KeithAug

The more you practice the luckier you get.

Ras - that's really impressive but I bet the auto spell checker had something to do with its UPS capabilities.🙂 One tip with the turning - high speed steel turning tool can be ground to be much sharper than carbide tipped tools. I generally find HSS tools give a much better finish when turning soft metals such as brass.

Nice little lathe Ras.

It looks pretty good to me. As a lamp shade it is a fail.

Rick I assume she is still up for sale. I seem to remember reading an article that suggested she would be a difficult sale because her steam propulsion limited the market to enthusiasts. Presumably the yuppy boat buyers all want the convenience of instant diesel power. A pity really as she may be deteriorating in storage for some time. She really needs to go the a bunch of steam enthusiasts to be operated as a working museum ship for the benefit of the public at large. Hopefully she will find a deserving owner. Tom - I bet she would win the argument. Hakan - Thank you but my philosophy is not to prod a sleeping tiger.

I spent a rather uncomfortable afternoon in the large bay just off the Bowmore Distillery. It was rather windy and the bay (although shallow enough to anchor) doesn't offer much protection. About 8pm we abandoned the anchorage and set off on a very cold trip to Port Ellen. What I remember most was the cheese and fresh chilli sandwiches that were served just after our departure. They made a cold, overcast and miserable evening quite bearable. We arrived at Port Ellen too late for the pub. I much prefer the Speyside whiskeys - much more mellow. I do have a bottle of Chivas Regal 12 years in the cabinet but blended whiskeys can't really be counted as proper Islay spirits.

Thank you for the complements Phil. In this instance the mistake would have become obvious when the screw didn't fit in the correct position relative to the stern post. Thank you also Roel, Eberhard, Druxey and John.

Currently out of stock - https://eccentricengineering.com.au/shop/Turnado-With-The-Lot-p178595904

I hope it's not Lagavulin. Islay whiskeys all taste like cough medicine to me. It's all those phenolic compounds from the peaty water. I remember some very bad headaches from my sailing trips to Port Ellen.

Hakan - how thick are the planks - remember the intention isn't to revert to the lampshade plan

Phil, Tom, Pat - you are all too kind ---- and a good balance to my wife who finds plenty to critisise about me. The weather here continues to be mild. Yesterday Scotland had it warmest January day ever recorded - 19c. In the south it was somewhat cooler, never making it above a pleasant 14c. Apparently a southerly wind is blowing straight up from the Sahara delivering plenty of warmth and tons of red dust. the dust hasn't arrived yet. All this means that I got plenty of time in the workshop over the weekend. This is a good thing because the rest of the week is taken up with Grandparent duties. Anyway here is the update. Having got to the area of the prop shaft I decided to be clever and install the prop shaft tunnel now rather than later. The final section of keel has a knuckle and I very carefully shaped the aft keel piece so that the inner edge provided the alignment reference for the prop shaft. I know that sounds confusing but all may become clear later. The aft keel piece was installed and glued in place. I then turned the shaft tunnel and cut a slot along its length. This slot is inserted into the keel to locate the tunnel in its correct position and at the correct angle. I thought I would avoid cutting away the frames that supported the keel so I cut the shaft tunnel into segments and glued these in place. The next picture should make clear my earlier confusing description. Now that would have been great if only I hadn't messed up the position of the shaft. This was about 1/8" below where it needed to be (i.e too high in the hull). The good thing was that I found this now rather than later. So off it came and on to plan B. The aft keel section was well stuck by this stage so it was a case of some tricky sawing to get the alignment section back to where it needed to be. I remade the shaft tunnel and threw away the idea of fitting it in segments. it was a daft idea after all. I then glued it in place having checked and rechecked it was in the right place. I then proceeded with installing the last of the frames. I also installed slotted keel pieces, the slot being necessary to take the somewhat elaborate stern post. The bracing "floors" also continued to go in. The final keel piece then went in. This final piece defines the angle of the transom which I think I got right. Then I left it overnight and everything dried rock solid. If I screwed anything up this is now all firewood.😬

That is brilliant.

I recommend Macallan Double Cask 15 year old. My son is in Malmo on Thursday and Friday - giving a medical lecture. Has the weather warmed up yet?

That is going to be quite a baptism of fire Ian. Do you have a lot of clamps? As you progress the planks need to align with the previous plank along their length. With a wide frame spacing you may find that the planks don't want to align with the previous plank particularly at the half way point between frames. You will probably need to clamp the adjacent planks together at mid span while the glue is drying. 3mm is quite thick for planks and they are going to take some restraining - presumably this is what the designer had in mind when he / she suggested balsa as the planking material. You may find other MSW members have more experience of large frame spacing with thick planks. They may be more able to comment and advise. Ultimately we all find a way in the end.

Ian - did you say what the spacing is. It looks quite large.

You made me laugh!

Nils there are loads on eBay - this is the cheap end of the range - I suspect the more you pay the better they are.

I agree - two needed.

Even more Jealous.

Excellent progress Richard. The hull lines look wonderful.

Some very nice hand crafted brass work - well done.

You have missed your vocation mate..........................you should have been a plumber or real estate agent or a hairdresser. Anything but a song writer! Beautiful work Keith.

I find the older I get, the slower I work. I sometimes worry that if I slow down much more one day everything will just stop. Meteor is turning out real handsome John.

That looks like a wonderful day out Eric - I am jealous.