More fillets, more stiffeners.

I finally managed to spent some time at the building shed during the last week after almost a month. We were away on vacation on Samos island in northern Aegean. Unfortunately there was no sailing this summer as it was our first holidays with our newborn but I managed to learn some windsurfing which was fun and great exercise!
I am trying to complete a rather boring sequence of tasks before It is time to install the floors and banks. Thus I made some more fillets on the bulkheads- only a few remain now- and I glued in some more diagonal stiffeners in the middle and rear compartments. Soon I will be able to reinforce the keel from the inside with glass cloth as well as the bow and stern area. As autumn approaches I should better hurry as there is a lot of epoxy work involved in this part of the building process and it should be done in higher temperature.

A new life!

I've been away from the boat for a while, but for a good reason since my wife gave birth to our first daughter. These first few weeks with the newborn were both strenuous and fascinating at the same time! I think that our lives will never be the same again as raising a child turned out to be a full time job. On the other hand a horizon of new perspectives opened up in front of us and things that seemed insignificant take a new meaning. As far as the boat is concerned I am now motivated more than ever to finish and launch as soon as possible. I have a sea world to show to my daughter!
When I returned to my garage early this week, I found out that I was under attack! A rat had been dealing with my skilsaw, totaly ruining its cable on an attempt to make a cozy lair in the tools' box. Kika, my cocker spaniel, took care of the rat (...he must be still running) and I managed to make some more fillets on the bulkheads. This is getting easier now as I figured out the right amound of filler I have to add to the epoxy to have a non shagging mixture. I also add some more sillica, which makes the mixture more dense and the fillets turn out smoother (Thanks to the advice of "Boatsmith" from Wharram forums!). In the next few weeks, if I have the free time, I will try to finish with all the lower hull fillets, reinforce the keel, stem and stern with glass cloth and start cutting the floor and bunk panels. Meanwhile I have to deside on the location of the water tank installation and order them as well as order the paint for the bilges and the space underneath the bunks. By the way is there any advice from someone out there on this matter? For example do I have to use primer first or are there paints that I can apply directly on the epoxy coating of the hulls? Bellow there are some photos of my progress with an improved result on the fillets.

Some of the tools of my new job!

Filleting attempts.

Using epoxy to glue wooden parts or sheath plywood was a straight forward procedure with no secrets for the amateur builder. On the other hand, I am now convinced that making perfect epoxy filllets is quite an art! The exact amound of filler one must add to the epoxy to make the right mixture for filleting is something you only understand after a lot of unsuccessful attempts. There is no rule. You just add filler until the mixture reaches the consistency of peanut butter.
After a lot of reading I desided to make my first fillets on bulkhead No 4, which will later on be completely invisible under the bunk of the forward cabin.
The first step was to apply pure epoxy with a cheap brush on the surfaces that would be covered by the fillets. Then I should apply the filleting mixture with a round knife or spatula along the bulkhead to hull side corner. Finally I, theoretically speaking, should form the fillet by draging a round ended spatula of the appropriate radius along the corner, forcing the applied thickened epoxy to take the right shape and leaving the excess portion of the mixture on both edges of the fillet to be cleaned later.
In practice, my first fillets on bulkhead No 4 were a disaster! Although the consistency of the mixture seamed right, as soon as I applied it, it saged down the vertical surfaces of the bulkhead and the hull sides. After a lot of efforts to keep the mixture in place I finally let it cure as it was in order to sand it later on and make better fillets, as soon as I managed to figure out the right procedure.
After some thought and a few more unsuccessful attempts I finally managed to improve my technique and make some beautiful fillets on bulkhead No 2! As it turned out to be, my mistakes on the beggining were:

• While trying to squeeze epoxy in the fine cracks between the bulkhead and the hull sides I applied too much epoxy which later on diluted the filleting mixture applied.
• I made large quantities of epoxy which was difficult to mix thoroughly as the right mixture should be very thick. Now I never mix more than three squirts of epoxy each time.
• Although the mixture may seam thick enough it is better to try if it clings to vertical surfaces like the sides of the mixing pod before applying it. As a rough guide I add about 6-7 full soup spoons of Low Dencity Filler (I use West System products), for every three squirts of epoxy.

The photos bellow show the unsuccessful fillets of bulkhead 4 and the very improved fillets of bulkhead No 2. There is also a picture of a broken metal baking spatula which turned out to be a perfect filleting tool and some photos of the first diagonal stiffeners I installed this past week.

Bulkhead No 4

Bulkhead No2

Diagonal stiffeners

Spring...again!?

During the last two weeks the temperatures in Greece rose back to an epoxy friendly level. For two months I wasn't able to do any sheathing, gluing, fairing or filleting because of the unstable weather and the low temperatures that didn't let the epoxy cure. I tried to find some low temperature hardener for the brand of epoxy I am using, but the Greek dealer didn't even import that kind of hardener, obviously because there was no demand for it. Heating the building shed was not an option, as I finally decided, as there was no insullation and it's one side was partly open to the elements. Even if there was some kind of heating the temperature would quickly fall bellow 15c , as soon as the heater was turned off, not a good thing for the epoxy that needs more than twelve hours to reach a tack free state in low temperatures and more than twentyfour hours to reach it's final solid state.
Anyway, warmer days that came with the begining of spring reminded me that I am already on the building process for a year and a half and that I should work faster, if I want to see this boat sailing before my enthusiasm wears out!
The larger Tikis like the 31 need a second reinforcing keel, screwed and glued to the original vertical keel between the bulkheads so as to form a "T" in cross section. Then the whole keel is beded in thickened epoxy as soon as everything is in place and lined up. The photos bellow show the construction of the reinforcing keel and the first keel fillets. To thicken the epoxy for the keel fillets I used "Low Density Filler" which is a ready mixture of Colloidal Silica and Microballoons with a light brown color. I was impressed with the amounds of epoxy needed just to fill the gaps around the keel. Now I know where all that epoxy, the designer claimed that is needed, will be used!

Everything is straight on line!

The pieces for the reinforcing keel are cut and ready to be glued and screwed in place.




The first keel and stem fillets that transform a few pieces of plywood into a rigid boat!

Bulkhead No 6 ready.

I managed to spend a couple of afternoons at the garage this past week, mostly trying to finish and install bulkhead 6 and to clean up the place a little. Now that the main bulkhead of the central cabin is in place I can visualise it's dimensions and design it's configuration according to my needs. In one hull this central cabin will enclose the galley and it should have:

• A food preparation bench with a sink
• Shelves to stow food and provisions
• A refrigerator (I haven't desided yet if it will be an electrical one or a plain ice box)

In the other hull the central compartment will be a separate toilet with enough space for:

• A manual see toilet
• A sink
• a wet locker

Under the floor of each central compartment there is enough space to install a 70-90lt water tank which will give the boat and a crew of two water sufficiency to spend at least a week at sea without having to anchor in crowded harbours. I just have to figure out a way to pump the water from both tanks so that they empty simoultaneously. As temperatures are still low and I can't proceed with the fillets, maybe now is the perfect time to decide on the final configurations and start planning the boat's wiring and plambing.

Bulkhead No6 ready....

...And installed!

The central cabin.

Forward cabin.

All the bulkheads installed and waiting for the fillets.

Back to boatbuilding.

Today was one of those days I could certainly use an extra hand. As I mentioned in my previous post I had some problems while installing the bulkheads . The idea was to push them into the lower hullsides so as to force them open to their final shape. However, this created great tension to the hull, especially near the stem (where bulkhead No1 was installed), resulting in the braking of the stitches holding the stem post in place. This costed me an extra day of work as I had to remove bulkheads 1 and 2 in order to releace the tension and restitch the stem post in place. Then I used my car's jack to open the hullsides. This time I managed to do it so smoothly that I reinstalled the two bulkheads all by myself and without even a crackling from the hulls. In the first photo below you can see bulkhead No1 in position while the stem post is held temporarily in place with thicker wire. The next photos show the result after the final assembly.

The other task of these days was to figure out the dimensions of bulkhead No6 which defines the shape of the central compartment of each hull. This area in the original plans is occupied by the central open cockpit. My idea was to permanently enclose this compartment in order to create room for cooking facilities and supplie storage in one hull and a separate toilet in the other. The height of the superstructure of this central cabin will be equal to the maximum height of the other cabins so as not to increace windage. I am thinking of achieving standing headroom in this cabin while at anchor with a lifting roof, like in the Pahi 31.

As the weater in Crete is still bellow 10C, I had to glue and coat bulkhead No6 in the living room of my parents' cottage (where my boatbuilding shelter is). Since all the other bulkheads are now in place I just have to wait for a few warmer days to pour some epoxy in the keel and start filleting. I hope it is not far now!