To this stage took me to about May 2012, a total build time of about seven months. I was in no hurry and built some parts for the Sundowner along the way (see future posts). The lack of pressure and a defined time frame made it more enjoyable and meant I was still keen to get to the shed to continue.
I also obtained some bamboo for masts, boom and spar along with a sail. Photos will follow after final rigging and test sail.
Glassing the bottom:
Gunwales fitted inside and outside with spacers:
Cardboard patterns for seats, forward seat on the right and rear on the left (cardboard not full length of rear seat to cut):
Front seat fitted:
PVC mast tube with plywood doublers under x 2, plus doubler on top:
Overhead of seats in place:
Close up of the rear seat screwed and epoxied into place. Another lesson, got the full length seat cut nicely, but too big to fit into the boat. Solution was to cut it in half and join along an existing 20mm x 20mm seat support running on the centre line:
A bit of sanding to smooth out some epoxy and final paint. Unfortunately I left the epoxy too soon after fitting the side planks and it ran down the outside in places. This could have been hidden through more epoxy or sanding, but ultimately the boat was build for fun and will be knocked around. I was keen to move on to the Sundowner so got out the paint brush instead of going for a "wooden boat show" finish.
Paint plan was two coats of oil based combined undercoat/sealer, followed by two coats of exterior grade house paint. The feature colour was picked by my stylist (daughter) who liked the blue to match the sky and water.
Photo below is a bit out of shape due to the angle it was taken at:
Would you consider this boat to have been helpful/useful as a prep for your Sundowner build? Or, in hindsight, would you suggest building a different boat first to learn on before moving on to Sundowner? I am seriously considering embarking on a Sundowner build in the next year or so. Thanks.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed it, and think it helped but not essential. You will pick up the skills building the frames, beams and other items that you need. By the time you stand up the frames you will be well into the swing of it. Epoxy and prep the frames as much as you can before, it is easier on the flat and when they are smaller.
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