A fair change of plans from last month's ideas re: mocking up the tunnel and measuring loads of different engines. A "lucky" feeling and another good ebay hit has got me a Honda15 outboard with all the required bits except thro-prop exhaust, so I can now make the outboard well specifically for this engine.

 

Having got part way with the mock-up, I've also binned the idea of having a tunnel for the outboard to swing up into, as I think this would lose too much bouyancy from the front end. Instead, I'll just extend the keel down to protect the prop & skeg from grounding or any other floating debris. This will mean a draft of 20-21" depending on final waterline height.

 

I also collected the first batch of wood from SL Hardwoods, including Douglas fir (DF), utile & iroko . The DF for the sheer strakes was purchased already planed, and the cutouts in the bulkheads widened slightly to let in the new 19mmx2 (I had been planning 18mm) width.

 

The rest was supplied in its sawn state, as I want to see how it behaves when cut, and to maximise yield from the materials I buy. The utile looks like it's great for the job, but I'm a bit disappointed with the lack of figure in the iroko, so I'm going to go for American white oak instead. It looks quite similar to the ash Greg has used, but is more durable, although covering it with epoxy will probably make that a moot point.

 

iroko                                                                     white oak

  

 

Raw iroko also looks VERY yellow, and while it may darken with age, am I prepared to go through several seasons with a mustard coloured boat? I think not...

 

The above will be a contrast to the utile as seen on this Freebody launch (finished & yet to be varnished)

 

 

Buying these smaller amounts allows for this change of plan without being too costly, as I'll use most of the iroko for the stem band and as a keel shoe.

 

Cutting on the table saw proved fairly accurate but I'll need a thicknesser to do the decking strips.

 

So with the aid of my Mother-in-law's steamer and a bit of underground pipe,

 

 

 the cut & tailored sheer strakes were fitted & clamped prior to final trimming and more training

 

 

ready to glue into place

 

 

The narrow lines are now becoming quite evident:

 

 

 

Got bored one evening & sanded & epoxied one of the Iroko strips. Looks GREAT, so I revise my earlier opinion, and will stick to iroko as my contrasting wood. The pic below shows the sawn state on the left , with the sanded & epoxied finish right:

 

 

 

 

Have also mocked up the coaming angles, and decided that the 12-15 degreee tilt outwards at the screen end (starboard side pic) is optimal for looks.

 

 

 

At this stage, I think the best way to achieve this is to shape the carlings to suit, so that I can just fit the coaming boards onto them when the time comes. I'll aim for the angle at the front with the rear running closer to 90 degrees to the deck - The blue lines at the outside edges give a fair indication of when to stop planing. All this was done with the chisel & block plane. It felt ridiculously good to actually do something by hand!

 

 

To ease the fitting of the carlings to shape, I've kerfed the underside, to allow an easier bend in the vertical plane, relying on just 50mm depth of wood for stiffness. It makes it much easier to man-handle during fitting.

 

The downside of this extra work is that I won't be doing the first rollover this month after all. Ho Hum.

 

Running Totals:

Building Time so far:	Costs to Date:
215 hrs	Workshop Renovation	Tooling	Materials	Consumables
	£240	£392	£2179	£90