Shipwright Style Quick and Easy Bevel Board

Posted by Dan on Oct 9, 2012 in tools, Yacht interiors, general | 0 comments

A Quick and Easy Bevel Board

t seems that quite a few of the readers here are “hands on” boat owners and like to do as much of their own work as is reasonable. I think that is great and would encourage people to do so if they have the time and are willing to develop the skills. Yes, much of the carpentry on a boat is considered “tricky” but if you are prepared to plan out the steps carefully and have the patience to take the time that is needed, you will probably do just fine.

Where am I going with this? Well, I thought that I would write a few posts that are aimed at people that would like to tackle more of their own carpentry projects. This will include some drawings for some basic shop fixtures, design details and some resources to help you get your boating projects done.

Shipwright Style Quick and Easy Bevel Board

Here is the first one: a Quick and Easy Bevel Board. I’ve made nice plexiglass ones, and lost them. I’ve used protractors and though they got the job done, I thought that they were awkward at best. If my bevel board was in my tool box on a boat and I was back in the shop, well I didn’t have it where I needed it. Not wanting to handcraft several of these or buy two or three at $20 apiece I started looking at alternatives. One afternoon I was at my computer drawing some cabinet details and a simple solution popped into my head, I could just draw one in SketchUp and print them out as needed. It took about ten minutes to draw. I have some 8.5×11, full sheet label paper, so I set up a pdf page with three bevel boards on it and printed it out. I cut them out on a paper cutter, though a sharp knife and a straight edge wold work just fine, peeled the backing off and stuck it to a a piece of 6mm Aquatek plywood. It worked great and is very accurate . I did cover the paper face with a layer of clear packing tape to protect it. You can download the pdf file here

Cardboard and Sticks, Why an Interior Mockup is a Good Idea

Posted by Dan on Mar 1, 2012 in Design and details, Wood, plywood, solids, Yacht interiors, general | 4 comments

What is a mockup? Generally it is a quickly built prototype.

• a mockup gives a good feel for the real space

• a mockup helps focus on usability and function rather than materials and small details

• a mockup allows you to interactively problem solve

• encourages experimenting, the materials are easy to work with and inexpensive

Mockups are commonly used by designers and builders to get real world feedback on a design or space. Yes there are drawings, but those don’t give the full-scale walk through the space experience. And in reality most people can’t visualize from a 1/2 inch to the foot scale drawing. In a yacht interior, often we are balancing taking an inch here and giving an inch there just to make everything work. Sometimes this is due to a constraint such as, the size of an appliance or equipment access and sometimes it is more related to what works for the specific customer. Is there room to walk through reasonably? Does that cabinet block my view? Will I hit my head going down the stairs? It really is much better to discover any problems before the actual building begins. Generally they are not that hard to fix, in fact you can work them out in the mockup quickly, then make sure that the changes are documented. This information does need to be incorporated into the build drawings and notes or it will do no good. This pdf, Mock-up notes , is from the documentation of a Northwest Trawlers 50.