The wood and epoxy boat building story

Well, not really a story but in this case I have just fitted the shower tray to the aft cabin of a Dix 43 launched in 2000.

Click on the images to enlarge them.

What you cannot see is the new water collection tray under the plantation teak grate, check back on this blog to see the pictures of the tray.


http://www.whalepumps.com/marine/product.aspx?Category_ID=10021&Product_ID=10037&FriendlyID=Gulper-220

A really nice pump has been installed, it sure moves the water out fast.

This wood/epoxy built Dix 43 is now fifteen years old.

It is for sale, please contact me for the Word document and information on the boat.

Roy

The Bombaloza skiff in the water

Based on three sheets of lightweight okoume marine plywood, this skiff is easy to lift and handle.

Click on the images to enlarge them.

Plans also exist for a two seater with a four seat design being worked on right now.

The alloy hardware can be sourced from an outside supplier.

Why not build yourself a rowing skiff, there are many places that you can use them and to move one its as easy as a car top roof rack.

My thanks to David, the designer for supplying the pictures.

Roy

Mariquita news

What can I say, some pictures of the five times Lipton Cup winner came in from Vienna today.

Stunning comes to mind?

Roy

A canal, river or inshore waters, long range power cruising boat kit

This was done purely as a concept design and a few years back, the idea is still there it just needs someone who wants such a boat to allow the design to be completed?

Two possible layouts are shown, the final layout would be to the owners requirements.

I would expect  this design to be in a plywood/epoxy build with a GRP sheathing over it to add strength for contact with lock gates and walls?

Click on the images to view in a larger size.

The designer to this stage comments below.

I had anticipated about 40 Hp - 50 Hp for this design.
 Consumption around 2 l/h, at cruising speed of say 5-6 kts, would
give a daily range of 120 nm, using 48 l fuel (approx). If you carried 480
l, that would give you 10 days cruising, with a theoretical max range of
1200 nm in flat waters. Call it 1000 nm.

This design was intended as a versatile passagemaker - for med type
conditions, rather than canals. It would be ok on European rivers and
waterways, and the Med sea for example. Subject to beam restrictions, not
sure about the UK.

My thanks to JP for supplying the concept drawings which are copyright to himself.
Note, they must not be used for contruction in any form.

The final design and building details will be drawn up by a well known boat designer.

Comments invited!

Roy

Bombaloza scull building pictures

Dave, the Bombaloza Scull designer has just sent me some nice pictures of one of our CNC kits being assembled.

Myles had a very narrow space to  work in but managed very well.

Myles is now on the water, we supplied another  kit to a new builder last week, pictures of that build as they come in will be posted.

Roy

The Optimist dinghy kit

We have done many of  these during our last twelve years or so.

The boat in the first picture was built from one of our kits.

I think its now in Australia?

The builders jig is your starting point, the wood/epoxy boat has to have a jig,  this is a great idea anyway as it speeds up the building process.

The floor or bottom of the boat is the first panel to be fitted into the jig.

The sides, bow and transom follow, fitting the panels is a step by step process.

This amount of clamps is nice to have but you  can manage with a lot fewer clamps.

We supply a very documented builders instruction guide, it has 27 pages in it with  lots of build pictures and a step by step explanation of what to do.

Flicka 20 station panels

With the decline of the value of the Rand currency,our Flicka 20 frame sections price has come down from U$1000  to just U$588.

We are asked many times do we have the Flicka 20 plans, the reply is always the same, no.

What we do have is the frame sections profiles, this also indicates where the slab of lead ballast will fit. From what we have we can supply a set of sections cut from MDF (supawood) for about the cost of R8000, thats around U$588 right now. From the frame kit you can do a really nice strip plank build, we could also supply the clear oregon pine and epoxy required.

That will ship as an 8 x 4 flat pack (2440 x 1220) and we can arrange the shipping at actual cost as well.

Licence agreement?

The buyer has to understand that we are offering the boats shape profiles with no specific plans or licence to build the boat but as the plans were previously published in Rudder Magazine, we feel the plans are now in a free domain.

A wood/epoxy canal boat kit?

This has been discussed for some time but we have never progressed past the talking stage.

An enquiry of sorts came in from England today, my reply is below.

Such a craft will also suit slow moving rivers and lakes?

This idea remains but as we never recieved an order, it went no place fast.

The concept is easy, the internals, things like the cupboards and so on become the frames which hold the shape and keep it together.

We would offer it as an entire shell with the interior all CNC cut, a doddle to assemble really, very much simpler than a yacht for sure.

With no enquiries and no design existing, means it will not happen, as to date I have used other designers, then sell the kits based on their work.

A well known yacht designer in the USA showed some interest but I then have to pay him for the design work.

A kit to a 27ft boat would be about R80,000?

Not sure really but thats a good guess?

Roy

The Optimist dinghy kit

We have done a lot of these kits, the first order from the KYC sent us on the way very well as they gave us an order for eight kit sets to start with.

http://www.duckworksmagazine.com/06/designs/optimist/index.htm

The Wood-Epoxy design is still built to the original class rules but certain changes were made to make the design lighter and even stronger than the 'GRP' design at a fraction of the price. With adding the additional thin epoxy saturation to the hull it keeps the boat's surface from drawing in moisture that could add weight.

We supply all the materials that are on the table in the first picture, plus the epoxy, glass tape and fillers kit if required.

Each kit is supplied with a 14 page A4 builders guide with pictures of each step of the assembly process.

Its easy, honest!

Roy

Joinery wood working hand tools

All of the quality tools that are on the work bench can often be found as used items in jumbles and auctions.

Click on the image to enlarge it.

With todays easy access to so called power tools many wood working tasks are done with machines.

They are less suited for the type of work in the picture,the job is to rebate the teak (plantation grown) grate to enable it to fit on the new okoume / epoxy shower tray.

This type of work can be very satisfying ,it is not difficult work and saves the high cost of the power tools and the related cutters, its a whole lot safer too (smile)

Power tools such as a belt sander do have their place of course.

Roy

Bombaloza scull CNC panel set

This design by Dave Hartwanger is becoming well known now?

Click on the image to enlarge it.

The panel on the floor is the 18mm  pine ply builders jig. There are then three 4mm okoume marine plywood panels that form the hull of the scull.

At under R7000 with Vat.  We supply the epoxy and glass tapes, filler powders also, this is an excellent buy,.

Plans are R500 which is payable to the designer.

Light weight Okoume marine plywood

There is a very good reason that our dinghy and boat kits are mainly made from Okoume marine plywood to BS1088 grade, weight.

Check this shower water catch tray, even with its epoxy fillets in the corners and a coating of epoy to seal the surface, the weight is still only 800 grams!

There will be a second application of epoxy, then there will be epoxy primer in white, followed by white Interthane 900 top coat.

Imagine the weight saved when building an entire yacht?

It was some 500 kgs on a Dix 43 when compared to WBP exterior hardwood plywood.

With an 18mm BSP bronze pipe fitting bonded in place with an epoxy paste, the assembly was then coated with two coats of Intergard 269 epoxy based twin pack primer.Interthane 990 top coat will be applied next.

Wait 24 hrs between applying the primer and the top coat.

With the new shower tray installed and connected to a Whale Gulper 220 pump thats connected to a sea cock, we now have one of  the most pleasing and efficient shower pump outs.

Roy

Dudley Dix at the Port Townsend Festival

I regret that I will (again) miss this event, those of you in America may want to make a turn there though.

Wooden Boat Festival 2015

The 2015 edition of the Wooden Boat Festival in Port Townsend, Washington, happens 11-13 September. Organised by the Northwest Maritime Center, it is their premier event of the year, attracting hundreds of wooden boats of all description, a wide array of exhibits and with 120 speaker sessions on boating subjects.

The Port Townsend wooden boat festival 2015

This event will take place on the USA, West Coast.

Dudley Dix will fly out there this wedensday,

www.dixdesign.com

He will be doing presentations and also have his own design booth?


http://nwmaritime.org/events/wooden-boat-festival/

Cape Henry 21 kit packing and shipping

We were asked by Jose in Spain can we supply and ship a Cape Henry 21 kit with the plans to him?

The reply was positive and that we have shipped materials and kits of many types to thirty four, or is it thirty five countries.

 Can we ship a Cape Henry 21 kit to Spain?

We sent one to Seattle, USA,  http://ckdboats.blogspot.co.za/2012/07/cape-henry-21-yacht-kit-packing.html

Charles and Nigel packing Freds Cape Henry 21 kit.

Fred is in Seattle, USA and he is busy building his boat kit now.

We also supplied the steel drop keel, CNC cut and profiled to shape.

Regards

Roy

www.ckdboats

Cape Town

South Africa

27-21-790-3859