Welcome back my friends.

Good news i finally got two wheels on my wagon, what with the starboard keel going on a little under two hours ago, i can't quite believe i'll never have to haul the things up and down the driveway or around the garden - that is it they are on end of story.

Now i have achieved this i feel i can do anything so next stop rudder dry fitted so i can get the skeg mounted and then into the engine room to cut, shape and bond the bearers then get the engine in and fitted.

Its amazing how (although physically and mentally knackered) i'm really up for getting this boat done by years end - wish me luck.

cheers

rog

What a difference a week makes.

Incredible really, i've had one of those weeks where everything i've touched has turned to gold. At the start of the week i was finishing off the stub and putting another hit of fairing compound on the hull.

Afterwards i got set on getting the port keel into the shed although seeing the number of obstacles i had to get around to get the keel to this point was a task i was coming to dread.

To my surprise the keel went through the side of the shed a treat but no sooner had I surmounted that problem i was stuck as to how to line up the keel studs with the stub holes, after a quick phone call to a savvy mate of mine we had the keel located and in position within an hour.

The effect of all of this has been transformative for seeing just this one keel in place that has taken so much time and energy has motivated me beyond anything in recent times.

So much so that i'm now almost ready to fit the starboard keel later this week as i have worked all through the weekend and will sheath tomorrow (monday), this all in under 2 days from dragging it into the workshop to repair through stripping back ready for sheathing with all the materials for that job on the bench ready to go, the same process took about two weeks before.

Now i'm annoyed that paid work is getting in the way as i want to get the rudder dry-fitted next so i can mount the skeg and get that glassed in.
I think because i spent so much time and energy last year on the boat and didn't have a lot to show for it was really uninspiring to me but now I couldn’t be more juiced-up.

Cheers

Where does all the time go..........

I can't believe we're nearly into April, although the paid work i have at the moment has paused temporarily i'm dedicating this week to the boat.

It seems only yesterday i was sheathing the keels happily unemployed planning on having the boat off the cradle with both keels and a rudder attached but alas work's got in the way and after what seems like an eternity i am now able to get on with finishing the job of sheathing the hull.

As usual the debit card's taken a hammering but as i have a few pennies to rub together i want to push on as i don't want to miss the weather window for paint this year.

What else..............oh yes i finally picked up my 30st antal winches as well as another pair of 16's, i'll flog the 8's on ebay but what a bargain. Those guys at marineware are 'tops' i used them as well for my keel sealant as i just can't bring myself to spend in excess of £250 going the sika route.

I'll let you know how it goes when the time comes but for now its on with finishing off the sheathing.

cheers

rog

stubs away!!!!!!

Got cracking after heating the shed up for an hour. Having all the cloth cut to size proved a real help as it was great picking up each piece and placing it on the hull. The only downside in todays proceedings was losing a whole cups worth of epoxy (600ml) bollocks!!!

It seems i'd done such a good job preheating the shed that it was nearly 30 degrees c so knocked off the heater and got down to business, six hours had passed by the time i got to washing all the tools in acetone. My back neck and shoulders were killing me, i had everything done including peel plying the lot I even had the bag and breather cloth ready to go but after three attempts at trying to get the breather material to attach to the hull i gave up. I was so knackered i could barely get my arms above my head so have had to make do with it being squeegeed & roller-ed to death.

If i have enough strength when i do the starboard side i may go for the bag although i may look at attaching the breather material to the bag so all i got to do is stick the bag on the hull which is easy enough.

I have all the spreader washers cut and shaped for each location, all out of 10mm 316L stainless as i needed to make up the stub floor thickness so this was cheaper than epoxy speaking of which is worrying me how much more i'll need based on what i used on the stub. I calculated i've used around 4 litres which at the prices i pay with delivery and tax works out at £56 to do.

That'd buy me 25 litres of poly but i guess it wouldn't give me the protection though, oh well guess i'll have to keep doing the lottery.

cheers

....and start again

Well in all honesty there was nothing to do so i may as well crack on. The financial windfall didn't materialise but the more clement weather did so i revisited an old hobby of mine - that being displacing vertebrae in my spine dragging 600-odd kilos of pig iron around the driveway.

This time cracks had started to appear in the tops of both of them, you may remember when the first keel i rebuilt started to come apart well now both have got the pox. The first keel has now parted company with its top from the middle all the way aft so will have that in as soon as i have the other mounted.

In the meantime i got to work cutting paper patterns with which i could transfer to bi-axial cloth and then epoxy on, i've been doing the same with the wetted ares of the hull for a while and although a largely time-consuming process it makes fitting so much easier when everything is made-to-measure.

Now the first keel is completely sheathed three times over i (rather controversially) am going to tape the keel to hull joint when i have attached the keels as i want a completely sealed joint.

More pictures of the stub to follow

cheers

....................and stop.

Once again another year is at an end and i am a little further down the track but nowhere as far as i wanted to be, i've taken all the resins out of the boat shed and stored them indoors as the temperatures are falling.

I'm hoping to continue work as the weather is mild but i am disappointed i have only got as far as i have but i will just keep plugging away at it and hope for warm weather early oh yes and some financial windfall.

Have started on the external areas around the keel stubs, spent the morning drilling the holes back out so i can laminate then drill them through from the inside afterwards, i've observed that the inside of the keel stub floor is not as flat as i wanted - just thinking of the load being spread evenly across when 'dogged' up tight.

Still must get on and wash the hull down for what must be the thousandth time.


cheers

rog

I've been reading......

Alot about motivation and what makes us do things for their own sake. Seeing as the well keeps running dry lately modern theories propose the concept of visualisation - you know closing your eyes and imaging the finished article which i do a lot of but its just the feeling of a lack of progress that depresses the most at the moment.

Still i'm at the stage of hitting the deck moulding with 404 and then rubbing back, i've been doing this for nearly 3 weeks continuously as well as making a composite fuel tank and a bow roller.

I'm still aiming for keels and rudder on and at least primed by years end as the air is too cold and damp i feel to topcoat but never say never.

I will post some pictures seeing as i haven't for a while but in all honesty not a lot looks different, oh yes I've cut out and bonded up frames to make the locations in the cockpit for instrument panels, gauges and tidies so moving forward a little bit at a time.

cheers

roger