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Statistics |
| Unique Visitors: 0 |
| Total Unique Visitors: 0 |
| Visitors Out: 2957 |
| Total Visitors Out: 3359 |
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| Two part day... |
| 2008-07-05 17:45:50 |
Amazingly, after my day yesterday, I could even move this morning, and even felt like trying to attack the boat a bit more. I really want to finish the bottom of the hull :-)
Got up and went out and put Xynole on the keel/skeg. Don't know that the "joint" with the hull bottom is going to come out as smooth as I would like, but I guess enough sanding will fix anything.
Time = 1 (hot) hour
Then after lunch and a movie (Wall-E is cute... I liked it) with the family, I went out after we got home and was looking around. The hull was "rough" or nearly "prickly" to the touch and I really wondered how well it would sand down.
Broke out the sander and hit it a little... it did VERY well. I continued and wound up making a pass around the entire hull (sides and bottom). I'll need to work on the bow a good bit more, along with some at the transom and the keel, but I'm really, really pleased with the smoothness of the sides and bottom already. It's not going to take a lot to get it to a paintable l...
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| It's sheathed |
| 2008-07-04 22:27:57 |
Man what a day...
Up fairly early (at least for a holiday) and out to the boat. Got some "before" pictures. This will be one of the only "morning light" pictures you'll probably see of this hull.
Blew off the dust and laid out the Xynole. Got things set and started applying epoxy. Over and over and more and more.
Nearly 4 gallons of epoxy and 7 hours later (with a short lunch break) and we have a hull sheathed. Thankfully my Dad came up and helped out for much of that time. Me, my Dad, Melanie and Dane all got into it at some point.
Note that the "fluff" at the bow will get trimmed up and cleaned up. We had extra cloth there and I was too beat to finish it all out.
After we recovered from working all day in very hot, sunny weather, we celebrated July 4th as a family (my parents and my crowd) with a nice, traditional meal of hamburgers with the fixings.
Over the next few days I've got to get the keel covered, sand, fair and paint.
Time = 7 hours
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| I M Nugget |
| 2008-07-04 21:57:30 |
This site is a wiki (meaning you can edit it and add to the information) which is looking to have information on electric boating, electric only lakes, and other RV and boating info.
Take a look and toss in some data if it suits you.
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| Slidercat |
| 2008-07-04 21:53:18 |
Ray Aldridge has designed a slick little 16' sailing catamaran with "sit in" hulls. He's built one and his site has lots of pictures and even videos.
He's working on making plans available.
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| Happy 4th of July |
| 2008-07-03 21:19:03 |
I just wanted to wish my U.S. readers a Happy 4th of July. Please enjoy the celebration of our Independence safely and I hope you have great fun. Also I want to thank our service men and women for all that they do... our prayers are with you.
Maybe many of you can be out on the water enjoying your boats. In a couple of years maybe I can join you!
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| Cleaning |
| 2008-07-03 21:16:51 |
Getting ready for the sheathing party tomorrow I spent a little while cleaning things up around the boat. Drag off some of the old plastic from the cover, straighten out the tarps, pick up scrap wood... pick up more scrap wood. There were a lot more "odds and ends" scattered around that had been dropped than I thought.
Took down the cover frame... now if it will just not rain for a day or so. It wasn't going to work well around what we need to do tomorrow, and the plastic has disintegrated and will need to be replaced before that is used again.
Can see the entire thing without obstructions for the first time. Melanie didn't get home with the camera until after dark, so I'll try to take a few pictures in the morning.
Time = 40 min.
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| Firefly Energy - new battery technology |
| 2008-07-02 22:17:15 |
Found a link over on gas2.0 pointing toward Firefly Energy. They are working toward improved battery technology, taking a different tactic than many seem to be. Instead of new metals (lithium, etc.), they are taking the same old lead based chemistry that we have known for years and reformulating how it is made.
They are claiming lighter weight, more efficiency, more power, etc. They are a tractor trailer battery coming to the market later this year, with talks with other industries. They seem aware of the marine world (there are mentions on their site) along with electric vehicles, etc.
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| WhalePower |
| 2008-07-02 22:04:53 |
Matt from WhalePower was kind enough to reply with a detailed comment to my earlier post concerning "Whale fin propeller blades".
WhalePower is taking the "whale fin" based propeller blade designs and working to commercialize the technology. Sounds like nobody is looking at marine propellers (yet), but maybe???
I think, assuming the tests really pan out, that a marine application would be a good fit. Marine propellers have lots of problems with cavitation, stalling, etc. depending on the speed range and power application. Anything that could make that more efficient would be good.
Add in electric/hybrid power as I'm considering, and a propeller that can make efficient use of power becomes even more important. Electric power's slow speed/high torque requires a different propeller design than the norm. Would this be a good fit?
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| Sanding and planing |
| 2008-07-02 21:02:21 |
Cleaned up/sanded a little of the fillet I did yesterday and also planed a little of the keel toward the bow that was "sloped" to one side. Got that leveled up I think.
Talked on the phone a good while with my Dad... him and my Mom are coming up on the 4th (Friday) for the sheathing party. It will be nice to work with them a bit. We spent a while discussing the rollover tactics. We're going to bring his tractor with front-end loader up and use it.
Given the placement of my hull, I've got to slide it "forward" about 15-20 feet before it can roll over. We've decided we can get the front-end loader bucket under the front of the strongback, pick up the bow a little and "slide" the entire thing. If it doesn't want to slide, he's got some heavy walled pipe we can use as a roller.
Guess we'll see :-)
Time = 1.5 hours
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| Vessel Assist Blogs |
| 2008-07-02 08:53:29 |
A while back we had a link to the BitterEnd blog, an interesting (although sometimes a bit harsh) blog detailing the adventures of a vessel assist operator in the Pacific Northwest.
A recent posting on his site leads us to another couple of blogs of other vessel assistance people, these on the East coast. Sounds like the kind of things they deal with is about the same everywhere.
Some interesting reading, and some things to learn from. It would be better to take some of the lessons they point out, directly or indirectly, to heart before the same issue happens to you.
These guys most all seem to provide a great service and generally know what they are doing.
BitterEnd
From The Wheelhouse
Red Right Returning
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| Boat Paint |
| 2008-06-30 17:39:35 |
I've been doing a bit of research around on paint for my boat, including anti-fouling paint for the bottom.
Opinions, as in everything, abound. Even the question of whether you need anti-fouling paint for a trailer boat is much in doubt, by some. It seems to boil down to how long you're in the water. Of course where you boat has a good bit of effect also, since the various scummy critters vary depending on fresh/salt water, water temperature, lighting conditions, and who knows what else.
I wanted to list a few resources I've ran across. Don't know that I've made final decisions yet, although I have a few leanings.
George Kirby, Jr. Paint Co. - a classic, old style, real world business that is known for great products and service
Pettit Paints - currently they resell the Hydrocoat antifouling paint. For a multi-season ablative paint, this seems to be my choice. Multi-season means it can dry out on a trailer and still work when you go back in the water. Ablative means it wears away and ...
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| Out of Epoxy |
| 2008-06-28 20:37:18 |
Was fixing to go out this afternoon and have several hours on the boat... then the monsoon hit for a while. We need the rain badly, but...
Anyway, it calmed down after a while and Dane and I went out and did some skimming/smoothing on the bow where it's pretty rough and pocked. The various boards didn't lay down as nicely as you could want, so there were still some gaps and unevenness that I tried to smooth out.
Then we did a bit more filleting and taping on some of the sheer clamps on the inside where I wanted to reinforce things. That seemed to go well and I ran out of steam in the hot, humid air about the time I ran out of epoxy.
More should arrive on Tuesday (large batch for the sheathing efforts). I have things scheduled for us to sheath the hull next Friday (I'm off for the holiday). Hopefully the weather will cooperate.
Money = $2.92 (putty knives/skim tool) + .20 (tax) = $3.12
Time = 1.5 hours
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| Building the Shilling (a 17' wooden sailboat) |
| 2008-06-27 12:18:53 |
Courtney & Tara are building a Willow Bay "Shilling" - a 17 foot (length-on-deck) wooden day-sailer. This blog will document construction details and progress, from ordering study plans to launch day and beyond.
The Shilling is a Phil Swift designed small day-sailer. These guys are doing a nice job documenting their build. Lots of things to learn here.
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| Understanding Marine Resin |
| 2008-06-26 22:21:10 |
Polyester, Vinylester and Epoxy All Have Their Uses. Learn to Match the Polymer to the Job.
Mad Mariner™ had an article today on Understanding Marine Resin. Nice write-up comparing the various polymers, with information on their pros and cons and when you might want to use which product.
Kind of a fitting article given my purchase today :-)
A trial subscription to the site is available which gives you full access to try it out, or you can purchase a yearly subscription for a modest fee.
For full disclosure, I write some paid articles for Mad Mariner™.
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| Epoxy ordered |
| 2008-06-26 22:11:55 |
To go with that roll of cloth, I know I'm going to need some more epoxy to wet it out with. Did a fair amount of research over the last couple of days trying to get some idea of about how much epoxy this was going to take.
The designer wasn't sure on his use (it's been a while), but he and others commented that it takes "a lot" of epoxy to wet out xynole. Found a few approximate figures, but still wasn't comfortable estimating.
Larry at Raka, Inc. came through again. A quick email (had meant to ask when I ordered and forgot it) and promptly replied.
The xynole will take 1 mixed gal. of epoxy for every 100 sq.
feet on a hard surface. If putting on over plywood, you have to allow
the first coat of the fir plywood at 1 gal to 150 sq. feet in addition
to what the xynole will take.
Yet another example of good customer service.
I ordered 6+ gallons (5 gallons resin and 1.6 gallons of hardner) from U.S. Composites, along with some talc for mixing with epoxy for fairing, and some stir sticks....
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| What a Cigar! |
| 2008-06-25 22:01:19 |
And I don't even smoke...
In actuality this is the roll of Xynole from Raka, Inc. I'm really impressed now. I ordered this stuff on Monday and it's here two days later. And it's not like I paid for next day shipping or anything.
Packing was quite good. Apparently some people ship Xynole folded, which then requires you to iron it to get it flat. Raka shipped mine rolled on a tube, then wrapped in plastic, then the entire thing wrapped in fairly heavy cardboard. The cardboard had split in one spot at one end, but the other packing all held and there was no problems.
Despite lots of references to this stuff (xynole polyester cloth), I had never actually seen it or a picture of it before this arrived. It's very much like "scrim" or muslin cheesecloth type material. Here's a closeup picture of it if that helps anybody know what they are getting.
Now to figure out how much epoxy I need.
Money = 236.10 + 9.92 (shipping) = $246.02
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| Submarine Boat |
| 2008-06-25 20:48:25 |
Got an email from Kay referring to her and her husband Doug's web site where they are chronicling the home build of their personal submarine. Not something that everybody (even boatbuilders) will choose to bite off.
They also have details on a ROV (underwater Remote Operated Vehicle) that they provide plans for building your own.
Their next project is going to be a home build Origami (steel) sail boat.
Lot's of details and things they are willing to share and help teach you via their postings. Really neat site that I can tell I'm going to enjoy.
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| Whale fin propeller blades? |
| 2008-06-24 20:54:07 |
A man that has made a life of studying various natural developments noticed years ago that certain whales have odd "bumps" on the leading edge of their fins. He thought that was really odd.
A long story of chopped up whale fins and other oddities led him to discover that these bumps radically change the air/water flow over fins/blades. There is a company using this knowledge to create a fan that moves the same air with a lot less power.
Makes me wonder if there wouldn't be a good application to boat propellers.
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| Svenson's Free Boat Plans |
| 2008-06-23 21:14:49 |
Gavin Atkin of InTheBoatShed.net had a recent post pointing us to the "Handy Andy", an older set of plans for a folding dinghy. Svenson's site has the plans available.
Looks like an interesting site to nose around otherwise, also!
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| Xynole and sanding |
| 2008-06-23 20:36:48 |
Ordered 30 yards of xynole cloth from Raka this morning. They had a much better price than Defender. Seemed nice to deal with (I think it's a small outfit, which is fine by me).
Ran by Lowes on the way home and got a bulk pack of 50 extra coarse sanding disks for the orbital sander. That should hold me a while, I hope.
Sanded for a good while once I got home. Don't know for sure how well the next layer of cloth/epoxy will cover/hide imperfections on this layer. I'm sure it will mask it a fair amount, but I would like to start with a reasonably smooth surface.
Money = 16.58 (sanding disks) + 1.16 (tax) = $17.74
Time = 1.5 hours
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| Progressing |
| 2008-06-22 20:54:09 |
I can tell I'm going to have a tough time coming up with new ways to say that I spent a few hours sanding.
Dane and I worked for an hour or so putting the remaining needed fiberglass tape around the motor well and transom area. Got the epoxy fillets for the motor mount itself done. It all seemed to finish out nicely.
Then I spent another hour sanding, and sanding, and sanding. You know, that filled epoxy is tough stuff. All in all, the hull is looking pretty good I think. It would definitely float, at least for a while :-)
Time = 2.5 hours
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| It would float, I think |
| 2008-06-21 18:48:25 |
Still not fully 100% health wise... I just can't keep going as much as I want, but I try to get out and get some done along.
Managed to get most all the "filling" done this afternoon. I have most all the cracks and seams filled and sealed with epoxy. Screw holes filled, some cleanup on the skeg/keel done, etc. I'm sure now I have three times the sanding to do, but you know, if I turned it over, it would float now :-)
Time = 2 hours
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| Kalakala - The World's First Streamlined Vessel |
| 2008-06-20 21:39:48 |
Another interesting Navagear post recently included some pictures of the now defunct and abandoned Kalakala (scroll down part way). From there I found the web site of the ship itself, with lots of pictures of her from her heyday.
A luxuriously appointed ferry, in an "art deco" style with streamlined hull and superstructure, it's just a really neat looking ship. Sad that it seems to be rotting away now. I don't know if the efforts to save it are still active or not, but might be worth checking out.
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| Filling and patching |
| 2008-06-20 21:22:23 |
Spent a while this evening and got most of the aft half of the boat's cracks, screw holes, etc. filled with epoxy. This is in preparation for the cloth and epoxy coating to be applied, hopefully sooner rather than later.
All-in-all it seemed to go well, although I'm sure I'm causing myself more sanding to come to get all these patches, etc. smooth.
Time = 1.5 hours
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| Tools and Toys |
| 2008-06-18 20:48:06 |
Of course most of us would argue there's not much difference between tools and toys. GMC came through today... one week and a day and I now have two sets (4 cutting surfaces, since they are reversible) of blades for my planer. Fit like a champ. And the exchange rate between AUS and US dollars is just about 1-1, which made it nice.
To add to that, Melanie and Dane came through for Father's day (now that I felt like getting out and picking it out with them). I have a new Porter Cable 5" Random Orbit Sander. I haven't had a lot in the sanding tool arena and I can tell the demand is going to really expand. Played with it just a minute after we got home... quiet and seemed to do a nice job. I haven't used a random orbit sander before. It's going to take a little getting used to, but I think I like it.
Money = $56.79 (sander and a few disks) + $3.98 (tax) = $60.77
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| Torqeedo Electric Outboard Video |
| 2008-06-17 15:00:46 |
Navagear is hosting a video of the Torqeedo Electric Outboard. Slick little portable motor for a dinghy or whatever.
Their video shows assembly, mounting and a little playing around on a small inflatable.
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| Kolstrand Marine Supply |
| 2008-06-17 08:49:52 |
If you've followed some of the comments, it looked like Kolstrand Marine Supply had shut down. According to this comment that isn't totally correct.
I don't know the story or what's really going on, but if you are interested, you might give them a call at the numbers listed.
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| Slowly returning |
| 2008-06-16 20:51:04 |
Well, after being quite sick for a week, I finally felt like doing a bit more on the boat. Sanded on the bow some more and got it pretty well faired down to 3/4" at the stem. Finished rounding off the "corner" on the outer keel.
Not all that much, but didn't want to over do it and relapse... I can't afford more time out of work.
Time = 30 minutes
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| Independence Green Yachts |
| 2008-06-16 20:35:59 |
PassageMaker Magazine's most recent issue has a couple of responses to reader letters by the head of Independence Green Yachts. Don't know for sure if they will produce, but it looks like they are on the right track to making a fuel cell/solar type yacht.
There has been a previous PassageMaker article that they make available.
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| Fuel Cells? |
| 2008-06-15 15:00:51 |
I haven't really been keeping up with the fuel cell arena as much as the solar power world, but this article kind of peaks my interest. Genepax Co Ltd claims to have a fuel cell produce 300W based on feeding it water and it having a chemical reaction... well, that could be quite a handy generator :-)
Sounds a little of the "too good to be true" world, and it would depend on the cost of the other consumables (membranes, etc.), but who knows...
I know that fuel cells really work. Several of the major automakers have been looking at their use, and NASA uses them extensively on spacecraft.
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| Return of Ocean Liners? |
| 2008-06-13 21:42:59 |
Interesting article with some comparisons on fuel efficiency/use between the classic ocean liner's of old and modern aircraft. The modern jet age has caused the ocean liners to fade away. Today, there is only one ship plying the North Atlantic with regularly scheduled service - the Queen Mary 2.
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| GMC Tools - Great Customer Service! |
| 2008-06-10 15:44:02 |
In my last post I mentioned calling GMC Tools to see about getting planer blades. Monday a representative of theirs called me back and left contact information on my answering machine... from Australia!
I've been quite sick and didn't make the return call yet. Well, just a few minutes ago he followed up and reached me. That is really above and beyond the call, to me.
Ordered replacement blades... be here in a week or two. All talking to a very polite gentleman from Australia. I'll let you know if the right thing gets here, but so far, they have been exceptional. And all on toll-free US numbers.
Apparently a couple of different brand names are manufactured by this company behind the scenes, so do a bit of research, or you can probably buy direct if you like.
Money = $30.00 US (two sets of blades)
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| Sanding |
| 2008-06-07 17:33:25 |
Everybody talks about how much sanding it takes to fair out the hull... I'm beginning to get a glimmer of an idea. I've got to get the sides of the skeg smoothed out. That thickened epoxy is tough stuff.
To add to it, I broke one of my planer blades and it being a "cheap" brand (Task Force), I can't seem to source a replacement set. I have a call in to the US number for the manufacturer (GMC in Australia), but we'll see. I must say, I don't think I've ever called a 1-800 (toll free) service number and had it answered on the first ring by a human, who took my name and number and said they will get back to me. We'll see. I've loved the tool... if I can just find parts.
Anyway, I was feeling under the weather today, and combined with temperatures well up in the 90's, I just didn't feel like working on the boat much... as much as I wanted to, it just wasn't happening.
I did manage to sand on the skeg for a while, mostly finish getting the aft end faired down to 3/4" wide and finished up on...
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| Devlin Designing Boat Builders - new web page |
| 2008-06-07 17:24:23 |
In another of our revisits of an old friend, Devlin Designing Boat Builders has totally revamped their web page. Lot's more detail, current news and comments, and much easier to navigate. Make sure and check it out.
I came close to choosing Devlin's Czarinna 30' for my build... in some ways I still wish I had, but after working on my existing build, I realize that it would have been more than I could bite off. Now that I've learned a lot, I might stand a chance, but it's a lot more complex design, and would have cost a lot more in materials than I could have afforded.
All boats/designs are tradeoffs.
Various Devlin links
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| Skeg and motor well |
| 2008-06-06 21:43:36 |
We're getting to the point that I think all the "pieces" are now attached to the hull. Now it's a matter of fairing/planing, etc.
I took a while and trimmed the hull bottom and transom pieces around the motor well area. Got them all trimmed up neat and rounded over.
After that, finished planing the skeg/keel to shape. Got it to a fairly straight line that looks nice. Decided to round over the "corner" of it up both sides with the router.
Dane was helping his mother with supper while I did all this power tool work and about the time I finished, he came out to call me to supper. He was extremely impressed with how I had "smoothed" the keel. He was talking about the roundover. It's gratifying to hear that little voice proclaim "you did a very nice job!" :-)
Time = 2 hours
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| Stem grinding |
| 2008-06-05 22:25:34 |
Got to work on trimming the "fill in" piece between the stem and the keel down to shape. That went ok, although I managed to cut (lengthwise) through a screw with my circular saw and THEN plane the same (half) screw with my planer. Saw took it ok... pretty much ate the blades on the planer. I've hit screw heads with it before and it mostly survived, but that was too much for it.
Anyway, got the piece planed down to a nice curve and started sanding the stem to the designed 3/4" width at the bow, tapering back to full width against the hull.
LOTS and LOTS of dust :-)
Time = 45 minutes
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| From Stem to Stern |
| 2008-06-03 20:52:20 |
Well, seems like a small step, but I now have a continuous piece from stem, through the keel to the full skeg at the stern. May not seem like much, but somehow it feels like a big accomplishment.
I got the piece I cut yesterday in place, sanded a few spots to make it fit better, and epoxied it into place. I wasn't really sure about the mounting method of this filler piece. Wound up driving a couple of screws into the bottom, center section. Left their heads out a bit and they fit down in the "crack" down the centerline between the hull panels. With that area filled with epoxy, they provide a little more "rebar" to keep the piece from pulling out... seemed like a good idea, anyhow. Liberally applied epoxy and there it is.
Obviously enough (or maybe not, if you don't have the plans in front of you), it will be trimmed so that the curve is fair between the stem and the keel. I decided to do that in place instead of trying to do it ahead of time. Until then, just consider it an ice breake...
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| Trip through the Panama Canal |
| 2008-06-03 10:27:18 |
This is a neat, two minute time lapse trip on a cruise ship making transit through the Panama Canal. Don't know if I'll ever get through there on my own, but this is certainly a neat view.
Video originally from CruiseJournals.com.
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