Well we have just returned from Christmas break and a trip back home to Alice Springs for a very important occasion, our grandson's 1st birthday. It takes a lot to lure Pete away from the build, but this little guy has stolen our hearts; Thanks to my brother Paul for the video. Anyway, here's an … Continue reading Holiday over: back to work
After two months of sanding and painting, its been good to get back to fabrication. Our focus is the deck, followed by the turret & targa bar. Before we could begin installing the fore-decks we needed to complete the fore-beam. We realised that finishing the forebeam in its installed position would be extremely difficult in … Continue reading Decking begins
Now that we have returned from Alice we are focusing on completing the internal fit out in preparation for painting. First cab off the rank, was the bridge-deck storage space. This will be accessed from an overhead deck hatch. Two levels of shelving were filleted in place, which also served to stiffen the partition with … Continue reading Internal fit out #2
Some days are diamond ... Some days the work just seems to flow, and we go home feeling as if we have accomplished a lot. We were able to tick off quite a few jobs from the to-do list this week. We have switched our priorities a little, as it turns out Deb will be … Continue reading A productive week
The winter westerlies have finally arrived in northern Tas, so our days have been punctuated with squally showers. Thankfully the winds have been moderate compared to last year, and now that we are working inside we are well protected. The shelter is doing an excellent job at keeping Selah dry, with no leaks, except on … Continue reading Cabin, filleting and planning
The lower bridgedeck is complete and ready to be rolled over. This beast taught us a few thing along the way. Big and unwieldy, we underestimated how long it would take us to build. It had to be finished in time for roll-over day so the pressure was on. The last detail sanding was completed … Continue reading Bridgedeck complete
Well we have made the date and sent out the invites... Next Saturday will be a major milestone for us as we roll the hulls. We should be able to make the deadline. The bridgedeck bearers have been affixed and we are currently sanding and cleaning up in preparation for fiberglassing, applying QCell and fairing. … Continue reading Gearing up for roll-over
After our weekend in Hobart enjoying the wooden boat festival, we got straight into applying the Q cell micro-baloons onto the port hull. This involved Deb providing a constant supply of resin / Qcell mix to Pete, as he rendered the hull using a metal trowel. As with all epoxy resin processes, it was a balancing act. … Continue reading Port hull completed
After the fibreglassing is the process of applying and sanding a coat of Qcell. Qcell is a micro balloon glass bubble filler that is mixed with epoxy resin. It's so fine that in its dry form it runs like water, and takes on the look and consistency of meringue mixture when mixed with the resin. … Continue reading Q cell and sanding
