Alphington Steam launch

[cyberbadger]

You didn't say you were building a fleet.

You could run the model from the real thing. [ You can interpret this last statement in a different ways,]

-CB

[dampfspieler]

Hi Lionel,

thank you for the amazing pictures. You are faster then i have tought. What is the CAD-program you have used for hull constructing?

Best Dietrich

[Lionel Connell]

CB...

You are right, you know you are not the first person to consider the mother ship idea

And about the fleet, you are also right, I am going the build 2 launches at the same time, one boat will be for sale.

Dietrich..

I am using Solidworks. I have been using it for product design since 2007. It took me some time to learn how to loft a hull from basic hull drawings and lines but I have that working great now. I modeled the full sized boat which is 25ft long and scaled it down 90% to 22' 6" to better suit my 6A. I then scaled it down to 20% to build the model. All of the mould forms and the jig base for the model were CNC routed from my CAD files. This enabled me to learn all about the construction of the boat and test the CAD files for CNC routing, and of course building the model gave me the opportunity to test the construction method, glues and epoxy/glass sheathing using West System.

I built the Stuart Double 10 model engine 25 years ago, now it finally has a real home.

I am now making a fiberglass mould from the model boat, so if any body wants a nice 1.5Mtr model hull then I can supply it.

Cheers

Lionel

[Lionel Connell]

The Jig for my steam launch is well under way.



https://www.facebook.com/steam.launch/p ... =3&theater

[fredrosse]

The finish on the small hull is excellent. How do you do that?

I was planning to build a 55% size hull before building my 20 ft long sidewheeler, but schedules got modified, so I built the full size hull first. Now I enjoy both hulls, and am planning a steam plant for the small hull too.

Just after I finish the "Fast Steamer" project.

[Lionel Connell]

Hi Fred,

I have been building model Aeroplanes for many years and the finishing technique is very similar.

The hull of the model was glassed with 6oz cloth and West System epoxy. I had never used West System and I wanted to try it out before committing to using it on the full sized boat. I used 6 oz cloth because I will be using the model to make a fibreglass mold and I wanted to make sure that I don't destroy the model getting out of the mold. Otherwise 2oz cloth would have been sufficient.

There are many tricks to the finishing process. probably the most important is to not use more epoxy than you absolutely need when first wetting out the cloth. Excess resin will make the cloth float off the timber surface which not only reduces the strength but the bumps that are created cannot be sanded off or you will cut into the cloth. Cutting into the cloth reduces the strength considerably and you then have a nightmare dealing with the resultant pin holes in your finish.

After applying the cloth, another 5 coats of epoxy are applied wet on dry until the weave has been completely filled, the hull is then sanded and painted exactly the same as a new car. 2 pack epoxy primer followed by white base coat, followed by 5 coats of 2 pack clear coat. All with light wet and dry sanding between coats.

By the way Fred, did you see that I sent you an e-mail via the forum with some questions regarding my boiler build?

[DetroiTug]

That is a good looking strongback. One suggestion I have and what I did is put casters under it so it can be moved around, makes it much easier to work on.

[Lionel Connell]

Hi DT thanks for the thought, I am hoping that I won't need to move the Jig before the hull is ready to lift off. For now I am happy with it sitting on the ground where I have it set up dead level. unfortunately my floor is not as flat as I would like, so moving it around is a little problematic. Having said all of that I will probably want to take it outside when sanding the epoxy so it may end up on wheels later on.


Cheers

Lionel

[Lionel Connell]

Hi Guys, a few pictures of my progress.

The inner stem laminated from White Oak, and the transom made from 3 layers of 6.5mm marine ply and vacuum bagged on a form to make it convex.

A few pictures of my progress.







More pictures here.

https://www.facebook.com/pg/steam.launc ... 9189512966

[Lionel Connell]

The Jig is loaded and I am ready to start planking.

https://scontent.fdad1-1.fna.fbcdn.net/ ... e=5B14DB36