Building a Nutshell Pram - 9' 6"

[gypsie]

Sanded back the rub strip so the rail and the inside edge of the top sides are flush. I put the rub rail on a few millimeters below the strake so i could have something to sand off. some points where i needed a little filler to cover a crack, but by and large it was pretty good.

Rubrail sanded.jpg

Bit trickier where the transom, topsides and rub rail meet. How to sculpt that neatly is a puzzle. But I'm happy to leave it like this i think.
I do like it a bit rough, it is clear it hasn't been popped out of a mold.

Rub rail aft sanded.jpg

got out my remaining blue gum for my seats. Realised i need 3 seats, not 2 - the mast needs something to drop into as well
Will have to snoop around and see if i can get a bit of Blue gum the same colour ish.

Stock for seats.jpg

Got out the daggerboard sides.
The plans don't have dimensions for these, except the fore and aft inside dimension. I went with 300mm x 300mm.
My electric plane would only do a 9mm rabbet, for 10mm board. so i took a 1mm rabbet off the outside face of the board too.
Fits nice.

dagger board case one side.jpg dagger board case one side 2.jpg

[gypsie]

I cut the stock for the dagger board truck logs, and milled it down to size before i cut the rabbet.
i was hoping to do the rabbet on my jointer but it wouldn't go deep enough.
I have a very limited table saw, its one of those Triton Mk2's or something. so droping the height of the blad is fraught.

I screwed the log to a piece of scrap, and screwed that to the bench - and used my hand held electric plane.
not fancy but it did the job.

Rabetting the bed logs for dagger board case.jpg

Glued up the seat stock. filling the groove using a syringe of resin.

Syringe of resin.jpg

here they are under the daggerboard case being glued up - prefilleting.

dagger board case glue up sides.jpg

dry fit of the dagger board - with extra long end posts. Instructions say 22" piece required - I failed to twig that they meant it should be cut in half.

dagger board case dry assembly.jpg

Glued and filleted up the daggerboard sides.
Used Micro balloons here, they give a neater and smoother fillet.

dagger board case fillets.jpg

[gypsie]

Here's the worlds most intact mammoth that i brought into work the other day.
Baby Lyuba was 30 days old when she fell into a pit of mud and was preserved for 42,000 years.

Lyuba.jpg

I can hijack my own tread can't I?

[Phil Y]

Nice one Phil Y, i had a double take there for a minute - I though it was my boat

I've planed all me edges back. i'll be beach launching quite a bit, and my boys will be thumping it about too - so I'm going to glass the outside i think.
Plus, i didn't do a great job of my strake edges, so its a way of hiding that.

Nice transom, what did you use?
That centre laminated frame looks like hardwood - is it?

Transoms and centre frame are PNG Rosewood.

[Phil Y]

The mammoth is pretty cool. Try not to get any epoxy on it. Boat is coming along very nicely. We are doing rowing only version, so no centre case. Can always add that later if needs be.

[gypsie]

Using a plum line to get a position on the forward bench cleats.
Center of bench is 27" from the forward face of the center frame.

plum line bench cleats.jpg

Bench cleats in position. screwed in from the outside. I'll keep the screws there after glueing, but i'll keep it all just screwed until everything is finished.

bench cleats aft in place.jpg

cut the aft and center benches.
Aft required a 10 degree cut at the ends, the center bench is a little more than 2 degrees.
I left the face plum, i figured a compound bevel here was unnecessarily complicated - and would only leave a thin feathered edge that could easily break.

10 degree cut for aft bench.jpg 2 degree cut for center bench.jpg

Center and Aft benches in place, with dagger board casing for reference.

center and aft bech seats dry fit.jpg

I miscalculated on my stock for the benches and transoms.
I need a single piece of Blue Gum, 120cm long and 18cm wide - tongue and grooved to finish the forward bench so it is uniform. Its flooring timber.
Hardware shops don't have it!!

Wollongong area - any one know anyone?

[RFNK]

I think you'll struggle to find flooring timber 180mm wide anywhere. You should get seasoned timber as blue gum does distort a fair bit as it dries out. Good timber retailers sell wider boards for beams etc. and they'd typically be happy to mill them down to your specifications. I don't know anyone in the Wollongong area but Anagote at Annandale would be able to supply and mill for you.

Rick

[Phil Y]

Looking good. Ours has stalled a bit. Written school project has been completed and submitted.

[gypsie]

I think you'll struggle to find flooring timber 180mm wide anywhere. You should get seasoned timber as blue gum does distort a fair bit as it dries out. Good timber retailers sell wider boards for beams etc. and they'd typically be happy to mill them down to your specifications. I don't know anyone in the Wollongong area but Anagote at Annandale would be able to supply and mill for you.

Rick

Thanks Rick, I can check that out.
Cheers
T

[gypsie]

She's a bit like a big scoop isn't she.
I mean, when she goes over, she'll be pretty full.......

It'd be a shame to strap inflated bags under the seats.....

(just looking at Zuri's Shellback and those yummy built in buoyancy tanks)

False floor with expanded foam.....
Forward sealed compartment......

Anyone have experience capsizing a nutshell when built without such modifications?

[gypsie]

Bugger - it is not a matter of urgency.

I was borrowing a tinny from a relative to get out to me boat.
Some ****** ran into it and ripped the hull open. Man i am really pi$$ed off about it.

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now i am back to using the little rubber dinghy which really is on its last legs.
So need to finish the Nutshell quickly.

Had small conversation with my elder son about not having a sail boat, just finishing it as a tender.
He nodded but i could see he was disappointed. So a sail boat it will remain.

glued up the dagger board case.

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let it dry, buttered on some thickened epoxy on the forward and aft face and sanded down to smooth even surface.

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the top of the case here where the surface is no even will be cut down. the case as built is about 15cm too high.

Drilled a hole in my boat!

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And made it bigger!!
(next post)

[gypsie]

Made it bigger take 2

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slotted in for testing, scribbed in the rocker and shaved it down.

Hint - don't forget to mark which end is fore and aft......

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set the thwart in place as described in the manual and marked off the cutting line at the top of the case.
ran it steadily through the bandsaw and went at it with the belt sander.
radiused the edges with a 0.5cm radius cutter.

Glued it down and put 6 screws into it from underneath.

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in my haste i glued a little piece on the forward side of the case to cover the slot. should have cut up a piece the same dimensions as the truck logs. but its okay.

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Notched in the thwart

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[gypsie]

Thwart fits in nicely

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cut out a piece for the mast step from a 2x4 piece of DF.
began fitting it slowly and surely. many cuts, but all in the first piece of stock.

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pretty happy with the fit.
Took its position from a pretend seat at that point. i don't have the stock for the forward seat yet, but i'll probably make up a temporary one from 19mm ply.
backwards i know.

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emptied the boat, vacuumed it out.
glued down the maststep - no screws.
the whole boat got 2 layers of epoxy rolled on with a mohair roller.

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working quickly one rushes some things.
one mistake i will live with for the life of this boat - i drilled the hole for the painter before i covered the boat in epoxy. just went at it with a 10mm bit.
now its slightly to starboard.
i will look at that for the coming years and grrrrbr />
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[gypsie]

Busy weekend, night night

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[Phil Y]

Those thwarts look great. And of course the towing eye is just that little bit offset so that when towing her off your port quarter she will ride perfectly on the mother ships wake. Subtle, but perfect.

[gypsie]

Masked it up for painting the inside

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the masking did not work, it wouldn't stick to the epoxy on the transoms. i got much better results with a wet edge on a loaded brush.

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another couple of coats of white gloss on the inside.

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took her outside for flipping so i could work underneath.

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[gypsie]

for my missing piece of blue gum for the forward transom, i mocked up a temporary one with 19mm ply. I'll paint it white and use it as a template for when i do get my required timber.
mocked in the mast with a piece of dowel.

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Pretty vertical

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Even if you can't tell. I've noticed the images don't rotate as per the phone camera. apologies if that's annoying.
I thought that process of finding the right angle of rake and vertical laft right would be tricky. but i just trusted my eye and went for it.

Got her flipped and stuck into underneath.

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gave her a coat of epoxy and tried the glass on for size.

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[gypsie]

Covered her in glass and glued it on.

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mulled over a design for the rudder. i want it to kick up. i think fighting a dagger board and a fixed rudder in a squall is too much, good to have one of them kick up and the rudder is the handier.

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cut out a couple of boards.
the dagger board looks smaller than i expected (trust the drawing).
the rudder is the same rough dimensions as the drawing, about 300 wide and 450 deep, but the drawing is a more finely shaped unit. my barn door will turn a dutch jacht.

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both these have been glassed on both sides.

[gypsie]

Cut out the skeg.
i didn't happen to have a 1" by 12" and 9ft long board of mahogany in the shed. hard as I tried to search around.
so i did some calculations and worked out the width of the board, took it out of a 100mm wide, 20mm thick piece of quarter sawn Douglas Fir. And sprung it into place.

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those figures, the 111 and 79mm and so on - are the widths of the board.
the figures under them (which i ignored) are the distances from datum, the bottom of the board. If you're confident and you have the stock you can use these to fit a beautifully matching keel. but look at the waste - mahogany must have been cheap and easy to get at some point in the history of man.
I didn't use those and simply sprung the keel on. hopefully it won't rip off the boat when i release my various clamping devices.

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the bottom, the rudder and dagger board will get another coat of epoxy tonight and i'll start painting tomorrow morning.
I'll have her on the water on thursday as a tender - without spars/sails/dagger board etc.. We're planning to spend the week out on Jervis Bay hanging out and need a tender now that our tinny has been totalled.
Then i'll bring her back and finish her off - though there isn't much left to go.
must oil the thwarts...!

[Phil Y]

Oh wow! Nearly there, fantastic.

[Dave Hadfield]

I like the Spanish windlass!

[gypsie]

yes - head down bum up and ran out of long clamps.

I need the tender for Thursday (Tuesday today). I got a second coat of epoxy on the outside glass last night but the weave is still very present.
I'm thinking i might leave her unpainted on the outside until i get it back in the shed in 2 weeks time. Give me a chance to sand and fill that weave before painting the outside.

Sanding epoxied glass - that bloody dust is so irritating. My eyes are still itchy the following day.

[johngsandusky]

Nice work, enjoy the launch.

[Phil Y]

Can't borrow something for Thursday, or crack out the inflatable? Pity to rush the last stages. Either way, good luck. And watch that fresh epoxy dust, apparently it's pretty nasty stuff. Not quite as bad once it's gone off properly, I believe. Still itchy but less dangerous.

[RFNK]

Yes but still a bugger to sand. The best way is to use an epoxy high build primer. I use Jotun Penguard. You put it straight on the curing epoxy and use the chemical bond. Leave it for a day or ten and it sands very easily. Then finish coat. I've only tried one other epoxy primer and it's awful but I'm sure there are other good ones.

Rick

[ulav8r]

Don't sand if there is a good chance you will be sanding the fabric. Put on enough epoxy to fill the weave, then sand to get the desired smoothness but not sand into the glass.

[gypsie]

It appears i didn't get any pictures of the bottom getting painted.
so - here's one i made earlier!

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here's what you do when you get a boat in your front garden - you dress up as a pirate!

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here she is filled up with enough gear for a family for a week on the water.
She's being pushed along really easily by a little electric trolling motor - i even had to slow it down because it was cracking into the chop and spraying me at one point.

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she tows really well - if you have a dagger board infill! in this pick there's a thong doing the work.

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the thong came out at one point and in a chop i had to go over the stern to bail the boat which filled surprisingly quickly.
Also set up a simple solar panel system to keep the battery charged. I'm thinking i will make a removable box that can fit infront of the centre thwart, that will have the panel as its lid. Run power astern somehow.
With battery and motor astern, that aft thwart cannot be used unless there is a person forward. towing with the battery aft also makes her sit up and beg, she slaps a great deal in a chop that way. for towing i just disconnect the battery and move it to the center of the boat.

have little boat with little motor and will have fun,.
Hoi! - just put the bloody life jacket on! it won't kill you! its not uncomfortable, just put it on!

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[Phil Y]

Excellent


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[gypsie]

Back in the shed and components for her life as a sailboat.
Glassed up the dagger board and the rudder. Both painted white.

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trying to work out the rudder case so i can use line to lower and raise - but not make it overly complex.

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I'll leave that channel on the forward edge and run the line for lowering through that - and behind the gudgeons.
to stop it from lowering too much and going under the boat i'll add small blocks to work as stoppers.

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small than in this picture for sure.

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bought some black butt for the forward thwart. haven't had a chance to get to a proper timber supplier to buy some Blue gum to match the other thwarts and transoms. but this is pretty close.

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used the temporary one as a blank - angles for the thwarts forward are about 17 degrees, where the thwart meets the sides.

went to a paint shop and got myself some expensive, hard 2 pack materials.
Got a nice blue for the bottom, and a thick 2 pack primer. paint guy says i should be able to sand the existing water based paint back a bit and this primer will stick like poo to a blanket. It will also help fill the bit of weave that can still be seen. depending on how it looks after sanding i may add some more epoxy layers.

i'll prime the inside and use some 2 pack poly paint, creamy white, for the insides.

she's been in and out of the shed the last couple of weeks but haven't gotten round to priming it yet.
jury is still out on the blue bottom, family likes the white.

I must say, doing a rush job on varnish doesn't pay. That'll need sanding back too and reapplying.

so - some undoing to be done, but i think it was worth bringing it out. she's a treat.

[gypsie]

I've decided to scrap the tinny, i do not believe it can be repaired economically.
In certain light you can also see how the bash has distorted the topsides - i don't think it'll ever be safe, and one just sold at the moorings for $200.

But it does have decent floatation under the seats. I'll pull all that out and see if i can fit it into the nutshell.
That dagger board case is way down low in the boat.
If she goes over she will fill with water above that case and that means righting becomes very challenging. Does anyone have experience capsizing a nutshell?

[gypsie]

Glued up the rudder case.
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Made a blank for the dagger board case when in tender mode.
Bit of stringy bark or something for the top, the ply is epoxied, but nothing else. i will paint it white.

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attached a couple of fairleads to run a bungie strap to keep the dagger board down.

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The aft piece has 2 holes in it.
I'm thinking the main sheet will come from that, through a hole in the thwart, to the boom and then aft.
Maybe that point at a hole in the thwart will be a wear problem.....?

back out at the weekend with some friends.
No life jackets but both over 12, water is well - amazing - and they can both swim well.

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Thats at Hole in the Wall, the southern end of Jervis Bay.

My son pulled out this little metal lure he'd never used and started to pull in Tailor and Travelly while trolling on the big boat, almost one a minute! but we'd knocked his landing net overboard a couple of weeks back and search as we could we couldn't retrieve it. We haven't replaced it yet, so bringing the fish onboard was unsuccessful most of the time. they'd flick themselves off the hook, so we only landed one keeper and a bunch of throw backs.
But i swear, one was about a meter long!!

[gypsie]

And because it was a pretty beautiful spot;

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Hardly a ripple of a wash.

[RFNK]

That looks great and the boat's terrific!!

Rick

[Dave Hadfield]

Perfect!

[gypsie]

Back on the hard

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Gonna pull back the paint and redo. And the varnish.

While towing her about on Jervis bay i did notice the painter getting jerked a lot against the little hole.
Only with a couple of days of action the rope was showing signs of wear at that corner.

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So i made up a shock absorber with some bungie cord i have laying about.

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Should take most of the sting out of any jerky movement. Must stitch a sock around the ropes so they don't get caught in everything.