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[DJW]

And one picture of the 'under development' skis...





 

[DJW]

Afternoon All


Starting to look like a boat:








Have been getting the waterline worked out as per the plans:





Mainly so that I can attach the rubbing strips / fenders:








Best regards
David.

[ChrisF]

Reasonably happy, you should be very happy!

When not in use could the hole be fitted with a short length of tube capped with a larger diameter disc sitting  flush on the deck with maybe a ring for lifting out or a rectangular cap with ends rising to a point i.e. a triangle on end but with a bit of Riva flair designed in? Maybe curve the front leg of the triangle or just have that leg? Hope this makes some sense!


Or a flat triangular cap with a vertical ring on the top! The list goes on!

Chris

[DJW]

Morning Chris


Yes, I think you're right, effectively a blanking plate, a slightly domed chrome cap held in place by same pin that holds the ski pole in place. Then use one or the other depending on the outing.  That's how Riva deal with other 'caps'.


Have added the other rubbing strip / fender this morning.  Then an overall rub down and tidy, so that I can get the thinned epoxy coat on to seal everything so far.


Best regards
David.

[DJW]

Morning All


Big day today, and its only just gone 1100...


This was the Aquarama at 0930:





Rubbed down, then a de dust with some alcohol, and this was the boat at 1030:








After a thinned coat of Z-Poxy resin to seal.  I've taken out the rear slipway / deck now to resin underneath it, now letting it all dry.


 


Regards to all
David.

[ChrisF]

Looking great David.

Chris

[DJW]

Morning All


Well, first coat of varnish went on a couple of days ago, then I realised why Mike built a jig to be able to rotate the hull...


So, sunglasses on please...  Here's the dangerous reflections from the first coat...   





And here's the construction of a stand under way, I use these aluminium extrusions for some other work, so had some spare to hand:





It's great for building 'one offs', joints use special connectors that make a rock solid structure.  Plan is to construct the outer frame, then an inner cradle that will clamp on the boats keel (from the inside) and allow rotation like a rotisserie, then clamped at any angle.














Should have it ready later today or tomorrow and will post the outcome...


Regards to all
DAvid.

[DJW]

Afternoon All


The Aquarama Rotisserie is up and running:





There are two foam pads (at the top in the pic above) that clamp around the keel where its exposed internally, with a 6mm pin pushed through to ensure it doesn't slip... Already had big holes in the keel so no additional drilling of the boat needed.


And here it is with the boat attached:





And rotated 90°:





And another 90°:





And one from the bow:





I've put some friction material on the two points of rotation, so loosen off the nuts to rotate the boat, tighten to clamp in any position.  Aim is to allow varnishing / light sanding of any surface, good access and keep it in place while curing while avoiding contact of any surface with anything else...


It just happens that 100cm lengths of the extrusion work well for this build.  It would be quite straightforward to extend for a larger hull.  Maybe the 1/7th Aquarama...


A couple of coats of varnish, then install shafts and rudder tubes is my current plan.


Best regards to all.
David.

[Taranis]

Impressed David   

[DJW]

Evening Andy


Thanks for that. Looking forward to seeing how it works out for varnishing.


Any plans to restart your aquarama build any time soon..?


Best regards
David.

[Taranis]

No time soon David but I am following your work    The tug is my whole focus just now through to Spring when I hope to fire up the Shannon as soon as paint spraying weather arrives. Keep up the great work I expect you will finish before me 

[Mark T]

Wow thats dedication that is David!  Thats a great jig you have made 

[DJW]

Well thanks Mark. Its down to the high standards that I see on this forum that make me want to do the very best that I can. 

[Mark T]

Same here David there's nothing like pushing each other forward 

[DJW]

Morning All


Did manage some time on Saturday to get first coat of varnish on, I'm pleased with the rig, it allowed a full coat to be applied in one session.





This shows the forward grip on the keel:





And the rear, with the 'insurance' pin... :





First coat on the forward deck:





For better or for worse, I'm using 10% thinned 'International Original' polyurethane varnish. On my test pieces I found it quite straightforward to use and quite tolerant to temperature / humidity. And importantly, high gloss with a warm amber tint that I like.







First coat is fully cured this morning, so will be putting another coat on today.


Best regards to all.
David.

[ChrisF]

Will look fantastic once finished. I use International as well, but the Schooner tung oil which I describe as giving a light honey colour that I like as well.

And love the jig.

Chris

[Martin (Admin)]

Kudos on the varnish job.
Kudos on the rotating rig!   

[DJW]

Afternoon All


Thanks for the comments Martyn / Chris. 


I've got a couple of coats of varnish on, its dry, but I want to give it another 24 hours to cure before sanding it back.  So started to look at the shafts and specifically the mounting and securing of the P brackets, still dry fit at the moment:











I'm not to happy with the ply that Amati have used on the deck, I'll upload a pic on the next run.  The mahogany is just too thin, the middle lighter core gets exposed to easily, and this has happened in a couple of areas near the stern.  If I get around to the 1/7 build I think best approach would be to use a ply skin, then plank it.  Or as some other forum folks have done, prepare planked panels.  I think to try to do that to this build now would be too destructive...


Regards to all.
David.

[DJW]

Afternoon All


Here's the issue I'm having with the thin ply layer...





I'm getting further into the varnishing than anticipated.  I'd thought a couple of coats, then stop and do some more fitting out, then finish the varnishing.


But to get the finish I'm trying for I'm going with thinner coats that are wet sanded, so it's taking longer to build up.  I'm finding inclusions (dust, or whatever they are...) are a problem.  This is after filtering the varnish and thinners, cleaning brush again before use, wiping down hull with a tack rag, and so on...  The inclusions disappear with wet 3000 grit, so I'm thinking to do just that, then use some Farcela G10 cutting compound, then carnauba wax to get the gloss back...  I'll create a test piece and post result.  So here's the hull after cutting back with wet 400 grit:





Then wet 1000 grit, I'm using quite firm foam as a block, so some low points are being exposed:





And then with another thin coat applied:





So I'm thinking to build up a couple of more coats like this, so I can cut back to smooth out the low / high points, then just carry on with the test piece to check the result with G10 / wax, and get on with fitting out the hull.


Best regards to all.
David.

[Mark T]

That’s real dedication for the perfect finish David and I think it’s looking amazing 

[DJW]

Afternoon All


Been busy with a family wedding (daughter) over past few weeks, so not had too much to report.  I have been adding varnish, I'd say about 6 thin coats at the moment, with some cutting back too.  Also been on a (wife induced) mission to tidy up a little...





Here's the rig upended so that the stern can get some attention too:





I'm kind of pleased where the varnish is right now.  I remain frustrated by inclusions.  Also note for future builds, gaps of any size in the planking will be punished at this stage, it can't be assumed that the varnish will fill.  Also, any traces of glue have to be fully removed, the varnish exposes any issues...





I've bought myself an early Christmas present, a Proxxon WP/E Polisher. I think once the varnish is built up the polisher will help get the required finish, we'll see.


Best regards to all.
David.

[davejo90]

That is looking excellent David 

[DJW]

Hi Dave


Thanks for that, very kind.


Been adding a few more coats of varnish, it's starting to look really deep now, very pleased. And while I can't do much else with the hull, I've been playing with an Arduino based sound system.


Full thread is here: https://www.modelboatmayhem.co.uk/forum/index.php/topic,66075.0.html


First bench test is here: https://youtu.be/oDKfcFO7rvw


This is based on the sound sample of a full sized Aquarama startup, idle and run. Overall cost so far, about £15.00... 


(Not including the money spent on the commercial offerings that are now in the bin...  )


Best regards
David.

[DJW]

Afternoon All


First update in a while as building has slowed a shade over Christmas.


I've been playing with my new Christmas present...  An FrSky QX7S TX and R8Pro RX, took a while to get head around the programming, but it's so capable and rewarding once understood.


This is where I am at the moment:


https://youtu.be/MLLzn5WOcZI


And re the build, some progress on getting the dash together, bonding the mahogany to the backing ply:





Getting the fit sorted, its removable, held in by magnets:





And then the dials in place:





Little bit of the fit needs attention still, but coming on.


Best regards to all.
David.

[Mark T]

That is just gorgeous - your attention to detail is admirable