Boatbuilding Blog

December 7, 2009

Handrails and Windows

Filed under: Uncategorized — tomlarkin @ 12:20 pm

I’ve got 5 windows and most of the handrails installed. I ran out of brass handrail tubing, so I now have an excuse to go to Alaskan Copper again!  One of my favorite road trips.

 

Some windows installed. It’s already warmer inside with my small space heater. You can see the aft-cabin handrail I put on yesterday.
Port stern quarter view

These are vertical handrails installed inside and outside, through-bolted to each other.  The inside tubing isn’t installed yet in this picture.  The fittings are from New Found Metals.
Handrails 

Windows, handrails, and the vents over the Dorade box openings.
Windows, handrails, and vents

The front center window opens.  The cowl vents open to the internal Dorade box.
Bow window

November 30, 2009

Jewelry

Filed under: Uncategorized — tomlarkin @ 7:27 am

The first porthole:
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Inside:
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Cabin-top handrails:
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All the parts are coming together:
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November 25, 2009

Paint Details

Filed under: Uncategorized — tomlarkin @ 12:05 am

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November 10, 2009

Red!

Filed under: Uncategorized — tomlarkin @ 3:10 am

All the colors are on the boat now. I think they look nice :-)

Two more coats of red, and I can take the masking tape off and install the windows, hatches, and portholes. Just in time, too, since the tent is starting to leak. I’ll try to get by without buying another tarp for the top.

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November 1, 2009

Tire-Hanging Through-Hulls

Filed under: Uncategorized — tomlarkin @ 10:02 am

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There will be small cleats between each fitting to cleat the lines to.

View of the Boatbuilding Shed

Filed under: Uncategorized — tomlarkin @ 9:45 am

Sweeping the roof last weekend to get ready for the rainy season, I saw this unusual view of the boatbuilding shed. Hard to imagine a 25-foot boat in there, huh?

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When this is done, I’d like to build a real shop in that spot. Concrete walls, skylights, big rollup door on the street side.  220 Volt wiring for the welder and pressurized air plumbed in. Maybe a small greenhouse on the South side for solar heating and tomatoes.  I have an urge to build some small boats next    :-)

Side Cleat Reinforcements

Filed under: Uncategorized — tomlarkin @ 7:22 am

A lot of distractions these past few weeks have kept me from doing any big projects, so I’ve been attaching hardware and minor jobs like that.

I was concerned that a hard pull on my side cleats (like tying up with a too-short line and being hit with a large wake) might split my gunwale, so I made these bronze plates as reinforcements.  Now, any outward force on the cleat will be transferred down to the hull instead of ripping off the gunwale (I hope).   The material is 1/8 inch silicon bronze plate I bought at Alaskan Copper for this purpose.

I made a cardboard template and traced it onto the bronze plate.  I cut out the parts freehand on my metal-cutting  bandsaw, put them in my bench vise and bent the flanges over on the dotted line with a 5-pound hammer.
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I pre-drilled the cleat holes through the gunwale, then clamped the bronze part in place and marked the big hole for the through-hull, then drilled the hole a little oversized.
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Clamped the part in place and marked for the cleat mount holes with the drill bit I used to drill the holes in the wood. 
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Then removed the part and drilled the holes in the bronze, starting with a 1/8 inch bit and working up the the finish size.
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Checked the fit.
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I ground down the corners with a 5-inch grinder and 60-grit disk, freehand.  Then sanded with the small dual-action sander, down to 220 grit.  I’m not trying for a really fine finish here – they will tarnish nice and dark soon enough.
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My main concern is that I have three different metals here – zinc from the galvanized cleat, stainless bolts and nuts, and the bronze plate and through-hull.  I may look for bronze bolts to replace the stainless. At the least, I’ll put a nylon washer between the stainless nut and the bronze plate.  I need to epoxy-seal the bare wood where I drilled the holes before doing the final installation.

Added – I don’t know if this helps, but here is a rough cross-section of the area, and how I think the forces will be transferred away from ripping off that inside 1×2.
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October 4, 2009

Rubrails

Filed under: Uncategorized — tomlarkin @ 11:06 pm

Installed the rubrails yesterday, and the through-hulls that the fenders will hang from.

Rubrails

Fender through-hulls from inside

October 3, 2009

Pilothouse Paint

Filed under: Uncategorized — tomlarkin @ 11:07 pm

Kirby Yellow Gloss paint. I’ll flatten the top coat a little.

Port bow view 

Port stern view 
Two more coats of this on the outside and two more coats on the inside, and I’ll be able to mount the windows!

 

Original drawing

 

Here’s my original color layout from last January. I may install the rubrail today while waiting for the paint to dry.

I wish I could see the boat from this perspective, but the tent is too narrow.

September 28, 2009

Reflections in Hull Paint

Filed under: Uncategorized — tomlarkin @ 8:15 am

Well, it took 5 coats, but I’m calling the hull paint done.  Parts of it are very shiny :-)   Some of it doesn’t look quite as nice but I’ve decided I can live with it.

Reflection in the hull

 

I added flattening agent to the third coat, which made the paint look very thin so I added very little thinner. The paint didn’t smooth out after tipping, leaving tiny ridges along the whole hull surface. I had to sand it down with 220 grit – 400 wouldn’t dent it. This stuff cures hard!  It took 2 more coats to make it look good again.

Bad finish on hull

 

Sanding the 4th coat with 400 grit:

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Stem:

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Self-Portrait in Two-Part Polyurethane:

Portrait

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