Houston , We have separation !!

We have run into some delays , some expected and some not . Part of the process i guess , never thought it was going to be easy .

Over the Christmas Period we started on the tricky Join Section between Section 1 and Section 2 , Second section was created and formed from the first so as to create a smooth transition . The Interior Scarfed frames were created and screwed together to hold everything in position and then the exterior plywood added to stabilize the join . Now comes the Nasty bit !

Removed the internal scarfed joiner pieces from the inside and using my Trusty Skillsaw
we cut the plywood and separated the two Hull Sections .

Having continued skinning Hull Section 2 we have also made a start on the Cradle and the turning frame . With 8 pieces to rotate it made sense to build my own System to turn the hull sections over . This will consist of a semi-circular turning frame attached to the side of the Steel cradle  . Both are made from some Heavy gauge angle steel cut and welded into shape .
Again my equipment is failing , just got the steel cut and bent into shape when I started the Welder to join the sections an arcing noise was heard ,  not at the welding rod where i expected it to be but from inside the welder itself . DAMN !  .

This is the Turning Section before Welding ( attempted ) , but after another weeks delay I have managed to get the Welder Functional again and this section is now Fully Welded and awaiting the creation of the steel cradle to which it will be fitted .

Frames to form the Structure

Now that the first section is complete , we now start making the frames for the next . Jigsaws frames come in three forms , Sheet frames , Bulkhead Frames and Open Solid Timber frames .

This is a Sheet Frame , basically formed from a single 12mm sheet of Plywood with a solid Timber reinforcing structure  made from 25mm thick Kauri  . Strength primarily comes from the plywood , the solid timber stabilises the plywood structure and allows for edge fastening of the longitudinal stringers ( you can't edge screw plywood ) . We use a number of these frames between the first two bulkheads as they also form the sides of Fluid Storage tanks for Sewage , Grey Water , Rain Water and filtered water .

 

 



 

This is a Bulkhead Frame , again it has a solid timber reinforcing structure ( 38mm thick this time) , but  both sides are covered in 18mm Plywood ( one side still to be fitted to this frame ) . These are the primary structual entities in the vessel and link from one hull , across the accommodation levels and back down to the other hull . Jigsaw has five such frames across her width . They also form watertight bulkheads in the hull thus splitting each hull into five  sealed sections . 

 

 

 

 

This is the Open Solid Timber Frame , these get used in the second,third and fourth sections of each Hull , Made from 150 x 38 mm Solid timber these allow for the open storage area's in the hulls . The timber sections are half jointed at the side intersections and will be fitted with plywood reinforcing across the joints ( not yet fitted to this one ) , the bottom intersection is butt jointed with 38mm solid timber on one side and 18mm plywood on the other ( this is also the hull floor level ) . Each Hull has eleven of these frames , Five Bulkhead frames and Five Sheet Frames , ( thats a lot of Frames ! ) .

Better plant some more Tree's .





 

 



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 !!