Again the red dots show the bits I will remove, and the size of the rear deck, I have an idea to try and make it waterproof as possible as anyone who has sailed a fire tender will know if you go backwards you get a swimming pool in the back. I have thought of self draining but it started as a simple build so it may end up as a screw down panel of Fiberglas's you can see in this picture the modified skeg fixing the rear of the bearer will be trimmed when the rudder fixing is bonded on. Right just waiting for the mounts and couplings and its "epoxy time".
The other picture shows a mock up of the opening that there will be , so it should be ok to go with just cabin roof lids without having to have the whole lot removable.

So the inside of the hull has been sanded to get rid of lumps and ribs I made shore the outside of the hull was on a flat surface and see how flat the inside is. They can be a bit bendy as they are hard chine, and this one is a bit light weight. So once it had all been sanded the final fitting of the bearers and the fitting of prop shafts and motor mounts a few more bits of wood where tacked on with superglue to enable them to be placed precisely when covered with epoxy (and me). The mounts are marked and fitted I have gone for captive type bolts so if there needs to be adjustment later or change of mounts its easy. I soldered couple of bits of brass rod on the back I also milled/routed the back out of the bearers so as to take epoxy.

Next step is to get all your good tools put away and anything you want to keep as it's always messy. Do a final rough up of the surfaces clean all surfaces, then clean again I use isopropal alcohol. Then when all is ready mix, I use 30 min two ton DEV gives time and is thin I apply with a spatula and finish with a brush. I bolted where the skeg will go and used clamps through the prop tubes. I don't like trying to do to much at once so the shafts will go in next enabling me to do a final alignment. The picture shows some big lead weights and clamps, after about an hour I remove the big weights but leave the clamps and put a steel ruler over the bottom to make sure it has stayed flat and there are no voids as this will not help the performance.
The shafts are now in just the tidy up to do I used stablit for them (god its a pig to use and the smell) I also made the rudder support and fitted it at the same time, I am going to fit a small support at the motor end that will also double up as a battery rack, at the same time the rudder servo mount will go in.
Once the clean up is finished the bulkheads will go in with the deck supports. I'll put the rudders together at the same time I'm going to use the method I have used in the past and have them held by a spring pin with an O'ring seal.

The bits up to now, are the parts that take all the time from now on its going to be a lot faster but I hope this may help someone who is doing it for the first time as I think I have covered most things.

Not a lot today I have smoothed out all the filler, so the shafts are now finished and cured the outside of the hull as well, decided to clean the work room a bit so as to make room for the next stage. So just waiting for the new glue to come in the post so I can stick the bulkheads in and the decks on.

I have done some work on the rudders while I was waiting for some new glue. I like to use a seal if possible and try to use spring pins to hold them together, the blade is done a little different from the commercial ones as they slot the rod and I try to slot the blade I silver solder it as well the picture shows the parts ready to solder and fit.

The rudders are now soldered and fitted I use spring clips to hold the tiller to the shaft that way they can be removed and oiled or a new seal fitted in seconds and they go back to where they where . On the larger 34" boat I have some scale rudders made for display and some similar to the ones on this for running and they are a bit over size. I don't mind compromising the weight a bit to get a boat that will not need maintenance in the future, the second shot gives an idea of the rudder size that is a bit bigger than scale but not that bad, so all the under hull is finished all that is required is a good sand and fill a few scratches.

The props are prop shop 25mm for starters I can go a bit bigger prob up to 30mm if required.

I have gone for 1 extra bulkhead just to hold the hull shape I may take a bit more out of it to lighten it.

The shapes between the motors and shafts are the battery holders, I may put another one in so I can slide the pack back and forward to get the correct balance, I'll be gluing it all in tonight as everything is fitted and fettled.

The bulkheads are now glued in, and the stringer's fitted to keep it a smooth curve you need lots of clamps and have to work fast, so get everything ready dry fit a few times then go for it, and as usual clamps fall on the floor you forget to get a disposable paint brush out etc.

The front deck is going to be a bit different, it is going to be made of 1/8 lite ply and I have had it dampened and bent over formers for some time. There are a few fittings that will be on it as well as the post and I like to have a water tight bulkhead at the front as well as a bit of strength in case it hits something (as if its not going to) so I have tried to make it so that any shock will be transferred down the sides of the boat. I am going to give the inside of the bow a coat of either sanding seal or epoxy.

The lower picture gives you an idea of the deck detail the stringers are 1/32 below the the top edge of the fiberglass. The 1/32 ply finishes flush with the top edge of the fiberglass and the sheet fiberglass goes over it all and finishes on the outside of the hull leaving a "HOPEFULLY" nice clean square edge.

So now its time for plasticard and the SUPERSTRUCTURE.

Yes I know I said it would be superstructure next but I thought I would would just say a few words about the deck, if you use stablit glue clean it of before it dries, as it is a pig to get of, but that is good as it shows it sticks. I clean the area with a bit of acetone before I glue. Anyway it took a full night to clean the excess of that would have taken one minute. So now I can start cutting plasticard. hurrah

This is the way I transfer info between plan / boat / plasticard I use a piece of timber with a block glued on the end, this can hook over the end of the boat or the plasticard or lone up with a mark on the plan by doing it this way you can check a position on all three. The other thing is that if you start marking from a point it can start to creep by even the thickness of a pencil each time can become a few millimetres. The sheet material is 1.5mm and I have glued two together with double sided tape so hopefully they will match. The bulkheads where positioned to line up with parts of the superstructure this will hopefully give it a bit of extra strength, it also gives you an idea of how the plan strips can be used. Just a note on photocopying at home, PC scanners can be very good at copying but they are not that accurate unless you get the right settings, the aspect ratio can give you little fat boats if you are not careful. I had an old scanner and it was great at this but 15 years on and the all in one I have is a bag of ^%$£& at it so beware to check photocopy's before you get a funny shaped boat!

So at last we are cutting plastic "Hurrah" well at least a smile. Anyway after transferring the position of things to the plastic that is two pieces of 1.5mm double sided taped together, its over to the minI mill I use a router cutter, one of the good things about the fire boat is that a few lines will give you most of the superstructure as a lot of it is parallel. I use a ply board that is "T" nutted on to the bed with a wood guide Parallel to the bed I have a couple of quick clamps screwed on to wherever they are needed, I do it this way as my hands don't work very well doing repetitive work. Anyway what you can see in the bottom picture is what can be cut out, so there is only a bit of tidying to do and we will be joining bits together.

Today I have been fitting the deck supports these are needed to hold the sides of the superstructure, the timber used was Parana pine, but I am not happy with it I have a few days to monitor it to see if it bends it may be ok as it is well supported but it would make a mess if it bends the top of the rails just need a sanding to bevel the top edge as they are put in on an angle (have a look at the drawing).

The sides now need a bit of work just cleaning out the windows and there are some eyebrows to be fitted as I am modelling it on No93 the front lite ply bulkhead needs to be trimmed down I left it a bit high so that it could be trimmed when I got the exact size it needed to be, it is just on the bend of the front of the superstructure.