Paint Day

Today the paint job is finally finished.  Well, there is still the roof to do with sand to make a grippy surface and some other sandy grippy bits, but the pray work is done.  I just hope the problem with the paint doesnt re-appear.

So here it is in pictures.

Masking yesterday magnolia

Slap some on here

Like this

And some here

And here

A few hours later all unmasked and shiny

A good couple of days work making a huge difference.  More photos when I can get on the bow deck without damaging it.

The paint has been piled on nice and thick.  Jerry said he had never put so much paint on anything.  The magnolia has nearly 3 litres and the blue including the rear already done has used 8 litres.  All that needs to be done now is a good mopping.  This will be done in due course.

I have deliberately used standard colours as they will be easy to source in the future from vertualy anywhere in any form and in any base material.

The magnolia is from the BS 4800 standard  BS 08 B 15 

The steel blue is form the RAL standard RAL 5011

Read More..

Floors

The floors are going in! Southern Yellow Pine 4x6s bedded well in chapopote (roof tar). 

Read More..

Down To The Finishing Off Jobs

Forgive me readers for I have sinned. Its been nearly a month since my last blog.  I am now just doing the last few little jobs that have been hanging around.

I had the final bit of skirting board made by DW Wood Mouldings and fitted them along with the final bits of plinth.

Same both sides

I have fitted the rear door vents.

 16g SS special order, nice and thick

Still need varnishing

I have fitted the front button.

Ready for some bumping now ;-)

And finally Ive fitted a warning LED to the dash to confirm the alternator parallelling is locked in.

A horrible job which I didnt photograph was the removal of a spill of 2.5L of tar paint in the chain locker.  I decided it would be better to let it dry then use a hot air gun to melt it into manageable slices.  It worked but took about an hour and the last bits in the corners was a real job.

I have decided to move the inverter inside under the rear stairs.  I have had a couple of comments about it and I was a little unsure if it was a good idea when I decided to put it in the engine room  I will probably do this next week.

Read More..

Need to find something special for the Holidays

If you are looking for serious Holiday gifts, for others (or even for yourself), I hope you’ll hang around long enough to read this...

As authors of a book that includes much common sense, but also some pretty specialized information, weve been particularly pleased, not just at the number of favorable reviews that weve gotten, but about where some of those reviews have come from.

When I used to play music for a living, the older and wiser musicians would remind me "Dont listen to the hecklers; theyre probably drunk." They also followed that statement with "Dont get too high on the compliments; theyre probably drunk. These are good words of wisdom for anyone trying to keep their assessment of the opinions of others in check. The same guys would also point someone out in the audience and say "If that guy says you did well, it means something", referring to someone that had been in the business for many years. Of course, "that guy" might put you in your place just as quickly; maybe more often.

We wrote our book for all levels of model makers. That is to say that it provides fundamental information that can teach anyone to learn the art of model making and it also has a significant amount of information that can add to any master model makers skill set. There are a number of areas of focus including; learning the art of "scratch building"; concepts and techniques for improving your ability to "see" your subject in order to better represent it in your model; understanding shapes, spatial concepts, drawings and how to measure boats accurately; different ways to build and display models; tools; materials; construction theories and much more.

Its got 160 pages, 264 photos, and 94 drawings and it took 4 years to write. Those photos were culled from thousands; the drawings from hundreds and the fifty some odd original chapters were focused down to twenty. It was quite a bit of work and, as with the playing of music, when you put your work out in public for others to judge, you want to know what they think... ...what they really think.

At shows and book signings, we’ve received positive compliments from all sorts of people and its been very gratifying. We dont always know who among them knows what, but we certainly know, from some of the serious conversations that weve had, that among them have been some very knowledgeable model makers. Unfortunately, those conversations are gone to the wind...

With our book, as when I was a musician, we wait for “that guy”, who is known for their expertise, and whose words can be relied upon to “mean something”. Because we believe in the quality of our book and want confirmation that we succeeded at doing what we intended, it means a great deal to us when “that guy” speaks up. It also helps us as we write our next book.

When you know who “that guy” is, you know that what they say can help guide you, especially if the subject is one that you don’t yet know much about or in the case where you are looking for a gift for someone else. We have now heard from a number of “those guys” and it is probable, if you happen to be reading this, that you are well aware of one and likely more of those we’ve chosen to list here:

As you read note not only what is said, but who is saying it. They are people who know what they are talking about:

From the November 2011 issue of The Waterman’s Gazette, a trade publication of the Maryland Watermen’s Association. The Watermen that work on deadrise and other types of workboats in the Maryland waters of the Chesapeake Bay rely on the “Gazette“. Watermen have no problem telling you what they think; good or bad. The review says some very nice things, referring to how model boat builders and enthusiasts“, both “professional” and “hobbyist” will benefit and “can apply the principles learned for design techniques and theories to other models they want to build” and concluding with “it’s well worth the price”. Believe me, Watermen know value.

Tom Holmes, noted expert and restorer of classic Century boats and President of The Century Boat Club, wrote in The Thoroughbred, a magazine published by The Century Boat Club, “their attention to detail is awesome” and “their chapters on Understanding Lines Drawings and How to Measure a Boat are very instructive for club members tackling a restoration job, especially a basket case. Their approach to problem solving is fundamental to a boat restorer especially if you are not simply copying , but need to scratch build boat parts. You will learn many skills and approaches to boat building from reading this book.”

Good Old Boat Magazine, well read by many for years said among many nice things: “My learning curve would have been much less steep if Fundamentals of Model Boat Building had been available.” and “I looked at this book from the perspective of a fellow model boat builder and found the explanations and terminology easy to follow. With that in mind, I asked my husband, who is a sailor, but not a model builder, to look it over and he told me it’s a fascinating read.”

Fine Woodworking Magazine, respected by woodworkers the world over; in addition to awarding our book as a prize, included this in their assessment: “This seems like a pretty intense book, but if you want to build model boats, this book will show you how to do it all.”
 

As of this time, all of the reviews that we have seen have been very positive and we are very pleased and proud to recommend our book to you, or your loved ones. There are many others and I will be happy to give you the sources so you can read their complete reviews. Just email me at johninto@intothings.com

That said, I want to know all opinions, whether you are a novice or a master, whether your opinion is full of praise or full of criticisms. We have yet to see a negative review, not that we would look forward to it, but we really want to know of all honest opinions. We really want to know what you think. Take a look for yourself!

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!

Read More..

A Bit Council House

I have been up to quite a few things on the boat but nothing really blog worthy. I do have a lot to say about generators, batteries, alternators and charging but this is still a work in progress.

I have put the 12v toilet back in and fitted a better design non-return valve.

The 230v toilet was OK but had its issues, principally the amount of water used.  Since fitting this valve no backflow has been noticed.  The other issue I had with the 12v toilet was voltage drop on activation.  I have overcome this with a small sealed 12v battery in a cupboard very close to the toilet.

This was the original toilet swap blog.

Its a common joke in the UK that mounting a TV on the wall is a bit "Council House".  It just happens on the boat I decided it would be a good idea as it frees the surface of the unit.

Before

After

Much neater as all the wires are in the wall now.  The extra height is better, more comfortable viewing angle.  It was a bit low before.

Read More..

Battens Cut and Fit

My battens have now been ripped and fit to the frames. I had to deepen the pre-cut notches to get the battens to lay flush with the frame contours. Per the "Boatbuilding with Plywood" book, battens should be installed after side planking, so I used some steel screws for temporary dry fit so they can be removed if in the way for subsequent work. They helped secure the frames in position so Ill leave them in place if possible.

The sides of the middle frame were unsupported and could easily be pushed out of plumb so I added a temporary cross beam and some angle braces from it to the form to stablize them. Now they can be worked on without moving around.

The next step is fitting the chines. You can see in the photo that Im experimenting with a piece of pine to judge whether my notches are right. Im letting my buddy Ted forge ahead with his Zip and of course he just tried steaming his chines and installing and broke one. Im taking a vacation so the boat will be on hold for awhile. Maybe when I get back, Ted will tell me how to install a chine without making expensive mohogany firewood.

Read More..

A Few Days On The Move

Its half term in the UK and what with a wedding last weekend 

and the Jubilee and a boat show on Monday, we finally kicked off on Tuesday with the intention of going to St. Ives which we think is a delightful town.

The distance from our home mooring is about 24miles so having kicked off quite late following a lay in and supplies shopping we decided to stop early evening about half way along.

Very remote

At the first lock we had to go topless, its the law!  Well actually its because the lock runs under a road and the headroom is restricted.

 Deb gives this a good scale

Look at the water line. This is going in

This is the headroom after the rise

So on to the next lock.  Sometime seals can be seen here but not today. This is an easy lock hardly any level change at all but still it involves the whole process.

All was going well until we reached the next lock at St. Ives.  The river guide says the lock is 91 x 127.  Now you would think that us being a mere 60 x 12 would fit easily.  NOPE!  we got well and truly wedged despite going in at a snails pace.  There is a jutty out part as can be seen on Brians photos

The far end of the 3 rails. We were coming in the other way

It took Deb on the power and me and 2 other burly chaps to free us.  Words have been had with the publishers of the guide.

So we turned around and have now moored in a lovely spot near a pub.

Read More..

Rear Deck Boards

A while back I made some templates for the back decks from the temporary working decks Ive had since 6th July 2010

I took these to a local firm that make ply lining for vans.  The have a couple of CNC router decks.  From these templates they digitised then cut the Wisadeck panels.  This board is difficult to cut as it splinters very easily if cut with a saw.   

The router cuts a nice clean square edge and the curve is nice and continious.  The edges were then beautiflly painted and sealed by SWMBO.

Read More..

Its Been A Buffing Sort of Day

I have been buffing the paint this afternoon.  Its very hard work and not very interesting.

But the result is satisfying even if the reflection shows that ugly mug.

Read More..

Gunwale Gritting

I started the day buy sweeping off the excess grit.  This needed to go into the oven to dry out ready for the starboard side to be gritted.

This is how it looked before painting.

After I masked up and gritted the starboard this had given time for the damp of the day to burn off so I could paint the port side.

This really drunk some paint I can tell you.  Hopefully all this gritting will ensure I never slip off the gunwales.  Fingers crossed hey?

Read More..

Would you like a pleasant alternative to Black Friday

 
You may not know about Chincoteague...

but, its a place near and dear to our hearts. If you are trying to avoid the mass hysteria of "Black Friday", I recommend that you consider a trip to Chincoteague, Virginia instead.

Years ago, when we started to go to "carving" shows, many of our friends and colleagues, in particular, the late great Lee Scheely, told us: "Youve got to go to Chincoteague!". The way it was put made the show a bit intimidating. We didnt know if we could even get in, especially where our subject is boats, rather than birds. There is, however, a good deal of carving that goes into our work and so we started "doing Chincoteague". It may have been one of the best things weve done.

There are actually three of the Chincoteague carving shows each year: Thanksgiving, Easter and Labor Day. Weve never been able to do Labor Day for unrelated reasons. Weve discussed the Easter show on our Facebook page. This weekend (Friday & Saturday Nov. 25th & 26th) is the Thanksgiving show. Its also a Christmas show.

Let me tell you about these shows. They are held at the Chincoteague Combined School in its gymnasium. No huge signs out front. You might think that youre looking at a Holiday Bazaar or other Craft Fair when you only look at the outside of the building. A school with a lot of vans and trailers parked outside. Sounds like a bunch of amateurs???

When I first came to these shows, I was blown away. The exhibitors represented the Masters Masters of carving, many that I knew from Havre de Grace and The Waterfowl Festival and other great nationally recognized shows. Among them were Bill Veasey and Shannon Dimmig, Vince Ciesielski (I probably spelled his name incorrectly), Bill Cowen, Jennifer Daisey, Russell Fish, Walt Schmitz, Bill Hickson, Rocky Detwiler and scores of other truly great carvers. The painters and sculptors were no less amazing. Other artists, such as Donnie Thornton and Don & Donna Drew really rounded the shows out nicely. There is no room to mention many of them, no less to describe their work.

What was also amazing was to find such a low key atmosphere, where you didnt just have the opportunity to see some amazing art and artistry, but the opportunity to spend time talking with the artists and getting to know them. Over the years, weve made a lot of friends and weve learned a lot of things from being in the Chincoteague carving shows. Unfortunately, weve lost more than a few of those friends over those years, such as Lee, Don Repsher and some others who we came to expect to see when we arrived and now really miss. We were lucky to have the opportunities to learn from them and to be able to call such great people our friends.

These shows have changed over the years. Everyone used to know about them - they were legendary. Word of mouth has been overcome by electronic media and low budget shows cant buy the advertising that the large retailers can. The Deborah Waterfowl Show and Auction is a truly great show with truly great carvers and artists of many kinds. Its an honest display of high quality things, in some cases among the best in the world of those things.  They are reasonably priced and made with precision and care. If you are looking for gifts, you will be amazed at what awaits you.

As you consider the idea of patronizing small businesses, I recommend that you consider this show, full of hard-working people, who, although they may not be immediately recognized as such, are small business owners. Proceeds from the show benefit the Deborah Heart & Lung Center in Browns Mills, NJ. As with the eggs that we carve for the silent auction at the Easter show, we apply our talents to wooden balls such as the one below. Come to the live auction on Saturday night to get your hands on some very special things...

The show is only a small reason to come to the island of Chincoteague. Its a beautiful town with shops, restaurants, hotels, B&Bs and beautiful views. The Wildlife Refuge opens up miles of road that are only open for Thanksgiving weekend. You can see the famous ponies (dont tell me that youve never heard of "Misty of Chincoteague"), Snow Geese, deer, beaches and... Ive told you enough.

Again... Avoid the Malls! Come to The Deborah Waterfowl Show and Auction, Friday and Saturday, November 25th & 26th, 2011 at the Chincoteague Combined School in Chincoteague, Virginia. For more information call (757) 336-6161

Read More..

Something Wheely Nice

My fellow boat builder, Ted, found a nice mahogany steering wheel at Speed and Custom Marine for his boat. It looks so good, I had had to get one too. Given the variation in mahogany coloration I did not know what I would get but it matches perfectly with my king plank and perimeter boards so it looks like I planned it that way. I had trouble getting the old black plastic wheel off the tapered steering shaft and ended up using some small C-clamps to clamp on a gear puller yoke. As I screwed down the center puller bolt it seemed like nothing was going to happen and then it finally popped free.

Read More..

Just what do we mean by Fundamentals

When you write a book and begin the title with the word "Fundamentals", there is a certain implication. Let me put it simply: Our book teaches you what you need to know to choose a subject boat and make a model of it. It teaches the things you need to become a model maker. It also contains a wealth of useful information for veteran model makers. Here is where you can find out more http://intothings.com/fundamentals.html

Read More..

Cutting Corners!

I need to build 2 new things.
1 a gas storage box under the aft windows,
2 a aft seat on the aft deck. this will be additional storage and also provide space for the name of the boat.
Its picked.. but I am not telling!!!!



165mm Dia pipe I found in a skip in a school after some major plumbing job

I need 2 cuts at 67 and 73 degrees. cut them with a Makita Jigsaw.


Nice straight lines

67deg bit for gas tank.

Read More..