Bending Coamings: A Reasonable Success

The old man (me) fine tuning the form for the stern coaming

My son James and I began this AM to set up our steamer and begin steaming the coamings.  The first try was a failure. Even tho we timed our steaming carefully, waiting until the box was up to temp of 200 degrees or more, the piece broke.  I think it was more our handling than the fault of the process.

The steam box, plywood wind screen in place. The whole process was plagued by equipment failure. The borrowed turkey boiler worked well for a while, then it didn't. I bought a new one,tried to refill the  gas tank only to find it was out dated and they would not refill it, bought a new tank—it goes on and on.  Altogether a success but I hope never to have to do it again!

The first attempt ended in failure

The bow coaming in place—the second try was a success

Coaming in place but needs to be adjusted, will wait until it dries a bit before I move it

So glad my son was there to help, the extra set of hands...

Looking at these shots reminds me I still need to finish painting way up in the bows

The meat thermometer went way beyond 190

Below, my son James—hands like vice grips

The only failure on the stern coaming, a slight fiber or two broke away but went right back with the little clamp.  Epoxy will cure that when it all dries out.

Not sure what this last pic is.  

Some Progress and Some Regression

Using multiple 45 degree street ells I was able to turn the wires 180 degrees to make a water resistant connection for the top of the shaft. Next I installed a disconnect to join the motor to the control head.

Here is the fix on the battery compartment

 The regression occurred when I realized the batteries I selected would not fit into the opening under the center thwart.  I solved the problem by adding bread board ends to the seat and widening the opening to 26 and one quarter inches.  Just enough for two 13 inch batteries weighing 59  pounds each.

Sorry about this, I don't know why the pictures of the seat remodel were inserted between the others but I am not smart enough to change it.

Here is the connector from the motor to the control head.  a clumsy place to work and solder the bits but it is done.  Very close to connecting the batteries and seeing if it works.

Poor man's Quadrant and other stuff

Installed a quadrant made from 3/8 Meranti.  It was the result of several attempts to "get it just right" and it works pretty well. When and if it fails in the future I will use it as a template for one made from more durable material. It should las a good long while though.

 The "wings" on the quadrant act as stops when they hit the thwart at about a 45degree angle.  Note the cable clamps which have been languishing in my shop for years waiting to find a purpose after being salvaged from an old boat that was pretty much mulch. Also, note the small piece of 1/2 inch cpvc sticking up from the center of the motor shaft.  I have been concerned with water finding its way down the shaft and into the motor.  The clvc pipe was a loose fit so I put an o ring around it and it was a nice tight force fit into the shaft, then I sealed the whole works with a dab of epoxy. Next step will be to thread the wires through fittings already cemented together which will complete the cap of the pipe by making a full 180 degree bend. Next chore will be connecting these wires to the wires leading from the control head. Holding my breath until the batteries are installed and it all works as planned. BTW, the steering works perfectly, nice and smooth.

  

Motor and wheel Installed

A surprise visit by my oldest son lead to the installation of the motor, and it went better than I hoped for. Also did the final installation of the wheel.

 Control arm and clamp holding the motor in place.  It all rides on a steel washer over a rubber washer.

 The motor hanging neatly below. The skeg extension is not yet installed.

Throttle Installed

Here it is, on the front of the rear seat thwart.  Counter clockwise, Reverse, Clockwise, Forward

Mount for Control Head, Lift Ring and Throttle

 Above and below showing the control head and mocked up mounting. The shaft needs to be shortened. Cutting off the handle was a big leap as there is no going back now. There will be a nice bit of room on either side of the head for storage. The motor well/plumbing fittings sit directly behind the control head and the wires are amply long to reach the motor.  The battery wires will have to be lengthened.

 Flush mount lift ring installed on back deck hatch.  Made two test runs on scrap wood and it fit perfectly, no chips or dings.  Moved on to the boat and was dismayed to see two small chips in surrounding wood. There is no justice. If you squint your eyes and look at it slightly askance, the chips are not so noticeable.

 This, below,  is the throttle/fwd/rev control. I searched the local architectural salvage place for something to use that was a bit funky, this is what I found.   It started life as a door handle, I also found the brass plate.  The square shaft fit nicely into the hole and much to my surprise, if I slid the little button up it locked the shaft into what shall be called the neutral/off position.  To operate the boat one must push the little button down to operate the handle. BTW, the handle is bronze and the plate is brass.  Very nautical or screen doorish as you please.

 Above and below are pics of the mocked up mount.  Turns out I got it right the first time and the shaft goes through the seat thwart at a 90 degree angle. The parts and pieces have been removed and will be painted before re installing.

 What in the world is this? The square shaft attached to the handle/throttle was much to small to fit in the hollow of the shaft of the control head (the bit that sticks out through the seat thwart in one of the pics above) so I whittled a rock maple plug of appropriate size, fitted it the the handle shaft and immersed the whole in a puddle of epoxy, all in a scrap of the shaft yielding (I hope) a perfect fit when cured and removed from the scrap piece. The bit sticking up threads into the handle and is secured with a set screw.  Progress!

A shot of the bow