Cirrus

built by Marc Minnich

Cirrus technical specs.
 
This has been an experience I will never forget... The lighter wood, is Lacewood and the darker stripes are East Indian Laurel. Basically all I did was cut strips, tape edges, layout on plates to match both sides, then epoxy and clamp. The rest was clean up. Pretty simple procedure, but a bit time consuming. I took my boat out for the first time today, It was a true joy. I do need to rework my seat though. She felt a bit tippy. But I soon settled in for a great paddle... It was my first boat and hopefully not my last. You are also correct on a statement you made. A boat can be built anywhere. Believe it or not, I built my cirrus in a no ceiling, dirt floor, badly lit polebarn!

...This boat seems to be drawing a lot of attention. A lot of comments I get on the pattern overlayed on the deck, the use of carbon fiber and the fact that the boat is so light. Your manual is very well thought out and written and the web support is awesome. I’m already planning my next one. Did I mention that the Cirrus handles incredibly well? A joy to paddle.

Believe it or not, panels #1 and #3 are 3mm okoume. I think the contrast comes from panel #2 which is the reverse side of the same sheet of plywood. An accident that worked out well. I ordered Lloyd’s certified okoume which should have been an “A” face and back. They ran out of the Lloyd’s and sent a less expensive grade. When I started stitching the panels together, I realized that I had in fact gotten panels #2 turned around. I noticed it right away but decided to go with it. The filler between the panels is actually “slurry” made with okoume dust I harvested from some scrap. I must have been really bored that day! The website where I bought the veneer is www.veneersupplies.com . I did the entire herringbone pattern for less than $40.00. Quite a bargain. Setting up the pattern was a breeze. I layed out the pattern I wanted which was partially based on the material purchased. Then, I stacked the pieces and placed a scrap piece of plywood on the top and bottom. I drew guide lines on top to establish basic width then carefully screwed the whole mess together. Putting a screw in the middle of the width at both top and bottom ensured that when I ran the block of material through the table saw, all strips would be exactly the same width. Important tip? Make sure the table saw is cutting exactly square. After that, using a chop saw set at 45 degree angle, I put an angle on all the strips. Then I drew a straight line on my worktop and set all the pieces together. Then, I taped all the edges with painters tape. Next, I placed my rough cut panel on the strips, lined it up and outlined it with a pen. Cut out the pattern, reverse it and lay it on top of the next section, trace the pattern again, then lay the cut panel on top. The fun part next.. drill 3 – 1/8” holes at each corner. One at the top and one on each side, close together. What this does? Ensures that when you layout the panels on the strips, both sides line up exactly. Then I just cut out all the panels and sandwiched the panels and strips into layers separated by saran wrap and slathered with epoxy into panels cut from ¾” particle board and went clamp happy. That you should see a picture of. Rather comical all those clamps. I let that set up for a day, separated the plates then cleaned them up by careful sanding and patience. This is where a combination sander comes in handy. I used the vertical side to carefully sand all edges smooth and close to the line, then clamped them together to finish sand and add the stitch holes. Seemingly a lot of steps but only a couple of days work to produce the results you see in the picture...Just thought I would thank you again for such an awesome project. Everyone who sees this boat just loves it. A lot of time well spent. Keep up the awesome work! Thank you again Marc Minnich
 
Cirrus with a veneer deck

 
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Last page update: 9 May 2024