Quick Update...

It's now just over a year since 'Gina' hit the driveway and it seems the finishing line is now in sight! While the current financial climate dictates that a trailer and engine will have to be deferred until next year, at least that will be a simple 'bolt on and go' job (why don't I quite believe that).

Our brief Indian Summer has allowed us to get the bunks lined with vinyl and to start the interior fit out. The Helm unit is now installed as is the switch panel and passengers grab-handle. The side panels are also now firmly bolted in place, along with the front seats. Sitting in the boat to identify the optimum seating position, it was easy to imagine cutting through the glistening waters of the Italian Riviera towards the twinkling lights of a waterside hostelry - but I digress...

Carpeting the interior is next on the 'to do' list and all materials are to hand, when that is done we will be almost there. The only other job is - yes, you guessed - that wretched screen!

July 2007

September 2008

Screens & Screams
Another half a dozen or so local 'fabricators' have informed me that it is not possible to bend a piece of channel for a screen surround - hey ho, the search continues...

In the meantime I made a decision to install the new screen anyway to prevent it getting further knocked around in the shed. Regular readers will recall that I had a replacement made in Polycarbonate (Lexan) as it will take a cold curve. A helpful CMBA member advised that 'you just start in the middle and work out towards the edges' - accurately finding the middle was a little challenging, but overall the whole process went very smoothly.
Have to shout out a big thanks to my Brother at this juncture - he lives and works in Oman and had dropped in on his way to Paris for a few days R&R - instead, he ended up hanging on spanners, upside down in the fibreglass hot-box in order to help me get the thing on - cheers Jon - hope the subsequent fluid replacement didn't do any lasting damage to the liver!

Next time around I hope to have that carpet down and striping tape and boat names ready to apply!

Fixtures, Fittings & Fun

With the paintwork finished, a few warm, sunny days allowed me to get the remaining varnish on the decks, which have had three coats now.

This is as much for appearance as anything else given they're laminate but the overall effect works very well (albeit a little difficult to photograph).


You may think that bolting on the deck hardware - cleats, fairleads, fendoff endcaps etc. would be fairly painless - think again! With all the fittings I used locking nuts and either washers (various) or washers and ply 'spreader' plates to spread the load under those items subject to stress and strain such as cleats and sidesteps. If you have ever tried to get a spanner/socket/anything on the nuts of a Broom rubbing strake bow-cap you will understand...

Luckily I was on the outside with a screwdriver, carefully aligning the screw heads, while long suffering neighbour, Tony, was folded into a peculiar contorted shape and posted into the fibreglass coffin under the front deck. To cut a long story short, after a lot of effort, all the deck fittings are now in place (even though I did hear some nautical phrases that were new to even me).


The bow light was particularly testing as I had made a ply plate with epoxied captive nuts, so the bulb could be changed by simply unscrewing the unit leaving the bolts in place - clever huh? So, another job out of the way and we've heard that Tony should be walking upright again within a week or two.


Up the Stern
Decided to re-visit the 'bit at the back' - the fuel/battery area. While I had previously done some work in there, there were nooks and crannies where water could get trapped, so I did some more filling and fairing to tidy things up.


I finished the whole area with 'Protectakote' - a polyurethane anti-slip paint with rubber granules. Did the job brilliantly.

Trim
All the trim panels are now finished and are in the process of being installed. After a few unsuccessful attempts at 'padding' the side panels I gave up - simply covering the marine ply with vinyl using contact adhesive, fixed round the back with stainless staples. The 'Grab Handle' panel used the same technique but the padding worked well on this.

The Screen Saga (continued)
I really don't want to dwell on this - suffice to say that the pile of mangled aluminium channel is getting larger. Hopefully off to a properly equipped workshop soon for attempt three - third time lucky? Let's hope so.

Informal CMBA Run
My long suffering lady and I had a great run up our local river (The Arun) the other day with some fellow CMBA members.

Although it was our first 'wet' meeting we were made to feel very welcome and fellow member Geoff deserves a special mention for handing over the helm of his beautiful Broom to me for the outward journey.


There was a good collection of interesting boats in evidence and (I know I bang on about this) if you're a regular reader here in the UK - you really should join up!

Next time round...
I hope to get that screen on - then it's finishing the trim, lining the bunks and working out the seating - 2009 is looking realisitic!

Painting and Decorating...

The continuing good weather meant there was no excuse - it was time to get the brushes out and the topcoat on.

Having flatted down the primer and masked off all that lovely laminate, the paint was duly applied. I used a combination of both roller with a brush to 'tip off' as I had on the hull and where this approach was impractical, a foam brush. Regulars will know that painting is not my forte - but the results are pretty good. She has had 3 x topcoats in total and with a little flatting and polishing should look very smart.


Rubbing Strake
I then turned my attention to the rubbing strake. I placed the rubber insert in a bucket of hot water to soften it slightly and it was then a relatively simple job to persuade it into the aluminium section.


There can be a little shrinkage - so I left the ends over-length, giving the rubber a few days to settle down. The ends were then trimmed and the section itself tweaked so as to provide a good fit for the previously refurbished end and bow caps.

A Little Trim...
The Broom interior has two padded side panels. I've started recreating these using a salvaged original as a template and cutting them from 6mm marine ply.


I also shaped a decorative panel for the passenger dashboard, which will ultimately sport a grab handle. These have all had nuts countersunk and epoxied in place so - following covering - they can be attached 'blind'. Some grey edge trim has also been sourced to cover any unfinished fibreglass edges within the cockpit area.

Screen Problems
...well not actually the screen - more the surround. I have had a new screen made up in polycarbonate, which will take a cold bend - and it's all ready to get itself fixed in place. I am having a problem with the top screen surround though. This is quite simply a length of suitably curved aluminium channel. First attempts were not successful - now a former is under construction and Neil (my chum and local friendly metal guru) is going to assist - the plan being to fill the channel with mild steel, do the bending and then pop out the insert. I'll let you know how we get on with this!

Finally,
Thanks to all the people who have emailed me recently and for the encouraging comments I've received about this blog site. It's good to know that some of you have found it informative and I'm always happy to help out where I can - just email me direct. You should now find contact details in my profile.

Decking!

A long overdue change in the weather provided the perfect conditions to lay the laminated deck surfaces.
Just to recap, this model used a laminate (Formica) inlay on both the fore-deck and side-decks. I opted to re-instate this and after casting around chose a Teak effect cabin flooring laminate with a light Holly stripe.

With the templates made, cutting could get underway. I tried many different methods and had a lot of useful suggestions as to how to cut this - after experimentation I opted for... a pair of scissors!

Working 'to the line' I was able to perfectly cut the required curves with no splitting or chipping of the edges.


The downside? - it was a long, slow, job and it took a couple of days before any feeling returned to my fingers.

I turned to the collective wisdom on the CMBA Forum to find the best way of bonding the laminate to the deck surfaces.

You may remember that I had covered all these surfaces with primer - well, all this had to be removed for a start. After a session with angle grinder and sanding block we were ready to go. With everything clean, dry, dust free and wiped over with acetone, I coated the laminate with West Systems epoxy and then added filler to the mix to produce a good consistency for a 'bed' which was applied to the deck surface. The first of the two sheets was positioned and even pressure applied until the epoxy mix oozed from the edges (I had previously protected the adjoining surfaces with masking tape). Using various blocks of timber, lead weights and anything else that came to hand, even pressure was maintained until the whole thing had set off.


The same operation was undertaken for the next sheet and it was time to grab a coffee and admire the result!


The Dreaded Side-decks...

Problem - the side-decks needed the same treatement, but the Teak and Holly stripe was not going to look right and no suitable alternative could be found.

Solution - Wielding the trusty craft knife I set about carefully scoring and stripping out all the holly stripes from the remaining laminate. About this time I began to doubt my sanity, but after many hours I ended up with enough laminate 'planks' for the task in hand.


Duly edge sanded and shaped, these were then affixed in the approved manner. The edge to edge joins were better than I could have hoped for, but I filled the seams with a dark oak stopping, which really enhanced the appearance.

I applied a couple of coats of varnish to all the surfaces - not too worried about the mirror finish at the moment - but maintaining a varnished surface is easier when removing paint splashes, masking tape, filler etc. than the raw 'grained' finish of the laminate.

While the epoxy was out, I also reinstated the support posts for the bow rails and faired them in.

For the photographs, I also put the 'deck candy' in place.


It took about four days to see this job through - and not something I would relish doing again, but hey, I think the results speak for themselves!

Back to Work...

It's been a while - but we've been busy...

For those of you who have been following progress, you'll be aware that we had a minor setback when the 'boatshed' blew away. Well now we have a rather splendid (and much more substantial) construction:


This was erected by John and Will of Sussex Logs who deserve a shameless plug for the great job they did - thanks chaps!

During the extended period of grim weather, a new transom plate was fabricated by my good friend and neighbour, Neil.


Heavy, mirror finish, A4 stainless and engineered to perfection, it certainly looks the part. It was designed slightly oversize compared to the original, to avoid using the same screw holes.

An additional smaller plate will be made up for the inside of the splash well to spread the load of the outboard bracket fixings and avoid those neat little rings being punched into the transom.

I also had a rethink on my helm design. As opposed to just bolting everything to the existing fibreglass dash, I shaped, routed and vinyl-covered a piece of 12mm ply on to which to mount the helm and instruments. Prior to covering, I epoxied countersunk screws into the board which will allow blind fitting from the rear. This will make removal, adding additional instruments etc. much more convenient - it also looks quite attractive.


Following a wealth of useful advice gleaned from the CMBA forum, I've now removed all the paint from the foredeck, ready for application of the teak and holly laminate. A template was made and the laminate has been cut to size (pictures to follow).


This will be bonded using West Systems epoxy of the appropriate consistency. It's the next job on the list but is very weather/temperature dependant.


I was lucky enough to win the CMBA 10th Anniversary logo competition - and spent a pleasant day at the National Motorboat Museum at Basildon, to receive my reward and meet fellow lunatics - sorry - enthusiasts at the same time. There are some fantastic, historic boats there - well worth a visit.

Finally, we have settled on a name for the Broom - she is to be called...
We quite liked the Italianesque (?) feel and it's short enough to fit on the limited transom space (or it could be my wife's penchant for expensive footwear from a certain manufacturer of the same name:-))

So, let's hope the better weather is finally here and work can continue apace.

If all goes well the next update should not be too far away and will detail the fitting of the aforementioned foredeck laminate.

It's been a while since my last update but the weather hasn't really been ideal for outdoor boatbuilding.

Activities were also brought to a halt during a particularly windy period when the 'Boatshed' decided to break free of its moorings. I could see it was straining against the teeth of the gale, decided to don the wellies to go and open up the sides to decrease resistance - and then BANG! The wind lifted the structure up, which snapped its mooring lines and disappeared up the driveway, swiping my car on its way out to the main road. This runaway spinnaker was luckily arrested by a stressed looking member of the local constabulary who was attending to a previous accident on said road. It took a few of us to wrestle it back in and to cut a long story short, we were lucky to get away with only superficial damage to cars/boats and people. A decision was made not to re-erect until more clement weather was expected and the Broom has since been shrouded in a boat cover to keep her warm and dry. I've used this downtime to gather together a few more bits n bobs including this rather gorgeous bow light, complete with hole for burgee. The laminate for the deck covering has also been sourced and hopefully work can start on making templates for this and cutting it ready for fitting in the spring. My good lady wife also turned up trumps by buying me a few metres of turquoise vinyl as a Christmas present - yippee! This enabled me to get on with covering the rear panel which hides the battery/fuel compartment.

Incidentally, the vinyl was obtained from www.atmlabel.com in Germany - great service and price.

Covering went smoothly and I grooved the edges of the board and then trimmed them with a white uPVC section to cover any unfinished edges and offer some protection as the board is slid in and out. I'd like to put a word in here for the Classic Motor Boat Association - joining has probably been the best investment I have yet made. There are a number of Broom owners amongst their membership and they have already provided a wealth of information and even an old windscreen as a template so I can fabricate a new one! I have yet to attend any of their social events, but the forthcoming fixture list looks very enticing. So, if you have any interest in old speedboats (which I guess you must as you're reading this) then click the link on the right to head on over to their forum.

I hope you all had a good Christmas and a Happy New Year to all!