Foam for cushions

Cutting the foam for the cushions with a hot wire tied to two bolts. I used an ordinary car battery charger. Worked well. Had to jump start the charger with a 9V battery because it will only shut on after it detects a working battery. Current is automatically reduced within working range of the charger; I guess this is standard for most modern chargers.

I first experimented with some electric guitar string as a cutting wire. This didn't work at all so I had to order proper cutting wire - a big difference as you can see on the photo below. I got quite some cutting wire left, so if anyone is interested I can send some by mail. I also have some spare frontrunner fabric (Jay sent me quite a big piece) for the rudder cassette. If anyone is interested, let me know. This stuff is hard to find (at least in Holland).

Trial fit of cushions below. A seperate cushion with lifting straps will go on top of the lid in the front bunk.

To cut the cushions I made wood (MDF) templates of the top and bottom. To make the top templates I measured the angle of the side of the boat every 50 cm and calculated the added width. Extra widht varies between app. 12 cm (in back of cabin) to 1,5 cm (near bow).

Non skid done

Before painting the non skid I first had to apply masking tape. It's very important to use good masking tape, because the thin two pack paint will easily get under the tape. I took care to buy good tape, but still had some leaks. Maybe I'll touch those spots up with a small brush and some white paint but... maybe I won't.

Marking the outline of the non skid on all the sloping areas of the hull is very easy with this tool. I made a small mark on the upper part of the tool, and used that to put some dots on the hull. Then draw a line with a flexible batten and put the masking tape on.
Corners are rounded. Step 1: draw a corner.

Step 2: carefully cut the corner.

Step 3: remove offcut.

End result. The cockpit floor edge looks a bit messy on this picture because the masking tape is still on.



Now it's time for the nice work: bolting on all the hardware. I'm going to wait till my friend Eelco and my brother Hans have time to come and help. They have helped doing all the dirty work, it wouldn't be fair to keep all the nice work to myself.

And now, the end is near...

....or so I thought.

When painting the boat I felt it wouldn't be long before I could go sailing, but today I made a to do-list and it's quite depressing how much still has to be done. I'll keep the list on this site as a reminder and also to make me happy seeing it getting shorter and shorter.

Main hull:

- Painting non-skid DONE 8/2/09
- Sawing + gluing Perspex sliding hatches - DONE 9/3/09
- Plastic strips to slide hatch - DONE 9/3/09
- Make outboard mount - DONE 12/3/09
- Cutting foam for cushions - DONE 13/3/09
- Wooden strips to retain perspex hatches - DONE 13/3/09
- Fitting windows - DONE 15/3/09
- Fitting hatch + bolts - DONE 15/3/09
- Install outboard mount - DONE 15/3/09
- Install mast support-tubes DONE 15/3/09
- Sewing cushion covers DONE 15/4/09
- Bolting on hardware DONE 18/4/09
- Bolting on hatch + inspection port DONE 18/4/09
- glue cover plate centreboard line DONE
- INstall centerboard retaining cap DONE
- make rollers for mast support DONE 22/05/09
- Ordering PETP DONE 11/05/09
- weld mast support DONE 22/05/09
- Weld maststep DONE 03/06/09
- making bushes rudder DONE 10/06/09
- Finish + Install maststep DONE (installing) 13/06/09
- Wax on boat
- Make tiller
- Saddle eyes in beam recesses

Floats:

- make 1 wingnet support - DONE 14/3/09
- Make slots for deadeyes - DONE 23/4/09
- attach wingnet support DONE 26/04/09
- fixing last dings - DONE 08/05/09
- new HD inserts (updated plans) NOT DONE-NOT NECESSARY
- fair wingnet supports DONE 08/05/09
- Bolt rope extrusion on supports DONE 15/05/09
- one new coat primer DONE 08/05/09
- 2 layers paint DONE 10/05/09
- non-skid DONE 11/05/09
- bolt on u-bolts + padeye DONE 15/05/09
- bolt on hatches DONE 15/05/09
- bolt on inspection-ports Done 15/05/09
- drill holes beams - DONE 18/05/09

Sails:

- Pick sails up at sailmaker DONE
- buy line for sheets DONE 10/06/09
- Furler DONE 23/05/09

Rig:

- Buy dyneema for shrouds and halyards DONE 10/3/09
- Dig out hole in mastfoot-rod (lathe) - DONE 16/3/09
- Fit sheaves DONE 21/3/09
- Fit T-terminal holder for diamond wire - DONE 21/3/09
- Fit forestay-tang - DONE 21/3/09
- Buy Precourt deadeyes or the like - DONE 20/3/09
- Fit exits DONE
- Weld mastfoot DONE 22/05/09
- Weld mastfoot in mast DONE 22/05/09
- Make bearing for mastfoot (UMHDPE/delrin)
- Fit spreaders DONE 10/05/09
- Press lower terminals on wire DONE 14/05/09
- Fit lower terminal holder for diamond wire DONE 13/05/09
- Fit cleats
- Attachment shrouds: Olivier link or padeye?
- Make A-frames for mast raising wires (or as per plans)
- Mast raising wires + attachment
- Cut + weld mast raising pole DONE 10/06/09
- Mast raising wires
- buy line for traveller

Folding system:

- Buy POM rod to make acetal washers DONE 11/05/09
- Cut washers out of POM rod - DONE 22/05/09
- bolt wingnet eyes to beams - DONE 16/05/09
- make dummy float decks DONE 14/05/09
- Install all hardware on main hull DONE 23/05/09
- bearing plates on beams
- Beam end caps DONE 14/06/09
- install beams DONE 24/05/09
- drain-pipes in floats
- make + install float retaining thingy DONE 03/06/09

Trailer:

- Make main support for hull DONE
- Make connector for extra set of lights DONE
- Buy extra set of lights + plates + cables DONE
- Make support to hang extra lights at transom DONE
- Buy marking sign DONE
- Make new attachment for existing side supports DONE
- Make float supports DONE
- fog lights on trailer (re-wire)
- new lower weel arches DONE

Other:
- Sew trampolines
- Buy lacing line
- buy outboard
- buy hoisting slings + hooks DONE 02/05/09
- Rent crane to get mainhull out of workshop DONE
- make rollers to roll hull out of workshop DONE
- insurance
- buy/lend MIG-welder DONE
- learn to weld MIG (a bit) DONE
- and…..big party to celebrate launch!

Multiple projects

I bought a mast from Z-spars + some parts like spreaders, tangs, sheaves, etc. When it gets warmer I'll start working on the mast, which is laying outside in my garden.
The mast section is a Z-spar 301. Unfortunately no wing-shaped section. Those are hard to find in Europe. Good thing about this mast it's relatively cheap (950 euro for the anodizes mast section) and light (3 kg/meter). I got a 12 meter section and had to cut it to length to fit it in my backgarden.

Trick to get a straight cut: wrap a piece of square paper around and use that to draw a guide-line for the saw-cut.Plans have been updated: the original ruddermount is not strong enough and needs some extra glass. Here the extra glass is in place. I could have chosen the option of the side supports in stead of the glass, but thought it would be better (looking) to sand down the bog + primer and put on the glass. I checked if with the ruddercase would still fit with the extra glass. No problem.
Tip for other builders: when building the ruddercase, check the clearance in the cutouts for the gudgeons. I found out these were very tight and had to make the cutouts a bit deeper for the ruddercase to fit.
Also: don't try to put the rudder pin retaining screw in the center/front of the tube, else you won't be able to reach it. Put it angled a bit sideways (see photo below).

Interior paint is ready.

Mold + glass + plastic on top for the wignet support. Using a piece of aluminium angle is o good way to keep the glass from lifting at the 90 degree edge. The finished support is very floppy but I guess it will be very solid once it has been fitted to the float.

I bought an old bandsaw for less money then I had to pay for the 30 cm G10-tube for the rudder. Wish I had bought it earlier. This is a fantastic tool for sawing pieces of wood and aluminium, so much better than using a jigsaw. Here is the plate for the mastfoot. 3 minutes work and almost ready. As with the parts for the mast-step it's best to drill all the holes first using a drill-press. As long as you've got all the holes in the right place, it's hard to mess up these parts.

First layer of white paint (RAL 9010) is on. Tonight I will put the second layer on. After that I only need to paint the grey non-skid to basically finish the hull.

Working on rudder + centerboard

I put on the second coat on the hull las friday. I think it looks good enough, although the coat has some dust in the paint on some spots. Most of the hull wil barely be visible anyway once the hull is upright and complete with the floats. The visible parts (stern & bow) look pretty good.
When painting the first coat I made a big mistake trying to mix all the paint in one go and mixed way too much. This time I mixed some paint, painted the bottom of the hull and one hullside first (weighing the amount of paint needed for both parts of the hull) and then I knew exactly how much more extra paint I needed to mix for the last hullside. It's pretty obvious this is the way to do it. It's a shame I had to screw up the first time.

Before turning the hull for the last time I'm going to put some wax on and put the centerboard in. Below are the parts for the centerboard: sheave assembly (plexiglass + tuffnol sheaves), alu cover plate for control line exit, a bumper-stop for the centerboard made of a piece of PVC-tube filled with putty, and a cap to cover the pivot-pin made of cutting board (HDPE). I bought an antique Unimat SL lathe to experiment a bit, and the recess in the pivot pin cap was the first practical thing I made on the lathe.
Here's a picture of the control-lines and the sheave assembly. The top of the plexiglass spacers is level with the cover of the centerboardcase, so the lines will be retained. The bumper-stop is visible below the sheaves. Earlier on I couldn't decide how to finish the interior of the centerboard case, but now I had to make a decision. Searching the internet I found people telling it's absolutely NOT necessary to use anti-fouling in a centerboard case, and people telling exactly the opposite.
To be sure I put coppercoat on the centerboard and the case interior, and regretted a lot I didn't decide earlier about the finish and paint the case before assembly. It was a terrible job to get the coppercoat properly inside the case.
Although I will keep the boat on the trailer for now, it's nice to know that when I decide to put it in the water permanently I only have to antifoul the hull and don't have to worry about the centerboard and the centerboard-case.

According to the plans a washer should be welded at the end of the centerboard pivot pin and this should be screwed to the doubler. This seems to me a bit difficult solution (for instance: washer should be welded perfectly square) and my idea is it is easier and more leak-proof to retain the pin by screwing a cap over it.
The cap is a bit small. I'm going to make a bigger version.

The control line for the centerboard is continuous. The camcleat will be bolted to the side of the cockpitseat.

The rudder + case is almost ready. I used nylon m6-threaded rod instead of alu bolts to retain the block at the back of the ruddercase. Put stainless bolts on the nylon rod, just for the 'bling'.
Going to try to make my own PETP bushes on the lathe, not to save time or money but because I want to make as much parts as possible myself.

The tiller (next to the rudder) will be made of a spare handle for a spade, bought at the hardware store for 6 euro (6 US dollar). I got this tip from the F-boat forum. The tiller will possibly be the cheapest part on the boat.

First coat on hull

Primed hull is sanded wet till grit 400 (except for the bottom: grit 220).
When working with your face so close to the hull you keep on finding small spots & holes after every sanding/cleaning. I found it difficult to stop correcting but in the end decided enough was enough.

Then I put the first layer of paint on. I use 2-pack paint, roll it out and tip off with a brush. Before painting I use a tack-rag to wipe off the last dust and I mopped the floor to keep it a bit damp to trap as much dust as possible.
I used about 850 mg to cover the whole boat, much less than I thought I needed. Had to trow away a lot of mixed paint - downside of the two-pack. It has to stand for at least 30 minutes after mixing, so it's not possible to mix some extra in the middle of the paint job as you have to keep on painting wet in wet, else you''ll see an overlap in the paint job.

On the bottom there are still some sanding marks because I didn't sand it as thoroughly as the sides. The sides are not bad at all for an absolute beginner like me. Had a (very) few runs and a few visible brushing strokes and a few spots that show a very slight orange-peel-effect because I didn't sand down the rolled-on primer far enough.

Below a picture to show the gloss after one coat. By the time I'm writing this the whole hull is dull again, because I decided to wet sand out the last imperfections with grid 400 before putting on the final coat. I didn't have much dust in the paint. When painting the rudder I had more problems with dust and rubbish, but in hindsight that rubbish was probably trapped in the brush I used on that paint job. This time I cleaned the brush just before painting.

I also put the second coat on the rudder after sanding 400 grit. The hull will have the same finish after the second coat.

I was not very happy reading earlier this day a comment on Grant's blog, saying it's important the trailing edge of the rudder is no more than 2 mm thick. If I remember right my rudder's trailing edge is about 3,5 - 4 mm (4 layers C+layer in middle+ not very compact laminate).

If I'm going to try to correct this on my rudder, I'll have to do the paint job all over (+ primer). I'm tempted to leave it for now, and first try the rudder as it is.

paint on rudder & centerboard test fit

Rudder is ready for painting. While painting it I hope I can learn what works best, before painting the main hull. Below is the primed (I put some blue colour in the primer) and sanded rudder. I touched up the last small holes & dings with polyester filler. Worked well for this (very) small spots, easy to sand flush and it only takes half an hour or so before you can sand it.
Pleasant surprise: it's possible and not even difficult to get a very nice coat rolling and tipping paint. I only put one coat on and the result was beyond my expectations. I use two part paint, thinned with a special thinner for brushing. The paint self-levels really well. Biggest problem was small rubbish getting trapped in the paint, although I cleaned my attic/workshop thoroughly. Next time I'll wet the floor to get rid of some more dust in the air.

Work on the main hull is starting once again. My brother helped me to trial-fit the centerboard.

Problem: the centerboard can't fold all the way because one edge touches the hull too fast in the area where the upper part of the board folds in (look at the picture below, you'll understand). Problem was solved by put a 45 degree bevel on that side. It seems like with more parts on this boat the design doesn't allow for a big margin for error.