MilliBee with a haircut?

[Paul H (admin)]

Lets get back on track lads...!

After days of preparation, and a lot of trepidation, I took the plunge and decided the sunny weather was a good time to glue the roof back on. But hang on....I had to round off the roof beams with the router. That was far more efficient than knocking the edges off with my head, ouch.

So it was strongman time again, lifting the roof to the back garden. Luckily the neighbour who is a keen gardener already had his noisy weed wacker out which gave a lot of cover to the LOUD WHINY router. Sawdust flying in all directions, 20 minutes later job done with an almost perfect semi-circle at the bottom of the roof beams.

Got the roof upside down in the cockpit, mixed up thin epoxy and primed all surfaces. Perfect excuse for a 5 minute drop of beer while the epoxy soaked in. Then mixed some thick epoxy, spread like butter over all surfaces. Flipped the lid, slid it into place...then everything moved in slow motion as the sliding surfaces wedged together with epoxy. A good sign indeed. G-clamps pulled the arch halves into alignment..oops daylight through the joints but still a satisfying result that didn't turn into the panic I feared.

I pressed more and more thick epoxy with a scraper into the arch joints until it oozed out the other side. Then I knew the joint was full and would have tremendous compression strength - smile time.

Needed 3 or 4 screws to pull the 6mm sides snugly to the batten in a few places, but otherwise a good fit as per calculations.

It was a success that went better than expected, there are few gaps to fill at my leisure. I resisted photos of epoxy curing......

-Paul

[Paul H (admin)]

After hours of head scratching, fiddling and snoozing in the cabin I started to sort out the foredeck/cabin front plan.

A new deck beam will be fitted first, then battens will run from the roof beams to the deck beam locking the whole unit strongly together. The battens will form the framework for the curved cabin front:



I'll trim another 40 mm from the cabin length, maybe more.

The eagle eyed will notice the glass fibre on the deck beam template - it's cut from Illusion's floor. "Waste not, want not" my Grandmother used to say.

[Paul H (admin)]

Port-Na-Storm wrote

Chris Partridge wrote

Boat Maintenance Flow Chart as used on HBBR trips

Brilliant!

The Boat Maintenance Flow Chart can also be used whilst building:



The templates are recycled from Illusion, oversized to give some wiggle room.

This is the final cut for the cabin, I really like the extra foredeck space, the insides are cosy. What's the verdict on the overall shape?

The flowchart says beer time.....

-Paul

[Jeremy]

Looks massively better, Paul, so much so that you'd be forgiven for thinking it's a different boat altogether.

Let's hope that her performance improves in the same ratio as her looks.

[Paul H (admin)]

Jeremy wrote

Looks massively better, Paul, so much so that you'd be forgiven for thinking it's a different boat altogether.

Let's hope that her performance improves in the same ratio as her looks.

Thanks Jeremy - I'm really pleased with the progress. Ideally I'd drop the mast arch another inch or two and angle the sides another 5-10 degrees, but that would have been a lot more work for probably no big change in performance.

There are lots of small improvements:

The windage will be reduced.
Turbulence from the outer batten gone.
Mast 3" lower so slightly less healing and easier to raise the mast.
Standing on the centreboard case I can lean through the hatch and just touch the deck - impossible before.
There's now room for an anchor and chain on the foredeck.
More jib/genoa friendly when tacking because the mast is lower and there's less cabin in the way.
and more...

-Paul

[Paul H (admin)]

Chris W. wanted an update on progress so here is her curvy new figure:



The cabin is 3in lower and trimmed just in front of the pulley block, so the foredeck is bigger, the side cleats are gone which is good because they added turbulence and the paint slowly cracked as the years ticked by. Differential expansion of Pine compared to plywood I think caused the cracking, worse on the south side that catches the sun even under a tarp.

Extending the foredeck was a pain. It might have been easier to rip off the fore-deck and start again, but that seemed a waste and job done now. I like all the curves and the "boxy" feeling has gone.

The side window gaps will be filled but I haven't decided about a window at the front. I might experiment heating the old front window to see if it will bend around the front; the last time I bent heated plastic was 1972 at school making coats hooks!

A rough guess is the cabin will be 4in above Al's Paradox. Access over the cabin top is much easier, standing on the new centerboard case I can lean over and almost touch the fore-deck - from that safe position I might be able to drop the anchor, which will be stored on deck to help balance the boat.

The port bilge keel has been planed down to 1in and primed with epoxy, starboard will get the same treatment this weekend. Then I will start on the skeg which will run horizontal from the CB case - the rear roller on the trailer can then lowered to the same height as the middle roller so she will slide easily on a gentle slope.

I'm really pleased with her smaller proportions, altogether easier to manage and the cabin size is just right.

-Paul

[Chris Waite]

Say!

Nice aesthetics....

Ceedub

[Paul H (admin)]

Can reciprocating saws cut flush with a hull?

Ideally I would trim the remains of the bilge keels flush with the hull, then cap with oak runners. Then I could use wide flat rollers to spread the load on the trailer OR at least get less interference when the current rollers hit the "bilge runners" which tends to skew the boat on the trailer and then she won't line up with the keel rollers.



But its hard to think how to cut it. Planing is too noisy and slow, I'd need a blade about 250mm long and a hand saw seems like really hard work.

Any thoughts on how to cut flush-ish with the hull?

cheers
Paul

[Port-Na-Storm]

Paul (admin) wrote

Can reciprocating saws cut flush with a hull
Any thoughts on how to cut flush-ish with the hull?

Probably not.
I'd go down B&Q Screwfix or wherever and buy a Brand New Saw
Cheap as chips, sharp as a very sharp thing. Get down on your knees and start sawing, it'll be over before you know. If you hit any screws or such just keep going. Sometimes you've just got to get on with it.  

[Paul H (admin)]

Port-Na-Storm wrote

Probably not.
I'd go down B&Q Screwfix or wherever and buy a Brand New Saw
Cheap as chips, sharp as a very sharp thing. Get down on your knees and start sawing, it'll be over before you know. If you hit any screws or such just keep going. Sometimes you've just got to get on with it.

You are probably right Graham - new saws make cutting easier. Trouble is the first 6in of cut is solid oak 1in thick...... Maybe a beer-fuelled session will do the trick.

 

[Timmo]

I'd agree with Graham's suggestion. 

A reciprocating saw could do it, but It will be hard work because the base plate won't be against the work piece so you'll be shoved back and forth by the reciprocating action all the way along. Also means you'd be using the tail of the blade (away from the machine) which is likely to twist and wander causing damage in the wrong places without actually being any quicker.

Nice new saw will zip through even the oak bits with some real control. Perhaps worth leaving a little bit to plane/sand off at the end.

On 1 Dec 2013, at 15:34, Paul (admin) [via UK HBBR Forum] <[hidden email]> wrote:

Port-Na-Storm wrote

Probably not.
I'd go down B&Q Screwfix or wherever and buy a Brand New Saw
Cheap as chips, sharp as a very sharp thing. Get down on your knees and start sawing, it'll be over before you know. If you hit any screws or such just keep going. Sometimes you've just got to get on with it.

You are probably right Graham - new saws make cutting easier. Trouble is the first 6in of cut is solid oak 1in thick...... Maybe a beer-fuelled session will do the trick.

 

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[Randonneur]

Timmo wrote

I'd agree with Graham's suggestion.

Nice new saw will zip through even the oak bits with some real control. Perhaps worth leaving a little bit to plane/sand off at the end.

I'm almost in agreement but definitely not using the "nice new saw" mentioned!

I'd splash out and get  an even better new saw for flush cutting!

I always have one of these in my arsenal and they are well worth the money.

You'll get super control as you can hold the flexible blade flush with the bottom of the hull, in behind the stumps of the bilge keel, and you'll have a great view of the front side and optimum control as you pull the bade (cutting).

I use one of these saws for just about everything , they are truly amazing.
They'll eat those bilge keels for breakfast.

[Randonneur]

Randonneur wrote

They'll eat those bilge keels for breakfast.

And get a move on.
This thread started on Feb 08, 2012!
That's nearly 2 years ago

[alopenboat]

On 1 Dec 2013 at 5:10, Paul (admin) [via UK HBBR Forum] wrote:

>
> Can reciprocating saws cut flush with a hull?
>
> Ideally I would trim the remains of the bilge keels flush with the
> hull, then cap with oak runners. Then I could use wide flat rollers to
> spread the load on the trailer OR at least get less interference when
> the current rollers hit the "bilge runners" which tends to skew the
> boat on the trailer and then she won't line up with the keel rollers.
>
> <http://uk-hbbr-forum.967333.n3.nabble.com/file/n4027033/bilge.jpg>
>
> But its hard to think how to cut it. Planing is too noisy and slow,
> I'd need a blade about 250mm long and a hand saw seems like really
> hard work.
>

Still noisy, but I have had good results with an angle grinder and a
course sanding disc.


--
Hoping for calm nights

Alastair Law,      
Yeovil, England.
<http://www.little.jim.freeuk.com>          

[Paul H (admin)]

One hour + one beer dealt with the oak, hard work lying on a concrete drive but I was as warm as toast:



And yes my 1972 woodworking lesson bore fruit, the initial angle was wrong but after a few inches of "keep eye, hand and elbow in line" and a wee bit of blade twist the cut eventually lined up with the hull.

Screwfix here I come....

[Chris Waite]

Eat those bilge keels for breakfast?

This is a new one on me; I've recently taken to frying up last night's Brussels Sprouts and combining them with my three egg scramble as a sort of 'Bubble and Fart', but bilge keels are something new.

"A mature oak texture, with just a hint of right handed thread and an epoxy finish"

I'm assuming that if they've been properly marinated, they don't need added salt?

CW

[Paul H (admin)]

Three weekends of seriously difficult sawing, lying on a concrete drive using muscles I never knew I had finally produced bilge keels almost flush with the hull. My middle aged joints were wrecked in the process - never again without a power saw:



That means I can use a wide roller to spread the weight across the hull, centred on the strong remains of the bilge keels:



One tip when sawing flush is to wrap tape around the ends of the blade. This avoids scratching the hull and the chine:



On the subject of saws I can highly recommend the Stanley Flooring Saw. With 13 TPI it gives a fine, clean cut and is compact enough to fit into awkward corners. It also has a curved saw blade for plunge cutting into flat surfaces:




I've trimmed the bottom of the companionway 3in wider, more like the YMS. The uprights were cut off when the roof was lowered and by re-fitting them outside the bottom edge I gain the extra width. Those few extra inches make a big difference to ease of access - the YMS guys had the design nailed and I suspect limitations of GRP led to more angled edges on modern designs.



Cabin internal pictures in the next message...

-Paul

[Paul H (admin)]

I'm been experimenting with a better layout inside the cabin.

There is storage under the cockpit seats accessible from inside the cabin, but it's a tad too narrow as a comfortable place for feet when sleeping:



So the plan is to cut along the red lines above to widen access enough for comfortable sleeping. This is quite radical as it will cut across the "L" shaped end  of the bilge keel case, into the cockpit. However as the plan is to add a bridge deck I can box in the whole lot - so I'm trading cockpit space under the new bridge deck for extra foot space in the cabin.

The net result is I can sleep closer to midships which gives a lot of headroom behind the first bulkhead:



The plan is build a raised storage area behind the bow, big enough for a battery compartment and storage of food/water etc. Basically lots of the heavy stuff low down near the bow - exactly where it needs to be to balance the boat fore/aft. The top of the storage area can become a galley for cooking in bad weather, maybe there is room for a tiny washbasin etc.

ttfn
Paul

[Port-Na-Storm]

Excellent work that man!
Glad to see you're using your Christmas Hols constructively.

Still think you'll have it finished by October?  

Have a good New Year!
Grum

[Paul H (admin)]

Thanks Graham,

Some keyhole surgery opened up the space nicely, as you can see there will be plenty of foot room:



But it turned into a 3D puzzle, as the cockpit floor is one inch higher than the berth:



Here is a view from the cockpit. The bridge deck will be about 10in deep, in-line with the black line:



So lads here is your Xmas puzzle to solve - answers on the back of a £10 note.

cheers
Paul