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od16 nearly done

Posted: Mon Jun 04, 2007 9:46 pm
by rcihard
Well it is nearly a year since I started my build with ambitions of finishing in 12 weeks!!
After many interuptions I am about two weeks away from completion. I have to coat and paint the inside, add all the shiny bits, and have my motor fitted (arrives this week a 30 hp suzuki).
I added gunwhales and a chain locker.
My hull paint job is what Dr bones would call a 10 foot result (actually it is probably more like 15') I learnt a valuable lesson about not being afraid to use fairing compound! except i learnt it after painting the boat!
Many thanks to those who provided advice and encouragement during this experience, in particular jeff Fitzpatrick in QLD, Dr Bones and the other od 16 builders. Have also been inspired of late by watching Cracker Larry's quick build (reminded me of when I started this build.
I have added a few pictures to my gallery, apologies for the perspective but I dont have a lot of room to move for good photos.
I will keep updating and will hopefully soon have photos of the "Lou Lou" on the water.
Again thanks to everybody who povided advice over the last twelve months, its been great fun.
http://gallery.bateau2.com/displayimage.php?pos=-12779

Richard

Posted: Tue Jun 05, 2007 4:22 pm
by bermudian
Your boat looks great! You're going to have alot of fun with, I've had my OD16 in the water for over a year now. Just give yourself an extra half hour when you launch and retrive it, because thats how long it going to take to tell the story on how you built her.

Posted: Tue Jun 05, 2007 6:05 pm
by Cracker Larry
Very nice job :D I'd like to see a shot showing the deck layout. Post some more pictures, please.

I'm building fast now, because I'm confident with woodworking. Once I start some real fiberglassing, and fairing, and sanding, and finishing, ugh, I'll slow down and will passed by others. I'm sure it will take close to a year to finish it.

Posted: Tue Jun 05, 2007 7:21 pm
by rcihard
Thanks fellas for the comments. Bermudian I have had quite a few positive comments already from friends and visitors during the build. Most are amazed at the stitch and glue concept and about 4 people are waiting to see how she turns out and are then thinking of having a go at building as well. I sing in a duo and my partner only saw the boat for the first time yesterday,(despite the fact that she is at our house all the time) I couldn't get her out of it, she was just amazed at "how good a home built boat looks".
Cracker I will try to get some better pictures and post them shortly. The gunwales are about 7" wide and I kept the angle created by the rub rail so that they do slope up towards the midline. A couple of mates think they will be useless (because you cant stand a can of beer on them!) but I like the look and it will stop people cutting up their bait on them!
The anchor locker extends about 3 feet back from the bow with its own bulkhead adjacent to the casting deck. Again I will try and get some better photos to demonstrate.
Anyway, I hopefully will have the rest of the interior finished and painted in the next 2 weeks and if the weather holds up I should be able to post pics of her on the water.

Cheers
Richard

Posted: Wed Jun 06, 2007 12:28 am
by rcihard
Cracker I have just added some extra pics. I am using a very old dig camera and the quality is not good but should show you something of the deck etc. I dont know how to post pics direct into the message body so this may prove to be a bit cumbersome!
regards
Richard

Posted: Wed Jun 06, 2007 8:00 am
by Daniel Huckleberry
Pictures look really good. You should be proud. The OD's are still my favorite design here and I love to see the pics of every one I can. I like the way you did the rub-rail and decks. They really fit the style of the boat.

Congratulations and have a good splash day!

Huck

Posted: Fri Jun 08, 2007 6:53 pm
by rcihard
Thanks Huck, Im pleased with deck and rub-rails as well, as I mentioned in a previous post a couple of mates dont like them because they think their beer will just slide off into the drink! My argument is why would you put your beer down in the first place??? I constructed the rub-rails from 25mm quarter round, I glued 2 pieces together in 6 metre lengths to give a nice round shape and then glued them to a 42 x 12 mm batten that I had already run along the sheer line and which the gunwales sit over. The effect gives the boat a rub - rail that extends some 40mm from the hull and the two mm protrusion of the batten below provides a drip line.
The current photos dont realy show the effect that well and its been raining non stop so I cant move the boat to get a better perspective. I hope the rain stops soon because it is difficult to complete the remaining work with all the covers over it.
At the moment I am finishing off a seat box that will sit behind the console. The console is 1 metre wid at the base and 850 across at the top and only 800 mm high, so not as tall as the design and considerably wider. I still have plenty of room to move around the console (about 370 mm each side).
Its now raining cats and dogs so I guess no work on the boat today!
cheers

Richard