New Lifeboat Hull Conversion Building

[DetroiTug]

Bret,

Looks good, you should make it by the season, no problem.

I'm still plugging away on Iron Chief, the decks are down and now I'm starting the oak pilot house and after cabin.

-Ron

[bkueber]

After a little time out for spring cleaning with my wife today, I was back at it and got the rest of the teak deck installed. I am going to wait to sand and caulk it (probably black instead of the more traditional white) until after I get the piping finalized. Just in case I have to add some under the deck somewhere other than centerline (removable grates for that area). Now I can mock up the seating and place the foldable jumpseat and helm. Then it is on to building the frames for the u shaped rear seating area, and the front seat. I am thinking of using marine mahogany plywood for the seating areas. The gap between the edge of the decking and side of the boat will be covered with this cool flexible and stainable trim.







and I couldn't resist getting the ID tag back on

[bkueber]

Help! I need some comments on my rear settee mockup, seat height is 15" assuming a cushion on top of the mahogany plywood, I am guessing total height above deck is 16-17". too high, too low??? What about the size and spacing around the engine? I will be enclosing the driveshaft in a removable tunnel.

[fredrosse]

Nice job you are doing, the woodwork looks beautiful.

"The gap between the edge of the decking and side of the boat will be covered with this cool flexible and stainable trim"

What is this trim, where do you get it?

One thing I noticed is the aparently high center of gravity for the boiler. Have you made any checks as to the weight of the boiler, and the metacenter of the hull? Being a small boat, stability may be a concern, especially if some rough water comes up. One possible solution is to seat your passengers a little lower in the boat. 14 inch seat height is OK, and 12 inch probably a minimum.

[bkueber]

Fred,

Yes the boiler does appear high, the stinkin smokehood is 6" too tall (workin on it) so the boiler really isnt as tall as it seems, and I have cheked cg and metacenter with delftship. The other benifet of the lifeboat is it's 3/4" thick keel that protrudes 2-1/2" the entire length of the boat It has a tremendous stabilizing effect to roll. I will plan on lowering the seating height 2" anyway to help , as I dont want small items (&kids) falling overboard.

Thanks, Bret

[bkueber]

Nice job you are doing, the woodwork looks beautiful.

"The gap between the edge of the decking and side of the boat will be covered with this cool flexible and stainable trim"

What is this trim, where do you get it?

Fred,

The trim is from here : http://www.trimster.com/flextrim.asp

Bret

[bkueber]

After some good input by the board and several other steamboaters, I decided to lower the seat height to 13.5" finished above the deck, that does not include the cushions, and will hopefully be adequate for the lanky folks (like me ). I am headed up to visit DetroitTug on Saturday to see his wonderful project first hand. I will also be making a stop at a Marine Lumber store up there to get the seating material. As you can see from the photos, I have replaced the cardboard with Teak framing for the settee. I am also boxing out for a small ice chest in the rear seat. I attached the framing to the sides of the hull with 8/32 SS Button Head Cap Screws with rubber washers. (the wood has been fitted with screw/machine thread inserts) I only needed 6 penetrations, and they are above waterline.

[bkueber]

I went up to visit DetroitTug's boat this past weekend, all I can say is WOW! That is going to be an AWESOME boat!!! I Picked up some ribbon sapele marine plywood while I was up there, and had Ron break out his plasma cutter and re-configure my smokehood as well (Dropped the overall height 4"). Started on the rear settee Seat, Man I like the look of that wood. I added a Small compartment that I am having a SS box with a drain made to fit, to serve as a small cooler or ice chest for beverages

[DetroiTug]

Bret,

Looks great! Doing a great job on it. That Sapele is nice looking wood. That is the replacement for Philippine Mahogany. The cooler is a nice addition to the seating. Hey, thanks again for stopping by and for the Teak grate. I'm going to do as you suggested and use it as the first step in to the engine room, should work well and look good for that.

I gotta go run some more white oak to the joiner's shop.

-Ron

[bkueber]

Sorry it's been so long for an update. I finished the rear settee and added the flexible trim , faux finished the trim, got the stainless cooler made and installed. Then i built the fold down jump seat and got the mounting figured out. enjoy the pics.