Building The Vera Cruise

[mrintense]

Sure am looking forward to a little cooler weather. These 100+ days are killer. But I am making some more progress. The V berth platform has been fitted and the installation holes and threaded inserts installed. Next step is to determine what size opening for access panels I want to have, or I might just wait on that until later so I can get started on the next section in the cabin. Waiting is more in line with my current philosophy of getting the functional portion of the boat finished.

There will eventually be a 4 inch cushion on top of this.

I am considering having a 4 inch deep stainless metal pan that hangs on the platform under the access panel in the center. This is to get some extra storage use out of the area above the lower compartment.

The aft edge is still long until I determine the exact interplay between this panel and the panels aft of it.

[chugalug]

Looks good ,Carl.What are you doing with the berth edge along hull?I went ahead on Chug and put cloth and epoxy.After seeing my Dad's Chris-craft interior a few years ago when I went to get her and clean her up,there was opening on sides that allowed all kinds of thing to slide down into the bilge.since there was no way to get into bilge to vacumm it all out,I had to cut areas of original floorboards out for access.(covered with ply and carpet later)Was all kinds of stuff(rats nest and 20 years worth of squirrel seed hulls) that could have created rot since that hull needed to soak up to swell up.Have other smaller doors for storage in Chug.And alot of pour-in-foam floatation.

[steveh41]

Everything's looking good Carl.

Here's a link for bilge pumps that might be of interest:

http://www.whalepumps.com/marine/produc ... nnovations

Steve

[mrintense]

:D Looks good ,Carl.What are you doing with the berth edge along hull? <snipped>

Thanks Tim,

I know what you mean about stuff sliding down into the bilge. Same thing happens in automobiles with the seats. One Idea I have is to attach sunbrella fabric along the lower edge of the wall (below cushion level) and have it run out to the top of the platform a few inches. Then lay the cushions on top. This would hopefully catch anything before it fell into the gap between the wall and the platform. Since the platform is removable, I do not want to have permanent fiberglass cloth and resin fillets. Something that is not in the boat yet, but will eventually be there are decorative slats on the side walls. The lower ones of these will need to be removable in order to remove the V berth platform. I can use this to cover the top edge of the sunbrella fabric and when that needs replacing, I can easily do so.

Everything's looking good Carl. Here's a link for bilge pumps that might be of interest:
http://www.whalepumps.com/marine/produc ... nnovations
Steve

Thanks Steve,
I am curious, how do these stack up to Rule bilge pumps? I've heard mostly good things about Rule pumps and I've seen these Whale pumps, but haven't head anything about them. They do look nice though!

[steveh41]

Whale pumps compare favorably to Rule pumps for quality and price and I like the new low profile designs. I'm using a Whale IC pump for shower waste and it tests out really well. Having said that, my bilge pumps are all Rule with separate float switches... they were the best option at the time and are still a good choice.

Steve

[mrintense]

Making incremental progress this week. I've had to spend time repairing my daughters car after a fender bender and of course the heat down here isn't letting up.

On the boat, I've been basically getting the floor supports for the area between frames 4 and 5 ready for installation. Not a lot off progress, but fits into my normal process of building the boat in 30 to 60 minute sessions.

[mrintense]

It's very unfortunate that the people in south Texas are having to deal with Harvey. I know that this is very distressing and I hope for the best for all affected. This storm is incredibly big. Here in Austin, approximately 250 miles away we are getting great amounts of rain. One can only hunker down and ride it out.

Fortunately, my boat is in my garage, so there is no exposure to rain necessary and I am able to keep working on it. It helps with the caged lion feeling one gets when stuck in the house because if bad weather. The only real disadvantage is that I normally climb in the boat over the transom using a step stool. That isn't possible now because I have to have the garage door open to do that and the wind and rain would soak the boat and me if I did so.

So I can clamber over the side of the boat with difficulty and that's what I have been doing. Mostly working on getting the floor timbers for frames 3 and 4 ready for installing the floor. I have to make more floor supports and install all of them. I also still need to do some painting of the bilge. I'll be doing some of that today.

Here's a few progress shots of the floor timbers. These are raising the floor height a few inches to give me more floor space. I lose headroom this way, but the cabin of my boat was too short anyway (requiring me to bend over) so I would rather have more room for my feet in the cabin.

[chugalug]

good to hear you're not affected by the storm too much. was wondering if flooding affected you or not.nice that you can still work on the boat

[rleete]

So I can clamber over the side of the boat with difficulty and that's what I have been doing.

Just do it safely. No point in risking a fall!

[steveh41]

The floor timbers are looking great Carl. Glad you're weathering the storm Ok... looks pretty bad in Houston!

Steve

[mrintense]

After seeing all the boats splashed this weekend, it's hard to not want to go to the lake and rent something, just so I can get out on the water!. This is definitely trying my patience. I know that the end result is worth it, all I have to do is see the smiles on the faces of those who have completed their builds and hear the comments. I really look forward to that day.

However, all of this is quite motivational. I'm working diligently to get the cabin floor installed so that I can start working on the cabinetry. The first set of floor supports are installed and the second set are nearly ready to install. I decided to go with t a different approach for the second set. It was much easier to get prepped and they feel just as stiff as the first set.

However before installing the supports, I have to do some encapsulation and painting first. I also need to make a couple of bilge pump pads and get them installed.

It's really cool to see the floor supports in place for me. I am finding it easier and easier to see what the interior is going to look like. Here's some updates.

[PeterG]

Great progress Carl. You have a great build thread here, not only the what and how you are getting it done but just as importantly you give the why.

[DrBryanJ]

Very nice Carl. Coming together well. (Or is it good. I can never remember )

[mrintense]

Thanks Peter and Bryan, I hope that my efforts at documenting the build will be of use to more people in the coming years. I've mentioned this before, but it was the lack of information about the Vera Cruise that prompted me to do what I am doing. And although my boat is going to be somewhat different from the regular Vera Cruise, I hope that it will still be useful.

I'm spending time now encapsulating the bilge area in the sections between frames 3 and 4 as well as the floor supports that go in that area. Not much from a photo standpoint, but necessary. I find that I want to get the vast majority of the encapsulation and painting done before the installation of the supports as it makes it easier to get in there with a roller. I have quite a bit of white paint touch up work to do as well.

I've made two bilge pump pads. These will be mounted to the planking under the inboard floor supports. I haven't decided where I am going to put the switches, but I am thinking on two similar pads alongside the pumps, probably on the higher side of the fore and aft slant (so the pumps are slightly more submerged when the switches engage). So I will need to make two more pads. If I had a band saw, these would be simple, but I have to sand these to shape on my belt sander from solid blocks of mahogany. (Too much trouble to set up a jig to shape them with a router)

[mrintense]

I don't know what it is, but there is something about non wood parts, i.e. the equipment, that when it's getting close to time to install it, makes the boat feel more real. Although I am still a ways off from actually installing these, looking at them while they are sitting there on their new pads gives me the same feeling.

There will be two sets up forward, one on each side of the keel