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boat fan

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Well it's not often I see stuff from "down under"..and your pictures has made it real..they are lovely as is your boat and projects like that do take time and its nice to share progress with those who appreciate what you are achieving...carry on and keep posting!

Patty

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Hello everyone .

 

I am having some issues with my wi-fi and frequent drop outs , to add to that , Telstra ( our national telco ) has had two national outages this past week , and things are not looking as though they will improve in a hurry.

 

I thought I would try to post some early pictures of this crazy project ( if ) I can get enough band width without any interruptions.

So here we go ...

 

Bulkhead framing was cut on an old Dewalt radial arm saw.

 

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Each framing piece is two laminations of 7/8 inch x 4 inch hardwood epoxy glued together.

 

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Hardwood and marine plywood bulkheads and laminated hard wood stringers being assembled .

All glue is epoxy resin mixed with colloidal silica powder ( ca-bo-sil ) .The bond is stronger than the wood , and generally , no fasteners are required.

 

This is the bow section , it is 8ft or approx 2.4 m long.

 

I built the hulls in sections because I`m building alone , and I could move smaller sections around and roll them over without too much trouble.

 

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The 2.4 m stern section being framed up.

The stringers are also two layers of 7/ 8 x two inch ( 22 x 50mm ) thick hardwood epoxy glued together.

Once the epoxy has fully set , the whole assembly is relatively light and very strong.

 

Bow section being assembled.

 

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Three partially completed hull sections , there will be another 2.4m section at the far end .

Big hulls.

 

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3.5 metric tons of displacement ( per each hull ) at 300 mm ( 12 inch ) draft.

 

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Here I am taping over all the external corners with heavy f/g biaxial tape.

The tape has the glass threads crossing over at 45 degrees to really strengthen the corners.

The tape is quite thick and soaks up a lot of epoxy resin.

 

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3.6 m hull section ready to cover with f/glass.

 

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Filler is knifed over the corners to fair in the heavy biax. tape.

 

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After the tape has set the entire hull sections are glassed over with f/g cloth and more epoxy resin.

Three more coats of resin are rolled on while the layers are still tacky to get a really good chemical bond , and then the entire hull sections are sanded smooth .

 

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Many hours of work here to get to this stage.

 

I now have four separate assembled hull sections at 2.4 m and four at 3.6 m .

Edited by boat fan
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The entire hull interior was flooded with copper napthenate preservative.

 

Bee keepers treat their pine hives with this , and the hives last for years without further protection.

 

I poured it into the hull sections and soaked all the plywood with a mop.Three times.

 

The hulls smelled really bad for about eight days. After that nothing.

 

The green stuff is the copper napthenate.

 

The interior of the hull sections

were then coated with three coats of liquid flash , a fiber re - enforced brush on membrane used to water - proof balconies , and roofing.

 

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First of three coats of liquid flash.

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The hull sections were then epoxy bonded and bolted together.

 

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Hot dip galvanized bolts and heavy duty washers.

 

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Bolting and epoxy gluing it all together.

 

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Cleaning up epoxy glue squeeze - out with plain white vinegar.

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Two 40 ft ( 12 m ) hulls assembled .

 

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Bolting the keel in place :

 

The keel timber is old salvaged Jarrah .

 

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It was through bolted to the inner four inch wide keelson with half inch ( 12 mm ) hot dip galv. bolts.

 

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Hard as nails , and rot and termite resistant.

Many of the river paddle steamer hulls were built from Jarrah hardwood.

 

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A 25 mm epoxy fillet was laid into the corners and biaxial f/g tape stuck down over the still soft epoxy fillet.

 

This makes for a very strongly attached keel timber.

 

 

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The entire keel was then fiber glassed over with two thick layers of more biaxial tape.

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Edited by boat fan
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Hi dor ,

 

Yes , could do that from here ...... Echuca is 625 km upstream.

 

 

 

It is interesting , like you say.

 

GtTEEpf.jpg

 

Am not sure that I would want to be out on your boat when the water is at the high level of that staging!

 

Tim

Edited by Tim Lewis
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The hulls were set level and square with a home built water level and 22 x 150 x 50 ( 2 x 6 ) stress graded treated pine beams were bolted to the pontoon hulls at each bulk head.

 

water-level-tubes.jpg

 

I forgot to take pictures of the level.Just a hose with clear ends really.

 

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Copper Napthenate treated l cuts and holes drilled into the beams.

 

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The floor is Form ply.

Its coated water proof plywood used to make concrete form work.

I used a router to cut rebates around the edges so that the sheets interlock neatly without any gaps.

 

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Am not sure that I would want to be out on your boat when the water is at the high level of that staging!

 

Tim

 

 

The water level has never reached that high in the rivers existence Tim.

The dock is that level to unload wool bails to the cliff top.

 

The Murray does not flood any more due to the locks.

The last large flood was in 1955

 

Even back then that flood would not have come quarter the height of Echuca dock.

 

15202030370_1d4cc6abec_z.jpg

Edited by boat fan
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Hi Boat Fan,we dont have the big rivers like The Murray over this side so we have done what a fair few Aussies have done and bought a narrowboat in England. Just can't wait to get on it. We will be onboard in the middle of June.

Love your beautiful photos of our spectacular country.

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A big hi to you harley.

 

Good luck with your upcoming adventure !

 

I will look out for you here....you must be looking forward to it.

 

I would love to do what you guys over there can.

Edited by boat fan
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Constructing the front deck.

More epoxy , more marine plywood and more fiberglass.....

 

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Hatches.

 

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Hardwood decking between the hulls.

 

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It`s 2;00 am here ... need to get to bed ,good night from me .....

 

Thank you for watching!


This forum is fantastic, been a member since 2006, most people on here just want to help. I hope you get as much fun out of your boat as we intend to get out of Lazy Bee

 

Thanks harley !

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BSe5d5V.jpg

 

 

fxCVfrg.jpg

 

Vaj4lYE.jpg

 

This is my little boat yard friend.

He has been with me for about two and a half years , each summer .He just wonders about checking things out every few days during the hot weather.

 

As we are in autumn now , and the days and nights are getting cooler , he will go into hibernation soon , and appear again late next spring.

We call these sleepy lizards , because they are so slow moving.

 

If I complete this boat before next summer I will not likely see him again.

 

I keep an eye out for him so I don`t accidentally step on him.

Many get killed crossing roads because they are so slow.

Edited by boat fan
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What a fantastic project. Well done you.

 

Many moons ago, our family nearly emigrated to that area. Just after WW1, my grandad left a note stating he was going seeking work. Life was tough for a stone mason in Liverpool at the time.

 

A few months later, grandma got a letter. He was in Australia working on a dam project!

 

He returned after a few years, because grandma would not leave her family, but I believe he always pined to return.

 

 

Hi John .

 

Thank you for your comment.

 

It sounds like your grandad was working on the Snowy Mountain Scheme.

 

The project was officially started in 1949.

 

It is , still to this day , one of the most ambitious and largest engineering projects ever undertaken in this country.

 

This country owes much to people like your grandad.

 

Here is a link you may find of interest.

 

https://www.google.com.au/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwjh7I2h0tXLAhUnGaYKHWdVCdQQFggfMAA&url=https%3A%2F%2Fen.wikipedia.org%2Fwiki%2FSnowy_Mountains_Scheme&usg=AFQjCNGsiFJ9ESp9sp3DvW4uzBDliNX66A

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Hi boat fan, and a warm welcome to this forum,

 

you seem to be a very practical guy, full of good ideas to realise this big job.

 

It's really nice to see the solutions you found for different problems without the need to be a millionair.

 

Once your project is finished, you'll have a very comfortable spacious floating houseboat to explore the Murray river with.

 

It's not very likely that you'll ever going to bring her to this part of the world, but your beautiful photos show that there's plenty of beautiful nature

to see in Australia, apart from the huge dry part in the middle.

 

Keep your photos and stories of the build coming, I really admire your work and would love to see your progress.

 

BTW how many HP is your four stroke Yamaha ?

 

Looking forward to see what's will be the next stage of the fitout.

 

Good luck,

 

Peter.

 

 

Hi Peter.

 

Thank you for all the kind words.

 

The motor i have at the moment is a 25 HP High Thrust Four Stroke.

I think it may be under - powered for seven ton of boat.

 

The reason I have it , is that I originally had this idea of building an ( 18 ft or so ) party barge and devise a means of somehow docking that little barge to the back of the houseboat. For that purpose 25 HP may have been enough , as Yamaha claims the gearing and higher pitch prop give 60 % more thrust than a conventional outboard....If Yamaha is to be believed , that would be equal to a 40 HP outboard.

 

The problem with that plan was that I could not think of a satisfactory way to easily and efficiently attach the party barge to the forward controls and steering of the houseboat.

 

I don`t intend to consistently cover a huge amount of miles once I get afloat , I do not intend to leave the bank during any kind of wind , and travelling at night is not permitted for houseboats. This small motor should give a good idea of what will really be required. It may be sufficient , but I`m skeptical.

Edited by boat fan
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Whilst I'm impressed by your boat project, I'm equally impressed by your photography. I presume they're yours, and I'm guessing quite a lot of Lightroom work and HDR. They look great.

 

 

Hi Loafer ,

 

My camera is no longer .....it was a lower priced Canon digital SLR , and one fateful day the digital display....

......stopped " displaying " ..... sad.png .

 

I took it to the place I bought it and after a minute of fiddling with it , I was greeted with a shrug of the shoulders , a blank stare , and the verdict ......it has died.It will cost more to repair than buy a new one .......of course ......All I have now is a point and shoot Panasonic .

 

I used to adjust some of the photos ( Gamma correction , exposure etc ) with Photoshop , but mostly I tried to leave the photos as they were taken.

 

I have no darkroom.

 

Thank you for taking the time to make the comments .

Edited by boat fan
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Well it's not often I see stuff from "down under"..and your pictures has made it real..they are lovely as is your boat and projects like that do take time and its nice to share progress with those who appreciate what you are achieving...carry on and keep posting!

Patty

 

 

You are very kind Patty.

 

If I`m posting too many pictures let me know , in case I kill you all with boredom.

 

I really like reading all your comments , and feedback.

Edited by boat fan
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Hi Peter.

 

Thank you for all the kind words.

 

The motor i have at the moment is a 25 HP High Thrust Four Stroke.

I think it may be under - powered for seven ton of boat.

 

The reason I have it , is that I originally had this idea of building an ( 18 ft or so ) party barge and devise a means of somehow docking that little barge to the back of the houseboat. For that purpose 25 HP may have been enough , as Yamaha claims the gearing and higher pitch prop give 60 % more thrust than a conventional outboard....If Yamaha is to be believed , that would be equal to a 40 HP outboard.

 

The problem with that plan was that I could not think of a satisfactory way to easily and efficiently attach the party barge to the forward controls and steering of the houseboat.

 

I don`t intend to consistently cover a huge amount of miles once I get afloat , I do not intend to leave the bank during any kind of wind , and travelling at night is not permitted for houseboats. This small motor should give a good idea of what will really be required. It may be sufficient , but I`m skeptical.

 

Hi boat fan,

 

thanks for the information about your Yamaha, if the high thrust version gives you the same thrust as a 40HP engine, I think that it will be plenty to move your boat, as you said you've no intension to leave the bank during any kind of wind, unless you want topull a barefoot waterskier behind your boat.

 

Atb, and keep the photos coming please,

 

Peter.

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Hello all .

 

After the deck was laid down , the next stage of this project was assembling the wall frames .

 

By this time winter had come around again , and it was too cold and damp to do any fiber glass work on the boat .

 

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First light , and winter had arrived. Ice on deck.

Epoxy resin does not like cold weather or any kind of damp.

 

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Wall framing is 2 x 2 ( 50 x 50 mm ) treated pine .

 

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The timbers are fastened and glued together with hot dip galv. batten screws and construction adhesive.

 

$_35.JPG

 

100 mm ( four inch ) hexagonal drive galvanized batten screws hold the framing together....

 

Wall frames were again built in sections.

Every wall panel is 2.4 m long .Small enough to still be able to handle alone , and with minimal waste

( no large off cuts ).

 

The height is 7 ft , or 2.1 m.

 

1/4 inch ( actually 7 mm ) waterproof bond plywood was glued and fastened to the framing using 3/4 inch bronze ring shank boat nails..

 

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Corners were rounded over and nail depressions filled over , sanded smooth and
completed panels were put aside.

 

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At this time I also glued up 22 hardwood casement windows ( indoors , heated space ).

 

They can be seen temporarily placed inside the window spaces of the wall panels.

Edited by boat fan
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I have a very modest budget .

 

Buying casement windows ready made was not within my means , so I made my own.

 

 

I used a spare room inside , outside temp. was around zero at night.

I don`t have a jointer , or even a table saw , but I made some simple block jigs screwed onto an old wood
top table and laminated the frames with three interlocking layers of 12 x 75 mm ( 1/2 x 3 inch ) hardwood
using " bote cote " epoxy .

So , the frames ended up 36 x 75 mm or 1 1/2 x 3 inches .

The three laminations can clearly be seen here:

 

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On clear days I would assemble the window frames on the front deck of the boat and bring them back inside at night .

 

It took a while but eventually I had them all done.

 

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Thank you for the comments gentlemen!

 

 

These casement windows require sliding stays to operate.

here ,they are made by a company called " Whitco " , the solid brass ones are very expensive.

 

I could not believe my luck when I found 17 x right / left pair of new old stock solid brass ones on Ebay .

They came in the original cardboard packaging , and were made in the seventies !

They cost me less than the scrap price of brass .

 

To fit them rebates needed to be cut into the opening casements.

 

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Fitting the window stays.

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