Manie's Shiny Dinghy

[Manie B]

The Boat

Well, finally it is at the point where it is almost finished.

A little bit more sanding but it is more or less ready for an outer coat of white paint and inside a couple of layers of varnish.

The central bench type of seat should work well because you can easily move to and fro to get your weight centralised. It also acts as a fully enclosed flotation chamber. In the bow is a neat little watertight locker for keys, the wallet and cell phone ( sixpack of beers )

Why

I am sure that you all are thinking why did i go and build this strange little Portuguese Dory ( Duckworks )

Basically i was not too happy with experimenting on flat surfaces - it simply is misleading. To get the real feel for epoxy you MUST have curved surfaces - that which only a boat can give. When you are working on a boat and bending wood many things go wrong and i simply did it over and over until i got it right. I have built a couple of things in the past but i wanted to do this "shiny" varnished boat nonsense I am really glad that i walked the mile - it has been yet another learning curve. You guys will now remember all the questions i had in the past about cleaning and sanding epoxy - well this is the confirmation.

Firstly wash blush off with water and a little dishwashing liquid soap, then rinse with clean water , dry well and finally wipe off with a 50/50 mixture of white vinegar and water. I was sanding with 40 and 60 grit and finally with 80 grit and it works perfectly well. Epoxy was applied with a roller and varnish roller and tipped with a soft brush.

The outside of the hull is a single layer of biax 400 gm glass shown in the pic 3rd from the left

The boat is made of two sheets BS 1088 marine ply - 1x 6mm for the sides and 1x 9mm for the bottom and transom

It is a strong boat and i am guessing the weight at around 30kgs - i will weigh it properly later when all the fittings and handles and oarlocks are on

Now it is full time onto my "jarcat"

AND i cant row to my "jarcat" (which will be on a swing mooring) in a plastic or rubber boat - just wont work for me

well i am confident that another chapter in my "Boat Building" resume is completed - and i am fitter and stronger for it hands - knees - THE BACK = ouch

[TeddyDiver]

Gongrats Manie Nice work..

[apex1]

Nice Manie !!!

[Manie B]

Oh and what i just wanted to add for the guys that asked on some of the other threads - when you build a small dinghy before you get stuck into your "master piece" floating hotel - it really gets you to sort out your "tools" and workshop.

What i found very frustrating was the time spent waiting for epoxy to dry before it could be washed and sanded before the next operation. Also frustrating is the cleaning of brushes etc. after every small operation.

A small build really gives you a genuine education in how much time things take - without breaking the bank.
This was 2 sheets of ply and approx. 4 litres of epoxy with 4 sq meters of 400 gm biax glass.

[Wynand N]

nice Manie

Can I have a spin in her

[Manie B]

He he

Can I have a spin in her

i think i will test it in Fanie's swimming pool first
only problem is Fanie frikken hates small boats

[Manie B]

Wynand i think i found good reliable crew

[CenkA]

Good job
congratulations.
Nice experimentation.

[alan white]

Very shapely. Interesting seating. Get one of those pads for a weight-lifting bench!

[Fanie]

Damn Manie, I'm sure you could have made something usefull with all that effort

Do you realize what the council is going to charge you to throw it away

You could fit a 140 to it and let Wynand have another go at Bloemhoff...

[Wynand N]

Im at Bloemhof on the weekend of the 29th for the fishing Bonanza Your are invited Manie

[Fanie]

He he Wynand, that should add at least 150 years of experience to Manie's

Take the bath plug Manie Damn, I hope someone is going to take pictures.

I wonder if Hi There will want to make a PIRATE movie out of this one, it would be perfect, wild Africa, waves, the high tech speed boat with the big gun steering it... the innocent fishermen... everything is there. You can just apprehend the other fishermen and take their fish if you don't get any... drop Manie off at high speed in his bath plug to attack fishermen from the one side while Wynand hold them at lure point from the other side, one of those with the big trebbles on... be the height of the movie.

And then just to add the romantic touch these soppy movies have Wynand can fall in love with Suzi Mtwe-Mtwe working in the gate office and the movie can end where they take off to the Vet River in Manie's dinghy with the looted fish... into the sunset to live happily ever after living on Barbel and Carp Wynand will catch and living in the reeds...

Snif.. sniff... I've got tears in my eyes already...




Eh, take life jackets and be carefull

[Manie B]

Jeez you guys can be full of it

[Manie B]

anyway i dont have to tolerate your nonsense any longer
i have found crew that is totally happy with my boats

the one has even got her own sailing outfits he he

[Manie B]

Sorry Wynand bloomin Fanie distracted me

at Bloemhof on the weekend of the 29th

with a weeee bit of luck the one septic old fart at the dam maaayyyy take his boat out for a sail (38' full keel barndoor rudder sloop) and i volunteered for some boredom

after my yo-yo ride on a 3rd reef off Durban everything else pales in comparison

sh1t maybe in 4 years time volvo - farkit a man can dream hey