Classic wooden speedboat build , sink, search for, recovery and rebuild.

fergal.b · 18-05-2012 11:16pm

More like scary

davlacey · 25-05-2012 8:39pm

will this boat have a curved piece of timber on the front?like a bonnet and whats the best way to do it something like this only curved

fergal.b · 25-05-2012 8:46pm

davlacey wrote: »

will this boat have a curved piece of timber on the front?like a bonnet and whats the best way to do it something like this only curved

I'm not sure what you mean

davlacey · 25-05-2012 9:02pm

the front of the boat like the white piece on this boat

fergal.b · 25-05-2012 9:12pm

davlacey wrote: »

the front of the boat like the white piece on this boat

Most boats have a curved foredeck to allow water to runoff, so I'd say the one in your photo has but by the look of it not much.

davlacey · 25-05-2012 9:19pm

yea what would be the best way to do this with thin ply covered with fiberglass?

fergal.b · 25-05-2012 9:37pm

This is the way I did it cut your curve beams to the shape of curve you want then run laths to the bow.

davlacey · 25-05-2012 9:43pm

cheers u did u do it in 2 pieces? and is that mdf with epoxy

fergal.b · 25-05-2012 10:18pm

davlacey wrote: »

cheers u did u do it in 2 pieces? and is that mdf with epoxy

It's marine ply "Don't use MDF" and as it's comes 4 ft wide I had to do in two pieces to keep the grain running in the right direction if I was going to paint it I would have done it in one piece.

fergal.b · 02-06-2012 7:04pm

I got a good deal on some oak so I started laying the deck beams.

As you can see here the raisers and carb are a bit tall so I will have to raise the engine hatch I might design it to look like an air intake scoop.

There is also a lot of space under the deck but I'm not sure if I want to put another access hatch in

davlacey · 02-06-2012 9:22pm

u could stick the fuel tank in there and have a filler cap in the centre of the deck and just have a small inspection hatch

fergal.b · 02-06-2012 9:38pm

davlacey wrote: »

u could stick the fuel tank in there and have a filler cap in the centre of the deck and just have a small inspection hatch

in such a small boat that needs a lot of fuel the difference in weight between a full tank and a nearly dry tank would upset the balance too much plus the bow on these boats do alot of bouncing at high speed:D
I might just put a crawl space along one side of the engine and make the bow space into a bedroom

.

davlacey · 02-06-2012 9:44pm

yea and a sleeping bag least u will have a roof over ur head if u get on the wrong side of the missis

whitesands · 03-06-2012 5:35pm

That's some nice work your doing there.

Out of interest, if you were to tear around a lake flat out for an hour on that thing how much petrol would you use?!?

fergal.b · 03-06-2012 5:45pm

whitesands wrote: »

That's some nice work your doing there.

Out of interest, if you were to tear around a lake flat out for an hour on that thing how much petrol would you use?!?

Flat out about 3.5 MPG :eek::D

fergal.b · 13-06-2012 5:30pm

Here is a little clip of what they can do :eek:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iBK6LxLlnMY

fergal.b · 14-06-2012 4:08pm

Some where in this plank of wood is the dash

Just checking what parts to cut away and what to leave.

This is the shape I have gone for.

Sanded and drilled for the clocks, I won't add the switches till I'm sitting in the boat and can get a feel of where to put them.

First coat of varnish and a little look to see how it will turn out

I will do another 5 or 6 coats and then compound and wax.

breghall · 14-06-2012 7:06pm

Gauges really suit the boat , nice choice.

fergal.b · 14-06-2012 7:13pm

breghall wrote: »

Gauges really suit the boat , nice choice.

€25 on ebay

:D:D I think I will change the bezels from gold to chrome as there is nothing else gold on the boat but there will be lots of chrome

breghall · 14-06-2012 7:22pm

that was a great bargain, well done.

oscarBravo · 14-06-2012 8:37pm

How does the speedo work? Pitot tube?

fergal.b · 14-06-2012 9:50pm

oscarBravo wrote: »

How does the speedo work? Pitot tube?

Yep I will run the tube out trough the transom and down to the pickup.

Daibheid · 15-06-2012 4:31pm

fergal.b wrote: »

Here is a little clip of what they can do :eek:

What a lovely sound particularly when it's just loping along! Seems like areal problem with cavitation unless you build the revs gently but that's hardly a surprise. Looks proper good fun!

Tow · 15-06-2012 8:00pm

Are you sure that speedo goes up high enough or it is just to keep the wife happy?

fergal.b · 15-06-2012 8:06pm

Tow wrote: »

Are you sure that speedo goes up high enough or it is just to keep the wife happy?

Spot on this boat will not do over 50 ever:rolleyes:

davlacey · 27-06-2012 6:20pm

fergal how much paint did u need for your hull?. i just want to give it one coat for now cause its upside down and its probably going to get scratched turning it over. i have a 1litre tin do u think that would be enough

fergal.b · 27-06-2012 6:33pm

davlacey wrote: »

fergal how much paint did u need for your hull?. i just want to give it one coat for now cause its upside down and its probably going to get scratched turning it over. i have a 1litre tin do u think that would be enough

I used 3 750ml tins and did about 6 coats, you should get 2 coats if your boat is the same size as mine 15 foot. If you are putting on a primer first mix a bit of the paint into it and you should get away with less coats as the top coat can be a bit transparent.

davlacey · 27-06-2012 6:44pm

yea 2 coats would do me till i get it righted.im in 2 minds about a primer i might just spot prime the parts that ive filled the whole boat has had a good key with 500 grit or would i need it just to be on the safe side cheers

fergal.b · 27-06-2012 6:54pm

davlacey wrote: »

yea 2 coats would do me till i get it righted.im in 2 minds about a primer i might just spot prime the parts that ive filled the whole boat has had a good key with 500 grit or would i need it just to be on the safe side cheers

If you want a good finish go with the primer,also check that your paint can be painted direct onto fiberglass some don't bond very well to it.

davlacey · 27-06-2012 7:02pm

cheers ill give it a prime first then pre kote or something cheap

fergal.b · 26-07-2012 7:15pm

Trying to workout a good hatch design that will cover the manifolds and the carb.

Using my hot wet jumper to help bend the ply "very handy tool":D

It's a bit taller than I would like but there's not much I can do about it hopefully when I cover everything with the mahogany planks it will blend in a bit more.

The sides of the hatch will be carved from a block of mahogany and I may also make them into air vents, not sure yet

davlacey · 26-07-2012 7:45pm

never heard of the hot wet jumper method how do u get it hot and keep it wet? what about covering the hatch with carbon fiber skin and an air scoop

fergal.b · 26-07-2012 9:06pm

davlacey wrote: »

never heard of the hot wet jumper method how do u get it hot and keep it wet? what about covering the hatch with carbon fiber skin and an air scoop

With a kettle

I had though of a scoop and might build one yet, I'll wait and see what it looks like when I plank it.

davlacey · 26-07-2012 9:19pm

ill give that a go ill be doing my foredeck in a few weeks. yea a scoop could give u nice cold air into the air filter

fergal.b · 28-07-2012 1:02pm

I got an old block of 3"x 8" hardwood to cut out for the sides of the hatch, not the easiest thing to cut with hand tools

I put the jigsaw at an angle and cut the side off then started sanding.

I will leave the finish sanding till I have it planked to get the levels to match up but it will look something like this I may cut a slot along the front or drill holes for air intake.

breghall · 30-07-2012 12:08pm

you do some mighty fine work Fergal....

davlacey · 31-07-2012 12:41pm

u dont do things by half measures i wouldnt even attempt that.are the screws in your foredeck going to be fiberglassed over? ill be doing mine in plywood and putting woven mat over it but will the screws show through the mat

fergal.b · 31-07-2012 1:12pm

Hi davlacey, The screws are only there to keep it in place for the moment I will be cutting the outer edge of the ply off and putting in a strip of mahogany in that way when I put the planks of mahogany on top of the ply I will be able to round the edges without showing the edge of the ply and it will look like one solid piece of mahogany.
Screws will show through fiberglass cloth and even stainless steels ones can corrode under it as they need air to keep them stainless.
If you are going to paint your deck you can use screws with big washers or scraps of ply to hold it down till the epoxy sets then remove them and fill the holes. If you want a wood look finish its best to have no screw holes so you will have to put some heavy weights on the ply or prop some timbers off the roof to hold it down

When you say you are putting woven mat on your deck don't use this type.

Go for the cloth 6 oz or 8 oz will be fine and should look like this.

fiberglass_cloth%20copy.jpg

davlacey · 31-07-2012 1:31pm

yea its going to be painted so that would be the best thing use screws and washers then fill them.yea thats the stuff woven cloth would 2 layers be enough im going to have a stainless post on it and fairleads so i dont want it ripping off.

fergal.b · 31-07-2012 1:44pm

davlacey wrote: »

yea its going to be painted so that would be the best thing use screws and washers then fill them.yea thats the stuff woven cloth would 2 layers be enough im going to have a stainless post on it and fairleads so i dont want it ripping off.

One layer should be fine, when you put on the first coat of resin wait about 3 hours before you do the next coat, if you let it set before the next coat you will have to wash it and sand it before you can add another coat 3-4 coats should be enough to fill the weave and give you a bit of sanding room.
With any posts or fittings just double or treble up on the ply under the deck.

davlacey · 31-07-2012 6:03pm

cheers that will save me a bit of sanding. ive no fingerprints left anymore

fergal.b · 16-10-2012 4:59pm

Just a little update but not much to show, I fitted the dash clocks and steering.

I had to get a longer shaft for the rudder to make up for the 1"1/2" of the keel and the 1/2" of ply, when it was on the donor boat it only had to go through 10mm of fiberglass and then into the stuffing box.

I also temporarily connected up the water intake "there is something not right about making holes in a boat:D" and I have the exhausts roughly in place ready for more holes :eek:

whacker1982 · 16-10-2012 7:13pm

coming along nicely now, wont be long till she is ripping through the water.

davlacey · 16-10-2012 11:30pm

id put in a non return valve after ur strainer incase one of the hoses blow flooding her thats just me though

breghall · 17-10-2012 5:08pm

looking nice Fergal.

fergal.b · 17-10-2012 9:06pm

davlacey wrote: »

id put in a non return valve after ur strainer incase one of the hoses blow flooding her thats just me though

I don't think a non return valve would work here, there is only water coming in from the seacock and that goes out through the exhaust ,the hose from the seacock will be under suction from the raw water pump when the engine is running so if a pipe does burst it's more likely to suck in air than leak. I built up the seacock so that where the hose connects is higher than the water level outside the boat so the worst that can happen is when the engine is stopped the water in the hose between the seacock and the engine could leak into the boat but that's not a lot.
I hope I have this figured out right :eek:

fergal.b · 04-01-2013 6:47pm

As funds are tight I had to set up a boat fund for Christmas

I told santa I didn't want any more hats,scarfs,socks,jumpers or slippers:rolleyes: instead to donate to this worthy cause

Well it looks like I'm back in business for another little while :pac:

Hifive · 04-01-2013 7:42pm

Wow! Santa has been VERY good!
And judging by all the Goldenship stuff, Marine Parts Direct roll out the red carpet whenever they see you coming.

martin46585 · 04-01-2013 7:53pm

lookin good fergal, crikey i thought i stumble on a boat jumble,
can i ask why the leisure battery, wouldnt a regular battery be more suited to a starter motor,

fergal.b · 04-01-2013 8:36pm

The guys in MPD look after me well as I'm putting their kids through college

The leisure battery is for the electric trolling motor on my other boat as the old merc has no charging system I want to keep its battery just for starting.

Classic wooden speedboat build , sink, search for, recovery and rebuild.

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