FS14- Bayou City Boat

[OrangeQuest]

Thanks Jeff and Tom!

I had an hour or two to kill and took the frames I cut out and notched them to hold the stringers upright and in the correct position. I then cut a mold and notched it to hold the top of the stringers in place. I still have to sand the surface for a good bond but everything looks like I am almost ready to tab in the stringers. Took a scrap piece of board and rough in where the side splash deck will be.



Roughed out an estimate on all the fittings, adapters, connections for the plumbing of the live well and bait well. Just under $200.00 from Flow-Rite if I use PVC valves. Jumps up to just under $500.00 if I use their valves, controls, and cables. Few of the things I like about the Flow-Rite stuff is their remote air intake aerators and Qwik-Lok sockets. If one of the PVC valves act up I can quickly replace them. ( Thanks Tom for pointing me to them).

https://flow-rite.com/marine/products

[OrangeQuest]

Everyone must be out enjoying the weekend. Here in Houston Spring break ends Monday and everyone goes back to school. We have had a very successful week at Discovery Green averaging over 400 people per day kayaking in a very small lake. Anyway, I have the weekend working on the Bayou City FS14.

Put on a painter's dust suit in hopes of keeping most of the FG dust off me but I can still feel it on my forearms. Sanded the inside of the hull enough to glue in the stringers. Tomorrow I will fillet and tape them in. Nothing picture worthy today but maybe me in a white dust suit and mask wearing flip flops and that will never be posted!

Then I will start making templates of the front of the splash well and stern bench seat frame in it's new position. Once I like how they look I will start on all the other frames. Once all the new frames are cut I will stack them all up and cut the holes for all the chase tubes and forward drain tube.

Now I know I will need a chase tube for the steering cable and another for shift controls. Then one each for wiring and fuel. Then the drain tube. That is 5 tubes, anything else? Should I have a separate one for power and ground supply wires?

[glossieblack]

Can't see any reason why power supply and grounding can't share a tube with other wiring. Your build's looking good.

[TomW1]

Sounds like you have it covered. Only thing I might add is a separate one for the depth sounder they can be temperamental.

Tom

[OrangeQuest]

Can't see any reason why power supply and grounding can't share a tube with other wiring. Your build's looking good.

Thank you Glossieblack!

Sounds like you have it covered. Only thing I might add is a separate one for the depth sounder they can be temperamental.

Tom

You are 100% correct! May run that one outside the stringers away from all others. Thank You very much Tom, I would have missed it.

[OrangeQuest]

Spent most of Saturday covering myself in FG dust but got the inside of the hull ready for the stringers. It's Monday morning and I can still feel the dust that got through my dust suit, I may rubber band the sleeves next time! Before I put the build away for the night I tack the stringers in.

Sunday morning pulled the build out and brushed on some neat epoxy to wet out the stringers and the hull. Scrubbed up 4 SUP boards for a private event Friday then put fillets on all the angles, silicon spatula made quick work of it. Left for lunch. All this was biting into the remaining epoxy that I had so very carefully measuring how much the jugs go down on each batch. I use a food scale to measure the epoxy and wood flour for accurate measurements and faster mix times. First batch of fillet my helper took to long to blend flour in the epoxy and was already starting to heat up when I got it so worked very fast. Then showed him how to weight a cup of flour, mix the next batch and then weigh it again and subtract that from what he started with and that got the batches coming faster.

Had four pieces of tape pre-cut to length, we placed the first tape on the still tacky epoxy and I started rolling. Took two batches of epoxy to wet out one tape and by my measurements I had enough epoxy for 10 more batches of epoxy, only needed six to get all the taping done. By the time I got finished with number 3 tape I looked at what little epoxy was in the jug and only had enough for one more batch...maybe so I have one side to still tape the stringer!

But next epoxy order will be 3 gallons so should have more than enough to finish the build and some to spare. Have to wait for next month's budget.

Oh, and I touched epoxy to one of my eyebrows....that hurts!!

[OrangeQuest]

Since I am waiting for next month's budget to get more epoxy to finish taping the inside frames I started cutting down the old frames to fit in their new positions. Kind of mocked it up to get an idea of what the transom will look like. Here is a picture without the side splash deck.



Here is a mock up of the splash deck:



Under the stern bench the wells will go. They will double as ballast tanks when not used for fish and I am by myself. Everybody needs an extra 170 pounds on a mini boat right?

[glossieblack]

Nice logical approach OrangeQuest!

[OrangeQuest]

The budget for April has came through and looks like there will be enough funds to get 3 gallons of epoxy (hopefully way more than needs to finish the boat) and may just be enough to get a few sheets of 6mm plywood. I have a family style lumber yard about a mile from the warehouse. They just sell lumber and a few wood working tools so the price they have for marine plywood is hard to turn down. As close as they are I could pick it up with a bicycle and trailer!!

The only thing that will hold me back form continuing the build it free time. Opening another venue back up this coming up weekend, everything is ready!! R/C sailboats will also be out of the way and ready for rentals at a local park. The warehouse won't be bulging as much so a little more room to get to the build. Have one more venue in May that the gear is almost ready for that opening but very minor.

[OrangeQuest]

Order 3 gallons on epoxy this morning. That should be enough to get to building again. I can finish taping in the one side of the last stringer and start wetting out the frames that I have cut. Will also start cutting out the holes for the plumbing in the two fish wells. I am considering putting my chase tubes on the outside of the strings and a fore to aft drain tube down the center.

I am so excited about getting to start on the build again!! Even if it is a few minutes here and there. Getting the venues up and running for our kayaking company will free up some of my time!!

Back to the build, it looks like there was enough in this month's budget for me to get a sheet of 6mm marine ply. I will use it to start making the well sides. .I don't want the bottoms to be flat but angled to the drain. Even though I know the nut for the drain fitting needs some clearance to tighten the nut and install the screen.