Riva Aquarama by aydingocer - FINISHED - Amati - RADIO - A new challenge for a so-far static ship builder

[aydingocer]

Deck 2nd planking. Most of it is uses 1mm thick mahogany sheets. Rest will be done using 1x1mm lime and 1x3mm mahogany strips.

 

The parts:

 

Before:

 

After dry-fit:

 

 

[cog]

Looks promising, can't wait to see the definite fit.

[aydingocer]

Build day 25

 

5 hours today.

 

90 hours into build in total.

 

Today I had more spare time with my Riva. I glued the upper deck plank sheets and was even able to proceed on the front deck planking strips. After today it looks like my Riva has started to reveal its beauty, though slowly, but surely

 

Upper deck mahogany sheets in place. Some of the gaps between the pieces were unavoidable, for example those on the side of the cockpit. I opted to leave equal gap on the other side for the sake of symmetry. Part of those gaps will be covered with ornaments and upholstery. Others, I will figure out either by filling with sawdust or just leaving like that and letting the varnish give its look:

 

 

Deck strips, 1x1mm lime and 1x3mm mahogany, to be glued in alternating turns. The same pattern will be used in front deck as shown as well as on the engine lid at the back:

 

 

Proceeding with the front deck planking. The ends on the cockpit side will be covered later with another mahogany sheet therefore the strips do not have to align perfectly on that side:

 

 

This is the status at the end of the day:

 

 

Thanks for watching.

/Aydin

Edited August 17, 2016 by aydingocer

[Nirvana]

Aydin,

Applauses for a wonderful build.

Looking so good.

Edited August 17, 2016 by Nirvana

[EJ_L]

Her beauty is indeed showing through now. Good job on that deck planking. Once you have her all polished up that will look great!

[cog]

That's beautiful Aydin

[Red]

Hi Aydin,

Hope you had a good vacation.

Deck planking looks fabulous. 

Kind Regards

Red

[Keith_W]

Enjoying this build immensely. One question though - those strips for the deck seem to be mahogany? The real boat appears to have contrasting wood to mahogany. 

 

[aydingocer]

Enjoying this build immensely. One question though - those strips for the deck seem to be mahogany? The real boat appears to have contrasting wood to mahogany. 

 

4939580_0_311219691600_1.jpg

 

There are several models of this boat (1965, 1972 etc), probably the difference is because of that. The kit (which is claimed to be museum quality by the manufacturer) is supplied with mahogany/lime for this purpose. I think it is the 1965 model.

 

Anyway, a quick search in Google returned this Riva Collection museum in Italy: http://collection.bellininautica.it/en/museum/collection/

 

There are Aquarama boats in that museum with similar planking as in this kit.

 

/Aydin

[WackoWolf]

Thanks for the link

[aydingocer]

Build day 26 & 27. 

 

2nd planking complete.

 

5 hours in both days.

 

95 hours into build in total.

 

I spent some 5 hours in last two days and the 2nd layer of planking seems to be complete now (hopefully).

 

Next few days of work will surely be the dustiest part of the entire project: rasping --> filing --> sanding, sanding, sanding... , filling the gaps, sanding sanding again... With this I am hoping to get rid of the impurities on the surface and get the model as smooth as possible.

 

The heaviest part of this "smoothing" work will no doubt be rounding of the two "mould arcs" in the back top. These 10mm thick mahogany arcs need to be shaped flush on the edges with all the other deck components which they are adjacent to.  

 

Here are some examples of how much they have to be rasped and filed (tried to indicate the pattern with red lines):

 

 

 

Edited August 18, 2016 by aydingocer

[aydingocer]

Below I am adding a series of photos showing the final planking process and the current status before starting smoothing work. I will try to post some photos during sanding when I can. Thank you for watching and see you later!

 

Aydin

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited August 18, 2016 by aydingocer

[EJ_L]

Excellent job on the planking. Once you get her all sanded out and smooth and the finish applied she is going to be one sharp looking boat. I can see her shining already!

[GuntherMT]

She's looking gorgeous.  Well done so far!

[Nirvana]

Aydin,

That decking is looking fantastic, I hope you used epoxy for laying the strips. Or are you to cover the deck with fiber-glass as well?

I am concerned you will have issues with the water otherwise. It would be such a shame if you get problems.

Have you done any interior water protection at all?

I hope you have as you have put down the deck already.

Everything needs to be protected, sadly to say but necessary since you are to RC her.

[aydingocer]

Aydin,

That decking is looking fantastic, I hope you used epoxy for laying the strips. Or are you to cover the deck with fiber-glass as well?

I am concerned you will have issues with the water otherwise. It would be such a shame if you get problems.

Have you done any interior water protection at all?

I hope you have as you have put down the deck already.

Everything needs to be protected, sadly to say but necessary since you are to RC her.

 

First of all, thanks everyone for the encouraging comments.

 

Hi Per,

 

Yes, deck will be covered with fiber-glass / epoxy solution just like the entire hull. I will also put Hempel yacht sealer in the cockpit and the engine area from inside. And then, paint where required (yes, unfortunately some part of this beautiful mahogany will have to be covered with paint, especially below the waterline) . So, that's the plan. 

[gjdale]

Looking great Aydin. Can't wait to see her with her finish coat on!

[aydingocer]

Build day 28 - Sanding. 

 

3 hours today.

 

98 hours into build in total.

 

Sanding finally started today. I spent altogether 3 hours:

- Rasping and shaping the rear arc moulds,

- first coarse sanding of the hull (not the deck, yet) using 80 grit paper with random orbit sander.

- first filling of the gaps with sand dust / glue mix

 

I had promised to post some photos during this dusty job. Here are some of them. 

 

First, I rounded the arcs with a rasp (check a few photos above to see their initial shape). The dark parts adjacent to the planks are not gaps, but laser burn marks. I will cover them with the sand dust filling as well:

 

 

This Proxxon random orbit sander is my best friend in these days:

 

 

Collected plenty of sand dust on the way. Left: sand dust. Right: rasp dust (for rough filling): 

 

 

After 3 hours of sanding with Proxxon, the hull looks smoother and the gaps have been revealed and therefore I thought it is time to make the first filling of the gaps. The paste I prepared with sand dust and white glue/water mix is quite thin, therefore I will need to repeat the filling process. This makes the progress slower compared to a thicker paste but I guess the result will be worth it. Here are some fillings. 

 

 

 

I will continue tomorrow with more fillings and corrections before moving to next sanding sequence. Thanks for watching!

 

/Aydin

Edited August 20, 2016 by aydingocer

[Keith_W]

Truly a first class build log. Not only is your workmanship top notch, but the way you present your build is something we should all learn from as well. We live vicariously through your photos.

[aydingocer]

Build day 29 - Sanding. 

 

2 hours today.

 

100 hours into build in total.

 

Today I celebrate 100th hour! Cheers!

 

Thank you Keith, for the kind and encouraging words.

 

Today I spent around 2 hours for consecutive filling of the gaps. Nothing much to show. Just for the record.. and of course for the honour of 100th hour . 

Edited August 22, 2016 by aydingocer

[cog]

Congratulations on you centenary

[Guest]

Great build log.  I've read through it like 3 times now and am subscribed.  Very inspirational.  I've put this kit on my bucket list now (since I will likely never ever see a real one, let alone ride in one...never mind owning one ).

Edited August 22, 2016 by Sunsanvil

[EJ_L]

Filling and sanding, always a tedious and rather boring part of the build but a necessary one. Congrats on hitting 100 hours!

[AndrewNaylor]

Hi

A great build I have been following from the bridge on the power boat I now drive.  I use to drive a Riva Super Aquarama When I was the Mate on a 115 foot motor boat called Henry Morgan after the pirate. We TOWED it around the Mediterranean, Spain Italy France It was called "Bananas" if the weather was bad we just did not go any where saved use from hours of bad weather.

 Anyhow When I built a model that was going in water I used a product called "GIT ROT" a very thin liquid that socked right through the wood layers and sealed them all together forming a solid hard water proof smooth finish, that was easily painted below the water line and could be varnish above the water line Added very little weight and there is no risk of horrible fiberglass ruining your hard work

Best

Andy

[aydingocer]

Hi

A great build I have been following from the bridge on the power boat I now drive.  I use to drive a Riva Super Aquarama When I was the Mate on a 115 foot motor boat called Henry Morgan after the pirate. We TOWED it around the Mediterranean, Spain Italy France It was called "Bananas" if the weather was bad we just did not go any where saved use from hours of bad weather.

 Anyhow When I built a model that was going in water I used a product called "GIT ROT" a very thin liquid that socked right through the wood layers and sealed them all together forming a solid hard water proof smooth finish, that was easily painted below the water line and could be varnish above the water line Added very little weight and there is no risk of horrible fiberglass ruining your hard work

Best

Andy

 

Hi Andy,

So you have the front seat experience of an Aquarama! Cool!

I have checked the online stores for this GIT ROT but it is available only in US shops which either do not ship to Finland or at ridiculous shipping rates. I will ask the marine shops around if they have that or soething equivalent.

/A.

[aydingocer]

Build day 30 - Sanding. 

 

2 hours today.

 

102 hours into build in total.

 

Today I continued with final fillings as well as first sanding of the deck.

I think the filling job of the body is complete now and it is ready to proceed to finer sanding (150 grit).

I also made a test of glass fibre + epoxy on a piece of scrap plank. Looks OK so far but I will know better after I have done 2-3 layers.

[AndrewNaylor]

I found Git Rot at a hard ware shop It is used for repairing rotten wood on windows etc 

I will try and find some where I am as I am not home in RI at the moment If I find some soon I can send it to you. as regular postage from the states is not to bad 

Andy

[aydingocer]

I found Git Rot at a hard ware shop It is used for repairing rotten wood on windows etc 

I will try and find some where I am as I am not home in RI at the moment If I find some soon I can send it to you. as regular postage from the states is not to bad 

Andy

 

Thank you in advance. That'd be great. I will look into local shops and see if there is it or any equivalent, before bothering you.

[aydingocer]

Build day 31 - Sanding and more deck components

 

I continue with fine sanding and then the plan is to assemble more mahogany deck components. The reason why I did not include them to the sanding process is that I thought it would be better to sand them individually and glue afterwards since they form bumps and bulge over the flat surface, otherwise would make sanding process more painful.

 

For 240 grade sanding of the deck I use this sanding sealer:

 

 

Sanding sealer brushed and waiting to dry:

 

 

 

After waiting for about 30-40 mins (as instructed) I sanded the deck using 240 grade.

Edited August 27, 2016 by aydingocer

[aydingocer]

Next: Fenders on both sides using 5x5mm mahongay strip.

 

Cut to size:

 

 

Shape the edges

 

 

Glue in place. There is a significant color difference with these strips compared to the hull but most of it will be painted in white therefore I don't worry about it too much.

 

Edited August 27, 2016 by aydingocer