W+T

I have just had a look at your Blog, well impressed mate , be good if i could find a similar unfinished shell. I have used/got an evolution, dam fine saw all round i have cut concrete flags, 3mm mild steel and of course wood of all thicknesses upto 2", cant fault it, i supose it just the blades though. So very good bit of kit, if i ever get my own build goin gi will defo use it. Whats wrong with the good old gas cutting gear, a whole lot cheaper, bit of slag but if if you get the knack, which aint to hard, its quick, and easy for all shapes and thickness upto 2", not that anyone will have a 2" bottom. wayne

Well having a go at making new sides for this Got quote at £411.25.....i dont think so. So i will have a go at doing my own, at a cost about £100 all in its a bit better. Now can anyone give me advice how to do it and any tips on how to do it. I have the jist of it but it cant be as easy as i think. All advice welcome, even if anyone knows of another firm who acn do them at a good price. thanks wayne

Hi there, i am affriad the windows dont open, not that good at joinery, but i have managed to make the rear cabin one be opening it is ok for the rear as its only a small one but wouldnt of looked right for the side windows as its a lot more bulky, i will be fitting it this weekend with the other rear window. I am keeping the front roof hatch but not sure on the rear one, been thinking lastnite, i could blanck off the small one in the rear and do a bigger a little further back so it doesnt inerfer with the bulkhead. Had a bit of a shock at the price of new canvas sides to be made.........£411.25p , looks like i will be making a set of hardwood doors for it, well i will be saving about £350 which cant be bad..

Hi Bob, yes i agree on using rope, could be a but of trouble that. Mite aswell stick with the sapele hardwood. I went up last night to do a bit as said, not easy by spot light to work on in. I got another bulkhead half fitted, just need more GRP laying up, then its the front one so i can make the cockpit up. I am going to fit the gas locker in the cockpit to hold 2 six KG cylinders, i will havew to sink them into a filler which is going to be made from 6mm GRP to fit with BSS standards, i need ti make a filler as to bring the locker floor/drain up high enough above water level. Oh and on the windows, thre is a few leeks, i have to admit i for got to finish the putty joints of around the glass and beading so by weekend i will once again have an indoor pool . My god theres so much to do, yet to make a new roof hatch for the front cabin, there is one small one also in the rear, about 6"x8", not sure wether to blank it off yet as it is very close to the galley and loo bulkhead. Just the messing around of cutting it out and blanking it off. At the minutye i could just block it off and do a nice job later in summer time, we will see. I have been trying to get Tracey to come and give a hand on a few bits, i am getting there...slowly, the firts job isnt to pleasent though as its sanding all the interor down to remove all the loose paint so the new roof linin will stick, all i have i an small orbital snader, but hen Tracey sanded all the out side of the boat down with it before we painted it last summer...very proud of her i was , only taken her 3 days , and whole load of pads and numb fingers. Keep saying to myself.....IT WILL BE DONE

I work for a calor gas agent and we get a lot of part filled returns back ( no charge to me for them ), mainly being 13kg cylinders, 6 kg now and then but they get snapped up, if need be i can use 6 kg. The main question is about the locker filler though not the cylinder size. Thanks wayne

I have not seen anywere about a GRP filler, i have a cruiser which i want to fit the GRP locker in the cockpit ( its a center cockpit cruiser), now i hope to use 2 13kg cylinders but if i was to fit them in the cockpit under the floor the filler would come up to near 3/4 the way up the cylinder, i was thinking of making the filler out of ply covered with 6mm of GRP, 6mm to be ok with the BSS regs. Most have been using concrete and water, neither i fancy using myself. Do you think this will be ok as in the BSS regs the LPG locker can be of minimum 5mm GRP, just not sure how deep the filler can be. Any advice would be greatfull folks. Thanks wayne

Well Bob , i could post some but maybe not Been great day for it today, like a summer day but still a bit cold, not that you feel it when your busy. Dont seem to haver done much to say i was going at it near none stop for around 6 hours. I needed to get the rear bulkhead fitted as the raer cabin was slightly out of shape when i removed the rotten one, you will see the 3x2 that i have jammed in place to push the top over a few inchs, once done i had to work around it to get the bulhead inplace and bond. Forgot how many times i smacked my head on the clamps, like the good old days of building 4x4`s. As the front cabin is water tight, i mean its got windows now, i got my heater to help dry it out a bit as i will be doing the cockpit bulkeads in the next week and bond the floor inplace so i need it nice and dry. Almost forgot, the new window will be here this week so that the main job of the week with the rear window to be done. I mite be pushing it but i hope to have it on the water for about mid june......(i think i mite of already said that, see its been a long day). It wont be completed but useable so we can cruise and work on it. Well some boring pics. Was a good idea to save the original bulheads to use a templates, made things a lot easyer, not that there was much left of them after i ripped them out. The ones i have fitted are near the same as the cockpit ones, just need a bit of a trim to get a better fit. the raer bulkheads are of 18mm ply and the cockpit ones are of 2 sheets of 9mm with insulaition inbetween. Here i set them inplace and clamped them to keep them level with each other. You can see the 3x2 which is keeping it all square. See sprit levels do come in handy on boats All bonded, not removed the 3x2 yet so dont know if it will hold it in place, not that i am worried. I will be back up tomorrow night after work for a few hours, and to see if the rear heads hold out the shape. If it all goes this slow i better make the maiden voyage next year Been thinking today what to use for the top edging/rubbing strake, i like the idea of a thick rope, about 45-50mm but not sure if it will sag to much at times as the rope i have been told to use is coir, this shrinks and stretchs dependent on the moisture it absorbs. Then there is sapele hard wood like what i used for the windows, that would be the cheaper option as the rope will cost £140. Whiule i was there today i got pics to send to the chaps to give me a quoate for the cockp[it side to be made from vinyl, i was going to make solid door but they will b e harder to store when the top goes back. Canvas ones will be nioce and easy to roll up and still be attached when the roof goes back. Well thats todays efforts, and feeling it to

I have been trying to sort this blog for a while and seam that this is the easiest way to start it here with out redoing it all, folow the link to the build and i will update it here from now on as i go. I know its not a NB but in time i hope to have one, poss build my own from scratch, i have talked my better/more sensible half to do a liveabourd in the future, there is a lot to sort out in the mean time, all depends how this one goes as for just the enjoyment and what it would sell for if we sell it. Just glad to get on the cut and cruise a bit, i have had a few cruiser in the past but things have always come in the way, things were hard back then but know things are better i am on the way, new/much better wife and better life. http://justcanals.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?f=78&t=5229 Thats if this works. wayne

Hi matey, i dont know what you are trying to repair as your pic hasnt shown but i would say cut out and replace if you can remove the frame, i did this with my wheel house and it was easy, even for a ameture like me and you cant realy tell much. i dont have a pic of it oiled but it does look good, i just cut out the originla nd glued n screwed the new part in place.

Well i wasnt expecting you to suggest a 11` dinghy, cant see tracey sleeping under the stars to often with a stove so close at her toes I have seen boats of all shapes and sizes built and likly without an architect as one or two were along the lines of a skip, as it goes i think it would be a good idea to get a set of plans drwan up then but thats all i can see therm use for on a boat that only ever goes around 5 knots. Hi Richard, i guess it could be made water proof with a good coating of water proof PVA glue , better check with a navel architect firs though before i use that type of material

Nice one Lee, been looking for these, looks a few more grtand and all is cut for you to `air fix` together, a good way to make a bit less work and get a luxmotor. Very good consideration matey. Thanks Lee

Can i ask what a navel architect does, i understand that he designs boats/hulls etc, but on a NB?, does the bow/stern need to be a certain design? I was thinking of my own design then giving it to planner to set out plans for me to work from, does that sound viable? A few have said that a 40x8 steel canal boat is a big first project, if this is so what would you suggest to start with, it doesnt sound or look much more to make say a 30 foot NB than a 40x8 , i dont fancy doing one and then doing another at a later date. Thanks folks wayne

I have done a gas bottle one aslo, a good few years back , and as said the wall is only 3mm thick, way to thin IMO, mine burned the side wall all round red hot, after a few moinths it began to buckle. 5mm is a good thickness, if it has a good adjustable air flow then all the betyter. I have been looking at a few designs and all seam simple in design. Priced one up today on materials and i can make one for about 1/4 the price of a cheap one, cant go wrong there. will get my bits together and take pics etc and put them up on here. I want it to look half decent so will i am looing for nice hinges and maybe a few bits n bobs for decor. Well sell coal at oprk aswell as gas and have had a few customers coming in about there grates melting, all they did was change there coal to a coal which doesnt burn as hot and there has been no problems form them, sme coals can burn thatv hot they can the stove, a real stove red hot.

Good advice there, i am looking into designs as we speak and will definatley getting plans drawn up. Where have you found the best suppliers for the steel, i am still at the stage of costing, is it much cheaper to build your own shell? what wre the costs of your shell excluding tools.

Yes, if there are fires caused by stoves it has to be by the user or a fault in the construction of the stove as to get to hot. I can get hold o loads of gas cylinders but as they are only around 3mm wall i think it wouldbe to thin for a multi stove, 5mm would be a lot safer, even more maybe. better safe than sorry. I have no worrys on making one safe myself, done enough engineering in the past and will be tested at home wth a temp gauge set up to see how it burns.

HI ALL, I AM THINKING ON MAKING MY OWN MULTI FUEL STOVE, DO YOU THINK I SHOULD LINE IT OR MAKE IT DOUBLE SKIN. WHAT SPEC OF STEEL WOULD BE BEST AND SO ON. NOT PENNY PINCHING, I JUST LIKE TO MAKE THINGS MYSELF IF I CAN. ALL ADVICE AS ALWAYS APPRECIATED. WAYNE (SORRY NOT SHOUTING)

Thanks for that, i have a quick look through and i like the design, very nice, and different, nice long front deck and pointy....if thats the tech term Take a bit of doing i bet, definatley not a quick job, i need a good long project to keep my mind busy.Will have a good read through.

Thats another idea to go at, sounds good stuff too. Who has a build blog to have a look at, like to see what you have built, what plans you used or even totaly desined your own.

At the minute i am thinking of about a 40`x8` maybe 10`, i am best at metal work and engineering but can do most things realy. As for the chemicals do you mean the pong given off with GRP, i was thinking that myself, neibourghs wouldnt like that so much. Whats that then matey?

Always fancied building a boat from scratch myself, but never decided what material to use, steel or GRP, either wide or narrow, spose it depends on where i want to cruise, that will come when i decide on the material. Now price will be big on the decision, i dont mind it of GRP/plywood but would you avoid that and stick with steel. Even had the idea of doing a kingspan shell and laying GRP upon that, that way you get a built in insulation and easy to form the shell, just messy i guess. I will/would be building this at home, but i have heard that to build a boat from scratch at home you need planning permission, is this some daft tail i have heard of? sounds a bit daft to me. Can anyone give me there ideas of what they did and why they did it that way, i see from this site and others that a lot of folk are not fond of, as they say `plastic boats` but why? wayne

This has made my day , i was wanting to fit LPG cylinders in my center cockpit cruiser but the 13KG cylinders are to high, but now i have seen the regs then i can sink them down lower and have a bottom drain and make a GRP base to sit them in, dont fancy concrete. thanks for that, dont like the idea of hanging them of the transom. wayne