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Building a JW 'Tender Behind' - Part Eight

Posted 08-04-2010 at 06:07 PM by Mike

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On we go with Part Eight of this build. Getting to the really good part of the build now, when she starts to really look like the designer intended.

In case some of you are wondering why I didn't prime the top planks yet, it's because I need to turn the hull back over again to get the gunwales and rubbing strakes looking good. I'll be starting on that little job tomorrow - right after I've dabbed a little more epoxy filler on that wayward transom and sanded it back.


Sunday, 11 April 2010

Just so you don't think I've been slacking while the sun shone for the past two days (it's clouding over again now - Grrr!), here are some pics I took today showing that I have tackled those faults I mentioned above, applied a second coat of primer to the thinned coat, sanded down some parts of the gunwales and rubbing strakes and, today, applied a protective coat of epoxy to the top planks after I had sanded them.

Note I need to put another coat of primer on that transom. The dings are mostly gone but she now needs another coat.

Far from perfect yet but I do assure you I've been busy and I am pleased with what I've done so far. And before you say it, John, she looks great from 5 yards back but I know where the faults are and simply cannot leave 'em without at least having a go. I think she would pass your famous test, mate, but she doesn't yet pass mine.

Incidentally, Sherry has asked me to name her 'Tinker'. Don't quite know why yet and it seems highly likely she will change her mind again soon. Runs in the family, that.


Tuesday, 13 April 2010

Been fiddling around the past couple of days, making then trying to fix those fancy little bits fore and aft twixt the gunwale and the rubbing strake. You know the ones I mean? I call 'em JW's trademark. They are now glued in place. Looking good but I have to wait for 'em to set hard before doing some more sanding and giving them a coat of primer. Pics tomorrow, hopefully.


Saturday, 17 April 2010

Sorry, guys 'n gals, no further pics yet because no further activity. This is down to extraneous factors. I've been busy handling the rush of buyers for my stuff on eBay - all gone now, including that pile of oak which was snatched up by a builder all the way from Whitby in Yorkshire who does barn conversions.

The Chinese Grand Prix is on tomorrow morning, so I will be getting up early to watch that. With luck, I hope to have some more piccies for you by tomorrow night.


Sunday, 18 April 2010

I have now sanded the top planks, the quarter badges, and the entire bottom ready for another primer coat. It is starting to feel like glass under the fingertips. Here are the promised pics.

Note the number of screws I used to ensure the quarter badges were snug against the top planks after guing. Once set up, I removed the screws, filled the holes with glue epoxy mix, then faired 'em up afterwards using the Microlight epoxy filler. A little tedious but you end up with a nice, smooth, finish that way.

I've also sanded the gunwales and the rubbing strakes on the outside but won't mess with the inside until I've glassed the underfoot areas and faired all those tapes.

My next job will be to do a bit more priming and then to press on with the inside of the hull.

And here are a few more pics taken just this evening after I had reprimed the transoms (fore and aft) and given the top planks, rubbing strakes, quarter badges, and the outside edge of the gunwales, their first, thinned coat.

Note that the fifth photo above is a bit too close for the camera lens, so it tends to fish-eye the image. The fourth one, without lens distortion, is a very nice shot of how the stretched version really looks. The primer is not dry here but it's getting there. Pretty little tender!


Tuesday, 20 April 2010

Glorious weather today.What dust cloud? What cloud, in fact? Reminded me of the sky in Western Australia. Lovely clear blue.

The primer's dry now. I've been touching up a few little things and generally making it look a bit better. I've also put some glue mix epoxy over the screws I put through the bottom panel into the skegs and those screwed into the sides to fix the rubbing strakes.

Tomorrow, I will be sitting the build on that carpet and starting on the inside surfaces. First job is to give the bottom panel a rough sanding ready to glass the underfoot areas.

Haven't yet made up my mind on how far up the sides I will glass her. That will depend on how she comes up after the sanding's done. I don't want to waste too much epoxy as I will be starting on my Pilgrim build very shortly. Hey ho, it's such great fun building boats.


Sunday, 25 April 2010

Have been real busy, sorting out all that exotic timber in my shed and setting it up for photos of that which I have placed in auction on eBay (the Brazilian Mahogany). I took this opportunity to have a really good tidy up and deep clean, ready for the Pilgrim build.

I have to admit that I am not too sure about flogging off that beautiful mahogany. As we took it out to stack neatly and take pics, I again realized how lucky we are to actually have it. Not to worry, I've put a good reserve on it (for my blog watchers I mention that it's £3,000.00 but keep that under your belts please!) and if it doesn't sell I will keep it. I'm a great believer in the old adage 'What's for you won't go past you'. If it's meant to sell then it will. If not, it's best kept for a rainy day.

Meanwhile, the only work I've had time to do on the TB build is to add a little epoxy to the fillets where the screws held her to the jig and to cut the legs on the jig a bit shorter to make working on her inside just that little bit easier on the old back muscles. More pics once I have the glassing done on her bottom panels where little feet will tread.


Saturday, 1 May 2010

I finished sanding the bottom panel internally and have now glassed the areas where feet will scuff, etcetera. I have two tips for you.

First tip: do not use a belt sander freehand. I was chewing away all the excess poxy quite happily, lost concentration for a second, let the thing slip down a little and, before I could even blink, the darned thing had chewed a nice little groove into the bottom that went straight through the first layer of ply. I fixed that with a bit of filler before resorting to my little Makita random orbital and the old cork sanding block.

Second tip is: if you've worked out how much glass you need for the job, stick to the original plan. I decided to glass up to the join above the second plank - kids will stick their feet on the sides in my view. All went well until I was about to glass the last bit and suddenly I found myself staring at a cardboard tube. I had run out of the stuff. Because I wanted the job done and there was nowhere open to get more, I resorted to using a few scraps I had kept aside. That made the job just a bit messy with bits of glass thread hanging off the work. Okay, it can easily be tidied up with filler once it's all set but I ain't gunna repeat that mistake again. Better to have too much than too little.

I'll put up some more pics and show you how she's looking now the glassing is done when I get cleaned up. Hopefully will have them for you tomorrow.


Sunday, 2 May 2010

The weather outside today is not too good - heavy rain overnight, showers this morning, windy and a bit chilly. I braved the elements - see the things I do for you guys 'n gals? - just to take the photos below:

And here is a close up of that patched area when I ran out of glass cloth! Note the little white patches. That's where I failed to see a couple of bits of sticky tape that had held the glass cloth on the cardboard tube. Thought I'd cut it all off and failed to spot the two bits that ran with the weave. Had an eye test a few weeks ago and am waiting for a new prescription pair. Meanwhile, it wouldn't have made any difference coz me glasses were covered in dust anyways. Amazing how the eyes try to compensate so you don't tend to notice that sort of thing until it's too late. Ha ha.

It'll need sanding back and filling to make that mess disappear. There were little strings of separating fibres all over the joint. That'll teach me to ensure I have enough material for the job, won't it? Mind you, the whole internal glassing job has amine blush (a waxy-feeling layer on top after she's set) from the damp conditions, so it will need washing off and sanding across the whole job anyway.

English weather, I'm afraid - but it's the first time I've had a problem with blush so hey ho, that's all a part of building boats I guess.


Thursday, 13 May 2010

Here are some photos of the work I've been doing on the inside. Note in particular the areas where I overlapped the glass. They are coming along very nicely and feel as smooth as silk. Don't look much yet but will certainly be great once painted. Note also the second filler application in a few places - yet to be sanded back. Thus all these pics are between the first and second filler coats.

As you can see, I applied a liberal coating of epoxy with Microlight filler, let that set, then sanded most of it back off. It's nasty work that, with loads of dust flying around. I wore a filter type dust mask for this work and I would recommend it as an essential. The dust can be nasty stuff if you breath it into your lungs. I used my Makita random orbital sander for the job and it does give you a very smooth finish without any real effort. Having completed the first filling coat, there were a number of small areas where she needed a little more filler. I mixed up a decent sized batch so that I could put a new layer over all the fillets to tidy them up. This is not yet sanded back, so I will do some more pics after that job is done and the first primer coat is on.

Note that I have only been working on the areas I glassed. I still have to do the tidy up of the bow and stern sections, but that doesn't need glassing, just a filler over the epoxy-covered screws and the glass tapes. A breeze compared to the bigger job I've been doing.

Before I paint the bow and stern sections, I will need to think carefully about the mast step installation and how I will protect the insides of the buoyancy chambers (epoxy or paint coats) that are created by the seat tops.

I have also been very busy setting myself up for the next build. If you'd like to see what I've been up to, here's a link to my new blog now set up for that build. It's going to be a (stretched) Pilgrim with Cabin, or PwC, though I don't yet have the drawings from John in that regard. Who knows, I may end up with a boat with another name altogether, knowing John and his fertile imagination.

As this part is becoming a little cumbersome, I am setting up a Part Nine. Here's a link to that. See you over there.

Posted in Building 'Saw Bum' - JohnW's Tender Behind

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Comments

1. 	They are called "quarter badges' by some, and were originally there to protect the plank ends at the "corners" of a small working craft from damage by lines and nets or by rubbing against other boats or wharves. To me though they are a nice little finishing touch that just lifts the appearance. John Welsford
   	Posted 14-04-2010 at 07:17 PM by jwboatdesigns

2. Ahah! Thanks, John. I really didn't know what to call them other than 'fancy bits', though I did note that they afford some extra protection to the hull. Quarter badges they shall be here from now on. And I must say they look very nice indeed and, it occurs to me, they allow for a nice clean edge for emblazoning the top planks in one's favourite contrasting colour without coming to a dead end where it is difficult to keep a good line. Pics tomorrow, I'm afraid, as I've had a number of relatively minor distractions today that have kept me out of the backyard.

   Posted 14-04-2010 at 08:01 PM by Mike

3. I'd take the glass up to the intersection of the lowest and middle plank Mike, its there mainly to prevent damage to the plywood from big boots with soles covered with mud and stones, and your feet wont be on the sides any higher up than a couple of inches from the bottom panel so that intersection is a convenient place to hide the edge of the cloth. Must congratulate you on a nice job so far, your comment about the shape being distorted by the winde angle " fish eye" lense is pertinent, she certainly looks very nicely proportioned in that photo number four JohnW

   Posted 24-04-2010 at 10:28 PM by jwboatdesigns

4. Quote: Originally Posted by jwboatdesigns I'd take the glass up to the intersection of the lowest and middle plank Mike, its there mainly to prevent damage to the plywood from big boots with soles covered with mud and stones, and your feet wont be on the sides any higher up than a couple of inches from the bottom panel so that intersection is a convenient place to hide the edge of the cloth. Okeydokey, that's what I will do John, thank you. Sounds a very sensible idea to me. Quote: Originally Posted by jwboatdesigns Must congratulate you on a nice job so far, your comment about the shape being distorted by the wide angle " fish eye" lens is pertinent, she certainly looks very nicely proportioned in that photo number four. Well, thank you for those kind words. It's truly appreciated, coming from her designer. Made my day. The Nikon I bought has a wonderful lens but it's really intended for taking pics in the distance. There is a setting on it that one of my kids tells me is for close ups without distortion but I tend to leave the thing set for 'point and shoot'. Thus, I pay the price for my ignorance in distorting things when up close. I absolutely agree with you that she looks beautifully proportioned with the stretch. Mind you, I think she would look nice without the stretch too but I do like that extra few inches on her - and so does Sherry. She was caught by Jeannette a couple of days back staring wistfully at her from the kitchen window and going through the motions of 'ready about!' from watching her favourite movie, 'Swallows and Amazons'. I reckon she's as keen as you are to see her afloat and under sail. I've been a bit busy sorting out all that timber in my shed and generally tidying up now the good weather is with us. When I get done with the medics on Monday, I shall be back into it again. Hope to have the inside glassed and ready for paint by the weekend. I shan't bother posting any more pics until I have the glassing done. Sanding is sanding and I doubt anyone needs to know how I do that simple task. By the way, I have checked out Robbins' all mahogany marine ply when I called in to see Andy Vowles on Thursday last week. Beautiful stuff. Worth what they charge for it, IMO. And I reckon it will look fabulous under a few coats of varnish. That's the plan for Pilgrim's cabin sides. Should look very nice indeed. Regards

   Posted 24-04-2010 at 11:46 PM by Mike

5. So once you have her all sorted out, and Sherry somewhat competent with sailing on her own, how far would it be to drive from home to Windermere? Perhaps to one of the little lakeside parks away from the town itself where you could launch, and put Sherry aboard with a packed lunch and let her sail away for an afternoon to live in an imaginary world where "Wildcat Island " might be just around the next point, and Nancy and the gang close by? I'd guess at about 5 hours with the trailer on. It would make a good weekend for all. JohnW

   Posted 25-04-2010 at 12:31 AM by jwboatdesigns

6. John, a trip that far north by road will definitely not be on our agenda. In fact, my plan is to take a much shorter trip for us down to the River Dart. That's about two hours from where we live. We'll probably camp down that way for a week or more and have a good rest while Sherry finds her 'sea legs'. She can always imagine the Dart is Windermere. Must say I liked that movie myself, even if the accents were a little of the 'jolly hockey-sticks' variety. Most films made here back in those days starred those with plums in their mouths (oh oh, headed for another accusation as to my being a snob here! ). I saw two of the 'children' on TV a few weeks back - think it was on the 'Antiques Roadshow'. Although now much older of course, both were still distinctly recognisable as the 'Swallow' girls in the old movie. Regards Mike

   Posted 25-04-2010 at 03:14 AM by Mike

7. Hey! What are you doing out of bed at this hour of the night? If Windermere is too far away, ( yes I've driven from Bristol to Windermere,) then I recall that one of the childrens adventures was based in a shallow tidal estuary somewhere over near the south eastern corner of the island somewhere, (If someone can correct me that would be good) and maybe that sort of adventure would be fun. Whatever you choose, I'm sure that it wont take much more than a tiller in one hand and the mainsheet in the other to get her imagination on track. On the plum in the mouth accent, think of the times, and think of Dady being the captain of a warship, it was probably an appropriate accent for that class of people. My impression of Arthur Ransome was that he was very much against the class structure, but also very aware of it. John W

   Posted 25-04-2010 at 04:34 AM by jwboatdesigns

8. Ummm ... call of nature, John. The Dart is such a tidal estuary, I think. So too is the area around Exmouth. Trust me when I say that Sherry has a truly active imagination. It serves her well at school. She has just been photographed for the school's reports cover card - sitting with the dreaded 'Mr New' (the Head Teacher - yup, the same one I had a barny with a year or so ago). He didn't even know the name of his star pupil - the duffer! Sherry's well pleased as she has been granted all her preferred options for GCSE, one of which is of the less academic subject of photography. She wants to be a physiotherapist and is working hard at the Sciences, and all the other must haves. Photography will be a nice to have as she loves the art. So, she's a nice mix of artistic and academic. Should do well and reach her goal, I feel. She is well impressed with your TB mate. Tells everyone about her bootiful boat. On the class structure here in Blighty, it is still intact you know. Despite the years of denial and illusion, it thrives and prospers long beyond its 'sell by' date. We need a revolution to fix that - and I feel it is starting to bubble and brew right now. Many haven't a clue who to vote for at the looming election. The general concensus seems to be 'none of the above'. The danger inherent in that situation seems lost on the major parties. Time will tell. Regards Mike

   Posted 25-04-2010 at 08:22 AM by Mike

9. I had a couple of minutes to sit and relax while my cuppatea cooled off a little, so went and had a look at the Dart River on Google Earth. Wow, what a lovely stretch of river. I can imagine the two of you taking a packed lunch and putting your TB in at the Yacht Club on St Peters Quay just below the bridge at Totnes, then sailing quietly down to Dittisham and meeting up with your transport there. You could trail a line behind, and with luck you'd have dinner on the hook by the time Jeanette picked you up. If not successful you could of course call in at the village, buy fish and chips and try and convince everyone that you'd taken the trouble to cook it up ready to eat. John Welsford

   Posted 26-04-2010 at 09:20 AM by jwboatdesigns

10. Quote: Originally Posted by jwboatdesigns I had a couple of minutes to sit and relax while my cuppatea cooled off a little, so went and had a look at the Dart River on Google Earth. Wow, what a lovely stretch of river. That's where the Royal Naval College, Dartmouth, is situated, John. Or at least, it was last time I checked. It is indeed a lovely place. I think our pal, George (Waite), lives somewhere around that area, lucky devil! Quote: Originally Posted by jwboatdesigns I can imagine the two of you taking a packed lunch and putting your TB in at the Yacht Club on St Peters Quay just below the bridge at Totnes, then sailing quietly down to Dittisham and meeting up with your transport there. You could trail a line behind, and with luck you'd have dinner on the hook by the time Jeanette picked you up. If not successful you could of course call in at the village, buy fish and chips and try and convince everyone that you'd taken the trouble to cook it up ready to eat. There goes that fertile imagination of yours again, John. Selling the sizzle rather than just the sausage. Love that! I am particularly impressed with the fish and chips idea. Good thinking. Heh heh.

    Posted 26-04-2010 at 09:08 PM by Mike

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