Catch up part 4 - fuel tank

One of the main things I was waiting on was sorting out my fuel tank and exhaust before I stick down the cockpit.  I ended up with a 60l Vetus diesel tank, I was guided by the dimensions of the space I had.

Below is the space between fr#7 and fr#8 (waterproof bulkhead for aft third of the hull) from above:

I needed something for the tank to sit on, looked around and saw the sink cut out.  I couldn't be that lucky that it would fit.  Some minor modification of a cut out and slight trim of the solid wood underneath (the screw lines) and it went in on the supports (horizontal pine on the bottom of the first picture above):

Cut a groove in the doubler on the fwd side of fr#8 (the pine running up and down) so the seam of the tank would not be pushed in) and it slid in fairly securely.  From above:

And the side looking from the quarter berth on the stb side.  I will make the end piece of the bunk and the vertical piece that covers this area removable for access.:

Next thought was how to secure it in place.  I went through a few options then decided to use two ratchet straps which are rated for 250kg each.  I attached shade cover stainless anchor points to the hardwood cross piece on the aft side of fr #7, each rated for 275kg.

On the back I could not use similar attachment as the ratchet piece was two large.  I used two eye bolts which went through the mounting wood piece rather than just the ply base.  I wanted the tank firmly attached to the hull.  Through these I looped the tape back up to the top:

And a final shot in place.  I tied a loop in the tape just above the fwd anchor points long enough to just clear the forward side of the tank.  Into this I put the hook of the ratchet and fed the other end from the aft loop back up the side onto the top where it is fed into the ratchet.  Allows you to tighten it all up on top and check it easily.  On the left of the tank is the fuel inlet, the black middle inspection port and the right side are the fuel intake and return fittings.

During this time my supervisor returned from holidays so we melted down all the filings from when I routed the top of the lead keel:

Each ingot is about 1.5kgs.  I have around 120kg left for trimming ballast or later sale.  Below shows what some look like when cool.

Of course, once we finished with the fire it was time for a beer and a camp oven roast.  Hard work this boat building.

Here is what was holding me up partly, port holes and hoses:

One of the Vetus hatches, worth the wait because through a mate of a mate I got a good price.

So ends the update, hope you enjoy it and thanks to Rik for the hurry up!

Catch up part 3 - galley and head door

Ever since I decided to put in a cassette toilet I was thinking of a  door for the space to cover view from the main cabin.  I don't know why, but a bi fold one was what I came up with, intending that most of the time it would be hidden.

Below is the first section screwed in place:

And the second.  There will be a barrel bolt inside to hold the two pieces together to form the door:

And shut:

I cut a removable piece to fill in above the door.  Removable so you can use the hand hold as you move into the forward cabin when the head is not in use and also as behind it you can see one of the deck vent openings.  I didn't want to stop the airflow.

Then I got inspired and tried to hide it when closed.  I had decided to use the space on the bulkhead for a cabinet.  Below shows how the door will normally be stored:

With the over strip removed (it clicks into catches -  two at the top, one down the bottom):

Cabinet door opened, you can see the catch for it on the top right of the door and the other piece on the frame on the bulkhead:

With the door closed.  I will have a spot for the removable ply piece above the door (lighter piece) on the inside of the cabinet door for hidden storage when not needed:

I also glued in the galley top from 6mm ply with 9mm ply (left over hull pieces) over the top.  I then marked out the outline for my galley sink, and cut it out:

Below is the cut out bit, see next post!:

Next - fuel tank.

Catch up part 2 - head and desk

Inside I moved onto the area where the head would be located and the small sitting desk.  This is between the main and forward cabins.

First I covered in the front of the space, there are two ply pieces with the bottom attached permanently and the next removable.  You can see the cut out for the cassette toilet into the galley space on the left painted white: 

With the head in place.  You can see it pivots around, so if you are alone or the other person is in the forward cabin with the sliding door closed you can have more space with your legs into the main cabin.  Otherwise it points as normal and you make do.  No reading a large newspaper in there!

I then built a seat top which is removable.  You can see the second front cover piece in place.  There will be cushions on top (fixed) and a removable backrest:

Between the galley and the hull is a space I decided to have as a small desk (as per the plans).  This is before, with the fr#4 on the left (fwd end of galley and rear wall of forward cabin) and frame#5 (aft end galley):

Below is with the shelf and inside of the desktop in place, these will be removable for access/fitting of chain-plates:

And the desktop down:

Stored closed which will be hinged.  There will be a front on the top shelf to hold in things as well which I have not cut yet:

Next is the galley and rear door for the head......

Catch up part 1 cockpit - Mea Culpa

Hello all, it's been a while.  I apologise for the break in transmission, back to our regular programming....  School holidays, shift work and waiting on some parts slowed me down.  I also felt like I had nothing to show, but as usual when I went to copy the photos realised that I had done something, just didn't look too different.

The cockpit:

I had previously cut the supports for the seat front/top and put them under the boat.  I'd forgotten just how much prep I had done.   Nice surprise, simple bit of notching the they were in!  Below is the starboard side:

And a short from aft looking forward:

Felt like progress, got out the ply I had previously got (cut roughly to size) and dry fit them all.  The aft end will be closed off at frame 9 and will contain the cockpit drains.  It forms the locker for anything you don't want coming into the cabin (eg gas bottle and small camp cooker):

I then wrestled the ply sheets into place for the seat tops.  These were notched to go over the frames and cut on a curve to meet the hull.  This took a lot of time, blood and curses but they are fairly close. They will have small support pieces screwed into the hull underneath, and strips of wood on top to seal them up.  Starboard side first, should have trimmed it back a bit where it overlaps the cockpit:

Port side, trimmed a bit closer but not exact.  These will overlap the fronts of the seats by about 40mm and have a piece of wood underneath for a doubler to strengthen them:

I was on a roll, why not see what the transom would look like?  Grabbed the  curved beam and notched it into the tops of the transom frame (#10).  Below is the stb side:

And a wider shot, Mr Welsford draws nice curves.............

I got the other curved deck beam for the forward edge of the quarterdeck, positioned it and notched it into the gunwale.  Looking aft from the cabin:

And a closer shot from aft:

Then I pulled everything out again, marking underneath the cockpit floor pieces so I could epoxy seal and paint them.  Below shows the epoxy drying:

And a close up of the cockpit floor with one of the seat tops to the left.  I have since under-coated and top-coated them with paint ready to install.  The raw wood is where it screws to the underfloor supports:

Everything was removed from the cockpit, hence my feeling that I had not really moved forward. BUT, stand by for some rapid visual progress (I hope).  On to the next catch up!

Cockpit floor dry fit

After epoxying and screwing most of the access hatch supports in place, and the sliding hatch top, I was looking for the next step.  I am in the process of getting the fuel tank to put in, and decided to dry fit the cockpit floor.  This will allow me to continue the dry fit of the cockpit while I wait, and also make it much easier to walk into the cabin.  Plus I get to stand there and pretend I am finished.

This is what I have been standing on while working on the access hatch.  The spotted gum king plank is 20mm thick and 90mm wide, but only sitting in place.  All others are epoxied in.

Below is looking from the transom frame forward.  Frame 8 is waterproof (top half still plain epoxy on ply, bottom half painted).  In front of that is the space for the fuel tank (that's why the king plank is not stuck in) and in the middle is the cockpit floor.

This shows the port side showing the supports for the floor of the under-seat storage:

I started with the floor of the starboard side, fitting the 12mm ply floor and a 9mm end piece to seal off the space.  To the right of the storage I will bring up the exhaust pipe above water level in a loop to prevent water coming in through the transom and flowing to the engine exhaust.

The the main sheet which will be the cockpit floor.  I carefully worked with a square and straight edge to cut notches in the ply.  It slides in under the wooden uprights which will have the seat fronts screwed onto.  I left the ply oversize on the inside and trimmed it after it was positioned to ensure a neat edge with the under seat floor.  Amazingly it fit first time!  Keen eyed watchers will see that this meant the other side had space between the rear edge and the uprights on the left of the picture, which I covered with the next lot of under seat storage flooring.

This is the port side before:

And after.  The left hand piece goes in first sliding up against the hull side and covering the first gap in front of the upright wood.  Then the forward piece which also has a notch on the right end that slides forward to cover the gap under the upright wood.  These were needed because the centre piece cannot be wider than the width to the upright wood, it wouldn't slide down into place!

Join between the two is notched to meet mid way across the support under the join.  Looks complicated, and I had to redo the left one due to some rushing towards the end of a day.  Lesson learnt, thought I would finish and stand on it to end the day, ended up making myself another hours work and wasted the first piece of ply.

And the final result.  Looking forward from the port edge of the transom support frame:

And and overhead from the access hatch looking aft:

Still haven't made the washboards, but now I can stand there more comfortably that will be next.  It also makes it more accessible for guided tours.  Because I have done it for years I thought nothing of walking over the frames whilst carrying a sheet of ply, but forgot just how much practise it took. Visitors will now be able to step up in style.

Cabin Hatch started

After a break over Easter I trimmed off the excess glass tape, sanded the edges of the cabin top glass and spread some filler over the edges.

That was a bit boring so I started on the access hatch and frame to support the washboards.  First off was to fill the gap between the two end pieces.  The plans specify 100mm above seat height and 250mm for those intending to go into rough weather.  I went with about 150mm, I'd previously cut notches so that was what I must have decided on a while back.  This is the piece that protects the cabin from water if you don't have any washboards in place.

I am using kwila hardwood for the framing, the sides are about 70mm x 19mm and I cut them to match the curve of the deck forward and to the sides with the aim to have them level when in place.

Looking from the side, these are screwed into carlines that were put in place under the cabin roof earlier

And the front:

Once they were screwed in place (the bottom row of screws) I attached the outside pieces (the top screw line).  Also note the thin piece of hardwood to give a little lip for the forward piece, and the small drain space just forward of it to the left.

This is a shot from the cockpit showing the sides were the hatch will run along:

Below is the hatch frame 42mm x 19mm), you can see on the left of the picture the forward end of the frame, and a piece of lighter wood and the darker inside piece (you will see more shortly).  This was taken before I screwed the sides all together.

Below shows the forward side of the hatch.  The lighter wood is 20mm x 20mm and will have a fridge seal screwed onto it.  When the hatch slides closed the inside back of the hatch will push up against the seal to prevent water coming in.  The end of the hatch will also have its own 20mm x 20mm piece screwed onto the inside rear slightly lower to make it harder for water to get up and inside.

Then I crossed my fingers and epoxy glued/screwed it all down. Below shows the outside filleted to the cabin roof.

I slid the frame forward to force the sides out hopefully to make it even all the way along.  We shall see!

When I got a day off I headed down for another ply purchase.  It wasn't until I was half way home that I figured out this may be my last one.  Below is the cockpit floor, transom, seating and combings.  A little bit scary that I may have all the ply I need!

Back inside I had decided not to go with a curved hatch.  I have spent hours looking at Colin Archer boats on the woodenboat forum and had seen a few with solid wood hatches.  I decided to try one.  Below is all the pieces cut, drilled and prepared:

And epoxied and screwed in place.  The left/right and rear pieces are epoxied and screwed.  The tongue and groove is epoxied and the front piece is only screwed.  It needs to be removable so you can take the hatch off.  It will be sanded once the glue in the screw holes are sanded back and given several coats of epoxy inside and out.  Fillets will also be done.

Below you can see the 42mm x 19mm capping on the edges of the ply space, and the outside spacer.  The inside one is screwed into a piece inside (see it soon).  You can also see the wooden step on top of the combing.

This is from inside showing what the vertical piece is screwed into.  It was screwed from the outside and then the screws covered with the outside spacer:

Below is an overhead shot after the outside capping (70mm) was put in place.  The space between is where the ply washboards will slide down:

This shows the step on top of the combing from the inside.  It is screwed into two supports which are screwed to the combing.  Should be more comfortable than stepping on a 12mm piece of ply, and is positioned so the washboards can slide all the way to the seat outside.

And a final outside shot.  You can just make out the 3mm aluminium strips for the hatch to side on each side on top of the rails.  The large spotted gum end piece of the opening is very visible.

Next post will be getting the hatch to slide, and pulling apart all the entrance to epoxy them in place.