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Boat lifting eyes

Boat lifting eyes As has been said by others the boat lifting eyes are a small detail but an important one, somehow when detailing gets in your head its difficult not to seek it out. Anyway, there are six eyes three on each side, which I presume, are for lifting the boat out of the water, unfortunately there isn’t any detail on size so it’s down to “builders eye”. I made the six in a batch, that’s to say I first made six identical pieces 10.5mm x 20.5mm x 2mm thick and drilled the hole in each then the six pieces fastened together with an M4 screw and then machined together to ensure uniformity and ease of production. I then skimmed them to final size 10 x 20 followed by milling the concave and convex radii on the top. I intend to sink the eye into the deck and secure using a brass pin sideways into the stringers and epoxied into position. To ease fitting I made a small jig, which will allow a 2mm slot to be cut in the exact position on the deck along with a drilled hole at 90 degrees. Two small grub screws fasten the jig to the gunwale stringers while the slot and holes are machined. After all the slots had been prepared I then made all the foot rails that run along the edge of the deck from bow to stern, the first set I used the obeche supplied in the kit, however as they are in a place that could get knocked I decided to rework then in walnut. Finally I pre drilled all the foot rails ready for temporary pinning. Having all the components ready it is time to assemble with epoxy resin, using sparingly and making sure not to get any on the visible part of the brass lifting eyes and using pins to hold in position while curing. PS sorry about some of the picture quality but I didn't check them until after assembly

6 years ago by mturpin013

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Gina 2: A Messy Business - Hull Restoration

First five pics show 'square one'. 😲 Dave_M reckoned she'd been plastered not painted.😁 Before attempting to strip the hull I figured I had better stabilise it so it wouldn't fall apart when I removed about 1mm of ancient paint. So I applied a couple of layers of resin and FG tissue inside. Pic 6. Not so easy between those somewhat rustically built bulkheads! They weren't even shaped so that the planking fitted properly! Sanding was obviously out of the question so out came the heat gun. On medium heat (ca 300°C) about four layers of paint started to bubble up and fly off, gently persuaded with a not too sharp 3/4" wood chisel. Pics 7 to 10 show the results; almost more filler than wood and Horrors! Upper Stern / made from a chunk of thick cardboard cut from a 3M sticky tape reel 😡 This was promptly replaced with a carved chunk of hard balsa. Pic 11. I will later add a mahogany step deck on top of the block, and a mahogany cap rail to finish off the hull. Last two pics show current status after filling, sanding and applying a coat of EzeKote to the outside. Shame the woodwork was so bad, she might have looked quite nice with the wood cleaned up and varnished 🤔 In between these jobs I also stripped and EzeKoted and primer/filled the hull of the PTB I'm renovating as well. Saves getting the same tools and materials out twice😉 But that's another B....log! As Bamber Gascoigne (What a moniker😁) used to say "I've started - so I'll finish"!! Oops! Forgot the last pics🤔 Last three are today's status 😁

6 years ago by RNinMunich

Blog

Chine rubbing strakes

As the hull glass matting is really dry and has had some minor filling done it’s time to fit the chine rubbing strakes. which have been in the jig now for some days and consisted of a two dimensional curvature jig. in order to make sure the strakes were equally balanced on each side I made a cardboard template that followed the Chine stringers line and rested on the rubbing strakes, having drawn a line on the port side I flipped the template over and drew a line on the starboard side giving a perfectly equal curve on each side So now to prepare them for fitting. The jig had made a curve that was a really good fit without much spring. I decided to use some very small brass pins (0.5dia x 10mm long) to hold them whilst the epoxy sets. I pre drilled the whole length of the strake and lightly inserted pins along its length, then applied the epoxy and started to fix from the bow and followed the pencil line back to the stern. This was repeated on the other side, when set there was some minor filling to be done/filling pin holes.

6 years ago by mturpin013

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Glassing the deck

Since I had been finishing the rubbing strakes and had the boat right side up and I was going on holiday for a few days I decide to glass the deck this would give the deck time to set. So some fine filling and then cut the matting to shape. Again I put a light coat of resin onto the deck then allowed the matting to sink into the resin, a minimal amount of brushing is required and then its left to harden overnight. The resin is now sufficiently hardened after two days so before I go away I can apply another light coat of resin which fills the matting pattern very easily - a week away now will allow the resin to harden fully.

6 years ago by mturpin013

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rubbing strakes

rubbing strakes As these pieces will be under stress they need to be steamed into shape prior to fitting so out with the wallpaper stripper and modified tube (1/4 BSP fitting in the bottom of an old piece of IKEA cloths rail).For the strakes I used the same former as I used for the stringers so 20 mins in the steamer then into the jig for 2 days drying. The chine rubbing strakes will need a different jig but this time a left and right hand version as not only do they bend round but also up at the bow. I was however disappointed with the quality of the 3/16 square obeche as the grain was nearly at 45 degrees to its length – it snapped before I started to bend it, just pushing it into the jig I bought some better pieces from the local model shop. I temporally fitted the rubbing strake slightly proud of the deck level in order to drill all the pin holes then remove and mix up some epoxy, coat the length and hook into the brass bow and start tapping in the pins along the length of the boat, repeat on the port side. Chine rubbing strakes are still in the jig!

6 years ago by mturpin013

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Trimming the stringers

Before fitting the skins the chine and stringers have to be trimmed to the profile of the bulkheads, this is a time consuming job but is essential to get correct to ensure a good fit of the skins. Also final trimming of the bow k1,2,3 needs to be done now that they are fitted and “a virtual line can be drawn” to show where the skin will eventually sit flush. Using a red pencil to show how close to each bulkhead you have trimmed is a good guide’

6 years ago by mturpin013

Response

2nd stringers

Thanks Dave you beat me to it

6 years ago by mturpin013

Response

2nd stringers

Ron It'a a 46" model so the wood is the correct size. You have asked about clamps in your post and there are plenty of examples in this blog, you should subscribe to follow progress. The kits by Vintage Models have been around fore a few years and make into a nice model if built carefully as in this model.

6 years ago by Dave M

Response

2nd stringers

Is this a kit, using kit wood? The parts look like they will add too much weight. Am I correct?

6 years ago by Ronald

Response

1st stringers

This boat looks like it will be very heavy using those plywood bulkheads.

6 years ago by Ronald

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Chine stringers

Chine stringers Again first job is to trim all the bulkhead corners so the stringers sit flat against each bulkhead. We can then start to trial fit each side to see what sort of curvature we need. This time I needed a tighter curve (2.5 litre paint tin) so again using a scrap piece chip board I made another jig. The stringers are fitted in the same sequence as the stringers that is the first pair are trial pinned, then epoxied and fully pinned. When fully set the second pair can be fitted but this time using clamps only, no pins, to allow for trimming at a later stage. Then allow some time for it to set and check that all this tension in both sets of stringers hasn't caused any twisting or misalignment.

6 years ago by mturpin013

Blog

2nd stringers

Now for the more difficult stringer, this one has already been steamed and set in the jig. The outer stringer has to be put on using glue only and clamps, so no nails at all since it has to shaped to the profile of the bulkheads over its entire length hopefully using a jack plane (which don’t like nails). Clamps at the ready and glue in hand and away we go,

6 years ago by mturpin013

Response

1st stringers

Hi Michael. Good idea with the jigs, it certainly minimises the possibility of snapping the stringers while they 'set'. Rob.

6 years ago by robbob

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1st stringers

First job is to trim all the bulkhead corners so the stringers sit flat against each bulkhead. We can then start to trial fit each side to see what sort of curvature will be needed to steam the stringers prior to final fitting. I decide to make a jig for the stringers to “set” after steaming, I made this jig to accommodate all 4 stringers creating the same curvature, as the minor differences in curve will be flattened out during the clamping process. I used a domestic wallpaper steamer/striper and a piece of 4” plastic drain pipe blocked at both ends with a piece of cloth and steamed for about 20 minutes. The 4 stringers were then placed in the jig and locked into place with wedges and clamps. These were then left for a couple of days to thoroughly dry out After steaming and setting, the stringers were dry pinned to the breast hook on both sides with brass pins, then followed back to the stern drilling and pinning to each stringer to the bulkheads as I went back. Being satisfied with the fit I now removed all the pins and started again from the front and epoxied and pinned each bulkhead on both sides.

6 years ago by mturpin013

Blog

Chine strakes

The chine strakes are made from 3/16 x 3/16 obechi and also need a very thorough steaming to get them into the correct shape. As with strakes these also need to be bent in two different planes, the first being the curve of the bow and the second is the rise and fall in angles required to follow the line of the chine stringers. Pre-drilling these strips prior to glueing with epoxy and pinning is very important as the wood is very thin and would very easily split if not done, remembering that the wood is already under stress because of the bending process 😰 Fortunately this also went well without any disasters, and after a bit of filling and rubbing down I'm finally able to apply the last two coats of resin to give the hull it's final surface 😀

8 years ago by robbob

Blog

strakes

Now that the hull has been skinned in fibreglass and given it's first rub down the next process is to fit the rubbing strakes The strakes are made from strips of 3/8 x 3/16 obechi and they need to be bent and formed to follow the curvature of the bow, so it's out with the wallpaper steamer and steaming tube again! I steamed the strips very thoroughly to get them as flexible as possible because they need to be bent in two planes, the first is the curve of the bow and the second is the change of angle, in effect a 'twist' where the side skin angle changes. I dry fitted the strakes and clamped them in place to conform to the hull shape and pre-drilled holes for the fixing pins. After the wood cooled and dried it was possible to remove the temporary clamps and pins and happily the strake kept it's shape so that the final epoxy glueing and pinning should not involve stressing the wood to much further degree. The strakes were fixed with the upper edge slightly proud of the deck so that once planed down they will be flush with the deck. A little bit of filler was needed to fill the gap between the lower edge of the strake and the hull and in the pin holes left after the pins were punched into the strakes. I repeated the process for the other side and felt quite pleased and relieved that it went so well, and without anything snapping 😁 Another piece is fitted on the transom and this only has a gentle curve and is a breeze to fit compared to the other parts ! Now onto the Chine rubbing strakes.

8 years ago by robbob

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Fibreglassing the hull side skins & transom.

The fibreglassing process is turning out to be a great deal easier than I anticipated, the cloth weave allows it to conform to the hull shape without any creasing, and the resin brushes on very easily and has no unpleasant smell at all. I had read other build blogs where the resin was described as having an unpleasant smell and was difficult to work with, perhaps that's because this is epoxy rather than polyester? In retrospect I could have ordered an alternative resin kit from the supplier where two bottles of hardener are supplied, one slow (95 min pot life) and one fast (17min pot life), because as my confidence increased I could probably do an application with the fast hardener in the shorter time and thus curing time would also be correspondingly quicker. The transom is the last face to do and once that had cured I could then give the complete hull it's first rub down before I shape and fix the and the chine rubbing strakes. Once these are on I can apply the two further resin coats to get the final finish.

8 years ago by robbob

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Fitting the side skins.

The temporary pins holding the bottom skins on the bow chine former are removed and the bottom skin is very carefully cut back to reveal the upper half of the chine former back to bulkhead B1 as the side skin needs to butt against the bottom skin at this point, the remainder of the side skin overlaps the bottom skin all the way back to the transom. The side skin is then temporarily clamped in position and carefully measured and marked for trimming to abut the bottom skin on the chine former. I can't afford to make a mess of this so I measure three times and cut once !. Once I'm happy with the fit the skin is steamed and formed to the correct curvature. The fixing process is the same as with the bottom skins with pins into the bulkheads and the chine former but clamping only to the stringers, no pins were used to fix to the chine stringers, the aliphatic glue provides a very strong bond and the joint will later be strengthened when the chine rubbing strakes are fitted.

8 years ago by robbob

Response

stringers.

I live in Darenth on the edge of Dartford, its a bit of a trip but its a great pond. I could go out to Maidstone as well, that's a good pond and if you want to use ic then its a Saturday job for those. St Albans or Stevenage is a fair old run from you.

8 years ago by BOATSHED

Response

stringers.

Hi Boatshed. I'm actually in north west London, Mill Hill/Hendon and there are no local boating lakes remaining. The nearest may well be St.Albans or Stevenage, also there are no model clubs or societies that I am aware of in my area which is a shame as a club membership and the resulting breadth of knowledge and experience would be very welcome. Also, Clapham is 'sarf' london and there be demons! No disrespect to south London members. 😀 Robbob

8 years ago by robbob

Response

stringers.

Hi just seen your reply, I clicked on your name robbob and it came up you are in London, I don't know where about's in London you are but if there is a great pond on Clapham Common, its called Clapham Common Long Pond. its a good pond I used to go there quite a lot, will proably start again come next spring. Hope this helps.

8 years ago by BOATSHED

Response

stringers.

Hi Boatshed. Yes it's an outrunner. If heat build-up is a problem I have already considered a water cooled mount as a retrofit option. I won't really find out how she runs until her maiden voyage, assuming I can find somewhere reasonably near me 💭 . Rob.

8 years ago by robbob

Response

stringers.

Hi again I have just looked up this motor, Turnigy SK3 4250 and on Hobbyking's site it states its on outrunner, how ill you cool it as surely it will get hot running at speed ?? With a Vosper hull you have to run it fast to get the enjoyment from it as they look so good planning at high speed.

8 years ago by BOATSHED

Response

stringers.

Hi Dave. Yes, sorry, my typo. The battery packs are 9.6v at 5000mAh, so the correct figures for the packs in series are 18.2v at 5 amps. I will correct my profile entry 🔨 I do have a wattmeter in the wiring loom but as the boat has not even been in the test tank (bath) yet I have not been able to measure current under load. I can very easily re-configure the battery set-up to parallel to give me 9.6v at 10A to give me a lower 4800 rpm as an experiment but I will try it as it stands first. At this moment in time I have just put the second coat of red oxide on the lower hull so at the current rate of progress I don't see it getting it's maiden voyage until the spring of 2017. in fact I still need to find somewhere local(ish) to run it and if anyone has any suggestions? I'm in NW London. Rob.

8 years ago by robbob

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Chine stringers.

The chine stringers are steamed and formed in the same manner as the stringer, they are also laminated with the first set into a notch in the chine former. The bulkhead B1 needs to be bevelled so that the stringer lies flat in the notch. The stringers were drilled with a pin drill to prevent any splitting and epoxied and pinned to the chine former and bulkheads from fore to aft. The second lamination is done in the same way but this is glued and clamped with very few pins so that the stringer can be shaped to the bulkhead profile with no pins in the way, any pins used were punched into the lamination. Next I fitted the deck stringers that go between the bulkheads and fixed to the cabin sides, these are to support the decks, these are just glued and clamped. All the stringers and keel formers were then planed and sanded to the profile of the bulkheads in preparation for the fitting of the hull skins.

8 years ago by robbob

Response

stringers.

Hi Rob Just read this post and seen your profile details re this model. I believe you may have mis-typed the mAhr figure and think 5000 (5Amp) was your intention. Putting two 5amp batteries in series will double the voltage but the current capacity will remain at 5amp. Putting two batteries in parallel will double the amperage capacity but keep the voltage the same. Using a 500kV brushless at 19.2 volts could result in revs of 9600. Your motor is rated at 57amps with a wattage of 1350. The ESC should be fine but I suspect the batteries may struggle. A Wattmeter would be useful to check the actual current under load. Some pics on the water would be good Dave

8 years ago by Dave M

Response

stringers.

Hi Boatshed. The motor is a Turnigy SK3 4250 controlled by a 90A boat ESC by Hobbyking, batteries are 2 x 9.6v 500mAh in series. This is a recommended combination by Vintage Model Works. incidentally the motor in my original 34" crash tender was a Taycol Supermarine. I would thoroughly recommend a brushless motor and a boat ESC to give you the reversing function. Fortunately there is a wealth of useful information about brushless motors on this site and I'm sure that someone more knowledgeable than me can advise you on the most suitable motor/ESC/battery combination for your boat. Mine has yet to have it's maiden voyage so I can't report on the performance but I'm quite confident that it will be a lot quicker than the one I built all those years ago ! Rob.

8 years ago by robbob

Response

stringers.

Hi, she's looking good, could you tell me what motor and esc are you going to put in her. I have a 46" that I acquired from a friend. I have taken the ic engine out of her and was going to go down the road of putting in a Taycol electric motor but I'm still unsure. All the KV on the new brushless I do not understand, I find it all confusing. I have got a Proboat Miss Geico she goes like a rocket. She has a brushless in her and I use lipo's in her.

8 years ago by BOATSHED

Blog

stringers.

The cabin sides are now glued to the assembly and checked for square and left to dry while I dig out the wallpaper steamer in preparation for steaming the stringers. I have a length of aluminium tubing that is ideal for a steaming tube, one end can be sealed using some duct tape and the length of the tube is sufficient to take the strakes over distance that they need to be formed. The outlet tube of the steamer is long enough to reach outside to prevent condensation inside the workshop and stop my glasses from steaming up too ! About 15 minutes is sufficient to soften the wood and make it very pliable and when ready they are placed in the bench vice and bent to a curvature greater than required so that when they are cold they relax to approximately the right amount. The stringers are actually laminated from two pieces and the inner pieces are fitted first on each side so that the assembly doesn't twist, these are epoxied and pinned into position and lots of clamps used to hold it all together. At all stages the assembly is checked for squareness. The process is repeated for the outer lamination of the stringers, and so far I haven't managed to snap anything or scald myself !

8 years ago by robbob

Response

raf fireboat

I notice that your sides appear flat at the front of the boat, from to chine.. I believe that these usually have a slight curve, is this builders licence? I think there is also a slight curve on the transom sides too?

11 years ago by wombatjames

Media

Aerokits 34'' hull

Bought off ebay, where else! Had been started as a cruiser, with one very small electric motor,then put in a loft for goodness knows how many years.Replaced prop shaft with 2, 40mm r/h and l/h props, 2x 540 motors running through 40a esc.Radio is 27mhz. 2ch. would like to swap to 2ghz to get rid of the unsightly aerial! I am awaiting some plasticard windows to Improve the looks and will slowly add fittings as and when.I tend to sail it every now and again on the boating lake in BUXTON, no-one has shouted as yet,though I'm not sure the swans approve.!: The photo on the water was just as the power was running down, none as yet at speed.It is very manoeverable with the twin rudders,almost on the s at speed.

12 years ago by nimbus42

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New wood

just two quick photo's to let you know its coming together and that I am not just stripping it down then giving up! new formers glued into the superstrucure and a new well-deck under construction (parts just placed in at the minute) well spotted Dave.. the hull is bone dry inside, no sign of it having had a diesel or glo motor at any time. the boat looks pretty straight and true, the hull skins and decks will not need replacing there are no spray rails or s? (the strips that should run round the edge of the deck) fitted so still loads to do. am trying to be sympathetic with the restoration and keep as much of the original boat as possible.

15 years ago by dbninja