Thursday, October 29, 2009

The Wine Rack Boat Shelf and Storage Unit

I really enjoyed making this unit and I can make you one if you like or you can read the description below and build your own and also review the Boat Shelves entry for more details. What I like about this unit is the depth is relatively shallow, and I designed it so it would just barely conceal a bottle of wine when the bottle was laid horizontally and the shelves are viewed from the side. This also allowed me to optimize the amount of wood I used in the design. I also made it so that the wine bottle holder and stemware rack are removable; if you want to use it as a book shelf or have something else you want to display, the wine bottle rack slides right out and can be put in the attic and four screws remove the stemware rack and you have a great display unit for a living room, bedroom (television stand?) or other area where wine and alcohol might not be needed. So, it's versatile.

Overview




I made the unit 32" wide by 17" deep by 72" tall. I wanted to utilize as much plywood in the design as I could, but I didn't want to make the unit over bearingly big. Figuring that most people, myself included, might be placing it in a basement where there are 7 foot or lower ceilings, I kept the overall height in mind. I didn't fabricate the stemware rack. I purchased from a local supplier of under mounted cabinet supplies. I purchased it plain and finished it with the rest of the cabinet.


I made the back out of 1/2" exterior grade plywood and 1/4" bead board, similar to how I made the boat shelves. I wanted this unit to be a little heavier. The shelves were made from 3/4" birch plywood that I capped with 1/4" strips of maple. The lower cabinet frame was sized and custom made from Maple and fit the space inside the boat. The doors are simply ply wood, believe it or not. I had some 5/8" plywood that was superior grade that I simply routed an ogee on the front and made a 3/8" rabbet in the back. It was an experiment I decided to try to see how it would look visually. I thought about raised panel doors, but when I saw this in the rough with the doors attached, I really liked the simpler non-busy look. I had an old raised panel door that I was able to put in the hole and had several people give me their opinions. Surprisingly, we all thought the same thing. The raised panel door took too much away from the overall look of the boat. So, I stayed with the simple door design.


I considered glass doors as an option, but I quickly dismissed that idea. I figured as a storage unit, we would be putting things in the lower cabinet to get them OUT of sight. We wouldn't want to have to look at things that were stored away.


I did a two tone stain scheme - light on the inside and dark on the gunwales, bow and transom plates. Finishing was with 3 coats of varnish and paint on the exterior. The hardware was cleats purchsed from a supplier with some brass hinges purchased at your local home goods store. I also added some magnets to keep the doors closed.

For additional detail on any step, I would review the Boat shelves post. That will hopefully answer questions you might have on any step. If not, you can always e-mail me at russwholland@aol.com.


Step 1. Making the bottom.


Laminate the Bead Board to the 1/2" plywood. I started with two 4x8 sheets. Find a "center" that represents 32". I personally like to have a "gap" or open are as my center vs. a bead. I have sometimes stained the gap a different color inside to represent a keel on the boat. This is completely up to your personal tastes. The 32" width is somewhat arbitrary as well, but I wouldn't make the shelves any wider! Otherwise, you will not be optimizing your plywood usage when it comes to making the shelves. NOTE: I used door heights that would be proportionally right when placed next to kitchen cabinet doors on a standard 34 1/2" kitchen cabinet.


Draw the side of the bottom lines up to the 48" mark when measured from the floor. Find the center mark at the top of the plywood at 72". You need to make a bow arc that is the same for both sides. On this particular design, because of the straight sides, it's important to note that the majority of the bow arc will happen between 48" and 58" on the sides. Then, the bow line will straighten out, more or less, to the center point. I have attached a pattern that you can blow up and use, but I find that I always like to tweak the lines a little until I get what looks right. In order to make that arc without a pattern, I used the following as a guide.


Cut a piece of 1/4" by 3/4" scrap that is at least 48" long with one straight and true edge. You will be scribing a line on this edge. Secure one end of this at the bow tip. Place one screw at the 48" mark of the side that is slighty (about 1/4") off the line to the outside of the side line that you drew earlier. Lay the scrap against that line. Now, by placing a finger at various points on the scrap you can "pull" the bow line arc into place. I found that a good spot to pull from is about 12-14" up fromthe 48" mark. You can use two hands, one at the far end of the scrap that isn't attached, and also "shape" the bow line. Once you're satisfied, scribe the line.


Repeat on the other side, or to insure the measurements exactly, take half measurements from the center line and mark every 4 inches on the other side and connect the dots.


It's that simple and you should have a really good bow line as you can see here:



Click on the picture to expand and see the detail.

Cut about 1/8" proud of the lines and clean up and true the edge with a belt sander or power plane. If you cut to one side of the ply wood, you will have enough left over to make two smaller shelves (48" tall by 14" wide) or possibly one 60" shelf (16" wide is as narrow as I would want to make this size shelf) from the leftover of this back board.


Step 2. Making the Shelves

Rip your shelves to a depth of 16" by cutting with either a skill saw or a table saw. Again, the depth I used was 16". This is perfect and you can make up to three units from one piece of 3/4" birch.

You are now ready to cut your shelves to width. You will need three shelves. Two will make the top and bottom of the cabinet and one will make the upper shelf. Cut the cabinet shelve to 32" in width and set aside. Take the remaing wood and go over to the back of the boat. I like the upper shelf to be "in the curve" of the bow. I like to "edge" all my exposed shelves before I cut them to width. Using a good piece of 3/4" maple, rip a 3/8" piece that's a little longer than 32". Plane both 3/4" sides so that you end up with a final thickness of 1/4". Glue and attach the trim piece to one edge of the ripped plywood using brads.

The height of the top shelf is somewhat arbitrary, but is probably at about the 50" mark at a right angle on the center line. Using a carpenter's square, square the shelf and position at the beginning of the bow curve. Make indicator lines on the back board and mark the back of the shelf for the angle to cut the shelf edge. Make the right angle cut using the table saw, radial arm, or skill saw with the blade set to the appropriate angle to match the line.

You can now mount this shelf. Take it back to the back board and apply with some glue and use 2" finish nails from the back side of the back board to secure. You can also pre drill and insert 3 or 4 2" dry wall screws for extra support.

I made the lower cabinet following kitchen cabinet rules and dimensions. If you have never made a cabinet face, here's a simple way to do it.

Rip some 3/4" maple stock to 2" in width. This will be the upper and lower frames for the cabinet face. Next, rip 3/4" stock to 1 3/4". This will be for the vertical pieces. You will need enough 2" length to make two pieces that are 32" long and 1 3/4" pieces that are 28" long. Cut the upper and lower frame pieces to lenght by MARKING the pieces on the 3/4" plywood shelf pieces you cut earlier. Cut the frames precisely so you won't have gaps later. Cut the 1 3/4" pieces to 28" and check for length.

If you don't have access to a biscuit planer or pocket screw jig, I have found a simple way to make a quick cabinet frame. Using some scrap hard wood that's 4" x 1" x 3/4(preferably oak) and a 1/4" piece of plywood that's approximately 4" x 8", make an "L" shaped jig that lines up the 4" width and lenght of the wood. Before you attach cut a slot in the plywood approximately in the middle. Then, drill a hole in the hardwood using a 3/8" drill. The plywood will lay on the face frame of the wood and the hardwood should be positioned so that the edge can be drilled into the frame. Now, you have a jig.

Make indicator lines on the adjoining frames once you have set them up and insured they are square. Using your jig, drill holes to a depth of 1" in the corresponding edges, using your indicator lines and the slot in the plywood jig as a guide. I usually drill two holes. Drill all the face frame intersections. Next, cut some 3/8" dowel to 1 1/4" length. It's elementary now and you can dry fit your frame together and check for fit. Once you're satsified, disassemble, glue the dowels, re-assemble and clamp. Set aside and let dry.

Take your top and bottom cabinet shelf and "trim" 3/4" off one edge due to account for the face frame so that when you attach the face frame, you will have a total width of 16".

Once the frame is dry use the same technique to attached the face frame to the shelves. I flushed the top shelf to the top of the frame and flushed the bottom shelf to the top of the bottom frame. You can see the top shelf in this picture here:

Click on the picture to expand and see the detail.

Once you have assembled the shelves to the face frame, you can square up and attach to the back board. I placed the frame and shelf assembly so that the shelf was 5" above the bottom edge of the back board.

The frame extends below the shelf so the "finish" look will about 4" above the floor, or about the same height as a cabinet frame. Make sure your bottom shelf is square to the bottom edge and the top shelf is square to the bottom shelf and also square to the face of the back board. Secure with glue and 2" finish nails from the back of the back board. You may want to re-drill and add some 2" drywall screws in this assembly as well.

Step 3. Bow Support

See Making Boat Shelves for additional details for making the bow support.

Cut a piece of 1 3/4" by 1 3/4" stock from a piece of hardwood or pine. This will be not be immediately visible, but should be of better quality wood. Cut this to 16" in length block. Hold this piece on the back board at the bow vertically to get the angle of the bow and transfer on to one edge of the block. Rip the angles on your table saw and attach to the point of the bow with glue and a drywall screw.


Step 4. Cut and Attach the Sides


Review the Boat shelf Entry for additional detail on making sides for the boat shelf.

Rip a 4' x 8' sheet of 1/4" birch plywood to 18" widths. You will get three sides out of a single sheet of plywood. You will only need two, but you will end up with left over wood in case you would ever want to build another one.

Glue the back board edge and the edges of the shelves. Starting at the bottom and using the good side to the interior of the boat, square the edge to the bottom and attach it to the back board and the shelves using 1 1/4" brads or finish nails. Work your way towards the bow, bending and nailing as you go. Using you jig saw, cut off the excess at the bow and flush to the opposite side of the bow support.


Repeat for the opposite side. The sides will extend beyond the shelves and the face frames by about 3/4" to 1".


Step 5. Making the Gunwales.


For additional details on making the gunwales, see The Boat Shelves entry.

Look at the gunwale detail in this photo:





Click on the photo to enlarge and see the detail.
The gunwales on the Wine Rack are a little bit different. I mounted the spaces and the "outer" gunwale outside of the boat. I did this for a couple of reasons:
1. I wanted to make sure that the cabinet doors would open fully and there was going to be a slight interference issue if I mounted to the inside.
2. On the lower cabinet, I would not have been able to do spacers and I would have had to put a solid piece in the thickness of the spacer due to the fact that you would not have been able to "see through" the gap. You wold have been looking at the face frame.
So, I move the spacers to the outside of the plywood. It's a small detail, but I think it turned out okay. I made my spacers 4 inches in length and spaced them 4" apart. I think it looks better to use slightly larger spacers and spaces on the larger boat, but this is a matter of taste.



Using better ¾” stock ( I prefer either maple or really nice pine here), rip gunwale strips ¼” to 5/16” thickness. If you want to go a little thicker and you have a jointer or plane, rip them thicker and plane to final thickness. You will need at five 8’ strips for the gunwales. Two per side plus spacers, if you choose to use them.



Cut your spacers to length.
Get your clamps and glue the spacers in place starting at the bottom and then spacing with another spacer every 4". Lay the inner gunwale in and cut to length. Glue the inner gunwale and clamp as you go, opening and closing the spring clamps as you work your way up. Next, glue the outer by putting glue on the spacers and clamping. Trim the gunwale flush to the opposite side when you reach the bow. Repeat the steps for the other side.
The plywood sides will be standing slightly proud of the gunwales at this point. We'll clean those up in the next step. Let this set up dry overnight.



Step 6. Finishing the Gunwales

You are probably looking at a clamped up mess wondering how you are going to make this looked finished. And this is where it gets fun, because the finishing can go really quickly here. Remove all your clamps and using either the power plane or the belt sander, start removing the plywood side material that is standing proud. Once you grind that down, go ahead and rough sand the gunwales. Don’t be afraid to remove a little material here and round the edges a little. Boats don’t have sharp lines on the topsides and you can round and flush all the surfaces as you go. You will be amazed what this starts to look like after 10 minutes with the plane or belt sander. Once it is relatively even, get the finish router and a ¼” or 3/8” round over bit.Using the router, round over the INSIDE of the spaces created by the spacers and the gunwales. This will give the gunwales one more dimension and a truly finished look. When you have finished all the openings, finish sand the gunwales using a 120 grit paper with a palm sander. The final product should look great.

Step 7. Making The Transom



This shelf doesn't have a transom plate, but I made a "base plate" for the bottom and gave it some shape like a transom on a real boat, where the engine would hang. This reinforced the plywood at the bottom and gave the shelves extra strength. Using either the pattern or your own design, cut a 3/4" piece of maple stock to length and then shape the transom. Attach. I then put a "kick" in on the bottom that you can't see, but it's essentially a piece of scrap plywood (1/4") that I tacked in place to keep dirt and dust out from under the shelves



I don't have a detail picture, but you can see it in this picture. Click on the photo and zoom in for detail.







Step 8. Making the Doors




As I stated earlier, I made the doors out of the some 5/8" cabinet plywood I had laying around. I simply over cut the doors by 3/4" to the dimensions of the holes in the face frame and used a round over bit in my router to soften the outer edge. I used a rabbitting bit and made a rabbit around the entire back of the door. I purchased some recess - step hinges and mounted the doors. These are the simplest doors you will ever make or see.




Step 9. Making the Wine Bottle Rack




This is a little tricky, and it will help to have a drill press for this step. I used Maple for the wine rack. I bought 1" x 8" by 8' boards.




Cut a blank board approximately 30" from one of the 8' boards. Mark a center line. Find the center of the lenght, or the 15" mark, and strike a line. Mark two more lines on either side of that line that are 5" on center. You should have a total of 5 marks on the center line at this point, centered on the board.




Take this piece to your drill press. You will need a 4" hole saw for the next step. On your marks, make a center punch and then drill with the hole saw about half way through or until the center bit comes through on the back side. FLIP THE BOARD OVER and line up the center bit with the holes and finish drilling the hole from the other side. You should have 5 holes. Take the board to the table saw and rip it on the center line. This will become the front and back of the first shelf of the bottle rack. Don't cut any angles yet.



Repeat the above steps with a 26" section of maple. Except this time, the center will not have a hole. From the center, measure 2.5" in either direction and strike a line. Measure 5" from those marks and strike two more lines. Drill 4 holes using the same procedure. Rip the board on the center line.




Finally, with an 18" section of 1"x8", mark the center, make three marks, cut three holes and rip the board.

Now you have 6 pieces of wood with half circles in each. I softened the edges on these on the circles both front and back using a round over bit in the router. Lay the shelves out on a work space so they are flat and spaced so that a wine bottle will fit between them. I used an angle meter to measure the angle of the bow and transferred that line to the edges of the boards on both sides using a straight edge. Then, on the table saw or radial arm, cut the angles. I usually cut both pieces at the same time so they are the same length and flush.




Assembling the wine rack is simple. Measure and cut two boards, approximately 18", that will service as the sides. If you want to miter the bottom, you can, but you won't see this board as is evident in this photo.



Glue and use 1 1/4" finish nails to assemble.

Step 10. Attach the Glass Rack


Attach the glass rack using 4 screws and centering on the upper shelf.

Step 11. Finish

Sand the entire boat. This will include removing the side material on the back of the shelves and finish sanding with 120 grit paper. I use a 220 grit on any surfaces I plan to finish with polyurethane. Once you are satisfied with the sanding, I like to blow off the book cases with compressed air. If you don’t have compressed air, use your shop vac or cheesecloth to get all the dust off of the assembly. But with all the sanding, there will be dust everywhere. Take the assembly outside and blow it off if you can. It will make finishing that much easier.If you are staining – painting - varnishing, here is the order that I use for finishing.


1. Stain the inside of the boat and shelves. If you want to make a two tone finish, stain the gunwales and transom and bow plates.
2. Flip the boat over. Fill any brad holes or imperfections in the wood. Prime the outside of the shelves. Let this dry.
3. Paint the outside or apply whatever finish you are using. Completely finish the outside of the shelves at this point.
4. When that is finished and dry, flip the assembly back over and prep it for polyurethane.
5. Mask off the sides at the gunwales. Lightly sand any badly raised grain from the staining step.
6. Apply a coat of polyurethane. Let dry.
7. Lightly sand the first coat and using a brushing liquid or mineral spirits, clean up the sanding swarf.
8. Apply another coat of polyurethane.
9. Lightly sand and clean.
10. Apply another coat of polyurethane.
11. Your finish should be getting some depth at this point. Instead of sanding, when I feel that I am nearing a final coat, I like to take fine steel wool and rub out any imperfections, runs or bumps that are in the polyurethane. Complete that step and clean any dust using mineral spirits.
12. Apply the final coat.Remove the masking tape.

On the outside gunwale where it meets the side, there is one last step you can take to give the boat a finished look. Using white silicone caulk, place a bead in the intersection of the gunwale and the side from the bow to the transom. Take your finger and smooth it into the joint, making a nice fillet
Adding the Hardware
Add Door handles that can be purchased on line - I like Jamestown Distributors. You can get there by clicking this link.


Enjoy!


Wednesday, October 21, 2009

The Boat Shelves


I enjoy building the Boat Shelves as they are easy to do and are definitely crowd pleasers for anyone that lives on a lake or that has a water themed room or home. I started out with a picture I saw and messed around with several designs before I settled on what I do now. The beauty of what I do is that I can vary it for any application that you might have. I can leave shelves out or add more. I can also vary the depth of the shelves and I have even added a "rake" to the sides based on one customer request. I also can alter the materials without changing the design and I can add or subtract details based on your tastes or needs.

I particularly enjoy the “Three Boat Look” on a stair case. I think it adds a lot of character to the room.

The following is a step by step in designing your own shelves or using my templates attached and blowing them up or sizing to your liking to build your own shelves. Of course, any of the shelves are available for purchase and you can contact me at russwholland@aol.com to specify and order your very own design.

Step by Step

Overview: The design starts out with a basic outline of the size of the boat shelf that you want to build. For the "back board" or the bottom of the boat, I usually use a piece of either 1/4" or 3/8" ply wood - low grade stock. On that, I attached a piece of beaded board that you would use for making wainscoating. This is usually 1/4" thick. While I have made some shelves that only have a border lip piece on the back that is 3/4" by 3/4" for weight purposes, I only use it on the much larger, 7 foot plus height by 12 " in depth, shelves. I have found that with anything smaller it's better to have the thicker back board/bottom for stability purposes. But you can certainly go with the border piece in the smaller applications for weight reasons or material savings.

Using the template and sizing to your desired height, trace or draw out the shelf. Ideally, a "boat" has dimensions that are critical when viewing from an upright position. If it's too narrow at the base and wide in the middle, the boat will look "fat" and it won't be pleasing to the eye. However, I have made boat shelves (see the Wine Rack Boat Shelf) that are consistent from the bottom through the middle. Then, it tapers at the bow to form the boat. In general, I like the bottom to be about 25-30% narrower than the widest point of the shelf. The overall height to width ratio should fall into the 3:1 area. Therefore, a 48" boat shelf should be about 16" wide and have about a 10” base. a 72” boat should be about 24” wide with a 16” base. The widest part of the boat will fall on a perpendicular line to the length about 15% short of the half-way point when measured from the base. If you are going to make a custom design, keep this in mind.

When setting the depth of the shelves, consider the application. Knick knacks? DVD’s and CD’s? Books? Larger items? This will be critical to making sure you get the depth correct.

Gunwales, Bow Plates and Transom plates are, in my opinion, the details that “set off” the design and the area where you have the most freedom to artistically express your personal tastes. Not to mention how you finish the boat. Personally, I like a “bright” finish which is a stain coat followed by either varnish or high gloss polyurethane. The reason I like this finish is that it catches any level of light and gives the shelves brilliance and luster. I normally just paint the sides, but I have finished the shelves for customers with paint on the inside and outside, rag rolled, sides, a “crackle” finish in the outside for a rustic, antique look, and even a tung oil teak oil combo that added some depth and a low level reflection that was also pleasing to the eye.

In addition, I sometimes add brass cleats to the bow or transom to add some additional detail. You can add eyelets for ropes, etc. I even built a pair of paddles and mounted them to the sides of the boat per a customer request. Your imagination is limitless and so is the different ways of finishing this project.

Step 1. Make the back board (bottom of the boat).

If you are using the template, than drawing the lines are pretty straight forward. If you are going with your own design, do the following:

Making a Template

1. Get a piece of scrap plywood or melamine. It needs to be at least the height of the boat and at least half as wide as the width. Make sure there is one true long edge. This will be the center of the boat bottom pattern, or the “keel” line.
2. Set the height on the scrap piece on the edge that you squared up.
3. Find the midpoint.
4. Set the width from the height by dividing the height you are using by 3. Divide this number by 2.
5. Divide the height of the boat by two and subtract another 15%. Measure this distance from the bottom and mark the ½ width at a right angle to the true edge.
6. Take 10-15% off the 1/2 width for the base dimension.
7. Mark the base dimension at a right angle to the true edge.
8. Take a long, flexible piece of wood and temporarily pin it to the "bow" point.
9. Bend the wood and temporarily fasten to the mid point mark that you made earlier and make the "arc" of the side.
10. Scribe your line once you’re satisfied.
11. Cut on the line.

Now you have a template that you can lay on your back board and scribe one side of the boat and then flip it over on the center line and scribe the other and end up with two perfect sides for the boat. You can hang the template on the wall when someone asks you to build them one. I have about 7 different templates on my wall for the various sizes of boats that I make.

Step Two. Making the Back Board.

Now you can make your back board cut out. If you are using the sandwich method of two pieces of ply wood, laminate the bead board to the ply wood and let set overnight. Scribe your pattern either on the bead board or on the plywood. When your satisfied, cut using a jig saw or in the band saw and leave about 1/8” to ¼” of material. After cutting, using a power plane or a belt sander, tune to the line. Check the edge for continuity as any dips or imperfections will show up later inside where they will be noticeable.

If you are not using the sandwich method, scribe the line and cut the bead board. Tune the line and cut two pieces of ¾” by ¾” stock to length. Glue one side of the ¾” nailer and position on the edge. Using a brad nailer or clamps, secure the ¾” stock to the back of the bead board, making a lip. Don’t worry if this doesn’t follow the line perfectly. Repeat for the other side and the bottom, or transom end. Once the glue has set, flush the lip and the edge of the bead board.

Step 3. Making the Shelves

I start with the bottom shelf and it’s the trickiest one to make. I vary the thickness of the stock I use for the size boat shelf I am building. On the smaller shelves, I will use ½” stock for the shelving material as this gives the shelves a sleeker look. Once a design has reached a length of 60”, I will go to ¾” stock for the shelves.

Once you have set your shelf depth, you need to make the bottom shelf wider than the inside depth of the shelves by the thickness of the back board and the depth or thickness of the gunwales. On smaller designs, I use ½” strip stock for the gunwales and again, once it goes over 60”, I go to ¾”. So, on a 60” boat for DVD’s and CD’s, if you are using the sandwich method, add the two thicknesses of the ply wood 1/4” plus ¼” to the depth of the bottom shelf, 5 ½” plus another ¾” for the gunwales. The overall width of the bottom shelf will be 6 ¾”. I always make the width of this shelf a little proud and you can plane it down later in the gunwale finishing section.

Mount the bottom shelf at a right angle to the back board. Ideally, the cut on the back board was square to the center line when you scribed cut out lines of the back board. Check for square and mount the shelf to the edge of the back board, so that the back board will rest on the bottom shelf when the boat is stood upright.

The rest of the shelves are straight forward and can be cut to length from a piece of stock ripped to 5 ½” inches in width. The shelves are spaced evenly and the number of shelves can vary per your application. I personally like to add an extra shelf and have 6 total on the DVD and CD shelves, spaced about 7 inches apart, on center. If you are storing vhs tapes, you will want to go with 5 shelves spaced about 8.5 inches apart. If you are making a hard cover book shelf, you will of course want to increase the inside depth to 9”, and then space the shelves out at 11.5” on center.

Using a framing square, mark the shelf locations on the perpendicular to the center line on the front of the bead board. Measure the width of the shelf that you will need for each location and cut approximately 1/2” to ¾” longer than needed. I then take and place a shelf in position on edge and scribe the back board line on to the back of the shelf. This will give you the EXACT angle that you need for that shelf location. Repeat for all the shelves.

You can cut these angles two ways: I prefer to use the table saw and take my angle and cut it close to the mark. Don’t cut right on the line. Repeat for the opposite side and the rest of the shelves, adjusting the angle of your blade as you go.

When all the shelves are cut, mount them on the indicator lines and insure that they are equidistant on both sides and square to the back board. I usually stand the back board up at this point and I also use a level and make any necessary adjustments to the base shelf or the other shelves as I mount them. Don’t worry if the shelves aren’t staying “square” to the back board and look like they are sagging a little. We will correct that in step 5 when we attach the sides.

When all the shelves are mounted, you can take your power plane or belt sander and flush the shelf edges to the back board. This completes the shelf mounting step.

Step 4. Make a Bow Support

Take a piece of either 1 ½” or 1 ¾” stock, square it and cut it to length either ½” or ¾”, depending on what material you are using for the gunwales, greater than your shelf width. Hold this piece on the perpendicular at the bow on the back board. Scribe the bow “point” on the end of this square. Again, using the table saw, cut these two angles and then mount this piece flush to the bow point on the backer board. The sides will attach to this piece.

Step 5. Cut and Mount the Sides

Depending on the material you use, the sides can be either very easy or somewhat difficult to assemble. I have used several different plywoods here, but I find that ¼” birch works the best and gives you the nicest interior and exterior finish. You can use Luan, but the exterior will need some additional filling with a primer/filler paint if you want a smooth surface. I have also made the sides using strips to give the interior the look of a strip plank boat, which is also nice.

Starting with an 8 foot sheet of plywood, rip the side of the shelf so that it’s ¾” wider than the bottom shelf. So, in our case, we are going to “rough cut” two sides at 7 ½”. These do not have to be perfect cuts. Just cut them.

Insure that the bottom shelf is square to the back board. I clamp a carpenter’s square in place on the outside of the shelves with the clamp on the bottom shelf. The long side of the carpenter’s square is then resting on your work bench or saw horse. The bottom shelf should be square to the backer board at this point.

An extra set of hands here is helpful, but I have found with practice, I can do this on my own. Lay the side next to the shelves and using the GOOD side to towards the interior of the shelves, start at the bottom shelf. But first, put a coating of glue on all the exposed edges, backer boards and on the bow support. Glue will give the shelves incredible strength. Make sure your brad nailer is at the ready, also.

Hold the side up so that there is about an inch of overlap on the bottom shelf and about ¼” of overlap to the back board. Put brads in the bottom shelf and secure the side. Slowly bend the side to the shelves “form” and continue to insert brads into the sides making sure you secure them in the shelf edges as you go. Once you are through the middle of the bend, it will get easier. Continue to brad your way up the side and when you get to the bow support, put some extra brads in all along the side.

At this point, there will be an overlap at the bow. Using your jig saw, cut off the excess, but leave it proud. Finish the edge flush using either the power plane or belt sander to the opposite side of the bow support as the opposite side will overlap this edge.

Go to the other side and repeat the side mounting process. Trim the overlap at the bow and also trim the overlap at the bottom and flush sand. Leave the sides and the back of the back board edges proud for the time being. The sides should stand proud of the interior shelves by about 1” and the bottom shelf and bow support by about ¾”. Remove the clamp and square and stand the shelves up and check for square and level.

Once you are satisfied, lay the shelves back down on your bench or work table.

Step 6. Making the Gunwales.


I think this is the best part of making the shelves. Adding these details and finishing them just right really shows the craftsmanship and elegance that these boats can have.

Using better ¾” stock ( I prefer either maple or really nice pine here), rip gunwale strips ¼” to 5/16” thickness. If you want to go a little thicker and you have a jointer or plane, rip them thicker and plane to final thickness. You will need at five 8’ strips for the gunwales. Two per side plus spacers, if you choose to use them.

I have made boats with and without spacers and I think the spacers add a lot of character, but they definitely take more time. If you want to build without spacers, follow these steps.

Set the inner gunwale on edge inside the boat shelf. Bend it to the side and butt it to the bottom shelf. Using the clamps temporarily secure to the side and mark the length at the bow support. This cut doesn’t have to be exact as you will cover this up with the Bow Plate. Cut the inner gunwale to length.

Have multiple clamps available and within reach. I use the $0.99 spring clamps you can find at any home improvement store. They are cheap and easy to use. Glue the inside surfaces of both the inner and outer gunwale. Then, again, starting at the bottom, begin squeezing and sandwiching the sides between the gunwales, applying clamps as needed. I find that if I put a clamp about every 4 niches, I can control the bend and smooth out any twists in the gunwales. The inner gunwale will butt up to the front edge of the shelves. The side of the shelf will be about ¼” proud of the gunwales. That will be trimmed in the finishing step. When you get to the top, the outer gunwale will be extending past the top. Using the same technique as you used with the sides, trim the gunwale to length and flush it to the opposite side, prepping it for the opposite side gunwale.

Repeat the steps for the other side. Let the assembly sit overnight.

If you are going to use spacers, use the following steps.

On a shorter design, I find that 2” spacers look about right. On large designs, I use 3” or 4” spacers, depending on the thickness of the gunwales, which you can also vary. Use the same technique as outlined above for cutting the inner gunwale. Once that’s complete, center the spacers on each shelf and glue them to the side so that they are centered on the center of the shelf. Clamp these temporarily in place. Since your shelves are spaced identically, you can decide how many spacers you want to squeeze into the gap. Depending on the size of your spacers, you can add up to two spacers between the spacers you already have mounted. I use an eyeball technique here, but I have also measured and marked where the spacers should fall. But I find that I can balance out the spacer pretty well just using a scrap piece of wood for a gauge and setting the spacers accordingly. Glue and clamp the spacers in place.

Now, you can either let these set up for a couple of hours, or you can set the inner and outer gunwales using the same technique as described above. When you decide to go, remember to apply the glue for the inner gunwale to the spacer and NOT the gunwale. Clamp and adjust accordingly as you go. Repeat on the opposite side. If you decide to mount before the spacers have set, make sure your spacers don’t move or get out of alignment with the inner gunwale. Let the whole assembly set up.

Step 7. Finishing the Gunwales.

You are probably looking at a clamped up mess wondering how you are going to make this looked finished. And this is where it gets fun, because the finishing can go really quickly here. Remove all your clamps and using either the power plane or the belt sander, start removing the plywood side material that is standing proud. Once you grind that down, go ahead and rough sand the gunwales. Don’t be afraid to remove a little material here and round the edges a little. Boats don’t have sharp lines on the topsides and you can round and flush all the surfaces as you go. You will be amazed what this starts to look like after 10 minutes with the plane or belt sander. Once it is relatively even, get the finish router and a ¼” or 3/8” round over bit.

Using the router, round over the INSIDE of the spaces created by the spacers and the gunwales. This will give the gunwales one more dimension and a truly finished look. When you have finished all the openings, finish sand the gunwales using a 120 grit paper with a palm sander. The final product should look great.

Step 8. Making the Bow Plate and Transom Plate

Depending on how finished you want to get here, I prefer to use some nice solid wood stock and make the bow and transom plates. Find pieces that are large enough to cover what you want to cover, as little or as much as you want, and trace the bow outline and transom outlines on the stock. I usually use the same thickness stock that I used on the shelves.

After you have traced the shape, I like to mount the bow plate with an overlap and I also make an overlap on the sides of the transom plate. What you do inside with the bow plate is up to you. I usually make some nice, reversing arcs that flow to the sides giving the bow plate a little bit more character. Or, you can just go with a smooth arc across and make the cut.

I also round over with the router and finish sand before mounting. Glue and attach with brads. Do the same with the transom.

Step 9. Finishing

Sand the entire boat. This will include removing the side material on the back of the shelves and finish sanding with 120 grit paper. I use a 220 grit on any surfaces I plan to finish with polyurethane. Once you are satisfied with the sanding, I like to blow off the book cases with compressed air.

If you don’t have compressed air, use your shop vac or cheesecloth to get all the dust off of the assembly. But with all the sanding, there will be dust everywhere. Take the assembly outside and blow it off if you can. It will make finishing that much easier.

If you are staining – painting - varnishing, here is the order that I use for finishing.

1. Stain the inside of the boat and shelves. If you want to make a two tone finish, stain the gunwales and transom and bow plates.
2. Flip the boat over. Fill any brad holes or imperfections in the wood. Prime the outside of the shelves. Let this dry.
3. Paint the outside or apply whatever finish you are using. Completely finish the outside of the shelves at this point.
4. When that is finished and dry, flip the assembly back over and prep it for polyurethane.
5. Mask off the sides at the gunwales. Lightly sand any badly raised grain from the staining step.
6. Apply a coat of polyurethane. Let dry.
7. Lightly sand the first coat and using a brushing liquid or mineral spirits, clean up the sanding swarf.
8. Apply another coat of polyurethane.
9. Lightly sand and clean.
10. Apply another coat of polyurethane.
11. Your finish should be getting some depth at this point. Instead of sanding, when I feel that I am nearing a final coat, I like to take fine steel wool and rub out any imperfections, runs or bumps that are in the polyurethane. Complete that step and clean any dust using mineral spirits.
12. Apply the final coat.

Remove the masking tape. On the outside gunwale where it meets the side, there is one last step you can take to give the boat a finished look. Using white silicone caulk, place a bead in the intersection of the gunwale and the side from the bow to the transom. Take your finger and smooth it into the joint, making a nice fillet.

Step 10. Adding Hardware

I usually add bow cleats to the boat, and that is the extent of the hardware for my tastes. However, I have received requests and have added oar locks and other hardware. Again, personal taster here wins out.

And that’s it. You now have boat shelves that you will be able to enjoy for years to come.