Whaddayaknow. I figured out how to resize photos to fit this forum.
The previous post has a pic of the stack of pieces parts that I have mostly finished up to this point. Sorry about the white line, it was part of the test.
Yesterday, I assembled the cabin/core. I am using the building rack that I used to build Duckie. It worked out great. I was able to put the thing together square and true by setting up the rack to be that way. It only took me a couple hours to finish up the assembly because Yesterday was a perfect day for it. The outdoor temperature was in the 40's and I left the shop door open so I could take my time with the epoxy. Once I got everything square and cleaned up I shut the door, set the shop heater to 85 and walked away for a couple hours. I came back every couple hours to check for drips and that nothing had slipped out of shape. This morning I messed around with cleaning up the joints that I left sloppy. I wanted plenty of goo on those joints so I didn't do too much to them except keep them from sagging yesterday.
I'll take some pics of the cabin now that I can get them up here. Now, I have to build a 20 foot shop bench to scarf the sides together. Once I get the sides built I won't take long to see a boat in the shop.
Al
A plastic I used recently is "bead board", which looks like wainscotting, except it's in 4x8' sheets. There's two types, PVC, which isn't good for much, but then there's the 'glass stuff. It's a polyester laminate of mat, pressed into a bead board shape. It can be glued, taped, fastened, etc. and under paint, looks like wainscotting. I used it on the lower portion of a cabin cruiser pilothouse exterior. I simply bonded it over the stained and repaired plywood.
I bought a beading tool at a rummage sale without knowing what it was. I am thinking about using it to make a beaded headliner in the cabin. I have a molded fiberglass one in my CP 16 and I really like it. It may take me quite a while to get it done, but I intend to make the interior as nice as the exterior, maybe better, mostly because I like to spend time inside if I can be comfortable.
I've been watching 'My Classic Boat' on Youtube lately and have noticed that the interiors of a lot of those boats is kind of Spartan. I am shooting for cozy. I have gotten some ideas from looking at those oldies but I am going to take my time in this regard. I am real glad that I cleaned up my excess goo yesterday though. I don't have much sanding to do to make those joints paintable.
I just set up the framework for the temporary bench. Boy, this boat is at the very limit for my little shop. I'm glad I don't have to leave that bench up for very long. Once I get the sides cut out, that bench is going bye bye. I'm starting to appreciate just how big this boat is. I am going to have to look for a pretty long trailer.
Al
A beading tool (a couple of rollers on a deep throated stand) is for sheet metal and will likely crush 'glass and crack resin if it's fully cured. You might experiment with beading (light pressure) while the goo and fabric are "green" but nearly firmed up. Aligning the beads to be parallel will test your skills, though maybe a fence of some sort.
I like the Autumn Leaves design, given my reservations about box boats in general. Other than some topside flare, the only other thing I'd do would be to use all of the sidedeck width for the bilgeboard cases. This would permit them to cant to windward, for a better bite and orientation to the flow. On a design like this you don't need much cant, because she'll want to sail upright, but I'd try to get as near 10 - 12 degrees as possible.
No, this tool is like a spoke shave. It has a narrow blade with a concave cutting edge and a movable fence on the bottom. It is supposed to be used by dragging it over the edge of a board and gradually gouging a groove thereby making a bead along the edge of the board. My tool is very old. The reason I bought it was that it was a mystery to me and I spent a couple pleasant hours trying to figure out what it was and how to use it. I have since learned that it is meant to be dragged like a scraper rather than a plane. So far, I haven't produced satisfactory results, but I think that is the result of me not trying too hard.
Just like my weekender, I will most likely spend a number of years perfecting her look and utility. I will probably go further in those respects than I did with Duckie. Like I said before, this will very likely be my last boat build, so I don't want it to end too soon.
Al
I'm dry fitting the hull together, so today the yawl went 3D. I don't have the sides pulled tight together, but they are close enough to see what the boat will ultimately look like. The first thing I noticed is that this is a really big boat. I would guess at least 1.5 times the weekender. Clearly I am at my limit for the space I have in my shop. The vertical sides provide for surprising volume. I expect this boat will have amazing initial stability. I'll have to see about the secondary stability, but she's sharp chined and shapely, so she might be pretty good. The two storage compartments that are accessible from the cabin could hold most of what I own. If I pack like I usually do, I could stay out all summer stopping only to take on fresh water.
I have a bit more confidence that the boat will fit together and look like it is supposed to. Before, I was just making random cuts and measuring bits that didn't seem coherent. Once I get this bit glued up, I will be in my comfort zone and work should go faster. I am planning to launch just like I did with Duckie. She was nowhere near finished, but she could sail, so away we went. If things go well, I expect that I could have her in the water by September. I plan if things go the way I want, that Autumn Leaves will spend next winter also in the shop. At that time I will finish her to the level of my best efforts. Then, its hasta la vista baby.
Al
I'm the same way Al. As soon as it can sail, even if the rig isn't complete, I splash it, usually without the finish paint on it.
sounds great Al , of course we all need more pictures! looks like a real interesting build
I seem to be having trouble again posting pictures, so this is a test. Hopefully this is a photo of Autumn Leaves dry fitted. Surprisingly it fit together pretty well. If this worked, I will post more with explanations of what I am up to.
Al
Still fooling around with resizing photos for this forum.
If this works out, this will be a pic of a stack of six 1/4 inch plywood pieces being scarfed and the tools I used. I highly recommend finding a jointer plane. I used mine to take down the bevel until I got close then went to the belt sander. The jointer plane does a more even bevel, but the sander made it smoother. Unfortunately, the sander also made it uneven in the end.
If it comes through, the second pic shows how I staple the pieces together when gluing. I have a pneumatic stapler that I use quite a bit. I always staple through a piece of plywood so that I can remove the staple after the joint sets up. This system works very well instead of clamps which might not be able to reach.
Al