Ariel #97 - Triumph

[Commander227]

What a great head start to the project. It would be great to get such a good feel for the end result and play around with ideas with out having to scrounge around behind grocery stores looking for cardboard boxes. I like your layout, seems open and functional. The head is the sticky wicket, just not too many options for placement other than the centerline on such a small boat.
Mike
C227

[Tony G]

Hubba-hubba!  She's got curves and I'm all in.
That is one fine interior layout.  It looks very livable.  Sliding your main bulkhead opening over is a real game changer.  That small act really alllows some big, yet subtle, options to become viable.  when do we start?

[carbonsoup]

Well I started, yesterday!  Day 1, demo day.  I was able to knock out all of the interior except the main bulkhead.  I forgot to take close ups pics of the mast support beam.... however I would like you all to help me decide as to whether or not is necessary to rebuild it.  Im inclined to leave it as it looks ok, but we can decide later.

[carbonsoup]

pretty standard.  the galvanized tank was swiss cheese on the bottom and it sounded like a box of rocks when i lifted it out.  any takers?

[carbonsoup]

btw, the A4 engine was just sitting on the engine mounts with the bolts just dangling...  apparently the nuts were just too difficult to tighten for the last person who installed the engine... in 1993.  ha.

[carbonsoup]

where, oh where, to put a bilge drain?  hmm. how about not.  I mean really, this seams like such a bad idea, especially when the hardware is mickey-moused as most of the rest of the items on this boat.... notice also the keel void drain just below.  (Not in the picture, nylon threaded plugs, painted black.)

i didnt take a picture of the engine seacock.  I can turn the entire through hull with only the slightest of pressure.  its a good thing this boat has stayed in its slip for most of its life.

[carbonsoup]

what is this glassed over thing on the hull?  I guess we shall see!

[carbonsoup]

Ok, so the holidays are finally over... man, living on both coasts is a real pain in the ass.  However, my mom is gone for a couple weeks, so I can get down to business with out interruption.  Expect a bunch of progress, and questions!

I have a bit more demo and exploration of the main bulkhead, before I can really start with a clean slate, however I have a question about 'marine' plywood... what is difference, aside from the cost?

Also, Im 90 minutes from anywhere (annapolis) so where is a good place to buy fiberglassing materials online?  nonblushing and 'fast' hardner, since I am working outside in the winter.

[Commander 147]

Well...........
 
There is a wide range of marine plywood on the market.  It goes all the way from plywood that simply has water proof glue to the certified plywoods like BS1088 Meranti.  I for one would highly recommend the BS1088 meranti for your plywood needs. The cost is not a lot more when you consider the fact that you never want to redo a bulk head just because you tried to save a few pennies up front.   Here is a link to tell you all about BS1088 plywood.
 
http://plywood.boatbuildercentral.com/help.php
 
As far as buying fiberglass materials online (like you I am in BFE and am forced to buy online)  I really like the cost and working
characteristics of the epoxy from these folks.  They have reasonable costs on the cloth also and I have bought some of my cloth from them to keep my shipping charges down.
 
http://www.raka.com/
 
Hope this helps some.

[ebb]

What Jerry is saying is the absolute!
There is no finer plywood available to the boatbuilder than meranti.  It's made with very thin veneer phillipine mahogany.
glued under heat & pressure with phenolic.  A glue that under goes boil tests for delamination  that formadehyde glue can't touch.
  It is usually dead flat and dead straight.   With very few if any footballs on the face  BS1088 is the best of best.  Grade means there are no voids in the inner layers.  You'll find it stampted on the edge of the laminate.    It is simply beautiful plywood.
There is a lesser grade without the British Standard 1088 that might be OK.   Usually the 1088 is all dark wood and you might find white wood (there are many species of phillipine m. trees,  and I've heard the popularity of the plywood stretchs the Standard.  
 So the Standard may be slipping.  I'd assume your lumberteria gets their meranti from a single source
and the lesser grade isn probably manufactured by the same Isralli outfit that crafts the high end stuff.  All of it is imported.
Imco if your design calls for 1/2" fir plywood you can half the scantlings with meranti.

I bought some American Plywood Association stamped marine plywood once and it was junk.  There were voids and broken veneers inside.  
There is no recognized standard for marine fir ply last time I looked.  
Veneers are thick and the glue is every day exterior formaldehyde rolled on thick or thin, or not at all....  the manufacturer doesn't give a damn.
Interior veneers can have sapwood or non-fir trash wood,  which will lead to rot.
  Excuse this rant,  but I'll wager
there isn't a single sheet of any kind of plywood made in this country that is exported overseas.
Plywood here is a joke.  Of course there is always an exception - never heard of one!

NOT REALLY AN EXCEPTION:
If you insist on using fir ply, get MDO.  It is exterior ply with one or both sides covered with resin impregnated kraft paper.
Everyone calls it 'sign-painters ply'.  Get the double sided stuff, otherwise it will bend on you.  It's great because no-one
can paint fir plywood,  this stuff makes it easy.  It's still APA plywood, voids, footballs and screwed up layers.  Can use it
for bulkheads.  Bet meranti is the same price or cheaper!   Meranti can be found that will look exactly like Honduras when
sealed and varnished!

As for epoxy,  I won't buy West Systems... for reasons found in many threads in this Forum.
Please find a source for NO-BLUSH laminating epoxy.  Don't  have to put up with 2nd rate epoxy products.
 And if you are new to the stuff, read up on it in the many threads here.  And then ask specific questions.

[carbonsoup]

alright, well, 30 hours later and almost all the demo and grinding is done... phew.  I am getting tired of cold showers!  I will post a couple pics of the interior tomorrow, but things are pretty much as expected.  The mast support looks great, thank god, but I nixed the starboard side of the main bulkhead in preparation of the offset doorway.

Im getting excited to start building!

Another major decision that I have made is to turn the Atomic 4 inboard motor into a mooring anchor... I have decided to repower the boat with electric instead of rebuilding the A4.  I had been teetering on the edge of this decision for some time, however the last straw was getting a call from the marina where I had left the motor saying that they were flooded by rain/tide and that the motor had spent the night under water...  yeah, the irony is hard too imagine.  After I got the motor to the shed, i drained all the fluids and took the oil pan off.  

It is still very rebuildable, but it was never the project i wanted.... it just came with the boat so i was obligated, but in looking to the long term future, not just next year or the year after with this boat but several boats down the line, maybe I would want to repower one of those.   Whether you are interested or not electric is going to be the way to go.  Might as well try it out now!

Anyone, need a mooring anchor?

[carbonsoup]

Well...........
 
There is a wide range of marine plywood on the market.  It goes all the way from plywood that simply has water proof glue to the certified plywoods like BS1088 Meranti.  I for one would highly recommend the BS1088 meranti for your plywood needs.

Yes, this is good info.  Warren Woodworking in Easton, MD has BS1088 Meranti which is great cuz Easton is only 30 minutes away.    I think i just sold another motorcycle so i should have the funds for this project, at least for a while...

also, i found another epoxy site.  It has a good bit of info and prices though it can be a bit difficult to stay on track...
//www.epoxyproducts.com

anyone, have any experience with these guys?

[carbonsoup]

Drats!  btw, 38" is the maximum that can fit through the companion way...

[carbonsoup]

Anyway, after two weeks of demo, grinding, sanding, scraping, dislodging, cursing the PO, cursing the PPO and constant cold showers the interior was finally prepped for construction this weekend.  Omg, finally! So, to start I made a new main bulk head with 3/4" BS1088 Okoume after testing with several 3/16" Luan templates.  As it turns out Warren Woodworking in Easton wanted to charge 230 bux for a sheet of 3/4" Meranti... so, i drove to Annapolis and bought what i needed from Chesapeake Light Craft (//www.CLCboats.com).  At 170 a sheet it was worth the drive.

So, the main bulkhead is about ready to get glassed on the 'aft' side.  I still need to get the mast support beam compression posts ready.  I also need to make the 'forward' main bulkhead to sandwich the compression posts.  I was originally thinking of using 1/2", but now im not so sure its necessary.  I think 1/4" would be fine as this is a bit overkill anyway.  The purpose of the added sheer wall, in my mind, is to help with the sheering forces and redistribute forces around the multiple cutouts.

[Commander 147]

You must be a young man because you are going at this with the zeal of a young man.  Lot of progress and looking good so far.  I will enjoy watching the boat take shape so please keep posting.