Damo's Sailing Boat and Tow Vehicle

[Bearded Baldy]

Your generosity is boundless as ever.

Seriously though, i used to dream of building one of these. Can be made in a steel option too... lack of patience and space, mostly patience has always stopped me.

Soz for spamming up the thread.

 

[xsspeed]

@cletus does that bottom right one look like your gramps? it made me think of that old pic you shared

edit: woops apologies for spam

[dmulally]

So the lower/garboard plank is finally done. From all reports from the other builders this is the most stressful part of the entire build and I'm glad to have it behind me. I don't think it was too hard personally but I was able to learn from their mistakes. 

For the middle section I came up with another 3mm MDF stencil which I think worked pretty well. There are many different ways to get width right including spiling which I'm certain is much more accurate.

But I found using the sacrificial piece of MDF, I'd do it by eye first and then used a drawing compass locked in at the widest gap and scribed it the length to dial it in. Then it was a matter of tracing the top side over the stringer and then shaving a bit off here and there. I was bricking it when transferring it to the other side but thankfully they were pretty close. 

Once the real sheet was cut I then had to recheck the face of the stringer that it was flush. Towards the aft there are some gaps which I'm not happy with but it's such a tight bend that I'm not sure I'd be able to get it on without taking too much meat off the stringer. I'll fill it with thickened epoxy and it has to be trimmed anyway for the plank above it to sit on it properly. I'm not going to get too precious with this as it could take forever and when I flip the hull to glass the lot I'll fair it properly so there are no wobbles. 

You can see in the pic above (albeit blurred out) the random wedges I screwed to the jig to keep the panel locked in whilst the epoxy set. Plenty of talented builders scarf their plywood planks and then put the whole thing on as one. I think that would be possibly easier for a smaller boat or one with a square transom, but I didn't even try to attempt it on this. John Welsford in his instructions thankfully mentions that it's fine to but join them with a backing piece holding them together. Phiew. The sequence of putting a plank on involved wetting all the contact facings and joins with epoxy. Then clamping it all together tightly. Once that was done running thickened epoxy fillets along all the edges as normal. The lower part of the plank that joins the bottom panel was much more open than I'm used to, so it took a couple of planks to figure out I need to be putting on three times as much to get decent coverage. Bugger that I missed that trick but on top of that goes a strip of glass cloth and then more epoxy painted over that. So it's pretty tight. Still on top of that which I haven't done yet is some more thickened epoxy fairing filler to cover up the join and the cloth to make it all smooth. 

The picture above shows the thickened epoxy fillet, the butt join, and if you look through the drainage hole up top you can see where I put it on too thin to start with. You can see some of the tape too which I'll need to fill over the top of and sand back to make smooth. Then again it's under the floors so I'm not sure how much effort will go into that. It does feel bloody strong though so I'm really happy with it in spite of it being an average job. 

 

I have deliberately left both the bow and the stern oversized so I can cut back and get a piece of hardwood shaped to both ends. This isn't in the plans but I have seen it done before and frankly I want something strong up front for any crash landings and through bolts for the trailer winch eyelet and heavy rudder gudgeons to spread the load safely. I have some rosewood which is like steel I'll use but haven't properly measured it out yet so will leave it oversize until then. 

So this is how she sits presently. You can see the wedges clearly now holding the planks in place but they can come out now no worries. Not perfect but nothing on this boat is. Going to take a few days break from the boat as I have to get the stupid engine mounts done for the stupid Imp in the meantime. Next on the agenda for the boat next weekend is to extend the seat fronts to the lower plank (the instructions had this before the garboard plank but fuck knows how you'd know where to meet the plank without having to trim it 50 times), and get started on the transom. The plans are vague on that due to the difference in boat motors but as I'll have a rise and fall bracket mine will need the transom quite a bit further into the cockpit. 

The other thing I am waiting for is some advice on where to put the mast as I'm aiming for a balanced lug or a junk rig. I cbf'd having a gaff rig with a jib and tripping over a million ropes. I have asked Mr Welsford but haven't heard back yet what rake I need for the mast and also where to put it now I wont have a jib. I think it can move forward some. 

[Tiger Tamer]

Building boats, you certainly become a man of many clamps. The two I built I used silicone bronze nails to hold the ply in place or just steel screws and removed them when the epoxy cured. They were both more skiff designs so there wasn't a lot of pressure on them. 

[dmulally]

Finished the seat fronts which extended it all the way down to the garboard plank. Was quite finicky cutting all the weird and wonderful patterns but was comforted by each piece mirroring the other side. If it didnt Id be a little miffed. 

Below is it all glued in. The plywood goes such a lovely shade when epoxied it'll be a shame to paint over it. 

Was going to start on the transom but have had some major life changes drop on my lap this week. Although not unexpected it was something I've been putting off so I need to move the boat a couple of bays so I can concrete where it sits now. A bittersweet moment as I'm on a roll with it now getting it stiff enough to move but likely wont be touching it for quite some time whilst I sort other stuff out. Haven't figured out how Ill move the jig yet as it has posts concreted in at each end but I'll figure it out. 

Thankfully the landy is wired enough to drive so should be a matter of driving it right out and back into another bay. 

[dmulally]

On 11/02/2025 at 16:43, Tiger Tamer said:

Building boats, you certainly become a man of many clamps. The two I built I used silicone bronze nails to hold the ply in place or just steel screws and removed them when the epoxy cured. They were both more skiff designs so there wasn't a lot of pressure on them. 

John Welsford mentions using the same sets of screws for three or more boats. 

I use silicon bronze too as they dont muck up the belt sander when I get too close. They must be quite soft.

The garboard plank will get screws in it but only when the the next plank goes on as per a clinker/lapstrake design. Ill probably leave them in because I doubt very much Ill be building anymore boats after this one. 

[dmulally]

So got the boat moved to prep for where it was can begin for concreting. 

Went about as smooth as could have been expected really with a spray trailer axle saved from the scrappy and a post screwed to the front. 

Have made contact again with John W and he is going to do some calculations of where the mast needs to go. Which is the next step as well as the transom. So I'm not too upset about having to down tools. 

Might use some of the spare time to design the cabin for sleeping in. I want it quite low like a catboat so it's really just a cuddy cabin for storing shit and crawling in to sleep. 

 

[dmulally]

Getting there slowly.

[440bbm]

alotta concrete!  turning it into a enclosed sleepout type setup?

 

also. fucking cool range of projects and that boat effort is  insane. huge project to embark on and must feel amazing to get the progress you were taking shape.

[dmulally]

2 hours ago, 440bbm said:

alotta concrete!  turning it into a enclosed sleepout type setup?

 

also. fucking cool range of projects and that boat effort is  insane. huge project to embark on and must feel amazing to get the progress you were taking shape.

Cheers mate and kinda. I had a cabin in a smaller shed with a workshop. 

I am moving the workshop to the space I just concreted (150sqm) and extending the cabin to take up the whole of the other shed (72sqm). Adding windows and doors presently. But still have shitloads to go. 

It's a lot of faffing about but have been putting it off for years and need to extract the digit. 

The tricky part will be the hoist as it is going into a lower shed so had to dig in footers. 

 

[dmulally]

Still working on the upgraded workshop for the boat but got my hands on an aged oak log which I milled up. Will make a good skeg for the bottom of the hull and possibly the mast tabernacle. 

Hopefully the shed will be done in the next month and I can get back onto the boat. 

 

[dmulally]

So things took a slight turn for the worse health wise. My back (which was already rooted from a herniated disc last September) chucked a wobbly and a bulging disc has fucked up my sciatic nerve which has left from my asscheek to my foot in near constant agony. 

Naturally I did the only thing possible which was to pretend like nothing was wrong and whilst coming down a ladder I fell and fractured my ankle. 

Money I had saved for my chev project I am using on tradies to help with the reno's as I had holes cuts in walls etc. 

Long story short the shed is coming along and I moved the boat into it before the roller doors are hung for one less thing for the digger to crash into. 

I'm looking forward to getting back into it. Annoyingly the next thing on the list is the transom which means lugging around an outboard which I cant do but I'll find a way. Probably with the digger crashing about the place. 

It is nice to have it off gravel though. I have really missed working on it. Hopefully this weekend I can get cracking on it until my back shits the bed again. 

[dmulally]

Lucky it was a long weekend as it took longer than I thought to sort out the outboard well and transom. 

The dream was to have a rise and fall bracket so it could lift up and out of the water easily and a plug put in the hole. 

But as with all things project related it was a matter of compromising.

The last bulkhead meant I couldnt actually fit the outboard on hand as it was in the way. So I just guessed where the hole would be and whilst it was fairly close, I ended up lengthening it a little. I can always close it up if it's a pain. 

The rise and fall bracket I had (Tenob iirc). Meant making the transom some 500mm into the cockpit. Seeing as there is a cabin in the distant future it would eat into what I had remaining. So that was a non starter. 

So with the outboard on the bulkhead as is, it was hard up against the fore end of the hole. That wasn't ideal. So as I had to beef up the transom anyway, I put in a 2" thick block behind the bulkhead and some plywood in front of the bulkhead that will have the outboard brackets squeeze into. Slight issue that was with the thickened epoxy in between each layer, it was slightly too thick. So I had to sand it down a little. I have plenty of meat left if I want to shape it to change the transom angle. 

Once all the pieces were cut out and glued in, I cut out some cloth and put it over all the joins for strengthening. 

I could put in a sliding jack shaft so the motor can go up and down, but that will entail having a big hole in the deck above it and put some of the weight up high too. Not to mention having the sight of an ugly honda 4 stroke sticking through the top deck. Yuck. Now a seagull on the other hand...

Anyway it's all about compromises. I spoke to a couple of other whaler owners and they just leave their outboards in the water all the time and it shaves off about half a knot off the speed. That is doable. Another whaler owner has a folding bulkhead/transom so the motor can tilt out of the way. Not sure I could be stuffed. 

A 6hp single is the recommended engine for the whaler and although I do have a 2 stroke 6hp twin, the Honda 8hp will be much better performance and reliability. Even though the 8hp twin is overkill, it will be much more quieter than a single and with my deafness and tinnitus, future me will appreciate a twin cylinder barely idling. There is a weight penalty but if I move the tank amidship I can offset that. 

[cubastreet]

Don't kill ya back mate, giz a shout if you need a hand.

[dmulally]

3 hours ago, cubastreet said:

Don't kill ya back mate, giz a shout if you need a hand.

 

Ta. I still haven't decided exactly on which outboard yet. Haven't written off going electric too but would need to look at making my own as the ones on the market seem to have integrated or branded batteries. In the storage bin I have:

2 x seagull barge pushers (lightest, hardly something you'd want to rely upon crossing the Cook Straight)

2004 Honda 8hp twin cylinder 4st (best on fuel and power but weighs the most)

1965 Johnson Seahorse 5 1/2hp twin cylinder 2st (average on fuel and reliability, easy to maintain)

[cubastreet]

I'd probably go for the honda, with a dream to gut a seagull and convert it to electric.

[dmulally]

23 minutes ago, cubastreet said:

I'd probably go for the honda, with a dream to gut a seagull and convert it to electric.

Interesting. I was going to store a seagull under a seat as they are so easy to hide. 

The design calls for a 4-6hp single so an 8hp twin is overkill. But it will be good on fuel and my ears. I'll have to move the fuel tank up front as I said earlier and not eat too many pies. 

Easier said than done. 

[dmulally]

So thinking out loud. Old Johnson Seahorse I have in the shed. Take off engine. Direct drive 5000rpm 48v motor. Use a coupler between motor and propshaft. Perhaps a support bearing somewhere close by the coupler. Take out the impellor so water isn't fannying about. Extractor fan on the cowl somewhere to dissipate heat. Cheat when tacking at the press of a button?

 

Here is one somebody has already done. 

 

[Bearded Baldy]

Thing to consider with outboard power to weight. Most of the 9.8hp 2 strokes are uprated 6hp units, so are light. 9.9hp ones are detuned 15hp units so are heavy.

[dmulally]

Nothing too exciting to add as I was on a roady over the weekend. 

Spent the day today planing and belt sanding the first stringer in order to take the second plank. Took quite a long time and I think it's about as ready as it's going to be. I dare say Ill be using filler to try and take out some of the bends. I tried to keep it to about an inch of overlap. It all gets glassed over when I flip it anyway so Im trying not to strive for perfection as it'll never get done. 

The other thing I did was add the next stringer so it has time to harden before I cut out the next plank to attach. 

I'll have a think if I want to do the next plank or just smash out all the stringers to get it over with as it's a bit of a fiddly job getting them all to fit in the notches.