Boat Windshield

 Time to get the screen template underway! After a trip to Homebase i found a piece of polycarbonate 2mm sheet that was reduced because the corner  was knocked off .

I used a hotmelt  glue gun to glue on the offcuts to make up the length as the piece of polycarb was not large enough.

Carefully scribing the polycarb to fit the deck first and then cutting the top to match the frame. 











The  Jigsaw was fitted with a metal cutting blade and the fastest speed setting which almost melted the polycarb as it cut, then i cleaned up the cut edge with a low angle block plane.








                                                                                               I had to reshape the frame to get the right angle for the screen to fit nicely.

I left my windscreen frame out over winter and it developed a black mold that i i tried to shift by sanding but with no luck. I was strugling to find a solution to this problem when my Godfather Ron Brookes suggested that i try some Oxalic Acid , so have just sent off for some and will let you all know how i get on .

Boat Steering

I cut a hole in the dashboard with a hole saw and then used a wood rasp to get the desired angle.

The steering boss was sunk into the dash to get the steering wheel spacing correct, so it will need brackets to mount it to the back.

Here i have made some wooden blocks that i glued and screwed to the dashboard, then the metal brackets were screwed to this . The steering mount is now securely fastened.





                                                                                                
                                                                                                  

The steering rack was fixed to the pinion with bearings and then the rack was mounted to two wooden battens.










The steering wheel came from Lake Michigan and is an original 1950S Boat wheel. It was in need of some TLC so after using some paint stripper to get the old paint off i primed the wheel with grey Zinc primer then applied 4 coats of white primer to prepare for the top coats . I decided to go with the blue and white theme that used for the seats and sprayed the half the wheel with gloss white then masked off and used gloss blue , I layed 6 coats of each colour and then finished with anouther 6 coats of clear laquer .

Transom modification.

Decided not to have a jack plate but to add on to the height of the Transom instead. This addition will allow me to mount the 75hp Mercury outboard directly to the back and will mean the steering arm will operate within the Splashwell with some minor adjustments.:)

 I used a 35mm bulk of Mahogany that i found in the wood shed.  The template was made with 3mm mdf and then transfered to the Mahogany and cut out roughly with a jig saw, then i sanded with the belt sander to get the final fit. I cut a slot in the Transom and a corasponding slot in the new piece of wood and made a sapele tongue to fit, this meant that i could position the transom precisely . Both surfaces were smeared with a liberal helping of epoxy and clamped until set.

Photo on the right shows the outboard mount template taped to the back of the Transom in roughly the position it will sit.

Boat seats

 The finished rear bench seat in all its glory! To say i am pleased with the finished seat would be an understatement, i cant stop smiling.

 I glued the 4" foam to the wooden seat base and covered that with wadding,then slipped the covers over and pulled tight before holding in place using stainless steel staples and a good quality industrial hand staple gun.

The tuck n roll worked well and i think gives a nice contrast to the aqua blue piped border'

  This picture shows the back of the seat and the neat finish achieved by doubling the vinyl over and stapling through a double thickness , this also gives strength to the fixing.







                                                                                     

                                                                               

        
Here are a few pictures of the rear seat in position in
the back of the boat (Looking Good!) This seat is
hinged on the front edge to tip forward and allow
access to the fuel tanks and battery .

Boat Deck Varnish

The picture below shows one coat of varnish and the one above shows the deck after 5 coats, starting to build up nicely now

.

Started the Varnishing today !  using Hempel Dura Gloss Varnish as it is a quick drying one part varnish so no need for measuring amounts and mixing.

I started by flatting back the Q19 base coats with 360 grade wet and dry , then spent time with the hoover and a toothbrush getting all the dust out of all the cracks and crevices . Lastly i went over the surface with a tack rag to remove all traces of dust

I used the Varnish straight out of the tin and managed to get a nice flow ,which was helped by it being overcast and windless , temperature was 19 and humidity at 60 .  My 4" flat synthetic varnish brush worked very well and all of the brushstrokes settled out, the trick is to work quickly getting the varnish on , about an area of a square foot and then brush out in one direction , dont work the varnish too much and plan you're root around the boat so as to always work on the wet edge as much as possible .  When its done check for runs or sags and then walk away as you will create dust if you hover around for too long '

Cradle

Now that the boat is upturned it seems the opportune time to make a Cradle to allow the boat to be moved around when in storage. For this i have cut some 3"x1" pine to size following the contour of the underside of the hull. 







I have used 4"x4" pine blocks of wood to support the castor wheels which are swivel units to allow for smooth movement in any direction.

Antifoul and Rubrails

The Bow center Rubrail has been fitted using Sikaflex and bronze screws. I have also drilled the hole for the Bow eye in the front of the bow .

Four coats of Antifoul applied and the rub rails have been fitted. I bedded the brass Rub rails on a bead of white Sikaflex and used bronze screws to fix down, then wiped the excess off with a cloth.

I will leave the Antifoul to set hard for a while yet before i try to flatten and polish.

Really hot day today so i decided to take advantage and start the antifouling on the bottom of the boat. I started by using a scotch brite pad and soapy water to get rid of any amine blush on the boat as i had previosly coated the bottom of the boat with 2 coats of west systems epoxy resin . Then i wiped down with a cloth and used 180 grit wet and dry and soapy water to key the epoxy coating , ending with a wash down with clean water and a lint free cloth.

Once dried i masked off below the chine using some old paper and masking tape. Ready for the paint which is Hempel hard racing antifoul in white, thinned out by 5% with Hempel thinners i decanted some into a roller tray and used 4" foam rollers to roll the paint on .

The photo shows the first coat which i think has covered quite well , the foam roller leaves a slight rough surface but i intend to wet sand this out after all the coats have been applied.

Seat Covers.

This shot shows the french seam in all its glory , i was really pleased with the french seam piping interface and once plumped up with the foam and wadding should look the business.

 You can clearly see the Tuck n Roll effect from these photos, not an easy task because i couldn't get any foam backed vinyl so ended up buying some inch thick vinyl and sticking it to the back of the vinyl.
 

 The seams were stitched folded and then stitched again which resulted in a hidden stitch seam.

When i designed these seat covers i had in mind the wonderful seats found on the Riva boats from Italy,but i didn't want to copy them just to provoke the same feeling i got from viewing the Riva's .

So with this in mind i made paper patterns and added on the required margins., i had to erase the design several times before i was happy with it and i think that the two tone colour scheme compliments the design very well without taking away from the overall appearance of the boat .      The vinyl i used is all marine quality and should last for a good few years if cared for and protected from harmful fluctuations in temperature throughout the year .

I started by cutting my paper design into seperate pattern pieces and then drawing around these onto the vinyl,then i cut the vinyl out which left me with all the pieces i needed for the final seat. I stitched the seat boarder together using a french seam method, then i made the tuck n roll inserts in a contrasting colour. I made enough piping to cover all of the seams and sandwiched these along the seams as i assembled the panels together. Not an easy job by any means but after having completed this part of the project i felt a great sense of achievement and satisfaction in the knowledge that this boat would indeed be entirely handmade by me and not just a compilation of other peoples work. 

Singer 47k Sewing Machine

Nice and shiny now but took alot of elbow grease and tcut/polish to get to this point from the original condition..I found out later that in the making of horse blankets the thread is run through
a reservoir of grease ,this helps to waterproof the stitching from the weather when its on the horse. Unfortunately this also means that grease gets ground in to the machine .

The Singer 132K7 Has the standard foot as opposed to its sister machine The 132K6 which has is a walking foot model.





Large electric motor is needed to cope with the
thick fabric and even Leather that this machine can cope with.

I bought this machine through a local advert online , it was bought from a lovely lady who used to use it for sewing horse blankets but no longer had a use for it. I have spent a day cleaning it as it was very dirty through its former use. Had trouble sourcing the correct needles for it so i found one that was the right size and wrapped silver foil around the shank in order for the needle clamp to hold it tightly . I have used this machine with success and it is a joy to use when you understand the adjustments needed .

Canopy Frame

CUT DOWN FRAME








                                                                                         
I have reduced the width of the stainless steel canopy frame by taking a section of around 2ft out of the middle ,the two side sections will now be stainless welded along the center line .
 

From this angle you can see how neat the frame has ended up . It will be fixed to the deck with quick release deck hinges so i can detatch the whole frame and stow it away out of sight, but i have also designed it to fold flat behind the rear seats without being detatched for those showery days when it could be up and down all day. 

Its July already and the UK weather is rubbish for varnishing boats so decided to get on with the canopy frame instead. I bought this stainless steel frame from a local boat jumble about a year ago and its been in storage since.As you can see from the picture it is way too big for my boat ,but as the uk weather is so unpredictable i think i need a canopy to protect from those showery days. Decided to cut down the bows which will reduce the width ,then i will get it stainless welded back together. I have suspended it from the carport roof so i can adjust the size to fit . more pics to follow as the canopy takes shape.

I have used an old sheet as a template to give me a better idea of how the canopy will look , may go with the three loop canopy frame as i want to cover both front and rear seats and three bows should give the fabric more support. The sheet is just taped in position at the moment which allows me to work around the boat making small adjustments to the shape as i go.

 Front edge will be secured by concealed press studs under the bottom lip of the windscreen frame.

View looking from the rear seat , the canopy will be secured to the frame with some sewn in gussets that will snap popper around the roof bars .