Building 23' catamaran. Build updates

[Chimo]

Steve

Not sure if it would work with the hi build coat that your using but for what its worth.............. I was talking to and older bloke than me who was telling me how he and his mates used to paint their cars with paint brushes and get a spray like finish. All he said they did was to stick the cans of enamel they were to use in really hot water to get them to flow nicely off their brush. Maybe you could try this with your job to reduce your issue.

Merry Xmas

Chimo

[Swanie1975]

Like chimo suggested I think you would be better off experimenting with heat and more so the thinning of the primer. As you are going to be doing small patches as you are working it will be a bit of a pain in the butt to mask areas off each time you spray and it will take a fair few coats of sprayed primer to equal the thickness of a rolled coat. Also breathing gear to be worn and ventilation to be considered.

I hear what you are saying about the orange peel as the boys at work trialled the roll on primer for a while and they found it was a bit of extra work sanding down but no overspray or masking required balanced it out (almost). If you do go for a spray gun setup find one that has different tip sizes so you can change it for later top coating.

I gotta say I admire the way you've gone at the project and can appreciate the man hours involved in it. Great thread too.

I remember about 20 yrs ago working with an old fella (then 70ish) and watching him brush paint an old mg in enamel and when it had flowed out and dried the finish was bloody amazing.

Cheers Ryan

[stevemid]

Fandtm666, JarrahJack, Chimo, Swannie1975
Thanks very much for the input. On thinking about it, I suppose spraying is a whole other 'learning curve' also known as can of worms. (thinking, filters, driers, more CFM even before we get to knowing how to use the thing.) Still, it's always tempting to buy another tool!

I did try tipping off the high build on the hulls and that did help some- but thinking back it might have need a bit of thinners then too. I was being cheap because the local Wattyl dealer only had 4 Litre tins and it's max 5% thinners. But I will try the thinner first, then if that doesn't work I'll try the hot water - but I'm a bit concerned about what heating will do to pot life which halves from 4 hours to 2 when increasing ambient temperature from 25 to 35 degrees, especially since I usually need to roll on 4 coats to get required thickness. Oh well: onwards and upwards!

Steve

[Chimo]

Heat small batches Steve. Let us know what happens.

C

[stevemid]

Well I think I've sorted out my conduit to get power and water from the port side under the settee to the starboard helm station and galley. This is the "before" picture. The problem is that the top of the tunnel forms the floor of the cabin. I couldn't get from left to right without creating a "hump." The diagonal you see in the picture is the uni reinforced section the main forward bulkhead which has been cut away to allow access down into the port sponson to access the head and the berth. You can see the rectangular holes that I cut in for the conduit.
Step down into Head.jpg
This next pictures show the conduit across the foot of the berth, which will be hidden by the mattress. This leads to the starbord side where I can go through the main forward bulkhead and into a cabinet. From here I can take electrical wiring to the helm station and I can access the galley with a water hose from the port fresh water tank. From here, I'll also take the sink drain back to the port sponson through-hull. I've left myself pulling covers on both ends because in addition to everything else I'll be pushing 1" hose through here.
Berth Conduit.jpg Conduit.jpg
This final picture one shows the conduit adjacent to the cutaway section of the bulkhead. This doesn't add additional interference to the step down and being glasse-in it strengthens the bulkhead.
Below the step, I've made a cover to hide the hoses going down through the sole where I will Tee into a through-hull for the toilet. This will also be glassed in and will support the step and the bulkhead.
Conduit & Cover for Sole Hole.jpg

[chris69]

hi there steve i see your high building and haveing fun too,yes it does seem like a waste to put it on then sand it off,thinning out and doing and tac coat when its flashed off might be better to build it up quicker and use a high densitey foam roller,just change them before they break down on you and you should get a less orange peel finish,i hope this helps cheers Chris.

[Clonoid]

Going great Steve, I'd forgotten about this thread and just read all of it from page 2 onwards !

[stevemid]

Clonoid, Good on ya. I wish looking forward went as fast as looking back! Chris69, thanks I'll give that a try too. I'm liking fairing as I go, I don't have that buildup of crap I don't like to do.

[stevemid]

I've been wanting to build out the wheelhouse but I had a fair bit of under-floor work: fairing, sealing, plumbing and electrical stuff to think out before I started with the conduits. I had to figure out where all the cabinetry and the table pedestal base went so I would know where I could put access hatches. Although seldom used because I'll have to lift up the flooring to get at them, these hatches will let me inspect all the under-floor areas later.

[edit 4 Jan 13]: To begin with I sanded then faired all the fibreglass joins in the four under-floor compartments under the wheelhouse. ( I want to be able to run my hand in ANY compartment anywhere on the boat without worry about cutting my hand on a sharp spot.) Then I applied 3 coats of clear epoxy, sanding between coats to eliminate runs and high spots.

I laid in the main conduits - two on the starboard side for engine controls, hydraulic steering and fresh water to the transom shower and one on port side to carry battery cables to the motors, saltwater washdown and the power up to the helm station switch panel . In the following picture, the conduit stubbed up on the port side comes up through the floor at the battery box (on the cerntre line under an "L" shaped settee) which is marked out in red.
Wheelhouse subfloor.jpg
This done, I installed and plumbed the two 100L bladder water tanks, crossing over through the berth conduit described in the previous post. In this picture a red semicircle shows the extent of the galley return which also forms the back of the helm station.
Water Bladders.jpg
Now that I'm sure all the plumbing suits, I'll put mousing cables in all the conduits, put down the floors and start building the galley, settee and table. In this next pictures you can see the filler hoses which will terminate on SS fillers set in the gunwale.
Conduit Water Filler Petrol Tanks.jpgPlumbing.jpg

[Chimo]

Looking good Steve. Have a happy and productive 2013. Do you have any idea of completion month?

Cheers
Chimo

[cormorant]

Looking great . When you buy the stainless fillers put a smaller insert piece of stainless pipe in it for the water ones so a fuel bowser cannot get in them only a standard hose fits. I think you know why. Never let the marina boy fill up your boat with fuel and water.

A bolt or welded bar sideways through your fuel ones 10cm down will stop anyone pumping you empty unless they use a very small hose.

[stevemid]

Thanks cormorant; once again, good advice born I'm sure of painful experience. Chimo, I'd hate to guess at a completion date. At this time it's like looking down a pipe and pulling out one turd at a time. For now I've got to finish building out the furniture - The helm station, galley, settee, a box for a fridge and two long iceboxes as seats in the cockpit and two lockers in the cockpit against the wheelhouse bulkhead. Then I've got to fit the inner walls and the floors in the cockpit and install the deck, the gunwales the cabin sides and the cabin top (don't forget to run LED light wires in the kerfs in the cabin top.) Then there's the fairing and the painting after which I have to order and install the front opening window and the door and the four opening hatches. Then there's the fitting out: steering, electrics, lights, stove, fridge and plumbing. Before I started writing this I was thinking end of March. Now, I'm not so sure. Put it this way: in three months, I'll be able to make a much more educated guess than I can today.

Happy New Year to everyone and thanks everyone for your comments, and advice; it's much appreciated.

Steve

[Chimo]

So Steve at least we now have the to do list so we can all help by ticking off stuff as you get it done! It is certainly going to worth it in not too much time. Did the other one eventually get sold?

Cheers
Chimo

[stevemid]

No, haven't sold the sailboat yet. Prices are so low I can't bear it. I suppose I should bite the bullet.
A man with 2 boats and only 1 wife....
Steve

[Chimo]

Actually I meant the one like what your building that was built by the guy who passed away?
Re yours: I don't think a person can actually have too many boats...............

C
C