Building a Wharram Hitia 14

[samfreeland]

Yes I will go and ask about picks this morning. A couple of tricks with epoxy you probably already know. If you use the glue powder wet it out with straight epoxy first or the dry timber soaks up most of the epoxy and your just left with the glue powder. It's best to use at the hot part of the day because as the day cools so does the timber as the timber cools it sucks in the epoxy.

[Building Wharrams]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uoIHyHloTGA

On this day I was only for about 3 hours in the workshop. I made the details at the end of the mid platforms and the tongue stiffeners. After that I had to leave to go to Thai Watsadu, this is a DIY store chain. I had to go there because I needed to buy paint rollers for upcoming epoxy work later this week. All the local small hardware stores in my area do not have the type of rollers that I need. At Thai Watsadu they had 37 rolls and I took them all. I asked for 100 pieces, but they did not have more in stock.

[Building Wharrams]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MiE5h6p_iAw

On this day I only had 2 hours of time, because I needed to go to a parents meeting at my son's school in the afternoon. I wanted to put 2 coats of epoxy on the inner faces of the deck and side panels and both faces of the bulkheads, but while I was preparing I decided to lay down some sheets of plywood on the floor to protect it against epoxy spills. Tomorrow I will start applying the coats of epoxy.

[Building Wharrams]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hwqBnTqXBac

Today I used epoxy for the first time in Thailand. There is a difference between using epoxy in Belgium at temperatures below 15 degrees celcius and in Thailand with temperatures above 30 degrees celcius. In Belgium I was using West System's fast hardener (205), in Thailand I am using West System's slow hardener (206). Even with the slow hardener I can very clearly notice that the epoxy is curing much faster. Today I applied 2 coats of epoxy on the inner faces of the deck and side panels and on one side of the bulkheads.

[Building Wharrams]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4F6ZYaYaocg

On this day I went to the furniture makers area of Bangkok to find some copper or brass screws and nails. I had to go in and ask more than 15 shops before I found a shop that sold those. I bought a selection for my workshop. After that I went home and ate dinner with my son. It was already night. I was tired, but decided to go to the workshop anyway to epoxy coat the backside of the 4 bulkheads that I epoxy coated yesterday. I first moved all parts that were laying curing on the floor to another room on another floor. Then I decided to epoxy coat more than I initially planned and layed down the panels for the other hull on the floor too.

[Building Wharrams]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SQXtVVk8FRs

Soon I am going to stitch the panels together with copper wire. I have never done that before so today I did a little test with 2 small pieces of plywood.

[Building Wharrams]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QYNI-O5nnUU

In the project I need battens with dimensions of 9mm x 19mm. Almost all the wood that I have ordered is already cut exactly to size, but for this one the 9mm x 19mm I have 10mm x 25.4mm, so I will use the planer to get it at that thickness. After doing that I marked the positions on the inner faces of one set of the sterns & bow panels.

[Building Wharrams]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NeIDEapWmcI

In this video you can see that the bow and stern panels are joined with a butt block. I also place 2 backing pads for the beam lashings. First I determine the location of the butt block and the backing pads, then the surface is sanded with 80 grit sandpaper and cleaned. Then I mix some epoxy and apply it on one side of the butt block and backing pad. I let it stay for a couple of minutes so the plywood can soak in the epoxy. Meanwhile I am adding a cotton fibre adhesive filler to the epoxy mix and thicken it to a "mayonnaise" consistency. Then I apply it to the surfaces and place the parts on the spot where I want them. In the case of the butt block I use some brass panel pins to hold the butt block in position while epoxy and cotton fibre glue sets.

[Building Wharrams]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hCHixplqvYo

In this video I am removing the brass panel pins from the butt block. You might have noticed that the brass panel pins are not totally hit into the wood. On the building plans they are totally flat with the wood surface for providing the necessary contact pressure. I felt and noticed that in this case there was enough contact pressure by hitting them in just a bit.

After removing the brass panel pins I did the same procedures for glueing the butt block and backing pads for the other side panel.

Then I proceeded with drawing the scarf joints on the 19mm x 9mm sheer stringers. I need 4 sheer stringers that are as long as the hull, and for that I need to make a scarf joint for every sheer stringer, because the battens that I have are not long enough. In total I have to make 4 scarf joints.

[Building Wharrams]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jXNS1ZI6h7M

In this video I am glueing the scarf joints together. I first apply unthickened epoxy on the joint surfaces, then I mix come cotton fibre with the epoxy until it is a mayonnaise consistency and then apply it to the surfaces. I clamp it all together, putting plastic at various places where I don't want squeezed out epoxy leak on clamps or the floor.

I also draw the spots where I am going to drill holes for the copper wire stitching.

[Building Wharrams]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mi5_DbQDfK4

In this video I am fixing the sheer stringer to the side panel. I first prepare the scarf joints, after that I prime the surface of the side panel and one side of the sheer stringer with unthickened epoxy and after that I thicken the epoxy with cotton fibre and apply it on the sheer stringer with a notched spreader. I then place the sheer stringer and nail it down. I will try to remove the brass pins on one of the next days. I am not hitting the brass pins lower, so that they are easier to remove later, and I can see and feel the pressure is already enough (the epoxy is pushed out from the sides of the sheer stringer).

[Building Wharrams]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AXM6SwMsusQ

In this video I am doing more work on the hull side panels. First I am removing brass panel pins from the sheer stringer that I placed in the previous video. After that I go on and prepare the side panels of the other hull. Before I apply the unthickened epoxy I sand the surfaces a little bit with 80 grit sandpaper. After that I add colloidal silica adhesive filler (West System 406) to the mix and stir it well. I drill small holes in the sheer stringer where I want to put the brass pins. I find that it works better than trying to hit the pin all through. A food seller in the street comes to have a look and asked me what I am doing. People are very nice and friendly in my neighbourhood. I am very happy and relaxed here in Thailand.

[Building Wharrams]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AXM6SwMsusQ

In this video you can see almost the same thing like in the previous 2 videos. I suppose this is very boring for people to see, but I am showing the reality of building a catamaran, where many things you have to do twice.

[Building Wharrams]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7fHKxKZhjHQ

In this video I start with a little clean up of the workshop. After that I remove some pins from one of the scheer stringers. The sheer stringers are a bit longer then the panels, so I place each side panel on the workmates and cut the sheer stringers to almost the right length. Then I clamp two panels together and draw the locations of the holes, and after that I drill the holes. Towards the end of the video I also draw and drill the holes for the bulkhead stitches.

[Building Wharrams]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MM4lPqxRZJU

In this video I am stitching the stempost and keel to the side panels. The first few stitches took some time, but soon after I was doing the stitches very fast.