MilliBee with a haircut?

[Paul H (admin)]

A quick update with a mockup of the extended berth and how it is boxed in by the Bridge Deck.

From the inside

I cut through the cockpit floor flush with the inner berth. I had to cut through the bulkhead and old bilge case but also the existing battens that supported the cockpit floor. Luckily there is enough of the battens left to support the extended floor at berth level:

From the outside

A mockup of the Bridge Deck, 12in deep using a recycled seat from a D4 dinghy, the first boat I built before MilliBee.
The red/blue dots in each photo are on opposite sides of where the new vertical cockpit front face will be:



I've left a good sized area adjacent to the new centreboard case, not wanting to weaken the bulkhead too much. I'm wondering if I could build a "cool box" behind - insulation on 4 sides open to the hull at bottom....using the sea/river temperature to keep things cool.

-Paul

[alopenboat]

On 29 Dec 2013 at 15:18, Paul (admin) [via UK HBBR Forum] wrote:

> I've left a good sized area adjacent to the new centreboard case, not
> wanting to weaken the bulkhead too much. I'm wondering if I could
> build a "cool box" behind - insulation on 4 sides open to the hull at
> bottom....using the sea/river temperature to keep things cool.
>

I have a box like that on my fibreglass motor boat. It extends a few
inches above the water-line so is exposed to the evaporation from the
splash zone. In cold weather it doesn't seem to do much (but then it
is cold anyway). In hot sunny weather it keeps the butter too cold to
spread easily.

Well worth doing.

--
Hoping for calm nights

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

[Port-Na-Storm]

Looks like it'll be just the right size for a six-pack,

[Paul H (admin)]

Port-Na-Storm wrote

Looks like it'll be just the right size for a six-pack,

Only a 6 pack?  



Red or White Sir?

[Chris Waite]

Rude question Paulie....

Why make the bridge-deck (thwart) only ten inches back to front?  This is

1.  Narrow enough to be questionably uncomfy on the nethers

2.  Reduces the (relatively dry) storage available from below

and

3. Leaves more room in the cockpit well for large waves to come and join you, pushing the stern down when you really rather wish they wouldn't

Awkward old doodah

Ain't I?

CW

[Port-Na-Storm]

Great, room for a case or two of Buckfast. Excellent, Happy New Year .





"Chris Waite [via UK HBBR Forum]" <[hidden email]> wrote:

Rude question Paulie....

Why make the bridge-deck (thwart) only ten inches back to front?  This is

1.  Narrow enough to be questionably uncomfy on the nethers

2.  Reduces the (relatively dry) storage available from below

and

3. Leaves more room in the cockpit well for large waves to come and join you, pushing the stern down when you really rather wish they wouldn't

Awkward old doodah

Ain't I?

CW

---

If you reply to this email, your message will be added to the discussion below:

http://uk-hbbr-forum.967333.n3.nabble.com/MilliBee-with-a-haircut-tp3727803p4027142.html

To start a new topic under General Discussion, email [hidden email]
To unsubscribe from UK HBBR Forum, click here.
NAML

[Paul H (admin)]

Obi Wan,

The revised bridge deck is actually 1ft deep, in line with the forward end of the bilge case upright - chosen by my star crew member Liza because she could just get two feet on the bilge case when Millibee is heeled. Fair enough?

Cockpit well is 52in by 32in, 11in deep before draining into the centre board case.

That's 300kg of briny worst case

A 12in bridge deck drops it to 230kg, 14in to 219kg

I can nudge the bridge deck to 14in at the rear of the bilge uprights - there is already a strong floor support on the rear of the uprights, so that option is easier to build. The vertical panel will go down to the hull, forming a new bulkhead.

How zat?

Paul

[Chris Waite]

Delicious

I'll drink to that!

CW

[Paul H (admin)]

After fighting a long illness of RA and 3 months of a painful strained back (still far from better) I managed to glue a few more bits together:

The forward sides of the bridge deck tacked in place, ready for battens later. You can see the oodles of space it creates in the cabin:




Fairly tidy with the bridge deck in place. Extra support for the centreboard case and just enough space for the lifting tackle and somewhere for the crew to stick a boot when she heels over:



-Paul

[Paul H (admin)]

Cockpit Floor

A bit of a close up - the floor panels removed for access are now glued in place. Just a small patch behind the case to fill and the cockpit should be waterproof....just ready for the winter weather to rip the tarp off and chuck down the rain to fill up the cockpit.

Obviously the edges need rounding off and there is plenty of solid wood to attach an uphaul cleat for the board. After filling and another coat of Jotun 2-pack gloss on the cockpit sole I expect the redesign will be invisible.

I might seal the top panel with screws and sealant initially, because it could make internal construction a lot easier if removable.

Centreboard

The centreboard is fairly well sealed now, with a thick layer of epoxy over the lead-wood interface. Should be ready for Jotun 2-pack undercoat soon. I won't bother glassing it because life is too short, and the left hand corner will drag over the beach and wear away regardless.



-Paul

[alopenboat]

On 6 Nov 2014 at 10:01, Paul (admin) [via UK HBBR Forum] wrote:

> The centreboard is fairly well sealed now, with a thick layer of epoxy
> over the lead-wood interface. Should be ready for Jotun 2-pack
> undercoat soon. I won't bother glassing it because life is too short,
> and the left hand corner will drag over the beach and wear away
> regardless.
>

I have had very good results from splitting copper water pipe and
forming it to shape as a wear shield. My rudder was in very poor
shape after only 3 years use. 9 years later the copper looks
untouched.

It is surprising what complicated shapes can be formed with a small
hammer and much annealing.

--
Sail when you can, row when you must, motor
when you have to be at work in the morning.

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

[AdrianG]

Good to see you're back at it, Paul. Nice one.

Alastair - another top tip! I like the nonchalant way you suggest "splitting copper water pipe". What's your method for doing that?

Kind regards
Adrian

[Paul H (admin)]

Adrain,

Copper work hardens very quickly and then fractures with hand pressure alone.

I think Al flattens the tube with a hammer then anneals it with heat - repeat until you get the right shape:



Other videos say MAPP gas is enough, which Screwfix sell.

Al will reveal the secret recipe I'm sure.

-Paul

[alopenboat]

On 6 Nov 2014 at 22:46, AdrianG [via UK HBBR Forum] wrote:

 
> Alastair - another top tip! I like the nonchalant way you suggest
> "splitting copper water pipe". What's your method for doing that?
>

For my rudder, which only needed a couple of feet, I just cut it with
a hacksaw.

I am considering reinforcing the edges of my chine runners, which get
a bit of a bashing. That would be about 2m each side. For that I
would ideally get the use of a band saw, or possibly make a jig to
fit on my jigsaw.

--
Sail when you can, row when you must, motor
when you have to be at work in the morning.

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

[Paul H (admin)]

He we go, one thick coat of Jotun's finest Battleship grey primer, with enough Volatile Organic Compounds to put an elephant to sleep:



Watch out for the next exciting installment, when everything turns upside down.  

-Paul

[Paul H (admin)]

Toxic

The toxic X is there for a reason, and wifey jumps in the car faster then Lewis Hamilton to avoid the smelly paint.

Song Writing whilst under the influence...

The observant will notice that both sides now have an undercoat.

And I'm drifting off to la-la land because of the solvent fumes.
Time to write a song like "MilliBee in the sea with diamonds...."

[Paul H (admin)]

Stairway to Heaven?

After struggling with a 3 step ladder since 2005 my achy back said "no more". So Santa came early with a light, all aluminium ladder from Screwfix for £34.

The platform height is exactly flush with the cockpit seat so access is now easy and safe. Rat catcher & ex Health and Safety gone mad John will no doubt sign off all the paperwork, for the price of a pint.

Rain, Rain go away

Hmm, found a lot of water in the wrong places like around the floor panels no-quite sealed with epoxy yet. So I'll have to get the heat gun on them tomorrow. I realised the water was somehow running down the windsurf mast and dripping into the cockpit. So I wrapped it in an old towel. Hopefully the towel will absorb the water which will evaporate naturally on the dry days.



-Paul

[Ratcatcherjohn]

Paperwork will be duly signed off when the ladder stile is made secure  to that ever so handy cleat.  With your dodgy back we don`t want you attempting the splits with one foot on the bank and one in the boat.  Some of us have been there !!!        Cheers    John  
 ( 1.  Motor when you can .  2 Get a tow if you have to. 3.  Only row in desperation when 1 & 2 fail and where the destination is a Pub or a Chip Shop !  )

[Chris Waite]

The first lesson is taken from the book of Genesis 6:11

And people have been rediscovering it ever since - rain gets everywhere and even condensation is quite crafty.  When I was extremely naïve, a very long time ago now, about last Friday, I had a boom tent made for my little gaffer, 'Tit Willow'.

This cover stretched over the cockpit even unto the double topping lifts whence rainwater made its way from the uppermost reaches of the masthead and dribbled along the boom, which was raised at a merely slightly jaunty angle to allow headroom....    and thereafter under the cover.  At this point it decided to stop obeying the laws of capillary action and surface tension and go for the bit about gravity.  Sleeping in the cockpit could be a very moist affair.

I prophecy that the towel will not work.  More recently I have been using poly-tarp over the boom on even smaller 'Polly Wee'; lo and behold if you drape the after edge of the tarp over the higher, aft end of the jaunty boom or windsurfer mast, the the rain stays above and beyond the impermeable layer.

The condensation under poly-tarp is a different matter

Incidentally, I also have a VOC hating wife

"All are punished!"

CDog  

[Paul H (admin)]

When people ask me why I built a boat I say:

"I had a dream", "God said to me, Paul there won't be a big flood, but a hell of a lot of condensation"



Tarp was just as wet inside as outside so kept the rear (facing house) more open for ventilation.

Here endeth the lesson.