Glen-L.com

trisailor, you are so correct about McMaster Carr. I forgot to even check there. I've purchased quite a few pieces of hardware for my brewery from them and they deliver next or even same day around here.

Now, the photos: I got my cutwater delivered today and so far, I'm very pleased considering I have right around $200 invested and I only had to use 1/2 my steel so I still have enough steel to make another one or something else. So my cost is actually about $175 not including the $25 for the polishing resins.

When welding, I think the pieces probably squeezed together. It should have been 6" at the top and it was more like 4". A combo of me standing on it and a rubber mallet got the 6" spread taken care of.


Here, I have it loosely taped onto the boat. I still need to smooth the edges some to prevent scratching. The spread needs a little more adjusting. In addition to me standing on it, I also discovered that the spare tire is good for adjusting the "roundness" so that the bottom wraps around properly. I believe it was Chris who told me that it is normal for it to not fit right up against the curvature of the stem. When it's all screwed on, it will tuck in right under the rub rail. Once I'm happy with the fit and get the edges nice and smooth, I can polish it. I won't have time to do much more this week




Mike at cutwaters.com made my transom bands and I have a lot of work left to get the cutwater to look like this!

_________________
2011 MALAHINI - KICKED IN THE HEAD

I wake up with a 16ft woody every morning
Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=534DBtp1Cnc
Website: https://sites.google.com/site/2011malahini/

looks like they sanded/ground the field and not just the weld area. is it highbottoming in the middle? good luck.

Hey Guys,
I was looking at this photo of a Ski Tow and I notice that his cutwater appears to be a strip of molding running down the stem (like Bob's Malahini) with two pieces of stainless screwed onto each side. At least that is what it looks like to me. If you follow the centerline all the way down, you'll see that the molding keeps going. If I can't get mine the way I want it, I may just do something very similar to this:

_________________
2011 MALAHINI - KICKED IN THE HEAD

I wake up with a 16ft woody every morning
Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=534DBtp1Cnc
Website: https://sites.google.com/site/2011malahini/

Thanks for the picture Jeff. I hadn't thought of this and it sure looks a lot simpler than attempting to craft a curved 3D piece of SS. While not quite as pretty as a true cutwater, it looks pretty good to me.

I wonder if these are polished aluminum? It almost looks like it.

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________________
Bob
Completed Malahini (launched 6/24/2012)
http://bobsboatbuild.blogspot.com/

Bob, You may be correct. It does look like aluminum. I still have another piece of 18gauge 2b finished 304 stainless. It requires polishing but I may just give that a try. I'm still not happy with my cutwater. I could also just buy a piece of 20 gauge 304 with a #8mirror finish from metalbytheinch.com and do it without polishing. My boat is going back to the lake this week.

_________________
2011 MALAHINI - KICKED IN THE HEAD

I wake up with a 16ft woody every morning
Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=534DBtp1Cnc
Website: https://sites.google.com/site/2011malahini/

it takes a artist more than a welder to build cutwaters. i still have problems building some after 2 and 3 try s. never a second charge other than shipping for my jobs when the customer ain't happy. the most important thing with me is that the pattern has tobe to my requirements. there are adjustments made to the pattern after i get it, the welding machine has tobe set low as possible, u have to over add wire fill, u have tobe extremely careful machining the weld, etc, etc. this is why i ask u guys to call when making ur own c-waters and transom bands. after 35 years making c-waters i'm getting up there and i won't be around long. i self taught myself to tig weld to make a c-water for the 1st boat i restored in 1973. transom bands are a real hassle to make accurate, honest with u i'd rather not make them. i'm a custom staircase builder by trade. sorry to ramble, good luck.

Hello Mike,
You definitely hit that one right on the head. These things are not easy to make. Everyone else out there, it sounds like Mike may be hanging this up or reducing the time spent making these things even more, so we're going to need someone with some skills to learn how.

_________________
2011 MALAHINI - KICKED IN THE HEAD

I wake up with a 16ft woody every morning
Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=534DBtp1Cnc
Website: https://sites.google.com/site/2011malahini/

I made my cutwater it was not an easy job.I spent the best part of a day fitting the SS .Ruff cut both sides ,screwed one side to the hull then using a scrap of SS and a ALl I marked the backside removed and cut using my bandsaw cutting out side my mark, repet on other side screwed back on marked removed grind to fit repeting this until the two peices joined touching with no gaps or tight spots.Using a MIG I tacked the halfs togather 1"-2" apart wile screwed to the hull to help control distortion from welding. REmoved finish welding.Then 10 or12 hrs of grinding and polishing.For all you G5 ers I finley finished my new SS Windshield I will try to post a pic.or yall have to see it @ G6

Looking forward to seeing the new windshield and you, Butch!!!

Roberta

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Roberta
Built Zip "Oliver IV" and Super Spartan "Jimmy 70"

do you countersink the cutwater into the wood ( building riviera )
As I am not finished covering the hull.should I make cutwater now and counter sink into wood before fiberglassing?
for a more streamlined fit

The cutwater fits over the stem and is not sunken into the wood. It's main purpose is protection and it looks cool. You can have it incorporated into your rub rail, under the rub rail or butted up against the rub rail. You can make it as ornate as you'd like. You can countersink your screws into the stainless steel a little. I used #6 Sharx pan head screws. I also added a dab of clear caulk to the threads of each screw before I screwed them in.

_________________
2011 MALAHINI - KICKED IN THE HEAD

I wake up with a 16ft woody every morning
Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=534DBtp1Cnc
Website: https://sites.google.com/site/2011malahini/

as Jeff mentioned above the cutwater is not sunk into the wood. if you construct your cutwater at this point, one advantage is you can sand and fit the area under cutwater so it fits perfectly

_________________
(insert witty phrase here)
Billy's Belle Isle website

i'd say no, don't let it into the hullside, the c-water material used is .050 thick, not thick enough to be concerned. PLUS ur compromising the integrity of the laminations of the plywood. i counter -sink for no. 6 screws as most traditional boat builders did back in the day. good luck.

are the transom bands the same?

Yep, transom bands are the same. If you want a professionally made cw and tb, go to cutwaters.com He made cutwaters for several people here and he made my transom bands. They are not cheap, but you'll get a quality piece made by a pro. I believe he still charges $15/welded inch.

_________________
2011 MALAHINI - KICKED IN THE HEAD

I wake up with a 16ft woody every morning
Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=534DBtp1Cnc
Website: https://sites.google.com/site/2011malahini/