Antipodean Boats Connection

[Phil Y]

It's about like watching paint dry, but some good info.

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[brucemoffatt]

A friend who has built wrc racing sculls in NSW uses and swears by peel ply. I've never used it but I'm assured that my scull would have had a far better interior glassing outcome weight wise had I used it.


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[brucemoffatt]

I got a little bit of helping in with Phil on Balia again today. It sure is coming along really well. It's great to see Balia getting a good spruce up.

I've got my fingers crossed that a couple who have been interested in Arawana for a little while might bite the bullet. They are going to be in Adelaide next week. Fingers crossed for me please that she goes to a new loving owner or two. She saved me, and she deserves a bright future that she can't have with me as her custodian.

[Phil Y]

Much progress today, although by the time we finished it was clearly time to finish. The day started with cleaning up the lazarette and then gluing the first layer of ply on the aft deck. Then I cut out the next layer for the aft deck. Then I realised it would be great to have Bruce helping again to glue down those sheets plus one up the front which I had prepared earlier. Bruce responded to my cry for help and away we went. Halfway through I started to worry a bit about my reserves of epoxy resin and gluing thickener. We carried on and just as we got the final stages everything started to give up. First the rechargeable drill ran out of charge. Then the 240 volt saw Bruce was using to trim a final bit failed to do its thing. I had to give the blade a little hand spin to get it going after that. We ran out of resin, hardner and gluing powder pretty much simultaneously and used the last stainless screw screwing down the last bit of deck ply. Whew! Time to go home. Now tell me about Jim.

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[WX]

I got a little bit of helping in with Phil on Balia again today. It sure is coming along really well. It's great to see Balia getting a good spruce up.

I've got my fingers crossed that a couple who have been interested in Arawana for a little while might bite the bullet. They are going to be in Adelaide next week. Fingers crossed for me please that she goes to a new loving owner or two. She saved me, and she deserves a bright future that she can't have with me as her custodian.

Plus toes crossed, good luck.

[WX]

Peter had the right outfit today it was and I know I have been using this word a bit lately but it was seriously hot. I could have cooked a roast in the car.

[Phil Y]

Pffft. Try 48C.

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[WX]

Pffft. Try 48C.

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Yeah but at least it's dry heat...48C is bloody hot but what we are having with high humidity is no picnic.

[WX]

Looking very much like rain but it’s not here yet. I would love to see the new tank filled.

[PeterSibley]

FIrst sail.jpg

Wit my very tall friend Nic standing tall.

[BrianW]

FIrst sail.jpg

Wit my very tall friend Nic standing tall.

Jim is gorgeous! Can you call a boy boat gorgeous? I’ve seen the pictures on the other threads too. Congrats on building such a fine vessel! Wish I were a bit closer to see it in person, I’m down in Armidale with the helicopter right now.

[skuthorp]

From the news here Brian it sounds like you are busy.
After our recent near miss, and it could have been much much worse if it had gotten away, I feel for those now under threat .

[BrianW]

I heard some homes were lost in the fire we are on, before we got here yesterday. As much as we like the work, we never want to hear that sort of news, or worse. The helicopter has been flying all day today, since about 10:00am. Haven’t heard how it’s going though. We got a few hours of maintenance to do tonight after it gets back.

They dont have mosquitoes in Australia, right?

[gypsie]

Actually, you don't need to bevel the edge of the block for what you're doing, nor do you need a bearing bit, although it can be a good safety measure (to prevent accidental dig ins.).

This is a guide that used to come with Makita trimmers. I've set it up on a steel tank here as it's the only thing I could find with an obtuse angle:

Attachment 31005

It's easy to make the same thing with a couple of bits of scrap wood, if you don't have this guide. To use it, you simply run the guide flat against your sheer plank. Just make sure the bit is long enough so it doesn't miss the ply edge you're trimming. It's actually pretty easy and you'll get a much better finish than you would with a belt sander. The base of the trimmer doesn't sit flush on the deck but that doesn't matter. You just have to make sure that you get the guide flush with the sheer plank. Obviously the guide has to be set so that the bit is flush with it.

When I did Pipsqueak's deck, I used the trimmer for almost everything! I use it all the time on Masina too. It's a tool that's well worth getting familiar with.

Only use the trimmer to finish the edge - you don't want to be taking more than about 2-3mm at a time, so cut the edge off fairly close with a sabre saw or jigsaw before you run the trimmer along.

Rick

Looks a bit scary to me.
The one thing i liked about the belt sander on the edge is you could take off the top 50mm or so of paint from the sheer plank. When you glassed over the edge you got a firm bond onto timber, instead of just paint.
There was absolutely no transition from deck edge to sheer plank - it all felt like one piece.

[Phil Y]

Mozzies up there will pick you up and carry you away mate.

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[Phil Y]

Looks a bit scary to me.
The one thing i liked about the belt sander on the edge is you could take off the top 50mm or so of paint from the sheer plank. When you glassed over the edge you got a firm bond onto timber, instead of just paint.
There was absolutely no transition from deck edge to sheer plank - it all felt like one piece.

I have to admit I'm tending towards belt sander.

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[Phil Y]

It seems almost impossible to buy anything boat related in Adelaide. Id kind of like to support some of the local chandlers, but they make it hard. They have minimal, if any, stock. "We can get it in tomorrow, Ill get you a price this afternoon" really means "We might call in a day or two" And the price, when it comes, is kind of like pick a number and double it. And actually it will be here next week, not tommorrow. So, ebay it is. Rick or anyone else, know anything about a company called Trojan Fibreglass in the Newcastle area? Doesnt seem to be any hint of Chinese about them and their prices are about half, maybe 2/3 anything on offer locally

[RFNK]

Well, if you want to sand the sheer plank as you go, then I guess the belt sander is a way to go. Your belt sanders must weigh a lot less than mine though!

Yes, Trojan is a company that a lot of boatbuilders seem to use for bigger projects. You might also consider contacting Marine Ware in Sydney or MW Supplies in Newcastle. http://mwsupplies.com.au/?page_id=91

Rick

[RFNK]

Also CC Distributors https://www.whitepages.com.au/cc-dis...-nsw-10927482B Rob sells epoxy made by ATL (the Australian licensee for West) that's cheaper than West. Mention my name and he''ll double the cost to cover my commission . I like Bote Cote but the West-type resins do seem to wet glass out a little more freely. Whoever you get it from, tell them it's hot where you are!

Rick

[Phil Y]

Thanks Rick, I like Bote Cote too. But might just buy a bunch of stuff from Trojan. Have to rejig the schedule a bit while I wait. Clean up the deck edge and bottom of cabin sides, then start removing port side deck. Then do glassing when material arrives next week sometime, hopefully

[WX]

It seems almost impossible to buy anything boat related in Adelaide. Id kind of like to support some of the local chandlers, but they make it hard. They have minimal, if any, stock. "We can get it in tomorrow, Ill get you a price this afternoon" really means "We might call in a day or two" And the price, when it comes, is kind of like pick a number and double it. And actually it will be here next week, not tommorrow. So, ebay it is. Rick or anyone else, know anything about a company called Trojan Fibreglass in the Newcastle area? Doesnt seem to be any hint of Chinese about them and their prices are about half, maybe 2/3 anything on offer locally

Is Duck Flat still in business?

[Phil Y]

Is Duck Flat still in business?

Yes.

[WX]

Yes.

Not close though I take it?

[BrianW]

Mozzies up there will pick you up and carry you away mate.

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I used some of the 'Bush(something)' spray with real DEET in it. But to be honest, the breeze tonight was enough to keep'em grounded I think.

Just shy of 8 hours flying today, and nearly 60 bucket drops at 3400 liters a bucket. Hope it helped.

[Phil Y]

Not close though I take it?

Yes, they are the closest to me.

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[Phil Y]

I used some of the 'Bush(something)' spray with real DEET in it. But to be honest, the breeze tonight was enough to keep'em grounded I think.

Just shy of 8 hours flying today, and nearly 60 bucket drops at 3400 liters a bucket. Hope it helped.

Busy day. Good job.

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[Alex1N]

According to Boatcraft Pacific, they make a new, clear (as in transparent) BoteCote resin, which I am going to try on my Sooty, having run out of WEST 105/207 and almost out of BoteCote. (I use the BoteCote high-strength glue powder for glueing, and Q-Cells raided from my r/c planes stocks for filler sometimes.) I’ll post here once I’ve tried it on my oregon and plywood stocks.

Alex.

[Phil Y]

The stuff I've ordered from Trojan is 2-1, same as bote cote, so at least I should be able to measure it out OK. Which reminds me of our other failure yesterday, the electronic scales died. Bruce guesstimated the final batch.

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[WX]

I used some of the 'Bush(something)' spray with real DEET in it. But to be honest, the breeze tonight was enough to keep'em grounded I think.

Just shy of 8 hours flying today, and nearly 60 bucket drops at 3400 liters a bucket. Hope it helped.

Where are you working Brian?

[purri]

I think near Tabulam or Tingha. BTW it's Bushman's and they do a tropical strength,

[RFNK]

According to Boatcraft Pacific, they make a new, clear (as in transparent) BoteCote resin, which I am going to try on my Sooty, having run out of WEST 105/207 and almost out of BoteCote. (I use the BoteCote high-strength glue powder for glueing, and Q-Cells raided from my r/c planes stocks for filler sometimes.) I’ll post here once I’ve tried it on my oregon and plywood stocks.

Alex.

It's what I've been using lately. Seems a bit thinner than the whitish stuff but that might just be the time of year. Otherwise, I can't tell any difference.

Rick

[Phil Y]

My interpretation of Gary's deck marking tool below. Works well. But then it can be hard to actually see the line when using a reciprocating saw. Cleaned up with the belt sander. Rick's method would probably do a better job but I'm happy and comfortable using what I'm comfortable using. Not too sure how to sand the back edge. Nothing to stand on. I guess I'll have to make like monkey and do it from the deck. My cutting angle was a bitt off on the transom, so some filler will be called for. Cest la vie.

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[WX]

My interpretation of Gary's deck marking tool below. Works well. But then it can be hard to actually see the line when using a reciprocating saw. Cleaned up with the belt sander. Rick's method would probably do a better job but I'm happy and comfortable using what I'm comfortable using. Not too sure how to sand the back edge. Nothing to stand on. I guess I'll have to make like monkey and do it from the deck. My cutting angle was a bitt off on the transom, so some filler will be called for. Cest la vie.

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That’s it, albeit slightly flasher than I used.

[Phil Y]

Well that took all of 20 minutes. Back end plus the port side of the aft deck done. I now plan to start removing the port deck teak, and see what lies under there. Until supplies arrive from Australia. You know, the Eastern States.

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[WX]

When I lived in WA the Eastern States started at the WA border.