Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length.

[woodforc]

Help! I have just bought a Billings Colin Archer and having been warned about Billings kits I was very pleasantly surprised at the quality of the wood, the hull  and most of the fittings. OK the sail material isn't the greatest and the plastic blocks are naff but overall it's very good.
The building instructions however are hopeless - three small paragraphs in total amounting to six sentences! The first paragraph and where I'm stuck states, "Cut the hull in the groove indicated". Now there is a diagram which shows what I presume is a measurement of 5mm to be trimmed off the gunwhale but that dosen't match with the groove at all. Is it 5mm from stem to stern and if it is how on earth does piece 8 fit (which seems to fit nicely from the groove to the top of the exsting gunwhale)

Can anyone help?

Clive

[wideawake]

Hi Clive

First - are you buiding the Billings CA 414?  That's the larger of the two CA kits that Billings offer.   If so then I may be able to help, or at least pass on my experiences.   I've just started building that version myself.

I'd agree totally with your general comments, particularly regarding the instructions or lack thereof!   However in Billings' defence, they do indicate that the kit is for experienced builders.   Nevertheless an awful lot is down to guesswork or personal preference.  I have the advantage of having built the Billings Karoline, for which the instructions are just as limited.

As I understand it, you are intended to cut the hull moulding along the roove which you've already identified.   I don't have my hull or the plans/instructions here ATM but if piece(s) 8 are the ply gunwale strips then they will fit OK with a bit of help.   They just about fill the space above the moulding-in doubling strake at the top of the moulding.  My trim wasn't very neat, so rather than leaving the hull proud of the ply by the thickness of the sub deck, after gluing in the pieces 8 and cross beams, I trimmed the moulding flush and will carry the subdeck right out to the edge of the hull moulding.   I hope  that makes sense    Again IIRC the scrap sketch which you mention, with the 5mm measuement, indicates that you should leave the bow and stern post mouldings 5mm higher than the rest of the hull.   If you look at the bow and stern post ply stiffening pieces, you'll see that they have a step in them matching this.

The other thing I took a while to work out was whether the keel stiffening piece should be sit horizontally or be glued down into the keel of the hull.   The answer is the second but it was some time before I spotted the sketch which showed that clearly.

HTH

Guy

[woodforc]

Hi Guy thanks for the prompt reply. Looking at my hull again (it is the larger kit) the groove I'm referring to is the bottom of the moulded in rubbing stake and it is in this moulding that the 8 piece fits in leaving a very small gap between that and the top of the gunwales. I think I will trim down at the stem and stern posts by 5mm and taper is back over the next 50mm to bring it to the start of the number 8 pieces.  This should then, as you suggest allow me to bring the edge of the sub deck flush with the hull moulding. I've tried to attach a photo but the file is too large. Thanks for the advice - I hope I don't have to bother you again!

Clive

[wideawake]

Hi Guy thanks for the prompt reply. Looking at my hull again (it is the larger kit) the groove I'm referring to is the bottom of the moulded in rubbing stake and it is in this moulding that the 8 piece fits in leaving a very small gap between that and the top of the gunwales. I think I will trim down at the stem and stern posts by 5mm and taper is back over the next 50mm to bring it to the start of the number 8 pieces.  This should then, as you suggest allow me to bring the edge of the sub deck flush with the hull moulding. I've tried to attach a photo but the file is too large. Thanks for the advice - I hope I don't have to bother you again!

Clive

Hi Clive

It's no bother.  Indeed it's good to be able to share my experiences of this kit if they're useful.    One of the best things about this forum is that there's almost always someone who's "been there, done that....." before you and who's more than willing to pass on their knowledge.   I've been on the receiving end of a lot of help myself.

Keeep posting your progress, I'm sure I'll pick up useful info from you 


Cheers

Guy