gjdale

I can’t believe a month has gone by without posting progress. It seems to have been a month filled with small steps that suddenly arrived at a major milestone. The next job was to make the Rear Fenders. Again, the kit provides sticky aluminium strips for this, but I decided to replace these with polished stainless steel, complete with 00-90 screws. I first created a template for the screw holes in CAD and printed this onto sticky label paper. The 0.5mm thick stainless steel was ripped to width by temporarily sticking it with double sided tape to a carrier of scrap timber and passing it through by Byrnes saw. The template was then attached to the stainless steel blank and the 1/16” screw holes drilled on the drill press. The ends of the piece were marked by scribing through the template and then cutting by hand with small hack saw. The piece was then polished up prior to removal from the carrier and installation on the hull. Double sided “attachment tape” from MACK products was used to install the fenders. Holes were then drilled into the hull, using the pre-drilled fender holes as locators, and the 00-90 screws epoxied in place using 15 minute cure epoxy. A similar technique for the screws was used on the cutwater, the difference being that the main cutwater piece itself was also epoxied in place. Here is a close up of the cutwater – although the photo shows that it has suffered a little from handling and needs another polish-up. I then installed the rub rails. These run the full length of the hull at the sheer, with a second, partial one just above the water line that runs from the rear fenders forwards for about 8 inches. Instead of using the kit provided material for these, I used another MACK products item, which was very easy and quick to apply. It comes with a self-adhesive backing, although mine had suffered from heat and/or packing and postage, and was basically unusable. I stripped the remains of the adhesive off and replaced it with a narrow band of attachment tape, which achieve the same outcome. It was then time to prepare for the maiden voyage in the domestic testing facility. In preparation for testing, lithium grease was packed into the shaft stuffing tube and the rudder tube, and the running gear re-attached. This photo shows the brass prop and rudder in place (both also in need of a polish). You can also see here the brass strut that I made to replace the solid plastic skeg to support the stuffing box/shaft. I also decided that it was time to start installing the interior gear prior to installing the engine hatches, before space got too limited. This started with running the wiring for the bow and stern lights, through the conduit that I had previously installed. Here’s a couple of overall shots prior to tank-testing. You can see the ends of the wires for the lights in these shots, as well as the rub rails. And finally, we got to the tank test – she floats! And she doesn’t leak! Next up will be to finish installing all of the electrics prior to fixing the hatches in place and commencing on the final trim pieces. We’re getting close!

Put me down for a copy too Greg! Lovely work so far.

Great job Daria. Make sure Dad doesn't take over too much - it's too much fun!

What John said!

Sorry to hear of your health scare Mark, but glad to hear you're on the road to recovery and back in the shipyard.

Okay, I'm here now Danny. You may proceed!

Outstanding Danny. Both model and presentation are first rate - as we've come to expect from you!

Definitely NOT hitting the "like" button on that one Bob! Hope your repairs go smoothly.

Congratulations Danny, another fine model. Looking forward to your next one.

Tedious it may be, Bob, but well worth the effort! Looking very nice indeed.

Think I'll join th crew following this one John, as I have this kit in my stash for "one day". You're certainly off to a great start.

Lovely work Gary. Your attention to precision is really paying off.

Nice to see you back at the workbench Daria. Good effort on the first planking - can't wait to see you complete the second planking.

Jay - you're killing me! Stop feeding my addiction. No don't stop. Yes, please stop, No, don't stop...........................

Looking lovely Bob. Your low-tech clamping method obviously works well.

Thanks so much Marc

Thanks very much Popeye and Sam.

Thanks so much Gerhard, Bob and Rusty, and all of the "likes".

Congratulations on completing a lovely build Aydin.

Congratulations on another masterpiece Chuck.

It has been a long time since I’ve been able to get back into the shipyard. Work and family commitments, as well as a new puppy in the house have all conspired against making progress with the build. While I've managed to stay in touch with others' builds, I haven't had anything to post in my own, until now... Finally, this weekend I managed to find some shipyard time. Decided to use it to do the job I’ve been putting off for a while – polishing the hull. Not a particularly difficult job, though admittedly tedious. I worked my way through 9 grades of wet sanding, starting at 1,500 grit and going all the way through to 12,000 grit before finishing with some liquid polish (Micro-gloss liquid abrasive). (Special thanks to Keith (Amfibius) for putting me on to the Micro-mesh sandpaper). The end result, while not perfect, is a huge improvement. I have managed to get rid of most (not all) of the “orange peel” effect and have achieved a nice high-gloss finish without going to the “boat-in-an-ice-cube” look. It’s very difficult to take pictures to show the high gloss finish, but here’s what I got. I wasn’t happy with the second attempt at my cutwater, so went back and re-sanded, re-polished, and re-chromed the original version. I'm happy with that now, so the next job will be to fit that to the hull. Hopefully, it won't be so long between posts now.

Hey Eddie, I have the plans for this boat too - it's on my "one-day" list. In the meantime, here's an extra tip for you with your sticky label paper patterns. Cover your wood with strips of low tack painters tape first (you can get it in Bunnings). That way, the pattern will be much easier to remove after cutting your timber out.

Looking lovely Bob.

I've spent a small fortune at Lee Valley this year, and my wish list is still quite lengthy! Just placed my latest order yesterday. Gotta love quality tools!!!

Nicely done Jay.