Owengriffiths

The xternal wall has only 8mm ply above gunwhale on it I would have thought ceramic tiles would be too heavy and not cope with any flexibility, hence looking for alternative. A

Have got very fed up of tongue and grooving having fitted most of the boat out in it. I have purchased pvc laminate dumalock panels for behind the shower but am undecided what to do with the other wall finishes- paint? Someone suggested laminate floor covering pasted to the walls? Not really sure what to go with but it will need to be wipe clean and moisture resistant. Any suggestion? Andrew

I did the spraying myself, I reckon I saved 400€ on a 42 by 8 barge from the quotes i got. Its very messy but not that difficult. You get two large pressurised canisters and about ten nozzles. I did all the spraying in one go and only used one. Just make sure you wear goggles a mask and full coverage overalls"!

I've just bought Pvc panels that look like tiles, the panels slot together and should give greater flexibility than tiles, and hopefully will be easier for a cack handed craftsman like me. They are called dumalock / Dumapan. and came to 80€ (about 60 quid ) for a corner shower 800 mm. Cant tell you if they work cos they are still in a box though........

ON monday i went to a stonemasons down the road to get a pice of stone cut for under the boatman stove. Whilst there I discussed stone for ballast and walked away with loads of stone slab offcuts which weigh alot and will make great ballast. Only problem was the guy wanted to tell me the history of every piece. I now have irish limestone, italian marble and english millstone slabs under the flooring! I pointed out that all the damaged old gravestones and headstones would be a perfect size but he said this would be bad luck (the irish are very superstitious). So he gave me instead a church alter which would bless the boat. Seems a shame to have all this beautiful stone under the floor! But it was free and is certainly very heavy. So those of you discussing ballast have a word with your local stone smith; A

I recently battened out and struggled above the gunwhale as there was no steel; stuck the battens on with sikaflex and in one case i needed to remove and i cant get the thing off the glue is so strong, so dont worry about using glue!

Yes like that, isnt it pretty? I also bought a fan thingy so I will print off your photo and hold it up infront of the shell of the boat I have to see what it will look like! Andrew

I just bought a blue boatman but its not arrived. So i cant tell you how it works. But it is a pretty colour. A

jus about to fit a large stainless steel water tank into the boat shell under the bow. Is it worth getting some sort of level meter for this (if so any advice appreciated) or do you just fill it up until the overflow starts to do its job???? Andrew

i can get 18mm marine which i was going to use for beneath the toilet room. Should the WBP be treated with anything to imporve water resistance.... A

I have been unable to source 25mm Marine ply in Ireland, apparently the builders dont use it as its more expensive. I have been waiting over two months now, last pallet returned to malaysia as it was poor quality. For the flooring would it be wise to wait (possibly another two months, its holding me up now~) or can I go with WBP Ply- hardwood faced and treat it with something? If so what should I treat it with...... A

Rang them up on friday and made a big order. They couldnt have been more helpful, guess I must of been on the phone an hour discussing. I had checked some things for prices elsewhere, with 20% off the only thing I had decided to but elsewhere was a toilet. The 20% was given for everything, they deliver most of the stuff to ireland for 23£ and the rest to my brother in law in Lancs for nowt. I cant complain. Apparently they will also send me a discount card which gets me 10 or 20????% of subsequent order Happy camper

Have spent the day cutting up 2 by 1 wood and glueing and drilling it in place. I can't get the damn sticky black glue off my hands/ clothes/ face / children . Have now spent the evening reading the build blog provided by pippa. Omg I am not worthy and can only dream of such build quality and beauty, but yes it was helpful thanks.

Hi, am in process of battoning out the boat prior to spray foaming insulation. There are metal conduits down the side of the boat but I intend putting in wire ducting wherever I need wiring before the spraying. This is mainly the ends of the boat and down the middle. I have two thoughts- put it in now...but is it better to use metal or pvc ducting, both seem available???? Or alternatively I tack wood where i want the wiring and then remove later leaving a clean area for wire ducting to be inserted later.?? I found the cable calculator thing very useful, will go and get the dual core wire and the ducting tomorrow, And i should add do i want LSF coated or PVC sheathed or does it make no difference??? A

Ah Rich advice indeed!!!. That may well mean I dont have to learn how to weld......I'll have a look at how that might work. Its from Lombon Hull (if I spell it right) so it came from the UK. Probably a bit wider than usual in the UK at 8 ft as we have bigger locks here in ireland.....>A

Great thank you all, we got there in the end, hissy fits aside. Wood arrives friday , and tekscrews. I specified 50 mm below the gun whale and 25 above for the spray foam and they will come and have look and get exact measurements next week. More questions sure to follow.......

Right i think i can summarise...with the aid of photos. Nail guns will work and people have used them but with the hassle of ensuring that the power is right and not wanting to shoot a hole in the cabin i'll go for the tekscrew option, found them on screwfix, who now deliver to Ireland, yippee...... So i can use the screws mentioned for fixing to the lower wall; note the absence of holes and for fixing to these braces on the ceiling/roof but for the upper wall and the end walls, there is no brace or metal apart from above the window. So i need to weld some braces on, gluing doesnt seem like a sesnible option,,,,? Whilst i'm at it and probably off topic some other pictures of boat, front back, internal and engine. not sure if photos working...i am not allowed to use that extension on this community....aaaghhh, not a good day. now need to search on 'how to do photos from photobucket, just looked it up and followed instructions but doent seem to work. Aha now it does

where is the 'bursts into tears' emoticon????. Still no near learning about nail gun..........

very confused now......but not sure why it matters one iota which way round you write it. Just turn the wood by 90 degrees and one of you is always right

Right have just spent half an hour exploring my computer history for the past week to find it. And I wasnt dreaming or making it up. But laugh away if it works for you. I read it on a blog from a guy called Biggles on this forum, for a widebeam blog but that shouldnt make any difference. The nails were 'spiral fluted' and the nail gun was air powered and it took him no time at all to attach 1 by 2 (see i'm learning!) battens which were then firmly attached. This seemed like a good approach to me. http://boatbuildblog.blogspot.be/2010/09/nail-gun-in-action.html Not sure if that link works but theres even a video of it working. But if this type of gun isnt readily available then the tech screws mentioned seem a good idea to avoid driling through steel. Even if I can get such a gun it looks like i will have to get some welding done to fit metal braces above the gunwhale. And again i should have waited for photos before asking questions but i'm a bit excited......

It wasnt my idea!!! I read it somewhere on this forum. Guy even had a picture of aforementioned nail gun, and pictures of the threaded nails, just cant find the damned thing now. And magnetman if you read the origanal message I do mention that it will be sprayfoamed for insulation, even asking which tape to put over the battoning. Again I read on the forum there is a type of tape to use that you can just pull off after. Again cant find the origianal thread. No , I havent given the boat a name formally but ''Flossy Fluke'' is the likely name, which is a bit more attractive than colander. Probably better i desist further comments until I have photos.... Quite proud of winning an award so early in my boating career.

just in primer. There were spots of rust in places and around the mushrom vents in particular (boat has been sitting for some years) so i've covered most of the interior in that red oxide paint to seal. Probably best I take photos....will upload tonight

i was told the boat was 10/8/5 mm but I'm not sure which thickness is where so you are probably right The squares of steel you refer to are there below the gunwhale (that step bit half way up) but not above. But they dont have any screwholes in them so thats why I thought the nailgun was a good idea. They are also there as bracing across the cieling roof. But not on the upper sides (the bit where the windows are). I will take some photos tonight and try posting them.

Boat has arrived on chuffing big trailer and spent the weekend wirebrushing and priming on the inside. Wood is ordered and the next job is the battens 2 by 1 before the sprayfoam people arrive. I intent sticking them in place with flexible glue and then using a nailgun through the wood into the steel. I recall one build diary who explained which model he'd used and how quick and easy it was. Problem is I cant find it now.......i've tried searching on nailgun but it returns hundreds of no use posts...... So what type and model do I need to hire or borrow? It would need to go into the steel to hold wood but not go striaght through the hull! Below the gunwhale there are metal sticking out strips (not very technical am I, will take photo) that will take nail or bolt without afecting the structure but above there is nothing but the 8mm steel. Am I safe going into this above the gunwahle with a nail gun or do I just use glue? And then I recall that you put some tape over the wood before the sprayinsulation. Which tape- I have duck tape, masking tape and electrical tape; which will work? The first of a million questions.................. Andrew

No but I had uncle who was a bit of a pain. A