Dillon Laker 14/16.5 Wooden Tunnel Hull Build/Mod Project

[gomopar440]

It's still raining like cats and dogs here and is supposed to continue with the wet weather throughout the night. Tomorrow's forecast is saying only a 20% chance of rain so maybe I can get a little more work done on the hulls outside if it stays dry for a while. Highs are only supposed in the 40's through most of the week and dipping to below freezing for the low temps at night. I need to go look around in the barn and tent and make sure I get all the glues, adhesives and paints moved into the house so they don't get frozen.

I just got the majority of the parts in the mail today for the DVA. The one piece left that I'm missing is the actual breadboard everything attaches to. I'm just going to mock it up on one of my little solderless arduino proto boards for now so I can test it out.

 

[gm280]

It's still raining like cats and dogs here and is supposed to continue with the wet weather throughout the night. Tomorrow's forecast is saying only a 20% chance of rain so maybe I can get a little more work done on the hulls outside if it stays dry for a while. Highs are only supposed in the 40's through most of the week and dipping to below freezing for the low temps at night. I need to go look around in the barn and tent and make sure I get all the glues, adhesives and paints moved into the house so they don't get frozen.

I just got the majority of the parts in the mail today for the DVA. The one piece left that I'm missing is the actual breadboard everything attaches to. I'm just going to mock it up on one of my little solderless arduino proto boards for now so I can test it out.

Yea that little circuit allows the spikes to be held for a while so your meter can read them. That is basically all it is about, a diode, a capacitor and a resister. Easy Peasy. I wouldn't put too much faith into the actual voltage readings other then to know they are there. As for the proper high voltage limits, it is basically a go, no go setup. The best way to read the spikes is with an Oscilloscope but if you don't have one, don't bother. Too costly for a few readings. The DVA will allow you to see if they are present and that is really all that matters. JMHO

 

[gomopar440]

The crappy weather is sticking around all week so I haven't been able to get anything else done with the old hulls yet. I did however pick up four 1" x 4" x 8' sticks of Radata Pine at the local lumber store today. This particular type of pine is pretty much like regular pine boards, but there are ZERO knots or defects in it and the grain runs pretty straight. I'm going to use these pieces to make the thick laminated bow and transom beams that run side to side through the hull and connect the sponsons. I still need to get more of the same for the other 1" x 3" beams in between the bow and transom beams, but that will have to wait until I can let the budget build back up first. The Jeep trans repair put a hurtin' on the boat budget this month.

I also made those boards to fit the bottom of the ends of the tent tarp. That turned out pretty well and worked like I had hoped they would. However, but it was dark out before I finished so I couldn't get any pics. I'll try to remember to snap some tomorrow.

 

[gomopar440]

Here's a pic of the fix I did to the bottom edges of the tent ends. Works pretty good at keeping the tarp stretched out and close to the ground. I did the zippered door side in two separate sections. That way I can open just a little person sized flap and not let all my heat out.

Then I started making the laminated bow beam out of the Radata pine boards I picked up yesterday. I scuffed all the faces of the boards that would be getting glued with 60 grit in a cross hatch pattern. That should give the Titebond III glue a better surface to bond the wood. I laid all the boards in a stack on the edge of my workbench and clamped them down with some large pipe clamps.

Next I ripped the two 4' x 8' sheets of 1/4" AC ply in half lengthwise for the inner sides of the sponsons. I already scarfed the ply, but haven't been able to get the pieces glued together yet. When I tried to glue the scarf joint a while ago all I had on hand at that time was some Devcon 5 minute epoxy. That stuff didn't give me enough working time to get the entire joint glued before it started to kick. I stopped before I stuck the pieces together, so all I need to do now is remove the dried epoxy from the section of the one joint that got partially coated earlier. I just picked up some marine epoxy this past Monday, but it's too cold outside to try to glue it right now. I'll take a stab at it tomorrow. First I need to line the tent walls with the paper backed fiberglass insulation I have before I try heating up the tent. That should help keep the temp a little more stable inside the tent. The high for tomorrow is only supposed to be around 46*, so I'll definitely need some kind of heat in order to be able to use the epoxy.

I'm planning on using epoxy anywhere the wood will be in contact with the water. Most of the parts inside the hull can use the Titebond III instead of epoxy as long as I do my part and make the joints nice and tight. The outer skin of the hull will be getting fully wrapped in fiberglass to make it watertight.

 

[gomopar440]

The bow beam is now cut to it's final shape and size. I also made the cleat that goes along the rear edge of the beam, but that won't get attached to it until after the beam is fitted between the sponsons.

The belt sander made quick work of the dried epoxy on the one piece of ply. Rather than fight with the insulation today I decided to just bring the ply inside the house. I'll use the living room floor to lay the ply out since that's the only space with at least 16' of flat clear space available to work on. I'll lay down some wax paper first so the ply doesn't become a permanent part of the house. I also brought a couple old car batteries and mower wheel weights to put on top of the joint after it's glued together. Before I start to join the scarf joint on the ply sheets I need to take a break first. My back just isn't cooperating today.

 

[gm280]

gomopar440, just make sure you don't build something that you can't get back out of the house again. I see so many building boats in their basement and wonder how they will get it out of there. ound:

 

[archbuilder]

Just trying to visualize the beam. Does it run perpendicular to the sponsons or parallel?

 

[gomopar440]

Since this is a tunnel hull, the beams will go athwart ships (side to side). It passes through holes in the vertical sponson inner side walls and will attach to the sponson bulkheads on each side. The center part of the hull where the driver and passenger ride is built around these beams. Whether it gets attached in front of or behind the bulkhead depends on the location of the beam in the plans. The pointyish end faces forward on this bow beam. Beams 2-6 are just 1" x 3" so those are a lot simpler to make. The transom beam is another 3" wide beam so it will get laminated just like this one. However, it only has a single angled cut on top to deal with, so it should be a little easier to make than the bow beam.

 

[gomopar440]

gomopar440, just make sure you don't build something that you can't get back out of the house again. I see so many building boats in their basement and wonder how they will get it out of there. ound:

LOL. Don't worry, I'm just epoxying the plywood scarf joints here in the house. The scarfed ply pieces will be 2' x 16', but are only 1/4" thick. I have a front porch door right in front of the area I'll be working, so it will be a straight shot to get it out of the house.

The assembly type of work will be done outside in the tent. For now I'm just trying to get as many of the pieces and sub-assemblies made as possible. That way the actual assembly part should go smoother when I get to that phase of the build.

BTW: I'm still continuing reading up on as many of the boat rebuild threads to learn as much as I can. From what I've read so far, I can say that I've got it easy in that regard with not having to remove and clean up all the old rot and crud I'm seeing in those threads. I"m sure I'll get my chance when/if I rebuild the Silver Line 14' Rambler. Yea, I'm still thinking pretty hard about keeping that little guy. We'll see...

 

[archbuilder]

Thanks gomopar, that is what I thought. Fuggly is a cat, but fiberglass so no beams or stringers. And you might as well admit it, the Rambler will be next.....you'll feel better after you admit you have a "boat problem".......

 

[Patfromny]

A boat problem??? He's using the stern of a boat as a basement cover!!! Next hell attach a tiller arm to his toilet. He's got it bad arch. No turning back now mopar.

 

[Willyclay]

Multiple Boat Syndrome (MBS) can strike without warning! BTDT but have recovered. Good luck with the build.

 

[gomopar440]

Looks like I won't get to epoxy the scarf joints right away. My wife brought in a couple sick birds (chickens) to doctor them up overnight and doesn't want them exposed to the fumes. I'll have to wait until tomorrow when she puts them back outside.

In the mean time I made a small copy of the bow beam to show how the cleat mounts to the back side.

The cleat is sized so that it will accept a 1/2" batten on top and a 3/4" one on bottom. The tops of the upper battens will line up with the angled top of the beam. Underneath is the same except it's the bottom edges of the lower battens that line up with the bottom of the beam.

 

[gomopar440]

Time for "Plan C" (don't ask...). I moved the 1/4" AC ply pieces into the barn and cleared a spot big enough to lay them out on the floor in the barn. The issue of the lack of heat for the epoxy to cure was solved by using the electric blanket off my bed for heat around the joint. I swept the floor and laid the folded blanked down where the joint was going to be. Then I laid down a piece of wax paper and screwed the first piece of ply to the floor, keeping the scarf joint right over the middle of the wax paper. I lit a propane heater to help try to make the epoxy a little easier to work with in the cold barn. However, it's a paste type epoxy so the heat didn't help much. I didn't realize it wasn't a liquid until I opened the two containers for the first time right before mixing it. I just made the best of it and mixed up enough to cover the first scarf joint. I spread it over the wood so there was complete coverage and then set the mating piece of ply in place. I used a chalk line to help to align the two pieces and then screwed them to the floor so they wouldn't move. That joint was then covered with more wax paper and I set the next piece of ply in place directly on top of it. More mixing and spreading epoxy and the last piece was laid in place. It was aligned to the secured ply below it and then it was also screwed to the floor to hold it in place. I laid another piece of wax paper over the top of the joint and then folded the rest of the electric blanket over the top of the joint. I placed a couple of old car batteries and a bag of concrete on top of the joint to apply pressure to it during the curing process. I turned the propane heater off at this point and cranked up the heat on the electric blanket control. The electric blanket is an old one that works almost too good, so I only set the heat to #7 (goes up to 10). I usually only keep it on 2 or 3 most of the time, as much more will just about smoke me out of the bed. And just to show you that I'm not just yanking your chains, here's a pic of the ply starting the curing process.:faint2:

 

[archbuilder]

Interesting...never heard of using a heating blanket, but good idea! Most folks use halogen work lights for stuff like that. I can see how the blanket would work well on a larger area. FYI, on the epoxy, you might want to put the containers in hot water first. I use that a lot in the winter when the glass resin or foam is cold. Works quite nicely to get the products up to a good initial working temperature.

 

[gomopar440]

I don't have any halogen lights so I had to get creative.

I keep all my adhesives and paints inside the house so they are pretty much always around 70-72*F. This PC-11 marine epoxy I got from Ace is so thick and pasty I'm not sure if heating it up would help it much. I'll give the pre-heat a shot next time and see if it makes it a little more workable or not. They didn't stock it in the store so I had to have them special order it in. It's a typical two equal part mix in two seperate one pint containers. I'm going to look around locally some more to see if I can find something different (more fluid) for the other GP adhesion tasks I'll need to do later on. I think this stuff will end up working fine for the scarf joints though.

 

[archbuilder]

You might look into system 3 and west systems. They both have a full range of epoxy, nice stuff.

 

[gomopar440]

I've looked at both of their product lines online already, but I was trying to find something locally available if at all possible. That way I can run to town and grab some if/when I run out instead of having to wait for more to get shipped in from somewhere. There's not much of a selection up here in these little mountain towns around me so I may not have a choice in the mater.

BTW: I just got done looking through the first ten pages of the Boat Names thread and it got me thinking about a name for this boat. So far all I've come up with is "Aqua Therapy". A little explanation is probably in order for it to make sense. After having two back surgeries ( total of four disks removed and five vertebra fused :blue the doc says I need to go do some aqua therapy. I'm sure you all can figure out the rest from there. Haven't settled on it yet, but it seems to fit me and the boat pretty well. In my mind anyway.

 

[gm280]

gomaopar, arch is on to something with the hot water treatment. Back when I was avidly flying and building R/C planes, I used an epoxy called Devcon. It too was really thick and would take forever to squeeze out of the bottles. But I put those bottles in the microwave for a few seconds and they were like water. And it helped then cure faster as well. I also used alcohol to thin epoxy as well. But the was so it would weep into the wood structure a little deeper to fuel proof the engine and fuel tank compartments. Just some ideas. :noidea:

 

[kcassells]

For all those joints you are making why not make your own peanut butter and mix it to the density that you want? So you can use the materials you have on hand, make it to the density you want and stop going into town for materials. You can add micro ballons,cabosil, chopped fiberglass that sands out very well.

Check out Wogs link.
​Fabricating Decks, Stringers, and Transoms