Manie's Microcruiser

[Manie B]

Yes its official
The fun has started
The first cuts of the new boat

And just for the folks that are asking why, here are a couple of basic answers
1 Love sailing
2 Must have trailer sailer - 2 Berths - mono balasted keel boat self righting
3 I live in a third world country - if you cant make it yourself you wont have it - period
4 Amazon will not send to South Africa because of theft - over and done
5 The wind still blows :D

Who knows maybe i am addicted to the fumes of epoxy and the smell of marineply saw dust.

Here is an interesting article on how to shape foils

http://www.duckworksmagazine.com/09/howto/foils/index.htm

[Wynand N]

The first cuts of the new boat....

is the deepest;)

[Knut Sand]

Cat Stevens...?

[BHOFM]

Why do I feel some how responsible for this??:P :P :P

Looking for regular updates!

And more pictures.

[Manie B]

You betcha :D

feel some how responsible for this

when i was much younger my head nearly spun off backwards when a pretty girl walked by :D

now my head still spins around - mostly for a pretty boat - must be that old fart thing :P

only one teeny weeny problem
after 2 very good days of building in my cold garage (winter here)
my hands, back, feet, arms, EVERYTHING bloody hurts
farkit you must never stop building
you cant believe how fit it keeps you :idea:

[Manie B]

BHOFM this was definately YOUR fault

every time you felt something stabing you in the back - it was me with my vodoo doll :P



http://www.boatdesign.net/forums/boat-building/manies-shiny-dinghy-26675.html




he he, but i learned sooooo much
and that finally pushed me over the edge

Microcruiser - way to go man !

dont know about you - but there are lots of boats that i still want to build - oh dear oh dear ;)




look carefully you are also going blind :P

[Wynand N]

http://www.boatdesign.net/forums/boat-building/manies-shiny-dinghy-26675.html


and I now have the privileged to own that dinghy and she has a special place in my showroom. Want to finish it off completely for my grandson:cool: I have time though, the little guy just 13 months of age now.

Thanks for the gift Manie....

[BHOFM]

BHOFM this was definately YOUR fault

every time you felt something stabing you in the back - it was me with my vodoo doll




http://img132.imageshack.us/img132/593/weatherr.jpg

It's just tooooooooooooooo hot to work in the shop, I think I will take
my newwwwwwwwwww boat to the lake and cool off.

http://www.daemonstv.com/images/fox/stewie_griffin1.jpg


:P :P :P :P

[Manie B]

We had a long weekend, today was Youth Day and many folks took yesterday off. This was actually nice for me as i had 4 days to build.

So here is the start of my centreboard that will carry the bulb keel.
It may be a bit of over kill but one thing is for sure that when i go around the Cape of storms ( Cape Town ) and i fall off one of those 30 foot waves my centreboard wont break :D :P :D :P

one layer of carbon fibre and two layers of aramid then two layers of woven glass and finally all encased in stitched multi directional glass

[Manie B]

Well here are some pics of some serious back-breaking stuff.
All good so far, everything according to plan.

I am really happy that i started building this boat arse end first, it is oh so easy to slap a hull and deck together first and then the damn thing stands forever and everybody keeps on asking when is this thing getting to the water. The small stuff takes forever and can be soul destroying at times, but is a pleasure when done.

The pics show the carbon fibre centre layer - two outer layers of aramid - another two outer layers of stitched glass - and finally the entire thing will be covered in glass and painted white with a 2 part paint. And for those that may not know i only work in epoxy.

Now that i am back into it, the program is
1 centre board and bulb keel
2 centre board casing
3 two rudders - swing up - complete with tiller
4 wind vane steering
5 transom - and fit rudders and outboard bracket
6 build framework to layup hull
7 hull

also a drawing of headroom in the cabin

well enjoy - who knows - the boat could actually float :P

[apex1]

The pics show the carbon fibre centre layer - two outer layers of aramid - another two outer layers of stitched glass - and finally the entire thing will be covered in glass and painted white with a 2 part paint.

P

Manie, in the pic # 4 that is a bit too much resin for the centerboard, you know?

[Manie B]

Hi Apex1

shows how easy it is to work with epoxy

mix - pour - have a glass of wine - take a pic - and then back on the knees to spread :D

he he if only :D


my children are convinced that i have lost all my marbles

"Dad are you working on that darn PLANK again"
"Thought you were building a boat"

and then my wife
"Dear what is the point of breaking your body over that dam PLANK"


always remember "Buildi Boatus" is an incurable disease :D
btw thanks for looking ;)

[marshmat]

always remember "Buildi Boatus" is an incurable disease
At least it's normally not a terminal disease :)

When you think about it, building "arse end first" makes a fair bit of sense... you have the full shop to work on all the fiddly bits, instead of trying to assemble them in some cramped corner. You can devote the time and effort to get the details right without feeling like you're obstructing progress by doing so. And when you do get around to the hull, things will go faster and more smoothly, since you won't be stopping every 4 hours to spend a day on some critical part that's holding up the whole show. And it'll reduce the temptation to blow the budget later on by buying off-the-shelf stuff you could have built yourself.

Looking forward to more updates :)

[Manie B]

Jeez - just an update to tell all you old farts out there that i am still alive and kicking :P

I am busy clearing my "workshop" finally
I have been very fortunate to be totally bogged down with work the past two months, especially in this fu3kedup economic climate

so this weekend i am back at my boat building with great enthusiasm
gotta get high on epoxy fumes for a change he he
going to fetch a plank or two tomorrow and make some saw dust :D

sh1t still no replies from those "crew" candidates, maybe they read Mas's magazines:D

[Wynand N]

so this weekend i am back at my boat building with great enthusiasm....


glad you are returning to a mental state of sanity again Manie:cool: :cool:

BTW, ons het darem die ouens daar onder se gatte goed geskop om nou die onoorwonne en totale wereld rugby champs te wees.. Dit is waarom die ou suur gatte so stil is - is in rou gedompel en onthou Manie, hulle verloor nie baie goed nie:D

This is a little chat between Manie and me, but you can be in on the secret by using this link http://translate.google.com/# but the answer will be dodgy (funny) but you will catch on what was said. Now I also understand why my russian girlfriend's English is so bad. If my wife sees this Im a dead man walking:eek:

[Manie B]

Wynand why are you looking for "crew" in Russia, i thought that is why you went to Thailand recently ;) pity that you never went to say hello to Frosty, he's got that whole lot under control, quite the expert you know :cool:

Oh well if i work really hard you can come and sail with me, that WILL attract attention, two old farts on a microcruiser :eek:

BTW we have to keep our wife's apart or else we will both be gonners ;)

[Manie B]

Well gents i had a super weekend - thank you! your'e welcome! :D

it is very rewarding to see months of CAD and Freeship come together in something tangible, i tested the "fairness" with the temporary "planks" that you see and boy oh boy - she's fair - beautifull and smooth.
I must confess that i certainly had my moments when i thought - phew too sharp curves, but no problem all fair and NOTHING tortured.
Now the next step is too see how well the lofting goes with the data of the Freeship plate development program, must say it looks good so far.

anyway i sat in my "boat" with a glass of wine afterwards "visualizing" ;)

and just to show you fella's some culture i listened to the songs in my heart :D

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ToL7p6HL3Q&feature=PlayList&p=05775143E1D79736&playnext=1&playnext_from=PL&index=6

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lXUaRwCygg0&feature=PlayList&p=CD9F88906F1DD408&index=0&playnext=1

[Fanie]

Well cool Manie, I see you finally added two planks inside your fish bones :D

Are you going to add some more or keep it like that :rolleyes:

[Manie B]

Fanie i am planking directly onto the fishbones, quick and easy.

So far the lofting is good (pencil lines very faint), all nice and fair, i am hoping to lay the "keel" this weekend and then of course we will see if the Freeship files and CAD really do understand each other, obviously within the parameters of this "old fart" programmer's lack of capabilities :P

at least i have Mas's running instruction manual helping me along, nothing to beat "hands on" :D

[masalai]

Excellent Manie,
Do not let the jealous detractors put you off your course to a better destiny... Go to it Sir...

"Thank you for your feedback on this post. It has been noted in this user's reputation." dues posted - see - here is the receipt for the "cheque"

Manie, If you cannot see where you are going, your glasses are on the sheet where you were lofting the lines:D:D:D:D:D

[Fanie]

Fanie i am planking directly onto the fishbones, quick and easy.
Looks to me like the fishbone is going to make a lot of resistance in the water :D

Finish the bloody thing... I wanna see if it is going to float ;)

I was going to give you points for the clean workplace but Jeff says NO !
I bet it sucks working when it's that clean. It must feel like you're not progressing any...

[Manie B]

hey you guys mustnt give this old fart a hard time :D

[masalai]

Well, You will need something hard to cope with your "crew":D:D:D

[Fanie]

Somehow I don't think that's what he had planned for that 'crew' he was going to get :D

[Manie B]

And a very good evening to you gentlemen

I am smiling because the first batch of lofting is done and cut and ok

I am very happy to announce that importing Freeship lines into CAD is ok, tricky but ok, not sooooo easy but ok.

My main concern was would the Freeship hull lines, after manipulation and general fu3king around in CAD, match the plate developments boundary co-ordinates as given in Freeship as a word document CORRESPOND ?????

I used the Freeship hull lines to build my "cradle" jig

well it works BRILLIANTLY - accuracy is within 1mm and all i now have to do is trim down, because it is very complex to allow for plate thickness in the hull development on such a small project. It would basically mean too much time spent on CAD which is not worth it.

I have measured and remeasured and its all good - i basically just laid the panels into the frame loosely for a pictures sake, but its all going to go together just fine

off to have a glass of wine ya booogers
see ya
he he
:D

[Manie B]

jeez sorry in such a hurry to get to the wine forgot to post the bloomin pic

[Fanie]

Nice going Manie, it's slow to have to do everything alone, but you're getting there. Every thing you do is one step closer...

[JeroenW]

Even a small step forward is progress!

[masalai]

Well Manie, you just got more timber, show us and what you did with it:D:D:D:D

[Manie B]

velly velly appy today

looks ok

5 hours last night - not bad for an old fart :D

[masalai]

OK, that is a start, what else did you do?

Bloody neat Manie, now you have started, Don't stop there:D:D:D:D

[Manie B]

Well my guilt finally got to me this weekend and i said to myself that you must get a frikken move on you old fart, stop procrasternating and build a boat :idea:

anyway with all the recent inspiration on several threads
and Mas's dream team thundering along with internationally accepted top superb standards

i got GOING ;) 4 hrs fri, 10 hrs sat, 8 hrs sun, not too shabby hmmmmm

all hull panels lofted and cut, a to z, bow to stern, port to starboard, transom

keel joint = epoxy 1x 50mm and 1x 100mm tape over putty
peel ply worked well
sanded down for smooth finish

9mm marine ply hull will be totally glassed inside 450 gm outside 750 gm

as tired as i am frikken mondays come too soon :mad:

[Manie B]

Oh and one of the guys i met during the week commented that my hull lines looks like a Transat Mini
IT IS - i basically scaled it down - so from the 'waist' down it is a scale version of a Mini
Mini's are 6,5 x 3,0 my "mini mini" is 5 x 2.3 - same ratio

he he - with Wynands help and enough PU foam we will get it to float, dont worry folks it may be a sh1t sailer but gee its a kewl coolerbox for beer
keep ya posted :P

[Fanie]

Ah ha Manie ! 4 hrs fri, 10 hrs sat, 8 hrs sun is too much sleep ! :D

[masalai]

Well done Manie...

[Manie B]

Working on a Monday evening after a really hard weekend is "challenging" every muscle hurts, knees, back and what not
wouldn't it be nice to be 29 again (he he half my age)

here are all panels now assembled - goop tape and all :D

total so far 133 hours

[Fanie]

Good going there Manie. Don't stop, you can rest when you're on the water :D

[masalai]

Nicely Manie - look for bigger gravity clamps, and coloured "polyester taffeta" looks nicer as peel-ply - If you buy the 50m rolls at about 1.2m wide, use a hacksaw to cut of a rolled section by tape-ing either side of the, "cut line", with gaffer or some other handy tape that you can easily remove just cut off the width of the roll you need... - DO not buy from a retailer but find the "traveller/wholesale source" and have a couple of beers, suggesting that "home building boats rely on amateur networks" and this could lead to a good wholesale business outlet for him as a side line.... Gotta figure out discounts where one can...

[marshmat]

wouldn't it be nice to be 29 again (he he half my age)

He he..... being one of the "young 'uns" has its advantages now and then..... until a major and time-consuming screwup that a bit more experience and wisdom could have prevented.... after which the back and knees are just as sore anyway....
here are all panels now assembled - goop tape and all :D

total so far 133 hours
I kept track of all my hours when building Sunset Chaser, but eight years later I'm still afraid to add them up. Good on you for keeping track!

[Fanie]

wouldn't it be nice to be 29 again (he he half my age)
No way Manie. Immagine how dumb you are going to be :D

[Manie B]

Jeez finally

something that resembles a boat and not just a pile of "planks"

so i had a couple of glasses of wine toooooo many last night and this morning i am feeling rather grim?

next step epoxy and then some more epoxy on joints
then sheath inside complete with glass
then build in furniture ;)

if you want to see how the experts do it on a beeeeeeeeg scale go here



http://www.boatdesign.net/forums/boat-building/my-little-piece-peace-25962.html



well off to work now, see the last bit of construction that is going on :mad:


cheeerio folks :D

[Manie B]

oops no pic
must be the coffee ;)

[masalai]

OK Manie, fillet joins, then tape with epoxy all the seams inside, then glass/epoxy all the inside, fit the furniture/bulkheads, fillet and tape again then roll over and do the outside - say it quickly and it feels good, but it sometimes takes a bit longer than that:D:D:D Good work, keep going... do not take any holidays but have regular "weekends off" somehow as regular breaks are necessary...

I now have the home build to keep an eye on... Is high enough to catch the breezes and fantastic views.... good luck Manie, Give Fanie a bit of a kick to get him started on his build - and if he is building, some pictures in a new thread... What about Wynand? - - Oh well life continues and people move on...

[Fanie]

Very nice Manie. I can't wait to see her on the water !

Here Mas... http://www.boatdesign.net/forums/multihulls/boxy-fisher-catamaran-26429.html

[phum]

Manie,
Looking good, the older I get the smaller the boat that interests me.
How did you splice the ply?
Peter.

[colfar5033]

looking good manie has come on since i was last there

[Manie B]

Peter

Looking good, the older I get the smaller the boat that interests me.
How did you splice the ply?


I can assure you that i realised that its a small boat or nothing, first reason costs, second reason is singlehanded. My last time at sea was on a 36 Beneteau in very bad weather with FIVE crew on board vomitting their lungs out. We were on a third reef in the main and it was up to me and our very capable young instructor to get back to Durban harbour. That was when i learned i would rather be out at sea alone on a small "egg" much better with only myself to look after. I will be spending my money on the nice to have stuff - radar - AIS - good instruments, composite mast. When you build a small boat you can actually dream about buying the cool toys for the boat.

I stepped the joints with a router
half the thickness of the ply deep - and double thickness wide
this is glued together with epoxy mixed with cotton flock and cabosil
i then tape one side with epoxy and two layers of glass tape (50 and 100 wide)
the oppsite side will get a light sanding with the belt sander and then a 100 tape epoxied on
keep in mind that the entire boat will get a heavy layer of glass over these joints inside (450gm) and outside (750gm)

i dont have space in my build area, i already have to open the door to get into the back of the boat, so i just found the stepped joints to be easier than scarfed joints. What i had difficulty with scarfed joints is that because it is at an angle the one board "rides" up on the other board, so it is more difficult to assemble accurately. With a stepped joint you have positive location.

[masalai]

GO Manie:!: "You must spread some Reputation around before giving it to Manie B again" - - One day soon:?:....

[colfar5033]

manie

thanks for photos of join was going to ask you to send as i could not remember how it looked when you showed me

[Manie B]

Hi Colin
i have been at it flat out since your last visit :D
i dug up some of the old pics of the "Jarcat" hulls that show the "s" joint and on the other (which is not clear) the scarfed joint where i used dowel pins drilled thru both boards to locate the boards together when gluing.
The scarfed joints were a hassle, problem is that i first had to "loft" and cut the panels out and then join together.
If you have BEEEEEEG SPACE you can scarf join the full sheets (8x4=2.44x1.22) together and then do the lofting and cut out the panels same as Mas's cat kinda but i haven't tried so cant really say

my method is very fast - very simple - very easy and no way does it break on the join

[Fanie]

with FIVE crew on board vomitting their lungs out. ... That was when i learned i would rather be out at sea alone on a small "egg" much better with only myself to look after.
Come on Manie, a little processed food scares you ? :D

Begin en sit nou die ding aanmekaar toe jong !

[masalai]

"i have been at it flat out since your last visit" - Nice to be able to laze around, on your back or side? - (I snore when resting on my back:o:))

On a rough passage a VC (Vertical Chunder) is not desirable as the disposal of semi-processed food tends to fall back on one and is effectively spread all over the sleeping space and everywhere else:!::!::o

[Manie B]

Colin here are more pics of my chine joints
what i want to show you is that it is easy to work neat and tidy
this is what i was trying to tell you the other day
it is far easier to "sculpt" soft epoxy than to have to sand it afterwards
the first pic shows the seam after the peel ply was pulled off
and the second shows the other seams after a very light sanding
you will also see that my lofting and cutting for most parts are very accurate

doing seams like this takes time - but its easy light work
in the evenings i sand down and clean up one seam and lay another approx 6 meters per evening = 2 to 3 hours
spending that amount of time every evening on your hands and knees is not everybodies idea of fun - but for me its a labour of love :D

[masalai]

Nice work Manie...

[Manie B]

Oh well its been a good weekend, pity its stoooopid Monday tamara sheeeet

i started on the transom yesterday and got it in today
my daughter saw me working on another "plank" yesterday and joked about it

anyway, visible in the top corners are the yellow Kevlar layers that will be part of the "strong" points for the backstays

starting to look more like a sailboat now :D

[Manie B]

Oh and just a tip for the fella's out there

i use wax paper that is used in the kitchen for baking purposes over the peelply, it means that your roller never get "tacky" and stays clean and it is MUCH easier to roll out the peelply. I get excellent results and i dont have that roller lifting the peelply sometimes when the eopxy gets tacky

[Fanie]

I'm impressed Manie !

my daughter saw me working on another "plank" yesterday and joked about it
Revenge is sweet my friend ;) I have friends and family that has no friggin clue what it is that I'm doing. It's when they start with 'why don't you do it like this' that I want to run away :D

Can't give you any points yet... Jeeeefffff !.... but I have to admit it is beginning to look like a boat :D Sure it's not a bakkie canoppy just upside down ? :P

[Manie B]

He he no its not a canopy
but the best still was my son's girlfriend yesterday wanted to know when i am building the other half - say WHAT ? i still cant figure it out :D
outside view - just to "intrigue" the neighbours

[Fanie]

the best still was my son's girlfriend yesterday wanted to know when i am building the other half

She has a point here you know. Clever girl !!! Better look after that one, her thinking is right :D

[Wynand N]

quite a tight fit in the garage. A few millimeter longer and the door would not close;) Im curious though how yo gonna get the mast up with that little headroom:confused: :?: :confused:

Nice work and project Manie.:cool:

[Fanie]

He he... Nice avatar there Wynand :D
Manie could have fitted the boat dioginally into the garage and made it a meter longer.
He will remember this when he's out there ;)

[masalai]

Well done Sir...

[colfar5033]

manie

when you are doing the chine jointsare you using straight sp106 or did you put micro ballons or what and boat is coming on very lekker

[Wynand N]

He he... Nice avatar there Wynand :D


Not me though; representing my country and what better to have an avatar showing the world what the country nowadays stands for and the 45+ million roaming the streets, plundering our homes etc etc....:D :D

Used a picture of one of the more civilized ones that at least combs his hair and knows the meaning of hair gel.

[Manie B]

The chine joints are a mixture of epoxy - cotton flock for strength - and cabosil as thickener - then a layer of 50 mm glass tape - then a layer of 100 glass tape - peelply - waxpaper

Just a note on the size of the boat versus workspace,
when I started with the design i had to very carefully consider my available workspace and i designed to the absolute maximum, i literally have to open the garage door to work on the transom, and at the bow there is just enough space to walk past. It is absolutely important to have an equal space to that of the boat, that is completely open and clean and flat where you can do panel assembly and general cutting etc. So a note of warning to future boat builders NEVER and i mean NEVER build diagonally across a room to get a bigger boat, when you draw it out carefully diagonally across, what you gain is little, but the loss of workspace is catastrofic.

Boat builders in general dont allow adequate workspace, and that slows the build down a whole lot more than what you think.

:D :D just a link of famous small boats :D :D

http://www.microcruising.com/famoussmallboats.htm

so do you want to get out there and sail and cruise ?
or are you going to spend the rest of your life dreaming about the condomaran gas guzzler that you cant afford :P

[colfar5033]

manie

looks like you service your car a lot with all those 5 litre emptys:D :D :D

[TeddyDiver]

Here's a nice "trawler" styled micro for sale.. and it's got a CPP propeller!http://bat.autodb.no/autodb/frame_search.wa2?AdItemId=968769;_cmd=similar

[masalai]

Teddy,? error 503? on the site

[TeddyDiver]

Same here... might be server down or smth.. anyway it worked earlier today. I'll check up later another time..
Still no answer.. better to wait monday when the geeks get back to work..

[TeddyDiver]

Now it works..