Back to work

While the boat is still upside down, John was able to check the work he did while bending over to weld.  He was able to see and repair areas that are much more accessible. 

We took a day off to visit the beautiful cars at the REVS Institute of Automotive Research in Naples in September.  This is the collection started by Barron Collier and includes lots of innovative cars.  

This is how John "shoots" the waterline on the boat using a laser level on a tripod.  He marked the lines with pencil dots and then followed the dots with blue painters tape.After sandblasting with Black Beauty media, the bottom is now primed and painted with Awlgrip.

How to split a twenty foot length of pipe.

This project is a real learning experience. Thanks to the experts at aluminumalloyboats.com  we learned about another use for Pam cooking spray.  It turn out that it is an excellent cutting fluid.  And you can often find a BOGO offer at your local grocery store.   We move this contraption outside since we need 20 feet on both sides of the blade.  John feeds it and Dawn holds it straight and level after the cut.  The only problem is that you crave French fries afterward.

The bow eye also has another use.  It is attached to the chain fall on the outside of the shop to lift the bow.  The bow area is much easier to weld and grind in this position. The grinding goes on and on.

What a grind!

All of the rough welds have been sanded off the bow.  The hull has been "roughed up " with a sanding pad.

Close up.

Trial fitting the bow eye.

Keel

With the boat flipped over, it was time to weld the half piece of round tubing.  This will protect the keep when we inevitably touch bottom.  Ratcheting straps came in handy to help bend the straight tube to the center curve.

Bending

Almost in place.

One of many interesting bugs that visit the shop.

Some people flip houses, we flip boats.

Saturday May 23rd was a big day.  The "crane maestro", Al Haines drove his big Terex crane up from Fort Myers. Al had a plan that worked like a charm.  With the help of Dawn's brother Alan, the boat was prepped, lifted and flipped in under two hours.

Click below to see photos showing the process:

 SLIDE SHOW #1  - 1st 15 photos

SLIDE SHOW #2 - 8 more photos 

BEFORE

AFTER

Fabricating hatches and messing with chemicals

There is a lot to show in this post-but first a photo of John goofing off.

Fabricating a hatch-

Port fuel tank hatch 

 

 We found a manufacturer of soundproofing coatings at the IBEX (International Boatbuilders Expo) and John coated one hatch to see how it coated.  So far so good.

The five aft deck hatches are built and fit nicely. 

He needed a way to etch and clean the aluminum before painting.  John mixed up a concoction of phosphric acid, glycol and Simple Green to test.  It works well except on the spots of sap from pine needles blowing onto the boat.

Adding the rub rails

The rub rails are the round tubes that were cut in half a while back.

This view shows the corner "el" fitted into place.

Starboard side view

John's other hobby - a 1992 BMW K75RT

He couldn't resist popping a wheelie with the tug tractor.

To work on the other side, the boat has to be turned around.

Pulling itback into the shop - bow first.

There is barely an inch betwen the boat and the garago door.

Transom and Steering

The boat is getting closed in.  Handy old 1/8"masonite is now known as eucaboard.  It's still the best thing for making templates,

Sloppy welds can be dressed up with the lathe if needed and small enough to fit.

Trial fit of the transom piece made with the eucaboard template.  Nice fit!

It's easier to crawl in and out without the transom in place.  Here is a mock-up of the steering system.

And finally, a look at the base for the steering wheel at the helm.

Transom work

 Here is the trial fit of the mid transom and deck beam.

A close up of the tunnel and rudder reinforcements.

Trial fitting the ruddder and the top transom piece.  Note-this piece is curved both at top and outward to the rear.  Very nice job.   You may also spot the brand new deadblow sledge hammer.  As the boat gets bigger, so do the tools.

Sebring bonus sights

We planned our trip to stay at the historic Kenilworth Lodge and see the stuff at Flywheelers, but found there was other interesting stuff going on there.

We watched some SCCA racing and went to the Light Sport Aircraft show.  We resisted adding another project or two to the collection in our yard.

Happy New Year!

It has been over six months since the last post.  The airboat job took a bit more time than planned.  John is back in the shop welding the boat.

We took a break to travel to Sebring for the Florida Flywheelers Swap Meet, tractor parade and old equipment extravaganza.