Port side deck stringer

Hi all

So this weekend I added the supporting blocks for the stringers bow and stern and then marked and started trimming the port side stringer level with the bulkheads. Started trimming with the power plane went to the belt sander and ended up using a number 7 hand plane. It was easier, almost as fast and gave a good result with regards to the level. And I enjoyed using a hand tool which was great.

I have the plan of using the name BSB racing for our racing team. Let me know if you think you know what it means. What happenend yesterday is a part of it. I'll tell you next post. In the meantime enjoy the pics.

Cheers Jay 

More deck stringers

Well not so much more as the same ones now glued into place. First off a merry Christmas and a great New year to all of you. May 2022 be a better year than this one.

So today I have sanded smooth and rounded off the underneath part of the deck stringers in preparation for glueing in. I used the belt sander to sand them all level and my trim router with a round over bit to give an 8mm round over so there are no sharp edges. I then glued them into place and put some fillets into the corners to help strengthen and spread any load into the structure of the boat. Once the deck is on I will run another fillet down the length of the stringer to give more glueing area to the deck. As you can see I have left the stringers a little proud of the deck so that when I fit the deck I can fair them down to the correct level. This means a proper wood to wood joint which makes the deck much stronger.

The gloves are covering the ends of the clamps so I don't permanently attach them to the boat. It has happened in the past and sometimes it takes some judicious use of a beating tool to remove them. Don't ask how I know.

Anyway thanks for viewing and see you all soon again.

Cheers Jay 

Deck stringers

Hello again

Today I glued up the port side (left hand) deck stringer. Unfortunately I don't have enough clamps to do both sides so it will be done in two hits.

I also trimmed and shaped the deck stringer mounting blocks.

No boat building tomorrow as we are off to watch England Rugby take on the might Springbok team. If the head is in the right place we'll be back to it on Sunday.

Cheers Jay 

Hmmmm boat building 😁

Well I've been off work for a few weeks due to working time stand down (it's a long story) and I have been busy with other little projects around the house like paving, building drawers and drinking beer ( that's a project isn't it 😁😁😁) and I have not done much boat work............. until today!!!!!!! Enough is enough this boat needs to be built so I got out some ply some glue and some clamps set up the router and went to town.

First I made a jig to clamp to the bulkheads to rout out the slot for the deck beams.

Slots cut

Then I cut the slots in the beam sections. I have decided to use laminated sections as that's way stronger. So tomorrow I will glue them together and then take them off and finish them (sanding and rounding off the bottom edges (epoxy sticks better to round edges than square) and it's a bit softer if you whack into them)

I also cut and glued the blocks to place on the transom and the bow for these deck beams to mount into. To cut the blocks safely on my table saw I knocked up a quick cross cut sled.

Tomorrow I will trim and glue them in place.

All in all a good productive day. 

As always thanks for reading and following my progress and please feel free to comment.

Cheers Jay 

Yes bulkheads all taped

Hi Guys and Gals

Today I have a huge sense of accomplishment, I have finished taping in the last two bulkheads. All the bulkheads have now been taped into the boat. These were D and E which are the two just in front of the keel and fore and aft of the mast. These need to be extra tough as there is a lot of pressure in this area when under sail. The mast is keel stepped (through the deck onto the bottom of the boat) so there are pressures in all sorts of directions in this area. To help with this I have added one extra layer of glass tape between the bulkheads to tie in the two bulkheads and give a bit more strength and stiffness. It was amazing to see the extra layer of glass soak up the excess resin in this area. I put it on and within 2-3 minutes it was almost wet through. So what does this mean??? Potentially I had a resin rich layup. I had squeegeed the layup after a few minutes to remove the excess but clearly it was not enough. Looking at the rest of the layups they looked OK so I am not too worried, nothing has broken and it will only add a few extra grams to the boat. How do you solve that, you spend a bunch of money on peel ply and cover every layup in peel ply. This is a dacron fabric which will soak up the excess and when you pull it off it leaves a keyed surface that does not need sanding to prepare for secondary bonding. A time saver but extra cost so it will be sanding for me.

The red fabric is an old gazebo top to keep the heat in as it is getting a bit chilly here in the UK and I need to boost the temp a bit to ensure proper cure of the epoxy. 

Thanks for visiting 

Cheers Jay 

More bulkhead taping

Not much progress from a visual perspective but some good progress. I managed to tape two and a half bulkheads into place yesterday and today. The rear of A the whole of B and the sides of C( main bulkhead.) I have also tab glued the bottom of C to the hull. I am hoping to get the last taping done next weekend and then we start adding the deck stringers, one each side. The plans don't call for it but other builders have done it and in my view it is a very small weight addition for a whole lot more strength in the deck.

Thanks for visiting and see you soon. 

Cheers Jay 

Progress on the bow

So this weekend I watched some rugby with my mate Phil and then we had food, a great poitjie made by my good wife Jenni. I then managed to talk him into helping with some boat building, didn't take much convincing 😁😁.

Phil helped and we made a template for the bow area. I had cut the piece originally but the hull shape ended up slightly different to the designed shape. We then used the template to recut a new piece of ply. This photo is of that piece glued in viewed from the top down. 

From slightly further back and underneath.

I also manged to fillet and glass tape bulkhead F (front one) into the hull. I am just waiting for the epoxy to set up on the bow and I will tape that in as well today and then cover her up for the week.

once again thanks for visiting and please feel free to comment on the work or critique if you have some worthwhile input. 

Cheers Jay