Sitting on the skid.
Sitting on the mounts on the skid.
A little asymetry to get the engine in.
Such a big cabin for the little engine.
The engine room/head bulkhead with reinforcements for the door.
Door cut out.
Total 420 Hours
The cabin swallows the bulkhead.
Engine room/head looking out.
Engine room looking in.
Window cutouts and minor repair to the ply on the forward window.
Windshield wiper installation.
Port side out for some air while I clean the floor.
Jack gets to work.
Total 442 Hours
Fine example of wood butchery available with epoxy. This splice has a generous glue line.
Wide variation of marine plywood constructions. Both are 7 ply and are likely to have comparable panel strength and stiffness however the bottom one has about 65% of the grain in one direction while the top has about 50-50. For beam and tensile and compressive strength such variations need to be considered and accomodated.
The shaft with a single nut. See the suppliers page for an interesting story and explaination.
Jack has been working hard and now a couple of feet off the floor.
Onto the barrels.
Heading for about 5'8" off the floor. After that moved the hulls into final position and blocked them. The usual diagonal measuring and checking for level and paralell fun.
Total 460 Hours
Bruynzell ... used to be one of the best ... this panel only so so.
Cutting out the webs for the forward fuel tanks/struts.
More fine wood butchery with the tapered stem of the tank.
Total 474 Hours
Starting to assemble the tanks/struts.... two of everything.
Putting on the tapered stem.
A bit of initial fitup... hack and fit.
Doublers cut a bit oversize for the mounting base.
Initial bond of the base. Note the planned away material around the joints. These will be approximately flush once the biaxel tape goes on.
Glassing the interior structural seams and putting a bonding layer on the flange. Needs to be fuel tight.
All glassed on.
Now some filler fudge to help ensure a full seal.
A thickned resin coat of the bottom of the tank/strut.
Final assembly of the base.
Starting to look like it will on the water.
Total 490 Hours. Looks like the construction time will run a bit over. The struts were originally to be aluminium weldments and just bolt on but looks like I will be about 100 hours building them. If only I didn't get those silicon bronze bolts :)
Bonding on the tank mounting pads.
Cutting out the tank top with extensions for the fill.
Bonding on the tank top mounting pads.
Cutting out the jetdrive sides.
Initial form of jetdrive boxes.
Copyright © 2003 Tony Bigras.