Weeks 6 & 7 Finishing the outer hull skin

Over the last two weeks we have been finishing the surface of the outer hull in between doing exams for our qualification. This time aslo saw the moving on of Dan and help arriving in the form of Paul H and Nick L.

Week 6 saw us sheath the outer hull with cloth and epoxy resin and an outer layer of peel ply on the Monday. On Tuesday after ripping off the peel ply we saw the brighter hull skin show up all the filling and fairing that had to be done over the next week or so. One area at around station two on the port side showed up a significant bulge in the foam so it was decided that the best thing to do would be to cut out that section of the panel below the waterline to the keel and fit a new panel in. After cutting out the area and cleaning off the bearding line on the hog we found the offending spot causing the problem, a very slight lump on the hog which was just enough to through the foam away off it's line. A strong lesson was learned and we were very grateful the rest of the bearding line was so well faired off. The new panel was fitted in after working flat out all day Tuesday on it and by the evening we had it clothed, epoxyed and peel plyed.
On Wedneday we came in a ripped off the peel ply and the new section faired superbly. From then on it was a case of filling the outer hull with epoxy and lightweight glass bubble filler and sanding off to make it fair. The first layer was a light coat to see how the whole thing lay and to get into a swing of the process. On Thursday the hull looked like it had been basically iced as the filler was plastered on so thickly. We took the friday off to head down to Wadebridge in Cornwall to deliver the lead ballast keel mould to the foundary where we had a tour of the process.

This last week saw us sand in the mornings off a coat of cured filler apllied the previous day and re-apply another coat of filler and over the week a really nice fair hull slowly appeared. Each day saw less sanding and filling which freed up time for us the start making other components like the centreboard case and centreboard along with scarfing together spruce for the mast which I have decided will be the 22'8" Marconi or Bermudan Rig.

I finished this evening completely shattered after two hectic weeks of physically challenging work, alongside exams and coping with varoius glitches along the way. The fact that we only have one completely over stretched tutor (whom I saw very fleetingly at times) supervising 9 boats for the last 8 days only made matters more frustrating. Hopefully the much missed Bob will make a full recovery and join us again soon.
Next week is the beginning of phase 2 when we turn the hull over on a new cradle and begin the innner skin and fit out.

Week 6 Oar & Spar Week

This week was given over to making oars for those building rowing boats and paddles for those building canoes and larger sailing vessels. I made a paddle for getting the haven back into shore should the wind fade but if the budjet stretches I will probably add a small 2.5hp otboard. I was a bit dissapointed I could not make an oar as the example looked fantastic so I encorporated some on the oars features into my paddle by scooping out the face of the cheeks on one side with the bollow plane (made earlier in the course) making a pronounced spine running down the centre planked by sappelle inlays. The other side was finished like a conventional paddle with tappered flat cheeks. This new design was christened 'the oardle'. Wednesday saw the oardle finished by fashioning the handle in with the loom again laminating in some sappelle.

I had the choice of then starting to make a boom or mast for the haven during the remainder of the week or carrying on getting things ready for glassing the outer hull next Monday. I chose to work on the hull by getting the outer stem planed and faired in and sanding off the first skim of filler. A full day was spent cleaning off the transom. This was a difficult process as the mahogany kept splitting as I planed it. I got it looking presentable enough for this point and then gave it a first stage sanding with the power sander using 40 grit. I will come back to it again after the hull is glassed.

Friday afternoon was spent finishing the ballast keel mould by adding the centre board slot pattern but this proved difficult as the two pieces of laminated plyboard to form the 30mm width cupped slightly. When glued and screwed to the mould it kicked off slighly at the very aft end. This will have to be sorted out on Monday with a laminate and then planing straight. Hopefully it will work out.

The mast and rigging was obviously discussed this week and I have decided to fit the 'Marconi' Rig to my haven instead of the Gaff. Altough still made with Spruce I think it will be better suited to my modern build and for me it will be more simple to rig and maintain.

Week 5 - The Hull is Foamed

This week saw the biggest leap forward with the hull skin fully in place. It was a relentless week of pushing forward every day but at the end of every day the progress was satisfying to see and a real buzz of interest from around the workshop with everyone saying that Foam is the Future!

We cut and fitted the largest boards to take in the waterline on Monday and then cut the remainder of our stock material on Tuesday into strips to strip plank the remainder of the hull over the rest of the week. The foam really took the shape of the hull beautifully and the finished hull has very pleasing lines. We found that Station 2 was a bit hit and miss to the fairing of the foam in one small section but was soon sorted with cable ties and a network of wires pulling and tensioning it fairly into place under the hull. Friday saw the greatest leap with the final sacraficial planks put in place and the stem laminated on and then we worked late into the evening skimming a first fill layer of glass bubbles to the all the holes left by the screws to fix on at each station.

Next week is a break at the Academy from Boat Building when we have a week of Oar and Paddle making. I will be making a paddle out of Spruce and Sapelle for the Haven to use when the wind dies and maybe there will be some time to make a boom for the mast towards the end of the week. Hopefully during the evenings I will also get some more filling and fairing done.

The Centre Line is complete

It looks like nothing happened this week to the unsuspecting eye but quite a lot happened (please believe me) and the backbone of the boat is now in place. We are now ready to start fitting the hull skin.....a couple of days behing schedule but not bad considering lots of encountered problems.
At the start of the week we just had the basic components but nothing secured in place or joined together. This was the difficult part to marry them together and get them glued in. It was all glued in by Thursday night and friday was spent cleaning off and then scribing for the first piece of cloth/epoxy coated foam to be fitted on the moulds on Monday.
We encountered the first problem of the week when we overbrowed the hog and so a full day was spent rectifying this by fairing a new line along it's length on one side and then transferring that line to the other side and then adapting the keel to this new width. Luckily we had plenty of width to spare.
The main problem of the week however was how to create a fair bearding line for the planking down the apron. This was overcome with most of Wednesday spent designing a crook tool which accurately allowed us to do so. I think the design went through about 7 different versions along the way until we got to the final successful one. When the apron was browed off and a battten run along the moulds it all faired in wonderfully.

The moulds are now set up.

This week we set all the moulds on the box , made the transom cradle, worked out the placing of the transom and more or less finished the male pattern of the lead ballast keel.
The job which posed the greatest problem was the positioning of the transom working off the drawings and getting the lines to fair in with the rest of the hull, particularly the on the last station. With much head scatching and referral and measuring on the plans we found the correct position but found that the bearding line for the planking needed some reworking particularly from the bilge area to the sheer line. It was all sorted by friday afternoon when we steam bent the hog around the top of the moulds. I was particularly pleased with the lead ballast keel plug which turned out beautifully after much bewilderment and confusion during it's build. We hope to begin the hull skin by next wednesday.

Week 2 - Creating Centre line Components and Hull Skin

This week we were making various components for the centre line structure and the hull skin.

At the start of the week we cleaned off our glued up transon amd marked it out for cutting and then cut to the outside face. This was left to one side and then we made a template for the transom knee and apron. The tansom knee was cut out and shaped and left to one side. A jig was then set up for our stem apron which we laminated and cleaned off leaving to one side.

The last few days of the week saw the a real flurry of activity with the help of many others. This invloved scarfing and joining together the high density foam to make 16ft x 4ft sheets. A layer of thickened epoxy and then cloth had to be bonded over all these sheets so that when they are cut into strips for the hull skin they will have a grain strength running along their length. A final layer of peel ply was added so that we have a nice finish on the inside of the hull to work on. All this was left to cure overnight before setting them to one side on friday when we turned our attention to setting the moulds on the box. We will have all the moulds set up by Tuesday.

Fnishing the Moulds & making the Centreline Structure

I started work on Tuesday morning in the workshop, straight into finishing off work on the moulds with the help of Dan who is going to be my much appreciated helper for the next while.
We needed to join the halves of the moulds together by drawing out a grid on which we laid them to bring them togther correctly. We finished this by Tueday evening. On Wednesday we got the box set up and repaired and levelled on the workshop floor on to which the moulds will be set upside down.
After lunch we collected the wood for keel, hog and apron from the woodstore and started to mark out the keel for cutting and shaping and then transferring the widths onto the moulds. By Thursday the keel was finished and then on Friday we marked out the hog and transferred the widths onto the mould stations and then cut out the notches on the moulds. By Friday afternoon the centreboard slot on the hog just had to be cut but we left this to one side to epoxy glue up the various bits of mahogany for the transom. By late friday evening it was glued and clamped up. A really good start to the build. On Monday we will finish the hog and then set up the moulds on the jig.