Organizing a Build Lots More Questions

I thought Orient meant East.

 

Sorry. I said that by Occident.

 

Nice pun.................

back to topic.

The designer should provide some basic "how to" as mentioned above. And it is cheaper to grab the phone and call him then buying some drugs to find sleep again!

Cheers (and sorry)
Richard

sometimes we need that

 

Oh my GOD, if nothing else, you guys are great for relieving the tension! ha ha ha

These jokes were fantastic!

I will formulate a proper reply to some of the responses shortly, but a quick reply to Charly:

"Do you not have the construction manual? You should have received a cd with a pdf manual, along with a video that shows the cylinder moulding process. I would not start without it."

No. I have never seen any of the items you are describing here. I literally have a blueprint and a very large, life size printout of the mold cutout. Nothing else. Kurt said he sent "specs", but I don't know what he's talking about. I don't know what "specs" are, if I already have the blueprint.

I will wait until I receive these items. So I guess most people start with the hulls, from what I'm gathering here. I talked to someone who has built a lot of Kurt's boats and he had suggested starting with the boards/rudders to get used to things before doing the hulls. I sure hope I get something soon from him. I think it's that he sent me partial plans that is really tripping me up. He never mentioned a construction manual and I had to ask about the cylinder mold DVD, which he didn't directly answer he had sent. His reply to the same kinds of questions I'm asking here is as follows:

CatBuilder,

I sent specs out.
I'm on the road again, but I have a note to find the standard rig. Most people really like the tall rig.

I've never been asked for a construction sequence. its all about how much room you have. I like to have several tracks going at once so you can use excess epoxy and not have to wait for cure time.

Kurt



Does this mean I'll be getting all kinds of goodies in the mail soon??

 

You can't solve all of life's problems with epoxy but it helps you stick together.

 

Hoyt,

lets get serious again. (though I like puns and eloquent comments too much to skimp on that, as you know).

Catbuilder,

you now have found a buddy in the same shoes, congrats! Stick together peers and let us know / share your experience, please.

There is a trend to go to e-mail once members made buddies, that is easy to understand. But please, share your thoughts, rants and opinions (and the catastrophes) with us.

We all are here to learn.

Hmm... some know already everything, so let me say we dumb asses are here to learn... the experts may watch us learning.

Regards
Richard

 

I will keep posting to this thread. I will add all of my setup victories and pitfalls here as well as probably a number of questions. I am, after all, new to building hulls.

Next steps (based on advice here):

1) Put together building and work space
2) Start with dagger boards to experiment with epoxy and bagging
3) Hopefully receive the proper materials from Kurt soon
4) Build the mold
5) Start building hulls (where Charly is right now)
6) Align hulls and continue building in a sequential fashion rather than trying to plan ahead so much

I will update as I go. It will take about 2 weeks to get the build site set up and the building constructed as well as the basic shop set up.

 

The first update to this thread should be that I didn't have the complete plans yet.

Aside from the line drawings for the boat itself and the mold, Kurt has sent me a DVD that shows the entire build process (minus any deckhouses) from start to finish and shows several different boats. The DVD is fantastic, as the rumors have said. He narrates it and explains what you see, as well as lets off some tips here and there.

In addition to the video there is a CD ROM with an extensive construction manual and several other supporting documents I haven't even read yet. There are specs and some intro material in paper form. I almost wish I got the two installments in revers order. I would have had less questions and much less panic.

 

I bet that is a relief.

 

....why not spend some time helping a similar boat build in your area, there is soooooo much to learn that trying to build a composit cat as the first build is not such a good idea.

There are many subtlties to boat building, and it certainly would help you to go build with someone else, even for a few weeks, just to get the feel of the game.....or else, as previously well advised, hire a builder that is happy to work with you.

 

Good advice.

 

Sounds good!

Keep us updated!

 

I don't have the budget or time for this. Watching the video, I can safely say I understand the process now and wouldn't need to build someone else's boat. I would be happy to have others come build mine though!

 

Hey Catbuilder,
You will definitely be needing some extra hands from time to time. Handling the laminated panels will be a chore that calls for at least two stong men. I moved my first one off the form by myself, and it was a dumb thing to try to do. I was alone and wanted it off though, so I could prep for the next one. I tell you, it nearly whipped me. You can see it standing next to the form with the second one being bagged.(in the Kurt Hughes thread) It was a lot like trying to stand up a wall when framing a house-- something best not attempted alone. I won't do THAT again. The main thing though is to try and not bugger up your bag in the process. The new laminated hull section will have some "icycles" on it, and they are sharp. I had to repair several tears in the bag as a result of trying to drag it off by myself. Two men could have lifted the thing up straight and propped it up. Much less damage that way.

The lamination of the panels also goes much much smoother with a couple of helpers. One to mix the resin and two to paint the panels and then place them on the form.

Let me know when you get ready, and if I have the time I would be happy to come down and give you a hand. Right now I am pretty busy though with work etc. (my build is a spare time project- mostly on weekends)

Good luck
Charly

 

Sounds good, Charly. We could trade off, too. I could help with some of you labor intensive moments too. We're not that far apart.