Sunday 25 November 2012
Sunday 18 November 2012
More cold mdung
Fitted and glued another 18 or so strips. I have gone about as far forward as I can on the bottom on one side. Now I have to start using thinner strips. Haven't figured out how much thinner they need to be yet.
Sunday 11 November 2012
Cold molding
Didn't get as far as I had hoped due to the arrival of a cold. The cold didn't dampen the motivation but its really hard to glue stuff when your nose won't stop running.
Never the less I got about 12 strips glued on.
I also cut up another couple of sheets into 100mm strips. This task is a real mission by yourself. After making a bit of a hash of the first one, my neighbor came over and helped me cut the sheet in half. Once in half they are quite manageable by oneself.
I think that was the first time I have had to get help in this build.
Never the less I got about 12 strips glued on.
I also cut up another couple of sheets into 100mm strips. This task is a real mission by yourself. After making a bit of a hash of the first one, my neighbor came over and helped me cut the sheet in half. Once in half they are quite manageable by oneself.
I think that was the first time I have had to get help in this build.
Sunday 4 November 2012
Raptor nylon brads ROCK !!!!
The plans allow for a ply sheet to cover the entire bottom from the transom to frame 3, so this weekend I stuck a sheet (part of) on each side. These were glued and fastened wit the nylon Raptor brads.
I think I went a little overboard as a rough count suggests I shot about 600 of them. Some of them don't sink in properly, but I think that's just hitting a hard spot in the Sapelle. I am also not using a Raptor gun, but a second hand (although looked brand new) one I bought from trade-me (NZ version of e-bay). I tried Craig's genuine Raptor gun, but I don't think it made enough difference to justify the $300 or so that they cost. You can see my gun in the photo below. Should add it to the tools page I suppose as well
As the layers progress they will be shooting into more and more plywood and so should just keep getting better.
Having succeeded at getting the two sheets fastened on Saturday, Today I moved on to fitting some of the 100mm wide strips I had cut from the left overs. I choose an angle of 30 deg and have made them sweep back from the keel. I fitted 6 strips then made up a batch of glue. Turns out I only made enough glue to fix down four of them, but it was quick and easy work with the brads.
At this point I am fixing ply to a relatively flat surface, the real test will come when the curve starts to become pronoucned. So far so good
It is amazing how the newly formed flat surface quickly become a place to store "stuff"
Cleaning out the limbers proved easy, I was worried that was going to be hard to get them nice a clear. I got a piece of dowel, took to it with the plane a bit then if slide easily through the limbers. Unfortunately I made it two long and I couldn't get it through the athwart ship ones at the transom. I was going to cut it down, but then forgot, and by the time I remembered it was too late. I haven't checked, but hopefully they aren't too blocked, none of the others were.
I think I went a little overboard as a rough count suggests I shot about 600 of them. Some of them don't sink in properly, but I think that's just hitting a hard spot in the Sapelle. I am also not using a Raptor gun, but a second hand (although looked brand new) one I bought from trade-me (NZ version of e-bay). I tried Craig's genuine Raptor gun, but I don't think it made enough difference to justify the $300 or so that they cost. You can see my gun in the photo below. Should add it to the tools page I suppose as well
As the layers progress they will be shooting into more and more plywood and so should just keep getting better.
Having succeeded at getting the two sheets fastened on Saturday, Today I moved on to fitting some of the 100mm wide strips I had cut from the left overs. I choose an angle of 30 deg and have made them sweep back from the keel. I fitted 6 strips then made up a batch of glue. Turns out I only made enough glue to fix down four of them, but it was quick and easy work with the brads.
At this point I am fixing ply to a relatively flat surface, the real test will come when the curve starts to become pronoucned. So far so good
It is amazing how the newly formed flat surface quickly become a place to store "stuff"
Cleaning out the limbers proved easy, I was worried that was going to be hard to get them nice a clear. I got a piece of dowel, took to it with the plane a bit then if slide easily through the limbers. Unfortunately I made it two long and I couldn't get it through the athwart ship ones at the transom. I was going to cut it down, but then forgot, and by the time I remembered it was too late. I haven't checked, but hopefully they aren't too blocked, none of the others were.
Sunday 28 October 2012
Transom
Having competed the first coat of the CPES, I have decided to do the second coat after the flip.
So today I glued and nailed the first layer of the transom. Went smoothly.
So today I glued and nailed the first layer of the transom. Went smoothly.
Sunday 21 October 2012
CPES or Timber Sealant
3 weeks have gone by, mostly spent sanding and fairing. The sanding was very tedious, I was trying to get all the excess glue of around all the joints. It looks reasonably tidy, but there is no doubt that the joints at the end where I started look better than those at the other end.
Fairing....well I gave up in the end. I can't tell what is "correct", at the stern its quite easy, but up by the bow with the complex curves, I was chasing my tail. So if after the first layer it looks like crap I'll fill / sand as required to get it looking better. If need be I'll stick an extra layer of ply on to compensate.
CPES, Wests call it Timber Sealant. Today's mission was to seal the entire boat, I worked out that the frames, stringers, and batten had a total surface area of around 25 sq metres. I figure about 4 hours should knock the job off. well I spent 7 hours in total today on the boat, at least 5 of those with a paint brush or roller in hand and I am just a little bit over half way. I hadn't counted on how slow it would be due to the nooks and crannies, and having to play contortionist inside the boat. But it looks good, the wood soaked it up pretty well. I think the West product works marginally better than the EPG stuff I was using
The CPES came in two 4 litre tins, and pouring proved to be a pain in the ass, so I went and bought a couple of pumps, but regrettably the part B melted the pump. Back the drawing board, going to talk to West's to see if they do pumps for the tins.
Haven't bothered with a photo as you can't see any real difference from the last.
One of the other jobs I have done in the last couple of weeks is the plans called for a strip to be glued to the chine up by the stem to provide a transition from the bottom which has 4 sheets to the sides which only had three. Now that its done I can't see how that its going to work because there is now a 4mm lump on the stem. I'll post a photo later.
Fairing....well I gave up in the end. I can't tell what is "correct", at the stern its quite easy, but up by the bow with the complex curves, I was chasing my tail. So if after the first layer it looks like crap I'll fill / sand as required to get it looking better. If need be I'll stick an extra layer of ply on to compensate.
CPES, Wests call it Timber Sealant. Today's mission was to seal the entire boat, I worked out that the frames, stringers, and batten had a total surface area of around 25 sq metres. I figure about 4 hours should knock the job off. well I spent 7 hours in total today on the boat, at least 5 of those with a paint brush or roller in hand and I am just a little bit over half way. I hadn't counted on how slow it would be due to the nooks and crannies, and having to play contortionist inside the boat. But it looks good, the wood soaked it up pretty well. I think the West product works marginally better than the EPG stuff I was using
The CPES came in two 4 litre tins, and pouring proved to be a pain in the ass, so I went and bought a couple of pumps, but regrettably the part B melted the pump. Back the drawing board, going to talk to West's to see if they do pumps for the tins.
Haven't bothered with a photo as you can't see any real difference from the last.
One of the other jobs I have done in the last couple of weeks is the plans called for a strip to be glued to the chine up by the stem to provide a transition from the bottom which has 4 sheets to the sides which only had three. Now that its done I can't see how that its going to work because there is now a 4mm lump on the stem. I'll post a photo later.
Sunday 30 September 2012
Fairing and sanding
Spent a couple of hours sanding down the excess glue around various joints in preparation for applying a couple of coats of timber sealer. It's slow and awkward work, so far I am only about 25% of the way through that task.
I did start off using the sanding attachment on my Bosch oscillating tool but the sanding pad gets hot and melts the Velcro hooks so I gave up on that and I'm doing it by hand.
I also cut the athwart ship limbers, I decided eventually to cut them in the forward side of frames 0, 4, & 6.
Spent some time looking at and fixing the fairing. Most of the work was focused forward of frame 8.
Last thing for the weekend was cutting out the full sheet for the aft port side first layer and then slicing up the remainders of the two sheets into 100mm strips.
I am only going to get a few hours on the boat over the next couple of weeks. Hopefully I will be applying the timber sealer about mid October, and then skinning can begin.
I did start off using the sanding attachment on my Bosch oscillating tool but the sanding pad gets hot and melts the Velcro hooks so I gave up on that and I'm doing it by hand.
I also cut the athwart ship limbers, I decided eventually to cut them in the forward side of frames 0, 4, & 6.
Spent some time looking at and fixing the fairing. Most of the work was focused forward of frame 8.
Last thing for the weekend was cutting out the full sheet for the aft port side first layer and then slicing up the remainders of the two sheets into 100mm strips.
I am only going to get a few hours on the boat over the next couple of weeks. Hopefully I will be applying the timber sealer about mid October, and then skinning can begin.
Sunday 16 September 2012
Limbers and ply
Progress has been a little slow lately. I have be indecisive about the state of the fairing. I have found it difficult to determine what is correctly faired and what needs work.
Well anyway, today I did some more checks and have concluded that from frame 0 to 5 is ok, but forward of that needs more work.
So I decided to cut the limbers as I wasn't in the mode for fairing. Cutting the limbers with the router was a relatively simple task but I was surprised how long it took to cut them all. I still have the athwartship limbers to cut, I will be posting I the glen - l site regarding where the best place for these is.
Lastly I cut up my first sheet of ply. The instructions allow for a full sheet to be used on both side at the aft end for the first layer. I have the first sheet trimmed to an oversize shape.
Well anyway, today I did some more checks and have concluded that from frame 0 to 5 is ok, but forward of that needs more work.
So I decided to cut the limbers as I wasn't in the mode for fairing. Cutting the limbers with the router was a relatively simple task but I was surprised how long it took to cut them all. I still have the athwartship limbers to cut, I will be posting I the glen - l site regarding where the best place for these is.
Lastly I cut up my first sheet of ply. The instructions allow for a full sheet to be used on both side at the aft end for the first layer. I have the first sheet trimmed to an oversize shape.
Monday 3 September 2012
Fairing
Took to the bow area with the power plane and then the disc sander. I am very happy with the result. It all looks pretty symetrical, and althogh some of the battens don't end as tidyly as I like, I think it will all end up ok.
I then start on the battens to the read of the boat. Surprisingly there are hollows between each of the frames. I have taken most of those out with a hand plane.
I'm a little bit unsure of just how perfect the fairing process needs to be. I have sought advice from the Glen - L forum but had no useful responses.
So I moved on to other things. I cut out the ply for the first layer of the transom. I have cut it out oversize, with the plan being to trim it down after its been glued in place.
I then start on the battens to the read of the boat. Surprisingly there are hollows between each of the frames. I have taken most of those out with a hand plane.
I'm a little bit unsure of just how perfect the fairing process needs to be. I have sought advice from the Glen - L forum but had no useful responses.
So I moved on to other things. I cut out the ply for the first layer of the transom. I have cut it out oversize, with the plan being to trim it down after its been glued in place.
Sunday 26 August 2012
Side battens are complete
I have been very slack with updating my blog over the last month. I see its just over a month since my last post, but I have been busy in that time.
All of the side battens are now in place. They all went on without any major surprises. In fact I found doing the starboard side a little tedious, but I think that was mostly due too the limited access making the process a bit slow at times.
I had to invest in a bulb for my work light, and I also bought a lead lamp. It was too hard trying to pick up where I had marked out the notches otherwise.
I have also cut down all the deck beam bolts. A small job but had to be done while I could still get a hacksaw in. It would be almost impossible once the side battens had been glued in.
I have also been and bought all f my plywood. So I am ready to launch into the next phase.
So I have to do final fairing, and then apply 1 or 3(?) coats of C.P.E.S. before I launch into cold molding.
C.PE.S.; I orginally bought a brand called EPG, but as I mentioned in one of my earlier posts I got nervous about product support and switched to West. The frames and stringers have had one coat of the EPG brand. The West guy tells me that one coat is enough. The Glen-L forum has people advocating at least 3 coats.
So:
Q1 Do I do 1 or 3 coats
Q2 Do I use up my remaining EPG product, I have enough for about 15 sq Metres.
Q3 Do I put West over the top of EPG ?
I have worked out that the area to be coated is about 25 sq metres. So my EPG would only do about half a coat, or I could coat everything that hasn't yet had a coat with that, and then do a West coat over the top ???
I don't know. Need to talk to the West guy.
Any way here is a photo with the port side battens complete. I haven't yet taken one with the starboard battens in place
All of the side battens are now in place. They all went on without any major surprises. In fact I found doing the starboard side a little tedious, but I think that was mostly due too the limited access making the process a bit slow at times.
I had to invest in a bulb for my work light, and I also bought a lead lamp. It was too hard trying to pick up where I had marked out the notches otherwise.
I have also cut down all the deck beam bolts. A small job but had to be done while I could still get a hacksaw in. It would be almost impossible once the side battens had been glued in.
I have also been and bought all f my plywood. So I am ready to launch into the next phase.
So I have to do final fairing, and then apply 1 or 3(?) coats of C.P.E.S. before I launch into cold molding.
C.PE.S.; I orginally bought a brand called EPG, but as I mentioned in one of my earlier posts I got nervous about product support and switched to West. The frames and stringers have had one coat of the EPG brand. The West guy tells me that one coat is enough. The Glen-L forum has people advocating at least 3 coats.
So:
Q1 Do I do 1 or 3 coats
Q2 Do I use up my remaining EPG product, I have enough for about 15 sq Metres.
Q3 Do I put West over the top of EPG ?
I have worked out that the area to be coated is about 25 sq metres. So my EPG would only do about half a coat, or I could coat everything that hasn't yet had a coat with that, and then do a West coat over the top ???
I don't know. Need to talk to the West guy.
Any way here is a photo with the port side battens complete. I haven't yet taken one with the starboard battens in place
Tuesday 24 July 2012
First dry fit of side battens
Marked out the positions of the side battens tonight and clamped the battens to the frames. The instructions call for the battens to be equally spaced at each frame. I was a bit concerned that the battens wouldn't easily follow those lines, but they did and without force.
From doing this I can see a little bit more fairing is required on some of the frames towards the aft.
It also shows a minor flat spot at around frame 4. I think this is yet another consequence of frame 3 being off centre. I don't think it will take much to deal with it.
From doing this I can see a little bit more fairing is required on some of the frames towards the aft.
It also shows a minor flat spot at around frame 4. I think this is yet another consequence of frame 3 being off centre. I don't think it will take much to deal with it.
Sunday 22 July 2012
Bottom battens finished, sheer faired
Had a pretty progressive weekend. Permanently attached the last two bottom battens yesterday. Today I took to the front of the battens with the plane to fair them into the stem.
Also scarfed another 3 battens for the sides, got 1 to go.
Lastly took to the sheers with the power plan today. I thought fairing the sheers was going to take a couple of days worth of effort, but it only took about 2 hours. They are now looking pretty enough to notch the battens into. Everything is going to get a final fair once all the battens are fitted.
My brother loaned me his crawler which folds up into a small stool on wheels. This was absolutely brilliant as I could push myself along and make big sweeping passes with the plane.
Also scarfed another 3 battens for the sides, got 1 to go.
Lastly took to the sheers with the power plan today. I thought fairing the sheers was going to take a couple of days worth of effort, but it only took about 2 hours. They are now looking pretty enough to notch the battens into. Everything is going to get a final fair once all the battens are fitted.
My brother loaned me his crawler which folds up into a small stool on wheels. This was absolutely brilliant as I could push myself along and make big sweeping passes with the plane.
Monday 16 July 2012
7 batten fixed and a new sander
Pretty good progress today
This morning I glued and screwed all 5 battens on the port side bottom.
Then a session with the bench saw to scarf a new piece on to the end of the broken batten, plus prepare some side battens for scarfing as well.
Then a trip to Bunnings to by a new sander. Got a Bosch 5" rotary. I'll puts it's details in the tool page.
On returning home I glued down to battens on the starboard side, glued the scarf to repair the broken batten and glued the scarf on one of the side battens.
All in all I am very pleased with progress today.
This morning I glued and screwed all 5 battens on the port side bottom.
Then a session with the bench saw to scarf a new piece on to the end of the broken batten, plus prepare some side battens for scarfing as well.
Then a trip to Bunnings to by a new sander. Got a Bosch 5" rotary. I'll puts it's details in the tool page.
On returning home I glued down to battens on the starboard side, glued the scarf to repair the broken batten and glued the scarf on one of the side battens.
All in all I am very pleased with progress today.
New sander is cool !!!!
Got home from work on time for a change so decided to finish preparing the repaired batten for fixing. As part of that I got to try out my new sander. I was very surprised as how low vibration and noise it was. Seems to do a good job as well.
I also prepared another of the side batten scarfs ready for glueing.
I also prepared another of the side batten scarfs ready for glueing.
Saturday 14 July 2012
Broken batten, broken sander, but nearly ready
Spent much of the day in final preparations for glueing and screwing the bottom battens.
Had a couple of set backs, my sander broken so I have been hand sanding. The sander hadn't been working very well all day, and by the time it finally died it was quicker doing it by hand any way.
Then, just as I finished sanding a batten, it broke. Oddly enough it broken in a place were the batten is dead straight. So first job tomorrow will be fixing that. Better it broken now then cracked after being glued in.
I will have to go shopping for a new sander tomorrow. Ordinarily I don't mind buy tools :-), but it will eat into what I have saved up to spend on ply wood.
Due to the order I have to put the battens on, which is dictated by access for my power drill to put the screws in, I won't be able to fix all the battens tomorrow, but I'll do the ones that I can.
Had a couple of set backs, my sander broken so I have been hand sanding. The sander hadn't been working very well all day, and by the time it finally died it was quicker doing it by hand any way.
Then, just as I finished sanding a batten, it broke. Oddly enough it broken in a place were the batten is dead straight. So first job tomorrow will be fixing that. Better it broken now then cracked after being glued in.
I will have to go shopping for a new sander tomorrow. Ordinarily I don't mind buy tools :-), but it will eat into what I have saved up to spend on ply wood.
Due to the order I have to put the battens on, which is dictated by access for my power drill to put the screws in, I won't be able to fix all the battens tomorrow, but I'll do the ones that I can.
Sunday 8 July 2012
Chine is fixed
Well my fix for the over twisted chine worked beautifully. I took to the glued on spacer with a power plane and then the belt sander and it came out much better than I had thought I was capable.
Also scarfed another couple of battens together.
I have also applied the same fix to the chine on the other side, although it wasn't nearly as bad.
I wish I had taken a before and after photo. I can take an after photo but its a bit pointless.
I am hoping to next weekend push through and get all of the bottom battens glued and screwed. I have just looked at my schedule I published in Jauary, and find I'm starting to slip behind. I am supposed to be finished the battens by the end of July.
I'll be lucky to finish the bottom battens by the end of July, and I still have the side fairing / battens to do.
Also scarfed another couple of battens together.
I have also applied the same fix to the chine on the other side, although it wasn't nearly as bad.
I wish I had taken a before and after photo. I can take an after photo but its a bit pointless.
I am hoping to next weekend push through and get all of the bottom battens glued and screwed. I have just looked at my schedule I published in Jauary, and find I'm starting to slip behind. I am supposed to be finished the battens by the end of July.
I'll be lucky to finish the bottom battens by the end of July, and I still have the side fairing / battens to do.
Saturday 7 July 2012
Battens and fixing the chine
I think I mentioned in an earlier post that I unwittingly over twisted my chine and so it does not blend nicely into the stem. So today I glued a 10mm thick piece on with the hope of being able fair it back and correct this error
Also spent more time on preparing the battens. Marked out a bunch more holes, router-ed the top edge of another 4 battens, and cut to length the two battens I scarfed the other night.
Slow progress today due to lots of non-boat jobs needing to be done
Also spent more time on preparing the battens. Marked out a bunch more holes, router-ed the top edge of another 4 battens, and cut to length the two battens I scarfed the other night.
Slow progress today due to lots of non-boat jobs needing to be done
Friday 6 July 2012
New glue
Got some 205 hardner the other day and last night glued the scarfs in two battens.
205 makes the epoxy a bit thicker, it seemed to take less glue powder to make the batch.
Was a bit worried last night as it hadn't even started to get tacky after an hour and a half, but by this morning it was all set ok.
Temperature was 10 deg C when made the glue.
205 makes the epoxy a bit thicker, it seemed to take less glue powder to make the batch.
Was a bit worried last night as it hadn't even started to get tacky after an hour and a half, but by this morning it was all set ok.
Temperature was 10 deg C when made the glue.
Sunday 1 July 2012
Battens....battens....new saw
I finished the notches on the starboard bottom. I have also got 2 battens dry fitted, and a 3rd half way there.
Really need glue. Hopefully get some this week.
Really need glue. Hopefully get some this week.
Saturday 30 June 2012
Battens again
Slow progress today. Cut out another 6 or 7 notches.
Had a visit for Craig (aka seapea). He brought with him my order of raptor brads. He also bought his raptor gun as well. Did some side by side trials with my gun. More or less convinced myself to by a raptor gun. Mine works well most of the time, but the raptor worked well all the time. My one had a tendency to punch then too far. The raptor by tended to leave just proud of the surface.
Should finish the prep on the bottom battens tomorrow, just need to get more glue.
Had a visit for Craig (aka seapea). He brought with him my order of raptor brads. He also bought his raptor gun as well. Did some side by side trials with my gun. More or less convinced myself to by a raptor gun. Mine works well most of the time, but the raptor worked well all the time. My one had a tendency to punch then too far. The raptor by tended to leave just proud of the surface.
Should finish the prep on the bottom battens tomorrow, just need to get more glue.
Monday 25 June 2012
Another day of battens
The forecast for Saturday was for a high of 17 so I had high hopes of getting some glueing done, but alas it only got to 15 briefly.
I decided to put a 2mm radius on the top sides of my battens. Several people recommended doing this to the frames, and although I don't recall anybody saying it about the battens, it still seemed like a good idea. I am sure my knees will thank me latter.
So I set about modifying my work bench to accept my router mounted from below. This took a couple of hours to rig up and the results were disappointing. My bench has started to sag a little in the middle.
So I gave up on that and just put the battens on the ground and ran along them. I had thought that would be awkward (not sure in hindsight why), but it turned out to be quick, easy and produce good results.
The rest of the day was spent sanding some of the battens, drilling holes, final trim on notches etc
By mid afternoon I had done all I could on the port side and started marking out more notches on the starboard side. Got 1 cut before I ran out of time.
I also had a look at the data sheet for the glue and discovered 16 deg is the minimum, not 15 as I had thought.
I did also however find there is another version of hardner that can go down to 4 deg so I am going to look into that.
Not a lot of progress really, a bit disappointing.
I decided to put a 2mm radius on the top sides of my battens. Several people recommended doing this to the frames, and although I don't recall anybody saying it about the battens, it still seemed like a good idea. I am sure my knees will thank me latter.
So I set about modifying my work bench to accept my router mounted from below. This took a couple of hours to rig up and the results were disappointing. My bench has started to sag a little in the middle.
So I gave up on that and just put the battens on the ground and ran along them. I had thought that would be awkward (not sure in hindsight why), but it turned out to be quick, easy and produce good results.
The rest of the day was spent sanding some of the battens, drilling holes, final trim on notches etc
By mid afternoon I had done all I could on the port side and started marking out more notches on the starboard side. Got 1 cut before I ran out of time.
I also had a look at the data sheet for the glue and discovered 16 deg is the minimum, not 15 as I had thought.
I did also however find there is another version of hardner that can go down to 4 deg so I am going to look into that.
Not a lot of progress really, a bit disappointing.
Sunday 17 June 2012
Still doing battens
Today's achievements were
Sand down the sides of the keel to get all the glue squeeze out off
General sand of anything that needed a tidy up before the port side bottom battens go on.
Drilled holes in 3 battens ready for glueing
Glued some spacers into two batten notches that were too deep
Re-sawed my remaining offcuts into battens, mostly short bits suitable for scarfing.
General tidy up of workbench and another big sweep up.
Cleaned up the scarf joints on the battens
Started to sand the batten with 220 grit .
I am hoping to do some glueing later today, but it's quite cold, in the garage at the moment it's only 12 degrees although it doesn't feel that cold. I need 15 minimum according to the epoxy instructions. I can see this becoming a real problem and foresee progress coming to a halt for a couple of months. I can probably keep myself fairly busy for another month with battens and associated works, after that it depend on the weather.
Sand down the sides of the keel to get all the glue squeeze out off
General sand of anything that needed a tidy up before the port side bottom battens go on.
Drilled holes in 3 battens ready for glueing
Glued some spacers into two batten notches that were too deep
Re-sawed my remaining offcuts into battens, mostly short bits suitable for scarfing.
General tidy up of workbench and another big sweep up.
Cleaned up the scarf joints on the battens
Started to sand the batten with 220 grit .
I am hoping to do some glueing later today, but it's quite cold, in the garage at the moment it's only 12 degrees although it doesn't feel that cold. I need 15 minimum according to the epoxy instructions. I can see this becoming a real problem and foresee progress coming to a halt for a couple of months. I can probably keep myself fairly busy for another month with battens and associated works, after that it depend on the weather.
Tuesday 12 June 2012
Half the bottom almost done
Had another weekend of interuptions, but managed totoal about 6 or 7 hours on the boat.
In that time got all of the notches on port side bottom completed, and dry fitting of the battens sorted. Cutting the forward end of the battens to shape where they meet the chine / stem was a lot of fun, bit of a head scratch-er, and very difficult to get snug fits.
I had to scarf join 4 of the 5, of which I have so far only glued 3 of them. The 3 that are glued just need trimming to length and then I can beginning glueing and screwing them into place permenantly.
This is another one of those staes that has a dramatic effect on the look of the boat, and the perceieved in not actual progress.
The big thing I noticed this morning is that lack access has again taken a big step, it wont be long before I am crawling under the cheer to get at things "inside" the boat.
In that time got all of the notches on port side bottom completed, and dry fitting of the battens sorted. Cutting the forward end of the battens to shape where they meet the chine / stem was a lot of fun, bit of a head scratch-er, and very difficult to get snug fits.
I had to scarf join 4 of the 5, of which I have so far only glued 3 of them. The 3 that are glued just need trimming to length and then I can beginning glueing and screwing them into place permenantly.
This is another one of those staes that has a dramatic effect on the look of the boat, and the perceieved in not actual progress.
The big thing I noticed this morning is that lack access has again taken a big step, it wont be long before I am crawling under the cheer to get at things "inside" the boat.
Monday 4 June 2012
More on notches
I have been continuing on with the notches on the starboard side of the bottom. As I approached the bow the curves in the frame the router / Jig solution wasn't working so well and so I changed over to a tenon saw and chisels.
Discovered that this method was just as quick and didn't suffer the tear outs that the router caused.
So I have one left to do on the starboard bottom.
I also have cut one of the battens to marry up to the chine. This is a complex angle, but turned out to be very easy to cut. A bit of fine tuning with the spokeshave left a very nice joint.
Hit another screw with my chisel, I knew it was there, having already removed most of it to chisel a notch. I even knew the bit was there and was trying hard to miss it. Not a big deal, but it's another half hour of building time lost to sharpening instead of building.
Discovered that this method was just as quick and didn't suffer the tear outs that the router caused.
So I have one left to do on the starboard bottom.
I also have cut one of the battens to marry up to the chine. This is a complex angle, but turned out to be very easy to cut. A bit of fine tuning with the spokeshave left a very nice joint.
Hit another screw with my chisel, I knew it was there, having already removed most of it to chisel a notch. I even knew the bit was there and was trying hard to miss it. Not a big deal, but it's another half hour of building time lost to sharpening instead of building.
Tuesday 29 May 2012
A year has passed
It has just occurred to me that the first anniversary of my boat building adventure just slipped quietly by last week.
I am further ahead than I envisaged I would be when I started this. I have had a lot of fun so far, also a bit of pain with some large and small screwups. But as I doing this 99% by myself I have no one to blame but myself.
I have really enjoyed learning some of the simpler things, how to put a decent edge on a blade, gaining prowess with various power tools. I have always been okay with tools, but I think I now approach things with more finesse, care and attention.
This coming year will hopefully see the hull finished, and the flip come into view on the horizon.
I am further ahead than I envisaged I would be when I started this. I have had a lot of fun so far, also a bit of pain with some large and small screwups. But as I doing this 99% by myself I have no one to blame but myself.
I have really enjoyed learning some of the simpler things, how to put a decent edge on a blade, gaining prowess with various power tools. I have always been okay with tools, but I think I now approach things with more finesse, care and attention.
This coming year will hopefully see the hull finished, and the flip come into view on the horizon.
Spokeshave
My spokeshave arrived today. Brand new, but only $20. To be honest it's not worth a cent more. The blade had no edge, which was fine, and I was able to fairly quickly sort that out. I quite enjoy sharpening tools.
As you can see from the photos it had two adjustment knobs, but one of the shafts was bent, even with it straightened it is difficult to make fine adjustments as the knobs bind. I am going to see what I can do about that.
Having sharpened the blade I reassembled it and then took to a scrap piece of wood......bitterly disappointed. Nothing I seemed to do made it work well. It either dug in, chattered, needed far to much force etc etc.
So I retreated to you tube to get some training / advice on how to use it. I usually find you tube a wealth of information on the correct way to use something, but there is actually very little on there about spokeshaves. Anyway after about an hour of surfing I found the answer buried away in a forum post, the blade goes in bevel down, not bevel up. Well what a difference. It now performs like I expected. I think I need to have another round at sharpening the blade but I was still able to get nice consistent shaves with good control and minimal pressure.
Still need to practice some more with it, but I think I will soon be able to takes to my frames with it.
Having finished writing this, I was thinking about some of the stuff I saw on you tube and certainly with the wooden versions, they were definitely bevel up......interesting.
As you can see from the photos it had two adjustment knobs, but one of the shafts was bent, even with it straightened it is difficult to make fine adjustments as the knobs bind. I am going to see what I can do about that.
Having sharpened the blade I reassembled it and then took to a scrap piece of wood......bitterly disappointed. Nothing I seemed to do made it work well. It either dug in, chattered, needed far to much force etc etc.
So I retreated to you tube to get some training / advice on how to use it. I usually find you tube a wealth of information on the correct way to use something, but there is actually very little on there about spokeshaves. Anyway after about an hour of surfing I found the answer buried away in a forum post, the blade goes in bevel down, not bevel up. Well what a difference. It now performs like I expected. I think I need to have another round at sharpening the blade but I was still able to get nice consistent shaves with good control and minimal pressure.
Still need to practice some more with it, but I think I will soon be able to takes to my frames with it.
Having finished writing this, I was thinking about some of the stuff I saw on you tube and certainly with the wooden versions, they were definitely bevel up......interesting.
Sunday 27 May 2012
Routing the notches
I have been using a jig I made for routing the keel notches and it works very well.
Only problem I have had is my notches slowly getting too deep, and I have since discovered it was caused. Y the stop on the router depth setting. It had a fine adjustment that was slowly winding itself in. Now that I know I can watch out for it.
So got notches done for 7 battens done now. Only frames 0 to 4 thou.
Only problem I have had is my notches slowly getting too deep, and I have since discovered it was caused. Y the stop on the router depth setting. It had a fine adjustment that was slowly winding itself in. Now that I know I can watch out for it.
So got notches done for 7 battens done now. Only frames 0 to 4 thou.
Saturday 26 May 2012
Battens part 2
My spokeshave didn't arrive so I have moved back to working I the battens
I am reasonably happy with the fairing at the aft end, so I started cutting the notches for the battens. So far I am only cutting into frames 0 thru 4. I have so far cut 10 notches.
I am cutting them with the router. Took a couple of notches to get the jig setup properly, but it is now cutting perfect notches. At about notch 4 my router but sheared off, couldn't see any reason why, but they were cheap bits. So quick trip to bunnings to get a new one. Hit a couple of screws with the new one, but hasn't damaged the bit thankfully.
I am reasonably happy with the fairing at the aft end, so I started cutting the notches for the battens. So far I am only cutting into frames 0 thru 4. I have so far cut 10 notches.
I am cutting them with the router. Took a couple of notches to get the jig setup properly, but it is now cutting perfect notches. At about notch 4 my router but sheared off, couldn't see any reason why, but they were cheap bits. So quick trip to bunnings to get a new one. Hit a couple of screws with the new one, but hasn't damaged the bit thankfully.
Thursday 24 May 2012
Battens
I did a bit more fairing tonight particularly around frame 7. However I have ordered a spokeshave and I think this will do a better job so I have stopped fairing for the moment.
So I started to look into the battens. So far like the fairing, I am only looking at the bottom. Up to about frame 6 looks fairly simple but it rapidly get complicated from there with the batten being bent in two directions and twisted as well. Up around frame 8 is going to be a barrel of laughs. :-(....
I have been trying to work out which bits need joining and how to optimize my stock of battens. The two nearest the keel need about 1000mm added, but I don't want the two scarfs side by side. The 3rd one out also needs about 350mm.
I can see some fun times ahead. Practically I am probably still a week or two from doing anything serious.
There are going to be some tricky cuts where the battens meets the chine or stem, I am going to need to get those sorted before joining where ever possible.
So I started to look into the battens. So far like the fairing, I am only looking at the bottom. Up to about frame 6 looks fairly simple but it rapidly get complicated from there with the batten being bent in two directions and twisted as well. Up around frame 8 is going to be a barrel of laughs. :-(....
I have been trying to work out which bits need joining and how to optimize my stock of battens. The two nearest the keel need about 1000mm added, but I don't want the two scarfs side by side. The 3rd one out also needs about 350mm.
I can see some fun times ahead. Practically I am probably still a week or two from doing anything serious.
There are going to be some tricky cuts where the battens meets the chine or stem, I am going to need to get those sorted before joining where ever possible.
Sunday 20 May 2012
Fairing and damaged tools
Spent a fair bit more time on fairing this weekend, and on the bottom I have completed the "bulk" fairing and am now slowly closing in on the finished lines.
Managed to put some serious nicks in one of my planes TWICE !!. Both time from hitting screws that I don't remember putting in. Just got the blade cleaned up after the first hit then find another screw. Bugger !!.
When I was laying out the frame I built up a pedestal for the breast hook to sit in. Well today I cut the top couple of layers back so I can get into that area without interference. It was during this work that I put an almighty gouge in a chisel. No idea what I hit.
Still a lot of fairing to do on the bottom before I move on to the sides but it is really starting to take on its lines now.
Managed to put some serious nicks in one of my planes TWICE !!. Both time from hitting screws that I don't remember putting in. Just got the blade cleaned up after the first hit then find another screw. Bugger !!.
When I was laying out the frame I built up a pedestal for the breast hook to sit in. Well today I cut the top couple of layers back so I can get into that area without interference. It was during this work that I put an almighty gouge in a chisel. No idea what I hit.
Still a lot of fairing to do on the bottom before I move on to the sides but it is really starting to take on its lines now.
Monday 14 May 2012
Guide battens
Tonight I dragged out about half a dozen long thin strips I had left over from making the sheers and clamped them to the hull. What needs to be done is now infinitely more visible, and thankfully more or less what I expected from yesterday's research.
Now I am a little daunted by how to actually achieve the result. I am thinking that a spokes shave might be a useful tool to have to put the bevel on the frame. Thankfully they can be bought quite cheaply. The second photo shows the strips lying on top of Frame 6, and the angle of the required bevel can be clearly seen.
Now I am a little daunted by how to actually achieve the result. I am thinking that a spokes shave might be a useful tool to have to put the bevel on the frame. Thankfully they can be bought quite cheaply. The second photo shows the strips lying on top of Frame 6, and the angle of the required bevel can be clearly seen.
Guess what - more fairing
Spent another couple if hours removing the bulk of the material from the chime and keel on the other side. This was punctuated by having to take my power plane to bits, the depth adjuster jumped the stop and so it would plane anything.
After doing that I decided to look at the stem, and chine forward of frame 7. Really unsure here so decided to ponder it while sharpening my planes and chisels. Still not sure after that so went and re-read the instruction again, then read the boat building with ply chapter.
Still not happy so I surfed the glen -l site for discussion and more importantly, photos of this area. This left me feeling happier about it.
After doing that I decided to look at the stem, and chine forward of frame 7. Really unsure here so decided to ponder it while sharpening my planes and chisels. Still not sure after that so went and re-read the instruction again, then read the boat building with ply chapter.
Still not happy so I surfed the glen -l site for discussion and more importantly, photos of this area. This left me feeling happier about it.
Saturday 12 May 2012
More fairing
Spent an hour or figuring out what to do about frame 1 last night, and today put that plan into action, so now both side of frame 1 have a spacer glued on.
Then filed the remaining chine / frame and keel frame junctions to get my reference for fairing
Then it was out with the power plane, I had already taken quite a bit off one of the chines but a lot more still had to come off. I could only do one side as the spacer was being glued on the other side
Then I took to the keel, this was a bit harder, had to climb in amongst the frames and the lead kept getting tangled so I made this cranes type assembly to keep the lead up, the top swings around, worked ok.
Also set about fixing a problem up at the stem. There is a mistake in the Monaco plans (well I think so anyway).
The breast hook is made of two laminations of ply. One of the laminations has a notch in it for the stem to fit in, but this notch is too deep and the natural thing to do is push the stem all the way into the notch. Problem with this is that the front of the stem is supposed to be flush with the point on the breast hook so I had to glue yet another spacer on so that I had something to fair to a point.
After that I got into attempting the rabl method to get the stem taper correct, this worked ok up to the point where the chines met the stem. As I mentioned in an earlier post, my chine has arrived at the stem with a bit too much twist. Once again I may have to glue in some filler blocks.
Then filed the remaining chine / frame and keel frame junctions to get my reference for fairing
Then it was out with the power plane, I had already taken quite a bit off one of the chines but a lot more still had to come off. I could only do one side as the spacer was being glued on the other side
Then I took to the keel, this was a bit harder, had to climb in amongst the frames and the lead kept getting tangled so I made this cranes type assembly to keep the lead up, the top swings around, worked ok.
Also set about fixing a problem up at the stem. There is a mistake in the Monaco plans (well I think so anyway).
The breast hook is made of two laminations of ply. One of the laminations has a notch in it for the stem to fit in, but this notch is too deep and the natural thing to do is push the stem all the way into the notch. Problem with this is that the front of the stem is supposed to be flush with the point on the breast hook so I had to glue yet another spacer on so that I had something to fair to a point.
After that I got into attempting the rabl method to get the stem taper correct, this worked ok up to the point where the chines met the stem. As I mentioned in an earlier post, my chine has arrived at the stem with a bit too much twist. Once again I may have to glue in some filler blocks.
Sunday 6 May 2012
Fairing -
I am well into the fairing now. So far I have filed down most of the chine / frame & keel / frame junctions to get my reference points. I have also started to plane the bulk of the waste material off of one of the chines.
Taking things nice a slow to try and avoid screw ups.
I have discovered that I have an issue with frames 1 & 2 on both sides. I haven't fully investigated it yet, but it seems like the angle of the bottom pieces of the frame is wrong. At the point the frame meets the keel, its about 5 mm low, but by the time the frame gets out to the chine, if almost perfect.
Taking things nice a slow to try and avoid screw ups.
I have discovered that I have an issue with frames 1 & 2 on both sides. I haven't fully investigated it yet, but it seems like the angle of the bottom pieces of the frame is wrong. At the point the frame meets the keel, its about 5 mm low, but by the time the frame gets out to the chine, if almost perfect.
Saturday 5 May 2012
The sheers are finished
The last length of sheer went on today. Another big milestone.
Started setting up to hit the fairing stage. Marked a centre line on the keel and did a general clean up of the area.
Started setting up to hit the fairing stage. Marked a centre line on the keel and did a general clean up of the area.
Tuesday 1 May 2012
Fairing #1
So tonight I started fairing. Very gently for a start. I took a few swipes along one of the chines with the power plane before swapping to a hand plane.
I could have taken a lot more with the power plane but wanted to practice fairing with the hand plane.
At this stage I find the process quite therapeutic but I'm sure after a few more hours at it that will wear off.
I have sort of jumped the gun a bit, I still have one lamination of sheer left to fit but couldn't resist.
I also dropped my #6 plane tonight and broke the handle. Very angry with myself over that. I have glued the handle back together and I don't think any other damage has occurred.
Starting to slip on my schedule but not much I can do about that.
I could have taken a lot more with the power plane but wanted to practice fairing with the hand plane.
At this stage I find the process quite therapeutic but I'm sure after a few more hours at it that will wear off.
I have sort of jumped the gun a bit, I still have one lamination of sheer left to fit but couldn't resist.
I also dropped my #6 plane tonight and broke the handle. Very angry with myself over that. I have glued the handle back together and I don't think any other damage has occurred.
Starting to slip on my schedule but not much I can do about that.
Sunday 15 April 2012
2nd lam on the sheer
Did the second lamination on the port sheer clamp. I was really surprised how quickly it went. A couple of frames needed a minor trim and then it was out with the glue.
Used all of my clamps and could have done with another 4 or 5.
Used all of my clamps and could have done with another 4 or 5.
Saturday 14 April 2012
250 ft of battens
Spent ages today sawing up and thicknessing 250 ft of batten material. It's not enough to complete the battens, still need about another 40 ft but it will keep me busy for a while to come
Thursday 12 April 2012
A little more progress tonight
Sanded back the screw heads on the sheer on the other side.
Trimmed the end of the chine flush with the transom on the other side.
Filed the chine down at another couple of frames. At about frame 6, the screw securing the chine was in the way so I had to remove it, and of course it sheared off. I'll put another screw in after I have finished fairing. I'll look at a different way of dealing with this problem on the next frame I have an issue with.
Made a filler piece to raise the surface of frame 1 up so that it can be faired properly. Just needs to be glued on.
Revisited the extra piece I glued onto the chine. The idea was right I just didn't carry it far enough forward so I have made another piece to glue on as well and then I should have enough to fair back so you will never know. Again just needs glueing on.
Trimmed the end of the chine flush with the transom on the other side.
Filed the chine down at another couple of frames. At about frame 6, the screw securing the chine was in the way so I had to remove it, and of course it sheared off. I'll put another screw in after I have finished fairing. I'll look at a different way of dealing with this problem on the next frame I have an issue with.
Made a filler piece to raise the surface of frame 1 up so that it can be faired properly. Just needs to be glued on.
Revisited the extra piece I glued onto the chine. The idea was right I just didn't carry it far enough forward so I have made another piece to glue on as well and then I should have enough to fair back so you will never know. Again just needs glueing on.
Wednesday 11 April 2012
Tentative fairing
Decided to spend an hour on the boat tonight, not something I normally do during the week as I can't really make much noise.
However I did break out the belt sander and sanded flush the tops of the screws securing the sheers. Also stuck a couple of the frame bolts back in. I am 1 nut short...bugger
Then decided to look into fairing. Started off by running my straight edge along frames 0 to 4. Frame 1 is quite low. I am going to have to glue a filler on. The rest line up pretty nicely. So then I got the rasp out and chewed the chine down level with the frame on 0, 1 & 2. Quite scary at first. I can see quite a bit of material is going to get feed to the power plane.
Finished the night by cutting the chine off flush with the transom on one side. Needs a touch up with the sander but looks ok.
Weather is bad today, I think winter might be checking in. I am going to have to use every available opportunity to saw and plane my remaining boards because I can't do it all in the shed as it wont fit. A couple of weeks of bad weather will stop progress completely.
However I did break out the belt sander and sanded flush the tops of the screws securing the sheers. Also stuck a couple of the frame bolts back in. I am 1 nut short...bugger
Then decided to look into fairing. Started off by running my straight edge along frames 0 to 4. Frame 1 is quite low. I am going to have to glue a filler on. The rest line up pretty nicely. So then I got the rasp out and chewed the chine down level with the frame on 0, 1 & 2. Quite scary at first. I can see quite a bit of material is going to get feed to the power plane.
Finished the night by cutting the chine off flush with the transom on one side. Needs a touch up with the sander but looks ok.
Weather is bad today, I think winter might be checking in. I am going to have to use every available opportunity to saw and plane my remaining boards because I can't do it all in the shed as it wont fit. A couple of weeks of bad weather will stop progress completely.
Monday 9 April 2012
Scarfing the sheers
Not a lot done today. Scarf jointed the next layers of the sheers.
A couple of days ago I started to "repair" an earlier mistake. Frame 2 is about 4 or 5 mm off centre. So on one side I have added a packer to build the frame out to meet the edge of the chine. That seems to have worked very well and with some fairing etc I doubt you will be able to tell when it's finished.
As I mentioned in an earlier post, somehow I have ended up with my transom not level, so one side sits about 5mm higher than the other. Its easily seen now so I don't know how I missed it at the time. Anyway one of the side effects is the chine had to be notched in fairly deeply and now there is about 8mm from the chine face to the edge of the frame. I glued on a packer to try and counter this but looking down the lines of the boat this is not going to work. So I'll need to hack that off and come up with a plan B
Update:
Re-sawed the first 4 battens. Still can't get over how much saw dust these operation create. So now I have about 60 feet of batten material, but need about 270. Checked my stocks, I am going to have to get another couple of planks.
Also mostly prepared the last length I needed for the sheers. Just need to run in through the planner to clean it up.
A couple of days ago I started to "repair" an earlier mistake. Frame 2 is about 4 or 5 mm off centre. So on one side I have added a packer to build the frame out to meet the edge of the chine. That seems to have worked very well and with some fairing etc I doubt you will be able to tell when it's finished.
As I mentioned in an earlier post, somehow I have ended up with my transom not level, so one side sits about 5mm higher than the other. Its easily seen now so I don't know how I missed it at the time. Anyway one of the side effects is the chine had to be notched in fairly deeply and now there is about 8mm from the chine face to the edge of the frame. I glued on a packer to try and counter this but looking down the lines of the boat this is not going to work. So I'll need to hack that off and come up with a plan B
Update:
Re-sawed the first 4 battens. Still can't get over how much saw dust these operation create. So now I have about 60 feet of batten material, but need about 270. Checked my stocks, I am going to have to get another couple of planks.
Also mostly prepared the last length I needed for the sheers. Just need to run in through the planner to clean it up.
Sunday 8 April 2012
Scratchs and scrapes
Probably the thing I am looking forward to most about completing the sheers will be the protection they offer.
I have a multitude of scratches from working around the frames which had quite sharp points and edges. It got a bit better when the notches were cut, but hopefully the sheers being fitted will be the end of that.
I have a multitude of scratches from working around the frames which had quite sharp points and edges. It got a bit better when the notches were cut, but hopefully the sheers being fitted will be the end of that.
Sheers are on
Without much hassle the first lamination of the sheers has been glued on.
Did one side yesterday, with the other side clamped in place to provide counter pressure. Then today glued the remaining side.
Bit scary pushing big #14 screws through one layer of sheers into the frames. Had one frame crack a little bit.
I had trouble getting the sheer to sit nicely on the breasthook on one side. But after glueing and screwing it sat beautifully, then the side that was sitting nicely went screwy when it was glued. Never mind nothing a bit of fairing won't disguise.
Did one side yesterday, with the other side clamped in place to provide counter pressure. Then today glued the remaining side.
Bit scary pushing big #14 screws through one layer of sheers into the frames. Had one frame crack a little bit.
I had trouble getting the sheer to sit nicely on the breasthook on one side. But after glueing and screwing it sat beautifully, then the side that was sitting nicely went screwy when it was glued. Never mind nothing a bit of fairing won't disguise.
Saturday 31 March 2012
Lying down on the job
Spent just about the whole day flat on my back, but hard at work.
I now have the first layer of both sheers in place. At present they are only clamped on. Hopefully tomorrow I can glue/screw them on.
Speaking of clamps, I went satisfied my clamp addiction by getting another fix in the form of 8 new clamps. Needed them to have enough to clamp both sheers in place.
I have read in a few places that when building a wooden boat, anything metal you put in is bound to get in the way. Well I experienced that a lot to day. Had to remove completely one of the deck beam bolts, and in several other places had to remove the nut and washer to complete a cut. So I am going to end up with lots of washers with a flat ground in them.
No photo today, as I can't get a decent shot of the sheers installed.
I now have the first layer of both sheers in place. At present they are only clamped on. Hopefully tomorrow I can glue/screw them on.
Speaking of clamps, I went satisfied my clamp addiction by getting another fix in the form of 8 new clamps. Needed them to have enough to clamp both sheers in place.
I have read in a few places that when building a wooden boat, anything metal you put in is bound to get in the way. Well I experienced that a lot to day. Had to remove completely one of the deck beam bolts, and in several other places had to remove the nut and washer to complete a cut. So I am going to end up with lots of washers with a flat ground in them.
No photo today, as I can't get a decent shot of the sheers installed.
First Sheer almost fits
Got a couple of free hours today to work on the boat - Yee hah.
Spent the time bevelling the sheers notches to suit the curve of the sheer. I have got it very close to right. I bit of fine tuning with a rasp should see it finished. Then I get to do it all again on the other side.
Couple of things I have observed.
1. As everybody says....the forces on the frames are quite severe, with the sheer only on one side it pushes the frames sideways by probably 1/4 an inch. It wants to push further but the extra bracing I put in has stopped that. I will definitely get the other side notched out and the sheer clamped in place before glueing this side to try and keep the forces balanced.
2. I had one notch that seemed oddly out. I studied it for a while then decided I need to cut more out. At the time I had the sheer clamped into the notch on the frame either side. But the sheer past there was only loosely held in the remaining frames. Well I removed the sheer, but it didn't feel right so I put the sheer back on, but clamped it at all frames, and to my surprise, the one I was going to cut now fitted perfectly. Moral of the story is with these long pieces of wood, they have to be sitting correctly all the way along. This is a bit tricky, as until you cut the bevel they are in the wrong place, but once you cut the bevels it affects the frames adjacent. You can chase your tail is your not careful.
Spent the time bevelling the sheers notches to suit the curve of the sheer. I have got it very close to right. I bit of fine tuning with a rasp should see it finished. Then I get to do it all again on the other side.
Couple of things I have observed.
1. As everybody says....the forces on the frames are quite severe, with the sheer only on one side it pushes the frames sideways by probably 1/4 an inch. It wants to push further but the extra bracing I put in has stopped that. I will definitely get the other side notched out and the sheer clamped in place before glueing this side to try and keep the forces balanced.
2. I had one notch that seemed oddly out. I studied it for a while then decided I need to cut more out. At the time I had the sheer clamped into the notch on the frame either side. But the sheer past there was only loosely held in the remaining frames. Well I removed the sheer, but it didn't feel right so I put the sheer back on, but clamped it at all frames, and to my surprise, the one I was going to cut now fitted perfectly. Moral of the story is with these long pieces of wood, they have to be sitting correctly all the way along. This is a bit tricky, as until you cut the bevel they are in the wrong place, but once you cut the bevels it affects the frames adjacent. You can chase your tail is your not careful.
Sunday 25 March 2012
Little progress
Still too many other things getting the way.
Only got a few more notches cut out and I also did a bit of scarfing on the sheers timber.
At this rate it will be July before I get the sheers done.
Only got a few more notches cut out and I also did a bit of scarfing on the sheers timber.
At this rate it will be July before I get the sheers done.
Tuesday 20 March 2012
More sheers
A little more progress on the sheers. Cut the basic notch in another couple of frames and beveled a couple of the existing notches.
Pushing the sheer into the breasthook is still causing it to twist so I also added yet more bracing.
It still needs more work but is starting to take on a pleasing curve and nestle into the frames nicely.
Pushing the sheer into the breasthook is still causing it to twist so I also added yet more bracing.
It still needs more work but is starting to take on a pleasing curve and nestle into the frames nicely.
Sunday 18 March 2012
Sheers
I have caught a cold so not a lot of progress today.
I got the notches for the sheers cut out on about 4 or 5 frames on one side. Excitement got the better of me so I gave up cutting notches and grabbed a length of sheer stock. I sprung that around and the shape just jumps into life.
I spent a bit of time adjusting the notch in frame 8 before the fever of my cold got the better of me.
The photo shows the sheer sprung in place, but it's a bit hard to pickup amongst the clutter.
I got the notches for the sheers cut out on about 4 or 5 frames on one side. Excitement got the better of me so I gave up cutting notches and grabbed a length of sheer stock. I sprung that around and the shape just jumps into life.
I spent a bit of time adjusting the notch in frame 8 before the fever of my cold got the better of me.
The photo shows the sheer sprung in place, but it's a bit hard to pickup amongst the clutter.
Friday 16 March 2012
Chines are done - Yeah !!! - Now for the sheers
Finally glued on the second lamination of the second chine. This had started to become a mental roadblock. There was nothing hard about it, it was just taking time and time was something I haven't had much of lately.
So while that's drying I have moved on to the sheers. I was having a bit of trouble visualising them so I cut bits of paper out to mark the notches with, and these are currently taped on and make it much easier to see how the laminations will lie and twist as they go aft.
Just checked the rime table I published in an earlier post, and despite the chines seemingly taking for ever, I am still a couple of weeks ahead of my schedule.
One thing I have noted is that my schedule is missing the fairing step that needs to be done once the sheers are on, and before the battens go on.
So while that's drying I have moved on to the sheers. I was having a bit of trouble visualising them so I cut bits of paper out to mark the notches with, and these are currently taped on and make it much easier to see how the laminations will lie and twist as they go aft.
Just checked the rime table I published in an earlier post, and despite the chines seemingly taking for ever, I am still a couple of weeks ahead of my schedule.
One thing I have noted is that my schedule is missing the fairing step that needs to be done once the sheers are on, and before the battens go on.
Sunday 11 March 2012
Chines and sheers
Glued and screwed the first of the second laminations on the chine. Drilling the screw holes was a little scary, just a but wary of the chine snapping, but nothing happened.
I finally conceded today that my battery drill had done its dash; so went and bought a Bosch 18v LI drill. It's funny how you don't realize how bad the old one was until you get the new one.
Then rounded off the day re-sawing a 2" x 8" x 16' into strips for the sheers. After cutting the strips I had to resaw the width several times to get the worst of the kinks out and it's left me with a reasonably tidy stack of sheers. I still need to run them through the planner to tidy them up.
It created a huge pile of saw dust.
I finally conceded today that my battery drill had done its dash; so went and bought a Bosch 18v LI drill. It's funny how you don't realize how bad the old one was until you get the new one.
Then rounded off the day re-sawing a 2" x 8" x 16' into strips for the sheers. After cutting the strips I had to resaw the width several times to get the worst of the kinks out and it's left me with a reasonably tidy stack of sheers. I still need to run them through the planner to tidy them up.
It created a huge pile of saw dust.
Thursday 8 March 2012
Got a transmission
Last week a deal too good to be true came up, I have managed to secure a re-conditioned 71B 1:1 transmission for $NZ400. I finally got to pick it up today.
I am going to take it to a guy down the road that specialises in marine transmissions to get him to give it the once over, but I'll do that a bit closer to when I need it.
I am going to take it to a guy down the road that specialises in marine transmissions to get him to give it the once over, but I'll do that a bit closer to when I need it.
Saturday 3 March 2012
Knowing when it's wrong - that's the trick
I glued on the first lamination of what will be the port side chine the other day. This was done after successfully applying the first lam on the starboard side and being quite happy with the result.
After removing the clamps, I found a significant dip in the chine towards the keel between frames 0 and 2, with 1 being the low point if the dip. I have to say that when I glued it on it didn't feel right but I couldn't see anything wrong.
The long and short of it was primarily that the chine notch in frame 0 was wrong.... but it looked right. It needed to be deeper towards the keel, but on doing that the chine now sat too low in the notch.
This led to some head scratching for a while. It turns out my transom is not quite square. The port side is slightly lower than the starboard. This frame was attached a couple of months ago now and at the time looked ok. On closer examination I can see its wrong. Part of the issue at the time was restricted access due to a bookcase that was in the way. I have since moved it, but should have done so back then.
So anyway I ended up cutting the chine off for about 4 frames, fixed everything up and it's ready to glue back on.
The transom is another matter, after considering it for some time, I have decided to counter the problem at fairing time.
The problem, finding the solution and the effort involved doesn't particularly bother me, what does worry me is what other mistakes have I made that are not going to show for a while. At the stage it's not a biggy to remove something as it will largely be hidden below deck. It's when the mistakes start to be closer to the surface I will start to worry. Hopefully I won't be making too many mistakes by then.
After removing the clamps, I found a significant dip in the chine towards the keel between frames 0 and 2, with 1 being the low point if the dip. I have to say that when I glued it on it didn't feel right but I couldn't see anything wrong.
The long and short of it was primarily that the chine notch in frame 0 was wrong.... but it looked right. It needed to be deeper towards the keel, but on doing that the chine now sat too low in the notch.
This led to some head scratching for a while. It turns out my transom is not quite square. The port side is slightly lower than the starboard. This frame was attached a couple of months ago now and at the time looked ok. On closer examination I can see its wrong. Part of the issue at the time was restricted access due to a bookcase that was in the way. I have since moved it, but should have done so back then.
So anyway I ended up cutting the chine off for about 4 frames, fixed everything up and it's ready to glue back on.
The transom is another matter, after considering it for some time, I have decided to counter the problem at fairing time.
The problem, finding the solution and the effort involved doesn't particularly bother me, what does worry me is what other mistakes have I made that are not going to show for a while. At the stage it's not a biggy to remove something as it will largely be hidden below deck. It's when the mistakes start to be closer to the surface I will start to worry. Hopefully I won't be making too many mistakes by then.
Tuesday 28 February 2012
A bit of an oops
While trial fitting the second lamination of the chine I have discovered that I have a bit much twist in the chine at the point it lands on the stem. The result will be that when the bevel is applied to the stem, there will only be 1 point that flows nicely on to the chine.
The photo below illustrates this; the leading edge of the chine should be more or less parallel with the stem edge.
Never mind, I will just have to do a bit of extra fairing and possible add a wedge to get enough chine to land the bottom planks on. On the flip side I have the angle cut for the second chine lam to hit the stem and it's sitting quite nicely, still needs a little bit of fine tuning.
The photo below illustrates this; the leading edge of the chine should be more or less parallel with the stem edge.
Never mind, I will just have to do a bit of extra fairing and possible add a wedge to get enough chine to land the bottom planks on. On the flip side I have the angle cut for the second chine lam to hit the stem and it's sitting quite nicely, still needs a little bit of fine tuning.
Friday 24 February 2012
Tim's Monaco
I have been in Sydney for a week, and took the oportunity to catch up with Tim and see his completed Monaco.
A truly beautiful boat.
As per last time I saw it, I spent a good hour trying to absorb as much about how his has been assembled to give me clues / hints / ideas for the when I come up against a challenge.
You can see videos of Tim's Monaco here
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vFiKq4COY_I
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y1NQTjtQ7Do
Its a double edged sword seeing a completed boat, it can leave you feeling over awed at the task ahead, but also inspired to carry on, not that I have been in need of inspiration as I am still enjoying the building process very much.
As far as being over awed, I decided a long time ago to just take it one task at a time.
A truly beautiful boat.
As per last time I saw it, I spent a good hour trying to absorb as much about how his has been assembled to give me clues / hints / ideas for the when I come up against a challenge.
You can see videos of Tim's Monaco here
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vFiKq4COY_I
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y1NQTjtQ7Do
Its a double edged sword seeing a completed boat, it can leave you feeling over awed at the task ahead, but also inspired to carry on, not that I have been in need of inspiration as I am still enjoying the building process very much.
As far as being over awed, I decided a long time ago to just take it one task at a time.
First Lamination of Chines fitted
I got the chines fitted to my satisfaction today; where the chine matches the stem, I had no problems cutting the first chine, but had about 3 goes at getting the second one to fit, and it still didn't turn out as good as the first one
Decided to launch straight into glueing them down. It went without a hitch except I was a bit slow on the second chine and my glue went off rapidly and got VERY hot. I actually ran out of time and and so the chine on one side is not glued at the last couple of frames, I'll do that in a day or so.
Spent the last hour of the day doing some of the prep work for the second layer of chine. I just need to scarf them together and then can start to dry fit them.
Decided to launch straight into glueing them down. It went without a hitch except I was a bit slow on the second chine and my glue went off rapidly and got VERY hot. I actually ran out of time and and so the chine on one side is not glued at the last couple of frames, I'll do that in a day or so.
Spent the last hour of the day doing some of the prep work for the second layer of chine. I just need to scarf them together and then can start to dry fit them.
Saturday 18 February 2012
More Chine Works
I spent a hour or so tonight "adjusting" the notch in frame 7 tonight and now both sides are almost right. A bit more fine tuning is required, but overall I am happy they are starting to fit properly.
Again work and other commitments are soaking up all my time so progress has been frustratingly slow.
Again work and other commitments are soaking up all my time so progress has been frustratingly slow.
Thursday 16 February 2012
Chines miss the mark
More work has been done on the chines, but on both sides the chines do not fit comfortably in the frame 8 notches. In fact a fair amount of force is required to bend them up into the notches. This doesn't seem at all right!!
On the bright side the both miss by exactly the same amount which suggest the two side are fairly symmetrical.
I have at this point elected to post a question on the Glen-l site and wait for some expert opinion. I have some time as my next opportunity to work on the boat will not be until saturday, even them I expect I will only get an hour or two, then I am away for work again.
On the bright side the both miss by exactly the same amount which suggest the two side are fairly symmetrical.
I have at this point elected to post a question on the Glen-l site and wait for some expert opinion. I have some time as my next opportunity to work on the boat will not be until saturday, even them I expect I will only get an hour or two, then I am away for work again.
Sunday 12 February 2012
More chine work
Unfortunately work got in the way this weekend so I only got about an hour and a half in on the boat. This was only enough time to get some of the chine notches on the other side cut out.
Tuesday 7 February 2012
First Chine fitted
Over the last two days I have cut and "fitted" all the notches for the first of the chine pieces. Frames 0 - 5 were very easy, only required minor adjustments to get a good fit.
frame 6 was a bit tougher, 7 even more so and 8 was down right scary. I have had to cut so deep into frame 8 to get the end of the chine to land in the correct place on the stem. I know it will be alright ones its all glued and screwed, but still makes me nervous.
Bending the chine was not to much of a problem and there has been no suggestion it was going to snap. Putting a twist in it up near the bow is a bit tougher. I was using one of my smaller clamps but it broke the end off.
frame 6 was a bit tougher, 7 even more so and 8 was down right scary. I have had to cut so deep into frame 8 to get the end of the chine to land in the correct place on the stem. I know it will be alright ones its all glued and screwed, but still makes me nervous.
Bending the chine was not to much of a problem and there has been no suggestion it was going to snap. Putting a twist in it up near the bow is a bit tougher. I was using one of my smaller clamps but it broke the end off.
So now I am using the next size up. I have also been using strops to put the bow end of the chine in.
I finished the day with the chine fitting pretty good all the way along, even the chine to stem mating is pretty good. Here how I cut that.
You can also see from the last photo that the notch in Frame 8 is fairly large, frame 7 is even worse. Before I started this task I reviewed various other peoples build photos and found this to be quite common. I swore mine where going to be a lot neater and tidier, but despite my best efforts mine look terrible as well.
I cut the notches with my new Bosch oscilatting saw, made quick and easy work, although I do need to get a new blade for it.
So here is the completed chine. I have left the bow end relaxed as I have to go away for work for a week or so and I don't want it snapping for something while I am away.
And lastly, my son (aged 6) helping dad by crawling the length of the boat vacuum all the saw dust.
Monday 6 February 2012
The engine
It's a little way off yet but I have been researching some more into my power plant of choice.
Like anyone I would love to slap a wad of bills on someone's counter and get a brand new 5.7l something, but just plain can't afford it.
The engine I intend to use is either 1UZ-FE or the 3UZ-FE. The basic difference is that the 1UZ is a 4l and the 3UZ is a 4.3l. The 3UZ-FE is reasonably rare, but if I can get one I will. The 3UZ-FE came out around about 2000 and is essentially the same as the late model 1UZ's but a 4.3l.
The 1UZ had various variants over the years, but from my perspective at least the important change was the VVT-I models which came out about 1997.
The major reason is actually safety. All of the 1UZ's I am told have a sealed starter and alternator, and being EFI they dont have a carb and so no risk of blow back from that. So the last major source of sparks is the dizzie, which in VVT motors was replaced with coil over plugs.
But.... There is always a but. The VVT ECU has a built in immobilizer meaning you need to have the original key, transponder ring (from around the ignition switch) and immobilizer sub-ECU. Now I can get motors with all of that stuff but it's a whole lot of complication I don't want, I would have to seal all that junk in a box and it's just something I plain don't like the idea of.
Options:
1. Live with the extra junk
2. There is a guy in Hamilton who claims to have bypassed the security without having any of the security components
3. Throw the ECU and it's bits away and use a Link G4 storm after market ECU, which to be honest will probably make the engine perform better anyway.
Option 2 sounds alright but he charges almost the same as buying a link ECU. The link ECU is about $1800 to purchase.
The factory ECU also controls the transmission, and once these removed the "check engine" light won't go off. The link ECU isn't expecting a transmission and so don't have the same problem.
These engines have been around for 15 years, it staggers me that how to bypass the security isn't common knowledge on the net.
Why the 1UZ / 3UZ ?
All alloy block
EFI
V8
Readily available
6 Bolt mains
Full range of marinizing Parts available
A lot of information on the net, these engine are quite popular for conversions.
Sealed alternator and starter
I also discovered after I had settled on this engine that there is another Monaco builder in Australia using the same engine, and he is a lot further down the track than me so hopefully I can get a lot of good advice from him when the time comes.
This picture is of a similar version of the 1UZFE to what I want to use. I'll update it to the correct picture next time I see one
Like anyone I would love to slap a wad of bills on someone's counter and get a brand new 5.7l something, but just plain can't afford it.
The engine I intend to use is either 1UZ-FE or the 3UZ-FE. The basic difference is that the 1UZ is a 4l and the 3UZ is a 4.3l. The 3UZ-FE is reasonably rare, but if I can get one I will. The 3UZ-FE came out around about 2000 and is essentially the same as the late model 1UZ's but a 4.3l.
The 1UZ had various variants over the years, but from my perspective at least the important change was the VVT-I models which came out about 1997.
The major reason is actually safety. All of the 1UZ's I am told have a sealed starter and alternator, and being EFI they dont have a carb and so no risk of blow back from that. So the last major source of sparks is the dizzie, which in VVT motors was replaced with coil over plugs.
But.... There is always a but. The VVT ECU has a built in immobilizer meaning you need to have the original key, transponder ring (from around the ignition switch) and immobilizer sub-ECU. Now I can get motors with all of that stuff but it's a whole lot of complication I don't want, I would have to seal all that junk in a box and it's just something I plain don't like the idea of.
Options:
1. Live with the extra junk
2. There is a guy in Hamilton who claims to have bypassed the security without having any of the security components
3. Throw the ECU and it's bits away and use a Link G4 storm after market ECU, which to be honest will probably make the engine perform better anyway.
Option 2 sounds alright but he charges almost the same as buying a link ECU. The link ECU is about $1800 to purchase.
The factory ECU also controls the transmission, and once these removed the "check engine" light won't go off. The link ECU isn't expecting a transmission and so don't have the same problem.
These engines have been around for 15 years, it staggers me that how to bypass the security isn't common knowledge on the net.
Why the 1UZ / 3UZ ?
All alloy block
EFI
V8
Readily available
6 Bolt mains
Full range of marinizing Parts available
A lot of information on the net, these engine are quite popular for conversions.
Sealed alternator and starter
I also discovered after I had settled on this engine that there is another Monaco builder in Australia using the same engine, and he is a lot further down the track than me so hopefully I can get a lot of good advice from him when the time comes.
This picture is of a similar version of the 1UZFE to what I want to use. I'll update it to the correct picture next time I see one
Saturday 4 February 2012
Chines Pt 1
Not a lot of progress today. Finished running a couple lengths through the thicknesser and cut the scarf on 4 pieces which I hope to glue after the kids have gone to bed.
Bought a "triton dust bucket" to try and save my shop vac, not hugely impressed with it, but it's better than nothing.
It supposedly works on the cyclone effect and when the vacuum is going you can definitely see it swirling inside but the fine dust blocks the filter in the dust bucket, but it's better than blocking the filter in the vacuum. Might try modifying it to better catch the fine stuff.
Bought a "triton dust bucket" to try and save my shop vac, not hugely impressed with it, but it's better than nothing.
It supposedly works on the cyclone effect and when the vacuum is going you can definitely see it swirling inside but the fine dust blocks the filter in the dust bucket, but it's better than blocking the filter in the vacuum. Might try modifying it to better catch the fine stuff.
Monday 30 January 2012
Chines and bracing
I completed the bracing of frames 6 thru 8, they are a lot more rigid. There is still a little bit of give, I will see how it goes when the Chines are wrapped around and decide if I need even more bracing.
Second part of the day was cutting the chine logs out. It's a job that frankly I have been avoiding. The bit that I struggle with is getting the first straight edge on a board. I tried a development of my previous method, and although it produced a better result it still has plenty of room for improvement. While typing the last sentence I have comeup with a method that should solve my problems.
The other thing I have done since I ripped my keel bits is buy another roller top stand to held feed the timber, this made a huge difference. I think I'll get another couple.
So what I am doing is using a piece of box aluminum that is 25 x 75. I lay that on its 75mm side and then put the guide arm in my skillsaw in backward so that it runs along the aluminium on the opposite side the cut. The skil saw then runs along the top of the box section. This works very well except my boards are 4.8m but the box section is only about 3m long so. I have to do a cut, then move it, and it's in moving it that errors creep in. But as I said before I have an improvement in mind which should solve my problems.
Any how, after getting a straight edge I ripped out 4 lengths of chines from one board and a couple of shorter lengths to join and give me the 20 ft lengths I need.
I got a chance to thickness the short bits and make a start on one of the long bits before I ran out of time.
Second part of the day was cutting the chine logs out. It's a job that frankly I have been avoiding. The bit that I struggle with is getting the first straight edge on a board. I tried a development of my previous method, and although it produced a better result it still has plenty of room for improvement. While typing the last sentence I have comeup with a method that should solve my problems.
The other thing I have done since I ripped my keel bits is buy another roller top stand to held feed the timber, this made a huge difference. I think I'll get another couple.
So what I am doing is using a piece of box aluminum that is 25 x 75. I lay that on its 75mm side and then put the guide arm in my skillsaw in backward so that it runs along the aluminium on the opposite side the cut. The skil saw then runs along the top of the box section. This works very well except my boards are 4.8m but the box section is only about 3m long so. I have to do a cut, then move it, and it's in moving it that errors creep in. But as I said before I have an improvement in mind which should solve my problems.
Any how, after getting a straight edge I ripped out 4 lengths of chines from one board and a couple of shorter lengths to join and give me the 20 ft lengths I need.
I got a chance to thickness the short bits and make a start on one of the long bits before I ran out of time.
Sunday 29 January 2012
Keel is finished
After finishing the prep in the last section of keel, I proceeded to glue that on this morning.
The glueing aspect went much better with thicker glue.
But.... I managed to shear off two of the screws. I have two theories, and it's probably a mixture of both
1. I don't have a tool to drill the correct hole taper, I did this manually for the first part of the keel with no issues, but I am thinking I messed it up and didn't drill deep enough, this is backed up by a couple of the frames cracking when the screw was driven the last 5 mm or so.
2. The second possibility is that the screws don't like being partially driven, and then driven home later as a second operation. The reason I was doing this is my battery drill doesn't have enough grunt to drive them all the way home. So I drove them all as far as I could and then went round them all with a brace, and it was then that two of them sheared.
Oh well, just another building challenge.
The glueing aspect went much better with thicker glue.
But.... I managed to shear off two of the screws. I have two theories, and it's probably a mixture of both
1. I don't have a tool to drill the correct hole taper, I did this manually for the first part of the keel with no issues, but I am thinking I messed it up and didn't drill deep enough, this is backed up by a couple of the frames cracking when the screw was driven the last 5 mm or so.
2. The second possibility is that the screws don't like being partially driven, and then driven home later as a second operation. The reason I was doing this is my battery drill doesn't have enough grunt to drive them all the way home. So I drove them all as far as I could and then went round them all with a brace, and it was then that two of them sheared.
Oh well, just another building challenge.
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