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NB Siskin


Steve Goddard

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The seal is a little strange. If you imagine a bowler hat with the rim in steel and the crown in rubber with the shaft going through where your head would go. The carbon rubbing ring is just like a washer and is mounted underneath the rim. The rubber seals around the shaft and the carbon ring gives a seal around the face. All a bit complex but it is a very old pump. Big problem is although the pump has plates on it there is no manufacturers name so I'm a bit in the dark.

OK, got that, thankyou. It's different to what I had thought, so it's likely the 'problem' I had imagined, of a worn shaft in the seal rubbing area, doesn't exist, so the suggestion of s speedisleeve is not appropriate.

 

I confess that in your circumstances I'd only use a manufacturers name to ask if anyone else had converted the same pump to take a modern seal. Not having the name merely means it's back to basics, recording relevant dimensions, and visiting a seal specialist, either physically or via a catalogue. The pictures Tim suggested would help with both queries (Has anyone else done this? and Have you got a seal to fit in here?).

If I had to make any adaptation I'd want to regard the shaft diameter as fixed, then alter the housing to take the new seal, preferably by a fill-in adaptor, rather than machining out a recess.

 

Good Luck.

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I'll try and get some pictures of what little is left of the seal on the pump but I'm not hopeful any more that I can fix it. :help: If anybody knows of a good 24V continuosly rated 3/4" (or 1") port pump that doesn't cost £300+ let me know

It’s a battle all day to day to keep things from blowing away. Put your gloves, welding helmet, tool bag, tin of paint down and it’s gone. Blimey it’s hard work.

Simon is getting on fitting the handrails on the back cabin and that’s really a one man job once they have been through the fly press so I decide to get a couple of things made for the engine.10032011624-300x225.jpg The first is an exhaust flange which is made from a spare bit of 10mm gunwale and a 2″ coupling. It’s complicated by the fact that the flange on the manifold looks as if somebody has hacked it out using a blunt hacksaw or maybe a cold chisel blink.gif so things are not symmetrical. However the new flange is so it hides the imperfections :rolleyes: . I’ll get some manifold paint on it next week to tidy it up.

The next requirement is a little bracket to fix the secondary cooling inlet and out let pipes which are just 10032011626-300x225.jpghanging loose at the minute. A bit of 4mm plate plasma cut and bent is soon sorted. It’s total over kill with 2 x 5/8″ gearbox mounting bolts holding it in place but they were just in the right place. One thing is for certain I can’t see it breaking at any stage. :rolleyes:

Simon in the meantime has been beavering away at the handrails with the usual plethora of clamps, weld ons and wedges to get them properly lined up and by the end of the day the handrails are tacked in place up to the back beam10032011629-225x300.jpg, the roof is tacked to the sides and the sides are tacked to the gunwales. As you can see from the picture it’s now possible to walk on the roof :rolleyes: to get a good idea of the final shape.

As an interlude I spent some time with Rex sorting out what timber is needed for battening and the floor bearers, which has now been ordered. The very first wood for the fitout :rolleyes: . I’m going to use joinery grade battening on the hull and cabin sides which I will have tannalised. This is a bit more expensive than the normal tannalised roof lath but provides a better grip for screws as it is not so soft. The floor bearers will be a suitable hardwood if the cost differential is not to great.

The pace continues to pick up and hopefully by the end of next month Siskin will be on the cut laugh.gif


Edited by Steve Goddard
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What about a 12V engine coolant pump and a power converter? The 12V pumps are used on some Jaguars and other high performance cars and take about 2A. They have 19mm ports, are continuously rated, brushless motor and the impeller is magnetically coupled. With a 24V to 12V converter you'd have a bigger choice of parts, especially with the automotive volumes.

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Picture?

There may be proprietary seals which could be adapted to do the job, if the pump is worth the effort.

 

Tim

 

Tim

 

Pictures @ Siskin. See if they ring any bells

 

Steve

 

What about a 12V engine coolant pump and a power converter? The 12V pumps are used on some Jaguars and other high performance cars and take about 2A. They have 19mm ports, are continuously rated, brushless motor and the impeller is magnetically coupled. With a 24V to 12V converter you'd have a bigger choice of parts, especially with the automotive volumes.

 

Hadn't considered that :rolleyes: and in fact a little bit of digging shows theres quite a few 24v ones around as well. Will continue to research

 

Ta

 

Steve

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I’m going to button down the design of the water tank, black water tank and all of the engine plumbing today as I’m getting concerned that if I don’t get on to it pretty soon then the steel work will be finished and I won’t be. However 14032011630-300x225.jpgSimon asks me to make the steering step first si I drag out a bit of the 10 mm base plate that is left over, quickly mark it out, plasma cut it to shape, tidy up the edges with the grinder and slap a coat of 2 pack on it. It takes me less than an hour and is a pretty good job as well. If I think back to when I started at the yard this would have taken me the better part of the morning and it would not have been as good either so by the time the steel for Siskin is finished I may be able to remove the in from incompetent :rolleyes:

I also cleaned out the inside which is a never ending job and takes a lot longer than you would imagine. Hopefully one more clean out when the cabin is finished and that will be it.

Simon has been finishing off the back cabin hand rails, cutting the door posts and marking out the slide cut outs. He’s a bit hampered by David and I working in the engine room sorting out what we need for the pipework but at the end of the day we’ve made progress.

A question for folks out there. What is a sensible size for a pump out tank? I gan get an 80 gal tank in under the backcabin floor but I’m a bit worried about trimming the boat with 1/3 ton sloshing around that far back so if I can get away with half that it would be better. Any advice welcomed :rolleyes:



I don’t know what has happened. I was OK until I got home last night and then - wham – a case of terminal man flu. My nose has turned into a mucus manufacturing machine (where does it all come from? Why has my head not caved in with all the stuff that has run out of it?) and a throat that feels as it I’ve rubbed it with a 36 grit linishing disk sad.gif Oh well I’ll just feel sorry for myself and soldier on :rolleyes:

15032011633-300x225.jpgFirst thing for me this morning is to make a replacement set of plates for the weed hatch as the scrap man obviously thought the last ones that I made were for him. Cheeky sod :angry: . I need to make a new top plate which is a bit of a fiddly cut, a bottom plate which is rectangular but needs a curve put in it to match the sole plate, a simple handle out of 1/2″ bar and a small push bar for the bottom of the screw which is made out of an old rivet. The last part is because I made the screw to short to clear the bracing I put on after the fact sad.gif . The rest of my day is taken up with the perennial favorite of linishing off tacks and painting the resultant bare spots.

140320116311-300x225.jpg

Simon in the mean time is working on the doorways putting the door posts in place on the back cabin door, cutting both slide cut outs and finishing the port side door way with a really nice threshold strip. 15032011632-225x300.jpgThere’s a lot of detail work in this but when it’s finished the whole cabin takes on a much more robust look.

Well I think that I need to go have a scotch to counter the effect of the flu :cheers:


Edited by Steve Goddard
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Tim

 

Pictures @ Siskin. See if they ring any bells

 

Steve

 

 

 

Presume you removed the impeller to get those bits off? The spring behind the impeller would have formed part of the seal. What did the graphite ring rub against?

I have something similar off a Kelvin engine, I'll dig it out & post a pic.

 

Stuart Turner used to do little centrifugal pumps with mains or low-voltage DC motors, one of those would probably do your job. Why the preference for an electric pump?

 

Tim

Edited by Timleech
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Steve

 

Regarding your question on size of pump out tank, I have gone for an 80 gal one. When I had a look on brokerage sites to see what others had fitted I found that an average size was about 60 gals

 

All looking good on your build, keep it up

 

Charles

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Presume you removed the impeller to get those bits off? The spring behind the impeller would have formed part of the seal. What did the graphite ring rub against?

I have something similar off a Kelvin engine, I'll dig it out & post a pic.

 

Stuart Turner used to do little centrifugal pumps with mains or low-voltage DC motors, one of those would probably do your job. Why the preference for an electric pump?

 

Tim

 

Tim

 

Yes the impeller came off. Interesting as it is held on the shaft with a nice collet arrangement like a router. Obviously a good bit of kit in it's day. The graphite ring rubbed on the rear housing of the impeller. The spring pushed the impeller to create a rubbing seal on the front of the impeller housing as far as I can see.

 

The reason for wanting an electric pump is that the engine has a primary and secondary cooling circuits with a heat exchanger. The primary circuit has the engine driven pump but getting a pump into the secondary circuit anywhere near the engine is a nightmare which really leave me with two choices: 1 use an electric pump, 2 strip off the gearbox oil cooler, engine oil cooler, header tank and completely re plumb all of the engine water piping which would be a mammoth job if you look at the picture of the engine. An added bonus is that I've got a bit more control over when I need to run the pump so I should be able to get the engine up to working temp a lot quicker.

 

I'll have a look at Stuart Turner and see if I can see anything which may work.

 

Thanks

 

Steve

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Tim

 

Yes the impeller came off. Interesting as it is held on the shaft with a nice collet arrangement like a router. Obviously a good bit of kit in it's day. The graphite ring rubbed on the rear housing of the impeller. The spring pushed the impeller to create a rubbing seal on the front of the impeller housing as far as I can see.

 

 

Steve

 

 

Here is the type of seal used in the Kelvin circulating pump

 

Pumpseal-2.jpg

 

There's a graphite disc bonded to the top of the rubber 'bellows'. This bears on a ground stainless 'washer' which is pressed into the back of the impeller.

 

The larger diameter of the rubber is pressed into a housing machined in the rear of the pump body casting, and the internal spring keeps the graphite seal pressed against the stainless disc. The graphite ring has an OD of about 36mm. I should think it's probably a proprietary item rather than something made just for Kelvins, but I could easily be wrong.

 

When I needed a seal for a different pump on a Kelvin, one of which which Kelvins denied any knowledge, I went to a specialist seal firm in Manchester and found one of their standard seals which 'nearly' fitted, and managed to modify it (shorten it) to fit in the space, it's been there for getting on for 20 years now. Sorry, can't remember the name of the company.

 

Tim

 

 

Tim

Rear view

 

Pumpseal-1.jpg

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  • 2 weeks later...

Right we’ve gone a whole week without talking about the weather so I’m not addicted :rolleyes: What a glorious day, warm, sunny and extremely pleasant. Just perfect for being outside so I get into the back cabin and clean up all the tacks and welds sad.gif .

21032011641-300x225.jpgFor the first time in a long time we push the building right off Siskin and we can stand back and look at the lines as a whole. It’s really difficult to capture them properly with a little camera in my phone but I think we are both really pleased with the way the cabin has turned out. It really is very very subtle and pleasant to the eyes.

Simon is starting on the forward handrails and I head onto the back cabin to linish off more tacks and to prep the handrails for welding. All little jobs but they do take up time.21032011644-300x225.jpg

It’s time for a little bit of construction rather than simply grinding and linishing so one job is to get the tube that holds the two weed hatch plates together and ready so that Simon can weld it all together. Once that’s done it’s another job finished.

A nice little job was to knock up a couple of anser pins out of some 30 x 50 mm square section (same as used for the skeg). I actually get a great deal of satisfaction “carving” steel something that I wouldn’t have said a few months ago.21032011645-300x225.jpg A hours work sees them completed and ready to be welded on at some time in the future.

Simon has finished the handrail and the hatch frame by the end of the day so progress is made :rolleyes:



Well we’ve been beavering away all week despite the lack of posts :rolleyes: . The real issue is that there is nothing that you can really take photos to show what’s been done.

Simon has finished all the handrails, put the caps on the ends, finished all the welding on the front of the main cabin, cut the hatch, finished all the step between the engine room and the main cabin. sorted out the door posts and thresholds etc. etc.

I’ve drilled all the knees in the main cabin for the battening (note to self and Simon:- next time drill the knees before welding them into place :rolleyes: ). Score one broken and one bent drill bit against 60+ 5mm holes. I would call that a win. I’ve cleaned out and repainted underneath the tug deck with the last coat of primer, linished off all the tacks and crap on the inside of the main cabin, ditto on the roof, cleaned up and linished all the front of the cabin, sorted out all the bits for the engine fuel and cooling pipework, sorted out the design of the gearbox to cardon shaft adaptor, decided on the tank arrangement for the waste etc etc Lots done nothing to show :rolleyes:

22032011647-300x225.jpgThe big thing of the week however was tuesday when Oberon (Simons Boat) was lifted into the cut. The more astute amongst you will notice that it seems to be missing a cabin :rolleyes: . Simons going to finish it off while it’s on the water as the space was needed. I wish him well. I think I definitely prefer working on dry land :rolleyes:


Edited by Steve Goddard
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Really fortunate today as both Dave and Simon are working on Siskin welding the handrails and gunwales. As there are eight full length welds in total plus prep, plus other bits like cabin seams it's a whole day job even with two folk. I wonder how much weld there actually is in a narrowboat build? A hell of a lot I guess 28032011651-225x300.jpgThe day is wonderful so I disappear inside Siskin again sad.gif to complete (or try to) the clean up prior to painting. All the existing paintwork needs wirebrushing down to remove any paint which has been compromised by welding, get rid of any rust and grot on the base plate etc etc. It all takes an inordinate time to get it clean but it is essential.

I popped down to Roy Willoughby's last thing in the afternoon and ordered the tanks and bits for the prop shaft. Spent quite a long time talking to him and looking at his new chimney collar which he's built to meet the impending new regs. As you would expect it is a top notch job BUT it is really going to put the cost up and I can see some real issues in meeting the regs on the back cabin range in trying to get the requisite 14″ dia non combustible zone around the collar. Apparently some surveyors are already stating that they will not pass a new boat which does not incorporate this design. We'll just have to wait and see as there is a meeting this week to finalise the requirements apparently.



Bit late getting to the yard today. When I got there Simon was sorting out the first roof seam and getting it perfectly flat which necessitated putting a 40mm box beam across. Well worth the effort as you can't see the join now it has been linished and painted.

I had to check off all the plumbing fittings that I had ordered for the engine cooling and fuel system. Good Job that I did as the 1/2″ bsp to 3/8″ copper fittings turned out to be 3/8″ bsp to 1/2″ copper and as there are 5 and they are £5.49 each they are not the sort of thing that you want kicking around "just in case" :rolleyes: By the time I've got the last couple of things the bills going to come to nearly 400 quid Crikey sad.gif

Simon in the meantime has marked out the hole for the Dog box above the galley and a quick visit with the plasma results in a tidy hole in the roof. One thing I'm learning is that the moment you do something like this you can be certain that something somewhere is going to move and things are going to need strengthening. I cut a couple of 40mm box sections to go on the long sides of the cut out and another couple of 30mm box to beef up the roof. By the time that Simon has these in place the roof is back to it's proper shape and absolutely straight over the seam. Luverly jubbly

While Simon is doing all of this and fabricating the upstand I make a start on grinding and linishing off the stbd. gunwale. It's a long old job which takes me all afternoon and at the end of it I look like a Black and White Minstral (am I allowed to say that blush.gif ) I guess I'll get grief if I don't clean the shower out after I've used it tonight laugh.gif

Didn't get time to take any pictures as it starts to rain towards the end of the day and it's a scramble to get everything in before it pours down so more tomorrow.

March 31st, 2011

30032011652-300x225.jpgArrived a little bit later at the yard again as I needed to sort out some of the plumbing fittings which were wrong only to find that some vandal had cut holes in the side of my boat :rolleyes: . I've got the holes now all I need is the port. I guess one thing is for certain however that the size is now fixed laugh.gif .

Simon starts on the back of the stbd. gunwale which needs some TLC and I clean up the front end prior to getting a lick of paint on it. Foiled again by the great British weather as it starts to rain so I shift under the building and cut the box sections for the inside of the cabin sides. All 19 pieces of it30032011656-300x225.jpg. Fortunately I've got a chop saw so cutting is not to much of a problem but it takes quite a time to clean and linish all the pieces and to get a wash of primer on them.

After lunch I clean up the stbd. gunwale (again) and finally get a lick of paint on it by resorting to a heat gun to make certain that it's dry :rolleyes:

Simon's finishing off the side hatch by making and fitting the "eyebrow". Again it's amazing how a simple bit of 40mm guard can be 30032011655-300x225.jpgquickly transformed into what looks like a cast item. Simon shapes up the ends and then heats them up with the gas axe and puts a little bit of a bend in each end. A bit more work with the linishing disk and it looks just like a real one :rolleyes: . A bit more work to weld it in place and linish up the weld and it's sorted.30032011658-300x225.jpg The front cabin is really coming along now, hopefully if the weather holds tomorrow I'll be able to get a load of cleaning up done on the handrails and port gunwale :rolleyes:

Edited by Steve Goddard
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Hooray for once I win :rolleyes: I'm on the outside of the boat in the sun and Simon's on the inside with all the noise of my grinding and linishing.

31032011659-225x300.jpgI'm working on the roof getting the roof to handrail welds linished up and tidy and getting the mill scale off the inside edges of the handrails plus finishing off the stbd. gunwale. It really doesn't sound a lot but believe me it's a full days work to get all the grinding and linishing done and a coat of primer on the roof. The good thing is that there is no issue with the paint drying given the sun and the wind, in fact the real challenge is to keep it from drying to fast sad.gif . It even skins up in the paint tray. Still at the end of the day the roof is done and dusted. All I've got to do now is the two outside handrail seams and the port gunwale and I need to get them done while Simon is away next week.

31032011661-300x225.jpg

Simon has been working away inside Siskin getting 30mm box strengtheners on the cabin sides. It's amazing that you could look down Siskin's cabin sides and think that they were really flat and straight but when you pop a straight edge along them there are dips of 1 or 2mm. The upright strengtheners take any top to bottom bulge out and then Simon can see where horizontal strengtheners are required. Another job for me next week to get them cut and primered boy am I going to be busy as David and I are going to start on the engine fit out and Andy may be starting on the floor bearers and battening. Bring it on wink.gif



At long last I'm working on something for Siskin which does not involve cutting it with the plasma, hitting it with a big hammer or grinding/linishing it :rolleyes: . It's just so nice to get in the shop and work with some timber again.

02042011665-300x225.jpgThe first little job is to make a couple of valve bodies for Steve at the yard for old back cabin pumps. They're turned out of some Opepe with the help of MMM and his lathe and then I rout out the cross on the bottom using a little jig knocked up out of some scrap ply. The end results look good and should work :rolleyes: . If they don't I have the start of a large scale chess set :rolleyes:

Next job is to sort out the roof battens from some 18mm birch ply. I've already made a template from one of the roof beams so it's just a case of 02042011663-225x300.jpgmarking out the lower edge on the sheet and carefully jigsawing it out. Some work with a some sand paper and a curved sanding block made from some ply offcuts soon gets a nice curve on the edge so this becomes the "master batten". It's then just a case of marking out as many battens as I can get across the sheet (26 in case you're wondering) and then rough cutting them out with the bandsaw. I reckon I'm pretty good with the bandsaw but clearly not good enough to finish cut them so each batten is then trimmed using the master batten screwed to the top and a trimming cutter in the 03042011666-225x300.jpgrouter table. It doesnt take too long to trim them all down so at least I know that they are all identical even if they are not perfect :rolleyes: . I've not bothered with the top sides of the battens as a: they are never seen as the are covered in spray foam b: there's 1/4″ clearance to the roof anyway :rolleyes:

03042011667-300x225.jpgThe end result is a set of roof battens which just need a quick paint over with some Cuprinol and they can go into Siskin.

It's been a great experience working with Simon on the steel work for Siskin and I've certainly learned a lot but it's also great to get back into my space and smell the sawdust :rolleyes: . Lots more to go yet so I wonder if I'll be saying that by the end of the build laugh.gif

Edited by Steve Goddard
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  • 2 weeks later...

Another first yesterday :rolleyes: . David and I started working on the engine pipework. It really feels as if we're moving forward quickly now. I had ordered all the bits we needed from BES but of course when you start you suddenly see that there are better ways of doing things and then you don't have the bits you need blush.gif Ho Hum wacko.gif . Still another quick order with BES sorts this out.

05042011668-300x225.jpgWe get the pipe runs sorted and the fittings onto the skin tank but are still waiting for the pump which does not materialise so it slows us down somewhat. David sorts out cutting holes in the bulkheads so we're in good shape to continue as soon as the bits turn up.

I also get a quick coat of primer on the bare metal patches in the front cabin. Another coat of primer all over and then a coat of gloss and we're in business.

07042011670-225x300.jpgEarly start today to try and catch up on the list of jobs. As a change to painting I start cutting the horizontal stiffeners. There's 23 in total so it's worth setting up the chop saw. Pity there not all the same length or I could have set a stop up and wizzed through them (chippie talking there). Still it's a lot easier than cutting them by hand and at least I'll get the ends square even if I don't get the lengths right :rolleyes: . It's amazing how much material you use. By the time I've finished I've gone through the best part of 3 x 7m lengths of box with a total wastage of less than 6″. Clean them down and get a couple of coats of primer on one side and there ready for Simon to put in when he gets back.

070420116721-225x300.jpg

David continues to work on the piping but we're a bit hampered because the pump and some additional fittings we've ordered have not turned up. Bugger..

I get back into the main cabin and start spotting primer on bits of the hull sides below the gunwale where I've cleaned them up so that they will have at least a couple of coats on when I'm finished. Again it's amazing how much paint you use. Just on the cabin sides I've gone through 2 1/2 lt. and I'm not finished yet sad.gif

David's just about done as much as he can do and is about to pack up when the pump and fittings arrive (so much for AM delivery) so we spend a little bit of time sorting out how we're going to mount the pump and pipe it. It's going to work really well. First job in the morning for me will be to get the pump mount fabricated and welded in. :rolleyes:

Spent the evening sitting in the garden of Bridge 61 at Foxton with a couple of pints of Inclined Plane. It doesn't get much better than this :cheers:



08042011674-300x225.jpgNow we've got all the bits to finish off the engine cooling pipework the first job is to knock up a bracket for the pump. It's not a big deal just some 5mm plate and a couple of supports. The plate is tapped 5mm for the hold down screws and all is well until the last hole when (you guessed it) I broke the flipping tap :angry: It takes me 20 mins to remove the end and repair the hole .

I've promised David to make an exhaust flange for the Gardner on Stella so while I've got the kit out I cut a bit of 10mm plate, drill the requisite holes and Robert's your mother's brother or so I think. When we try it on the exhaust manifold it doesn't fit sad.gif . A small error in the drawing (not me for once ) means the hole centers are out. Oh well the practice is good for me as I knock up another one.

David in the mean time has finished off the cooling pipework08042011675-300x225.jpg and I have to say it's worked out really well. There are isolation valves on either side of the pump so that can be removed without a complete drain down and also valves to allow us to isolate the skin tank if we ever need to do any work on the pipework itself. All that need doing now is to remove it all so that it doesn't get damaged while we are doing the steel work in the back cabin. As we've left critical joints unsoldered it's a relatively simple task.

Another delivery in the afternoon all the battening arrives. I've had some redwood tanalised for both the battens and the floor bearers. It's a lot more dense and stable than the normal roof lathes that you would buy and nowhere near as expensive as hardwood so all in all it's a great compromise. The only problem is it's also a lot heavier than normal and it's warm so I've really got a sweat on by the time I've got it into the workshop. Still another step forward.

At the end of the week I have a: finished the gunwales, b: cleaned and painted the main cabin above the gunwales, c: cleaned and spot painted the main cabin below the gunwales, d: sorted out the engine cooling with David, e: cut the horizontal straighteners for the main cabin sides, f: sorted out the polos with Andy and g: blacked half the hull with Mark.

What I have not done is a: grind and linish the handrails and b: finish the primer in the main cabin so all in all not a bad week laugh.gif

Edited by Steve Goddard
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Didn’t get to the yard yesterday as I was moby dick (again ) so arrived today to find that Simon had done a lot of the horizontal bracing in the cabin so there was enough for me to be going on with in cleaning up the tacks and getting a coat of primer on. Loverly job which last until break time. We come down from having a cuppa to find that some thieving bastard has wandered into the workshop and legged it with two props, one for Siskin and the other for Hasty both of which had just come back from being reconditioned. Should anybody try to sell you either a 28 x 45 (yep 28 x 45) or a 25 x 18 which look brand new try and get some contact details and let me know either via the blog or on 07825 426 444. If anybody has a good 25/26 x 18 prop for sale I’m in the market for one . The rest of the morning is taken up with the police etc etc. so I decide to leg it and get the weldable black iron fittings for the fuel tanks. Blimey they’re expensive now, even with a massive discount they cost me 50 quid. The day is not improving.

After lunch Simon is doing some fine adjustment to the cabin sides using a No 5 Thor rawhide hammer. I think in truth he’s working off some of the frustrations we all feel. The chippies are complaining that they can feel the vibrations in their workshop :rolleyes: . I get on with grinding down the handrail welds. One thing I do have to say is that the gunwales on Siskin really do inspire confidence. Perched 5 feet above the ground with no hands to hold onto anything and wielding a grinder feels quite safe. Whats the betting I fall off as soon as Siskins on the cut :rolleyes: .

12042011676-300x225.jpgRoy delivers the tanks in the afternoon. There is a 80 gal water tank for the fore end which ( much to my relief) just (and I do mean just) fits. Perfect measuring on my part :rolleyes: . Earlier on in the blog you remember I was cogitating on the size of the black water tank and the effect it might have on trim as I am fitting it underneath the back cabin floor. As I want to ensure that the uxter plates are just out of the water when standing still I was really worried about having too much weight in the back as it is impossible to then trim the boat correctly. In the end I decided that I would settle for a 43 gal black water tank. I know that it’s a bit on the small side but the missus will just have to cross her legs blush.gif . In order to absolutely minimise any trim issues there is also an ancillary 43 gall water tank mounted directly behind it which will only feed the loo. In theory as you flush the loo the water will simply transfer from one tank to the other (plus a bit of the messy stuff) and the net result on trim12042011679-300x225.jpg

I suspect that the props have been sawn up by now and sold for scrap but if anybody hears anything please let me know

Tuesday and we’re getting back to some sort of normality. I was off at a funeral yesterday but Simon got the stbd. hand rail finished and made a start on the back end beam. My first job this morning is to finish off priming the inside of the main cabin. Not the sort of thing that is very inspiring but it needs to be done. This now means that there is a minimum of two coat of primer on all the steel in the cabin and even more on most of it. Dave is going to spray the gloss coats next week so all I have to do is to keep it clean until then :rolleyes: .19042011682-300x225.jpg

Simon in the meantime has finished the back end beam and the two little bits of handrails that go between the beam and the hatch slides So I can get a coat of paint on them. In a rush of enthusiasm I linish off all the weld swell marks on the stbd. cabin side and get a coat of paint on it as well. We really are on the downhill stretch now on the main cabin. :rolleyes:

Simon starts on the front hatch slides. All a bit fiddly with the scroll work at the ends and I mark up the positions for the letterbox vents at the front of the cabin. When all this is finished the main cabin will be complete from a steel work point of view and I can make a start on the battening. laugh.gif


Edited by Steve Goddard
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Late over to the yard this morning as I needed to get some stainless screws ordered for the battening and some self drilling bolts to fix the floor battens down. Plus I'm still looking for a prop :angry:

20042011684-300x225.jpgSimon's still working on the front slides which are a lot more complex than would appear at first glance with the scroll work at the ends and the sloping sides. The complexity is added to because it would be very simple to distort the roof if care was not taken. Still by the end of the day they are finished and all that I need to do is to clean them up and linish them off.

I make a start on the ends of the fuel tanks getting the fitting sorted out. First problem is that I don't have the requisite hole saws so I decide to pop over to Axminster tools at Nuneaton. BIG BIG mistake. That place is just tool heaven and any self respecting bloke could spend days there just dribbling on all the shiny things that you don't have, don't need but must buy blush.gif . By dint of extreme self control I manage to get out with only the stuff I went into buy. strange thing is that the bottle of Rocol cutting oil is actually more than the most expensive hole saw by a long way. Still it will last a long time. Now it's a well know fact that hole saws only come in two sizes, too big and too small sad.gif so by the time I've marked out the holes and cut them out there are several that need a little bit of enlargement. Next problem we don't have a suitable sharp file so off I trot again to get same. The good thing about filing holes bigger in the blazing sun is that it don't arf give you a good cardio workout :rolleyes: Still it's not too big an issue and Simon welds the fittings into place20042011683-300x225.jpg. The port tank is for propulsion with pickup, return, filler, balance pipe and sender. The stbd is for domestic with the same fitting except no return.

Simons off today so I've got a free run at Siskin. Only problem is that my phone has finally decided to pop it's clogs so I reckon I'll just tidy up the slides and then get off and find a new one. The slides are reasonably easy to clean up although the ends take a little bit of hand work as you can't really get a linishing disk in with any degree of precision. However a little bit of file work later and they are looking good even if I say so myself.

You know it really doesn't seem that long ago that I was wrapped up like a Michelin man and freezing to death. With the sun beating down on the cabin roof it's like a sauna and it's actually really hard to get any paint on as it dries before you can even think about laying it off. Oh well you can't have it all ways :rolleyes: . Another quick vac up inside so that we're ready to paint next week and it's time to go get the phone. That turns out to be a real circus but that's not for this blog. Hopefully next week after the holiday I can steam on and start to get battening in the main cabin. Have a nice Easter.


Back into the swing of things today after an Easter break . Have organised with Dave to spray the inside of the boat on Thursday so we need to ensure that the inside is REALLY finished so that we do not end up welding or grinding over the finished paint so it's lots of little jobs today.IMG_0012-e1303884177678-224x300.jpg

First is to cut the letter box vents at the front of the main cabin. These will be ducted down to provide low level ventilation so we need to get some tags for the vertical battens and on the stbd. side clear the stiffener. It's amazing how much ventilation area you actually get. Two vents give you nearly 15 sq. inches (9600+ mm²) which is more than enough given whats going into Siskin. Of course when it's all done I've got to clean it up and paint it (again :rolleyes: ). I swear that if I put much more paint on the inside of Siskin there will be no room inside laugh.gif .

I've marked out the positions of the mushroom vents and while I'm painting the inside Simon pops up onto the roof and cuts them out.IMG_0006-e1303884202246-224x300.jpg Another job done.

Next little job is to finish off the weed hatch. It need the top and bottom plates welded together and the handle put on. Another job sorted.

Simon then makes a start on the front and side doors for the main cabin. It's a little bit tricky as the doors are not symmetrical. One is 6mm wider than the other so that when the woodwork is on with a 6mm overlap on the center joint both doors will appear to be the same width when opened cool.gif cool (if I can get the woodwork right :rolleyes: ). Simon gets the doors cut, dressed and the hinges welded on by the end of the day but we have run out of time so they will need to be fitted tomorrow.

In the meantime I have cleaned out the inside of Siskin (again) in readyness for Dave to spray it. Hopefully this is the last time.IMG_0009-300x224.jpg

The last good news of the day is that I have managed to get a new prop off eBay. It's a 26 x 19 may be a little over propped but is in the range of repitching if necessary. It' is sold as refurbished and the pictures look good so we'll wait and see how goo it is when it arrives. This is now the third prop I have sorted for Siskin and I'm going to ensure that this one actually ends up on the boat. I think I'll take it home and put it under the bed wink.gif

Edited by Steve Goddard
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... I decide to pop over to Axminster tools at Nuneaton. BIG BIG mistake. That place is just tool heaven and any self respecting bloke could spend days there just dribbling on all the shiny things that you don't have, don't need but must buy :blush:

I only live a couple of miles from that store and whenever I have to go to Screwfix (next door) it's a HUGE effort not to waste another couple of hours (and many £££) in there.

 

Tony

 

edited for fat fingers

Edited by WotEver
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Simon's straight into hanging the doors. The nice thing about working in steel is that you can bang on a couple of weld-on clamps and hang the door so that you can do any fine adjustments. End result is that Simon has door shuts that would make Rolls Royce proud :rolleyes:

IMG_0014-e1304364224427-224x300.jpg

I pop over to the chippies to get Andy started today on cutting the floor bearers and battening. We measure up the floor bearers and Andy gets them cut and pre-drilled and counter-bored for the hold down screws. I'm using some self drilling screws which are supposed to be 500 hr. salt water spray rustproof. They will handle steel thicknesses up to 12 mm so they should be OK. Only time will tell. When all the bearers are cut we lay them down on the floor braces and drop a couple of straight edges over them to see how level they are. There are just a couple of them that are a couple of mm high which will be easy to correct as we can simply plane them down. All the rest look spot on which will make the fitting easy I hope. Andy also cuts the battens for below the gunwales and also cuts out the remaining polo mints for the small portholes and mushroom vents.

IMG_0025-300x224.jpgIn between all of this I start looking at what we're going to need for the engine controls and it looks as if we will need a bellcrank on the speedwheel and one on the push pull for the gearbox so I spend a pleasurable hour knocking up a couple of little bellcranks. Hopefully I won't need offset ones. I've now got all the main bits I need for the speed wheel with a lever box courtesy of Mr. Redshaw and the actual wheel which is a bronze valve wheel of a 1920′s Thames Steamer (allegedly). All I need to do is to join them all together

Right you will note from the long delays in getting this post on line that I'm suffering from a technical glitch wacko.gif . I set up my new phone and it worked great, I could download all the pictures from it etc. etc. Since then It's taken on a life of it's own and every time I try to download pictures it pops it's clogs. Unlike my old phone I can't even just get into the phone and grab them so I've had to resort to downloading an upgrade for my Photoshop elements to see if that will do the trick. Ho Hum…. As you can now see pictures I think you can safely say it worked.

Next day at the yard and Dave is in the front cabin spraying two coats of gloss over everything, One thing is for certain there is no way known to man that the inside of the cabin is going to rust given that there is a minimum of four coats of paint over everything and probably seven over most of it. I'm glad Dave did the painting as it's a nasty job (there's no paint extract or waterwall in a narrowboat shell) but the end result is great. Not really worth while taking a picture as it looks just the same as when it's in primer :rolleyes: .IMG_0022-300x224.jpg

Simon's making a start on getting the sterntube in place which first of all consists of cutting a big hole in the stern post. The hole is not in the center of the stern post but a couple of inches below the centerline. Still got 2 1/2″ clearance on my 26″ prop to the skeg and a lot more at the top which will help reduce cavitation and will keep the back cabin floor as low as possible :rolleyes: . With the steel bit of the stern gear fitting in the hole we can pop a dummy propshaft in and use a string line to line up the sterngear with the center-line of the boat and the engine. Again pretty simple technology (no levels or lasers) but it works a treat. Simon cuts a plate to support the inside end of the stern gear and then it's just a case of Simon welding everything up and me following on behind cleaning up and painting IMG_0027-e1304364826161-224x300.jpg. i nip into town and pick up some 10mm stainless steel bolts etc and the jobs nearly done except that we don't have any Stag B to seal the two parts of the stern gear together. I'll get some and finish the job off later.

To finish off the day we mark out the panels in the back cabin. It's nice because Admiral in in having new wood panelling fitted so we can see what the proportions need to be to look good.

Lots and lots done since the last post. In fact it's quite hard to keep up with everything on the blog. Now I've got the phone sorted I must try to keep up wink.gif





Simon's working on the back cabin panelling today and I'm inside the boat with Andy as we start battening out the main cabin.

When we laid the floor bearers out before they looked pretty good but I had noticed that the bearer under the front bulkhead looked high so we started off one bearer back from that.IMG_0028-300x224.jpg We fixed the two end bearers down. As I said before I've got some rust proof Tek screws that looked as if they would do the job. I try the first one using the cordless drill and am amazed to find that it works a treat. Even better I can set the torque slip on it so that it really is a one shot operation. Great stuff :rolleyes: . The only thing I wished was that they were a little bit longer so I didn't have to couterbore the bearers so deep. With the two end bearers down and a couple of string lines in place we can start to work out way from one end screwing the bearers to the floor braces. Most of the bearers are spot on and can literally be screwed down but there are a couple that need a little bit taken off on the planer to get them right. It's a bit more fiddly under the tug deck with some of the bearers needing to be a little bit wedge shaped but it is a relatively simple job with a hand plane to get them spot on. By lunch time we've got all the floor bearers down and they are spot on with both the string line and with the long straight edge. Magic :rolleyes:

IMG_0031-e1304454819740-224x300.jpgA small diversion in the middle of the morning when the new prop arrives (well eBay special). We simply couldn't resist popping it on the prop shaft to see what it looks like. It's a really nice blade (again) and it fits a treat. This time however, I'm taking it to an undisclosed secret location where it will be stored under armed guard to prevent any toe-rags from nicking it again :angry:

IMG_0032-300x224.jpg

Simon's got the holes cut out for the panels. I rather like the look, a bit like an inspection launch. Maybe I should get some nice Anglian white uPVC windows for the holes . There again maybe not. Simon cleans up all the plasma cuts and gets some strengthening box onto the sections between the panels to keep them straight and then starts to figure out how best to make the panel moulding using 40mm guard that I have asked for (well everybody needs a challenge now and again wink.gif ).

IMG_0041-300x224.jpgAndy and I make a start on the battening below the gunwales. Same deal really fix the two end battens making certain that they are square to the bearers, run a coule of string lines and then fill in the gaps. There's a little bit of faffing around on a couple of the bearers to get a compromise between having them on the lines or having them square with the bearers but it's only a mm or so so it's no big deal. By the end of the day we have all the floor bearers in place and the battening up to the front bulkhead. We've also decided how to do the battening below the tug deck so bonus.

Simon's spent quite a bit of time figuring out the best way to do the panelling and has come up with a super solution which looks as if it will work a treat. I can't wait to see the first panel / side to get completed laugh.gif

Edited by Steve Goddard
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Seeing your photos of the stern gear reminded me to mention that I have gone for a drip less seal, I don't know how successful but had some positive feedback when I asked about them on the forum. I went for a Volvo Penta, however although one end of the seal fits the 2" shaft the other end that is clamped to the stuffing box fitting which is turned the other way round where the seal fits over is undersized by about 10mm. To resolve this I had to have a brass sleeve machined that was pressed onto the stuffing box fitting and secured with two grub screws drilled and tapped. The seal now fits perfectly over this and is clamped in place so the result when the boat goes in the water should be no drips, a clean stern bilge. No screw down greaser is fitted so no grease to mess with

 

Charles

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Seeing your photos of the stern gear reminded me to mention that I have gone for a drip less seal, I don't know how successful but had some positive feedback when I asked about them on the forum. I went for a Volvo Penta, however although one end of the seal fits the 2" shaft the other end that is clamped to the stuffing box fitting which is turned the other way round where the seal fits over is undersized by about 10mm. To resolve this I had to have a brass sleeve machined that was pressed onto the stuffing box fitting and secured with two grub screws drilled and tapped. The seal now fits perfectly over this and is clamped in place so the result when the boat goes in the water should be no drips, a clean stern bilge. No screw down greaser is fitted so no grease to mess with

 

Charles

 

Do you have a cutless bearing?

 

Tim

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Today felt just like yesterday. Simon beavering away on the panels on the back cabin and Andy and me inside the main cabin sorting out the battening.

Andy started sorting out the battens for the cabin sides. There a little bit fiddly as a: they need one side chamfered to miss the welds holding the box on b: they need a cutout so they miss the gunwales c: they need an angled cut on the bottom so that we can fit a longitudinal stringer later d: some need cutouts to miss any horizontal stiffeners. Still it keeps him busy for a while :rolleyes: . I make a start on the roof battens. First job is to shorten enough for the cabin as I have made them long enough for the back cabin which is wider. Not a big deal with the radial arm saw and a stop. I pop the two end battens on and rig the string lines and start putting the battens in. It’s quite easy as the roof beams are already drilled courtesy of Simon and all I need to do is to bang in some stainless crews :rolleyes: . All is well until I get about half way through and I have serious doubts if I’ve dropped the battens far enough below the beams to allow for the rise at the front and the back of the cabin sad.gif . I decide I have not so I have to reset the ends and then drop all the battens I’ve already put in. Bugger.

IMG_0054-e1304539322558-224x300.jpgAndy has a few cabin battens done so we set them up and fix them to the box. Gawd what a fag. The self drilling screws I’ve got a: don’t seem to want to drill and b: when they do get through the box the thread grabs and nearly pulls the screw through the batten. We struggle on all day trying to sort it out to no avail until we get to the vertical battens on the rear bulkhead when we decide a: not to pre drill and countersink the battens and b: wind the drill up to it’s fastest speed and push like crazy. They work a treat. Pity we didn’t sort that out earlier :glare: .

At the end of the day we’ve got all the battening in place (and it’s flat) so that all that needs to be done is fit the polo’s and its ready to spray foam. As a last little job I just get a quick coat of cuprinol wood preserver on any bits of wood where we have planed or sawn it just to be on the safe side.IMG_0043-300x224.jpg

Simon in the meantime has been working on the “moulding” for the panels. He’s cut, fitted and tacked the guard to make a picture frame and then it’s down to a lot of hand finishing to get a decent looking job. That’s then tacked back into the cabin side and then the center sheet is tacked back in. IMG_0046-300x224.jpgThe end result is stunning, far far better than I could have hoped. It’s a bit difficult to see the effect on a picture of the whole panel but hopefully you get a better idea of the detail with a close up picture of one of the cornersIMG_0048-300x224.jpg. I think that it will photograph better when it is fully welded in and has a coat of paint on.

Another day with lots to show at the end laugh.gif

Mark and I started on getting a second coat of blacking on the port side. A rub over with a wire brush to provide a key and with a cloth to get rid of any dust and rubbish. It’s a lot easier putting black on when it’s warm rather than when it’s bloody freezing. You even feel like getting on your back to make certain that all under the guards is properly covered. :rolleyes: . It takes us most of the morning as we do all around the swim, uxter plates and weed hatch as well but all the “new” primer is now covered with one coat of black.

Simon’s still working on the panels. It’s a lot easier just to leave him alone as it’s quite fiddly and the last thing he needs is me peering over his shoulder all the time . One job that needs to be done is to fit the stern tube. Still had no joy in finding the elusive Stag B which is supposed to be the business despite going to several places. In the end I settle for Hawk White which I reckon will do the job just as well. If not I guess that the stern tube will have to come out again sad.gif . One plus point of all the running around though was that I found a little snack bar run by two Thai ladies. Very good Pad Thai and Samosas laugh.gif

I get the stern tube all sorted out after lunch and then give Simon a hand to get the next panel sorted out with him working on the inside of the boat and me setting and clamping on the outside. Looking really good.


Edited by Steve Goddard
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  • 2 weeks later...

You know that when you think you've finished…..
May 10th, 2011 Another early start, Simon still on the back cabin panels and Andy and I finishing off the battening.

First thing we tackle is the battens on the T section under the tug deck. Not a problem we think, cut some battening and then josh some self drilling screws in and the job is done. Yeah right :angry: . Don't know why but there is simply no way that we can get a self driller to go through the T section. All that happens is that it completely wears away the tip even before it gets anywhere near drilling through the web. I know when to give up on a hopeless task so it's plan B. Drill and tap the T section to take machine screws.

IMG_0058-300x224.jpgThis works but it's not as quick obviously. While I'm slowly broiling under the tug deck Andy planes up the stringers to go on the bottom of the vertical battens in the main cabin. We won't fit them till after the spray foam but it's a job well done.

After we've finished the roof battens under the tug deck there is a lot of thinking and scratching of heads figuring out the best way of battening the sides under the tug deck.IMG_0063-e1305009166973-224x300.jpgIn the end we decide to go for straight sides which topple over from the verticle at the main cabin bulkhead to a fall out at the top of the batten at the bow. With the curve of the bow this gives (to the eye at least) a really nice curve which should be easy to board. An hours work gets all the battens cut and ready to fit tomorrow. Given that I thought that the battening was just about finished last week and now looking at the other fiddly bits that need doing we'll be lucky to properly finish it this week sad.gif

While Andy's finishing off those I pop the mushroom vents on. I've got some hinge drills (self centering drills) which make drilling the holes a breeze and a guarantee that they will be central to the holes in the casting. Only takes 30 mins to drill and tap both MV's

IMG_0061-300x224.jpgSimon's been steadily working on the panels and has all of the "mouldings" in place and the first of the back cabin panels grooved and fitted by the end of the day. Still looking awesome. cool.gif




Microsofted &%"£@
May 11th, 2011

"Please wait while we install upgrades for your security and convenience"

The words that bring terror to any PC user. I now have a PC which a: will not save anything that I type into the blog in Internet Explorer and b: will not download pictures from my phone. End result I've had to rebuild it to sort things out what a total waste of time. I reckon I'll go buy a blooming Mac laugh.gif .

Anyway now with a functioning PC albeit using Firefox rather than IE and using the other PC to get the pictures I can start to bring you up to date on where we are apart from the fact that I'm totally confused and don't even know what day of the week it is. It's an age thing apparently blush.gif . Also I lied it seems that Firefox wont upload pictures to the blog so this is now an hour later while I've got another machine set up and (hopefully) working fully. Building boats is a bloody sight easier.

IMG_0071-300x179.jpgYesterday Andy and I concentrated on finishing off the battening under the tug deck. This takes the whole of the day as it's fiddly and there's more work than looks at first sight. It's also HOT in there which doesn't help. A bit like the sweat box in Bridge on the River Kwai :rolleyes: . The end result is very good however and I think that there will be minimal hassle in getting the sheeting up when it's time. As always Andy is sorting out most of the wood machining in the shop so I make a start on putting some ventilation into the deck beam so that we can get some fresh air under the tug deck. I'm going to put a couple of Woolwich letterbox vents on the back of the deck beamIMG_0076-300x224.jpg with some holes in the beam to provide a surprising amount of ventilation right to the front of the bed space. They also look the part which is great :rolleyes: .

While on a roll I also get the letterbox vents onto the front of the cabin. These are Northwich ones so I think Siskin is going to have a bit of a complex soon if I'm not careful wink.gif . These are ducted down to give low level IMG_0079-300x224.jpgventilation coming out at gunwale level and should provide more than the required low level ventilation required .

Simon has been working solidly finishing off all the welding around the panels on the back cabin and as soon as I can I get onto them to get a coat of two pack on. When the paint goes onto the first panel you can really see what it's going to look like when it's all properly painted and I have to say that it's been worth all of Simon's effort . They really do look the biz.IMG_0075-e1305144911126-224x300.jpg

By the end of the day I've got two finished. Super :rolleyes: .

Life is enlightened when Lol turns up with the portholes. They look wonderful and I'll make a start tomorrow to get the mounting holes drilled and tapped and get some pictures on the blog providing that Microsoft leaves me alone :rolleyes:

IMG_0081-300x224.jpg

Edited by Steve Goddard
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  • 2 weeks later...

I’ve got an extra day at the yard this week as for some unknown reason I thought it was Thursday on Wednesday so it came a s a bit of a surprise when it in fact turned out to be Tuesday (or something like that laugh.gif ) I’m going to spend the day fitting the bright shiny portholes that Lol Brown delivered on Wednesday (or what ever day I thought it was). The brass is really heavy and there is simply no way that you could accurately position the portholes over the holes in the cabin side without some sort of jig, IMG_0082-300x224.jpg so I trot off to the woodworking shop to knock up a simple jig out of 18mm ply. It’s just a couple of strips half jointed with rebates that fit the hole in the cabin and the hole in the porthole itself and just keeps the two in alignment. A couple of quick clamps and it holds everything in place while you sort out the holes. An added bonus (by accident rather than design) it that it is possible to rotate the porthole so I can use a spirit level to get the holes correctly aligned.

I’ve got a set of hinge (self centering) drill bits so it’s a pretty simple job to mark through the screw holes in the port holes and get the 5 mm holes drilled so I can tap them 6mm (too many holes in that sentance). Another quick trip to Brocol to get the right screws and we’re away. I reckon that at the end of the day I’m fitting a porthole in 25 - 30 mins which isn’t shabby. I’ve got 5 x 11″ and 2 x 9″ i.e a total of 42 holes to drill and tap plus setting up the jigs so it’s 20 to six in the evening when I get round to the last one.

Now if you are being sensible now is the time to quit, go home, have a beer and come back another day to finish the last one. Do I do that …… what do you think blush.gif . The last one for some reason turns out to be a nightmare. Two of the six holes that I have drilled and tapped simply do not line up.( the only ones in the whole exercise) :angry: and nothing I can do persuades them to co-operate. In the end as 7:00 pm approaches I decide to call it a day and sort them out on Monday. I’ll probably weld the holes up and re tap them. Another point to note. When I cut the holes in the cabin sides out I cut them 2mm over the finished glass size as I’ve got double glazing which goes through the cabin side. This is not enough sad.gif I would recommend 5mm as you have to end up with at least a 1 mm gap to allow for expansion and neither glass cutting or plasma cutting a circle are exact sciences. I guess I’ll be there on Monday with the grinder :rolleyes:IMG_0084-300x224.jpg

At the end of the day however I’ve got all the portholes in place and they look really good (thanks Lol). I would just point out that the patterning on the side of Siskin is dappled sunlight and not my crappy painting laugh.gif

You may be wondering what Simon’s been doing all day. The answer is welding , more welding and even more welding and now the stbd. back cabin side, gunwale and guard are all finished. We’re hearing that word finished more and more these days and it’s all very exciting :rolleyes:

Edited by Steve Goddard
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sad.gif I must get round to taking some more pictures. I don’t know where the time is going at the moment.

Andy gets straight on measuring up the front slide. We’ve blagged a bit of Opepi from Rex and some marine ply so we shouldn’t have issues with rot.

First job for me is to sort out the last small porthole that I fitted (I use the word advisedly as it didn’t actually fit if you remember). We’ve welded up the two holes which were out so I can re-drill them and get them tapped. That’s the really nice thing with steel you can sort cock ups like this :rolleyes: . Still when the porthole is fitted I get the double glazing units siliconed in so I can fit them tomorrow.

I drag out the ends of the fuel tanks and cut and fit the dip tubes as Dave is going to weld the tanks up on thursday and I need to have everything ready. I also need to cut the sides out. I’ve got a bit of plate the right length and 40″ wide which I think will do the job. Except in a fit of perfect planning I’ve made the tanks 10 ½” high so I can only get three out of the sheet . A quick root round under the boat finds a bit of steel I can use and a few mins with the plasma see the sides cut out and all I need to do is to tidy up the cuts. It’s quite strange working with steel again after all the woodwork of recent times :rolleyes:

Next is a big step I can actually fit the large portholes back with the glass in and the front cabin of Siskin becomes pretty watertight.. Still a bit of fiddling around as the effects of cumulative discrepancies has the glass in one porthole fouling the cabin side. Note to all: There’s lots of seal area on the portholes and it’s not essential to have the hole in the cabin side tight to the glass so make the bloody hole well oversize and you will avoid all the faffing around that I’ve had :rolleyes:

Andy’s got the first bit of the slide done and it fits well. I’ll sort out the tufnol strips on the underside at the weekend and cut the brass rubbing strips and with the top layer glued on the slide it will be ready for painting :rolleyes:

Simon’s working away on the port panels. It’s a steady job that can’t be rushed but the number of complimentary comments that we’re getting from folk who visit the yard and see the completed ones is worth all the effort cool.gif (well Simon’s effort really :rolleyes: )



The next day starts really well when I headbutt the hook on the chain hoist on the gantry. I end up with an impressive buump on the head much to the amusement of all concerned. I am glad to report however that the hook did not sustain any lasting damage laugh.gif

IMG_00761-300x224.jpgIMG_0078-300x224.jpgA couple of quick pics to show where we are on finishing off the inside battening. The polos are made from a couple of thicknesses of 18mm birch ply with the obligatory Cuprinol coating. They’re fixed in with three stainless crews through the cabin side and by the time they are spray-foamed in they should be as solid as a rock.

I really really think that the inside of the front cabin is now ready to foam spray. Honest :rolleyes:

IMG_00791-e1305876469734-224x300.jpgToday Dave is welding up the fuel tanks. I’ve fitted all the dip tubes in the ends and surprisingly the steel I’ve cut all fits together :rolleyes: . As always I’m amazed at how quick and accurately you can fabricate something like this using the Mig. It’s a few mins job to line up the sheets using the square blocks and tack them in place. All that needs to be done then is to weld all the seams up.IMG_00811-300x224.jpg By lunch time both tanks are finished and pressure tested. The only down side is that they weigh a ton. It’s going to be interesting getting them in Siskin.

I’ve offered to give Dave a hand on Hasty so that he doesn’t fall behind on that build so spend the morning lifting all the engine room floor plates and getting the inside clean and tidy.

On Friday David and I are going to fit the tanks and the fuel pipe work so another job is for me to clean out all the crap out of the engine hole and back cabin of Siskin. Quite a domestic day.


Edited by Steve Goddard
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I don’t know where this week has gone. It certainly didn’t go on spending time keeping the blog up to date that’s for certain.

IMG_0085-300x224.jpgAt last a decent picture of the panels. The amount of complimentary comments both Simon and myself keep getting is amazing. I can’t wait to get them finished painted :rolleyes: .

Right what have we managed to do since. Well on the back cabin Simon has now finished the panels on the port side and I’ve cleaned up and painted the stbd. side so we are making good progress on that front.

David and I have got the fuel tanks in and have made a start on plumbing in the fuel pipework. We’ll leave finally fitting it until all the back cabin work (bulkheads, slides, doors etc) are finished so that I can lift the tanks and clean any debris from under them.IMG_00831-e1306510013478-224x300.jpg

Brian from Cosyhomes is coming to spray Egypt and Admiral. I’m going to get him to sprayfoam my tanks at the same time so that they can be fitted before the rest of the spray foam is done. Before I can do that however I need to glue a couple of hardwood bearers on the bottom of each of the tanks. I’ve got a couple of offcuts of Kwila (a very very dense oily wood from Papua New Guinea which will do the job perfectly). The only way I can think to hold them down while the glue sets is to use some ratchet straps I’ve got. Talk about overkill but it gets the job done.

IMG_0090-e1306509634488-224x300.jpgBrian sprays up the tanks. I’ve never seen this done before and it’s fascinating. He seems just to spray a light coat over the metal and then woof it expands out and the jobs done.

Last thing to do at the end of the week is to drop the prop off at Roy’s so that he can make up the shaft, coupling and adapter plate. When we get that we can fit the pillow block and I can get the prop shaft ordered :rolleyes:

Big weekend this weekend. John is bringing over the range from Ireland. He’ll have it at the Crick show so if you want to see it before I do pop in and see him.



As promised I picked up the range from John at the end of the Crick boat show. In fact went over on Sunday with Tree and Tom (brother and sister in law) so that they could catch up with John who they hadn’t seen for donkeys years. They all went down the beer tent leaving me selling ranges to the great unsuspecting public. I reckon if you had come round with your cheque book in your hand I would have done you a real deal :rolleyes:

Getting the range onto the trailer on Monday night turned out to be a lot less trouble than I had feared. With the help of a couple of marshals (they really really want to get going as soon as they can) we had it loaded and strapped down onto the trailer in ten mins. Great stuff. Tuesday morning at the boat yard IMG_0092-e1306871571869-224x300.jpgand it’s pretty easy to get the range out of the trailer and onto the tug deck with the forklift but then we need to get it down into the boat. I set up a couple of planks with some props in the middle to stop them sagging and then it’s go for it time. We’ve got Dave, Mark, Simon and some poor passer by who has been roped in to help (he only came with his mate to look at a boat laugh.gif ). A rope belayed round the T stud, two guys on the tug deck pushing and two of us in the boat steering and we slowly get it down and onto some ply. Given that it weights around 320Kgs you can understand why it’s a bit of a handful. Bit of bad news we caught and chipped some of the enamel on the top sad.gif . Fortunatly its on a bit that is mostly hidden so I should be able to patch it up IMG_0094-e1306871453935-224x300.jpgwithout it being noticeable. I have to say it does look the part although the racing green clashes with the red oxide. I’ll have to change one of them I think :rolleyes: . John pops in to see the boat. Pity it’s before the range is in place but at least he got the idea.

I’ve measured up for the sub floor and got the order in for the ply so hopefully Andy and I will get that down next week which will make getting around inside Siskin a lot easier.

I spend the rest of the day cleaning up the foam spray overspray from out of the bilges as I want to get them waxoyled and get the ballast down soon. Gawd the fears that Brian had about it not adhering to the gloss paint are definitely unfounded. It sticks like … well you know what they say :rolleyes: .

Simon in the meantime has just been quietly working away finishing off the port cabin side and gunwale. By the end of the day everything (including the anser pin is welded up and most of it is cleaned up as well. Not much more work on that at all :rolleyes:

I’ll try and get back into the daily post routine as it’s actually easier as if I wait a week I’ve forgotten what I’ve done.


Edited by Steve Goddard
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Bitsa day today. Did a bit of this and a bit of that and not a lot of the other :rolleyes:IMG_0096-300x224.jpg. Started off fitting the tufnol sliders on the bottom of the slide. They fit in a couple of slots Andy put in with the table saw. I cut the strip to fit on the bandsaw (lovely smell :rolleyes: ) and a few brass screws countersunk below the surface and its done. having done that it’s over to the yard to see whats happening. Simon has just finished all the linishing of the gunwales and has moved into the back cabin of Siskin and is measuring up the bulkheads :rolleyes:

No sooner than I arrive and I’m off again to try and get some stainless bolts for the plummer block on the prop shaft. While I’m out I check up on the price of Waxoyl at Halfords. I do wonder who dreams some of the pricing up when 2.5l is 19 quid and 5l is 25 quid. Trouble is that if you want to spray it with their spray gun you have to buy a 2.5l time as that’s the only one that fits and of course I reckon I only need 5l. Time I think to look on eBay :rolleyes:IMG_0099-300x224.jpg

Back to the yard and measure up for the brass slide runners. They need cutting drilling and countersinking so I decide it’s a lot easier to go back home and do it in the shop there so off we trot again. Cutting, shaping, drilling, countersinking and a quick rub over on the polishing mop later and I’ve got two nice shiny runners. Back to the yard (again) and a few mins drilling and tapping the slide runners sees them in place. Super.

Simon’s finished cutting out the bulkheads and has got a coat of primer on them so they’re ready to go in first thing in the morning. Woo Hoo.



Andy’s helping out again today and the first thing he’s getting sorted is the front slide and fitting the second layer of IMG_0103-300x224.jpgmarine ply on. He’s using PU glue so it needs a massive amount of clamps to make certain that as the glue foams it doesn’t bow the ply (which has happened before). It’s nice and flat when we take the clamps off so it must have worked :rolleyes:

As it’s the hottest day of the year so far I get into the gas locker to clean it up and get it painted. Getting in is not really an issue but I have a dreadful feeling that I may never get out again. I’m getting to old for this sort of stuff :rolleyes: . Now it doesn’t matter how you try to do it you can’t paint a gas locker without putting your dirty feet over fresh paint. Still by the end of the day I’ve got a couple of coats of primer and a coat of gloss so it’s all good.

In between coats of paint Andy and I have fitted the stringers on the bottom of the cabin side battens. We had a little bit of adjustment to do on the stbd, side around the hatch to get everything nice and straight but they look really good. At the end of the day Andy rebates the battens to go over the back cabin panels :rolleyes: .

Simon has fitted the engine room bulkheads so you can really see the sizes of the back cabin and the engine hole now. It’s really starting to look finished.

Edited by Steve Goddard
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