Christmas Eve Day

Well everyone I am in Canada enjoying time with my Mom and getting used to the cold. Of course I spend a bit of time on the forum and today there was a great thread about building. I want to share some of those links.

Here is a slideshow of some really interesting boats.

Also looking at some free software like this one from Bearboat.  Pretty cool, though I will have to play with it a bit before I get the hang of it.  The guys on the forum were talking about this kayak foundry, but I work on mac and so can't try it out.


At the moment I am trying to get out and do some cross-country skiing. It's tough to get a set around here but I brought my boots so I hope to get a hold of a few. I feel like I have to get out and do something. I got a little sick when I first got here, but I am feeling better and I am itching to go outside. I think that may put me on the outside of most of the locals' point of view. Everyone seems to be indoors or on motorized vehicles - a lot of snowmobiles and trucks but nobody is really walking around. It's a shame. I know it's cold, but it is going to be cold for the next few months, and I can imagine being inside for that long. Also, it's beautiful out here.

Last night I was on the balcony of Mom's apartment and a winter fog had come in. The town was barely lit and the moon gave everything a silver sheen. This morning I went to get some breakfast and everything was coated in hoarfrost. The contrast of the frost and the dark pines is really quite lovely.

I did get out and do some sledding with my brother and his family. I haven't been sledding in a long time, and it wasn't as good as this. It's good to see the kids. They also seem to spend a lot of time indoors playing video games and what not, so I enjoyed getting outside with them.

Anyway, this isn't about how I spend my vacation, so I will see what comes up and see if I can't find some more relevant inspiration. At the very least, I will be back in the US for New Year's eve and back to my boats soon after.

Something on the Side

I was tidying up the shop the other day and Sarah came in to ask a favor. Usually that means I will be fixing a shoe or shortening a belt, but this day it was a different project. She had gotten a hold of some furniture and wanted to alter it to make it useful. The whole project is a little ambitious for a beginner, but I think it is a great opportunity. I love to teach, and in my experience, the excitement a beginner brings makes the project better. So, we got started.

Sarah learning how to take apart old furniture without destroying it.

Sarah cutting dowels to fill holes where the legs used to be.

Taking down the surface of the feet to make the parts fit.

A design decision between two options.

The lovely Sarah on the first stage of her new bench with her teacher behind. She's smiling cause she did most of the work and it is turning out really well. 

What I do 4

So, I was working on a new project for a friend of mine, and in the camera were some pictures that were taken before I took the model home. Thought I would share them and let you know that I am working on the test part of this experiment. Making a place to accurately measure weight and balance and displacement will be it's own design problem, so you can look forward to that. In the interim, I will be travelling and such, so you will have to wait a couple of weeks.

For now:

For Good Measure

I don't want to brag, but I took a model home (again with the jokes).

Ever hear the story of a guy who builds a boat in his basement and then realizes he can't get it out? I'm a guy who built a boat in his basement, and it worked just fine. Before I look too smart, let me tell you that I built a model and it didn't fit in my tub.

Now I have to build a way to test and measure it.
Crap.

It also may make you wonder how a guy my size (and I am pretty big) fits in that tub.

Something to think about.

On a personal note, I am battling the ghosts of holidays past and future. The present is oddly empty at the moment, but this is my least favorite time of year. I won't get into the specifics since it would take a long time and diverge too much from the theme, but I will send along my greetings to all of you. As I type, my audience in Canada is reading what I have to say, and in some ways that is nice. I spend so much time alone I forget sometimes I am not talking into the void. I am also not trying to sound depressing. I think the book I am reading by Noteboom (excellent, though vague for travel writing) has put me in an odd frame of mind. Too much on the recent past, and so much emphasis on legacy.... not holiday reading.

I am not sure how much I will write before I leave, so it is possible that I will be out until the new year.
If that is the case, let me take this opportunity to wish you all happy holidays. Christmas, Chanukah, or whatever other people celebrate (I could list them all, but it would take too long).  In the true spirit of the season, I would pass along my sincere hopes that you all- regardless of who or where- find time to appreciate what you hold dear. Thank you for following along, and I will continue to be as entertaining and insightful as I have been. The target remains.


Sincerely,

Andrew

What I do 3

Here is the next few levels of finish. I tinted a two-part clear to emulate the graphite finish, and establish a nice line along the fasteners. Then I coated the entire outer hull in snap-dry clear-coat. It turned out pretty well.

Since this boat is sort of a hybrid- the plans are originally for a kayak and I am converting it into a canoe- I decided to add a little of the kayak. So, I have placed bulkheads in both the bow and stern which will be covered with a deck. In addition I added a central compartment which will be decked. 

At the very end you can see that I have added the out-wales which are only roughed. I will trim them to the hull and then fit the decking. I will have to decide what the hatch will look like and how I want to place the seats. 

Hopefully, I will be done this weekend and testing on Monday. I am out to Canada on the weekend, so there isn't much left for me to do this year. It would be nice to have this buttoned up so that I can do a new boat in January. I could, of course, test with the hull as it is. The trim and details are not required for me to learn what I need to learn, but... it's just too close to not take it to the end. Too much fun to be resisted.

What I Do 2

Pretty rare for my to post so much in such a short time, but I am trying to keep on top of this process.

So, the thickened epoxy dried overnight (I only had slow hardener since I built Fenrir Mark 1 in a heat wave) and the hull is pretty good.  I cut the wire and sanded the seams smooth. Then I looked good an hard at it and realized that my math was wrong. That didn't shock me since my math is usually wrong the first few times I do it. Here's what I didn't account for.

A boat floats by volume displaced. I scaled the boat to a quarter and figured that I would be able to scale the weight by a quarter and it would work out. Nope. I forgot water as a volume would be cubed. So, I wouldn't divide by four, I would divide by four cubed (sixty-four according to my calculator). That still may not be right, but it's closer.

What to do? Well, there is a better way and I am going to take it.

I have a model. It will float. I will put weight into it until it rides the way I want it to. Now, the volume I displace is measurable (I could use a graduated container that I make, or capture and weigh the overflow, or use my digital modelling system to tell me the volume at a given distance, etc.) so from there, I can simply multiply by four, and I would have the carrying capacity for the water line I want.

At least that makes sense right now.

Anyway, here are the images. The last one is the hull with it's first coat of epoxy drying in the shop.

Thickened epoxy is that brown stuff.

Stitches are about to come out.

Stitches removed and the edges sanded smooth.

Ben came up to see my work and we worked on some math to figure out the displacement.
This is his work, I just stood there and followed along like a good student.

The hull coated and beginning to dry on the bench.

What I do

As promised, I have begun modelling (I love corny jokes).

Did most of this last night and am continuing this evening. The goal is to have a quarter scale hull done by Monday so I can share it. Also, I will be in school for a week at ID (Institute of Design) for some work on design thinking, so I will have little time before I take off for the holidays. Heading into the Great White North this year, which I am looking forward to. 

The quarter scale is cool because I was able to scale everything, including the materials. If I am correct, this little guy ought to hold about 125 lbs. We will see.  

Enjoy.