Well, it has been quite a while since my last post but ultimately it has taken me this long to finish the next stage of the project being 'Setting up frames and stringers' as outlined within the Class Globe 580 blog requirements. This has mainly been due I suspect due to my limited experience, over worrying about getting things correct and other work and life commitments that doesn't leave me with a lot of hours in a week to work on this project. I am also trying to progress as much as possible prior to moving on to the next stage which I will point out throughout this blog. Ultimately though I am not in a particular rush and as such am completing at a pace that works for me. This being said, I will get there, mark my words!
Following completion of the the frames back in January, I spent numerous hours sanding and filleting the frames with West System Epoxy mixed with there '411 filleting blend'. Following this process I then I then added two coats of Primer (International Everdure) on the advice of my good mate and experienced boat builder Aaron Haigh prior to adding a coat of Epotec Undercoat, sanding back each frame with each coat to ensure a good bond. Once the Epotec was on the frames were then sanded back once more ready for installation.
Once I had the frames ready to go I decided to wait for an opportunity for another friend, builder and mentor Jim Gray to come over from Bendigo to assist with the Jig installation. We followed the instructions provided for in the plans down to the mm and added a bit of extra strength in some of the frames where we thought it was lacking. A lot of the Jig was constructed with a nail gun on each end of the join held together with a screw through the middle to hold it all together. Admittedly I followed Jim's advice throughout this process but the main things I can say is that we made sure the frames were level horizontally via a laser lever and horizontally via a manual metre long spirit level aside from the bow section which is required to be at a slight angle in line with the plans and obviously frame S which is required to be on a specific angle which we got via a digital angle device.
Once the jig was in place the next step was to install the frames on the jig. Tommy Crabb who I have mentioned previously came over to provide some advice and we decided to try and make the process as simple as possible. We ran and string line down the middle of the frame to define the middle of the frame the marked the mid point of each frame accordingly. To determine the central point we placed a plumb bob on a piece of string then screwed or hung the frame accordingly and ran a plumb line down to meet the string line on the central point. Nothing fancy, just old school string line to meet the centre and a defined height as outlined on the jig plan with the vertical checked off with a spirit level. Once the frames were in place, the measurements were checked off against the plan and a soft tape measure was used to check each dimension running along the stringer points on each side were of the same length. I did not that many other builders had some form of discrepancy as did I however I was lucky enough at worst for this measurement across the entire boat being 6mm. This being the case I did spend a number of hours over several weeks making some small changes and eventually getting the boat to measure equal on every angle I was taking. I should also mention once the frames were in place that I did use a laser level to run from the bow and the stern to check everything off. Tommy also made the oak keel floors which were installed and epoxied prior to moving onto the stringers.
Upon being happy with the frames and how they were in place the next step was to start on the stringers. I initially started with placing them on the frames and working out how much material needed to be shaved out of the notches to get them in. I then also determined the shape of these notches and decided a 6mm router bit would be the best option to shape these in. From there I used a long piece of straight steel section that Tommy provided me with and epoxied the stringers together in line with plans and CNC stringer kit that I had previously purchased. Once set, I started dry fitting the stringers to see how they fit and then started working on shaping these notches. I did this by using a batten to determine how much material needed to be removed with the idea of the stringers being able to sit in place at the shape of the frame. The frames also needed to be shaped accordingly and I completed all of this work with a mix of a multi tool attachment, 4 inch grinder with a flap disc, plane as well as rounded and flat bastard files. Once this was done I dry fitted the stringers and marked out the chines stringers that require to be shaped to frame/hull. Once marked with pilot holes drilled the stringers were then removed and the chine sections were shaped accordingly with an electric plane.
I dry fitted the stringers once more to ensure I was happy with the fit (which I was except for being unsure about the bow section) so started the process of completing the epoxy work. This was completed via the 'glue and screw' method with 45mm screws to get a good strong hold. The only places in the end where 35mm screws were used was towards the bow where there was limited frame material. Again West System epoxy with a 413 microfibre blend was used for the gluing process.
Just a note at this stage that the same primer/undercoat combo of 2 coats International Everdure and 1 coat Epotec Epoxy undercoat primer with sanding back in between each each coat.
As the weather in Adelaide, South Australia is now cooling in towards winter it is not becoming so much of an issue with getting the epoxy on quickly which is nice but I did take things slowly only gluing stringers in a couple of frames at a time on each side to keep the load consistent. For the last stage I was slightly unsure of a couple of things so called my mate Tommy in once more for some advice. One of these queries was that one of the stringers that met at the bow would have very minimal material left if the the frame was shaved away like I did on the remaining frames. It was determined on this particularly stringer set to remove a small portion of timber from the stringer at the bow as opposed to the whole lot coming out of the bow section. The other issue I had was with the bottom most stringers I had taken out a little too much material under the bottom stringer (top as you look at it on the jig) which meant I needed to add a small portion of timber in the end underneath the stringer to make the chine line up with the bow in the end. I'm not sure if that makes sense as I write it but happy to answer any queries if anyone has them. Once Tommy had provided some advice however I was comfortable where things were going and glued up the remaining bow portion from frame D1.
The last comment I have was this bow section required a bit of twisting and turning which was slightly frustrating completing single handed but in the end was far less of an issue than I had anticipated. For me this just meant gluing and screwing each stringer in slowly over a number of nights and placing a number of clamps along the stringers with rope attached to the end to twist the sections down to the required shape. The largest of the stringers that meets the deck was also reeled in by setting up a rope section towards the bow which was twisted as a Spanish windlass as recommended by a number of other builders. I would also also like to mention a quick thanks to Jim Schofield (another Class Globe 580 Builder) who has been very accommodating to any queries I have and willing to take on a phone call at anytime. Thanks team. Onwards and upwards!
The next stages from here is to tidy up the stringers and frames and move onto stage 3 of the project being the hull plating. Now that I am at this point I expect the boat to come together more quickly and feel that I am now at a point that I know I can make it to completion. Very excited to see what the future holds!
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