Boat Garage
24 Nov 2011 3 Comments
I have long been hampered by boat building out in the open weather. With my latest addition, that no longer holds true. One more excuse blown to hell!
At some time, I will add a dolly with wheels so I can pull her out onto the patio for full access and still be able to put her away safely. It cost $200 and I hope it will last through 2 summers and perhaps a couple of winters. Well worth it to me, anyway.
Bottom Glassing Adventures
25 Oct 2011 2 Comments
So, Sunday morning I found the tape edges cured well enough to use the scraper on to get most of what I wanted off, but not hard enough to sand for final smoothing. Consequently I waited a couple of hours and then finished prepwork. I laid out the cloth I got for the bottom and found, as I suspected, that it would not span bilge panel to bilge panel. I decided to just paint it on as is and fill in the voids later.
You can best see the line in this shot (and even better in the video to come); I had used a marker to make dashes on the wood for alignment, and you can distinguish the darker color of the epoxied cloth.
All four of these stills are taken after all is done. As you can see, the 6ox cloth comes down to cover the entire bow/vee/bilge panel and covers the stem as well. I had to cut a slit right up the vee of the bow to make the cloth lie flat. This also enabled me to over-lap the vee’d edge with 2 layers of cloth, but its only by about 1/2″; still, that cut-water has 4 layers of glass on the outside and two on the inside. I think I can bump into a few things with too much worry!
Here is the flat bottom all done. I squeegeed in the epoxy onto and through the dry cloth. When done, all the slightly “dry” spots showed up nicely whitened. I then mixed up new batches of epoxy with a small fistful of wood flour to give it a hint of body and applied that as a second coat. Weave is nicely filled and no white left.
Here is the video with (obviously) unrehearsed commentary!
Now, a short tale of woe…
I was tired and went to bed very early, about 8:30 pm. At 12:30 AM I got a telemarketer text on my phone that woke me up. Yes, I am on the no call list for what it is worth. I could not sleep after that and started reading to go back under. The book was too good and I was still reading at 2:30 AM when I thought I heard rain! No way, the forecast was clear, (I had checked to make sure I could keep the boat uncovered and avoid a permanently epoxied on silver tarp!), but I cracked a window to make sure. Well, CRAP, it was starting to sprinkle heavily; so down the stairs I ran, sans glasses, bare foot, but at least wearing boxers, to protect my boat! My apologies for the image!
So out onto the patio I rush, grab a painters plastic drop cloth I believe will not stick to partially cured epoxie, and struggle to get it on while the rain gets heavier. Too small! so on goes the silver tarp on top of that. While running back and forth from patio side to lawn side of the boat, barefoot, (remember, we have two dogs and a cat that use that back yard!), I see a blur coming out of the sliding door and going under one of the three boats out there. It is Chekov, the indoor cat who loves to sneak outside when he can and challenge Darwin to a duel!
You can’t catch him, all you can do is try to outflank him and herd him back towards the sliding door.
That’s right, herding cats at 2:40 AM, in the rain, in boxers, half blind with no glasses, and barefoot in a dog laced minefield of a back yard.!
With some colorful verbage of encouragement from me, Chekov finally deigned to re-entered the house. After some careful foot/toe cleaning, I got back to bed, but sleep was not to be for some time to come.
Boat building can be fraught with unexpected “adventures”!
Un Abrazo,
Bill
Two Times Tapeing D’ArcyBryn’s Bottom
22 Oct 2011 Leave a Comment
Last weekend I got up early, made myself a Buen Cafe’ (coffee with Brandy!), and uncovered D’Arcy Bryn to try and get the entire bottom taped and glass cloth covered by Sunday evening. I really needed to get this done before the weather turns in earnest so it will be protected for the winter by glass/epoxy in case I spring a leak.
TOO LATE! the flat bottom is wet in several places where the heavy duty silver tarp has been weakened by the Georgia summer sun and water has seeped through. Not a lot, but too damp to apply epoxy. But I can tape the edges as they are not wet and I remove the canopies to let the bottom heat up and dry out for both weekend days.
Here you can see the weave fill and both layers of tape. All exterior taping is specified as double layers. Note the staggered application to spread the mechanical loads over a wider area AND to make feathering/smoothing easier.
This photo shows the thick, 1″, bottom laminated from 2 x 1/2″ sheets of ply. I have centered the tapes on the bottom to bilge joint line, ignoring the thick bottom edge.
Here we have the bottom to stern transom joint.
And to finish off last weekend here is my usual walk-around of work done.
Now lets go on to this weekend, Saturday the 22nd.
Bow, bilge, and bottom tapeing done.
Stern transom, bottom, and bilges taped up, two layers.
You can see how the feathering of the top tapes is facilitated using a cabinet scraper. I leave some small ridges to finish out with epoxy and glass bubbles just to make sure I don’t take off too much and weaken the joint!
And the ubiquitous video!
Lets see what I can get done tomorrow…
Un Abrazo,
Bill
Playing Catch Up
08 Oct 2011 3 Comments
This entry will cover several days past. Progress is sporadic and time to make entries is sparse. I will try to make this sequential.
This Picture shows the countersunk holes for the screws to clamp the second 1/2″ bottom ply to the first. Eight inch pattern as Michalak suggests. 9/30/2011
Here is a 1 minute video of the bottom before cutting the wires and shaping.
And here is another with the 1″ bottom added without shaping. 10/3/2011
10/3/2011 Here is the 1″ bottom after I got out the hand power planer! No rounding yet…
10/3/2011 Above is another shot.
Below a detail of beveling at maximum effect.
Here is another short video of the beveled 1″ bottom.
Below is a photo of the 1″ bottom sanded and rounded off. 10/08/2011
Below is a detail showing the gap to be filled after the inside taping was done. This was the maximum; others were less.
Below, the stern transom to bottom rounding.
Below, after removing the screw “clamps” I taped the bottom of the holes inside the hull with masking tape, then filled them with slightly thickened epoxy and tooth picks.
Also today, 10/08/2011, I mixed up some thickened epoxy and filled in all the gaps on all exterior seams. When cured, I will sand down and apply exterior tapes.
Un Abrazo,
Bill
Saturday and Sunday
18 Sep 2011 1 Comment
Yesterday, Saturday, I got the coamings and cleats glued on, then worked on my anchoring details. The bow triangle compartment is open and serves as the anchor well. 
I decided that I would through bolt an anchor cleat on a small triangular pad at the front of the well. I used a power planer and belt sander to make it nice and flat. There will be a 3/4″ doubler under the top 3/4′ pad to add strength.
Here is a short video showing something of my intentions.
That diamond shaped hole is now filled with thickened epoxy. Lets move on to Sunday.
Having failed to think it through, nor to read the instructions, I promptly removed the temporaty form from the middle of the cabin. Here it sits, leaning insolently on the tree house ladder waiting for me to realize I have to put it back in!
Meanwhile, I did a trial fit of those 1/4″ cap strips for the Cockpit coaming. They are going to work nicely.
I won’t glue them on till I turn her back upright when the bottom is done. 
I had my boating friend Mike (he is 6′; taller than I am) lie down in the cabin. His feet are several inches away from the end of the tunnel, so you can see there is plenty of room!
Finally, here is a walk around showing how she looks so far.
Un Abrazo,
Bill
Cleats and Trim
16 Sep 2011 1 Comment
With a Friday off, I figured I could get a lot done on the D’Arcy Bryn this weekend. But I contracted a cold and feel pretty badly, so we will just see what I can manage. The deck cleat for the cabin top is spec’t at 1″x3/4″ with the top to overlap the side and cleat. I have more trouble with plywood edges than anything else where upkeep is concerned, so I added a rabbited edge to Jim’s cleat to bury the ply end-grain.
Here you can see the notch for the plywood top running off to the stern.. I will round that sharp edge over once the cabin top is on. Most of those screws will be removed and filled; the vertical edge will be filled/rounded/taped.
This shot shows what I mean a bit better.
Overview of Cabin top cleat glued up.
The cockpit combing poses an additional problem. Besides the need to cap the Plywood edges, I needed to bend them into a pretty curve. No way a 1″x3/4″ pine strip is going to take that curve! Lamination is an obvious choice, but rather “fiddly” for my level of patience.
Here is the curve I am talking about and the piece I made offered up for a trial fit. It measures 3/4″ x 3/4″ square.
Yes, I cheated. Here is a shot of what was once a 1×8 board and how I got my cockpit combings out of it.
I know, I know, short grain weakness and all that, but once this is glued onto the plywood, and THEN both are capped by a 1″ x1/4″ strip on top to give the full spec’t dimension and seal the ply edge, I think it will be at least as strong as Jim intended.
This shot makes it easy to see how that cap strip will sit on top and do its job.
Once I get these 4 pieces in, I can remove the temporary forms, tape and fillet the last bits of the hull interior, and then flip her over and start on the bottom work!
Un Abrazo,
Bill
Second layer Port Wale
28 Aug 2011 1 Comment
Saturday I got the first/inner wales finished both sides. I also glued up the wider outer wale splices so they could cure overnight. This AM I sanded and rounded the port side wale and got it glued and screwed on.
Note the groove under the wales. This serves as a hand hold/grip and deflects water back down so it does not come on board. Works quite well.
Another view of Grip Wale.
That is a massive wale!
Wale splices and overlap detail.
From the stern.
Hopefully I can get the starboard side done this PM after the heat dies down a bit.
Un Abrazo,
Bill
Another Three Weeks
20 Aug 2011 Leave a Comment
Three weeks have gone by with no progress other than splicing the two first (inner)wale layers. I got started this AM cleaning and sanding the forward two bays. The curve of the sides meant I had to fabricate some filler “arcs” 
Above photo shows the space to fill where the 3/8″ bilge panels adopted a curve while being tortured. Bulkhead was drawn with a strait edge. I inserted the “arcs” to help show the gap
These are the “arcs” I made to fill in the spaces. Since they will be bedded in filleting epoxy paste, the fit is not critical.
Here are the filler arcs fitted. Good thing the fit is not critical!
Taped up! The Brace is needed because the pressure of the bilge panels on the “V” of BH1.5 was curving the point of the “V” towards the stern.That completes the inside taping for the basic hull except for the Vertex of the bottom/bilge/bulkhead detailed below.
I have removed the vertical post at the top of the photo, but have not yet done the taping where all those seams meet. I also need to do the short sections after removing the temporary form also shown in the photo; but that has to await the wales and trim..
Taped and seamed through cabin.
31 Jul 2011 Leave a Comment
Yesterday, Saturday, I got the after half of the cabin taped and seamed. Today, Sunday, I got all the rest done inside the cabin except where the temporary form is located.
Ready to fillet and tape.
As explained in the video, I was able to bring the bilge panels flat to the bulkhead using these 2×2′s.
The screw through the bilge panel in the middle of the 2×2 pulled the panel flat. This trick probably won’t work for the next bulkhead where the span is shorter and the curve more pronounced.
Still shot of fore-cabin all taped up.
I am hoping to get wales spliced up this PM if all goes well.
Un Abrazo,
Bill
