PocketShip in Russia

[Dmitriy]

Hello builders!
My name is Dmitry, I'm from Russia.
Since childhood, I have been interested in aviation and dream of building my own aircraft, but in real life it will take many years, a lot of money, so I think I will never succeed. I'm really new to the boating world. Kayaking and SUP boarding sometimes.
Last fall, I accidentally stumbled on the Internet for boats for sale, then I look at the sale of projects. So, I found out that you can build a boat yourself.
And I wanted to build my own boat. I live near the coast of the Sea of ​​Japan in a place of beautiful marine nature.
Searching the web, I found several projects to build, but bought PocketShip. I liked the beauty of its forms, promotional videos, and I think that I can build it with my own hands.
Thanks to the CLC team for the Christmas sale!
This is a new job for me and I don't know if my PocketShip will see water, but I love working with wood and tools.
So, I started in mid-January. At the moment, the trunk, centerboard, bulkhead No. 2 and keel sides are cut out. Some parts are covered with fiberglass.
Some changes that I will make:
- a large hole in the centerboard (for 9 kg of lead);
- increase the width of the footwell (+3...5 cm);
- removable tabernacle.

Maybe something else - we'll see in the future.

And one more. Reading this forum gives me information about some of the bugs in the PocketShip plans. I wouldn't have known about it without this forum. I think it would be nice if the CLC team printed a known error bulletin and included it in future sales plans. I received my plans and really thought it was 100% correct.

[Brent65]

Dmitry,

We're all proud of you for starting such an ambitious project. I'm not brave enough to build from plans and went the kit direction. Welcome aboard and happy building.

[BillR]

Dmitry,

I did build an airplane, a Van's RV-9, N941WR. It took me a little over 2,500 hours spread over four years and I now have more than 1,100 hours on it.

While I love the plane, I now find myself dreaming of building a sailboat, which lead me to the Pockship, which I promptly fell in love with.

One thing I learned about long term projects during my build is you have to do something every day or you will never finish. Even if all you do is clean and organize your shop, do something.

Best of luck! I look forward to seeing your pictures!

Bill

[Dmitriy]

Thanks for the warm wishes, Brent! The kit would cost me a lot - keep in mind shipping to another country and customs fees. In fact, I think that cutting a few pieces out of flat plywood will not be a big deal. Another big job, building an entire ship from flat parts, is similar to kit builders and plans builders.


Bill, Vans fans all over the world! )))
Beautiful planes RV-7, 9 and 10! And four years is a good result for building. Have you met Vlad N666BK? I read his stories every week.
Good luck building your ship, I think you'll make it on time!
Yes, you have to do something every day, even a small step in the construction - it helps to keep the enthusiasm.

[BillR]

Dmitry,

Yes, I know Vlad, he is Crazy Russian! Good guy who has flown all over with his RV. It must be nice to be single. My wife would not like me being gone that long and giving pretty girls rides like he does!

Besides growing up sailing on the Great Lakes, I like the idea of a small sailboat like the Pocketship as I can take the entire family for a day.

Unfortunately, I have started on restoring another airplane (Spacewalker II) so the Pocketship will have to wait a few years before I can start cutting wood.

Good luck with your Pocketship! It is such a classic and beautiful design, I can't wait to start mine! To the point I am thinking of selling the RV so I'll have the room in my shop/hangar to build my own Pocketship.

Bill

[Dmitriy]

Hello friends!
So, after a month of work, I came to the conclusion that I should start over again. It was difficult, but it's better to do it now than to ruin the whole project later.
At the stage of gluing the sides of the keel, I noticed that my keel turns out to be very curved. There is a 3 mm deviation in the middle of the trunk. Partly this is the curvature of the plywood, partly - uneven blocks. I thought that this could be fixed later when installing the keelson and floors, but several layers of plywood with fiberglass make it impossible to bend them. Therefore, it is better to start over again, more carefully.
I will buy plywood again and make a new trunk.

Can not upload photos from my phone, I will post it later.

[BillR]

Good for you!

Remember, it is not the mistakes you make but how you fix them that counts.

Good luck. My neighbor is a master fabricator and he is always telling me he builds everything three times but only has one boat/car/whatever when he is done.

Bill

[Dmitriy]

Thanks for support, Bill!
The main trouble for me is the temperature deformation of plywood.
I cut and sanded the pieces in a cold garage (about -10°C) and glued them together in a warm room (+25°C). Therefore, the plywood parts were bent.
This time, I will be bringing the parts home and laying them out on a flat table using a weight from above. I will keep it for a few days. I think it should be straighter.

Also this is a chance to move the inspection hole in new trunk

[Dmitriy]

Hi friends! Today I made a CB trunk that satisfied me. This is the third version. I had to spent a few sheets of plywood for experiments.
The microclimate in the workshop plays an important role. I opened the windows and turned off the heating. The room is cooler and not so dry, so the plywood is not distorted. This success has given the enthusiasm to pursue the project further.
I also want to say a huge thanks to Brent and Terry (Hooky) for their reports. I read their blogs regularly and admire how fast and beautiful they are working. This gives me the motivation to move forward.

[Hooky]

Gday Dmitriy,
Thanks for the feedback on the blog, I’m a first time blogger and it’s good to know it’s being helpful, I must admit I do enjoy taking the pictures and writing about the building process.
It was interesting reading about your climate issue and how it effects materials, I have experienced a similar situation in Australia. Due to a current weather phase called “La Nina” We have received unstop heavy rainfall and flooding which has resulted in increased humidity and moisture levels in the plywood and timber and a slower epoxy curing time.
I have had to increase ventilation in my workshop to reduce the moisture content, this has slowed down the build somewhat but that’s the joys of boatbuilding.
Keep up the good work
Cheers mate Terry (Hooky)

https://hookypocketship.blogspot.com