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 .