Fruits Of My Labor (A-113)

[ebb]

Tonio, you got harmony going on there with those fairwaters.

Elegant curves. Fine and fit.
It looks like you're having fun with the ole girl.

Can't wait to see what she looks like with her hat on!

[mbd]

Tony, those "fairwaters", as Ebb called them, are remarkable! Very graceful and "appropriate" for all the changes you're making. What a great idea to incorporate a mini-coaming off the sides of your sea hood.

Looking at those double curves makes me think of a ripple in a pond or an echo of your bow wave - a work of art! You have a great eye. Can't wait to see A-113 when you're done - she'll look right at home in her element...

[Tony G]

Thanks for the kind words Captains.

Hey! Don't let the sunlight fool you! It got COLD last night! The epoxy was still tacky this morning. Oh well-I go through this every year-it'll be cured by tonight.

I did replace that first 'wire chase' with something a little better suited for the job. Got the tops on and shaped and then a layer of 6oz. too just to hold things in place for the time being. I am still undecided if I want to locate the compass above the companionway, the instrument heads, or both. I find it comfortable to sit in the cockpit facing aft with my back against the cabin so putting the instrument readouts there will ruin my backrest. Plus I'd like some sheet bags there to keep things tidy (I said sheet bags). At first I was concerned the 'robust' size of the readouts would block the view if they were mounted above the companionway but then I realized that view would be of the mast and vang anyway. Maybe mount them right along the companionway trim? Let's put it to a vote. What says you?

[commanderpete]

Very nice and shapely Tony.

Above the companionway seems like the logical place to mount the instruments. But, I think visibility forward is a concern, depending on how many instruments you have, and how tall you are. See how it looks slouching in the cockpit without a cushion.

You could even recess the instruments in the bulkhead, maybe something vertical and close to the companionway so the crew and the lines don't block them.

[Tony G]

This goes back to the 'dashboard days'. I noticed the Hallberg-Rassy 31s get a windscreen and an instrument dash but the HR29s don't. Maybe a moulded dash would be the way to go... More to come, but first, pictures!

[Tony G]

Enough with that dashboard crap!

we glued in the fore and aft water tank bulkheads. That involved multiple applications of thickened epoxy to build up to the desired fillet radius. It was just way too hot to mix up large enough quantities to get the job done in one pass. so I'd lay down a layer, shape it, wait a couple of hours then add another layer, and so on. In between 'sessions' I worked on various other odd jobs. Like the port locker lids and the starboard locker horizontal dividers. The later divide the aft two starboard lockers into a 10" deep compartment on top and a 'deep storage' compartment below of about equal depth but with a tapered bottom. It's also where I keep extra dust and dirt these days.

[Tony G]

While far from complete, here is the tank lid. I added 12, 1/4" stainless bolts bedded in thickened epoxy to hold down the lexan inspection port. The opening is 10" in diameter and I like that! I want to be able to reach all over insde the tank once the top gets glued down. You can see where the water filler goes. The other two holes are for the vent line and up-take line.

I also put some of the basic pieces for the forward compartment hatch together. I'm gonna make a simple cam latch for it that can squeeze down a gasket. Waterproof? No. Water-resistant? Hopefully.

[Tony G]

Oh well-I go through this every year-it'll be cured by tonight.

Wrong! Didn't work out like that at all. I found a sticky, tacky, still soft mess when I arrived at the boat. Overly hopeful, I tried sanding it off first, but the pads gummed-up in about a minute. After trying finer grades and then coarsest of grade I resorted to utility knife and scraper. Dismal. Tore up the form significantly in a couple of places. All in all, a pretty unrewarding evening.

Spent my day off repairing and catching up. I think... Came to the conclusion that the instrument readouts wil have to be mounted on the aft bulkhead. The function buttons would be too hard to reach from the helm if they were mounted over the companionway. I really only intend to use them when necessary and that's probably the time I don't want to leave the helm. Besides, that will put the compass on the centerline.

More tubing and dodger parts should show up Monday. When things start getting too cold to work outside we'll have to make a bender and take a crack at it.

[ebb]

Search motorcycle (HarleyDavidson, eg) sites and forums.

check this out as a lead in.
google> Hand Tube Bender Manual (MS-13-43, R2)
It's a manual bender that they say can handle 3/4" to 1 1/4" tube. Swagelok
No idea what they want for the tool. Maybe it can be rented. Maybe a more advanced model can be rented???

The simplicity of this tool makes me think even I could use it.
But bending 1" by hand will require hiring a 300# biker.

Considering the tube choices:
1" X .065 (.66#ft) / 1" X .046 (.50#ft) / 7/8" X .065 (.57#ft) / 7/8" X .046 (.44#ft)*. - this is the usual stuff used for bending and is commonly available in welded 304 for about $5 a foot. Anything else costs too much.

Amazing isn't it: a foot long piece of 1/16" thick 1" tube weighs in at three quarters of a pound! The thinner alternative, 3/64" wall, is half a pound a foot.


Custom pulpits and pushpits are astronomically priced at local marine fabrication shops. Was impressed by Geoff's extended pushpit, still am, but could never afford it.

But I'll wager you can't find one sailor who has actually bent tube for his pulpit.
All the help net nuts (boat design forum, woodenboat, ehow, etc) are cross threaded.

I did find, but lost it, a site where a guy had complete plans for a stand-up bender that used a bottle jack capable of doing smaller radius that can't be done by hand.
There is a bit of science to bending tube.** A bit more to planning the job. And some extra expense if the design calls for welding by an expert.


Did find a memorable piece of advice where filling the pipe with wax was recommended before any serious bending to keep the tube from collapsing. He suggested icing just before the work began. Filling the tube with sand is often mentioned - but sand is sand - you'd have to solder caps on the ends with sand. Worth experimenting with the wax idea, melt it out when done. (what kind of wax???)
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*Pretty easy to see how weight adds up even for tube.
**Harbor Freight is a source for cheap pipe roll benders. Don't know if buffed stainless can survive a crude pipebender.

[Tony G]

Ebb

I have been putzing around with this idea of DIYing a dodger, a bimini, a pulpit, a pushpit, a..., and a ... You get the picture. So having access to a unit that has the ability to do multiple radii is a must. I have decided that other than a anchor platform, thin walled tubing is plenty strong. A few years back we ordered some 7/8" thin wall for some project I've since forgotten. But I can tell you a 8foot length isn't very heavy, by my standards, and is still pretty dang strong. Put a couple of bends in it, and give some thought as to where the weak points are and you can make a piece that will do the job just fine.

I'm trying to keep the 1" stuff very simple as far as bends go. Instead using it in straight runs that can be cut and, here's the wrinkle, welded. The dodger and bimini are definately going to be 7/8". The hand rails on the cabin top will be 7/8" too. On our boats its all short lengths and that alone will keep it plenty strong. Just about anything is going to bend if we start running into stuff. And having a 'crush zone' that is something other than our beloveds sounds like a good idea to me.

Back to the hand rails. I've had this love affair of making the hand rails, dorade guards and mast pulpit all one continuous sweep with a single strut coming off it near the dorade vents to stabilize it. Dash it all-it might not work because the RBV might clip the tube where it bends up from hand rail to dorade guard/mast pulpit when the main is eased all the way out to the aft lower shrouds. A full sized working mock-up of the lower 3' of mast and a model of the RBV and a line substituted for the aft lower shroud and the hand rail/dorade guard/mast pulpit. Whew! I don't get that much done in season!

If Don Casey knows what he's talking about,(and I believe he does) his diagram in This Old Boat is a very simple unit that may do the job just fine with a low introductory cost. I'll just keep looking...

If you head over to the Technical threads I posted a link in the Bow Pulpit/ Stern Rail/ Pushpit thread to a crotch rocket forum where a guy discusses his DIY tubing bender. One thing he stated that no one else has is his bender fully surrounds the tubing while being bent. Somewhere in that post they discuss fillling the tube with sand and the 'author' states he did not, and did not believe it was necessary as the tube is surrounded. But sand would be cheap and easy to deal with. Wax would eat up too much boat money for me.