Glen-L.com

I guess the ridiculos price of aluminum has severely hindered the aluminum boat building market. Can't believe there have been no post in nearly 8 weeks. Where is everybody?

Nothing against an aluminum boat, but I just prefer working with wood.
It seems, in general, to be the preferred medium. (at least among home builders)

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Jeff

My Celerity build.

mcm; Sometimes it seems like I'm building a metal boat .
The last couple of weeks all I've been doing is welding. Got the SS waste holding tank done, the SS rudder completed, and two steel fuel tanks ready to install.

Incidently, for anyone's information, I bought (under advisement from my favourite metal fabricator, who did all the shearing and forming for me ) a Thermal Arc "suitcase" welder. It is one of the new inverter types of welders and will stick and tig up to 1/8", although I used the tig to successfully weld the 12 ga. ss side panels to the 1/4" end plates on the rudder. This one is 120 volt and was CDN$500 complete with torch and regulator. I am very impressed with it.
Doug

slug, nicely done.

I especially liked the rudder, when you have time (?) I'm sure the entire Forum would enjoy seeing how you did that fabrication? I know I would.

Thanks for posting it and your clean looking, well made tanks- too.

mcm, metal boats are not only (more) expensive they're not for everyone, lots of builders prefer to work in wood because it's more familiar, more forgiving than metal, and it smells nice too. Working in metal, even softer metal like aluminum, is a different experience as you know, regardless if the tooling is very much the same.

I'm (still) working on an outboard powered skiff build, in welded aluminum, and will post a few pictures when there's more to see, even if the plans are my own and not from the Glen-L catalog.

cheers,

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Kevin Morin

Thanks Kevin: There are some pics on my posting in the Hankinson section ( "progress on the Titan" )

Doug

Doug, will you be coating the fuel tanks? Steel is not the most durable marine alloy without something to help keep the water off that parent metal. Will you be coating inside and out? How will they mount? that is what will the mounting plates bed too and how will they secure into the hull?

If I understand the rudder progress shots in your build post, the two side plates were press braked into the half profile shapes and then the ends welded to the two formed plates top and bottom? After that (?) another set of end plates was added after- one set to create the form or cross section and another to assist water flow ?

great looking metal work, obviously you could have built the boat of metal if you'd wanted.

Cheers,

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Kevin Morin

I know what you mean about doing a lot of boat related welding without actually getting to build one. (nice work BTW) Seems all I ever do anymore is build replacement fuel tanks, T tops, rails and such. I am really wanting to build a cat boat but I can't not seem to get any feedback from folks who have built one. Been on enough production models to know the ride can go from incredible to not so great.

I have actually used the TA machine, teaching a very special tig process for a local industry, very nice tig arc on it, not a big fan of the stick arc though. The machnes have some very neat features such as a low amp hold and ramp up which allows for great arc stabilization before full amperage is acheived. The complany I was doing the training for welds a super duplex SS which runs about $11/inch for 1/2" tubing so accurate arc starts are critical.

Kevin, I know tthe metal boat builders is a small group but I would have really thought there would be more interest in project discussions than there has been lately. I miss the welding talk also. Have always said if I were not a professional welder I would still like to be able to weld good enough to build the stuff I enjoying doing.

Kevin; The tanks are now painted on the outside with a "rust- proofing" paint, but I have'nt decided what to do on the inside. Any coatings for interiors are highly toxic, and I am considering just adding stabilizer to the fuel (diesel ) to keep moisture out as well as possible. This worked on my sailboat. Thy will be mounted on neoprene pads directly onto widened pads on the frames.
You have the rudder process correct. The mettal shop that I work with does all the forming for me and I do the welding , sometimes as in the case of the tig setup ,with their help. I get along great with the guys in the shop there, and the owner (3rd generation I've been dealing with !) lets me use most of his machinery ie 10 shear .
As far as building in metal, I had considered aluminum ( found steel is simpler but requires good coating to which I am probably now sensitized to ) but was concerned about being able to prepare ane weld it correctly, so decided on the ply/wood once I found a low toxin epoxy. I am afterall a cabinetmaker!
FYI I've enclosed some pics of the steel sailboat ...a 34' Ted Brewer Kaiulani, that we built and sailed to the Bahamas and back in 2000/2001. Health and financial reasons caused us to sell it ( we really did'nt have the finances after finishing it to do what we built it for... the 5 yr loop around the Atlantid and Med. and Verna came down with rheumatoid arthritus quite severely)
It has been sailed to Europe by the new owners and has been sailing all around there for 7 seasons.
Doug

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