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[Mark T]

Hi All


I've not posted on this build in a while but the planking is going ok albeit very slowly but I'm getting there.  To have a bit of a break from it I decided to make a rudder out of the same mahogany, as the supplied plywood one just would not look right.  This boat has a HUGE rudder 


So first off I cut up some pieces of mahogany well over size and thickness and used loads of glue to join them together








Once dry I sanded them down and squared it off and ended up with what looks like the top of a dining table fit for a dolls house!





Then using the original rudder I marked out its shape and then simply cut and sanded it until I was happy with the results








I think that this wood I'm using must be quite old as its as hard as stone and difficult to sand down.  The rudder post is 4mm diameter so to get it in the middle and make the sanding of the groove in the rudder easier I used a table saw to rough out the shape.





I'm really pleased with the results as I've never done this sort of thing before.  I'll update the hull progress soon once I've got something worthwhile to post


Thanks for looking - Mark 

[KNO3]

Looks very nice.

[seamanpeter]

Wow, as not seen more numbers here I presume you are still building it.
Looks great but a lot of work to be honest.
Not that I don't like those kind of tugs but this takes to much time for me and beside I'm not finished with my built yet.
Following this Mark and wish you the patient to do it,
Peter

[Mark T]

Hi Peter yes you certainly need a lot of patience on a boat like this. I’m actually making some good progress and I’ll update this build in a couple of weeks 

[Mark T]

Hi All


Sorry about the lack of updates, but its coming along now so at last I can bring you up to date of where I'm at.


So when I left this I had just glued a rudder together that needed finishing.  I tapered the rudder using a plane and just finished it off with sandpaper.  I like using a plane now as I make less dust in the house and its much quicker too.  I also mounted it onto the spindle using stainless steel screws.











It just needs coating with cloth and epoxy and its finished - its one BIG rudder though 


Now rather than go through a boring plank by plank explanation here's some pictures of each section being completed.  To say it was hard to plank around the prop tube would be an understatement for me.  It literally took days of making templates to get to right.  I made it more difficult for myself as I had no spare mahogany should I get it wrong so I'd rather throw away cardboard than wood.  Its not perfect but its the best I can do at the moment.











Planking further down around the skeg - I did manage to get the transition from the planks being proud to being flush quite well.  I really did have quite a lot of luck at this stage - but hey I'll take it!











You can never have enough different types of clamps








Moving down to the next section





This was a real moment for me when the two sides of planking met - and quite symmetrically too








And finally for today I was struggling to get a protective brass strip for the keel that was long enough in one piece.  I found this company


http://www.metalsmith.co.uk/metals-materials.htm#Brass


Its run by a really nice guy called Barry and I would recommend him to anyone wanting metal.  He supplied this 4ft long x 1/4 wide x 1/16 think piece of brass for £4.60 - yep you read that right £4.60.





I'll get some more up tomorrow 


And as always thanks for looking - Mark 

[Capt Podge]

That's a really professional looking job you're doing there Mark - shouldn't be much of a problem with the need for stealers either - great job so far 


Regards,
Ray.

[Mark T]

Thanks Ray - You are absolutely right, I only used one stealer straight off of the garboard plank and one in the bulwarks.  I think I could have lost the one in the bulwarks by making a wide plank but would have probably caused me a few problems down the line.  I don't think that these photos capture what a labour of love this turned into for me - but I enjoyed it so much 

[Mark T]

Ok so next update!


I've carried on with the planking and have got to the point where there is only one band left to do.  Unfortunately I lost the herring bone pattern at the stern as when I was trimming one plank I accidentally cut the one above it     Oh well you live and learn I guess and it doesn't look too bad.

















Sorry its not the most exciting update and looks just like all of the others but this is the process that I've followed 


Mark 

[Mark T]

Making the stand - well I needed a break from the hull 


On my last build I made no real effort to make a decent stand so I decided to try a bit harder this time.  I found an old wooden Ikea drawer that we no longer use and this is what its made from.


First I cut the profiles of the frames of where I wanted the stand to sit on the hull





And then cut the rough shape of how I wanted them to look





Next I sanded them to the finished shape but thought that the side arms were probably a bit thin to hold whats going to be quite a heavy boat.  I had some 5mm aluminium rod knocking around so I used this to give them some extra support and strength.  I then notched out the frames and the centre piece to make a simple lap joint for getting a good strong glued joint.











Finally I gave it two good coats of Rustoleum matt spray varnish which I must say seems like a really good product.  It also got a layer of 3mm thick felt and some feet on the bottom too.














Finally here's the finished stand doing its job











Thanks for looking - Mark 

[david48]

Good morning Mark
As is the norm things are looking very good ,not doing any boat work at the moment ,still have my head in books for the full ham licence ,at 71 trying to do the maths is very hard ,never could understand why you had to add ,times divide and multiply the alphabet .On a plus I caught my first salmon Tuesday past .
David

[Capt Podge]

The stand you've made is very much in keeping with the hull itself Mark, beautiful yet functional. I like it 
Taking a break from the tedium of planking has paid dividends in your case 


Regards,
Ray.

[Mark T]

Hi David great to hear from you and I'm glad your persevering with your HAM.  You said it was going to be difficult but I'm sure you'll do it and congrats on the Salmon too 




Hi Ray - Thanks for the comments and your right I really needed a break.  Its amazing what you can build out of an old drawer.  I'll do my best to get some more up tomorrow. 

[southsteyne2]

Looks great Mark like the brass strip as it will also strengthen the skeg and rudder area .

[Mark T]

Looks great Mark like the brass strip as it will also strengthen the skeg and rudder area .

Yea I was given the idea by Oohyah/2 as he told me how the skeg broke on his Cervia tug and how he rebuilt it using brass strip.  Hopefully it will also stop some of the scrapes on the keel too.

[Mark T]

So its finally done 


I really have learnt the lesson of measure twice and cut once doing this job.  The last planks are definitely the hardest to do





One side completely finished














And then the other side





























So thats it! the hull is now fully planked     It looks a bit rough to say the least as its not yet been sanded smooth and into shape.  I've got a few jobs to do on the hull before I start sanding but then I can get it finished.


Thanks for hanging on in there on this - Mark 

[Mark T]

I've managed to get some more done today.  First up was drilling the hole for the rudder post through the planking.








Which I did 1/16 to far away from the skeg AAAAAAHHHHHHHH 


So I had to cut and modify the rudder pivot using a bit of brass that I had knocking around.  It didn't take long and I soldered it all together so the mistake was rectified.








Which then allowed me to trial fit the rudder to make sure that all was ok.  This rudder is massive!











Lastly I fitted the brass strip that runs the whole length of the keel.  When I refit this I'll epoxy and clamp it into place to make it really secure.














So next up I can strip the brass back off and get the hull sanded to see what it really is going to look like.  I'm looking forward to this bit!


Cheers Mark 

[Capt Podge]

I don't think you're the first one to make a mistake while drilling the hull for the rudder Mark and you won't be the last one either. That was a good recovery though  .


Regards,
Ray.

[Mark T]

Thanks Ray I managed to pull that one off ok.  I had to pre-drill the hole many months ago from above and thought that it was right.  Its so easy just to be the tiniest bit out.  The sanding is going well and the whole thing looks so different - in fact it looks really nice

[Capt Podge]

Thanks Mark, looking forward to seeing the photos.


Regards,
Ray.

[seamanpeter]

Mark, my hood is in the air, respect you did a good job!
Can be proud on your self.
Now the difficult part though to get all machinery in place and working!
May the Lord give you the strength and a clear brain to have it all done!
Good luck young man with the "second" fase.
looking forward to the rest of it.
Mine is not going that fast due to several reasons, mainly the weather plays a big roll in it and slows me down.
Anyway, did some works to it though.
Like you, never give up and if I'm fed-up with my study and need a break I do some works to it, relaxed me in a sense.
Talk to you later.
Peter

[Mark T]

Hi Peter believe it or not I think I'm 2 1/2 years into this build as I can only do it part time.  Luckily all of my steam plant and servos etc (machinery) has already been done and tested.  I did see your build and its looking great 

[Mark T]

Hi All


The sanding is done     That Honduras mahogany was like sanding steel and the dust is so fine I'm glad I used some extraction in the house.  Here's the pictures


























I have to say I'm pretty chuffed the way this has turned out.  I think there are 140-ish individually tapered planks that had to be made but it was worth it.  I think it safe to say that I'm getting good at this planking malarky now due to all of the practice I've had 


Here's a few pictures of its first coat of finishing resin.  I've used Bucks Composites finishing resin and I'm glad that I did.  Its mixed by a weight ratio of 100g of resin to 48g of hardener.  It was dead easy to do and its really runny which makes putting it on nice and easy.  I found using Z-poxy that I needed to thin it a bit but not this stuff.














So the next jobs are


1.  Airbrush the skeg and the keel to hide all of the damage that I did doing the planking
2.  Airbrush on the waterline
3.  Two more coats of finishing resin using 49g cloth
4.  Start fitting the brass plating around the bulwarks - there's a few hundred brass nails that need to be put in!
5.  Trim the forecastle down to the brass plating


So plenty to be getting on with


Cheers - Mark 

[dreadnought72]

  That looks terrific! You've made a cracking job with the woodwork, there.


Andy

[Capt Podge]

She looked nice before the resin went on but, oh boy, what a transformation - absolutely gorgeous - great work Mark 


Regards,
Ray.

[ooyah/2]

Hi Mark,


What a super job, all worth the effort.


George.