More Wet Sticky Stuff

Have fitted the external keel and prepared the bottom of this hull section for more of the Wet Sticky Stuff , the fiberglass on the sides has been faired into the bottom ply with more filler and more sanding followed by more sanding ( Oh Yeah ) .

Some of the peelply has been left on the sides for additional protection , but since the bottom layer of glass overlaps the keel  , some has been removed .

The bottom layer of glass runs from just above the chine  , across the bottom , over the keel and stops just over the other side of the keel , giving 2 layers at the chine and the Keel .
Problem with this wet sticky stuff is old men leaning over the hull wearing short shirts and exposing their hairy  bulging stomach's to such a messy substance , very messy indeed . Who needs to wax when there's fiberglass around !! .

The Boring Bits in the Middle !

Sections 6 and 7 are the most boring  , very little shape change  , so not very interesting , Same basic Construction though .  Section 6 was built off the bow section and when the shape was stable the bow section was removed and rotated ( earlier posts ) . When section 6 was complete it was used as the basis for Section 7 , when 7 was stable section 6 was removed and now sits awaiting its turn to be rotated .

Rotation cradle is still under the bow section ( 5 ) so need to create a temp cradle to hold it to release the main cradle for its duty  , will do this soon as section 7 is almost ready to come out of the shed and need to create space for it .

The last couple of weeks we have been skinning section 7 in the 2 layers of 1/2 inch plywood.

This is now complete -

 

 

Last weekend we started on the fiber-glassing  of this section

 

Do the sides first  , as they are the easiest , the bottom layer overlaps this layer at the chine .
Glass is installed using the " Wet Method" , activated resin is painted on the plywood  , rolled for 10-15 minutes as the plywood de-gasses trapped air and then we add more resin in preparation for the class cloth , roll the glass on and smooth out , then add more resin to "wet out" the cloth .
Once this is sticky and stable  , we then add another layer of resin and attach the Peel-Ply and smooth out as much as possible .

 

Roll Me Over , Again !!

Section 6 is complete , so need to remove it from the shed as a new shipment of timber is due to arrive  for the next piece of the puzzle  . The bow section has been sitting in the front yard  , after its disconnection from section 6  , so its now time to Upturn it into something more akin to a boat . The cradle was round the back yard under one of the earlier sections so dragged it out and round the front yard and positioned it over Section 5 .

 

 



The Cradle is used for all sections of the main hulls so need to brace the hull inside the cradle , don't really want it moving during the rotation . Also need to bolt-on the semi-circular addons that allow for a smooth rotation .

 

 

 

Now we attach the ropes , chains and other bits and start the rotation ( time to panic ! )

 

 

 

Over we go  , nice and slow , try not to screw it up !

 

 

 

Making progress , ropes pulling from one way to make it roll , ropes in the other direction to stop it rolling by its own will ( don't ask , drama when we rolled section 2 still gives me nightmares)

 

 

 

 

This is when it has a mind of its own and all we can do now is to control the descent  , no more pulling  required , its on its way down .

 

 

 

Maximum load on descent chain at this time but its getting closer to its destination , taking it really  slow .

 

 

 

 

Phew !!! , its down  , I can Breathe again !! , Finally , something that actually looks like a boat .

 

Tomorrow I'll move this section into the side yard and we will look at getting section 6 out of the garage , I'll just remove the addons and manoeuvre this piece out of the way ( don't want to upset the neighbours as its taking up the shared driveway at the moment ) .















Stern tube ,is this where we launch torpedo's ?

Have made the final changes to the fiberglass Prop shaft tubes , have added a bit more beef to the end with the cutlass bearing  , better to be over strong than have a weakpoint .

The basic tube is 10mm thick fiberglass , but the end  has additional material to bring it up to 16mm

Made an initial thin tube by rolling wetted out fiberglass cloth over a steel pipe  , removed when set by slitting it off  , had to be a tight fit as the cutlass bearing is supposed to be a tight fit . Rejoined the tube ( while ensuring straightness and sizing )  and added more layers of cloth to bring it up to the 10mm thickness . Finally added the extra cloth to the cutlass bearing end ( just last weekend ) .
Cutlass bearing is a tight press fit and its as straight as a dye , must remember process as i need to make another one as well ( darn catamaran ) .

Have fitted the tube into a piece of the Keel structure , this will then be laminated into the main Keel.

Thinking about a support Boat

Jigsaw will require a tender / support boat with it as most of the construction will take place when its already in the water  .
First thought was

With a cross section of

A bow door like a landing craft and a fully enclosed floor for boyancy , problem is its not wide enough for all the jobs it needs to do  , Maybe a catamaran version ?

Time to Deliver my Second Baby

Bow section on the Second hull is now ready for its first look at a bright new world .

 



Have made some changes to the rollers that the boat will move on  , so hopefully it won't be as big a squeeze as the first time we did this .

 

 

Slowely she makes her way  , a naked baby this one as the garage is too full of wood to allow me to wash her down and paint  , so outside we go !

 

 

 

The changes i made to the rollers were sucessful , we had at least an inch of clearance this time , created steel L brackets that were attached to the main bulkhead that allowed me to lower the assembly closer to the ground .

 

 















 

 

And then  , just like a normal birth  , she rushed out to see the sunshine  , but OOP's

 

 

 

Things come to a sudden stop , the new low-riders are low alright , a little too - low for the uneven concrete surface , ah-well  , we are outside now  . Time for Baby's first bath .

 

 

 

A quick wash and a rub-down  , time to paint this baby .

 

 

Just a light coat of Hempel's Light Primer , this will make it easier to spot any inperfections in the finish so we can correct these with a bit of sanding or filler  .

 



As with the other hull  , this outside surface has the partial skin cover that allows for the rest of the side to be added later but with plenty of surface attachment .

 

The rest of the paint hasn't turned up yet so the additional layers of primer will need to wait .







Almost finished the Sharp bit !

It been a while since my last post , so quite alot has been done ,
The plywood party is complete so the dual layers of plywood have been fitted .

Have also added the conical bow section , the laminated forefoot capping strip , the external keel and the sides have also been fiberglassed .

 

Have left some of the peelply on the sides as it helps protect them while I fiberglass the bottom of this section .
Had a couple of mis-adventures with this section , created the conical bow section and fiberglassed the inside of the wooden strips used to create the shape , but when i went to refit to the bow the shape had changed slightly but since the glass had started to go hard was forced to cut the section in two and reglue / re-epoxy , two layers of 1200gm  fiberglass just doesn't want to bend once it starts going off !.

The Laminated forefoot capping strip was made in-situ and is made from strips of 6mm solid timber , on the other hull I had used 8mm strips , but they were differcult to bend , thus 6mm for this section , but it wasn't without its issues  , pays to remove the holding screws ( for laminating ) before the epoxy goes fully off  , was a little late on a couple of them  , the heads on the screws snapped off when attempting to remove ( 12g x 50 mm ) , so the shafts are still buried inside the lamination , lucky they were close enough to the middle of the section so they weren't exposed when i shaped the forefoot .

 

This weekend I have been fiberglassing the bottom sections  , one side of the bottom section was done yesterday and the other side today , the glass overlapps the keel and the chines ,giving two layers of cloth at these points .

So now all i need to do on this section is remove the peelply and prepare the section for painting  ,

joy oh joy  , more sanding !!!