M/V She:Kon - Some Odds & Sods

I guess I'd be the 'sod' part of that title. *sigh*

Only 2 weeks left in our boat building season. So much to do. Scrambling around trying to get as much done as I can before I have to shift my attention to the RV and getting it ready for the big trip out west.

Today the Project Manager decided to pay a visit to the Big Blue Boat Shed. He immediately started issuing orders & griping about the lack of progress on the project. I suggested he roll up his fur and pitch in. That didn't go over well. :-(

That's a serious look! I better get to it!

Yesterday and the day before I managed to figure out the tank bed structure and get it tabbed into place. It's a bit of a hodge podge but for someone who's never done this before working on stuff that isn't level & plumb is a bit of a challenge.

Sub framing for the tank bed. This one is for a F/W tank (44 USG)

This morning I glued up the top and filleted & taped it into place. Once that's set up I'll radius the leading edge and apply tape there as well.

Tank bed fitted into place.

There's a fairly hefty gap on the right corner. That's what happens when you have a chunk of cured epoxy filler on the bottom of your level and you don't notice it. *sigh* Had to fit in a few pieces but they'll all be secured adequately enough.

I cut the holes for the retaining straps. These are large enough for 2" straps and are big enough to make fishing them through easy.

Tank bed in place.

Having mixed up too much epoxy I gave the tank bed an extra coat of the stuff. It'll all be sanded & painted before the tank goes on.

While that's curing up I pulled the rudder out from under the boat and decided to give it an extra coat or two (2) of high build epoxy primer. This was the last of my supply.

Rudder getting 2 more coats of primer.

Weather's coming so time to lock up the shed. I still have visions of it flying off in a storm just like Dorothy's house in The Wizard of Oz. *sigh*

Standby....

She-Kon: Back on Planet Earth

Ok, that's enough nonsense. Back on planet Earth in the 21st. century some progress has been made with the boat project.

The stern bearing carrier doesn't sit flush to the keel. The angle of the prop shaft is 8 degrees. I tried a few times to build in a wedge that would correct for this with little success. Yesterday I glued in the bronze nipple that connects the shaft log to the bearing carrier.

Cleaning up the bearing carrier

I used a liberal coating of mold release was to ensure the bearing carrier would separate from the epoxy I used to glue in the bronze nipple. The bearing carrier was used to ensure proper alignment of the shaft etc.

Mold release wax

This is good stuff anytime you've got a part you don't want to stick. I think it's about 98% carnuba wax.

Here you can see the gap between the bearing & the keel

Using a very think mix of epoxy, glass beads, colloidal silica and fiberglass strands I made a mix that I could pump into the space. I used packing tape to keep it from running out. It'll be rough but I can fix that up later. Once it has it's rough shape I might put a layer of carbon fibre over it.

Packing tape used to mold in place the bearing carrier

The rudder has been a royal PITA. A helluva lot more sanding than I ever imagined. I ended up chasing my tail around and around trying to get it fair. Finally I had had enough and had to give up.

Up until today I had no real idea if the rudder would actually fit. I hadn't dry fitted it yet. It was made to the designers specs so I had to place my full faith in him. As it turned out it fits. It's tight getting the bolts in but I can manage. Not really a one person job but a few ups & downs of the step ladder doesn't hurt the waste line! :-)

Success! It fits!

Still some fairing and painting to do on the rudder but I just couldn't help myself fitting it in to see how it looked. Man, it's been a long tough journey to get this far. Little milestones like this is what keeps me going!

Thanks for looking in. Appreciate any/all comments/feedback.

Standby....

She:Kon - Interior Design

Now most people who build their own boats take their ideas for interior design from a number of sources. Magazines, other boats, web sites or boat shows. We decided to deviate from the norm (which is normal for us). Below you'll see what we're planning for the interior of She:Kon.

Engine Room:

Now this looks a lil' far fetched but it's the forced perspective that makes it look bigger than it actually is. The lil' Yammy will fit nicely in this space!

Engine Room. 

Helm Station:

From the outset the boat has been designed to accommodate two helm seats.

Helm Position

Deluxe Captains Accommodations

One must certainly be comfortable on those long sea passages.

Captain's Bunk

Captain's Day Cabin

Galley

Especially important to have a nice bright and colourful place for the Cook to prepare delicious 5 course meals for her Captain!

Galley

Dining/Rec room

Personal space can be at a premium on a boat. We've decided to include a nice dining/recreation space.

Dining/Recreation room

Entertainment Center including Ultra Smart TV w/Intergalactic Internets

Main Power Distribution

Often an afterthought is the main power distribution around the ship. This one console will help eliminate all those pesky lil' gremlins that seem to creep into every boat build!

Main Power Distribution Panel

Engine Room Access

Every space on the boat should be accessible by Jefferies Tubes. She:Kon is no different. We've standardized and selected this design for space access.

Jefferies Tube Access

Other/Misc.

There are many other features that will be included in the interior design that will likely be featured in further updates. Here's a few to keep you coming back!

Does Nothing, Goes Nowhere

Computer Navigation System MkI w/Tribbles

Admiral showing off her high tech button pushing method!

And last but not least the dingy.

Admiral chose it herself and it's her personal favorite!

And if you think it is all BS, you'd be wrong and I'm prepared to defend my designs and my vessel!

Prepare a full Photon Torpedo spread! Target their Red Junk sails! Fire!

Standby.....

Images captured at the Star Trek Experience, Ticonderoga

NY.  https://www.startrektour.com/

All Star Trek Original Series imagery Copyright CBS Consumer Products.

http://www.cbsconsumerproducts.com/startrek/star_trek_original.html

Catch Up Not Ketchup

I have to apologize for ignoring you all. Got focused on getting some stuff done and doing YouTubez. I'm sorry. I will try to do better.

I'll try to catch you up. I know I'll miss things but this is about the best I can do for now.

So when we last left off I was making gaskets for the rudder stuffing box. That went Ok. I tried to true it all up with the mock up shaft I have. It's off a wee bit but by having the large thick gasket in there I can tweak it a little.

I really messed up big time with the stern bearing carrier. Cross threaded the thing trying to attach it to the stern tube. Should have known better. Ordered a bronze pipe to use but order was cancelled w/o me catching it. Waited two weeks before Paypal sends notice. Doh! Ordered something else I hope I can make work.

While I was waiting for the part that wasn't coming I tinkered with some of the other stuff. Bits & bobs that had to be done.

One of the fun things we got to do was wrap the rudder in glass & carbon fibre and infuse it.

Rudder ready to be wrapped in glass & carbon fibre

After a day and a half of prepping the rudder it was time to infuse it with epoxy. Lori joined me in the boat shed and after a final navel gazing session we got to it!

The infusion went better than I thought it would. Changing the oil in my vacuum pump made a big difference. Things I would do different next time are:

1. Invest in some release film
2. Put in small resin trap after vacuum outlet
3. Use woven carbon fiber instead of twill

Other than that it worked well. Unbagged it two days later.

Today I've sanded and roughly shaped the rudder and applied the first coat of fairing compound. It's raining like crazy so I don't know how long it'll take to kick off.

That's about it. Sorry it took so long.

Standby...

Arts & Crafts & Sandinsanity Returns

Today started out with a few Arts & Crafts. Making a rubber gasket for the rudder shaft stuffing box.

1/4" rubber for gasket

Prety simple but you'd be amazed how many people don't know how to make a gasket.

Cut hole for shaft

Bought these handy hole punches at Princess Auto. Indispensable for this king of work. The gold coloured sharpie shows up well on the black rubber.

Looking down with rudder box in place

Ready for installation (not yet though)

Next thing I had to do was scrounge through my collection of bronze fasteners. I got these from a generous fella on the boating forums. Probably coulda used more but didn't want to seem greedy.

Small collection of bronze fasteners.

Some of these will be used for the swim platform and the bronze screws for the rudder stuffing box as shown above. The others I don't know yet. I also received a few stainless steel screws suitable for holding the engine in place.

What it all looks like mocked up.

Mocked up

This backing block will get at least one layer of carbon fiber and a few layers of glass. It'll definitely be strong. 

Next step onto fairing the rudder (again). I've ordered the carbon fiber for it. Would like to do a resin infusion on that so keep an eye out here for more details.

And today's special feature. The Sandinsanity Returns!

Standby....