The glues we stock

This has just been updated from our 'Glue Shop' on the main web site pages,its a good range of basic epoxies and other marine type glues we have used for decades now.

THE GLUE SHOP…………April 2009
prices subject to fluctuation and plus Vat,for local buyers:


We stock a small but rather wide range of adhesives. All the products have been used in our factory and have been supplied to clients for quite some time. We understand their uses and can give advise on using each product.





WE HAVE DEVELOPED A SMALL BUT WIDE RANGING GROUP OF ADHESIVES.ALL OF WHICH HAVE BEEN USED COMMERCIALY BY OURSELVES AND OUR CUSTOMERS FOR A LONG TIME,WE UNDERSTAND THEIR USE AND CAN ADVISE ON HOW TO USE EACH SYSTEM IF REQUIRED.



The Epoxies:



REsolution 816


This epoxy has a wide range of uses. It can be used in the construction of boats and their components and to saturate and seal surfaces.



Sold in 1kg packs and larger…………………………………R115.00 per kg



THE EPOXIES:



RESOLUTION 816………….A WIDE RANGING USE BASE EPOXY,USED TO EITHER CONSTRUCT BOATS AND THEIR COMPONANTS ,OR SATURATE AND SEAL SURFACES,DEPENDING ON THE JOB AT HAND.



WITH OUR CONSTRUCTION/ASSEMBLY CURE AGENT (CV 140) YOU WILL HAVE A NUMBER OF HOURS TO USE THE MIXED BATCH,WITH THE SATURATION CURE AGENT (E205) ,ANY TIME FROM A HALF HOUR TO TWO HOURS,THE TEMPRATURE OF THE AIR WILL CONTROL THE SETTING TIME.



PACKING,1 kg PACKS AND LARGER…….ask



EPOXY:



RESOLUTION 816 EPOXY………………………….…..115.00 per kg





THE CURE AGENTS:



CV 140 Cure Agent


This is an assembly/ building cure agent. It has a slow curing time of three to more hours. To minimize wastage we advise that the left over mix is combined with our special graded teak wood dust to fill holes and do fillets.Teak dust is R100 Per half kg.



· E 205 CURE AGENT



This is a thin, clear agent used to wet out glass cloth and tapes and to saturate wood and plywood surfaces. When using this product mix small batches at a time as it can heat up and go off in a short time in warmer weather. We advise mixing it in a pot and the spreading it out in painters tray, it can be applied with either a brush or a roller.



Please Note:



· When working with any of these products you can wash your hands with warm soapy water.

· Both of the cure agents may be seen to be an irritant! Use these products in well-ventilated spaces and wear a good facemask with filters if there is danger of inhaling in fumes.





PHENOLIC RESIN AND POWDER GLUE:



Blue-black resin and white powder glue is a basic glue that holds our waterproof ply’s together. This is the best system for lamination items such as stringer and bulkhead scarphs. It is also the only system to use when building wood spars and masts. (Please do not use epoxies for such items!)



The product we sell has a medium pot life of one to one and a half hours.



· Phenolic Resin Glue



Sold in a 2.4kg pack………………………………………R385.00 per pack





PVA WATER BASED WOOD GLUE:



This is genuine PVA Waterproof Glue, which is ideal for all types of construction on boats. It is so good that it has been locally tested and approved by ‘SABS (South African Bureau). This glue is suitable to glue hard and soft woods with ease. Its very low cost and its easy use make a change to some of the more complex and expensive glues on the market.



Sold in 5kg packs……………………………………R465.00



TEAKWOOD FLOUR:



This product works great for non-slip surfaces with Polurethane paints.

See the ‘The Paint Shop’ for details on this process that we ourselves have developed.



Sold in ½ kg packs…………………………….R100.00



SEALANTS:



· BLACK SILCONE RUBBER Dow Corning 813



This can be used for curtain wall glazing and has a slow cure modulas of drying,normally a few days.




BLACK SILICONE RUBBER,USED FOR CURTAIN WALL GLAZING AND HAS A MODULAS OF ELASTICITY OF AROUND 35% MEANING IT WILL MOVE AND STRETCH WITH WHAT EVER ITS STUCK ON TO,BEING SILICONE IT WILL NOT DEGRADE WITH THE UV RAYS OF THE SUN,IT HAS A SLOW CURE PROCESS OF A FEW DAYS SO ITS EASY TO WORK WITH,WE USE IT MAINLY TO CAULK TEAK WOOD DECKS,LEAVE IT FOR AT LEAST FOUR TO FIVE DAYS BEFORE BELT SANDING……..UNLIKE STANDARD SILICONE THERE ARE NO,OR VERY LITTLE FUMES WITH THIS MIX…….



SOLD IN 310 ml tubes for use in an applicator gun………….89.00 ea





…………………..

Disclaimer:



all use of any of the above products is at the risk of the end user, we have and still do use these products in our day to day work, no bothers have been found to date but we can not control the end use, so the risk is the users.

Plywood Weights from CKD Boats

Left click on the page to be able to read full size.

We sell our plys on the performance each sheet can perform to,some want to buy to price but its not uncommon to find a buyer does a complete turn around when he or she is informed of the weights of various plywoods,it makes a difference,in some cases a very large difference,all of 500 kgs weight saved in a Dix 43 when the choice of Ockume marine ply was made over a WBP exterior grade,thats a heck of a lot of weight tied into the boat forever!

The new KD 650 trailer catamaran

This is Bernd Kholers new design,its about to be built by him as well he says,its ideal for towing due to its narrow beam and light weight,some words on the design from Bernd,kits will be available to your order.

General description

The KD 650 is an other approach for an affordable trailer catamaran for amateur construction. The boat is designed for fast coastal sailing.
One of his main features is the aerodynamically efficient Gunter rig.
Every effort was made to end up with a practical, cost efficient and fun to sail boat.
It starts with his low overall weight of only 340kg. The width of only 2m ( 6.6ft ) ensures easy trailing. Only a medium size car is necessary. No mast is sticking out when the boat is on the trailer.
Setting up will take only about one hour instead of days as with many trailer catamarans. A hull weights around 90 kilograms ( 198 lbs). Setting the boat up is quickly done with the all new Eccenter fastening systems for the beams. Only four nuts have to be used.
Setting the short mast ( 4,3m long, 14,3 ft ) is easy done. The mast weights only 9 kg ( 19,8 lbs ). So no back breaking action here.
and the sail can be set. The re-designed Gunter rig gaff has only one halyard in contrast to a normal gaff rig which has 2. So setting the sail is comparable to a usual sail. The jib can be a roller reefing jib.
The boat is a perfect coastal sailing boat with more comfort as the usual beach cat. For instance you do not seat on the trampoline but on the aft deck while your feet are resting on the «cockpit sole» (trampoline).
This makes a big difference when you sail a longer stretch.
In one of the hulls is room for a toilet. Your female company will appreciate that (and you self to). In the cabin the height above the berths is 920mm. This berths can be used as seats over the day. If you like to have a small pantry with cooker and sink in the starboard hull for instance, there is still room for three to sleep. Personal I prefer to cook on deck. So no drawings for the pantry in the drawings.

DESINGN and COSTS

Like my other boats the KD 650 is a plywood/glass/Epoxy construction. In most countries these materials are easy to obtain. I have included the list of materials at the end of this study plan. With these the costs for the materials can be easy obtained. I was going even so far as to use for all stringers and framing only one size of wood. This makes it easier for your supplier, which can safe you in some cases money. The extra weight is negligible.

To avoid the high costs for the rig i.e. mast and rigging the boat sports a modified Gunter rig. The plan shows how to build the mast from an Aluminum tube and some hardware. The gaff is made from clear fir, UD- carbon and glass cloth. When the sail is set the height of the sail is 7,2m. The sail uses a heavy batten instead of a boom. Much saver to sail.

The beams are made from ready available Aluminum tubes. Besides cutting them to length and drilling some holes nothing to do here. This will shorten the construction time
compared to boats where wooden beams have to be build ( in some cases till 40 % ! ).
The set up time once you at your favored sailing ground is short. To make sure of this I designed a quick beam fastening system. Only four nuts have to be fastened to fix the beams. The mast is only 4,3 m long and weight a mere 9 kg. To set up the boat will take 2 persons not more as about one hour. This will be not different on a beach or in a port.

A relative small trailer will be sufficient to tow the boat. A middle class car is big enough to tow the boat. An other important cost saver over the long run.
Experience sows that plywood/glass/Epoxy boats need less maintenance than boats built with any other material. Example our PELICAN: even after 11 years of use the boat needed not even a new coat of paint.
The hulls have an a-symmetrical cross section. The drawing above is a small version of the original 1 : 1 drawing.

A-symmetrical catamarans need no keel or dagger boards to go to windward. The KD 650 is a homage to the early famous designers of asymmetrical catamarans from the Pacific like Rudy Choy and Woody Brown. See figure 6.
CONSTRUCTION

The hulls are build up side down on 5 bulkhead ( including transom ). All bulkhead drawings as most of the drawings are to scale ( 1 : 1 ). After the bulkheads are set up the hulls are planked with 6mm plywood and 8mm plywood at the bottom. After the «knuckle» stringers at the out side are glued to the hulls, the planking till the sheer line is added.
The hulls are build on stringers as shown. This construction system give by them self sufficient measurable references to make sure to end up with two equal hulls. I find this very important for best performance. Besides it will give the first time boat builder confidence that he (she) will do a good job.
Now the hulls are turned right side up and the inner cabin sides, sheer line parts are build.
The sloped outer cabin structure is made.
Now all inner structure like bunks, superstructure for the beam Eccenter etc are build.

For easy and fast construction Al. tubes are used as beams. Besides cutting to size and drilling of two holes in each beam nothing to do. If you use mainsheet rails and rails for the trampoline on the aft beam these have to be mounted also.

Mast and rigging is one of the most cost intensive parts. A solution to prevent this high costs is to build also these parts by your self. The drawings show the most cost efficient way to build your own mast ( Al. tube diameter 90/84mm, length 4,30) by your self including mast rotor and mast step. The gaff is made from spruce or clear fir with some carbon fiber. The result will be a very efficient and easy to handle rig.
The hulls are covered with glass cloth and ( I advice ) a two pot polyurethane paint system. This will result in a long lasting boat with almost no maintenance.
As rudder system we use our well known dagger board rudder system. The rudder will kick up when an obstacle is hit. The rudder blades are made from 4mm plywood some carbon fiber and spruce. The are build in a jig to make sure to end with a profile which resembles the NACA 0012 section.
Total construction time will be around 500 hours. This depends of course on your experience and tools on hand.

THE PLANS


The boat was designed with a CAD program. All technical drawings are DXF file. The table of offsets is delivered as an Excel file. For list of drawings see following page.
With the list of materials you can calculate the costs for the boats by forehand.
Small parts like for example Aluminum sheets for the Eccenter and the stainless steel shafts for these are not shown in this list but on the relevant drawings.
Plan costs including description how to build US $ 238,00. The plan can be ordered direct on the KD 650 web page (PAYPAL). After I received the money I send the plan as attachment to two emails.














Specification

LOA hulls 6.50 m without rudders
Beam c/c 3.00 m
Beam catamaran 3.50 m
Beam on trailer 2.00m
Draft hull/rudders 0.33/0.54 m
Weight empty 340 kg
Weight CWL 760 kg
Sail area 18.6m2
L/B hulls 1 : 16.6
Prismatic coefficient 0.568
L/B ratio center line 50 %
Construction time about 500 hours
Engine Outboard 5 HP maximum

Superform Bending Plywood picture

This picture is always worth publishing,we have a full data sheet on the plywood too,please contact me at kits@comlumber.com and I will forward a copy.We are the direct importers and distributors for Superform Bending Plywood,trade prices are available on full pack lots to suitable retail outlets on request.

A Dix 43 built from wood/epoxy at RCYC ,Cape Town

FLYING CLOUD,the first Dix 43 in wood epoxy constuction.

Hillman Imp works car 4525KV three pictures of Rosemarys car

The same car but viewed from the front and allowing us to see the cars registration number 4525KV, which was one of the Rootes Competitions Rallye Imp numbers,the man on the left looks like he is the local Lord Mayor,check out his chain around his neck.

Car 5 or 4525KV the works rally car,this picture was probably taken in Scotland.


The car in the center is 4525KV.

Info as taken from a forum discussing the car.
Tony
If it was Rosemary's Alpine car it must at one time have been EDU710C (65 Alpine), 4525KV (66 Alpine), JDU48E (67 Alpine) unless it was one of the recce cars. Bonhams recently tried to claim that Roy Fiddler drove 48E on the '67 Alpine but he didn't be drove 46E. 4525KV was written off in 67 and EDU was sold to Paul Burch in 67 so you may be able to work it out from that, of course the factory was doing what everone else was doing with identities so who knows.

This was the same car as the picture I have with a number 5 on the side of the door (1966?),the picture shows the works team on the Alpine Rally

Jean and our dog

Druma has grown up with our boat and has a facination for looking at water,mind you,our local waters are so full of sea life its not long before a Dolphin,Seal or Whale arrives to check us out.

Rosemary Smith visits New Zealand

Contact the Imp Club at www.theimpclub.co.uk



This was back in 1997,many thanks to Brian Baylis For supplying the picture,Brian is The Imp Clubs representitive down there.

May Day means yet another public holiday

Emu says,thats too many hols man!

With the four public holidays we had in April,Easter,Freedom Day,Voting Day,plus this one at the start of May,its just about shut down the country!

The Hubble Telescope top pictures

My thanks to Susan Boyle in Rome,Italy for supplying this picture.

This is just one of the top ten chosen since it was deployed.

The Perfect Storm, a small region in the Swan Nebula, 5,500 light years away, described as 'a bubbly ocean of hydrogen and small amounts of oxygen, sulphur and other elements'.

This sounds like no Heinekens or Klipdrift brandy and cokes to me?

Hard Dodger kit,made and painted

We have just the none slip to do on the roof top now,the area will be a good firm place to be able to stand or kneel on to check out the main sail and lazy jacks.We have used International Paints white Intergard epoxy primer and top coating in polyurethane Interthane.While this size is intended for a yacht or boat around 43ft,it can be re sized up or down to also suit from around 30ft to 60ft?,the two 'wings' would not normaly be supplied,they fit a center cockpit yacht that they fit into.

Proteus 106 catamaran build in Venezuela

A picture of the Venezuelan flag.



Our customer,Erminio, in Caracas has just sent some news and pictures of his Proteus 106 kit he purchased from us,its interesting to note that Erminio has laid his hulls up the right way up,he has already put in place the cross panel to join them together,plating the hull will be quite easy this way and he will not have to bring in a crane to turn the finished assembly over either.

As happy as a pig in water?

The saying above sounds wrong but this fellow prooves it right in this case!

Samuel Morse says

Looking at Google this morning I note they have a morse code signal posted.
It being the aniversary of Samuel Morses birth which was on 27th April 1791,some 218 years ago.

Telegraph

Original Samuel Morse telegraph on the sea voyage home in 1832, Morse encountered Charles Thomas Jackson of Boston who was well schooled in electromagnetism. Witnessing various experiments with Jackson's electromagnet, Morse developed the concept of a single wire telegraph, and The Gallery of the Louvre was set aside. The original Morse telegraph, submitted with his patent application, is part of the collections of the National Museum of American History at the Smithsonian Institution.[4] In time the Morse code would become the primary language of telegraphy in the world, and is still the standard for rhythmic transmission of data.

The Dixi Dinghy kit

The national flag of Thailand.


The Dixi dinghy is on the left,we also do the Argie 10 on the right.

We have comfirmation of a new export order,this time to Thailand,this make Thailand our country twenty four (24) we have recieved orders from.
One of our smaller sized kits but still a great performer and really well laid out on as little plywood sheets as is possible by Dudley Dix of Dix Design USA.We can supply part or a full kit,including a set of laminated clear oregon pine spars,Ronstan deck package which will include the access hatch covers to the closed air tight seat areas and a sail from North Sails.

Dudley says:

The first of the two designs, the DIXI DINGHY, was commissioned as a sailing yacht tender for very simple construction in stitch and glue plywood. As a rowing/powered boat, all hull panels can be cut from two sheets of 6mm (1/4") plywood, including forming bouyancy compartments fore and aft. Additional plywood is required to make up the rudder and daggerboard. The rig is free standing, supported at keel and bow thwart and is easily stepped. The mast is in two interlocking pieces and the sail is sleeve luffed and loose footed. All rig parts stow within the hull.
As a sailing fun boat she is highly manoeuvreable and nippy with an adult or two children. As a tender she will comfortably carry four adults and gear in calm water. Load capacity will vary with water conditions.