Fruits Of My Labor (A-113)

[mbd]

Then there's the fold-up sink. I always thought this was a very clever and ingenious space-saving idea. Doesn't have to be in the head either, you know...

Hey, you asked for pics!

[Tony G]

That's right, Mike. We'll take photos of any boat.

Finally got to spend a day at the shop. All of this is still less than one 4 x 8 sheet of 1/4" and a ton, well, maybe not quite a ton, but a whole lot lighter than what I tore out this spring.

Gotta sand off some of that nice white bilgekote for the locker(s) drain tubes and make a clear spot for tabbing. The water tank goes in next, I believe. Then chain well divider followed by v-berth deck. I think...

I think she's ready for water!

[Commander 147]

Dang Tony

You are moving right along with putting her back together again. What you're doing looks great. Very impressive.

[Tony G]

Thanks, Jerry. I'm sweating bullets trying to get back on track being I wiped out one years work on her. I've been trying to swing like a five day deal of just boat work, but it somehow backfired and now I'm the only one at the store today?!?

One thing I can say is 1/4" baltic birch is plenty strong for what I'm doing. The water tank will have 1/2" fore and aft bulkheads. But after the baffles get tabbed in I'd bet you could do it with 1/4" material no problem.

[ebb]

Keep on it.
If you are making built-in water tanks where you will use epoxy and glass to line the tank...
I would consider using plain fiberglass sheet for the baffles - no wood, even if covered.

You can make up flat sheet by laying out cloth on MYLAR film.
Douse it with epoxy, squeegy it with as many layers of cloth you want
then place another piece of mylar film on top.
Then a piece of flat plywood with some weight on top of it.
Wait til you see what you get!!! Wonderful!

Small tanks with a surge baffle supported on all sides can be fairly thin imco, like maybe 1/8".
That's what I put in mine. Have fun gluing in the top with the baffle(s) in place!
If you plan on coating the inside with a potable-water epoxy, that thin baffle will fatten up and be amazingly stiff.

[Tony G]

Ebb, do you mean 1/8" thick baffles or 1/8" thick walls?

I have planned to use 1/2" for the fore and aft bulkheads because if you're pounding to weather or just up onto the beach I figured most of the stresses introduced by the force of the water sloshing in the tank would be in the forward direction. But I have read some claims by individuals that a couple of layers of fabric on 1/4" ply is all you need.

The NSF paint!!! Something that is more expensive than epoxy!

[ebb]

Hey Tony, I do mean the thin baffle plates. If they are supported - filleted and tabbed to the inside walls of the tank they will be plenty strong. Obviously they get thicker at the walls because of the tabbing and the coved bead of gell fillet makes them even stronger. You do need to have 'relief' holes in the bafflle so that the surge is broken up but free to circulate.
Think I remember leaving the top corners open (just because it was easier to fit and tab - and slip the top of the tank (plywood covered on the inside with frp) which had a shallow groove in it to receive the top of the baffle.
I opened the center of the bottom of the baffle to allow water to drain wherever it's going - and to aid cleaning of the tank. I put access plates on either side of the baffle through the top.
Can't remember what the recommended distance between baffles or what volume of liquid needed to be controlled. Don't follow rules anyway.

It's possible that water tanks will get fouled and need cleaning, washing, or at least stirred up with a pressure hose and pumped out. Sludge lurks in corners.

FRESH WATER rots wood.
If you put plywood in there, you could be adding flavor to your water.
Remember epoxy is not entirely waterproof.

The potable water coating I used came from epoxyproducts,com. It is actually called 'tank coating' and rates in the US as OK for 10.000 gallon tanks. But it's pretty obvious other private parties use it for smaller tanks. I think that is intimated somewhere in the site literature that the limitation is a quirk of the FDA..
It is a thick white 2-part 100% solids glossy paint that is difficult to apply because it goes on so thick. Costs too much like all coatings and paints., I guess. But look it up. The company is in NH so there is S&H to pay for also.
But I thought of it as a sealer against laminating epoxy. You can't trust anybody's epoxy to be free of leaching chems.
Look at my nemesis Pest Systems (whose epoxy blushes, uses petro solvents and carcinogenic extenders like nonylphenol which might not catalyze fully when hard - and have formaldehyde in their hardeners. Why do you think I've gone nuts already?
What's NSF? Not So Fantastic?
LOL (lousy oil lamp)