THE DECK GLASSING IS COMPLETED with six inches spare.


With all three of us working together the fibre glassing moved on apace and shipwright Dave's calculations of the amount needed was spot on with six inches to spare.

Wednesday Phil was relieved and impressed at this.
Shipwright Dave was relieved and secretly stunned.
Apprentice Dave was stunned and secretly relieved  himself.

When he returned he seemed to take a turn for the worst 'giggling and muttering to Helen II.( click on the picture for the full grim look.)

 Mike  Fox, our marine surveyor, came today to see the build to date and to advise us on requirements to achieve our required certification in the future.

He proved extremely helpful and supportive of the build thus far. 

As we are due students from Llandrillo College soon and we are unclear what they are meant to be learning on their visit ,

Wednesday Phil began to prepare some planking sections so the students will be able to practice caulking before being let loose on Helen II .
Hopefully the college will let us know the work schedules
prior to the week of work !!! 

These were the final views on Wednesday evening.

OPEN DAY SATURDAY DURING CONWY FEAST.
Sorry to those who came on Sunday hoping to visit us, but we were short of volunteers.
Saturday was a busy day with many visitors to Conwy and Helen II.
Conwy Feast was blessed with excellent weather which helps.

"Murray the Knot" held court to attract visitors into the compound and Wednesday Phil gave demonstrations of caulking before taking visitors up top to see progress. All were surprised at not only progress but the amount of space within Helen II.
They were further amazed at the skill with which Murray extracted willing donations before exit.
 


Ship wright Dave came to help open up and close on Saturday.
Previously he completed the 'glassing of the bow.

Thanks to all visitors who came to see Helen II and many thanks to all who donated .
My thanks to all those who give of their time to see the projects continuation !
And finally thanks to Conwy Mussels for my tea.

DECKING CONTINUES AS THE RUDDER TAKES SHAPE.

Preparations get underway for the Conwy Feast on 22nd and 23 rd of October.Over the two days we will open Helen II to the public.

 
Shipwright Dave continues on the rudder construction making the shoe at the bottom of the keel for the post to sit on . This will be welded when finished .

Both Daves continue to lay the plywood deck and glass it for total waterproofing.

Apprentice Dave marks up where the beams are on the underside of a deck sheet.
Usually when Wednesday Phil is in such an awkward space  ,much grunting, groaning and twisting takes place, but when Dave was here he was very still and a snoring noise was heard.

Finally the sheet was removed
 and holes drilled for the screws.

 Wednesday Phil was back on caulking AGAIN but some joints were so tight the cotton would not go in, so the gap was enlarged to allow the caulking into the space.Dave is widening the gap with a crafty mini saw.

The views fore and aft of the deck at the end of the day.

DAVE DRILLS THE RUDDER TUBE HOLE

and the blog goes international !

 Shipwright Dave has been drilling the hole for the rudder tube to fit into.

1..First Dave drilled a thin pilot hole through the trunking to get  the approximate angle of the large hole 

2. Then he fitted a set of bearings on the deck side.

3.Then he placed a second set( in line below ) the hull.

4. He then put a rod down the hole with a cutting tool at the top .
5. He then drilled down thus widening the hole as needed to create the correct size.

The rudder tube can now be inserted and clamped tight by tightening the bolts around the tube (Hope you can follow this.)

Wednesday Phil heard that the blog was being read in many countries (8,500 hits) including Australia.
This, he concluded, must be down to Apprentice Dave's family in Oz, so he had an international idea.

The Daves set me up for this one.
Shipwright Dave was giggling above me as he lowered the light.
 ( I'll get him back )

 We decided as a tribute to Oz , Apprentice Dave would teach Shipwright Dave how to play the didgerydoo on the rudder tube.

.But he didn't show him how to blow it.

No comment !

Wednesday Phil continued painting the underneath sections of deck floor .

by giving them a roller coat of gloss and when that went tacky -a second coat.This creates a really shiny finish.I didn,t know that.

Apprentice Dave glossed the forward section into the heads (toilet).

 Can you spot the problem?

Dave couldn't until he tried to get out -  much to the glee of the  "unconfined".

And finally Ron, a Helen II friend  ,came to help us find a grub screw lost in the debris during drilling the rudder tube hole.The rod contained a magnet.

We were all pleased to see him deploy this device as we thought Shipwright Dave was going to receive  an unexpected invasive operation .Thanks for your help Ron.

THE DECKING CONTINUES AND THE MACKEREL VISIT THE QUAY.
For the past two weeks the conwy quay  has been alive with shoals of mackerel and with them come the gulls.(click on the photo to enlarge)

The sea continually "boils" with shoals of 6 inch mackerel

guzzling whitebait.Tourists stop and point in wonder ! I've never seen such a long run ,now into week 3.


 Any way back to the plot..............

On Wednesday 7th  Sept. only Apprentice Dave and Wednesday Phil were present .
Dave continued laying the deck and Phil painted and painted and......



On Friday, Sally returned as a volunteer and she painted and painted and......We now have sympathy for painters of the Forth Bridge !

THE MARINE PLY FOR THE DECK ARRIVES
Today we had three volunteers on hand so the painting inside proceeded at a pace.Sandy ,Sally and Wednesday Phil painted as follows...If its bare wood-red lead /if its red lead- grey primer/ if its grey primer-white undercoat/if white undercoat- white gloss. If its any other colour you're on a different boat !

The first sheet of marine ply is measured and cut to size as shipwright Dave looks on,  Apprentice Dave does the work.....

It is first fitted (roughly fitted) and holes drilled to match with the deck beams.(click on the picture to see the detail)

Shipwright Dave begins fitting the cockpit seating area .









The deck beams are painted ready for the ply deck to cover them.





Work is slow but precise and the volunteers all came away with matching grey speckled clothes and designer face paint.
The two Daves came away grinning.

THE CABIN ROOF IS GLASSED AND EPOXY COATED
(JAMIE IS REMEMBERED)

 This week, the covering of the roof with fibreglass and epoxy began.Due to the heat this week ,the glassing needs to be done quickly as the epoxy goes hard swiftly.
So both Daves worked together.

 Today,   Ellie Roddick the daughter of  Jamie  Roddick in whose memory the boat was gifted, came to see progress with her mum Claire Roddick. Both were invited into the boat.





As we were about to glass part of the roof, Ellie was invited to write a message on the woodwork. 

She wrote a personal note in her dad's memory.
This was then epoxied over and will remain on the boat for its lifetime.

 The roof was covered and will be left overnight to set hard before sanding down.


Wednesday Phil and Sandy continued caulking after a big tidy up in and around the boat.
Several trustees came to see progress prior to their monthly meeting.None noticed how tidy the yard was ! HUMBUG!!!