Flip Preperation

 I have been very busy lately catching up on house maintenance and subsequently spending minimal time boatbuilding.

But now I have caught up on the house it's time to get back to my little yacht. 

Now all the upper areas are fully glassed I only have to apply two more coats of resin and then it's time to flip the boat.

Initially I was intending to flip the boat and locate it upside down on the trailer BUT after a few calculations I realized this would make the height too high and difficult to glass.

So, plan B...........

I will construct two makeshift cradles or frames connected to the boat that will support it closer to the ground and be level horizontally and vertically but still allow minor adjustments to level exactly.

The frames will have a lower flat area where I can place four 4 wheeled moving Dollys in each corner to allow me to move the boat around the workshop. Each Dolly has a carrying capacity of 200 kgs.

The aft frame is constructed from scrap timber. It is screwed into seat back tops where the blocking timbers are located.

The frame is 50mm higher than the cabin top, this will ensure when the boat is upside down and level the cabin top is off the floor.

The middle post of the forward cradle/frame is screwed to BH 2 from inside the cabin at the same points that the tabernacle is secured.

The outer edges are screwed down to the cabin top into BH 2. This will distribute the weight evenly and securely.

 

Tabernacle update

 After reading other PocketShip posts & blogs I decided to make my tabernacle removable. This decision is mainly based on the height when on the trailer and ability to be garaged. I will also need to consider making the boom gallows removable, (I'll have to give that some more thought).

I previously beefed up BH 2 by glassing both the fore & aft sides and then adding an additional 9mm decorative section and a larger shaped cleat to the aft side. (see Feb 4th, 2024, post)

I previously drilled two recessed holes through the tabernacle into BH 2. (see August 2024 post) this was when I intended to permanently secure the tabernacle to BH 2. So now I am making it removable I will need to do the following:

 

 Firstly, I added an 18mm block to the base of the tabernacle. It sits between the two sides, flush with the bottom and has an aft gap to allow water to drain. This stiffens the tabernacle considerably as well as maintaining the correct internal width.

Next, I drilled a third recessed hole for another hex head bolt that will secure the tabernacle to the beefed-up section of BH 2. The three bolts will be secured by a decorative dome nut and spring washer. 

To prevent the hex bolts spinning when tightening the dome nuts, I filled the recess with lightly thicken epoxy. This involved covering the hex heads and shafts with sticky tape and tightly screwing them in place while filling the recess with epoxy. The tape will allow removal of the bolts but still give a tight fit for the hex heads.

To ensure the tabernacle and bowsprit locate in the exact place for the securing bolts I decided to install some laminated locating timbers.

 Timber strips are milled up.

I followed my theme using hoop pine and blue gum laminated together.

The laminations are glued and held with clamps.

The strips are cut to size the edges routed and sanded smooth. The screw holes are drilled and countersunk.

Three coats of epoxy and several coats of polyurethane.

The tabernacle is bolted in place and each locating piece is screwed hard up against the tabernacle.

This shot shows the locating timbers strips which ensure the tabernacle sits perfectly for the securing bolts through the BH.

To strengthen the three SS bolt holes and prevent water ingress to the tabernacle and BH 2 I re-drilled larger diameter holes, epoxy filled and re-drilled.

 

Hawse Pipe Installation

 I liked the idea of installing hawse pipes into the forward section of the bow sides. They will not only be used for mooring and anchor lines but using a strap will also serve to secure the boat on the trailer.

I was fortunate enough to find an Australian distributer that had the exact size I required and at a good price.

After marking out the location I used a jig saw to cut out two holes in the forward bow section.

Due to force placed on the hawse pipes when a strap secures the boat to the trailer, I decided to beef up the area.

Firstly, I laid two additional layers of glass to the inside, ensuring the glass overlapped the fillets onto the deck area.

To provide good purchase for the hawse pipes securing screws, I laminated and shaped two 9mm thick plywood sections.

The port and starboard laminated sections are glued in place.

Three coats of epoxy are applied with a light sanding between each coat.

A trial fit...looks good from the outside....

and from the inside......

 

Cockpit Footwell Glassing

 

Starboard footwell side glassed.

Port side is glassed............

The footwell floor is sanded cleaned and masked up.

and fiberglass laid ready to be wetted out. 

And the final piece wetted out......

At last, another milestone, I have finished glassing all the top sections of the boat.

Glassing the Cockpit (Cont.)

 I've had a spell from glassing the cockpit by digressing to other sections of the yacht. But I have put it off long enough, so back to laying glass cloth. 

 

Port deck masked up and glassed ensuring overlaps on the curved fillets.

The deck to aft cabin wall had two overlapping 100 mm glass tapes previously laid over the fillet to ensure this area is very strong.

After smoothing in the overlaps from the port side, I glassed down the starboard section.

The two small aft sections next to the lockers complete the cockpit deck glassing.........footwell next

Boom Gallows

 To keep the weight down I will laminate western red cedar (which is very light timber) with hoop pine for the boom gallows. The red colored cedar will look nice laminated next to the light-colored hoop pine.

There will be a total of 11 laminations each measuring 8mm in thickness which will make the gallows strong.

I will also drill vertical holes through the laminations to further reduce weight.

An outline of the boom gallows is drawn onto a piece of scrap board and timber blocks screwed along the bottom edge to clamp the laminations in place.

Time to make some dust.

I milled this........

Into this.......

Ten of the eleven lamination strips are glued and clamped to the plastic covered clamping board.

The 11th, top strip will be glued on later after I drill the vertical holes to reduce the gallows weight. 

After removing the clamps and plastic I cleaned the epoxy squeeze with a large disc sander before running the section through a thicknesser. 

And here is the cleaned-up and shaped section. I rough shaped the ends with a jig saw and cleaned them up with a belt sander.

Time to drill the 25mm diam. holes for the boom gallows support tubes. I used a Forstner bit in a bench drill.

I spent time setting the gallows into position to ensure the holes are centered and at the correct angle.

The Gallow poles are set up in the boat and several test fits with minor adjustments were required for the gallows to sit squarely on the poles.

As I mentioned earlier to reduce weight, I drilled twenty-six 20mm diam. holes vertically into the gallows from the top. 

 

I didn't weigh the section prior to drilling the holes but the section feels quite light without compromising strength. (I hope)

 The top laminate is glued in place covering up the holes.

The top laminate is cleaned up, trimmed and the edges routed. Holes are drilled for rope to secure the mast. The first coat of epoxy is applied.

 

Tiller Time

I liked the look of a laminated tiller. Using blue gum and hoop pine provided a nice contrasting color of the red colored blue gum next to the light-colored hoop pine.

The tiller plan is covered with plastic and clamping blocks screwed along the upper curve of the tiller's length.

The laminates are milled to 6.5 mm thick sections. A dry fit of the timbers is clamped in place to ensure the timber bends OK with no surprises.

The laminates are glued and clamped in place. Upper timber blocks are screwed down to ensure the sections are held down flat and prevent any twisting.

After leaving the tiller overnight I ran it through a thicknesser down to 18mm.

Edges routed next and the complete unit sanded to a smooth finish.