AndyTBoater Posted February 2 Share Posted February 2 That all looks brilliant. Keep up the good work And just so I can get some (reflected) glory out of this, I would like to point out that I have actually used one of the brooms that are in the background. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ExSurveyor Posted February 2 Share Posted February 2 40 minutes ago, AndyTBoater said: That all looks brilliant. Keep up the good work And just so I can get some (reflected) glory out of this, I would like to point out that I have actually used one of the brooms that are in the background. Trigger is hiding among us 😁 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FairTmiddlin Posted February 2 Share Posted February 2 5 hours ago, AndyTBoater said: That all looks brilliant. Keep up the good work And just so I can get some (reflected) glory out of this, I would like to point out that I have actually used one of the brooms that are in the background. Sweeping or boat type? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JanetAnne Posted February 9 Author Share Posted February 9 On 02/02/2024 at 14:16, FairTmiddlin said: Sweeping or boat type? Sweeping. Not sure anyone would trust him with a boat... 2 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JanetAnne Posted February 9 Author Share Posted February 9 With our keel now completed we need to add the final part of the shaft log. I shall skip over the actual process as its basically the same as the lower part but here it is all lined up and bolted in place. A final trial fit of the tube and relevant nice shiny bronze bits and we are done. Photos still not right... if someone can resize them it'd be really helpful 11 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JanetAnne Posted February 9 Author Share Posted February 9 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JanetAnne Posted February 9 Author Share Posted February 9 Aha, finally sussed it. Photos back to proper sizes I hope... Being cut out Checked for fit Nice and true here Shiny fittings final assembly looking good and bolted together Hopefully these have come out ok this time 9 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JanetAnne Posted February 9 Author Share Posted February 9 Now where was I, now the pictures are sorted? Ah yes, turning our world upside down. Vaughan's picture on page one shows their new build under construction and, more importantly, shows all the frames being held in place and supported from the roof of the building. Keeping everything in place during construction is vital to producing a nice straight boat but, sadly, in our building, the roof is about 70ft away which doesn't lend itself to offering any sort of useful help. Our only realistic alternative is to build the hull upside down and use the floor to support everything. To lay the keel it needs to by fixed to something called a 'strongback'. The strongback holds the keel absolutely straight, plumb and ready to accept the components that go to make up the hull. Back in the day Brooke Marine had its own railway system for moving ships and parts around the yard. All that's left of that system is the rails still concreted into the floors. You're unlikely to find a stronger strongback and so construction began. Firstly fixing points were welded to the rail tracks. Next we call on the overhead crane to lift what has a become 34'6" long chunk of solid oak First onto it's side And then up and into position ready to be supported on a frame. From here it all got a bit busy and so there are no piccys until we were able to take a break, by which time we had this 15 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JanetAnne Posted February 9 Author Share Posted February 9 I've now put those piccys in the right order three times... 2 1 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JanetAnne Posted March 4 Author Share Posted March 4 With our keel nicely held in all the right places and after a cuppa, to allow the stress levels to return to normal, it was time to move onto the next stage. Wooden boats have frames stationed at intervals along their length. These frames dictate the shape of the hull. First we draw out the frames, one by one, full size on our lofting boards and then construct each frame exactly to the full size drawing, laying each piece out to ensure accuracy. Starting at the pointy end.... And then moving back one frame at a time Getting near the transom now. You can see the way the hull shape changes as we go The oak we have been supplied has been absolutely excellent but even then you still have to be aware of any bits not up to standard Eventually we end up with a full set ready to be united with our suspended keel Let the fun begin 13 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JanetAnne Posted March 4 Author Share Posted March 4 Frame No1, well frame A to be precise Working backwards each frame is teased into position And secured to our existing strong back framework And the shape starts to appear All the way to the transom As each frame is positioned a careful eye is kept on our plumb-bobs to make sure nothing moves or twists out of alignment So far so good! 16 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JanetAnne Posted March 4 Author Share Posted March 4 Next stage is to introduce more bracing to hold the frames as rigidly as possible. You don't want to be launching a boat that is longer one side than the other (and yes, there are a few out there!) I may have likened our finished structure to the Gt Yarmouth wooden roller coaster we had so much wood inside I've also been asked about our overhead crane. It's an amazing piece of kit, one of four originally installed when the yard was built and kept going through a combination of parts raided from the other out of service cranes and Robins sheer determination. In its heyday there was a man in the cab full time but now it's operated remotely from the workshop floor. We'd be lost without it and...... three days ago....... Robin broke it Oops, can someone clever turn the first and third pictures the right way up please (Mr Grendel sir) 8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grendel Posted March 4 Share Posted March 4 well I tried, but they stubbornly refuse to be inserted the correct orientation (they rotate 180 degrees from what yours currently shows ok i had to change the file type to get them the right way up (and the name) 3 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MargeandParge Posted March 5 Share Posted March 5 The skill and progress is stunning Thanks for showing us all, your write ups are great to read and understand. Kindest Regards Marge and Parge 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sillybilly Posted April 18 Share Posted April 18 Brilliant! This is a fantastic project and I look forward to following your progress I've repaired many wooden boats some very extensively but never built one from scratch but always had the desire Thanks for sharing best regards 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sillybilly Posted June 28 Share Posted June 28 SillyBilly Wonderful to see true skill in action thanks for the update 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Happy Posted June 29 Share Posted June 29 It would be good to see an update on the progress so far Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BroadAmbition Posted June 29 Share Posted June 29 Agreed, we are somewhat overdue methinks Griff 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JanetAnne Posted June 29 Author Share Posted June 29 Yes it would It's all written, just going through the piccys so I can populate it and it's all yours. 7 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JanetAnne Posted June 30 Author Share Posted June 30 March through to about June is my busiest time with boats needing readying for the season as well as classic cars for their own show season. We are also in the sad position that Robins place along with the rest of the Brooke Marine yard will be closing down in the next year or two meaning new places needing found and set up for projects. All in all a busy time Anyway, the good news is that, despite your teasing our man, no we haven't stopped work because he has run out of money Right then, back to our build. With all our frames in place and aligned we continue to add strengthening until we are satisfied that everything is as we want it. 10 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JanetAnne Posted June 30 Author Share Posted June 30 Then comes the 'fairing' Our frames currently all have square ends on them. If we were to leave them like this our finished boat would look like a thripenny bit! Obviously it's desirable to have nice flowing lines and so, with the use of various planes, spokeshaves and long lengths of batton as a guide, the frames are shaped by hand until we are happy with what we have got. Here you can see how much needs to come off this frame to allow the batton to sit level Even more here as we near the now Starting to take shape now Looking good here as well And around the nose Next time it all starts getting a bit technical.. 14 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JanetAnne Posted June 30 Author Share Posted June 30 Chines! The chine is a nice thick piece of oak (in this case) that runs along the outside of the frames and forms the join between the sides and the bottom of the boat. The majority of wooden broads cruisers have their chine 'upright' because it's easy to construct and plenty strong enough for the intended purpose. However, these days we are forced to crane boats that were always intended to be slipped and the original chines can suffer quite a lot of stress when they are asked to support 10 ton of wet boat through the air. As an alternative, a chine can be fitted at 45° to the frames (don't worry, the pictures will help). By angling the chine you can produce an immensely strong area exactly where needed (a number of Broom's used this construction at the time). Of course, in theory, it sounds easy enough but in reality we are asking some fairly hefty lumps of oak to bend in two different directions at the same time. Before we bend anything though, someone has to work it all out... just glad it wasn't me! We, well Robin, starts with an angle Followed by marking out our desired depth And then cutting out to accept the chine These are all cut by hand as, although they are the same depth in relation to each frame, the shape of the hull changes along the length quite considerably and so a machine is not an option Then we have a nice chine oak delivery arrive 17 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JanetAnne Posted June 30 Author Share Posted June 30 Whilst Robin was having fun with verniers, calculators, head scratching, and doing all the clever working out stuff, I got busy with some of the oak and laminated up the engine beds. We'd also had a nice shiny red lump arrive and it really needed holding in there somehow. Just hope we ain't fitting this upside down.. A raid of our latest oak consignment produced the bits needed for the engine beds Which I then machined up and laid out in order Oops, poor piccy - sorry Before gluing and clamping and leaving overnight to dry By the time I'd got these made Robin had the chines sussed so it was back on the hull and basically copy his measurements to 'my' side and start work. 18 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BroadAmbition Posted June 30 Share Posted June 30 Nice one, Thanks for the update Griff 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JanetAnne Posted June 30 Author Share Posted June 30 Before we can start to get our chines into place we need to add some extra support. The first part of the chines need to be fitted as a pair to eliminate the chance of bending or twisting our frames. They also need to be steamed so they'll bend. By fitting them together we will exert the same amount of pressure on both sides at the same time... well that's the theory. Here you can see the frames cut along the length of the hull ready for the first layer of chine We also have straps in place to help pull both sides against each other to keep the pressure equal 9 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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