And So it Begins . . . Knottybuoyz' New Project

[cwyckham]

Originally Posted by knottybuoyz

I'm trying to figure out where I'm going to put all the stuff that needs to go in the boat. I'm wondering if it's ok to put the batteries in the box keel?



I understand the need to keep this area as dry as possible and have a plan to do that. It will make some of the batteries relatively inaccessible without removing some of the drive train. One battery (fwd) will be separated by a full bulkhead from the rest. Anybody have any thoughts on that?

My batteries are physically separated and I'm hoping to change that due to thermal concerns. My regulator will adjust the charging due to battery temperature, but if the batteries are at vastly different temperatures, then the compensation will need to be different. There may also be other issues with the temperature difference. In your case, though, they're still in the keel so it may not be a big issue (the keel area is pretty uniform in temperature, I would think).

[knottybuoyz]

I spent half day in the boat shed today. Spent this morning sanding and prepping the fwd section for more carbon fiber. Using the peelply sure saves on sanding. It seems a bit wasteful to just peel this stuff off and toss it away though. The work it saves is great though. Catch 22 I guess.

Anywho, got the carbon fiber on and peelplied.



Tomorrow I hope to get up on the keel again and get it ready for fiberglass. Weather is moderating a bit so that's good.

The ole' shed needs a few repairs too. We'll see if we can get to that this evening if it doesn't rain.

Going to have to do a bit more research on the battery placement issue. Moving tanks isn't possible. They're already purchased so no changing them now. I want to get AGM's which to my understanding are sealed and don't vent. I will have a 40" jack shaft between the transmission and the Python Drive that'll be easily removable should I need to access the batteries. There will likely be a temperature differential between the fwd battery which will be separated from the others in the engine space by a bulkhead. Having them in the keel, as was said, should help moderate the temperatures.

[Blue Stocking]

Looking good Rick.
Gravity being what is, the dropped spanner doesn't want to fall across the terminals below.
But I'm sure you have allowed for heavy insulated covers for those batteries.

[micah719]

Change to twin engines (smaller, lower CG), shift tankage in keel and batteries in a line above the keel?

Or tankage in bilge keels and batteries in the turn of the bilges over that...

Sry, musing aloud....

[DeepFrz]

What is the width of the space where the forward batteries are? Looks like you have lots of space above them for higher batteries. Perhaps 6volt batteries would fit better and use that forward keel space to better effect?

[knottybuoyz]

It was so warm in the shed the epoxy was hard to the touch in less than 4 hrs. This slow hardener usually takes 3 times that long.



I stripped off the peelply to see how the carbon fiber turned out. It's ok. Good thing it's not a cosmetic part though. It'll get burried under a few layers of glass.

I had a tarp covering the cabin roof attached to the side of the shed. Wind ripped the tarp to shreds so we had to clean that up today.



I forgot how big that thing is!

Needed to get up on the shed to fix some holes but Mother Nature isn't cooperating. Four days of rain and thunderstorms in the forecast. Guess it'll have to wait.

The keel narrows up pretty quick fwd of that battery Frz. There's no room to stack them one on top of the other.

After having tried to burn down the last boat BS rest assured dropping a wrench in the bilge will never get near the terminals!

I can't switch tanks or engines now Micah. Those were already bought and paid for last year. I just need to do my homework and see if I can make this work.

[sctpc]

Rick stupid question but whats peal ply?
With regards to your battery problem would it be possible to put a 4inch computer fan and duckting between the batteries to circulate air and vent it outside.

[atoll]

Originally Posted by sctpc

Rick stupid question but whats peal ply?
With regards to your battery problem would it be possible to put a 4inch computer fan and duckting between the batteries to circulate air and vent it outside.

peel ply is a silk like cloth that is put on top of the epoxy or poleyester laminate to get rid of air bubbles in the laminate and provide a stilghtly textured surface that does not need sanding before the application of paint of further laminate.

once the underneath layer is cured the peel ply can be peeled off providing a contaminaint free surface ready for the next application . .

[DeepFrz]

Rick, I wasn't thinking of stacking the batteries, but if you could fit in the taller batteries you might be able to get the same AH rating in a smaller horizontal space. It all depends on the size of your spaces.

[knottybuoyz]

Atoll has the peelply correct. In my case I'm using a polyester material. It also comes in nylon. It's about the weight of parachute silk. Leaves a very coarse texture when removed. It also helps highlight areas that may need more epoxy. Downside is it soaks up a little more resin and gets thrown away when used once. Some used stuff lines the dirt floor of my shed though.

[knottybuoyz]

I apologize for the poor quality of this pic.



This is the carbon fiber tape I put on the keel last week. I removed the peelply today. This stuff is nasty. It's as rough as about 120 grit sandpaper. How do I know? The bloody knuckles on my right hand!

I sanded for about 5 hrs today prepping the seams for the last layers of tape before I glass the keel. Had to give up with a screaming three alarm headache before I was finished. Another couple of hours maybe and I'll be done. Got some of the shed patched up. A few more rather large holes to go. I think I'll be getting my buddy Andrew for those repairs. Knee still isn't 100% so climbing on top of the shed isn't the best idea.

[knottybuoyz]

Originally Posted by DeepFrz

Rick, I wasn't thinking of stacking the batteries, but if you could fit in the taller batteries you might be able to get the same AH rating in a smaller horizontal space. It all depends on the size of your spaces.

I'll have to go back to the drawings Frz. But something tells me it's 11" at the widest which is more than adequate for a 4D. I want to have a void space below the batts, will likely build in a floor and a plywood/fiberglass cover above them. This will isolate them from engine generated heat. The trick will be figuring out how to remove them when they need to be serviced. I do have some heavy duty drawer slides that might work.

Anyhow I'll deal with that when I get to it. Likely next year sometime!

[knottybuoyz]

TW28 recently launched in Turkey doing what it was built to be doing!



Sure looks like a lot of fun!

[Blue Stocking]

Don't know about Turkey,--but the chicks look good.

[knottybuoyz]

Sanding..........
Itching...........
More sanding........
More itching...........
Yet even more sanding.........
And yet even more itching.........

Oh the humanity, will it ever end?