Ballast Tank Inlets

I have begun sanding the epoxy coating. First with coarse (80 grit) paper on the flat areas to remove the tops of the hills, bubbles caused by air coming out of the timber, dead insects, etc. Miraculously I didn't have any major runs to deal with. After the 80 grit I will change to 120 grit and go over the corners carefully so as not to remove all the epoxy. Then another pass over the whole hull with 120 grit.

While sanding the garboard plank (next to the keel) I sanded around the inlet to the water ballast tank and thought it might be worth a couple of photos. First  an explanation: the Able has two water ballast tanks in the bottom of the boat on either side of the centreboard case. Each tank holds about 45 litres of water providing about 90 Kg of ballast. The tanks are filled after the boat is launched through two holes in thebottom of the hull. As the water enters the air is pushed out through a vent pipe inside the hull. When the tanks are full the vent is closed so the water cannot run out of the tanks. When the boat is taken from the water on its trailer the vent is opened and the water runs out through the inlet holes. If the water ballast is not neededm boat already heavily loaded with crew and/or camping gear, the kept is kept closed preventing the water flowing in. Well that's the theory, I hope it works out!

Here is a photo from outside the boat. The result of the coarse sanding can be seen around the hole; the shiny areas are untouched.

 

The hole in the plywood plank is 32 mm daimeter with a small chamfer around the edge. The white tube is a plastic plumbing fitting with a 25 mm hole through it. To improve the glue bond to the plastic I put the fitting in my metal turning lathe and cut a shallow fine pitch screw thread on the outside. Then, after painting the edges of the ply around the hole with unthicked epoxy, the tube was screwed into the hole with plenty of thickened epoxy around it. After the epoxy set the tube was trimmed flush. The tube will protect and seal the edge grain of the hole in the ply.

 

On the inside of the hull, photo below, things are not so tidy! The back of the tube butts up against the inner part of the keel and the spaces either side of it will be filled with thicked epoxy to provide more support for the tube. The front of the tube will be cut away flush with the inside of the plank so that all the water can drain out. This will be done after the boat is turned over.



First Coat of Paint

It doesn't feel like 6 weeks since the last entry on this blog but the calendar doesn't lie. I have actually been sailing for half that time; two weeks in the Great Sandy Strait, two 2 day outings with the WBAQ guys at Caloundra and a day out at Wivenhoe. Another week spent catching up on chores at home. That leaves two weeks spent working on the boat.

I haven't put anything on the blog because sanding and filling is such a tedious process and is not very photogenic! However today I gave the whole outside of the hull two coats of epoxy to seal it. I started early in an attempt to avoid the worst of the heat and that helped but the epoxy was going off pretty quickly so I had to mix quite small batches. I used Boat Craft Pacific epoxy with the standard hardener mixed 2:1 with no thinners. This is sticky stuff to paint on, it is more a case of spreading it out thinly! The first coat took about 4 hours followed by a short break for a snack by which time ir was ready for the second coat, just slightly tacky to the touch. The second coat went on more easily because the epoxy flowed a bit better over the first coat. Another 3.5 hours and it was done.

Outside Of Hull Is Finished

Over the last few days the woodwork on the outside of the hull has been completed. Before I turn the boat over to work on the inside of the hull I am going to paint the outside. This will take quite a while because there is a lot to do before the painting starts. All the excess epoxy has to be cleaned off, all the sharp corners have to be rounded off, all the inside corners will have a fillet of thicked epoxy added and the whole has to be sanded and sanded and sanded!

With the sheer plank doublers in place, see the previous post, the rubbing strip and outer gunwale could be added. I did the rubbing strip first and made the mistake of putting the strips down the side of the hull first. This was a mistake because it made fitting the matching strip across the transom much harder as it had to fit exactly between the side strips. Not only that but it was curved and so had to be laminated in place. Here's the result (note that I am talking about the top strip without the clamps). There are three laminations, each had to be sprung into place  and then cut to length. Once fitted they were coated with glue and sprung back into position and then clamped. All very tricky and sticky!





 

Having made that mistake I added the strip to the transom to match the outer gunwale before the side pieces. I was able to apply more force to bend this one and made it in two laminations. Once the glue set I trimmed the ends of the strip flush with the sheer plank and put the outer gunwales in place. Here are some photos of the hull with all these pieces in place.

 

 

 

As I said, next job is to clean off the excess epoxy which is clearly visible in the photo above. Before I start on that though I am going to take my trailer sailer out for a couple of weeks sailing in the Great Sandy Strait. It will be sunny and hot but I am hoping for enough breeze to keep things reasonably cool and to keep the sand flies at bay!

Sheer Plank Doublers Fitted

Over the last few days I have fitted the doublers to the sheer plank, it took a bit longer because I had to do them one at a time and also went sailing for a couple of days. Here are a couple of photos of the doublers at the bow and transom showing how they fit. The joints all look a bit daggy at this stage as the excess epoxy still has to be cleaned off (I get most of it before it sets so what is visible is the remainder).

 

Here, at the transom, the doubling is carried across the top of the transom.

Last photo shows the bow of the boat with all the planking now finished.

Next job is to add the rubbing strip to the lower edge and the outer gunwale to the the top edge of the sheer plank. I know, it's confusing - the boat's upside down so lower and upper, port and starboard are reversed!

Planks 7 and 8 Fitted

After explaining in the last post that I didn't have enough clamps to glue 2 planks in a day I found that the last 2 planks don't need as many clamps. This is because there is almost no twist in the them so they more easily take up the required position. So, yesterday I added plank 7, one in the morning and one in the afternoon. Here is a photo of the boat with the 7th plank in position.

 

 

Today I made the pattern for the last plank, that's number 8. This turned out to be a pig of a job because there is no longer a piece of exposed mould to fix temporary supports to. Add to that the fact that my 17 foot long piece of ply wasn't quite wide enough and had to have extensions added at both ends (hot melt glue is magic stuff). Making the pattern and checking that it was correct took me almost 3 hours - it has been a 30 minute job for the previous planks.

 

With the pattern made and checked I marked out and cut the last 2 planks. Here is a photo of the boat with them glued in place, still clamped because the glue hasn't set enough to hold them yet. On a hot day like today, over 35 degrees in my shed, the glue goes off pretty quick but still takes 5 or 6 hours to set enough to hold the planks and there isn't any point taking chances!

 

 

This last plank is sometimes called the "whiskey plank" because it is a reason for a celebration. I'm celebrating with a gin and tonic, trying to replace some of the fluid I have lost today!

 

It isn't actually the last plank because the plans call for an optional doubling plank to be glued on top of it. this will add strength to the boat and I have decided that this is a good thing to do as it will help to stop the hull twisting and also help it withstand the inevitable bumps when it is moored alongside jetties or other boats. There are a few things to do before the 9th plank can be added so stay tuned.

Planks 5 and 6 fitted.

I'm back from my sailing adventure. It was a great trip, better than I ever imagined. I have been home for a couple of weeks but went sailing again for a week with the guys from the Wooden Boat Association. In the other week I have been hard at it in the boatshed.

First job was to scarf together more sheets of ply for the remaining planks. Since then I have been on a roll with the planking. I have settled into a routine where I am gluing one plank in place each day. The clamps come off that plank and are used to fit the second plank of that pair. While that second plank's glue is setting I prepare the pattern for the next pair of planks and use it to cut the planks. In this way I fit a pair of planks in 2 days. I tried doing a pair in one day (one in the morning and the other in the evening) but found the pace too hectic and I had to slow down!

Anyway, here is the boat with 5 planks fitted. A few clamps left after the majority moved over to the other side of the boat.

And, again, with six planks. The planking stock is on the bench at the right ready for the next pair of planks to be cut. As I write this, I have made the pattern and cut the 7th pair of planks ready for one to be glued in the morning. If I made another 40 clamps I could glue them both but I don't have enough scrap plywood for 40 clamps and, hey, the planking is almost done.

Gone Sailing!

There won't be any boatbuilding for a while because I am going sailing on a friend's Mottle 33. Here is a photo of the boat in her home marina (with the blue sail cover).