Some (empty) cereal packets have been found and are being taped together to make a long enough length of card to use as a template for the bottom skins.

The new plywood skins that have just been delivered are far from being flat - they are very wavy.

If they had been sandwiched in the delivery box between the thicker sheets of plywood that I bought at the same time they may have been a little flatter?

As it was they were placed on the outside of the other sheets of wood with the hardwood strips that I ordered to use for stringers etc and held together with some elastic bands.

I think they will be OK once they are cut and then pinned and glued to the hull frames, but it is another example of the current crop of new wood not being anything like as good when delivered as it used to be just a few years ago.

The 4mm birch plywood is not very good either. When it is being cut, drilled, sanded or filed, the top laminate layers can chip-off giving some ragged edges.

Even the cabin front edges chipped off in places when being cut on the jig saw, and the Hegnar machine uses needle thin fine toothed blades that are not capable of cutting too fast.... or causing any other "user" inflicted damage to the plywood surface.

The wood quality is poor - the laminate layers are not bonded together very well at all and the edge "chips" are something that I have never experienced before in over 65 years of working with plywood!

Not impressed!

Bob.

Hi Chris,

The prototype Sprite Plus that I am building from your drawings is going together well with no problems found.

Other than extending the cabin sides a little further forwards to connect Formers 2 and 3 together I have found nothing that I would change if I were to build another one in the future.

Some scrap 4mm was cut to imitate this cabin exension and does the job well enough with minimum effort or cost.

I added also some scrap 4mm pieces horizontally between Former 2 and 3 to support the lower part of the cabin front and to give a simple base to glue some deck formers onto.

The above small tweaks are the sort of things that I enjoy doing and appreciate that another builder may prefer a different solution.

I quite like the parallel sides to the cabin as it adds to the chunky look of the boat, but when get a bit further it will be easier to see if shaping the cabin sides would have looked better.

Having a nice warm indoor working area must be a real bonus - something I can only dream of ! (I am interested and considering the diesel heater that Ed mentioned on here).

Bob.

When drawing I started off with a breasthook going all the way back to the cabin windows, I should have kept it in!

The sides of the cabin/coaming being parallel don't look too bad really.

Whilst me using the small bedroom as a workroom does have it's drawbacks, at this time of year it has a big plus and with this run of inclement weather I've been able to spend quite a bit of time in there.

Chris

It was a balmy one and a half degrees this afternoon (!), so I popped out into the workshop(shed) after cutting out the window shapes on the fret saw and did a mock-up to see what it would look like on the hull.

There is a lot of final fitting and finishing to be done yet, but the front cabin shape has been decided and the curvature of the deck between it and the bows can now be seen and the formers can be made ready to support the deck skinning in this area.

The elastic bands show the creature of the deck quite well.

I added a 6mm "cover" to the front Former 1 so I have enough thickness of wood to give me the option of sinking a couple of pairs of 5mm threaded inserts into it to allow the future fitment of a soft bows or a "pusher-frame" for its secondary use as a possible recovery launch?

In passing, I have noticed that the quality of the currently available 4mm birch plywood is not as good as it used to be. The wood tends to "chunk" small lumps off of the edges (on the outer laminated layers) when it is being cut or sanded.

The blade on my Hegnar fret saw is VERY thin and has exceptionally fine teeth - and even that chunked some small lumps out of the 4mm birch plywood surface as I was cutting out the window shapes.

The wood will need some extra treatment when I get to the final finishing stage to improve the integrity of the wood. I am not too sure what to use for this yet, but maybe some thin glass fibre resin could be soaked into the wood to help strengthen the bond between the different laters?

Bob.

Hi Ed,

That is a very interesting video - it looks really good.

Still not too sure about having diesel fuel inside my wooden shed, but maybe that is just because I am naturally cautious ?

......I do like the idea though !

Bob.

Bob here is an example
Will take a picture of mine later and post

Hi Ed,

I like the idea of having some heat in my workshop(shed) - especially cheap heat - but how safe would be in my over-crowded wooden shed that is full of wood and quite often sawdust and glues etc?

It probably represents a good example of a tinder-box...........but I would like to be wrong, of course!

Bob.

Bob, last winter I fitted a diesel heater to my workshop/ garage. It’s great and heats the workshop up to 18+ degrees in about 15 to 20 min. Cheep to run as well.

Ed

It is really cold in my unheated workshop(shed) at the moment (-1), so I have not done too much, and the small oddments that I have made and glued together are taking longer to dry than they should!

I have started looking at the front of the cabin and chopped out a pair of front cabin window blanks from some 4mm scrap to make a "mock-up", and I think it is going to look OK with the revised cabin shape..

The original Sprite's cabin had a flat front, but I think this larger size does suit the two part angled cabin front a little better, so I will tidy-up my rough chopped-out parts and use them.

The front under-deck area needs filling-in to further strengthen the bows and to give a solid base for the cabin fronts and the deck formers to sit on.

It is starting to look a bit more like a boat!

Bob.

A pair of bulkhead spacers have now been made from 4mm plywood and fitted between Former 2 and Former 3 to improve its robustness as an occasional potential pusher recovery boat.

These additional spacers are fitted inline with the cabin sides and would be an extended part of them if I should ever build another Sprite Plus.

As separate parts, I have extended them down to the bottom skins position so they can also be glued onto and integrated with the skins when they are fitted later.

A rear deck former (with a central support) was cut and fitted to support the small area of ply skin that will cover it.

The 11" Maxi prop shaft (5mm) has also been dry fitted before the front of the rear well was made and glued between the cabin sides to strengthen and complete this part of the build.

Once glue has dried around this small bulkhead , I will rough-up the outer prop shaft tube where it passes through the keel and use 24hour Araldite to secure it permanently.

My next step will be to take a look at the cabin front and decide what final shape to use and work-out how to fit it to the front deck area that will need to be reinforced to fit the cabin front securely.

Bob.

I found my box of thin black mechanics gloves (to protect the wood!) and fitted a couple of small parts and deck supports across the rear of the cabin sides this afternoon.

The ends of the stringers (where they pass through the transom) were cut off and sanded flush to the surface, and after the whole surface of the transom was sanded smooth a plywood skin was cut to shape and fitted over it and then glued on with RapidFix PVA and held in place with clamps around the edges and brass nails to prevent any "ballooning" in the middle.

When the glue is dry, the heads will be cut off of the brass nails and they will be driven into the surface to give a mechanical fixing to assist the glue bond.

This transom "cover" is something that I like to fit to all my Classic Model Power Boats to give a nice clean finish to the back of the boats, and on the Sprite Plus there are several slots where the deck stringers, chine stringers, ends of the cabin sides and the keel all locate into the transom so they are all covered over nicely to give a nice and secure finish to them all.

The transom cover is fitted before the bottom, side and deck skins so that when they are fitted later they will overlap the edges of the transom cover to give the most durable protection and fit.

Next I need to take a look at the front of the boat and make some supports to reinforce the space between Formers 2 and 3. This will probably take a similar form to having the cabin sides extended to join Former 2, which is something that I would do if I should ever make another Sprite Plus.

Whilst working around the front of the boat I will give some more thought to how I will make and finish the flat pusher bows as I am not convinced that balsa wood would be the best choice for the contact area of a boat that could be used for recovery work.

This is nice project that gets "the old grey matter" working by solving problems and considering the alternative as I go along.

As a matter of interst, this is also the reason why I take on so much restoration work as the problems that often arise are not those that would normally be encountered with a "new build" (such as fuel soaked and rotten wood, poorly glued or fitted parts, twisted hull and banana shaped decks etc .......).

Bob.

Progress on the Sprite Plus prototype has been slowed a little due to my injured thumb.

Every time I bump the end of it, it starts to weep some of that red stuff that tends to stain the wood which is getting to be very annoying!

I will concentrate on some of the smaller parts that need to be cut and fitted and save the bottom skins until I can fit them without staining them!

Bob.

I won't show any pictures of the thumb, but this is the device that chopped a lump out of it !

This is very good sharp clean cutting little plane that made light work of trimming away the keel and the doublers ready to fit the bottom skins.

The small accident was my fault entirely, I was trying to hold the frame of the boat against my chest with the left hand as I was planing it with the right hand and obviously failed to control either the boat or the plane adequately.

Not to worry, most of the woodwork washed up OK with clean cold water and so "alls well the ends well" as they say 🙄

Bob.

Made me wince just thinking about it!
Hopefully it'll heal quickly Bob.

Ouch indeed! 🤕

The Sprite that bites! 😀

Ouch!

With both sets of stringers fitted to the hull, I thought I would start to shape the keel and doublers ready to accept the bottom skins.

After scraping away at the 18mm combined thickness of the full length keel and doublers with my various Permagrit tools, I decided to get the plane out and use that instead.

Progress was much faster and more easily controlled, but the finish was rather too nice and smooth (almost glazed) so I will "rough it up" a bit to allow the Jet Set PVA to penetrate the wood surface more easily before adding any skins.

With a nicely sharpened blade slicing through the wood, I lost concentration for a millisecond and trapped the pad of my thump between the edge of a bulkhead and the approaching plane.

The results were not too pretty and the blood stained some of the wood.

After quickly wrapping some masking tape over the wound to stop the bleeding I sponged the wood with cold water as quickly as possible to clean it as well as I could.

Now with the thumb more professionally covered with a plaster, I will venture back into the workshop (shed) to see how successful I was at cleaning the wood and as soon as it is dry enough (!) I will rough-up the smoothly planed surface ready for the bottom skins to be glued on.

If the wood is still a bit damp, I will start to make some templates for the bottom skins using some old cereal packets taped together to make them long enough.

Bob.

I agree Bob, I too think that an outboard motor will suit the design of the Sprite really well.
It looks like the sort of boat that would have an outboard on in real life.

Will

I think you will like the 30" size Chris, as it looks perfect with your chosen outboard motor on it.

......in-fact I think it probably looks better with the outboard motor on it than it does without it....

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but with or without an outboard motor, I think this could be quite a good fun boat and the blunt nose will makes its secondary use as a recovery boat very helpful too.

The 30" size should also make it a lot more useable for 12 months of the year too.

Bob.

I was thinking of building mine a bit smaller at 25/26" to suit our lake but had to go back to 30" to suit the size of the outboard! 😊

It certainly looks bigger "in the flesh" than it did on the drawings Will, that's for sure.

This is going to be one chunky boat!

Bob.

That's coming together nicely Bob, and looks really good.
It looks a large model sat there on the bench 😎👌
Can't wait to see it on the water, I'm sure it's going to have real presence.

The upper and lower stringers have dried nicely overnight and so I removed the elastic bands and the partly driven-in brass tacks and laminated the first of the second row of stringers on top of the top right side deck stringer.

Lots of clamps were used and a brass tack was partly driven into each bulkhead position to firmly laminate the two layers together with a good coating of Perkins Rapids Grip PVA.

Once this glue is fully dried I will remove the clamps and brass tacks and reuse them all on the next outer stringer that I will fit on the other side.

Bob.

The first pair of upper and lower stringers were fitted tonight and when the glue is dried tomorrow I can laminate the second 1/8" x 1/4" layer on top of them.

The lines look good and flow OK so I am happy that everything is square and aligned correctly .

The elastic bands were handy when placing the stringers onto the frames, but a sharp brass tack is driven into each bulkhead to hold them in place until the glue dries.

When dry, the tacks and the elastic bands will be removed.

The small vice is loose (not bolted down) but is heavy enough to hold the frame when needed.

Bob.

The "acid test" will be when the first pair of upper and lower stringers are fitted to the outside edges of the bulkheads as it will then be easy to see if the lines of the deck edges and the joint between the sides and undersides flow nicely.

Any lumps or bumps will show easily, but we are hoping to see nice smoothly flowing lines for both.

This will also be the first time that we can see the shape of the hull described in wood with a frame being prepared for skinning. For me, this is always one of the best parts of any new build.

I will fit the first (inner) pair of deck edge stringers tonight and hopefully also be able to fit the first (inner) pair of lower gunwhale stringers too.

Bob.

Looks good Bob - certainly better with the coamings to the cockpit area. Glad that it's coming together as intended without the benefit of me doing a test build. It's one thing doing the drawings but it's very easy to overlook something or get it wrong. I think the most important aspect of any build is getting the shape of the keel and frames right and after that anything can be made to fit and work. My Faun is obviously a lot more complicated build and I've had to make lots of changes and do things on the hoof as I've gone along. But by and large that's my usual method - I draw the basics and then start and then sort things out, maybe with some more drawings for the superstructure etc. That's why I like scratch building so much.

Funnily enough I did initially extend the cabin sides to Frame 2 but decided that it wasn't really doing anything so stopped them at Frame 3! As far as the angled cockpit/cabin side goes, I was going to do it in two pieces and fill the joint if needed with P38. That way I can adjust the lengths easily if required.

Hi Chris,

Here are a couple of pictures of the frames assembled onto the keel.

This prototype will be built to your original "straight sided" cabin plans.

The long steel ruler was used to check that the cabin sides were straight (first picture) as the slots for the cabin sides are slightly too wide due to the reduced thickness of them - after I had widened the slots to take 4mm cabin sides.

Your later drawings will show the cabin sides following the edge of the hull with perhaps a shallow cut into the internal cabin sides at the peak of the direction change (as per LesRo Rapier construction) to help the cabin sides comply with the direction change?

Once happy with the alignment of the prototype, I used a small dab of super-glue to tac some strategic points together (shown here) so that I can measure and check everything more carefully than I could with everything loose.

Although the gap between Former 2 and Former 3 will have a 1/8" x 1/4" strip on each side to join them, I think I will beef this area up a bit due to one of its intended uses as a pusher tug.

If I build another Sprite Plus I would extend the cabin sides to join onto Former 2. Other than that I think the design works well enough.

I have checked all the bulkheads against the keel with an engineers square and everything aligns OK.

Bob.

Hi Bob. Yes, I did put a note on to use 3mm but of course you can use what you want. Is the 3mm stiff enough? I thought it should be as the lower part of the cabin sides are restrained and the cabin is butressed with the rear frame and front windows.

I do have obeche but I only use it for motor and servo mounts. It is a nice timber but I would have thought it is too stiff for stringers and the like? I use bass mostly for my strip wood as it bends and sands easily, along with mahogany for when it is varnished.

Actually thinking about it, I think it is beech I use for engine mounts etc. which is very stiff. I don't think I have used obeche. I'll get some on my next order and try some. If it is similar to bass/lime I don't think you will find anything better for general timber than bass or obeche.

Will be interesting once you start assembly.

What Type of Wood to Use?

Some more 1/8" x 1/4" strip (3.2mm x 6.5mm in metric) needs to be ordered as my stocks are running low.

I usually allow 20 of these strips per new build to cover all the stringers, deck edging etc.....and hopefully leave a couple of spares for repairs and future projects.

Traditionally , I have always bought obechie strips for this - probably because that was always the type of wood that was always included in my early Aerokits kits, but I do see more choices available these days and wonder of anyone has any thoughts to offer?

Chris has specified bass wood for use as the stringers on his plan for the Sprite Plus so I would appreciate any helpful inputs from anyone who can advise the different "qualities" of each type of wood as maybe obechie is no longer the best option?

Bob.

When Chris drew-up the plans for the Sprite Plus he specified 3mm cabin sides, so my "underweight" cabin sides at 3.5mm are still a little thicker than the original intended size, so I am not going to re-cut them in 4mm as I had originally planned.

The Hegnar jigsaw was dusted off last night and used to cut out the cabin windows and the centre void of Frame 3, so I can start to look at assembling the bulkheads and cabin sides next after I have cleaned them up.

I saved up any spare cash that I could find for many years to buy my orange coloured Hegnar Jigsaw. I remember seeing the adverts for them when I was still at school, and so it was a schoolboy dream to own one after years of cutting out my model aircraft parts with Xacto craft knives !

The Hegnar Jigsaw cuts surgically accurately and has very (very) fine thin blades, but it is a slow process compared to the bandsaw and I have yet to fully master the timing to prepare and move the wood quickly enough to always stay on the line when cutting a tight curve!

I had a basic jigsaw before this Hegnar and the blades on it were much wider and a lot easier to guide and keep on the cut line. I suppose it's a bit like comparing driving my regular car with an F1 car - one is very user friendly and the other is really sensitive?

I really must make the time to practice using the Hegnar jigsaw as it is clearly a very good machine that has great potential and cuts very cleanly ....but for now, and with some minor adjustments with a fine file the cut-outs look OK...🙄

Bob.

Hi Bob

Nothibg wrong with "Bodging" think you are right past masters have always worked with what they have and let their skills fill the gap. This much undervalued skill I think is one of the biggest problems with people today.

Regards

Adam
Proud to be called. "bodger" 👍👍

Bodging.

As a matter of interest, I thought I would just check to see if I had any imperial weight sizes of birch plywood left from the 1960's.....and I don't.

I checked again the size of this sheet of wood that I used to cut the Sprite Plus cabin sides from, and it is 3.5mm thick.

The other sheets that were stacked on top of it and underneath it are 4.0mm, and were probably bought from the same supplier, and at the same time as this one.

I also checked the conversion from 3.5mm to imperial fractions of an inch and it is 9/64".... an unlikely size for a plywood sheet seller to stock, so I think I was just unlucky and this particular sheet of 4mm birch plywood was a little under-weight.
.
There must be a reasonable tolerance for the plywood manufacturer to have and 0.5mm is only around 1/64". so I think I will just get on and use the cabin sides that I have cut from it and make any minor adjustments that are needed to the fit as I go.

Some of the most skilled wood "craftsmen" from many years ago were called 'Bodgers" and they would work with whatever materials they had to hand (seldom with uniform sizes of wood) to produce something serviceable, and so in the best tradition of a Bodger, I will work with this slightly under-sized plywood and hope that I don't "Bodge it up" .......in the more recent meaning of this classic term...........🤓

Bob.

When is 4mm not 4mm?

A pair of cabin sides was drawn and cut out on the bandsaw last night, but when I checked the interlock fit I found that the slots that I had just enlarged were a looser fit than they should be.

I stack my plywood sheets in 12" x 48" lengths (some in 12" x 36" lengths) on shelves that I made for the purpose years ago to keep them stored flat and warp free, and I have a separate shelves for 3mm, 4mm and plywood skins with heaver weight wood underneath and on top of them to help keep them nice and flat.

My stock has been dwindling over the years and I am overdue for a new wood purchase, but I have not had any 3mm plywood for some time, but I do have some sheets of 4mm left.

The "4mm" sheet that I had pulled off of the shelf was under-weight! It actually measured 3.5mm - a size that I didn't know existed!

I was a bit annoyed with myself for not checking this before I cut it, but I keep all of my 4mm wood on one shelf that only has this size stacked on it....but I will double check next time!

My few remaining sheets of 4mm do actually measure 4mm so I was unlucky when I chose` this one. I am not sure about dumping these cabin sides and cutting a new pair - or just carry on and work with what I have.

I will go out and take anther look at it later and decide what to do. Packing the slots to make a tight fit is not really a problem (and invisible when the boat is finished) - just a bit annoying!

Bob.

All of the bulkheads (Formers 3 - 8 plus the transom) made have been cleaned-up and fitted to the hull (not glued yet).

The slots (and cut-outs) to fit the 3mm cabin sides are being opened-out to accept 4mm cabin sides.

........if I realised that I had no 3mm ply for this job, I would have drawn them wider before I cut the formers out!

Not to worry, all the bulkheads fitted tightly into the keel between the doublers (no slop) and look aligned OK when checked with an engineers square......but we all know that means "didly sqaut" until the cabin sides are fitted into place to complete the interlock!

I opened up the prop-shaft slot with a rough-cut round file. It has a very rough cut that I believe is called a "bastard cut" (genuine terminology). I only needed to rock it left and right as I pushed it into the keel slot and it cut it away quite easily......wish I had one years ago !!!!

This round file also left a really nice rough ridged internal finish when used this way - perfect for the 24 hour Araldite to bond into and hold the new propeller shaft securely👍

Just going out to the workshop (shed) now to make sure I really do have some 4mm plywood long enough to cut the cabin sides out of................

Bob.

When you started to draw the plans for the bigger sized Sprite you had a lift-off superstructure in mind so the plans allow it to be built either way - which is a good idea.

Everything is looking OK so far.

The top line of the cabin side could have a slight change in the rake if it peaks at the top of Former 5, but it looks OK as it is, so I may choose to leave it.

All of the bulkheads were cut out on the bandsaw last night, it took about an hour with more time being spent working out the best entry and exit routes for the saw blade that actually cutting the wood!

I have not cut the middle out of Frame 3 on my fretsaw yet, but I did (briefly) consider slicing it along the datum line so that it could be more easily cut out in two halves (top and bottom) on the bandsaw (or by hand) with anyone who did not have a fret saw.

This option would be glued back together again afterwards with a small ply skin support plate bonded onto the front facing side (each side) where it would probably not be seen in any case as it would be hidden in the void.

Bob.

Coming along nicely Bob. Yeah, I had brain fade with the rear cabin wall and frame - I'm so used to designing for lift-off superstructures! I'm modifying it for the outboard version where I've returned to a fixed superstructure. Hopefully the rest of the build goes to plan though with any necessary tweaks.

These are the remaining bulkheads (and the transom) that need to be cut to add to Frame 1 and Frame 2 that are already fitted to the keel.

Frame 5 and the rear cabin wall drawings have been combined as this Sprite Plus is being built with an integrated cabin and not a variant with lift-off superstructure so it does not need a separate cabin wall.

Frame 6 has been modified since this picture was taken as it needs to straddle the combined thickness of the 6mm keel and the two 6mm doublers as I incorrectly failed to notice this when I was cutting the templates.

This gives a total of 8 bulkheads (including the transom). All bulkheads will be cut from 4mm birch plywood.

Bob.

It will only be used for "invited" pushing and genuine rescue work Chris - but hopefully it will be used a lot more often for pleasure driving!

Making the bulkhead templates and transferring them onto 4mm birch plywood comes next.

Bob.

Whoa betide any boat that gets in the way of Super Sprite! 😀

Look what I found in my workshop(shed) this morning !

I have been using-up my supply of old glues and the JP aliphatic still works OK, but it really does leave quite a dirty yellow stain.

Although I used to use this glue quite a lot in the past, I don't remember it being quite this dark a colour, but I don't have much left before I start on the next opened bottle of PVA that I used when building my Kopy Kommander.

Luckily the areas that I am using this glue in will either be hidden or out of sight when the boat is finished.

As you can see, I have not cut-out the bulkhead (Frame 2) as it is so close to the blunt nose ( Frame 1) and given one of the boats intended uses (recovery) I may even add a couple of additional braces in this area between these two Frames to further reinforce the blunt nose as it will become the mount for the "pusher plate" when I get around to adding one at a later date.

One of the two 4mm brace's that I cut to fit on either side of the 4mm flat bow former can be seen in the bottom left of the picture. These will be fitted next before I make the templates for all the other bulkheads (Frames) and transom.

These are a lot of bulkheads (Frames) in this fairly short 30" long boat (8 including the transom), so this is going to be one very strong and twist free little boat.

Bob.

Looking good Bob. You mentioned the thickness of the keel at 6mm earlier. I use that thickness, and for doublers even with my smaller builds, because and especially for M5 prop shafts, it leaves plenty of meat on each side once it has been channeled out/drilled.

Also it gives plenty of gluing area for the hull skins. Because of the low height of the keel it doesn't add much weight and it is low down anyway which is good. Sanding the total of 18mm is hard work though and gives my PermaGrit blocks a hard time which is why I had to buy another!

I have used the drawings provided by Chris to make my card (cereal packet) templates using small pieces of masking tape to hold them onto the cardboard as I cut them out.

The second pictures shows the "cut lines" that I added to the plywood that I used when I cut them out on my bandsaw.

All the 6mm doublers are now cut and fitted to the keel.

Bob.

In-between knocking-up a simple "orange box" stand for the LesRo Sportsman this afternoon, I have just drawn all the other doublers onto some 6mm plywood.

I will add the "cut lines" that I will be using to get the best access for the bandsaw and get them cut out and fitted onto the keel.

When I was sorting-out some scrap ply and soft wood off-cuts to make the basic stand for the Sportsman, I have put some aside ready to make one for the Sprite Plus so that it will be ready to use once I get the bottom skins fitted.

........but the next job will be to make the templates for the bulkheads and then find some 4mm birch ply to cut them from.

Bob.

Hi Chris,

You drew the plans for this Sprite Plus with a 6mm keel.

I think I may cut all the doublers from 6mm ply as well - including those at the front of the boat to make sure that this is one tough chunky little boat that can be used as a pusher tug when needed with no doubts about its strength.

After I cut the keel, I sliced out the prop shaft slot and carefully assembled the 6mm doublers around it, making sure that the keel at that point remanned nice and flat.

The idea worked a treat, so I sliced the keel again further back to open the slot for the rudder and repeated securing the two sections of the keel between the rearmost 6mm doublers leaving the opening clear for the rudder housing.

If I make another Sprite Plus, I would not cut the keel out in one piece again, I would cut it in the three sections I have just mentioned.

It would save a lot of wood, and be much easier to cut out on a bandsaw.

As a matter of interest - the keel on the Sea Commander is only 4mm,,,,,,

Bob.

All good stuff Bob. Great minds think alike! I think the builds were always going to morph as we went along! What works on a smaller model often doesn't on a larger one.

Didn't want to go too mad with e.g. having curved cabin sides etc. as I think it is nice to keep largely to the original design and to keep the build simple and so that folks can recognise the heritage (even though the Sprite is quite rare) rather than it being a completely new model. Using angles does that.

I don't know why I separated Bulkhead 5 and the cabin wall - well I do, I was thinking about my usual lift-off superstructure! Of course now I'm using a fixed superstructure again so it will be in one piece like yours.

Thanks Chris, that looks interesting.

I had already decided to make a “change of direction” in the cabin sides to follow the line of the deck edge at bulkhead 5 and will modify bulkheads 6,7 and 8 accordingly to fit.

A partial saw cut in the cabin sides at this point (ala Rapier) will help to give a positive direction change.

Bulkhead 5 will also be extended to the cabin top and replace the false rear cabin wall that would be needed for a “lift-off” superstructure.

My build will have a fully integrated construction with only the cabin roof and the rear deck well being removable for access.

I will add a curvature to the top of bulkhead 5 to align with the roof formers that I will add to the cabin roof base to give a nice shape to the lift-out cabin roof plug.

At the same time I may add a little rake to the front of the cabin sides before making the two halves of the front cabin windows to fit.

This is going to be quite a “chunky” little model.

I may make bulkhead 1 even thicker and sink a pair of M5 captive inserts into it so I can screw on an optional “pusher platform” to alternate with the standard blunt front, but I will decide this “at the time”.

Your drawings has certainly given us some things to think about and may well spawn several different “off-spring” variants.

Bob.

Here you go.

This project is going the same way as the Stiletto/Rapier one! That started as just drawing up the frames and ended up as a bigger redesign!

With me just mentioning the parallel sides I was working on the frames and the cabin/cockpit sides started to grate on me. 😮

So, I've angled them, just a bit to follow the shape of the deck edge, but still straight pieces to keep things simple to echo the original design. Similar to the Stiletto/Rapier project. Now I've thought about it there's no going back! 😁

I'll draw it up a bit more and you can see what you think.

To a large extent, yes Bob. I say that as I repositioned the last frame before the transom as one was required in front of the well and I respaced the other frames accordingly as far as the rear of the cabin.

But it will be easy enough to add that in as an extra frame in your build method or even use my spacing and alter the frames accordingly. Because of the parallel design of the superstructure the only thing that changes is the beam so it's not a biggie and I'm about to do it again now for my frames to suit my fixed superstructure, albeit it off a flat deck.

Will your outboard motor mods only affect the keel shape at the rear of the boat Chris?

I realise that it will have no rudder stand or prop shaft slot, but is it otherwise the same?


Bob.

Going to be a bit of a wait for the outboard, 2 to 3 weeks, so I will get the prop that I forgot to order at the same time.

In the meantime I will finish the drawings except for finalising the dimensions at the stern.

Suits me really as whilst I'm tempted to start building I can continue with my Faun and other builds.