FB11 New Build

To help other builders, please list the boat you are building in the Thread Subject -- and to conserve space, please limit your posting to one thread per boat.

Please feel free to use the gallery to display multiple images of your progress.
mhd
Active Poster
Active Poster
Posts: 354
Joined: Tue Feb 15, 2022 10:41 am
Location: New Mexico

Re: FB11 New Build

Post by mhd »

Right...a decent few days over the weekend. Bottom and sides were taped and then covered in 4oz cloth. Today I taped the inside joins (6 inch - 6 oz biaxial tape). Getting a lot better, and less mess, with practice.

Image

I've also been varnishing the daggerboard and rudder and making a tiller and extension. Always something to keep busy with.

Next jobs will be cloth inside, adding the gunwales, then the extra bulkhead and rear seat supports.

Mick
FB11 (Designer Evan Gatehouse)
VG23 (Designer Jacques Mertens)

A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, con a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects. Robert A. Heinlein.

mhd
Active Poster
Active Poster
Posts: 354
Joined: Tue Feb 15, 2022 10:41 am
Location: New Mexico

Re: FB11 New Build

Post by mhd »

Rough cut on the deck and bulkhead...

Image
FB11 (Designer Evan Gatehouse)
VG23 (Designer Jacques Mertens)

A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, con a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects. Robert A. Heinlein.

mhd
Active Poster
Active Poster
Posts: 354
Joined: Tue Feb 15, 2022 10:41 am
Location: New Mexico

Re: FB11 New Build

Post by mhd »

Well, the last couple of weeks I didn't have quite as much time to work on the boat as planned but there has been progress.

The boat is now glassed inside and out, the forward compartments are made and the fore-deck has been cut and fitted. Gunwales are almost complete and today I added two transom gussets. With a bit of luck I'll hang the rudder next, and then proceed to cut the boat in half!

There are three compartments under the foredeck. Left and right, are (hopefully) watertight, for storage. The central triangular compartment contains the mast-step and is not watertight. It contains a drain-hole (15mm copper pipe epoxied in place) and also there are holes drilled to fit a u-bolt just under the central inspection hatch. Also, the top central hole is to fit a bulkhead compass.

Image

Image

Image

The mast-step is white oak, partially cut with a hole saw, chiselled out, a drain hole drilled, and then epoxied.

Image

The foredeck and compartments replaced the bow seat in the original plans. There is definitely more weight at the bow now though and it will be interesting to see how significantly this affect the boat's trim when she is in the water.

I've also got the daggerboard case made, glassed and ready to be fitted. This is the second case to be made...I *stupidly* measured the first one based on the daggerboard *before* I epoxied and varnished it. That increased the thickness just enough that the daggerboard was too thick to slide through comfortably. So I made a second case rather than sand down the daggerboard and epoxy it all again. Live and learn.

Image

Next job is cutting the boat in half, and cleaning up and finishing off the central bulkheads.
FB11 (Designer Evan Gatehouse)
VG23 (Designer Jacques Mertens)

A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, con a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects. Robert A. Heinlein.

mhd
Active Poster
Active Poster
Posts: 354
Joined: Tue Feb 15, 2022 10:41 am
Location: New Mexico

Re: FB11 New Build

Post by mhd »

Rudder and tiller (with extension) fitted, and today I epoxied on and taped the skeg. I drilled (and rounded) a hole in the skeg in order to give me something to use to tie down the boat when it is nested and on the roof-rack.

Image

Image

Rudder and tiller function as intended, thankfully.

Getting there slowly. Next job will be a few final touches of epoxy where the cloth weave isn't fully filled on the bottom and then some serious sanding and fairing. I'm going to cut the hole for the daggerboard before I start on the fairing but I won't install it until after the boat is reasonably fair as it is likely to get in the way.

I also emailed the New Mexico MVD and asked for a HIN in order to register/title the boat. Minimum length is 10' and sadly we're at 10'6". I'm hopefully it isn't too arduous a process but we will see!

Mick
FB11 (Designer Evan Gatehouse)
VG23 (Designer Jacques Mertens)

A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, con a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects. Robert A. Heinlein.

mhd
Active Poster
Active Poster
Posts: 354
Joined: Tue Feb 15, 2022 10:41 am
Location: New Mexico

Re: FB11 New Build

Post by mhd »

The big cut! All went well. I cut from each side and put in the bulkhead bolts as I sawed past their locations, to keep the two parts together. Went well. After that I cleaned up the ends of the central bulkhead and will round them over before glassing.

Image

Image

Next job will be fitting the daggerboard case. And now the boat is in two parts and I can check the nesting, I'm going to figure out exactly how large I want to make two small aft compartments. The plans call for floatation foam, but I'm going to make two triangular compartments and use them to also support the rear seat. I also thought about a couple of circular holes in the central bulkheads. These could be used to slide the oars through when not rowing to keep them secure and out of the way as much as possible. Still not figured out exactly if/how that will work though.

Mick
FB11 (Designer Evan Gatehouse)
VG23 (Designer Jacques Mertens)

A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, con a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects. Robert A. Heinlein.

mhd
Active Poster
Active Poster
Posts: 354
Joined: Tue Feb 15, 2022 10:41 am
Location: New Mexico

Re: FB11 New Build

Post by mhd »

The boat is now joined back together for the first time with the six bolts joining it together. Plans required four, but I added two extra due to the extra freeboard and other changes I made on the original design. The extra weight at the front puts a lot of stress on the two widest bolts, so I'm thinking of adding steel bracing plates on the gunwales where the joins are and use wing nuts to secure these in place - maybe I'm worrying too muich, but better safe than sorry.

Some other builders reported water coming up between the two halves when the dinghy was being towed so I also plan to put a thin neoprene gasket between the two halves to hopefully prevent that happening and it should for a nice seal. After that is in place I'll add a couple of hardwood dowels at the top of the middle bulkheads also to help with alignment of the two halves if she is ever joined on the water.

Just finished fitting the daggerboard case. I decided to cut it flush with the bottom of the boat after it was in, so I had to put a lot of weight near the sternb to get the hole for the daggerboard up high enough to get the case through at the right height. I'll cut and round off and glass the bottom in a day or two. I've also almost finished fitting the aft compartments now - it took a lot of measuring to get them level and matched up to the right height. They now just need the tops cutting to the exact size and the edges rounding off and then glassing over. I already made a removable seat as per the plans, but it may not actually be needed - will test that out when she's in the water. It is getting closer now.

Mick

Image
FB11 (Designer Evan Gatehouse)
VG23 (Designer Jacques Mertens)

A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, con a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects. Robert A. Heinlein.

mhd
Active Poster
Active Poster
Posts: 354
Joined: Tue Feb 15, 2022 10:41 am
Location: New Mexico

Re: FB11 New Build

Post by mhd »

Rear compartments are now ready for the tops to be fitted and then finishing.

Daggerboard case was cut off flush with the hull and then glassed and smoothed over with putty.

All in all the boat is pretty much done and ready for fairing/painting. I'm very happy with it and can't wait for the maiden voyage.

Mick

Image

Image
FB11 (Designer Evan Gatehouse)
VG23 (Designer Jacques Mertens)

A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, con a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects. Robert A. Heinlein.

Fuzz
* Bateau Builder - Expert *
* Bateau Builder - Expert *
Posts: 8920
Joined: Tue Aug 02, 2011 4:23 am
Location: Kasilof, Alaska

Re: FB11 New Build

Post by Fuzz »

Let the fairing fun begin :lol:
Been meaning to ask how was the pucker factor when you were cutting your new boat in half?

mhd
Active Poster
Active Poster
Posts: 354
Joined: Tue Feb 15, 2022 10:41 am
Location: New Mexico

Re: FB11 New Build

Post by mhd »

Fuzz wrote: Thu Apr 14, 2022 2:18 am Let the fairing fun begin :lol:
Been meaning to ask how was the pucker factor when you were cutting your new boat in half?


Hi Fuzz,

Well, yes, I was very very nervous (!). "Squeeky bum time" as someone once wisely quoted. It is not every day you spend a few weeks building something and then attack it with a saw. But it went well. Slow and steady. In one place the saw blade scratched off the top layer of ply on the aft section, but that will be glassed over so otherwise all good. I'm making up the oarlock-holders today. These were originally meant to be permanently attached inside the gunwale, but on second thoughts, it would be a tight fit and they would always be in danger with the nesting so I'm going to attach them externally, and make them removable and bolt-on with wing-nuts.

The last couple of days I've been trying to figure out where to put cleats and other deck hardware for sheets, etc., and how the boat will be sailed and managed when on the water. I think I've got a plan, but a plan is no use until it has been tested of course! I'll get back to work...

Cheers,

Mick
FB11 (Designer Evan Gatehouse)
VG23 (Designer Jacques Mertens)

A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, con a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects. Robert A. Heinlein.

mhd
Active Poster
Active Poster
Posts: 354
Joined: Tue Feb 15, 2022 10:41 am
Location: New Mexico

Re: FB11 New Build

Post by mhd »

Busy few days. Lots to write about. We carried the bow section outside and tested the mast fit...just right...maybe 1/4" gap around. Enough room to leather the mast where it meets the deck to prevent chafing.

The mast itself (and boom and sprit and various other spars for ill-defined purposes) were actually made when I made the oars a few months ago. The first spar was done by hand - spar gauge and hand plane and hand rounded and sanded - trusty Stanley block plane. Every one after that was done by power plane and belt/random-orbital sander :D The mast is made from two reasonably straight 12' long 4x2s epoxied together, and rounded and tapered, and cut back to 10' - some glassed, and some not. All spars (bowsprit, sprit-boom, sprit) are from 2x2s or 4x2s of similar size. Mast has 2" brass mast band hammered on.

Image
Image

Stepping the mast was good, but what do you reckon? I'm worried that with such a short waterline length that her hull speed is going to be pretty low....hmmm.... :doh:

Image

The mast is ~2.5 metres above deck (bang on 8'). And we measured up roughly for sails etc. The plan now is definitely to test out a bowsprit and jib. I made that decision after seeing this webpage - so thanks to Ross - no bowsprit, but a workable jib and it woke me up to the benefits of a jib with a sprit-sail, especially for sailing to windward.

http://rosslillistonewoodenboat.blogspo ... lying.html

Who knows if it will work on the FB11 - it will certainly move the centre-of-effort for the sails forward, but I think it is worth trying out at least. And if it isn't very efficient, then easy to just stick with the sprit-sail on its own.

The FB11 now, with the aft compartments and gunwales fitted feels *very* stiff and strong. We weighed the bow section as I was starting to get nervous about the weight overall as the entire boat was feeling heavy, but was happy to see the bow section (the heaviest) come in at around 40 kg / 90 lbs. We'll weigh the complete boat (and find the COG) when she is finished. I'm guessing somewhere around 75 kg / 140 lbs. I'll be happy with that. This build is meant to be a tender for an eventual VG23 - but also to allow us to do some reasonably serious sailing and do some overnight camping trips in the meantime - I think it still fits that requirement.

Image

Today I painted primer inside the aft compartments and epoxied the seat-tops on, and also added strengthening mahogany to the daggerboard case.

Jobs for the weekend include rounding the central bulkheads and glassing over them, and also biting the bullet and fitting some hardware. I made some decisions about rigging and control lines and ordered some cleats/blocks, etc. I do want to keep the rig minimalist and easy to set up (and repair when needed) but also want it to be manageable.

The other major job now looming is to figure out how to use our major Christmas present - a sewing machine. So time to start learning about sewing some sails I suppose.

The original plan was to nest the boat on top of the Jeep (Wrangler 4 door) on a home made roof rack. But after weighing and measuring I think it will fit perfectly on a cargo rack on the 2" hitch receiver. Out of the wind, not too heavy, and we can drive it anywhere like that and not worry too much.

Anyway, enough for now. Comments/suggestions always very welcome.

Mick
FB11 (Designer Evan Gatehouse)
VG23 (Designer Jacques Mertens)

A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, con a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects. Robert A. Heinlein.

Post Reply

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 19 guests