Building the TotalBoat Sport Dory: Episode 33 - Making the Skeg

We're rowing right along with our Sport Dory build. In this episode it's time to build and fit the skeg to the transom. Using a straight edge we established the center of the bottom and then measured and drew a line 7/16 of an inch off of that line. That gives us a reference point for where the edge of the skeg goes.

The next step for us is to scribe the curve of the bottom onto the straight skeg. We do this by placing two small pieces of wood under each edge to raise the piece off the bottom and then using another small piece of wood we draw a line along the length of the skeg. This transfers the exact curve of the bottom onto our piece. Once we have that line we can take it over to the band-saw and cut it. We'll touch that up with a planer and then also draw a line that continues the angle of the transom up onto the skeg and cut that in the band-saw as well.

Then we are going to round off the forward and bottom angles of the skeg using some items around the shop that we think give us the proper radius we're looking for. We'll cut those in the bandsaw as well and then give the piece a quick sanding.

Now it's time for us to grab a small trim router and use that round off the edges of both sides of our skeg. The most important thing to do here is make sure we keep the router down flat on our piece so we get a nice clean cut. Once that's finished we can touch the piece up with a planer and then a block with some sandpaper.

Before we apply our skeg to the boat we're going to drill two holes on the same center line we drew earlier, those can be connected up inside the boat when we flip it over and then we can sink some screws into the skeg from the inside. The last step is for us to apply a few beads of polysulfide to the skeg where it will contact the boat and then place we can place it into position. We're getting mighty close to getting our Sport Dory into the water, stay tuned for more action next week!

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