Woody Runabout Pase 23 & Launch Time

"Hurry slowly" has to be the mantra towards achieving the result wanted at this late stage and the varnishing of oil based over epoxy resin. Application onto a surface of epoxy that still shed an amine bloom after three days of rubbing down and washing. The result was a coat that wrinkled and failed to dry properly. Like toffee, it was scraped off and sanded with wet and dry, then allowed to dry for several more days before another coat of varnish was applied and ft to sufficiently dry for work to continue as normal.  The interesting thing was the fact that the bow section of deck was not so severely affected, due to the fact that it had sun dried beneath the garage skylights.
Even at this late stage I am finding items that require attention. The heavy duty battery wiring had to be soldered for more durable connections, The floor needed a further coat of yacht enamel to obliterate some messy touching up and scuffs. The rubber grommets for the remotes had to be secured with sikaflex adhesive (rubbery and very sticky to apply). The "tennis racquet" seats secured more rigidly with cable ties onto the bench seat support.
The trailer is made ready with side rails - additional support alongside the rollers, and adjusted to conform more closely to the hull shape.

The motor  is checked over and the wiring is good to go. The fair weather weekend gives the moment for launching. I am awake at 4am and like a kid at Christmas about to creep downstairs to see what Santa has left !

The old car battery chose to give up the ghost, so an early morning trip to Mole Valley Farmers store gets me a new one (as backup). By 10.30am William and me are afloat on the Teign Estuary with grins from ear to ear. Not too much throttle, gently with the steering and heading west upstream into the warm westerly breeze.
At Coombe Cellars we turned to head back under the Shaldon Bridge and return to the harbour. Busy with summer traffic. We head out through the mouth of the estuary on the ebb tide at a rate of knots. The choppy bar is crossed without hesitation and the Bass are jumping by the Ness and we head on into Labrador bay.

Impressed by the quiet exhaust note and the ample power available at half throttle. The running in period is strictly adhered to, though the temptation to push forward is ever present. Briefly we opened up the throttle a little and she gradually rises up onto the plane. Into the turns the ride is quite flat, hardly any bank as the deep spray rails do what they are supposed to do - of keeping the craft on rails.

The buoyancy / stability is excellent, as I lean out over the gunnel there is only minimal roll. My worries over the degree of rocker I had used were quite unfounded, since there is no tendency to porpoise when the rise up onto the plane remains perfectly level. Apologies for not having images to show just yet. Too much excitement to bother with the camera, but they will follow shortly now this brief shakedown is done with.

Altogether I can say I am tickled pink with my design.

Ready for the road

Ready for the water

Ready to go !

Woody Runabout Phase 22

Now confident of getting waterborne in early August.

Linking the control lines through the rear bulkhead, attaching the windscreen and cleats, then a couple more coats of varnishing to do. 

Having set myself many little design features and cosmetic titivation's on this classic style small boat project,  the road to completion has taken many more hours than originally anticipated. The windscreen has four brackets that each required  individual fashioning and fitting with associated under-deck strengthening points for their attachment. The screen is detachable for the eventual maintenance of the hull, when she will have to be turned over.

The seat backs are laminated out of Ash and tennis racket shape,  strung ready for fixing to the bench seat. So the finished result will be quite unique.  A flight of fancy, where the design has evolved en-route.

The decks are surfaced in clear Epoxy Resin ready for topping off and finishing with  Epiphanes varnish. A real buzz reward to enjoy after the 800 hour project begun in January.

The road trailer will require some adjustment, together with the addition of support rails alongside the roller supports.

Almost ready for the water

Two or three more coats of varnish but no more than five

Waterline beam width should give ample stability

The seats are ultra lightweight but quite strong

Woody Runabout phase 16

One of several mistakes made during construction (yet to be rectified) was the inadvertent use of a waxy sanding sealer on the side panels. The adhesion is poor and I shall probably have to re varnish. The lesson: ALWAYS READ THE LABEL. I  discovered the error when using gaffa tape to hold a few slivers of wood where the frames meet the gunnels. On removal of the tape a patch of bare wood was revealed minus the varnish!   I intend leaving the job until autumn.  The wax base will need to be removed with a solvent and vigorous sanding.

The floor  is laid and incorporates sealed flotation chambers between the frames, now being painted before completion of the decking, fore-deck and transom decking.  The outboard unavailable till June because of the Covid-19 epidemic, as is the interruption to wood supplies which threatens to slow up progress.

In advance of decking, there have been fixing points for cleats added, and also fixing points for screw down straps that will secure the fuel tank and battery. Remote controls for the outboard run either side down the gunnels, and I am pondering the idea of inserting some PvC pipework to contain it, so as to make insertion and removal simpler to do. Putting such ideas down helps in the decision making and yes, I think I need ponder no more, just do it!

Unexpected problems always arise in scratch built projects such as this, and solving them becomes part of the enjoyment of brain teasing, burning of the midnight oil. One of them is how best to arrange the seating. Two seats, three or four, and should the rear one(s) face forward, sideways or rearwards, The best solution I am presently considering is to have the rear pair of seats facing inwards, facing each other so that weight would then be into the centre and away from the stern. So far, only one of the seat backs has been fabricated, in the form of an an ellipsoid hoop that I intend to make fold forwards. Laced with supportive Dyneema paracord. Sounds like one of granddad's lash up bodges, or it might just be some artistic licence and definitely unique.