It is 08/90 and I am restless.

Time for action.

Time to get ahead, get behind, or get out of the way, but DO SOMETHING!

Building a boat with out having money requires some creative thinking.

The only thing that could be done with minimum expense was to start
collecting lead scrap that could be melted down and poured into ingot
molds.

Week ends were spent scouring SoCal collecting lead scrap.

During the week, lots of phone calls.

Got to see more places of incarceration in SoCal than probably most
criminals while collecting lead scrap, but that is another story.

As a manufacturers representative, was able to work a deal to rent
some workspace from one of my principles.  Things were looking up.

Having access to a couple of 1,000,000 BTU burners and 30 PSIG natural
gas sure speeds up the lead melting process.

By 03/91 had poured about 675, 30 lb pigs, about 20,000 lbs of lead.

Was given some used 1/2" CDX plywood.  Used it to build a 12ft x 16 ft
x 8ft storage shed.  Used 5 gallon of paint to paint the outside.

Found enough money to start building a male mold in early 04/91.

Was allowed to expand my workspace, Spring was in the air, things were
good.

Time to build a male mold.

Built a strong back using 2x6 building lumber.

Built the stations from 1x material.

Made 1-1/2 x 5/8 x 24ft battens from 2x12x24 ft Doug fir timbers.

Estimate that required about 1 mile of saw cuts and completely filled
a standard 3 cubic ft dumpster with sawdust to make those batten
blanks.

Sure helped to have access to a fork truck and 50 ft of roller
Conveyor for that job.

Could write a short story about how you make battens from construction
Timbers, but another time.

Next, scarfed those 24 ft battens together to make either 48 or 72 ft
Battens.

Lots of glue, lots of C-Clamps.

Next was the assembly of the mold, which required about 20 lbs of deck
Screws, probably about 20,000 screws.

(Thank god for battery operated drills)

07/91 did the assembly, but I was out of money.

Work would not resume until 09/02.

A whole year shot to hell, except to keep studying interior plans.

It had long ago been decided that this hull would be built using Aires
Foam, knitted glass and epoxy. (SEE HULL)

Found a deal on glass and bought 13 rolls, 34 OZ trail, knitted
Glass, about 5,000 lbs, for $5K.

That was serious money, we were committed.

Found a deal on enough 1" Airex foam to cover about 80%-90% of the
hull; however, it was cross cut which means I would have to cover the
mold with plywood to support it.

Down to the Home Depot for about 100 sheets of plywood known as door
skins.  (3ft x 7ft x 1/8" tk)

A couple of weeks work with a table saw, another 10 lbs of deck
screws, and the mold is covered with plywood.

Next comes a layer of plastic to protect the mold.

It is early 09/02 and we are ready to mount Airex foam.

Thom Johannsen, located in New Jersey, "Mr Airex" in the USA, had came
to my office earlier, given me lots of good information, including a
sketch of how to lay out the Airex as well as a polyester layup
schedule.

The Airex layout we used, the polyester layup we didn't.

The entire hull other than the skeg and keel are covered in Airex per
Thom's suggestion.

An 18" wide transition section around the keel and a 6" wide
transition around the skeg are tapered to accommodate the glass/foam
transition.

By Christmas, we are finished laying all the Airex we have; however,
some bad news awaits us.

My landlord has declared bankruptcy and not only won't I get paid for
sales work I've done, but must also move.

Now that is a kick in the gut, but we shall survive.

Found a place, moved and started working with that 34 OZ tri-axial
glass.  (Moving a male mold is lots of fun, glad I had good people to
do it) It is like working with drapery cloth.

We begin laying up the keel.

When it was done, had 16 layers of 34 OZ glass on the sides of the
keel and 32 layers on the bottom.

16 layers is about 3/4" thick and has about 344 OZ/yd of glass.

You won't find another boat on the planet with that lay-up.

Using 50" wide rolls of glass, the hull requires 15 pieces of glass
per side, some almost 13 ft long.

It takes almost a week to lay up one side.

It takes more than a week to sand it down with a 9" grinder equipped
with 16 grit discs.

The outer skin of the hull has 6 layers of glass from the centerline
to the flange and another 2 layers of glass from about 18" above the
waterline to the centerline.

This hull layup is documented with 8 mm video as well as a database
computer file containing the dates each layer was completed.

Construction of the outer skin was completed 02/95.

Next was the wear shoe on the bottom of the skeg and the keel.

A wear shoe consisting of a 3/4" thick layer of 60 grit sand blasting
garnet and epoxy was added to both the bottom of the keel and the
skeg.

If the keel ever grounds out on a reef, it will leave a mark on the
reef.

Next was the fairing process.

Little did I realize how difficult the fairing process is.

It would be 5 more years and a move to another yard, before the
phrase, "The hull is fair", would be heard.

If it had not been for Frank, who I found by shear dumb luck, probably
still be fairing the hull.

Frank is a master craftsman, with a fairing batten and sanding tools.

During that time had about 10,000 lbs of lead and most of my tools
stolen, but as the saying goes, "...  and this to shall pass".

Designed and built a trailer for the boat using structural steel and
house moving dollies.

Finally, the hull was turned during 04/00, placing it on the trailer,
and the fun part of the process begins.

Time to remove the mold and get to work.

Clearing out all that mold structure was done in sections as the
interior laminate of the hull was laid up, and took almost a whole
year to accomplish.

Laying up glass on a concave surface (Interior laminate of the hull)
is a real challenge.

Took some creative scaffolding to get that job done.

The interior skin consists of 4 layers of 24 OZ bi-axial glass.

Concurrently, lead scrap was being collected and replacement pigs were
being cast.

 Lead Melting Station

 Finished

 Molded Lead Pigs

Awaiting Installation.

When the interior skin is finished, time to install about 150-200 sq
ft of bronze window screen against the hull below the waterline to
serve as a capacitively coupled ground plane antenna for the HAM
radio.

The window screen was temporally secured to hull with screws, then
covered with fairing putty and finally the temporary screws were
removed.

Copper flashing was used to not only tie port and starboard side
screen together, but to also tie the ballast to the screen both
mechanically and electrically.

Time to install the ballast.

There were perhaps 5,000 lbs of ballast pigs already in the hull,
being contained in a metal fork lift tote that got there with a crane
when the hull was turned.

Had to carry 15,000 lbs of lead up 18 steps, one 30 lb pig at a time,
then slide them down a chute to be stacked ready for final placement
in the keel.

Took a whole day and 4 guys willing to work day labor to get the job
done.

Got the loan of a large CO2 fire extinguisher from a company in the
neighborhood.  Fortunately, never had to use it.

Hauled the lead melting pot as well as propane tanks and burners up
into the hull.

Used the metal tote bin to build what is basically known as an
enclosed flare.

This would insure that any spilled molten lead would be kept inside
the tote.

Installed a dam at the rear of the ballast consisting of an aluminum
foil covered piece of plywood secured to the hull with wedges.

Carefully stacked 2 layers of pigs in the bottom of the keel, then re
melted enough pigs to get about 900 lbs of molten lead.

This molten lead was slowly ladled 1 ladle, about 8 lbs, at a time
into spaces between the pigs to form a solid ballast.

The molten glass was contacting a glass surface that was 32 layers of
34 OZ glass.  If the molten lead destroyed some glass, it was no big
deal.

Getting the first solid layer of lead probably took about 3-4 hours.

If you pour slowly, the possible heat damage is minimized.

Additional pigs were placed, 2 layers at a time, then sealed with more
molten lead.

Since the bottom glass was now covered with lead, it was protected
from any further damage.

A total of 17,000 lbs of ballast was installed with 3,000 lbs of pigs
being held in reserve for trim ballast.

After the ballast was in position, epoxy was poured over the lead and
allowed to seep into voids and fill them.

The ballast was then covered with at least 3 layers of 24 OZ glass.

Time to remove the melting equipment and the metal tote bin which was
an interesting day.

Next come the bulkheads and the floors.

The compartment arrangement determines the bulkhead locations.

The bulkhead locations determine the floor locations.

The floor and bulkhead locations determines the tankage.

Once the floors and bulkheads are in place, it is time for the tankage
that will be below the subsole.

Every available space under the subsole was converted into tankage
because it minimizes places where things can get lost and for junk to
collect.

They also improve safety as well as providing liquid ballast control.

See TANKS for details.

After the tankage comes the battery boxes and support sole.

Next the foundation for the main mast support.

Finally it is time for some sub sole work.

Each sub sole consists of 2 pieces of 1/2" CDX sealed on all sides
with epoxy.

The bottom piece is next bonded to the floor below with SikaFlex 291.

After curing, the top layer is then bonded to the bottom layer with
epoxy creating a totally sealed unit which is then bonded to the hull
and the bulkheads as required.

Finally, it time for the deck.

A male mold is built using 2x4's and 1/4" hardboard.

18 months later, the deck is finished.

It is now today and 17 years have passed

It has come to a time in my life when is time to pass this project
onto a younger person to complete.

Someone with the desire, the piss and vinegar, and the motivation to
have the very best cruising boat on the planet.

Are you that person?

Back to THE STORY 

 LewsSailBoat@gmail.com