Whilst my blog remains relatively quite, in the background I have been grinding away over the past few months completing the next stage of the Class Globe 580 being the Hull Plating. Whilst I anticipate each stage to be completed quicker than I am actually doing it, given I work full time and have other family and personal commitments, I am still happy with the progress I am making. At the end of day I am not in a rush to get on the water and making sure the job is of quality and done right is my main priority.
Following completion of tidying up frames in stringers, the first step was to head back to the shed and pull out the plywood sheets with all the hull plating and butt blocks to cut them out. Once the tabs were tidied up with some sanding, I then proceeded to apply two coats of International Everdure to the inside face of the panels, sanding between each coat to create a rough surface and to smooth off the fibres from the ply that stick up after the first coat.
Once that was done a further coat of PPG Epotec primer undercoat was applied and sanded back ready to be installed on the stringers.
Upon checking the the plating would fit nicely on the stringers which was done by running a batten along them, I started off by fitting the stern first then making my forward generally two correlating panels at a time on either side - dry fitting first and pre drilling holes prior to taking off and commencing WEST system gluing process. I also completed them by doing the side panels first, followed by the chine panels and then the bottom. The idea being that chine panel would overlap the side panels and the bottom panels would overlap the chine panels by sitting straight on top of them.
All the panels fit quite well and were pretty much exactly in line with the guiding marking which was a great relief as for the first time I could see that the boat was the correct dimensions and was true on either side. Each panel was fit with 316 SS Screws (Generally 1 or 1 1/4 inch) from the outside in except for the butt blocks which I glued and screwed from the inside out which means I needed to grind off the protruding portion on the outside when done.
Given I installed all the panels myself at times it was challenging trying to line the plating up correctly, particularly the side panels which kept wanting to slide out of place once the glue was on. I did try clamping some wooden pieces to the bottom of the stringers which helped a little but it was really the pre drilled holes that made it work out at the end of the day.
It was the bow section that was most difficult part of the process as it requires quite a lot of manipulating to attach them in place. They way I went about this in the end was by dry fitting them by using some ratchet straps to get them close to the stringers and then clamping them in place for a couple of days to try and create somewhat of a natural bend in the panels. I would say there is perhaps an easier way of doing it but in the end once I applied all of the epoxy ready for installation I started by screwing in the flat portions of the panel first (closest to the stern) and then literally using my feet against carport poles and pushing all of my weight on the panels as I worked closely to bow. This unorthodox method worked aside from having to convert to bigger 2 inch screws towards the bow as the smaller ones just bounced straight out.
Once all the side and chine panels were in place, I moved on to the bottom panels which was a pretty straight forward process. With the first layer to go down I flipped the plating/panels upside down and marked them so I knew where to screw in the fastenings. Once these three panels were in place it was time for the second bottom layer to go on. This layer used a fair amount of epoxy by the time I had wetted out both surfaces prior to applying a thickened 413 blend thereafter (applied with a notched trowel). I then screwed into place across the panels to set.
Following all of the panels being in place, it was time to add the stem cap to the bow of the boat. Again this was pretty straight forward process.
The final part of this building stage has seen me take back all of the overhanging portions of each panel together with shaping the bow section of the boat which builders have a little bit of creative licence with. This was done with a mixture of grinding, planning (both electric and manual) as well as sanding. Whilst I still have a bit of fine tuning to get all the panels to a place that I am happy with prior to glassing, I have now effectively finished this portion of the build process which has created an even higher level of excitement for me to see this boat starting to take shape.
For anyone wondering on cost how much material it takes to get to this part of the boat build for me in AUD it has approximately been:
Plans- $500
Base CNC Kit- $7,900
Stringer/Chine Kit- $565
Other Timber and templates- $600
Jig Materials- $350
3D CNC half Plug- $310
20L 105 Resin- $550
12L 413 Filler- $100
4L 411 Filler- $35
4L 206 Hardener- $190
4L International Everdure Kit- $250
408-1011 PPG Epotec Primer Kit- $170
Window Templates- $80
Mix of 1, 1 1/4 & 2 inch screws- $400
Disposal items/Other- Approx $1,000
Shipping Costs- $500
Total Approx- $13,000
*I've not included tools/clamps etc so will need an allowance for these items if required.
*I have also purchased many of the packages and other bits to go with the boat which I will provide more detail and costs on at a later point in time.
I haven't been keeping a detailed tally on hours however have now been working on the boat for almost 9 months only on weekends which I would say on average around 5-6 hours on these days. Given I have a number of weekends off for other reasons I would say this brings working weekends down to around 7 months. This means I would say my build time so far is approximately 300 hours with no prior experience.
No doubt if you're experience you would be much quicker but for me coming from having basically no manual labor skills to where I am now is something I am immensely proud of!