Under Construction: Bateau.com TW28 Stretched

[KnottyBuoyz]

It's been quite awhile since I drifted away from iBoats but got lucky and found my way back today. I think Facebook and a lot of other stuff just got in the way. Anywho, most of you won't remember me, at least I hope not, I'm not that memorable! ;-) Over the last three years we've started to build our 'getaway boat'. A modified version of the Bateau.com TW28 (28' Trawler). It's been a hard slog so far having encountered a few setbacks due to injuries etc. but we've pushed on as best we can. At this point in time the hull is still upside down on the strong backs but the last layer of fiberglass is on and I've just started the fairing of the hull.

This is a photoshop composition of the boat we're attempting to build.

We decided to build the boat in our back yard, which isn't that big and needed a workspace at least 20 x 32. I built the Stimson Boat shed in 2010 and for the first winter it just stored the boat kit & our old Camaro. Building the shed near killed me!

The first parts for the boat were cut out of the kit on April 11, 2011 by my friend Andrew.

Over the last 2 1/2 years we've managed to assemble the hull and get all the reinforcing fiberglass laid on. I've done this virtually all by myself with a few friends helping here and there. The hull is 31' 5" long by 10' 2" wide. It's so big I can't get the whole thing in view with my GoPro camera which has a very wide angle lens. This is about as good as I could get.

I know there's too many details in between the start of this project and where we are now so I invite you all to have a look at our blog (good late night reading to put you to sleep): M/V She:Kon

There's tons of pics, random thoughts, trials and tribulations of the backyard boat builder and a few really boring home movies made in the boat shed. I'll keep this thread updated as things happen but it's approaching winter here and things will slow down till spring warms it up enough to return to the fairing & epoxy work.

Thanks for looking in....

 

[KnottyBuoyz]

Re: Under Construction: Bateau.com TW28 Stretched

Who's your workshop buddy?

This is 'Boots'. He's officially known as the Project Manager. He follows me around the boat shed barking orders all the time!

One of my earlier challenges. How to build a boat that's 31'5" long in a shed that's only 32' long! This is one of the side panels being joined together. It's 33' long end to end!

The panels were all butt spliced together. I had a 24' table built to assemble them. I used a 1500 lb electric winch rigged from the ridge with a spread bar to flip them over. I managed to get them all flipped for taping on the backsides with only one breaking on me.

While we had the long table setup we glassed all the interior bulkheads with gravity working for us.

If you like I'll keep posting more pics from the start of the project or you can see them all on our blog: M/V She:Kon

 

[jbcurt00]

Re: Under Construction: Bateau.com TW28 Stretched

post away

thanks

 

[Jeep Man]

Re: Under Construction: Bateau.com TW28 Stretched

Quite the backyard project. Keep posting Rick.

 

[KnottyBuoyz]

Re: Under Construction: Bateau.com TW28 Stretched

Quite the backyard project. Keep posting Rick.

Will do.

What Jeep Jeep Man? I have an '07 JK.

 

[Jeep Man]

Re: Under Construction: Bateau.com TW28 Stretched

Will do.

What Jeep Jeep Man? I have an '07 JK.

'76 CJ-7( With parts from a '78 and '79)
'82 CJ-7 (new donor vehicle for 5 speed and Dana 44s)
'02 Liberty
'11 Liberty

 

[Scott Danforth]

Re: Under Construction: Bateau.com TW28 Stretched

Nice boat project

 

[Trooper82]

Re: Under Construction: Bateau.com TW28 Stretched

Just saw your vid from Oct 17, Sandinsanity...lol I know where you are coming from...I'll tag along looks like a a fun project..

 

[KnottyBuoyz]

Re: Under Construction: Bateau.com TW28 Stretched

Thanks Fella's. I'll try to find stuff that's not already in the blog to keep it a bit interesting.

Going way back to the decision to buy or build stretches back bout 8 yrs or so. The economy wasn't really in a slump yet and the resale prices on used boats was still pretty strong. We were looking at some Bayliner's (3288's) and Camano Troll's etc. small trawlers like that. Friends have a 3888 and we liked it although it was a bit big for just two. I grew up living across the street from a fella who would become a fairly well known west coast naval architect. We crossed paths about 10 yrs ago and he set me up with a set of plans for a 45' offshore trawler in steel. I crunched the numbers on what it would cost to build that particular boat and it quickly grew out of our reach.

From the time I was a kid I always wanted to build my own boat and we put some more thought and research into that. We stumbled across a few cool designs from Glen-L, CMD, Devlin, Pat Bray & Bateau. The one that we figured we could build without having to sell everything we owned was the TW28 from Bateau. The allure of the TW28 was the kit and the design made for DIY'ers. A wee bit small for what we see as its intended use we decided to stretch it a little in length.

Original Layout

Modified layout

Lengthening the hull was a bit of 'seat of your pants' backyard engineering. The designer couldn't support the changes. I had a chat with a navarc buddy at work and settled on adding an extra frame at the widest part of the hull spacing it exactly as the frame that was being copied (39 1/8"). You can see the splice in the side panel here.

Of course lengthening the sides also meant lengthening the other long panels. Below is the cabin top with the spliced in section and an extra 4' for hard top that'll cover most of the cockpit.

 

[KnottyBuoyz]

Re: Under Construction: Bateau.com TW28 Stretched

Calling it quits for the season. Tried to do a quick summary of the years progress in our latest blog entry: M/V She:Kon: That's a wrap

 

[KnottyBuoyz]

Re: Under Construction: Bateau.com TW28 Stretched

I've had a few guys ask how I flipped the long panels as I glued & taped them up. I used a small 1500 lb electric winch I rigged from the center beam of the shed.

They weren't so much heave as they were floppy like a wet spaghetti noodle! I rigged a spreader bar with a piece of 1 1/4" conduit and clamped some 1 x 3's to the lifting edge. This kept the long panels (some 33' long) from breaking the splices when I flipped them over.

The splices are all butt splices. I used my power planer set at 1/64" and removed 3" wide section at the end of each panel. I then used some 1708 fabric in the splices. Of the 4 larger panels I did this way and flipped I never broke a splice. The only one I did break was on the keel bottom (22' long) and it wasn't supported along the lifting edge.

Here you can see the Project Manager checkin' in on the workin's!

I think it got his paw of approval.

 

[73Chrysler105]

Re: Under Construction: Bateau.com TW28 Stretched

Looks good great project. Just a suggestion not that you can use it but for more strength at those splices instead of butt splices you could have extended the added piece by 8-12" and planed off half the thickness for 4-6" of each end and done the same to the kit pieces on either side of the splice then glued them together and if you wanted to overlap the joints with some fiberglass tape and resin you could do that as well. That way you would have spread the load across a larger sectional area of the splice. Kinda too little too late advise but maybe it will help someone else working on a similar project in the future.

I love what your doing though and commend you on such a project.

 

[KnottyBuoyz]

Re: Under Construction: Bateau.com TW28 Stretched

I was a bit leary of the butt splices when I started but the designer assured me they would be strong enough. I considered a number of methods of splicing them together such as splines, biscuits & scarfing. In the end I followed the designers instructions.

The butt splices worked pretty well. I had a few failures trying to do them in temps that were too cold for the epoxy to set properly but other than that there's really not a lot of benefit to going to the extra work the other joints would require.

The inside of the hull will get the same amount of fiberglass as the outside (although not as pretty) so you essentially end up with a monocoque hull structure.

Thanks for looking in and the tips. I'm sure others will fully investigate the options before trying for themselves.

 

[KnottyBuoyz]

Re: Under Construction: Bateau.com TW28 Stretched

[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica][FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica]"All she needs is engines and a paint job!" Web Log Updated: M/V She:Kon: All she needs is engines and a paint job!

One man's journey to refit a '69 Roamer. Really good read.[/FONT][/FONT]

 

[KnottyBuoyz]

Re: Under Construction: Bateau.com TW28 Stretched

[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica][FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica]Just out to check on the boat shed. *Note: Some of you southerners might want to look away now!*

Shed appears to be holding up pretty well with all the repairs we had to do this year. Noticed there's more snow clinging to the top than previous years.

Quick update on the web log: M/V She:Kon: Boxing Day Blues

Hope everyone is well and happy and enjoying a great holiday.

Cheers[/FONT][/FONT]

 

[KnottyBuoyz]

Re: Under Construction: Bateau.com TW28 Stretched

[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica][FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica]I was stumbling around Google Earth today and noticed they updated the pic for our area. You can now see the Big Blue Boat Building Shed from Space!

Web Log updated: M/V She:Kon: Google Earth & Boat Sheds

[/FONT][/FONT]

 

[KnottyBuoyz]

Re: Under Construction: Bateau.com TW28 Stretched

Was watching some 'Mythbusters' clips on Youtube and got to thinking if there was a boating myth they could test. I remember back in my Coast Guard days the hairy ***'d ole' sailors and their sayings. One in particular was: "On a sinking ship there's no better bilge pump than a frightened sailor with a bucket!" So I submitted that to Mythbusters! More on that on my blog:

M/V She:Kon: Bilge pump or bucket?

 

[KnottyBuoyz]

Re: Under Construction: Bateau.com TW28 Stretched

Finally spring might actually be here! Temps in the low 50's today but I'm still fighting Mother Nature. Web Log UPdated.

M/V She:Kon: Double digit temps

 

[KnottyBuoyz]

Re: Under Construction: Bateau.com TW28 Stretched

Finally some warmer weather. Temps in the low 70's today and the snow is almost all gone. Got into the shed to do some tidying up etc. The floor is a mud bog so the fans are going to try to dry it out. It'll be awhile yet I think. Web Log updated: M/V She:Kon: Found some things, lost some things

 

[KnottyBuoyz]

Re: Under Construction: Bateau.com TW28 Stretched

+26 C yesterday & sunshine
0 C here today & snowing

I gotta get this boat finished and get out of this gawd forsaken country!