Now it's really starting to look like a boat.

Albeit upside down still, but we are getting closer to the turning on the 5th of December. Pictures show the first coat of primer going on. This should be completed tomorrow, after which any imperfections will be filled and sanded ready for the second coat. The vertical lines which can be seen in the top picture are the overlapping spray lines which are not completely dry.

Sanding and Sealing

The hull has now been sanded and the process of soaking and sealing with epoxy started. This will be completed this morning. Once this is set it will be lightly sanded ready for the first coat of primer.

Drilling the Keel Holes

In order to make the drilling of the 22 holes for the Keel bolts easier, I made a guide which helped keep the drill straight.

Countdown to Turning

Finally, all the holes have been filled and all that remains is to sand the hull, seal it and paint. There are a few other small things which need doing, like drilling the holes for the Keel and Skeg, making a cradle, making the frameworks for the pinions and A-frames and doing a bit of excavation. If all goes according to plan we will be having a huge party on the 5th of December.





I have now also completed a scale model of Tididi as well as the boat shed in order to get a better understanding of how it will turn and to work out where there is excavation needed. The top of the box depicts the ground level with relevant slopes allowing me to work out exactly how deep I need to dig to accomodate the arc the boat will take.

Keel and Skeg packing blocks

Finally, another update. Inclement weather as well as being involved in making cabinets for a paying customer have slowed progress a bit. However in between all of this I have finished and fitted the Keel packing block and fitted the rudder and skeg packer ready to be flattened. All that now remains is to finish filling the holes, before sanding and sealing the entire hull with epoxy.

Setting up the Chines and Gunwales

Whilst the filling of holes continues, in between the incescant rain and wind which we are experiencing at the moment in the Western Cape, there is nothing much to add to the blog by way of current progress, so I will continue from where I left off with the setting up of the Keelson.

The next step was to set up the Chines and Gunwales. these were both made up of two layers of 69 x 22mm timber which first had to be joined with scarfs to form the lengths required. Once the first layer had been fixed to the frames and checked for fairness, the second layer was then glued and screwed to this to form a strong continuous curve. Once this was complete, the Chines were then chamfered to the correct angle.

Template for Keel packing blocks.

Whilst I have been busy "plugging" away at the holes - which is well over half way complete now - I have also been busy with the Keel Packer block. This is being cut and shaped at the moment, after having cut and set up a template from which to transfer the profile (shown in the photographs above). Once this is complete the same will be done for the Skeg and Rudder packer.

Mini Tididi

While the hole filling is continuing, and during periods where the weather is too bad to work on the boat, I have been constructing a scale model of TIDIDI. This is mainly to assist in the planning of the hull turning, in order to see which is going to be the best way of doing this with minimum effort and manpower, and without too much modification of the boat shed. The most likely method is going to be one suggested by Roy McBride, which he used successfully on his own boat, whereby a pinion is fitted to both the transom and the stem, which then rest in "A" frames, allowing the hull to turn much like a "Spit". The model will assist in getting the best position for these pinions so that the hull is balanced throughout the turning process. It will also allow me to see where the ground needs to be excavated to allow for the widest section of the hull.

Filling the Holes

With roughly 6400 holes to fill this is turning out to be quite a time consuming process. However after experimenting with a couple of ways of doing this, including a putty knife and a large catheter syringe, I have now come up with using old silicon tubes in a caulking gun. This is by far the best method so far and I can fill up to 430 holes with one 100/65 gram mix.

Rounding the last Mark and heading for the Finish

I am well and truly on the last leg now heading for the big day when she gets turned over. Another weekend of brilliant Cape Town weather allowed for all the sanding to be done and the last seam filled. After some difficulty trying to fill the screw holes with Teak powder using a catheter syringe, which tended to clog too easily, Theo suggested I try the powder which came out of the sander after having sanded all the joints. This turned out to be the answer as it makes a much smoother paste which does not clog. In effect it is also recycling the Teak powder already used to fill the joints thus minimising wastage.