more MICRO progress (mostly for Col)
This week saw the foredeck fastened down on our Micro (possibly the record
holder for world's slowest construction :) A definite milestone.
"It's so cute, just like a real boat" said my wife.
FWIW Col, the whole keel thing is much more worrying than difficult. I
glassed the hull bottom while still inverted, and primed and painted same.
Fitting of the ply sheathing was all done after the hull had been turned
right side up.
My keel weight moved on a dolly made from 2 by 4s, rolling on heavy castors.
The weight sat on L shaped supports which could slide up and down on the
uprights of the dolly, using a car jack to do the lifting. A couple of angle
brackets and some big temporary screws stopped the lead tipping off the
supports and left one face exposed for gooping.
Working singlehanded (don't we all) I dollied the lead under the hull,
jacked it up against the keel batten and clamped the ply sheathing in place.
Using antifreeze as a lubricant I pilot drilled through the ply and into the
lead for the bronze ringnails. I only broke one drill bit in the whole
process, leaving me five spares :)
Ply sheathing having been removed, I wiped down the lead with acetone and a
wire brush before gooping everything up and replacing the ply. The nails
went in fine. Before getting to the 'crawling under the boat' phase I'd
recommend you do a couple of nailing tests. I ended up drilling pilot holes
which were a loose fit on the shanks of the nails, but which were a good
half inch short. I was smacking them fairly hard to drive that last half
inch, but they didn't bend.
Once the goop had set up, I pulled the dolly and repeated the process on the
other face. Axle stands and wedges held the keel weight's weight.
I glassed the ply sheathing in place, cut a half inch radius edge along the
keel bottom and ran a strip of 4" kevlar tape along it, just for fun really.
Kevlar cloth is a pig to work with compared to glass - I'd think twice
before doing that again.
Glassing the keel sheathing ply before assembly (i.e. on the flat) would be
an obvious improvement.
You CAN do it :)
cheers
Derek
holder for world's slowest construction :) A definite milestone.
"It's so cute, just like a real boat" said my wife.
FWIW Col, the whole keel thing is much more worrying than difficult. I
glassed the hull bottom while still inverted, and primed and painted same.
Fitting of the ply sheathing was all done after the hull had been turned
right side up.
My keel weight moved on a dolly made from 2 by 4s, rolling on heavy castors.
The weight sat on L shaped supports which could slide up and down on the
uprights of the dolly, using a car jack to do the lifting. A couple of angle
brackets and some big temporary screws stopped the lead tipping off the
supports and left one face exposed for gooping.
Working singlehanded (don't we all) I dollied the lead under the hull,
jacked it up against the keel batten and clamped the ply sheathing in place.
Using antifreeze as a lubricant I pilot drilled through the ply and into the
lead for the bronze ringnails. I only broke one drill bit in the whole
process, leaving me five spares :)
Ply sheathing having been removed, I wiped down the lead with acetone and a
wire brush before gooping everything up and replacing the ply. The nails
went in fine. Before getting to the 'crawling under the boat' phase I'd
recommend you do a couple of nailing tests. I ended up drilling pilot holes
which were a loose fit on the shanks of the nails, but which were a good
half inch short. I was smacking them fairly hard to drive that last half
inch, but they didn't bend.
Once the goop had set up, I pulled the dolly and repeated the process on the
other face. Axle stands and wedges held the keel weight's weight.
I glassed the ply sheathing in place, cut a half inch radius edge along the
keel bottom and ran a strip of 4" kevlar tape along it, just for fun really.
Kevlar cloth is a pig to work with compared to glass - I'd think twice
before doing that again.
Glassing the keel sheathing ply before assembly (i.e. on the flat) would be
an obvious improvement.
You CAN do it :)
cheers
Derek