Rounding and strengthening

January 26, 2010

Walla Walla was lovely, always good to go see the family. Shift was shift, going out a handful of times but only really solving one problem of the myriad calls we had. Today, back to work in the shop!

Before we left, I took the opportunity to hot coat the sole support web with two coats of epoxy mixed with fast hardener. This stuff tacks up at 50 degrees in 10 minutes, so it is very fast work, but allows for forcing a project like this to be cured up quickly and hot coated multiple times in a day. Gives it that plastic coated look.

A little extra epoxy left over, mixed with filler, and crammed into the various screw holes I imparted to the MDO for clamping purposes. The screws I use are 3/4" drywall screws because they are cheap, don't necessarily require a pilot hole, and bite just about anything without too big of a wire diameter.

Then she just looked, well, hollow.

Everything then received a 3 day curing period until I showed back up this morning post shift. First order of business was looking at my drainage situation. Sumps were the order of business, so some photos were taken for ideas.

Out comes the tape.

Very shallow on the outboard edge.

Gluing up some sides and all the glass work to make a sump seemed very feasible at this point, just requiring 4 walls, a few days of glass work, and a little plumbing. I dug into various catalogs and websites for pumps that would tolerate things like tuna blood, fishing line, scales, etc. This left me with either pumps that wouldn't fit in the hole, pumps over $300 a piece, or having to find another solution. Just to get a better idea, I dropped in the now-shiny web to see what other work needed to be done.

And the location in question.

Looking closer, the sump would drain over this board, as well as having to be sealed to it and the surrounding sole.

Here I took a few minutes to drive my bride to go pick up her car at the brake shop, look at some pumps and ideas online, and try to refine the thought process. My options are either to build out a sump that fits all of those pieces tightly together, sheds water, and has pumps that are either under 4" tall or can be placed in a remote area with a foot. This feels a hair complex, and it might be tough to get a quality seal around that fir member across the top. Another option that came to mind is a shower sump like the ones produced by Attwood. The sump could lay under the engine, where a scupper on each side could drain the runoff through tubes to the box, which has a pump in it. This pump is protected by a screen from debris and holds enough water to prevent pump cycling, which might be an issue in the shallower sumps. I can also add a second sump forward, draining the rain water that might accumulate forward.

Much to mull over, and I will be hitting my resources hard to have a look at this page and help make a decision. In the meantime, something needed to be finished, so the seat boxes were tidied up, stray edges ground flush, holes filled, and corners radiused and taped for strength and safety's sake.

Here I tried to capture the waviness of the MDO paper, but the camera just couldn't grab it. I think I managed to put the B side of the ply on the outside of the seat box, which resulted in a bumpier paper, which will finish a little rougher than I'd hoped. Chalk it up to lessons learned.

There's our early-week update. Once a decision is made on the sump program, hopefully I can get the sole placed and start filling the interior out. Getting the seat boxes placed will allow me to start fairing and priming the hull, finish out the front cabin, and get a roof on the trunk. Oh, that reminds me, maybe I should build that roof this week as well...

10 hours in the shop today

January 20, 2010

Holy crap, that was a long work shift today. Got out to the shop just before 11a, and just got inside at 9p. Very long day, but appears to be highly productive, barring any failures in my plan.

Started the day off by finishing cutting out the sole, which was initiated yesterday afternoon, but ran out of time before the wrap up meeting of our big Christmas time volunteer effort Fantasy Flight.

Ooohh, how pretty, you say? I find it is flat, which is a vast improvement over the old sole. In order to confirm the fit of the seat boxes, they needed to be dry-fit again over the new sole, which highlighted some ill-fitting panels, and ate up the midday period getting them fitted snug but not tight.

A shot aft from the bulkhead shows the amount of fish deck space remaining and the broad walkways around the doghouse.

Whilst everything is in place, I needed to be 100% certain this is where I wanted, the sizes were spot on, and the seams were in the right spots. To confirm this, I hung the partially completed console.

No, this time I didn't make engine noises. I made splashing noises as I was blasting over waves.

Taking a page out of the Nordic Tug playbook, I decided to pull the sole section out that the seat boxes sit on, and build them as a unit. This makes the work easier and faster to accomplish, and when the seat unit goes into the hull, it will be a much stiffer singular piece to move. It will, however, require the assistance of someone to get them into the boat. Any of you people that live nearby, let me know if you are going to be available in a week or so...

SWMBO (She Who Must Be Obeyed) has soccer tonight, so I capitalized on the extra few hours. This glue-up took quite a bit longer than I thought it would, but it will have a 36 hour cure-up time while I'm at the station. All but one of the 3/4" x 1 1/4" supports were glued up on each side, using a combination of clamps and drywall screws. This gave good clamping pressure, and allowed for some force to be applied to the panels to hold them true, straight, and get the shape necessary.

Phew, it was a long day, and 9 hours without eating is a bit much for an eater such as myself. Luckily SWMBO fed me almond crusted salmon over edamame mash (quite tasty) for lunch in the sun. I think the attempt of having the v-berth completed and the interior of the cabin at least under construction is obtainable, and will give time in February to complete the fairing work, get her primed, and put the top on the berth. Maybe we can even squeeze in building the upper works and do a little rigging before paint. Here's a lovely parting shot of the way the laps look in the negative.

Visible progress

January 18, 2010

I do love projects that have large visual impacts, as they just feel like much more accomplishment than hours upon hours of sanding. Unfortunately, it's the sanding that makes the end product pretty, and is worth all the time.

The local sheet goods supplier ordered in some 3/8" 2 sided MDO for me for the seat boxes, and what better time to work on it than when it is 54 degrees here in the frozen tundra. Shop doors were open, it was spectacular. I chose the MDO because it requires far less finish work, can be assembled with mechanical fastenings, and is extremely durable when it comes to banging things into the painted paper surface.

This project used the rapid prototyping trick with cheap ply and hot glue. In short order some scrap was turned into these monstrosities:

Looks horrible, and a little nonsensical, but they result in a very tight fitting final product. The morning was spent getting things ready to go in, templating, and initial cutting.

After snack time, things went really quickly, transferring the lines and getting bits into place. The MDO is heavy, but won't need to be glassed, will finish quickly with primer and paint, and should be very strong for its thickness.

You can see, these are first cut fits, no touching up or fitting out was necessary after the template was made. They laid in on the first time tighter than a frog's ass, and look good to boot.

Again for scale, here is our lovely model, bringing some new enthusiasm to the plaid shirt.

The sole will need to be placed soon, possibly tomorrow. Keep coming back, have a look, much will be happening this week and next as far as updates and photos.

Perseverance

January 15, 2010

Minus a little mishap with the tank that will be an ongoing story (post of its own will be forthcoming), we have to keep on the job to get this porker done by fishing season.

Some of you may find a few of these photos familiar, as they have been a part of posts on iFish and Bloodydecks. For the rest of the reading audience, here are some shots of the mocked up seat units, in their reasonably final dimensions, with one human sized human for reference of scale and location

The interior of the box will be lined up with the outside dimensions of the tank, giving the tank ample room, allowing for an icebox/fishbox under the aft seat, and some storage above the tank. Looking so far at the seat pad location, there should also be room for a small workspace just aft of the seat pad itself for lures, tools, or butts if people choose to sit on the higher section for spotting fish or easier communication.

Again, for size reference, here is our test subject at 6' 3" tall and 200 lbs:

We are having one of those amazingly warm El Nino winters here in the Northwest. Skiing has been lackluster, but epoxy work can happen without much regard for weather or timeline. The Hydrotek I received was horribly rough, so a full thickness pull of thickened epoxy had to occur on the sides. I took the opportunity to do a few odds and ends as well.

A little left in the tub? Let's smooth things out a bit

Last order of business in this work session was to get the face panels on the console. A little glue, some clamps, and a little extra weight got the job handled.

Today, many phone calls, visits, and other interruptions ate up some work time, but the consoles came together nicely, as well as some grinding and additional fairing compound went in to the little holidays here and there in the previous shift.

The steps went as follows. First we pre-cut all the tape with the requisite tabs and pie cuts, then lay it out in a dry fit.

Second, fill in the joints with a reasonably stiff compound.

Then wet out the joints, lay fabric into them, wet out the dry spots, and press everything down tight to the wood with a laminating roller.

This should result in a nice, rigid, smooth finished console that will take paint well, be durable, and keep all the controls/gauges/switches immobilized and happy.

Tonight, we bash with a good friend Jimmy, my newly-retired driver from the Spokane Fire Department. We wish him well in his retirement, for long life, many travels, and as many blues festivals as any one human can stand.

Eff Bomb

January 12, 2010

Yeah, no tools were thrown, but consider yourselves lucky that your children weren't within earshot of the shop today. Much in the way of progress, but one huge setback...

It was a lovely 48 degrees today in Northeast Washington. About 15 degrees above our normal nearly-freezing temps for this time of year, and far and away better than the brutal winter we had last year. What a luxury, as I need to get this boat done.

First order of business was to get started on those seat boxes. Rudimentary ideas of dimensions went together on paper, then out came the templating stock.

48" long, 28-34" wide depending on the hull shape, 36" tall in front and 19 1/2" tall in the back. This is the base point for the seats. My good friend Derek Wolcott taught me a valuable lesson in starting big and working your way down to the size you need. 36" was a bit tall for seats, but it was an easy size to cut from the ply.

While we are here, let's toss a top on it so we can see how it will look (soon to be a bad idea).

A shot, looking aft, showing the work deck with the seat box in place:

My wife likes to say things are a "family show" when someone goes off on a swearing fit or says something inappropriate. The shop was most certainly not a family show today. Gee, what a great idea to toss a lid on that seat box, it will help visualize everything. (Insert 90 second swearing fit here)

What is that you say? Why the swearing and the odd picture of the tank? Look closely.

That's right boys and girls, I managed to cut into the tank while changing the size of the seat box from 48" to 44". I thought I had slid the tank out of the way far enough inside, but it looks like I was pretty incorrect in that assumption. Instead, I have dropped a more than 1" deep, 1/4" wide slit in the tank. It no longer holds pressure, but it also doesn't free-flow air out of the cut. I believe this might be fixable, so I have an email into Moeller about it. Hopefully I can get some plastic welding rod, a torch, and do some repair work to make this $350 tank usable again.

Normally this would be a workday-ending event, but I just don't have the time for that in this build. The longfins are calling, and July is the peak of the season. Pressing on then, I was intending to reduce the length of the box to 44" and height to 32". After a short de-escalating lunch of salad with shrimp, I completed all the cutting (without mowing through the tank again) and mocked it up with what I plan to be the final height. The box may become narrower, that is still in the planning process.

Another small project that was easy to knock out today was the basic console box. The sides were cut, cleats fitted, and everything is glued up and clamped, ready for basic assembly Friday.

Okay, it was a productive, but horribly frustrating day. The last couple hours were tied up recoating all the epoxied surfaces to build up some thickness. This second coat closes up the pores in the wood, adds some bulk to the coating for sanding, and makes a nice solid base for primer and paint.

A few minutes were taken at the end of the day to unwind, reconsider the next phase, plan ahead, and just generally admire what she's going to be in a few months.

The more I see this particular view of the boat, the more confident I become in her ability to thwart head seas and hopefully keep her crew safe. Though the day was difficult, this facet always makes me feel pleased of the work accomplished.

Stuff showing up

January 11, 2010

It looks like there hasn't been any work done lately per the website, but in all actuality, it happens that much work is completed, but all of it is essentially invisible right now. Fairing work ate up two days of labor, but both days gave almost no visible change to the camera's eye. Laying filler, pulling the edges out, coating tape, and sanding, sanding, sanding. Afterwards? Looks exactly the same. This will change when the primer and paint go on.

At the end of last week, a big shipment showed up from Fisheries Supply over in Seattle. They are the closest supplier for certain items, and I like to keep my dollars local to support our tax structure and local businesses if possible. For items such as fiberglass and epoxy, the local suppliers just don't hold a candle to Boat Builder Central, an excellent company and site sponsor.

The cabin sides have cured up finally, as a warm spell is stumbling over the Cascades this week. The construction of the cabin sides has wound up, so the site has been archived off, feel free to look at the links on the top right of the page to see the phases preceeding this.

Two huge boxes provided us with our first major purchase since the boat itself. Two Moeller tanks, 40 gallons each, have found their way to this little shop, and are displayed here for all to see.

The tanks are in their general planned location, becoming seat boxes with storage all around them, supporting a helm seat facing fwd and an angler seat facing aft on both sides. She is planned to be a 3 man boat, but will fish 4 if needed.

Next came some mocking up this morning, while waiting on some other plans today. There was just enough time to create a mockup of the gauge panel/helm area.

This will hold the gauge cluster provided by Clippercraft, as well as the steering wheel and helm assemblies, primary wiring, and shield the lower cabling from the steering system to hide it. There will be secondary pieces added on between the helm pod and the cabin sides for the throttle assembly and some small bits storage (spare GPS, spare portable VHF).

With a few extra minutes, the actual pieces were cut from 9mm ply, with nailers made of CVG fir scraps from the cabin offcuts.

After a quick run to town for food and some templating wood, it was time to start using this good warm weather for progress! Out came the epoxy rollers and split roller for smoothing, as it was time to get sticky. The roller found its way across all of the cabin sides, main bukhead areas, bunk tops, hatches, and anything else I could find that needed to be waterproof and hadn't been overcoated yet.

Showcased above and below, the cabin sides with their new batten on top, looking all buttered up and dark colored. I did have a bit of a conniption fit due to the fact that the plywood I purchased (Hydrotek) was very rough compared to the product I have purchased in the past. It will be requiring quite a bit of sanding, I have a feeling.

Ahh yes, the hatch tops. All sanded up and rounded over.

Still looking like a big boat, but one that is filling up with required material, here's a shot of the interior all glossed up and waterproofed with her first coat.

Lastly for the photos, the cabin forward. Here you can see the fruits of the last week of labor, in the sanded and faired areas where the white smudges live. As I said, not terribly exciting stuff to update with, but pending epoxy curing up, the primer and possibly the paint will be going in soon. Which reminds me, there needs to be a portable head up there...

Tomorrow will be coat #2 of epoxy, some assembly of the helm station, and if time permits, the beginning of the seat box saga. We can all hope that goes quickly, as the albies will be running north in 5 short months, and this thing isn't going to build itself.