The Birthing Process

The Baby takes its first look at the Big Wide World

Bit by Bit it moves further Outside , But things are getting Tight !

Looks like the Clearance to the roller door is OK , but the Outer  Cladding is getting very close

Very Very close , now down to  6mm ( 1/4 inch ) clearance  !!!

If this Baby gets Stuck ! ,there's going to be tears !  (  alas  Mine ! )

Further out now , but still only millimeters to spare

And then all with a Rush , it bursts forth into the World !!

Bit of a Stumpy Baby this one , as is only 1/4 grown

This side looks a little strange as the Dual skin and the fiberglass don't go all the way
to the gunwales , this is because there is more Boat to build on top of this Piece ( Jigsaw 's
Pieces go Horizontal and Vertical, like any Jigsaw ) and this allows an overlap of the Skin from
the other Sections so as not to concentrate all the breaks in the skin at a single point . The other side doesn't have this problem due to the Wingdeck section between the Hulls .

Feel the Conflict within us

I build Jigsaw with an internal conflict , Its a Houseboat , not a show boat or a Gin Palace , not even a Racing or Pretty  Little Sailboat . The Question is ? , just how much time do I want to apply to the attainment of a perfectly smooth finish . I don't want it to be ugly  , but I don't have time to waste .
Its a BL''''DY BIG BOAT .

 After an initial round of fairing and sanding ,we finally got around to the fiberglassing , a single overlapping ( at the chines and keel ) layer of 12 oz ( 400gm ) biaxial cloth and West Epoxy Resin . Used Peelply for the first time during this phase  , interesting stuff , seems a bit of a waste of cloth but worth the result . Where I got the cloth to work correctly , the surface was damn near perfect , almost ready to paint , on other areas it still need a little re-work , but far less than if I hadn't used it at all . So after another round of fairing  we started in on the Paint job , using a 2 pot Epoxy Primer to start the process we applied it with a roller rather than spraying ( Hey , its a Houseboat ) , the fumes are bad enough with just rolling it on , hate to think what its like if you spray it  .
Its almost time for this section to be delivered into the world ( that is , if I can get it out of the garage door ) , it will then be positioned in front of the garage and we can make a start on the next section that will use the first as its joining template . Once the shape and connection of the second section is confirmed , then this initial Bow section will be removed and Rotated to its proper orientation .
Should actually start looking like a boat !!

Bugger !

We have had a little Bad luck  ( Bugger ! )  , Used a 2 pot Epoxy Fairing Mix on the Conical stem and for some reason it refused to set , dunno if I made a mistake , or it was a bad batch or just the weather was too cold , but after waiting for 7 days for it to harden up I gave up and stripped it off . Went back to West Epoxy and the fairing powder , hardened overnight and was finally able to Shape off the Stem .

 

 



 





Have also made a start on the Capping strip , the front section of this is made from 4 laminations of timber over the curve of the forefoot and matches up with the bottom of the conical stem  . The Aft piece will be  solid timber  as there is no significient curve to deal with .
These pictures were taken just before I fitted another 2 layers of fiberglass over the stem and capping strip to finish off the sandwich construction of the Bow . The entire boat will be covered in a layer of fiberglass which will overlap at the keel , chines and stem , with an additional reinforcing strip along the keel and chines thus giving a total of  4 layers of fiberglass over the stem and 3 layers over the keel and chines .
The rest of the Hull is being sanded and faired and no matter how much I tell myself ( I love sanding ) , I don't actually  , so the quicker that this gets done the better .

Gluing , Screwing and Torture

Someone asked me the other day , " What are you up to ,on the Weekend " , I repied with " Gluing , screwing and Torturing ( Pause )  sheets of Plywood . Funny thing  , he gave me the strangest look !
Doesn't Everyone ??

With the Bottom 2 layers complete  and the second skin on the sides progressing from the front , I have also made a start on the conical bow section . Made from strips of 25mm timber narrowed at one end ,layed vertically over some temporary forms to create the shape  . Epoxy glue is forced into the gaps between and when set , the assembly will be removed and fiberglassed on the inside .

Removed the Conical bow and have added the layers  of fiberglass  to the inside of the strip planks , this can now be glued back into place and we can continue with the fairing of this section into the main Hull .
( OH No  , more Sanding !! ) .
 Additional layers of fiberglass will be added on the outside once I'm happy with the shape and we will have created a nice solid timber strip plank sandwich .  ( Tasty Huh )
I'm glad I kept the Conical Bow design  , it makes a real point of difference over the typical plywood boat design .

Best Laid Plans

Well things didn't quite go to plan , pushing the go-Kart managed to Aggravate my Back a bit  , so progress wasn't as much as I would have Liked  , but some has been made .

The first skin on the bottom has been Glued and screwed into place with most of the second layer as well . Have been forced to start on the sides as well as edges need to overlap each other on the rear section due to the Landing area on the solid timber chines . The last part of the bottom section should only be 1 or 2 pieces , as the twist is less in this area so narrow strips are not required . Once the sides are on I will be able to make a start on the conical bow section , that should be a nice little challange ( we shall see ) .  Must start training my brain for the other upcoming major issues ( " I love sanding " , " I love sanding " ) Yeah Right !!

Return of the Mischievous Poltergeist

Its amazing the things that occur during the construction of such a project ,  tools that you put down for a second amazing disappear for long periods at a time , only to be found later ( or sometimes not at all ) in a totally bizarre place . How did they get there !! . Either a Mischievous Poltergeist is playing games with me or looks like i need to tidy up my workspace again ! .

We have started to skin the BEAST ,

This is the first of the two layers of 12mm plywood , the rear section was done in a single sheet , the forward part is done in 150 mm strips due to the twist in this section ( due to a rather deep forefoot ) . This changeover is also marked in the change in the chine as the connection between the sides and the bottom changes from an overlapping joint to a butt joint .  The strips aren't glued into place as yet , just held by a couple of screws , the angular pattern creates a concave shape in the strips so I let them stress relief in the shape for a day before i glue them  , makes the gluing easier . The second layer goes on using a reverse angle creating a convex curve which holds them  nice and tight to the first layer .

Managed to secure a shipment of marine plywood at a good price , so got a test shipment of 25 sheets , stuff looks good so I will attempt to get some more , but am seriously running out of space , there is now even less room between the boat  and the walls of the shed .

Hopefully should make a bit of progress this week as have manged to take a few days off work , between taking my son to the go-carts , and the other maintenance work that needs to be done around the place , here's hoping anyway .

The Curse of the Second Guess

There are times during the construction that you look at your Creation and Wonder ?
Does that look right? , Should that be Straighter , Bendier ,Smaller or Bigger , Does what looked right  on a piece of paper or a Computer Screen really translate when it forges it way , full size in the real 3D world . You just keep going saying quietly to yourself that your sure its supposed to look this way , even though those niggley questions rattle around in the back of the head to annoy you !.

But slowely it grows on you , Your 3d creation starts to fill in , and you feel more at ease .
Framing for this section is almost complete , just a bit more tidy-up planing to get things nice ,true and ready for the 2 skins of plywood to skin the beast . This framing has been slower than expected , mostly due the laminated stringers,chines and gunwales etc ( only had so many G clamps ) , the next 3 sections ( rest of the Port Hull ) should be quicker as these members will be single pieces of solid timber as there is much less bend and twist to deal with .
Three months down , three more to go for this first section , and then hopefully 4 months for each of the sections to follow , Then all again for the Starboard hull  . Connect the pieces then my creation hits the water , and then the Hard work starts , but hopefully that will be full-time construction rather than this part-time stuff .  There must be easier ways to retire !!