Building From Plans...

[Keith]

The Argie 10 design will definitely make a great practice build...

I have most of the plywood cut out. I'm going to use scarf joints instead of just butting the plywood together with FG on each side. I'll be waiting a week or so after the stitching for supplies to show up. I will also be doing a Wood Duck 10 and an Eastport Pram before I start the PocketShip. I hope your build is going OK! Be sure to post a note here if you have any pictures online of your project.

[Keith]

The Argie 10 design will definitely make a great practice build...; one will learn easily here the Stitch and Glue Method, although it may seem daunting at first. I bu

I've nearly finished stitching the Argie 10 together. I'm sure it was much more difficult than it needed to be with the 3/8" fir plywood that I had kicking around. I'll consider the first one a practice build and will probably do another with Okoume later. I'm sure I will be able to do a better job with plywood more suited for the project.

I did scarf joints instead of just butting them together and splicing with fibreglass cloth. With a small goof in the layout, I had to shorten it a bit. While my scarf joints survived the bending, the plywood just aft of the scarf joint tried to blow apart near the bow where the most bending is involved. It appears that I have successfully repaired this with epoxy and enough fibreglass cloth to cover that area. The whole bottom will later get FG cloth applied.

If I was doing it again, I would scarf two rectangular sheets together to make the aligment easier and then do the layout aftwards. I would also put the scarf joint near the stern where there is very little bendng involved.

I'm not working on the PocketShip yet, but I have all the materials except the plywood. I'll do two more practice builds... a Wood Duck 10 and an Eastport Pram. Hopefully I will be able to start the Pocketship later in the year.

[Keith]

I now have enough Okoume plywood on hand for the Wood Duck 10 and an Eastport Pram. The plywood is only an hour away, so there are no shipping costs except for a ferry ride and some of my own time. For anyone on Vancouver Island, BC, I got the plywood from Westwind Hardwood Inc. near the Pat Bay Airport, just across from Sidney. They were very helpful and had the plywood all ready to go when I arrived. While I got what I thought was a good price for the plywood, there was no price advantange in getting the plywood for the PocketShip at the same time, so I don't have to worry about storing it until I'm ready for it.http://www.westwindhardwood.com

I obtained Cell-O-Fill from CLC as well as some deck hatches. Wood flour, micro-balloons, copper wire, rollers, as well as fibreglass cloth and tape came from Noah's in Toronto. I had already obtained some West System fillers locally. I should have enough FG cloth and fillers on hand to see right through to the completion of the PocketShip. So far, I can purchase epoxy locally for the same price I would be paying elsewhere, so I don't have to pay shipping charages on it. http://www.noahsboatbuilding.com

Previously, I had picked up a random orbital scander, cordless circular saw, cordless jigsaw and a router, followed by a thickness planer. More recently, I obtained a hand-held electric planer, a belt sander and a vacuum cleaner. I can connect the vacuum hose directly the sander, but I want to try "pe-filtering" the dust from the sander in a bucket of water before it gets to the vacuum cleaner.

While I did the scarf joints for the Argie 10 that I'm working on with a router and a jig, I'll consider doing them with a planer and belt sander next time around. I'll practise on some scrap plywood first though.

[Keith]

Epoxy Pump
Reading the CLC builders forum, I know that some people have had trouble with using a pump to dispense epoxy and hardener. I started buying West System epoxy last year and used their pumps for dispensing the two liquids. After sitting for nearly a year, the pump for the hardener wasn't dispensing the right amount at first. I discarded the first batch onto a sheet of plastic. It "cured" but remained more like a flexible sheet than going rock hard. I winged it for the next batch or two, giving it an extra squirt when it looked like not enough was coming from the pump. I had one batch go exothermic on me and it went off in the pot before I was finished with it. We were going through (for here) a bit of a heat wave at the time. The more I used the pumps, the better they seemed at dispensing the right amount. Hopefully they will see more constant use in the future, but if I'm going to not use them over-winter again, I'll remove them and clean them, or perhaps replace them after they have been used for another year or two. I know that measuring or weighing would be an accurate way to go, but it is sure fast and convenient to just use the pumps.

[Keith]

The Argie 10 design will definitely make a great practice build...

That was a very apt statement. My Argie 10 first hit the water (but still not completely finished) on Oct 19 2011. She is named Practice because it was a "practice" boat. It was a really good introduction to stitch and glue.

[Keith]

Lead Ballast
I have a few projects to get out of the way before I start building my PocketShip, but I just obtained 500 lbs / 227 kg of lead* in the form of old divers weights. Only another 100 lbs and I would have enough to build a second one! I had a quote in Richmond, BC for $1.15 / lb or $1.26 / lb with antimony. A friend had up to 6500 lbs available at $0.75 / lb. I ended up doing a trade with someone else. I never did get around to contacting tire shops to see if wheel balancing weights were available.

* Update - the lead was obtained in a trade, and we changed what was being traded, so I ended up getting just 335.5 lbs / 152 kg of lead. Oh well, it's enough for one PocketShip!

[tattoo]

Balancing wights are available from truck (or any) tire shops. I got two 2.5 gal buckets full (two visits). Total weight about 200 lbs. I asked to see the shop forman and told him what I wanted it for. He was reluctant (I guess) because a salvage yard made regular pickups and paid the shop (or forman) some money for the scrap weights. I offered to match what the salvage guy paid. He said ok, but when loading the bucket (I couldn't lift it) into the truck of my wife's car, he saw a "Marine, Korea" bumper sticker. He asked if I was a Marine. I told him, "No, my wife's brother was killed at Chosen." He didn't charge me anything. And within another month he contributed the 2nd bucket full.

[Keith]

LiFePO4 Battery
I'm a long way from needing a battery, but I will need power for a number of things on board (GPS, radios, computer, nav and interior lighting), and I'm going to do my best to avoid a gas powered engine. My current thoughts are that if I have a motor, it will be electric. I'm hoping it will only be needed for getting on and off docks. I'm thinking of a 48 (or even 72) volt Lithium Iron Phosphate (LiFePO4) Battery Pack. It won't add much weight for ballast, but it will be very compact and safer than Li-PO, and will have a high energy density and when at dockside, can be charged at a very high rate. The battery voltage will be determined by the motor requirements, but the higher the voltage, the lower the current will be and the lighter the wiring can be. I'll have a DC-DC converter and possibly a small small gel battery for 12 volt needs .

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lithium_iron_phosphate_battery
"virtually incombustible in the event of mishandling during charge or discharge, and does not decompose at high temperatures"