Stuart's D5 Dinghy.

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pee wee
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Re: Stuart's D5 Dinghy.

Post by pee wee »

OneWayTraffic wrote: Thu Jul 13, 2017 1:13 am I have kept the top edge of the side panel straight rather than cutting the 30mm concave camber shown on the plans. This should allow a straight strip to serve as a rubrail. If there is a good reason for that camber now is the time to tell me. I was thinking about drawing the transom straight across as well.
There might be a couple reasons to consider- the boat may be more attractive if you follow the plan, and if you plan to row, the oarlocks may be at a better height. Neither may apply in your situation, but you're right to think twice before making a departure from the plans. Once it's stitched together you'll be able to check the aesthetics, and if you change your mind it wouldn't be that hard to take it back apart and make the cut. Or you could draw the plan line on the ply while it's flat, so you could come back and make the cut after it's assembled, should you decide to.
Hank

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Re: Stuart's D5 Dinghy.

Post by terrulian »

Try bending the sides as they will finally be shaped. I think you'll find that the line that appears straight when lying flat is no longer strait and may result in a reverse sheer. You may like this but I'm betting not. Pee wee's advice is good.
Tony
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Re: Stuart's D5 Dinghy.

Post by OneWayTraffic »

That's really good advice. I'll just build the boat as planned. The plans show a slight concave to the assembled dinghy that actually looks attractive now I think about it.

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Re: Stuart's D5 Dinghy.

Post by OneWayTraffic »

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Frames are cut out. I managed to fit frame A into the same sheet of 9mm.

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Re: Stuart's D5 Dinghy.

Post by OneWayTraffic »

Slight cutting errors in two frames. The pencil line should be the line of symmetry.
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Hopefully this will fair out with enough putty. When I start stitching I will see if there are any other mistakes.

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Re: Stuart's D5 Dinghy.

Post by OneWayTraffic »

Spent 3 hours stitching and wrestling with panels. Looking like a boat. Couple of places where the panels don't quite meet up and others where I will need to use a screw or two.
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Re: Stuart's D5 Dinghy.

Post by OneWayTraffic »

I am basically done with stitching. Diagonals are 2440mm and 2420mm. I can get them identical with pressure but they fall back when I let go. Most hull panels are within 5mm of where I'd like them. Outside is duck taped and waiting for a warm enough day to weld the inside. Temperatures up to 12 degrees C in the day and dropping down to 0-5 at night.
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Re: Stuart's D5 Dinghy.

Post by terrulian »

Looks pretty good from here. How does it look to you? Despite the small amount being off that you mention, do all of the curves look fair? That's the main thing. Even if one board is slightly proud of another or there is a gap, you will be filling them or rounding them over with a rasp or sander before taping so it is not necessarily a problem if the hull looks fair.
I suspect the gap where the two bottom panels meet is caused by the frames being slightly out of symmetry, as you showed in one of your photos. I don't think this will be a deal-killer but a little work with a block plane on the frames may settle this out for you--that is, if you don't mind the extra labor and you don't think it will make things worse! :help:
Up to you, though. Once that gap is filled with epoxy putty and taped on both sides, however, it will still have a lot of strength.
Tony
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Re: Stuart's D5 Dinghy.

Post by OneWayTraffic »

Good questions. The hull certainly looks fair and symmetrical for my eyes. I can see the imperfections quite well though, not surprising as I have spent more quality time with the boat than anyone else. The gap between the bottom panels varies from nothing (panels touching each other) to about 7mm. I assume that a thickened putty and 400g biaxial on both sides will not leave it short of strength for what will be a light use dinghy. I can always double the biaxial as well; I bought a 100m roll of tape so no issues there!

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Re: Stuart's D5 Dinghy.

Post by OneWayTraffic »

Temperatures of up to 10 degrees C in the garage convinced me to glue today. Used the procedure shown by Joel in the two FS threads but without the skills. I found it much easier to make a mess than make clean fillets but I think I managed in the end. I'm not sure if I can get fiberglass to conform to the radius I used but I don't mind going bigger later on.

I will let it set up for a week or two. Probably won't get much done now school holidays are almost over, I got to go back to work.
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