this new configuration, even though the top of the head is now a little “taller” in this position than I would have placed it if designing from scratch. The modification is a significant improvement, in my opinion.
