Selway Fisher Clyde 18

[timo4352]

Coming along nicely.
Getting some paint on changes things a lot.

[biglad]

Just been out to see how it's drying.. going to have to sand back these patches and try again. I've always hated painting!!

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[timo4352]

I have unfortunately had some similar results over the years.
Usually caused by too thick of a coat, adding another coat before the first coat was fully dry, or mixing inappropriate paints and thinners....
Or a combination of these.

[biglad]

I think it's probably too thick a coat. I looked this morning and it is a few patches. Hopefully a sand back and a light re-coat will do

[biglad]

I scraped off the wrinkling paint and patch primed them. Once that had dried did a full redcoat of the panel. Its all dried nicely now.

I've ordered 8mm perspex to make the cabin side windows with. Hopefully I get some mild days to keep going with the painting. Next job is the panels with hatches in them- the cockpit and wheelhouse soles, and the bench seat fronts. I'll bed the access hatches once these are painted. Then it's chop the wheelhouse off and get the boat outside and covered while I finish the wheelhouse.

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[gray duck]

lookin sweet!

[neil.henderson]

"chop the wheelhouse off" - sounds just a tad scary, hopefully the saw will slide neatly through at precisely the right spot. You are experiencing slow paint drying & we are experiencing faster & faster glue setting as summer warms up (finally !!) so gluing on the 20' gunwales can be challenging...... May manage our annual Christmas Day swim though the sea is still cool at around 16-18 degrees - I prefer 20 and above for swimming.

Your boat is looking great - she will be ideal for long day trips and cruises :-) You'll have a lot of fun with her.

Regards Neil

[biglad]

I hope it goes ok- measure twice (or more!) and cut once. We're at the start of the winter temperatures here- a week of -15 or so at night's meant I stayed inside, in front of the fire.

Good luck with the swim- sounds fun!

[biglad]

The last few weeks have been spent painting! The finish could be better but hey ho- it's a boat to be used- not a museum piece!

I've got the perspex for the cabin windows which I'll make soon.

I need to fit the deck hatches, washboard vents etc. All adhesive/sealant suggestions are welcome! I want something to give a watertight seal, and be a bit of an adhesive, but I may want to be able to remove them, so don't want something so sticky that removal is impossible. I've got ply doublers under the cockpit sole for the screws to bite into.

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[biglad]

Sika 591 looks like it might be suitable...

[John Meachen]

The arbomast BR I mentioned a while back will do most of what you require.windows are a bit more difficult,not to make watertight,but to achieve this with a presentable finish

[biglad]

Perfect, I'll look out for it.

I see what you mean about the finish- it'll need careful application to look even.

[neil.henderson]

I hope it goes ok- measure twice (or more!) and cut once. We're at the start of the winter temperatures here- a week of -15 or so at night's meant I stayed inside, in front of the fire.

Good luck with the swim- sounds fun!

On Christmas Day the beach was great & the water warm(ish) - yesterday went for a swim & I reckon the water is about 20 Celcius - lovely:-)

Weather is a bit warm for me to work on the boat - yours is coming along beautifully.

Lang may yer lumb reek Neil

[biglad]

I've got all the hatches bedded and fixed in.

I've been cutting out the cabin windows- 8mm perspex. It went OK- I tried on some scrap to use a fine jigsaw blade but it couldn't go very quickly and generated so much heat it was fusing back together. Used a blade with a few less teeth and it was fine. I've sanded the edges down to 400 grit and drilled 6mm holes- they'll need to be a bit bigger but I'll wait until the interscrews and machine screws arrive so I can see how much more I need to go.

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[CollinR]

Nice going, biglad. Splash in Loch Lomond in the late spring?

[Woxbox]

It's looking good. What will you use to bed the perspex? I've yet to find something I really like.

[biglad]

CollinR- - I'd love to have her finished this year, I'm not sure about late Spring. There's a huge amount of work in cabins and wheelhouse. This is my 3rd boat, but first with (very basic) accommodation. I've deliberately kept the electricals very simple, but again- I've never done it so there's a steep learning curve ahead of me.

Woxbox- Thanks. I'm going to use 3mmx 25mm scapa 3507 butyl tape. There is a curve on the cabin so a washer between the perspex and tape may be a good idea. The arbomast I used for the hatches is like soft chewing gum in a tube- I think I'd get in a mess with that.

[John Meachen]

I hope I'm wrong,but all the interscrews I've ever seen are for an M5 thread and the large flange is about 9.5mm diameter.A 6mm hole may be a bit large.

[biglad]

Every chance you're right, John!

I planned to put the interscrew through the ply cabin side, as they have splines to grip the timber- slotted ones weren't easily available at a sensible price. The pan head machine screw will go through the perspex. My thinking was the 6mm hole will give the perspex room to breathe.

If I've messed up I can always get some more perspex and make some new windows- an evenings work.

[biglad]

I think I've got off lucky here... photos below.. does this look like too much, or too little wiggle room?

The interscrews and machine screws arrived this morning. The cabin sides are 9mm, the perspex for the cabin and wheelhouse sides is 8mm, the forward 3 panes of the wheelhouse will be 10mm. The butyl tape is 3mm, uncompressed. The interscrews are 9or10mm deep and I have machine screws in 16,18 and 20mm so should be able to cover all scenarios!

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[John Meachen]

Looks feasible,but I would think it a good move to wrap a little Arbomast BR around the machine screws to fill the holes and keep water out.

[biglad]

Perfect- I can do that.

I'll try to get some M5 washers to put between the perspex and butyl so when I tighten the fasteners all the butyl tape doesn't get forced out, as the cabin side has a curve.

[biglad]

Job for the weekend is to attempt fitting these windows. Should I put a washer on the machine screw between the perspex and butyl tape at every hole? Or is it better to do just the central third.

From what I've read it seems to be best practice to countersink the holes in the cabin slightly to let the tape fit into as it is compressed.

I have washers to go under the head of the interscrew. The ones I have are 10mm and the ply is 9mm (plus 4 coats of paint each side). This should keep the end of the threaded part in the cabin ply, and not force into the tape.

What's the best way to get holes in the tape for the machine screw to pass through- some folks mention a wooden skewer?

All other tips and tricks are very welcome!

[John Meachen]

For the holes in the tape,something like a piece of metal brake pipe is about the right size to remove the pellet that would cause the machine screw to bottom out.I'm not sure there is an alternative to experimenting to see how the tape behaves.

[neil.henderson]

If I remember correctly (?) John Brooks suggests using a drill to drill holes in a reel of masking tape whilst the tape is still on the roll. If you just need a few masked holes then probably use a reel of tape close to running out...........................
I should caveat this by saying I have never tried this technique :-)

Regards Neil

[biglad]

Done! Not the greatest of jobs but hopefully watertight

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[biglad]

Done! Not the greatest of jobs but hopefully watertight

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[neil.henderson]

I reckon watertight is more important than looks, and practice this principle to the n'th degree in my boat building. Those windows look great .

regards Neil

[biglad]

The wheelhouse is off! It did break in a couple of place along the lower edge of the frame. It was at the 'will it, won't it' stage, and well, it did but with a small amount of damage. I marked some lines so I got it back in the right place, cut out the old epoxy and glued it back, along with the longitudinal frame pieces. It'll be much easier to finish on the bench, I just hope it goes back on ok.

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[John Meachen]

Its a brave man that takes a saw to his boat! On the other hand,the bloke that built it once ought to be able to put it back together.Best of luck for the next phase.

[neil.henderson]

Yikes!

Regards Neil

p.s. wood bends so no problem with the refit..........................................

[biglad]

I've been working away on the wheelhouse. It's all framed up and I've got the ply glued on the roof and cut the fronts. I need to fit the backing pads for the grabrails, and mark out the window cut outs. After that I'll glue the fronts on.

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[John Meachen]

It looks like another useful step forward and every step gets you closer to launching day.

[biglad]

I've cut out the windscreen openings. I've left 35mm of ply, room for the interscrews to sit.

I'll cut the side windows next, which may need to sit slightly higher on the lower edge than the windscreen, to make sure the perspex has room to go in

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[Steamboat]

Looks just right!