Out for a run (through the yard)

Checking headroom in the future head/shower area.

Checking headroom in the center aisle.

There was a lot of visible progress during the past week.  The hull sides are welded and more bracing was added.  We tested the cabin height with temporary square tubing.

I thought John told me to check out the "lightning bolts" that he cut into the supports.  After a lot of seaching, I figured out that he meant "lightening".

The next big project is figuring a way to support the sides to keep them from caving in when the boat gets turned.

Out for a turn around spin through the yard.

Port side view

Lightening holes, not lightning holes.

The empty shop.  It's too dark to see the motor hanging from the handy chain fall.

Turning the boat around....

The shop is so tight that John needed to turn the boat around to fit the rest of the hull sides.

  How he got the tractor in the space is a mystery to me.  Fortunately the yard is big enough to run it around.

Now there is room to trial fit the hull sides.

It's really going to be a boat!

Today's project was to install and tack weld the outside port and starboard hull skins.  These were cut from 4 x 12 sheets of aluminum - .125".  If you do the math, each side will need 2 plus sheets to run the length of the boat.

Cabin sides are going up.  John is feeding the 25' wire feeder cable for the push pull gun into the boat. 

Port side lines are looking good. 

In spite of careful calculations, the skins and the frames didn't line up.  The anniversary deadblow hammer came in handy once again coercing the frame to meet the skin. 

Both skins are tack welded.  She is looking good.
  It's time to start thinking of a name for the boat.

Tool of the Day:
Butt clamps from Harbor Freight.
 (no kidding, that's what they are called.
  John modified them to join 1/8" aluminum.

How big is it?

Our visitor's first question after seeing the project is "how big is it going to be?"  Well, it started at 28 feet and now is 30 feet.

Masonite trial 

Longitudinals are finished.

Starboard longitudinals.

Tool of the day:  Lever punch

Weep holes (little notches) in longitudinals made with lever punch.  In case water gets inside hull, it can drain down to bilge and be pumped.

Yippee!!! A new tool!

Last week we drove up to Dade City to look at a tool for sale on Craigslist.  It was a Large Radius three Roller pipe bender and it is now ours.  It came with three metal rollers - two of which can be seen on the right.  Aluminum needs a gentler roller so John called Alro Plastics and ordered a Delrin cylinder and quickly made two more sets of rollers.  The two white rollers to the right are for 2" square tubing.   The rollers on the machine have a groove to bend 90 degree angle aluminum.  The vertical part sits in the groove on the roller. Life is good if you own your own lathe.

New tool - side view

Did I mention that this is a manual bender?  John's arms were a little tired by the end of the day.

Finished product with just the right curve for the roof of the  boat

A bittersweet week

On Wednesday we said goodbye to Clyde, the Eagle Trawler that John owned for 22 years.  The new owners are wonderful people who plan to use her as she should be used.

Clyde, us and the new owners.

Building the new boat was put on the back burner for a few weeks as we unloaded 22 years of gear and tools from Clyde.  John is back at work happily welding the roof in place.

The forward cabin.

The view of the forward cabin roof looking aft.

A look at the forward cabin roof looking forward.

On

Back to work

After a great weekend away, John is back at work on the boat.  With the help of my brother Alan, the forward cabin roof was installed for a trial fit.

Cabin roof

This shows the "knees" that support the beams.

Too cold to get much done.

You can't weld when it is cold out and we are chilly again this week.

The v-berth area (or forward stateroom in yacht talk) now has deck beams.  The round uprights mark the opening to the sleeping area.  I climbed up and it is going to be very comfortable. There will be an overhead hatch to climb out to the bow for anchoring and catching lines.  The front cabin windows will be forward of the opening (doorway)  with the cabin roof about two feet higher than the front deck.  The top of the opening will be cut back so that you can stand in the v-berth area.  Very ingenious. 

Sleeping/storage area will have berths on each side. 

Here's another shot looking from the stern through the whole boat.  

The trawler is now officially for sale and listed with McCall Marine Sales.  So now John has to finish this one.