Boat Plans Building | Didi 950 Ohio Project Update

Boat Plans Building

It has been awhile since I last updated about the Didi 950 amateur builds happening on opposite sides of the world. I was reminded last week by a reader that there are folks out there waiting to see more.

Both boats are progressing at a good rate and both should be launched this year. The boat of Fred Grimminck in Australia, the lifting keel version built from scratch, is nearly complete and should be launched in a few months. Mike Vermeersch in USA hopes to launch his fixed keel version, built from a kit that we supplied, on the Great Lakes in the summer.

Both are building their boats primarily for cruising, so are fitting them out for comfort more than trying to achieve minimum weight. In this post I will include photos of Mikes fixed keel boat and my next post will feature Freds lifting keel boat.

I wrote last year about Mikes keel that was being built by Howdy Bailey. It was in progress at the time so I didnt include pics of the completed keel, which are shown in these photos.
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Pre-formed side plate being plug-welded to the internal tube structure.

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Ballast bulb ready for fitting to keel foil.

Keel and bulb mated, faired and primed, ready to be shipped to the builder.

The keel will be bolted to a substantial steel weldment that is inside the hull and bolted to glass-reinforced eggcrate backbones and bulkheads, with the hull skin (also glass-reinforced) sandwiched between the top of the keel and the internal steelwork. That steel weldment does double-duty, serving also as the engine beds.

Engine beds snug between the longitudinal and transverse structural members.

Engine mounted on beds. The keel bolt holes can be seen under the engine.

The engine of this version is located under the galley central counter. It will have large access panels all round for engine work and for access to the keel bolts. Some people object to this engine location, saying that the motor is too smelly to put in the middle of the accommodation. Not so, all of my personal boats have had the motors in this position and I would not want it anywhere else. It makes the engine easy to work on and to keep clean, giving a boat that always smells fresh. A big reason why under-cockpit motors are smelly is that they are so difficult to work on and clean that they tend to be neglected. This location also places the motor close to the centre of pitching, so is good for performance in lumpy water.

U-shape galley being built. The engine is under the counter on the right, cooker to the left.

Epoxy-coated plywood icebox.

Icebox installed and foam insulation poured, ready for trimming.

The rest of the interior is also progressing.

Saloon, looking forward. As designed the settees are water tanks but Mike is installing plastic tanks elsewhere.

Looking down at the top of a water ballast tank, with watertight access covers.

Mike is doing a very neat build. This is partly due to building from a pre-cut kit but most of it is due to him having very neat working habits. I consider my own woodworking to be neat but Mike makes my work look a bit tatty in comparison. It is always worthwhile to keep the build area free of scraps, shavings, dust, tools etc for the sake of safety but also to make it easier to work with glue, epoxy coatings, paint etc without messing up both the tools and your workmanship.

 

An important aspect that many builders ignore is to round off all salient corners, whether they will be seen or not. It only needs a minute or two to run each timber through a router with 6mm radius bit, leaving soft corners that hold coatings well and wont damage your hands, knees and feet. Neglect this step and you will have an interior that looks amateurish and will also damage you when you fall against it. This small detail will make the world of difference to the final look of your new boat, helping to make it something of which you can justifiable be proud. 

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Watch for my next post in a day or two to see Freds lifting keel Didi 950.

To see our full range of designs, please go to http://dixdesign.com/ on your computer or to http://dixdesign.com/mobile on your mobile.


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Boden Boat Plans Australia | Fairing the hull

Boden Boat Plans Australia

The phrase "fairing the hull" took me a while to figure out its origin. My interpretation of what is fair is just that... it feels fair. Running ones hand across the hull sheathing reveals more than what your eyes can see and as you keep running your hand across that hull skin you start to get a feel for whats fair. Fair is not perfect and fair is not feeling bumps and gouges in the metal... fair is fair...it feels pretty fair. Sort of like how Manana does not mean tomorrow, it just means not today.

I bought my steel wheel abraded, primed and plasma cut. The wheel abrading removed the mill scale and left a good profile for the primer to stick to. Im building inside so rust has been a non issue for me and my original primer has remained intact. I started the fairing process ( above the water line only) by grinding all welds smooth. I also hit some of the "weld through" with a grinder if the bumps felt abnormally high. Weld through are areas where the metal pushed out from the welds I created welding the longitudinal stringers to the hull sheathing. After I had all the grinding done I spot sand blasted all the grind marks, rub rails, and any spot that had rust blooming. I then gave the whole hull a light blasting to tooth up the existing primer. I blew off the hull with compressed air and applied three coats of epoxy primer alternating colors between the coats ( white and gray). I then began the process of mixing epoxy ( Gougon Brothers) fairing compound and filled all the areas I had ground such as weld seams and deep weld through marks. After multiple applications and sanding of those areas I sprayed one more coat of epoxy primer then gave the hull two coats of high build primer with the tendency to lay it on thick.

High build primer is like liquid filler putty being extremely easy for one to sand. Using a 30" flexible sanding block and rolls of self adhesive 80 grit 2" wide sand paper I sanded the hull. The high build primer shows every little dip and doodle in the hull. While "long boarding" the hull Id find areas where Id sand back into the metal ( very high spots). If these areas were really high Id hit it with a the grinder, re blast, re prime with epoxy, more filler if needed, more high build, re sand. I really did not use much filler as the hull was very fair when I began. Most of the filler was used up creating a smooth transition from the hull skin to the rub rails, around the port lights, and in the area of the freeing ports and hawse holes. Once I was pleased with the long board sanding I blew off the hull, vacuumed the hull, wiped her down with tack rags and applied two more coats of epoxy primer to seal the high build primer.

I faired the hull one side at a time, working at a pretty steady rate since I was doing this over the winter in the shop. Each side took two months to complete and has landed on the top ten most nasty jobs to date.

Having now looked up at the hull thousands of times in varying light I have found a few areas that will need more a little more fairing before I apply the topcoat. Id guess Ill have two more days in fixing some of these areas so I dont consider them a big deal as most will just involve some sanding and high build primer. My future plan for the top coat is to scuff the few areas that need attention, epoxy prime, high build, sand and repair, more epoxy primer. The whole hull will get a good washing, a scuff with 80 grit, one more coat of epoxy primer, then Ill spray the top coat.

I only have a few pics of the faired hull. For the most part all the body work is finished and shes ready to paint. Ill be able to topcoat a few areas of the hull in the shop prior to attaching the wheel house and salon, but Ill probably save the bulk of the hull topcoat until after the wheel house and salon are attached.

Conall

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