Raising the Keel

In early January, my dad and brother descended on the boat shop like Stormtroopers and raised the keel in no time using bottle jacks and one big truck jack. The keel was up to about 60 degrees when we decided to push her the rest of the way up. One big push and a rebel yell later, we had a keel! 

I wouldnt advise doing it this way, of course. The proper way would have been hooking her to some come-alongs to pull her the rest of the way up.

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New Gas Main

After discovering Id installed the gas main wrong by using soldered joints I had to re do it.  This involved a bit of cosmetic damage to get at the old one to remove it and replace with the new.  This will be fixed in due course.

So now all joints are made with compression fittings and all joints are available for inspection and adjustment if necessary.

Well you get the idea.  I have done the soapy water test which it passed and the Mk1 nose test and at the weekend I will be borrowing a manometer to do a drop test.  And for full belt and braces I have booked a gas safe inspection as well.

I finally got around to fitting the gas struts to lift the bed.  

And finally an Ahh! moment out of the window today.

15 goslings!

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Looking better!

Saturday 10th November 2007

Today it seems more like a boat. Having seriously pulled and dragged the sheets to line them up overnight, the shape becomes more apparent.



David helps me with tools and checking the jacks are in place.





Bit by bit it comes together.



Jacks used to close the centre seam, then tacked inside.



Span set pulls it together at the bow.










Finished floor of boat. Looking good.

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In the Groove

I filled the gaps on my sample board with white pigmented and thickened epoxy to see how it will look and to practice the application. After using blue tape to tape off the boards, I mixed a 5 pump batch of epoxy. A 1/2 tsp. of white pigment was mixed in and then a few spoonfuls of white silica to thicken. Then the batch was loaded into a blank caulking tube, the nozzle cut and I pumped the goo into the gaps.

The mixture was a little soupy and I ended up squeegeeing the excess off. After cure there were a couple of low spots that might be from a void underneath and the goo slumped into the void. Dunno, but overall it looks good. It definately was good to practice and have an idea what Im going to do for real on the boat when the time comes for that step.

The pictures are of the sample board sitting on the bow of the boat.

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Bathroom Finished

At last I have finally finished the bathroom.  Ive had the shelf units for a few weeks.  These were once again custom made to my drawings and supplied by Frinton Kitchen & Bathrooms.  Thanks to Graham and Danielle.  This company has supplied all my fixed furniture for the Kitchen, Bathroom & Bedroom.  Jolly pleased I am too.

On Friday the LED mirror arrived just in time to take to the boat which was handy as its the last part for the bathroom.

I managed to get a 12v battery powered mirror
which is now powered by the boats 12v system

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A Boaters Favorite Subject

Yeh toilets again!

Following the removal of the 230v toilet in favor of the 12v again I was left with a gap behind the toilet as I had to remove some extra wall to get the plumbing connected to the 230v one.

I made a template a week or so ago and my brothers stone firm cut and polished a cover plate out of a type of man made porcelain.

So why are there tiles missing on the lower left?  Well, first of all it was an accident of removing the skirting board but then it became apparent this was a fortunate accident as I have another problem that needs fixing and these broken tiles sowed a seed to part of the solution.

The rubber sanitary hose used to take the macerated waste to the holding tank which is sold a "Smell Free" is now after only a year leaching a nasty smell in the boat and needs replacing.  This was supplied by a an expert firm in the field.  When questioned about this I was told that basically all flexible sanitary hose will leach smell sooner or later.  This I find unacceptable and have taken it up with the supplier.  In all fairness to the supplier I dont think they are to blame as they only brand that which is available elsewhere.  Neither the less to be told this hose should be regarded as an item that will need replacing anywhere from a year onwards is just not on.  Plumbing as far as I am concerned is a fix and forget item!

So in order to get the old hose out and new one in access has to be got.  By removing the right hand bathroom cabinet:-

I was able to carefully remove 2 tiles to replace the damaged ones:-

Then using a borrowed Fein Cutter (Thanks Garth at The Boat Yard Ely) I gently cut through the board behind ensuring not to plunge any deeper needed to breakthrough because behind are plenty of services:-

As you can see!  Im pleased to report nothing unintended was cut or even nicked.

So if anyone wants to buy me a pressie, a Feins Cutter will do.  In case youre not sure this is what one looks like.

Anyone??  

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Happy Floatday

Well, one year ago today Avalon was gently lowered into the water.  Where did that year go?

Launch Pics again

 Well weve had a great year of cruising the Gt. Ouse waterways and meeting an making new friends. We have clocked up 187 hours which equates to about 750 miles covered. We have learnt how to mostly keep control on her. Weve had friends come to stay, tried most of the pubs and restaurants on the riverside, and most of all enjoyed it more than we can say.  I have still managed to find things to tinker with a couple of days a week.   

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More Electrical Bits

The last couple of days on the boat has really been themed with electrical things.

I was most excited to find this GSM gadget.  I wanted the ability to get the boat ready for our arrival by switching on the inverter which would then power the heating and fridge.  Initially I was thinking just one switch but as I looked I found I could get this 7 channel unit for the same sort of price.  I added a fuse inside the unit as its easier to get to there, I might also add and LED to show the power status.

The black relay is operated by phoning the unit.  The clever bit on this is it will accept numbers form a white list only.  Phoning this relay accepts the number then hangs up (no charge call) and switches the relay either ON or OFF depending on where it was left. This relay can also be TXT operated.

The rest of the blue relays are TXT operated only again on a white list.  A message can be to turn either =ON or =OFF.  As well as a number of other functions a TXT can be sent to get the status of all the relays.

So I have set relay one to switch on the inverter, two to set the heating on and three to control the fridge.  The other channels Im sure Ill find a use for.  Ive put the wiring tails in ready.

Next job was to parallel the alternators.  The reason is because the 115amp alternator charging the start battery is effectively doing nothing after a few minutes whereas the 115amp alternator is working flat out.  Easy to establish as the start one is cool, the domestic one is too hot to touch.

Alternator parallelling is simply joining the output of 2 or more alternators,  but its best not to permanently wire the together.  

To best make the connection a contacter, a type of big relay is used.

This one has a 150amp continuous  rating

There are different ways of switching the relay from a simple switch on the dash, or via a self energising relay system.  What ever way its important that the relay drops when the engine is stopped.  I have fitted an LED to display the status of the contactor. I havent yet installed this on the dash its just on a fly lead.

I have chosen to use a self sensing relay driven by the output or the start battery alternator.  The system listens to the voltage of this alternator, once it sees its charging it switches its internal relay which in turn energises the contacter and the parallelling is made.

This is the sensing system and its adjustable

to ensure correct switching

And this is the finished job.

The top alternator is (was) the start battery the lower is (was) the domestic, although once they are joined it is simply one curcuit, each sharing the workload over both battery systems.

The results so far are that both alternators now run at a moderate temperature.  I also noted that the battery monitor was showing 14.6v  I never saw this as high before.  My conclusions so far are that it,s working as it should.  Time will tell and if in the unlikely event it proves troublesome its easy to de-activate.

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One model makers opinion

Model makers are one heck of a competitive group of people. Its a good thing - it makes the art better and better. Good model makers always want to get to that "next level". Its not unlike other arts or music. I love to see what others do and sometimes Im blown away. Take for example, functioning miniature V-8 engines, or huge R/C 747s, or some of the Gibbs & Cox ship models from the 40s (lets not forget August Crabtree). I used to make more R/C boats professionally, but true R/C afficianados want to be able to claim credit for the performance of their model themselves.

Sometimes there are aspects to our competitiveness that have to be watched. Often a model-maker looks at what another model-maker has in front of them and unconsciously assumes that they are seeing that model-makers best work. This is how we reassure ourselves of our abilities and is natural.

Unfortunately, such comparisons may be flawed...

You will never, ever, see our best works, unless you are our customer, or the work is on display in public. Why? We cant risk traveling with works that are either too fine, or at a stage of construction where the details are too delicate. Dealing with preparations for shipping is scary enough.

When you make models for a living, there is an "economics" to the work. Some models cost hundreds of dollars while others cost tens, even hundred, of thousands of dollars. Its self-explanatory; the amounts of time, effort and quality of materials differ at each end of the spectrum.

You may be familiar with intricate models made from pieces of bone or toothpicks by someone imprisoned for decades. With nothing else to do for 20 years, it was probably therapeutic and the only thing to do. I cant imagine... Occasionally we run into someone that has been working on a single model for over 20 years. Its not the same situation, but what they have is usually wonderful.

Weve got to be careful about our comparisons. Often times between apples and oranges. We look at someone elses great work and become depresssed. Why?  Model-making is about learning and getting better. If it is that great, learn from it. Bear in mind that your own work may be better than you realize.

Much worse is to make an assumption of  another model-makers capabilities in order to measure your own.

I will say it again, "you cannot know what you dont know". This means that while youve got your chest out about your great skills, someone will come along and "blow you away", because you werent paying attention.

All model makers are different in some way, shape or form. I seriously  doubt that August Crabtree could have built a functional V-8 engine and the converse for the engine modeler. They are/were both great model-makers. I think that they would both have respected each others work, knowing the differences.

Your most important competition is with yourself. Work on learning more. Judge yourself fairly. Make models that you like and in the way that you believe they should be made. You will probably change your beliefs every now and then, but if you keep growing, youll be contributing to the world of model-making.

"Always sign your work. Its very sad to see a great model with no way of knowing who made it."

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Gritty Alterations

A wanted a break in the weather this week as I am having the Pram Hood altered to have the helm window and the large back window made to zip out.

While its gone I have taken the opportunity to grit the back end of the roof.  This involved a good rub down with 40grit DA then masking up.

Then a very thick coat of floor paint followed by a liberal sprinkling of grit.  There is 16.5Kg on there believe it or not.  I wanted a course grit and strangely I found exactly what I was looking for in a pet shop. Crushed Oyster Shells!!! Nice and course, and only 95p for 1.5kg.  Al last something cheap for a boat.

 

I expect to recover at least 10kg with only 5-6 kg stuck to the paint

It looks a bit hit and miss now but when the masking is removed and the excess is removed it should look nice and neat.

I have also prepared the gunwales ready for gritting and Ive dried out the water tank ready for its final coating.

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Steps Revealed

Been to the boat for a couple of days and got a few more more jobs done.

I can finally reveal the steps which have been a work in progress for a while now.

The woodwork was done from my drawings by DW General Wood Machinists They have a CNC router which shaped the steps and plunge routed the slots to 8mm to receive the inserts.  I made the inserts from 3mm x 10mm steel which I had chrome plated.

These steps were my wifes concept and of course it was my job to deliver.  We have 2 dogs, one of which is getting on a bit and struggles with steps so we needed steps that they could get a good grip on but still look stylish.

Another job done was some the bow deck gritting.

 Masking is the trick but it takes 90% of the job time

The finished gritting ready for final paint

Well half of its done.  Its only practical to do sections at a time to keep it neat and manageable.  All the corners are rounded as it looks better IMO.

 

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DIY Non skid Surfaces for Plywood Boats

"Slippery when wet." How often dont we see that on notices and signs along footpaths, in shopping malls and in other places where a surface is too smooth to allow a good grip and could become dangerous?

Boats are also such places, with the additional factors of regularly being wet right where you need to be and also jumping around in reaction to wind and waves. Despite that, it is a common problem that a boat has inadequate texture on the deck or other walking surface to allow a good grip for deck shoes or bare feet.

Of course, maximum grip will come from maximum texture, or the roughest surface. However, people also sit on these surfaces and the roughest surfaces are the toughest on clothing and also on bare skin. The trick is to come up with a surface that allows secure footing on a wet and heaving deck but will not wear through the seat of your pants or skin your elbows and knees. Add to that the need for it to be applied by an amateur builder, not break the budget and to be attractive in appearance (or at least to not detract from the aesthetics of the boat) and you have a fairly difficult set of requirements to satisfy.

I have had mixed results from the various methods that I have used over the past 40 years of building my own boats. I will run through them and give the successes and failures of each of them.

In the 70s and 80s I used a rather nice non-skid deck paint that was made by a UK (I think) paint company under the trade name "Helmsman". It had a fine grit that was soft on clothing and skin yet gave reasonable grip. Problem was that the colour faded badly and it did wear down, so it needed to be redone very year or two. It was a really good product that seems to no longer be available.

In about 1975 I saw a very attractive deck finish done by a friend of mine on a plywood Cobra catamaran that he was building. He used a simple open-weave petticoat lace and bedded it into the first coat of paint on the deck, then painted over it. It added some non-skid properties that were adequate for the particular boat, which would be sailed sitting on deck or trapezing on the gunwale. It would not have been good enough for a deck that was to be walked on when wet in big seas.

That set me thinking on how to increase the non skid properties of this method, when building my first big boat. My solution was to buy woven polypropylene tree netting. The one that was available to me in South Africa had a honeycomb-shape mesh of about 20x30mm (3/4"x1 1/4"). The strands were also woven from fine strands of polyethylene and were about 2mm thick with a woven texture. I bedded it down into the second coat of epoxy on my deck surfaces, laying it in panels that I marked off with masking tape. Once that coat of epoxy had cured I cut through the strands along the panel edges, removed the offcuts and tape then applied another two  coats of epoxy. The resulting surface was very effective for grip but rather harsh. It was tough on clothing and skin so I  sanded the rough spots off it. With the roughness removed and the deck painted with polyurethane paint, some of the grip had gone, so I painted over it with the Helmsman paint mentioned above. The final result was extremely good grip but the honeycomb pattern could be uncomfortable to lie on.

While effective, this netting method is very time-consuming because of the need to pull the netting so that it has an attractive appearance, with the cells of uniform shape and in straight lines. The netting can also lift off the epoxy in places before it hardens, so I had to return to each panel repeatedly as the epoxy started to set, running a steel roller over the netting to press it down into the epoxy until it stayed there.

Many boats have non-skid surfaces done with paint, with a grit of some sort sprinkled onto the first layer while it is wet, then finished with an extra layer or two of paint applied over the top. The grit is usually fine river sand, which has round grains to give nice grip without being sharp. Beach sand tends to have sharp corners that make it very harsh, so is not suitable.

For my Paper Jet I used a non-skid paint additive that is available from International Paints. You can adjust the texture by using more or less of the additive. The additive grains are clear, so can be added to varnish also. While suitable for dinghies, the finish is too fine for larger boats, not providing enough grip for safety on a heeled and heaving deck with waves washing over.

For my Didi 38 "Black Cat" I used a variation of the grit method. Instead of grit, I sprinkled coarse Epsom salts onto the wet paint. When it had dried, I painted another coat or two of paint over the salts. After a few days the paint was hard enough to be lightly sanded, to expose the tops of the grains. Once opened up, the salt grains are rinsed out by rain or spraying with a hose, which leaves little craters. The texture of the surface can be adjusted by light sanding to create as much grip as you want. You can also choose the desired texture with the amount of salt that is sprinkled. For good ocean-going grip the salt crystals should almost totally cover the first coat of paint.

This last method was the best of all that I have used. The texture is formed into the finishing coats of paint so slight wear on the texture doesnt wear through the colour. The grit can be Epsom salts, course table salt or even sugar. Basically anything that will dissolve in water and rinse out of the craters will work. I wouldnt recommend the sugar option because there is likely to be a sticky residue on and around the boat for awhile, attracting ants and other insects.

You can also go the route of gluing textured sheeting onto the deck. There are cork-based deck materials that give excellent grip and are available in a range of colours. They are fairly soft, so easy on bare feet but can wear quickly if constantly chafed by a rope that crosses over a cambered deck or cabin roof.  There are also imitation teak products that can be glued down either in sheets or in plank form. They do a very close impression of teak decking and require little maintenance.

For localised spots that require more grip than elsewhere, for example on the top of a bowsprit, a good solution is self-adhesive strips that are much  like very coarse sandpaper. These strips can be painted to blend into the deck. They give very secure footing but can be harsh on your skin if you choose to sit there naked. That is good reason to reserve this method for the "must have grip" dangerous spots on the boat.

Of all of these methods, my all-time favourite is the Epsom salts method. It is versatile because you can set the level of grip yourself and it has the big advantage that some wearing of the texture doesnt make the deck look tired by exposing base layers of a different colour.

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Lady Shipwrights

Several years ago, when I got it in my head to build a boat, women builders on the internet were hard to come by. There were a few, but most of what I found were media mentions of so-and-so building a boat and sailing away. I didnt get to read many first-hand accounts of the experience. Not so anymore! Here is a list of my favorite builds by women from across the internet:

First on the list is Bernadette who is maintaining a thread over at Woodenboat documenting her build. Everything about this build looks absolutely beautiful. See photos here: http://forum.woodenboat.com/showthread.php?125392-building-KATY-update/

Next is Julie who is building a Scamp. Her blog is a delight-- shes funny and takes great photographs. Note the awesome Venn diagram in the screenshot below. So true.


Next theres Lezlie who is just finishing up her build and is in the middle of selling everything she owns to move on to a boat Im looking forward to reaching that stage!

The women over at The Big Sailboat Project have done an incredible job of documenting their ambitious build. They are now enjoying their dream on the water.

I found this book on Amazon a while back:

It was pretty fantastic. A decent synopsis can be found here.

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