Bones

I created a nice roller system for the sliding door by using two street skateboard wheels and a couple of aluminum rails.  I used delrin blocks to act as sliders while the weight of the door is supported by the wheels.  This system works great and given the abuse these wheels are designed to handle, it should be plenty durable.

more prep work on the salon door

Sometimes yacht building is not the most exciting venture.  On occasion, some jobs just seem like jobs.  In this instance, the task at hand is to complete the salon door and this involves yet more of the same.......That is,  applying filler, sanding, applying a little more filler and then sanding followed by applying a little more filler then sanding.

Here's the tool I made to hogg out edge foam

Here's the same area after filling with micro and epoxy

here's the door after application of 545 primer

Salon Door

I vacuum bagged the salon door and will now spend a few days sanding and painting with the remainder of the Awlcraft 2000.......I thought I was finished with all the painting.

for strength and weight reasons, I elected to forgo a full length window along this door but rather chose to create a strong sliding doorway with a vertical carbon fiber stiffener as the handle.  I used unidirectional glass on either side of the edges of the door to add additional strength in case I ever get a rogue wave over the stern.

Inverted flight

In regards to catamaran watertanks,  I thought it wise to incorporate a "flop" pickup tube inside the two water tanks so that in the unlikely event of an inversion incident, any remaining fresh water in the tanks could be accessed via exposed plumbing....... otherwise, that water may as well be on the moon.

Here is a photo of the under side of one of  the tops of the built in water tanks with a flexible pick up line and a weighted end.

the unlikely event: 

bamboo backing plates

I decided to use Bamboo cutting boards for backing plates for the deck cleats.  The theory is that their material properties are similar in character to the deck materials thereby creating a more uniform structure in witch to absorb the loads that will be seen by the cleats.    Adding to that; they are stronger than plywood, rot proof and lightweight so this makes me  believe that they are an appropriate material for this.

And here's a photo of a bamboo backing plate being bonded into the inner portion of the hull and deck.....

I used a thick mixture of epoxy and cabosil to bed the plate under the cleat mounting location then used strips of peel ply to keep the glue in place. Tomorrow when the epoxy is cured, I will drill the mounting holes and use stainless fasteners and washers to bring the cleats home.

Boys room bunks

I used my Sailwrite "brother" to sew the bunks for the boys room using Phifertex fabric. ( click to see sample here )  This stuff is a reinforced screen fabric that allows sand and water to flow right through so the bunks should stay fairly clean.

Here's a shot of the bunks looking out towards the stairs into the boys room.

I used carbon fiber windsurf mast sections as side supports for these births.  They are super strong and lightweight.

more window install shots

here are a few random photos of the final window install.....

starboard cabin window

applying the sika flex activator

forward cabin windows ready for placement

sample of fastener with o rings

front windows

Guide to bonding marine windows using Sikaflex

Some people argue against using the expensive stuff like Sikaflex and Awlgrip but whenever possible, I've always thought it wise to stick with industry standard products when building a blue water boat.  Since this boat is being built to provide safety and comfort for my family, I buy the best materials available.


here's the link:

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=5&ved=0CHsQFjAE&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.cruisersforum.com%2Fforums%2Fattachment.php%3Fattachmentid%3D29490%26d%3D1310301275&ei=-qJMUaifHavLigLxo4AQ&usg=AFQjCNF7f9UzDqg-NiTdSMBbYtqemJBMzA&sig2=5ou37BHrEdyurIkXpAqKDw



* NOTE

The one thing that seems sketchy about the install directions is the need for an external coating of protective paint around the window edges.  You would think that Sikaflex UV would not require this but I  have been advised by a renowned west coast yacht builder NOT to skip this step.  They did an install without doing this and the boat came back for a complete window rework at the yards expense.

Here's a handy illustration of the best practice install:

Prepping for the window install

All of the windows were CNC cut from hard coated Acrylic.  The forward windows are 3/8 inch thick for added strength.

Here are the steps that I will follow to install the windows:

1  drill holes in edges of windows
2   drill matching holes in boat
3  mark outer UV paint marks around edges with tape
4  remove windows
5  paint outer edges with black"fusion" plastic paint
6   clean openings with Sika cleaner
7  clean back side of window edges with cleaner
8  prime back side of window edges with Sika primer - 209D
9  apply bead of Sika Flex around opening
10  insert spacers and "o" rings around fasteners
11  fix windows in place
12  tighten fasteners  ( all 300 of them )
13 back fill any voids around edges
14  clean residue with mineral spirits
15  stand back and admire the fitted windows

MT-3 twin engine controls

My engine controls arrived today.  They are very shiny.

Fitting windows

After cutting the windows on a CNC router table, the next step was to fit them to the existing openings.    This required drilling evenly spaced holes along all edges.  I found that by bolting my drill press to the side of my work bench and adding a bearing as a guide, I could drill the holes a precise distance from the edge.

Also, a handy tool for determining spacing, is an accordion style guide tool.  This tool allows even spacing to be made between two end points. 

guide for determining even spacing

drilling edge holes

temporarily mounted windows

port side cabin window

constructional stretch

To remove the constructional stretch from the dyneema steering "cables",  I  used my tractor to apply a considerable amount of tension to 100 ft. of new 1/4 inch line.  This line is single braid 12 strand sk75 dyneema with a breaking strength stronger than steel so to compact the strands, this method worked surprisingly well....... In low gear, I think I could have pulled the telephone pole down.

attachment to my tractor

attachment to a telephone pole

pre tensioning

100 ft of tight rope

resulting brummel spliced steering "cables"

Frigomatic

 There is something intriguing about the idea of being able to make ice using the power of the sun

In place of the condenser coils this system uses a keel cooler that dumps the heat into the ocean. Just to keep from contributing to increased sea temperature, I will toss a few cubes of ice in the ocean to make up for the difference. After using a hole saw to open up the glass on the inside of the hull location, I used a screw driver to dig out the foam so that I could replace it with a thick mixture of cabosil, micro balloons and epoxy.   This will provide extra strength where the keel cooler will mount.

Frigomatic finds her home:

Functional testing of the Autopilot

Success!!!

After a few days of building a support structure for the motor drive / gearbox, installing the control unit, the pilot house control and the autopilot binnacle,  I was able to have it correct a simulated  course change.


Pilot house control with Binnacle

control unit, drive motor and gearbox w/electric clutch

the chain running to the left is the twin wheel interconnect

the chain running down and to the left controls the port side rudder

the smaller chain running down and to the right is the autopilot drive

crazy expensive switch

So is it really necessary to buy a $32 dollar switch?  In this case, although I suppose I should feel fortunate that it was reduced in price to about half that, if you add shipping it seems a bit spendy. My justification for this expenditure is that it will be used to control my autopilot and I foresee a moment in time when I may need to quickly disengage it so I need it to always work. Switches make me nervous and faulty ones make me really uncomfortable

Placement of the refrigeration unit

For my freezer / spill over fridge, I chose a Frigoboat system with a 12V Danfoss K 50 F compressor combined with a keel cooler.  This particular system is available with a "smart speed control" board that allows the compressor to run at an optimum speed thereby minimizing current draw.

Here is where the unit will live. This compartment is located in the lower portion of the enclosure that will also house the autopilot drive motor. Notice the nice big access door that should allow easy installation and maintenance.  Throughout the build, an attempt is being made to offer easy access to all critical systems so that repairs and adjustments can be made with relative ease.

 I used an oil based enamel to create a nice clean space to mount the equipment. ( Although oil based paints are getting harder and harder to find, the best place to find the stuff is in old hardware stores. ) Old hardware stores sometimes offer free coffee and there are lots of old farmers talking about fence posts and whatnot.

autopilot

contrary to some folks philosophy,  a $50 thousand dollar autopilot may not be the way for me to go.  I like the idea of being able to understand, maintain, and repair every system I install on this boat so in that spirit, I chose a classic Cetec Benmar course setter autopilot system.  This thing is just about as basic as they come.  It has a robust drive motor that engages the steering wheel sprockets via a trusty chain drive.

here are all the components:

from left to right:

1   motor drive / gear box
2   course setter
3   control unit
4   binnacle

trampoline lacing and life lines....

copper buss bars

While performing the thousands of little interior details, I spent a little time going over the electrical system schematic and  in the process of studying it, I made myself feel like I was doing something constructive by making a few copper buss bars.......

carbon fiber steps

In order to provide rock solid footing without adding excess weight, I constructed the steps leading down into the starboard side hull using carbon fiber tubes.

The tubes were inserted and bonded into individual holes which were cut into the adjoining bulkheads. LED lighting under each step should provide additional safety when negotiating the steps at night.