Super Student Shakespeare Shenanigans

[slimtim]

Thank you all for your words of support on this and all your helpful suggestions.

Sorry I haven't posted much for a while, its not that nothing has been happening, quite the opposite in fact.

The console construction is well under way as you can see from the photos. I am using West System 105 epoxy mixed with colloidal silica to give me a paste suitable for filleting all the joins in the plywood. It seems to be working a treat...epoxy is great stuff, it allows you to easily patch up in mistakes you've made in the measuring of the panels! I am holding the plywood panels together with zipties while the epoxy sets (known as the stitch and glue method....used to be used years ago with copper wire to make small plywood boats). The good thing aboutt he zipties is that epoxy doesn't stick to them (very well) so they can be pulled out (with a bit of force and swearing) once the epoxy has set.

A quick guide to epoxy filleting if anyone is interested:
1. drill holes for zipties in both panel to be joined
2. sand panels to open pours and "de-burr" the holes
3. make sure everything is to hand and then mix first small batch of epoxy
4. coat the areas to be joined/filleted with neat epoxy to prime the wood
5. mix colloidal silica in with the remaining epoxy to a peanut butter consistancy
6. slap on a "bead" of epoxy paste onto all joining edges
7. wack edges together and put in zipties. Ensure all edges meet and zipties are tight.
8. mix more epoxy/silica if needed (if you had any left, its probably gone off by now), and start constructing fillets by using the rounded end of a wooden mixing stick
9. thoroughly coat ones hands/hair/face/arms/legs with epoxy
10. leave to set and then pull out zipties with pliers. Fill in any holes at a later date.

Once all the panels are glued together, we will round off all the corners, then coat with G4 varnish (to provide a better adhesion of the polyester resin), lay up layers of GRP followed by tissue (to even out surface), fill and fair with resin mixed with glass bubbles (easy to sand down), then apply paint system.


Also done today was the mounting of the engine! No problems encountered here except the arm on the trim sender snapped off when we tilted it up (no idea why) so may try and fix that with epoxy!

Suggestions/comments always welcome.

Pics:
1. The shiney new aluminium fuel tank that I had made for.....the price of a bottle of Scotch - approx 70 litre capacity
Its sitting on the flange of the console to check its all ok
2. sanding/drilling all the panels ready for assembly
3. Me doing the first filleting to be done on the lower console section
4. Mike and I filleting away
5. The almost finished lower console section

Tim

[slimtim]

More pictures:

1. pic of our first fillets...not bad if I don't say so myself! You can see how we used the zipties here
2. Fuel tank fits snuggly in the jockey seat with exceptional accuracy
3. Checking alignment for the pilot holes in the transom
4. Lower console section in the boat to make sure it fits in...no problems!
5. as above

[slimtim]

And more...

1. Me making tea very very quickly I seem to spend more time doing this than working on the boat. My helpers drink it by the gallon
2. A simple jig used to obtain the correct position of the flange for the upper console section. This was crucial to make sure the two sections fit together ok

NOTE: this would be a good time to say (because i forgot before) that we are making the console in two sections. This makes it easier to construct and will be a doddle to coat to inside. It will then be filleted together, corners smoothed off, and glassed all over.

3. It was a good 5 seconds before Joe realised he had drilled his thumb to the plywood
4. How much stuff does it take to make a console?!!!!
5. The upper section under construction. Panel nearest is the top dash panel bit to take the gauges

[slimtim]

last lot for tonight:

1. The garage taken over...You can see all the epoxy tubs, pumps and buckets lined up so everything is to hand when we need it in a hurry
2. Drilling the engine mounting bolt holes
3. Engine fitted and tightening the bolts....James didn't have a beer to hand, so found the next best thing...methylated spirits
4. Tightening the bolts
5. Engine on...wooohooo

[Martin]

mmm nice wheels! Looks like it is coming on well. Keep us informed.

M & A

[bogib]

Do we have maiden trip in three weeks time ? I will bring the greeny stuffy in glass bottle for the ceremony.........

Great job to yourself Tim and your helpers

Bogi

[tim griffin]

Thats looking excellent Tim, is there any room on your console for a Fixed Vhf and Plotter keep us informed so we can come and see the launch.

[Jono]

Looking good Tim. Might I suggest, as someone who used to stitch'n tape wooden boat seams( and fecked' up a few ), that you might want to strengthen them with tape. The joints will be much stronger. If I've missed the part where you said you were going to do that, just put it down to my stupidity....

[Nick Hearne]

Excellent job
I love the seating

[Hightower]

Ooh, can we take her out now? Chuck a battery in, a portable fuel tank and some rope tied to either side of the outboard to steer with and voila!

At least you'll know if you'll sink or swim! Can we? Can we? Go on Tim .

Have to arrange to have those Seat backs delivered to you Tim. I might be out on the water this weekend as I'm having the engine stripped and serviced tomorrow to sort my problems.

Andy

[slimtim]

Martin: Thanks...I will try and update this more often. Won't be for a few days now because i'm going to the Bestival on the IOW!

Bogi: We'll have to see how things go! I think the stuff in the green bottle will melt the tubes

Tim G: There will be loadsa room for just about everything. VHF, Stereo, plotter, fishfinder, switch panel, 4 gauges, compass etc etc and still be room for more!

Jono: thanks for the suggestion. I had considered it, and may well do that now you have suggested it may be a good idea. I'll see how stiff it is when its all assembled.

Nick:

Andy: I thought you were off somewhere? At the Bestival this weekend, so not so good for me I'm afraid. Let me know if you venture over one evening next week.

Discovered that the engine has to come off again today...won't explain now cos my dinner is ready

Tim

[Hightower]

I was Tim, but it was a short trip to the States this time.

We'll see what we can do?

Andy

[The Jackeens]

Looking forward to the maiden voyage Timothy.

Perhaps when you recover from the Bestival!

Us

[slimtim]

blimey, I haven't updated this for over a month! Doesn't time fly when you're being a bum

Update coming shortly...if not tonight, soon!

Tim

[slimtim]

Ok,

Sorry about the delay over the winter months. The pisc to follow are ones from the end of the summer that I didn't put up before. I have started to do some stuff on it again, but haven't taken any fresh pics yet.

So, where did I leave it? My merry band of helpers and I had fitted the tubes and engine and were well into making the console and bench seat out of plywood and epoxy.

We had made the lower half of the console and had started on the upper section. The bench seat was also in the making.

pics:
1. The top and bottom sections together (although not glued together I don't think) and a chair setup to try out the seating position.
2. Slight design problem - sharp corners digging into my thighs! (see pic caption 4...)
3. brum brum
4. ...problem solved! (after a lot of sawing, damn that epoxy is tough!)
5. Mike getting underway with the bench seat - lots of 1x1 batton, waterproof wood glue, epoxy and ply used for this. My design makes it bloody strong and reasonably light too.

[slimtim]

1. Bench seat - much of the vertical strength comes from the front and back panels (9mm ply at back to take back rest) which are supported by batton to prevent buckling. You can see that the lower corners are "cut off" so as not to hinder water getting to the scuppers/pump in the event of a stuff.

2. The lay out in the boat - not sure what I would've done if I had got my measurements wrong at this stage!

3. Another view of the bench seat. You can see the strengthening batton which also acts as a flange to support the seat base.

4. Bench seat complete with centre bracing. This makes it very stiff and strong and obviously provides support for the seat base.

5. James sanding off lumps of epoxy ready for the glassing.

[slimtim]

1. Bench seat fully glassed (apart from lower flange which I hope to do this weekend) and all edges attacked with the angle grinder (the most useful tool in the world!). Pretty good for my forst go at GRP work if I don't say so myself! There are a few areas where I have small bubbles but I ground those out and will fill them with filler. I also attempted to use the glass tissue to produce a smooth surface but by god thats a pain in a arse!

2. All the gear, but no idea

3. James resuming an interesting position whilst cleaning up the inside epoxy

4. From a different angle...don't mess

So, on from these pictures we have screwed/glued in mahogony blocks to screw the SS hinges into (purchased at the boat show - using quality kit here!) and epoxied the insides of both the bench seat and the console for protection. The transom has also been modified in order to give clearance for the steering cable.

Recently, my dad and I spent a few hours drilling through the deck (18mm of ply + 2-3mm of glass!) to get into the under deck cable conduit and I installed my new control cables.

I have devised an ingenious (well, i thought so anyway) way of preventing water flowing up the conduit and bubbling up inside the console. From plastimo I have purchased a plastic flange type arrangement (pic to follow) which I will glue hypalon to in an elephant trunk type arrangement. This will attach to the deck over the hole and the cables will thread up through the middle (see advanced CAD drawing below). I haven't worked out how to seal the upper end yet, maybe just zipties (suggestions welcome).

This plastic flange thingy (plastimo part number: 16928 i think) is only about £2 and would make an ideal flange for a home made elephant trunk.

Right, hope you like the update, I will post more as it happens.

Tata for now.

Tim

[jwalker]

Tim, you should just have glassed over the white chairs and the consol in a woner.

[yoyo]

slimtim said:

2. Slight design problem - sharp corners digging into my thighs! (see pic caption 4...)
3. brum brum
4. ...problem solved! (after a lot of sawing, damn that epoxy is tough!)


Hi Tim,

Does your nice Ally fuel tank still fit in the console with this mod??

Bob.

[slimtim]

Originally Posted by yoyo

Hi Tim,

Does your nice Ally fuel tank still fit in the console with this mod??

Bob.

Yup, no problem at all, the tank sits at a lower level.

JW, it is tempting just to screw that chair to the deck just to get it finished! You don't want to come down from scotland to finish it while I'm at work do you?!