Wood inlay stash

Recieved beautiful wooden inlay stash box for the boat from a friend. 

Baptizing

Ginger was baptized on 11 June 2017.

Windshield and kids on the first wave

Wood on the water

The moment of truth. She is beautiful, fast and amazing. Exactly 3,5 years after it all started with plans on 1.11.2013. Rewarding project completed without previous skills or experience with such a project, with hobby tools that fit in one shelf. Now we will go on with registration with authorities and some minor stuff (bumper rail, windshield, motor cover).

Boat hotel

As soon as the boat recieved an upholstery my doughter raid it with a sleeping bag. That is love.

Windshield

Safety glass, but nevertheless, it will be covered with safety film to keep it from breaking.

Final varnish completed

Wiring completed

Original dashboard supplied with the engine did not have enough gauges, so some more were ordered and put into a small wooden box with LEDs and switches. Oil pressure, cooling water temperature, engine hours, battery level, fuel level. Switches are for deck lights and ilumination of gauges, amplifier and a push button for horn.

Wiring

4 days of work to complete hydraulic steering, floors, most of the electric wiring and dashboard.

Hide-out

Great place to finish a book when the cleaning is done.

Wiring and cleaning

Drilling into the dashboard needs some cleaning. Dashboard from mahogany with dials from Wema is test fitted. Large hole on the left shall receive the hydraulic pump for steering. 

Signes and names

The name is painted with golden paint in between the varnish layers. Front deck has an inlay of ash and mahogany made by a friend. 

Pick up, shaft log and gasket

The pick up is used to lubricate and cool the rubber seal (double O ring). Shaft log is screwed to the keel with sealant against leak (silicone type). The same sealant is used for pick ups and through hull fittings (bilge, drain, exhaust, fuel vent, fuel intake). 

Exhaust completed

The exhaust goes from the engine down below the floor to the S-shape pipe that leads the line below motor stringers, than through short rubber hose and than through the goose neck to the transom port. Rubber hoses are high temperature certified. 

S-shaped pipe is welded from stainless steel elbows (3 pieces). Spot welded in the boat to take the proper shape from the work.

The final connection is not done as the hole through the transom will be treated with epoxy and the whole boat will be varnished before the final connection.

Hydraulic steering

The hydraulic piston is bolted to a small stainless steel platform with 4 bolts. It has flexible joint to allow for the perpendicular movement of the arm. Red points are to be connected with elbows and the hydraulic hoses led to the steering hydraulic pump in the helm.

Windshield mockup

 The windshield mockup made as template for the safety glass manufacturer.

Strut

The strut holds the shaft in the proper place together with the axial bearing and the flexible coupling. Welded pipe to the vertical plate holds brass rubber bearing. The strut is bolted through the keel to the plate inside the boat. The critical part here is to align with the shaft to prevent side wear of the rubber and vibration.

Rudder

Bronze rudder made from 3 pieces. The rudder itself, gasket housing and a tiller. The housing is long enough. Double O-ring (greased) is on the rudder to prevent the water leak in the boat. 

Strut log welded

The piece is welded from a flat piece with oval opening and a pipe. Pipe is cut respecting the needed angle and than spot welded on the boat, checked and fully welded from underneath. Some grinding is needed to leave enough space for the shaft. The plate is to be drilled and attached to the boat using a sealant. Rubber gasket with O ring will be strapped to the pipe and connected to the cooling/lubrication.

Cooling water

Drilled hole is treated with epoxy to hide the grain of the wood fully. Than the sealant is applied for the pickup scoop. After tying it up to the boat the ball valve is fitted with a teflon tape and hose fitting. Hose connects the pickup to the water strainer. Clamps are not shown on the picture yet. Water strainer has to have enough capacity to fit the motor cooling water needs (here 100 l/min). Connect the ports of the strainer correctly. Special elbows might be needed according to your situation and space available. Blue elbows here are made from silicone but that is not necessary. Water strainer has to be located at least 150 mm over the water line.

Fuel tank completed

Fuel tank has to be certified. Fit the level sensor with a new gasket. Fill hose can be fitted with antitheft element. For the diesel use you will need two fuel lines, one for supply the other as a return line. The other hose (on the very left) is a venting hose that will lead overboard and will be terminated by an arestor. All hoses must be fuel resistant and doubleclamped for safety. All clamps must be stainless steel type. Fuel cap shall show fuel used. Fuel tank shall be secured in place with straps or brackets to prevent movement.

Steering wheel

The difficulty here is to plan ahead a space for the hydraulic (or any other) steering pump. They become very large in diameter and overall length and thus take up a lot of space on the dashboard. Drilling through the dashboard is an emotional and stressfull excercise. Check also the interpiece between the steering wheel and the hydraulic pump if you want to use automotive steering wheel. They just have different number of screws and different diameters. I had to adjust mine for the perfect fit. Plan the dashboard with gauges, hydraulic pump and steering wheel already during the early works on frames.

Exhaust line

The exhaust flexible hose is led under the motor stringers to the riser and the transom.

The riser made from pipes and elbows.

Exhaust line can be made as flexible hose from the exhaust pipe to the transom port through any silencers, cooling elements etc. If the exhaust cooling from the engine is efficient enough and the engine is over the waterline, only the riser is needed to prevent the inflow of water to the exhaust line. 

Later the green flexible hose has been changed to more rigid black widthstanding the high temperature. See newer posts (Mar/2017).

Cooling water pick-up

Water pickup consists of the pickup itself, ball valve and hose fitting. The pickup needs to be sealed with sealant around its base to prevent leaking.