fairey hunt 18

[garrybull]

not been on here for a while due to work.

my previous project was going to be a 22ft cat which i was going to design and build but i recently have got my hands on the original mould for the fairey hunt 18.

its was in a bit of a state and is currently being stripped of old support frames etc and all new timber frames fitted and glassed in to strengthen the mould up.

at some point some one had painted some sort of white paint on the surface of the mould to protect it. i have tried to remove it with dillunet gel but it didn't touch it.

once all the strengthening has been finished off a friend is then going to get to work sanding down the white paint so that i can start to resurface the mould using duratec surfacing primer and then a duratec hi gloss top coat.

there will be a few mods along the way as i'll be mounting an outboard on a moulded gill bracket outback.

i only got the hull mould and nothing else but once mould is ready i'll then make a start on gunnel moulding which im going to raise up slightly to give more freeboard in the boat.

also the first boat built will be an open boat with centre console for myself and once built i'll design a cuddy which will be removable.

anyway once i get the mould strengthened up i'll get some pics posted up of what i've done so far.

its going to be a slow process due to work and other commitments but will be worth it.

[garrybull]

heres a few pics of the mould from how it was when i bought it to how it is now

[garrybull]

well i fianally got the mould all reinforced and then started on the in side getting it ready for duratec paints to be applied.





now the horrible job of sanding down the mould









once all sanded dow nit was washed out and cleaned ready for primer.







then it was flattened off with 180 grit paper ready for topcpat





then it was wet flattened off ready to be polished up

[garrybull]

i then had to wax and polish the mould with mould release wax 5 times and before the first coat of gel i put on a coat of pva release agent to make sure the boat comes out the mould.

i did the first coat of gel and mat in 2 halfs to make it a bit easier for me.



















at this point it is now covered in 1 layer of 1.5oz mat and resin used is a marine grade to prevent osmosis.

this now is covered in 2 layers of mat. second layer is 2oz mat.





next was a 2oz mat and 4oz woven roving to get the thickness and strength up.











once all done it was sanded down to get rid of spikey bits of glass and then covered in 1.5oz with grey resin for the last layer.

in total it is 11oz layup all over but the keel is 15oz and the very point of the bow is 19oz.

[garrybull]

and this is how it is at the moment with ribs , bulkheads ,stringers fitted etc









i have not finished at the very back yet as i have to take the back of the mould off so i can fit the pod for the outboard. once thats fitted i can build the transom up to thickness and the finish off the ribs , stringers etc.

the 2 big main holes are for wheelhouse and hatch.

the wheelhouse is going to be set down in to the deck by about 11" so the wheelhouse dosen't look to tall.

the hatch im going to make myself and it will have a gutter for drainage in to a sump at the rear of the boat and water can be pumped out.

there will be a pump under the deck as well to pump any water out that gets under the deck.

so thats how it is at the moment.

once the boat is out the mould i can then set about making the plug for the gunnel moulds.

i have got my wheelhouse already to be fitted but i have too make a mould of it before its fitted.

[garrybull]

took the transom mould off this afternoon ready for the pod to be glassed in place.

looks good so far.

[thudpucker]

I enjoyed the photographs. It's good to see someone making progress.

That Shiny Black part made me think you could make a Hang Nail look like a Diamond.
I also remember helping a guy wax a mould. Way in my past, as that's way too much work for an old guy.

[garrybull]

Originally Posted by thudpucker

I enjoyed the photographs. It's good to see someone making progress.

That Shiny Black part made me think you could make a Hang Nail look like a Diamond.
I also remember helping a guy wax a mould. Way in my past, as that's way too much work for an old guy.

its been a bit slower than i was hoping due to me working on another boat for a customer so this one's taken a back seat for a while.

im nearly finished on this other boat so once its done i can crack on with this one.

once i've got the boat out the mould and its been decked out i have then got to make a gunnel plug on the boat so i can mould it and lay up a glass gunnel and fit to the boat.

its starting to get exciting now as its nearly time to lift it out the mould and see what it looks like.

[thudpucker]

As I recall our 'ejaculation' didn't go as well as we thought it should.
He put some Air Pressure to the port.
I heard some cracking noises. I banged on the mold with a big Rubber mallet.
More Cracking noises.
Then the air pressure no longer helped. We had to use deadly force.
The Rubber Mallot some more, then some 'wedging' pieces in some places.
Finally we got the nasty looking boat out of that nice looking mold.
It was a lot more flexible than I expected.
He worked at making the Hull smoother. Our Wax marks and some other things came out with the hull.
I learned that I'd never ever be available for that kind of help again and If I ever build another boat, it's gonna be Wood!
Not one little bit of Fiberglass in it anywhere.

[garrybull]

i cut the hole out the transom today for the pod to be fitted.

got 4 layers of 2oz mat on and tomorrow i'll have glassed up with some woven roving to strengthen it up.

once thats done i'll fill the hole back up with the piece i cut out and a piece of 18mm ply so it all fits flush on the inside then i'll build the transom up to thickness with 2 layers of 15mm ply bonded in place.

[garrybull]

the deck is now all glassed in and the boat is out of the mould at last.

im well happy with how its turned out so far.

next job is to make a start on the gunnel plug ready for moulding.

[tunnels]

thats a neat set of photos and for some one asking about building a boat could be a lot of help !! like the internal framing !!! i do not like wood in that part of the construction !!
Well done !!!
what you doing for a deck ??

[Mr Efficiency]

Not hard to see where the "Hunt" part of the name comes from. What kind of coating(s) did you use to restore that mould, Garrybull ?

[tunnels]

I showed the pictures to the young designer at my work and he was amazed !!
We have a 48 foot boat that was in need of some TLC and the company was told it had to be sanded faired and resurfaced .
Fortunatly had a thick gelcoat surface so was able to spend long hours just sanding with long shaped blocks and got it pretty good . Some one had made the mould and use heavy stitched glass that printed badly more on one side that the other !

[garrybull]

Originally Posted by tunnels

thats a neat set of photos and for some one asking about building a boat could be a lot of help !! like the internal framing !!! i do not like wood in that part of the construction !!
Well done !!!
what you doing for a deck ??

thanks mate.

the only reason i used timber in this boat is because its being built on a lowish budget.

if i had more cash then i would of used nidaplast under the deck.

as for the gunnel/deck im going to make a gunnel plug in the next couple weeks and then mould it so i have got the gunnel mould.

i've got a few people interested in buying one off me if it all go's to plan which so far it is.