Lock Crowther 1962 Kraken 25 trimaran build and rebuild log

[Corley]

I have a deadline now, the good lady wife and I are expecting our next little one in May next year a little brother or sister for our 2 year old daughter Emma. With a new baby I dont think I'll have much time for boatbuilding for a while so things have to move faster now.

[Doug Lord]

Originally Posted by Corley

I have a deadline now, the good lady and I are expecting our next little one in May next year a little brother or sister for our 2 year old daughter Emma. With a new baby I dont think I'll have much time for boatbuilding for a while so things have to move faster now.

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Congratulations, Corley!

[redreuben]

Congratulations Mr, heh yes life is about to get real busy ! Still nothing like a deadline to get things done ! And this is one you can't move back !
All the best,
RR

[cavalier mk2]

Congratulations Corely! The do it yourself approach to crew generation is to be expected of a boat builder. Time to size up the elbow room and payloads for the next multi !

[oldsailor7]

Congrats Corley. I'll tell you from personal experience----they grow up too fast.
What are your plans for building that world cruiser?

[Corley]

Thanks, I'm looking forward to joining the daddy club again and having a little bub around they do grow up quickly it seems only yesterday that I was strapping our daughter into her car seat and driving home VERY carefully from the hospital.

I'd love to build that world cruiser/racer that Tim Clissold did the concept for but think its going to be race boats for a good while. I will not be able to spend long away from home for some time so morning racing on Westernport Bay with the MYCV and Hastings Yacht Club sounds good.

[oldsailor7]

Corley, I didn't know you belonged to the MYCV.
I used to race with Alex McNaughton on board "Cascade".

[Corley]

Alex has been busy refitting Cascades for a trip to the Kimberly's at the Warneet Yacht Club.

[Corley]

I've finished the final triple diagonal lamination on one side of the main hull. I'm getting faster as I go, now with experience I can look at a veneer and decide by eye whether it needs spiling and how much is required it really speeds things up. I've started on the second diagonal lamination of the float on one side, the floats are so quick and easy by comparison to the main hull I'm making very quick progress.

[oldsailor7]

Corley.
If you happen to see Alex before he leaves, would you please give him my regards and tell him I wish him well, and I wish was going with him.
Cheers. Patrick McGrath.

[Corley]

Thats fine Patrick, I'll pass on your regards. We are hoping to tee him up to talk about the mods he has carried out on the cat at a club meeting. So hopefully we will see him before he's off. We are also planning a club cruise in the next few months to King Island so if he is done by then hopefully he will come down with us on Cascades.

[Corley]

I've had a few questions via pm re the mold construction. I've posted pictures in other threads but thought I'd condense them into this thread for a reference.

I epoxied blocks to the strongback at right angles to the centreline of the datum line and the station molds screwed to the face of the block. The stem and keelson laminations were made of Tassie Oak. The transom lamination is KD hardwood with a 4mm marine ply facing. I found the station molds were too flexible so I reinforced them with a vertical ply cutout to prevent them moving for and aft when the batten strips were applied.

The battens on the cutouts are 18mm mdf sheet cut down into strips (I had a cabinet maker rip the strips for me it was not expensive to have done) and butt jointed with a length of mdf on the back at each join to keep them fair. If I was to remake the mold I'd use dimensional lumber for the gunwhale batten, mine are mdf and a bit wavy from the pressure of the lamination and will need a bit more fairing than they should.

I attached the battens to the cutouts with metal brackets initially using single brackets but then started using the strips of brackets that are one long length I notched these between each bracket hole and they fitted nicely to the station molds and saved a lot of work. I battened from the keelson outwards, faired the strips off around the stem lamination and hotglued them to the stem lamination. My mold has more closely spaced battens than is strictly necessary I'm glad I put the extras on though because the final mold was fair and I found that there were battens that I could staple into over most of the surface.

My intention is to lift the main hull with the station molds and battens still attached centreline references are marked on the molds which will make positioning internal hardware easier when I get to that point. I placed plastic sheeting between the mold and the external laminations to prevent epoxy bleed through bonding the hull lamination to the battens and keelson/stem/transom. Still vacillating on whether I'll keep the transom that I made I like the look of it and it should take rudder hardware well so I'll make my mind up when I get to that point.

I faired the stem with a block plane the original plans suggest you cut a rabbet into the stem and fair the battens to it which is another option I've no intention of making the stem lamination permanent so I didnt use that method but its certainly a valid way to go.

[Corley]

More progress my May deadline is getting closer and I'm determined to get the hulls finished before then. I've completed one side of one of the floats with a double diagonal lamination and am moving onto the second side now. I'm putting the final triple diagonal lamination on the main hull about 1/2 a hull to go. I'm looking forward to posting updates that dont relate to hull construction and talk about bulkhead and crossbeam work not too far away now. Also a photo of my favorite cold molding tools.

[Corley]

Main hull triple diagonal cold molding is done, finished today feel like having a party after that effort. I've decided I'll keep the transom the next step will be double bias on the exterior of the keelson area then I'll lift the hull off the strongback with mold sections still fitted turnover and place in a cradle on the strongback in preperation for the rest of the work.

[oldsailor7]

Congratulations Corley.
Looks like youv'e broken the back of the main job. (No pun intended).
It's all down hill from here in.