coalnotdole Posted December 13, 2014 Author Share Posted December 13, 2014 Where did you learn your woodworking skills? I guess i learnt basic woodworking from my mother who used to do maintenance on the boat we had when I was a small kid. Other than that I've just picked it up as I go along really - I'd never used a router or even an angle grinder prior to buying this boat! all my tools have been acquired since getting the boat. I'm by no means a shipwright but am confident enough to do most things. I've done a fair bit of repair work to other wooden boats commercially now - all using skills picked up from doing my own boat. Am I right in thinking these bunks are below the waterline and if so, does it get pretty cold in there as a result? I've often wondered about the practicalities of living on a boat all year round, I imagine it's pleasant enough in the warmer months but not so nice in the winter. Spot on! - the waterline is pretty much level with the top of the bunks. Wood is a better insulator than fibreglass or steel so the heat loss/transfer isn't too bad. the bunks/lockers obviously help to insulate the cabin too as you have a locker full of crap between you and the water outside. The solid fuel range keeps me comfortably warm all winter (sometime too warm as I have had the windows open with snow outside and been sat around in just my boxers inside!). I think the biggest heat loss on my boat is through the windows and cabin sides, theres such a large area of glass that you do end up with condensation dripping off of them if you don't have the heater on. Bit like a car really! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coalnotdole Posted December 13, 2014 Author Share Posted December 13, 2014 Mini update of a few exterior bits that got missed out of previous posts: Hatch retaining Stanchions: the one on the left is original and the one on the right is a replica fabricated by me to replace a missing one. Hard to tell in the photo but the main upright is tapered which cost me a fair bit getting it turned on a lathe. Detail of the top drop-pin, original on left, replica on right. all cut out of steel plate by chain-drilling and hand hacksawing/filing!: Detail of base - the bottom flange was the only part of the missing one I had so I reused it. Showing a smaller stanchion in situ: And one of the two in the first photo (don't ask which one!) in situ with the hatch opened: When I bought the boat a whole load of the handrails were missing where the previous owners wheelhouse had been. Theyre formed out of 1" tube and little cast steel stanchions like this one: I was missing about ten of them, after looking into getting replacements cast(££££s) I eventually managed to fabricate near exact copys using the top part of much larger stanchions we had knocking about at work and 8mm steel plate bases which have a machine screw up the middle of the stanchion and are then welded several times to produce a radius. A lot of work but I hope you agree thayre worth the effort: And finally new stainless steel pad-eyes fitted to the life-float holders, just need some nice lines splicing onto them now: Cheers Dave Sigmund Fraud, Skizzer, Craig the Princess and 14 others 17 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spike60 Posted December 14, 2014 Share Posted December 14, 2014 We have an Iron Fairy (1984?) at work which despite being one of few things at the dock longer than me I'm pleased to say I've had almost nowt to do with it. It would seem design and development peaked about 1953, perhaps no bad thing. Pics can be got if anyone feels the Iron Fairy love..... Craig the Princess 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Lobster Posted December 14, 2014 Share Posted December 14, 2014 Mega impressive nauti-shite. Enjoying this thread very much. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew353w Posted December 14, 2014 Share Posted December 14, 2014 Please stand for parliament-ANY PARTY, ANY POLICY ON ANYTHING AND I WILL VOTE FOR YOU!!! You ARE a total Autoshite genius! Bfg 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dieselnutjob Posted December 14, 2014 Share Posted December 14, 2014 I have Portabote folding boat shite for sale at the moment Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garycox Posted December 14, 2014 Share Posted December 14, 2014 How much are they worth, DNJ? I friend has a Portabote thing that was her late husband's, never used with an engine. She's looking to sell it soon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nigel bickle Posted December 14, 2014 Share Posted December 14, 2014 Be interested, yadda yadda yadda..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve_earwig Posted December 14, 2014 Share Posted December 14, 2014 And then there were two.... Absolutely fantastic thread, I'm new on here so I hadn't seen it before but well worth the hour or so it took me to read it. There's lots of threads on here I look at and think "yeah, I can do that" but this one? Pfft, no way! I know my limitations... It must have been a bit butt-clenching not knowing the state of the hull to start of with, I'm not sure if you had a fairly good idea about it, or if it was a case of every time you turned up to work on it you thought "phew, still afloat!" Keep up the good work! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Felly Magic Posted December 14, 2014 Share Posted December 14, 2014 I know someone up north who claims he could buy an old barge to live in for about a grand, I almost pissed myself laughing when he said it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oman5 Posted December 15, 2014 Share Posted December 15, 2014 Can we have MOAR videos of engine running please? Because foden 2 stroke Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coalnotdole Posted December 19, 2014 Author Share Posted December 19, 2014 Small update of work in progress on the Lighting/Flag Mast: The mast came off the spares boat but had suffered a lot from bodging when a previous owner had moved it from the wheelhouse roof onto the cabin.I've made up new stays as they were missing and repaired the mast step as well. The mast originally fitted to my boat (which was removed and scrapped by the previous owner) would have been smaller than this one but as its such a nicely made bit of fabrication it seemed silly not to use it.It will have a all-round white anchor light on top and two white forward facing masthead lights on the two brackets on the front (one for normal motoring and the other one as you need to display a second light above and in addition to the normal one when towing) Sidelight boxes need refitting to the wheelhouse roof as I had to move them to fit the stays (I'd fitted them in the wrong place anyway)Will have to sort out some small pulleys for the signal flags too. Closeup of the bottom of one of the new stays. All fabbed out of 10mm marine grade ally. (correct bolt not yet fitted! ) New section added onto the mast step: New dated addition to engineroom window: And a couple of blurry work in progress shots of the hull lining and bunks progressing in the forecabin: Cheers for reading!Dave vulgalour, Skizzer, Dirk Diggler and 18 others 21 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coalnotdole Posted December 20, 2014 Author Share Posted December 20, 2014 Two more I took from across the river today: pshome, Uncle Jimmy, Dirk Diggler and 14 others 17 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vulgalour Posted December 20, 2014 Share Posted December 20, 2014 This is looking superb, a very smart little floating house. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coalnotdole Posted December 24, 2014 Author Share Posted December 24, 2014 Finally a few more photos showing the completed slats above the bunks now with all of the custom made cushions in place. In the future It will hopefully get some shelving / storage units fitted just below the deck beams and possibly a folding table at the forward end. The next big forecabin purchase will probably be on rubberised flooring but its going to have to wait until the money is available. A future project will be completing the galley on the starboard side, this will house the fridge, a gas hob / grill and some food pereperation / storage space. I also have a watertight door which will hopefully be fitted to the bulkhead ( by the the bolt croppers / stack of powertools .) This will allow through access into the engine room, and through into the aft cabin. Cheers for reading, holbeck, steve_earwig, Jim Bergerac and 10 others 13 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark165 Posted December 24, 2014 Share Posted December 24, 2014 I've really enjoyed reading all of this. Do you now live aboard? Or is that the overall master plan? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colnerov Posted January 18, 2015 Share Posted January 18, 2015 A good read. Very impressed with quality of work and attention to detail. Colin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coalnotdole Posted January 20, 2015 Author Share Posted January 20, 2015 I've been making progress with the large pile of expensive hardwood I ordered a couple of months back It will become the top part of the transom (back of the boat) and the remainder was to laminate up into two "fashion pieces" these are large curved timbers which bolt to the inside of the transom and also bolt to the longitudinal stringers (in effect joining the back of the boat onto the fore and aft structure of the hull frame) Each piece is laminated out of 21 1/4" by 6" by 8ft laminates using resourcinol glue. I've taken a template off the back of the boat and built a basic jig to get the shape right. First 7 laminates glued up and clamped to the jig: First fashion piece after removal from the jig and trimming the rough ends off: Close-up of the trimmed end showing the individual laminates: The rough end after cutting off: Template sat on top after a quick clean up with the powerplane (the large plank of wood under the fashion piece is the 5"x14"x8' section to go on the top of the transom): This shows the fashion piece in its correct orientation after running it through my thicknesser a few times to square it all up: After two years of procrastination I've finally bought the flooring for the forecabin and aft cabin which turned up last week - 1mtr square tiles are quite large!: Cheers for reading, Dave Lacquer Peel, Dirk Diggler, Bucketeer and 17 others 20 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brickwall Posted January 20, 2015 Share Posted January 20, 2015 Always a great read mate. Where'd ya get the tiles please? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coalnotdole Posted January 20, 2015 Author Share Posted January 20, 2015 I've really enjoyed reading all of this. Do you now live aboard? Or is that the overall master plan? Yeah I liveaboard. There is no overall masterplan really - just carry on spunking time and money on it until its as good as/better than new! Can we have MOAR videos of engine running please? Because foden 2 strokeI haz no video camera and my phone is from the stoneage (besides it'll cost me a tenner in diesel to fire it up!) Next time I stick it on the slip I'll get a video of the engine and boat moving, promise. We have an Iron Fairy (1984?) at work which despite being one of few things at the dock longer than me I'm pleased to say I've had almost nowt to do with it. It would seem design and development peaked about 1953, perhaps no bad thing. Pics can be got if anyone feels the Iron Fairy love.....Ours is a 1977 IF10 but the ten tonne capacity is with the jib right in and lifting over the front. It's good for 4.5ton at a reasonable radius. Always a great read mate. Where'd ya get the tiles please?Ebayz. £20 a sq mtr. Very please with them 4mm thick and very tough/flexible supposed to be £70 sq mtr new. Got to wait untill next payday to buy the adhesive though! Dave Craig the Princess 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Honey Badger Posted January 20, 2015 Share Posted January 20, 2015 Really impressed with the quality of the woodwork in this, do you use mostly power tools or is a lot of it by hand? Iroko is a real bastard to work with, had to spend days washing and clearing my workshop down after the last time I used it as it would irritate my lungs even with no evidence of dust. Loving the updates. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coalnotdole Posted January 21, 2015 Author Share Posted January 21, 2015 Really impressed with the quality of the woodwork in this, do you use mostly power tools or is a lot of it by hand? Iroko is a real bastard to work with, had to spend days washing and clearing my workshop down after the last time I used it as it would irritate my lungs even with no evidence of dust. Loving the updates. I use a lot of powertools - power-plane is probably one of the things I couldn't live without, the wadkin table saw in the workshop speeds up cutting half joints for locker doors etc. I do have a ridiculously large collection of decent British Made handtools as well though - theres no electrical equivalent for a nice set of footprint cabinet chisels for instance! I hate Iroko - spent most of lastnight blowing blood and mucus out of my nose after having run that fashion piece through the thicknesser. Despite its toxic attributes Its a pretty good hardwood for the money so i will be continueing to use it. Dave anonymous user 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Magnificent Rustbucket Posted January 21, 2015 Share Posted January 21, 2015 This is a wonderful thread. anonymous user 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coalnotdole Posted May 30, 2015 Author Share Posted May 30, 2015 Can haz finally make update? The last post back in january covered laminating up the "fashion pieces" to go on the inside of the transom - for most of the intervening four months they've sat under the bench in the workshop (with just enough sticking out to trip you over) With some reasonable weather finally here and several (un)subtle hints from my business partner/former boss that he was bored of tripping over them I've finally made a start on fitting them to the boat. This has involved ripping out the cockpit floor and underlying structure to gain access which will hopefully spur me on to fitting the new floor which will be self draining unlike the old one which drained into the bilge. Fashion piece sat in place before any sortof trimming: I ran them through the bandsaw to roughly cut the bevel: After some adjustments and trimming: I'm really pleased with the lamination - the curves match the hull shape almost perfectly: Other side: And this is how it currently looks - The fashion pieces need fine adjustment and painting before they're finally fitted, they're in situ at the moment as I used them to clamp the top section of transom which I've just glued in place on tuesday: Top of transom and fashion pieces - thats a 12" clamp for scale,Ten Inches of solid wood!: Got to glue a bit in the rebate as the outer board wasnt quite wide enough - the top will then get trimmed to a curve: Whilst at beaulieu autojumble I finally found another length of 10mm stainless wire for my steering cables to replace the shitty steel ones currently fitted - I had acquired enough to do one side about three years ago but had had no luck finding another length: And at the boatjumble a few months back I bought a bigger searchlight to go on the wheelhouse as the old one off a green goddess was now dwarfed a bit by the new mast: Made in bolton: Thats about it for structural progress at the moment - will pop a couple of photos of prgress on the galley up later. Dave fotorabia, Junkman, Bfg and 14 others 17 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coalnotdole Posted May 30, 2015 Author Share Posted May 30, 2015 Bit of progress on the second half of the galley today - sorry for shit pictures. Pile of cut and jointed timber: Which I've just prepared to the exact dimensions shown on my highly accurate scale drawing: Laid out on the workshop floor: And mocked up in situ - the Fridge will go in the top right aperture: Also made my final bit of floorboard for the forecabin the other week: Thanks for reading/commenting. Dave Asimo, Junkman, The Moog and 8 others 11 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UltraWomble Posted May 31, 2015 Share Posted May 31, 2015 Looking good. Im impressed with that search light. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
meshking Posted May 31, 2015 Share Posted May 31, 2015 Excellent work, I wish I could create things out of wood like that! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coalnotdole Posted July 8, 2015 Author Share Posted July 8, 2015 Some more progress: Starboard Galley test assembled: With gas hob and fridge test fitted: Covering boards fitted around cockpit: Sides of the transom trimmed and rebated to accept the bulwarks: And the covering board after epoxy sheathing: Tiller cutout in new transom top roughed out: The hatches in the coachroof are one of the things that have been on the joblist for a long time - I repaired all the coamings around the hatch openings and have replaced the hatch staunchions where they were missing but the actual hatches are just too far gone to be worth repairing: Rather than making them out of steel again I've had them made in marine grade Aluminium by a fabrication firm: The hinges will be re-used they are riveted onto the originals so they're a bit tedious to remove!, the plan is to bolt them to the new hatches with a rubber insulator between them and the alloy: Inside: The handles on the old hatches have always been a bit poor so I'm planning to change the design slightly and also make them out of stainless: These are the brackets which the drop pins in the hatch retaining staunchions locate in to hold the hatches open: I've ordered some stainless angle to re-make these: Interior handle - I've ordered 33meters of stainless bar to remake these and also to make the bars to go over the cabin windows: Now waiting for various metal and wood orders to arrive, I've epoxy taped the deck edge where the new covering boards are since these photos were taken. Going to bed now! Dave Asimo, DeeJay, richardthestag and 13 others 16 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Bell Posted July 9, 2015 Share Posted July 9, 2015 Top graft fella. All the thumbs up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tooSavvy Posted July 9, 2015 Share Posted July 9, 2015 EPIC....... TS Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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