Manufacturing items in the workshop

The first anniversary of the start of the build has just recently passed. I began 12^th February 2017 and up to 11^th February 2018 the work has consumed 959 hours.

During the recent past depths of winter, when we experienced occasional extremely cold temperatures, I decided to cease using epoxy on the hull with the exception of some minor gluing, undertaken only on the mildest of days. I have instead mainly been focused on manufacturing smaller items in the workshop, of which there are plenty, in fact more than enough to keep me busy for the duration of the cold weather.

The construction of the rudder is one of the many items that I placed to one side for this planned period in the workshop. I noticed from the blog of another builder of Beniguet, that he had encountered problems with the rudder whilst underway, the plywood cheeks either side of the tiller mortice had failed under stress. I realise that as opposed to a design weakness, this may have been caused by a collision which, could have applied the excessive force’s necessary to cause the failure. Nonetheless, based on his experience, I considered it might be prudent to reinforce this area. I plated either side of the cheeks in 316 stainless steel by spanning the mortice then bolting through with stainless steel bolts. I shall paint this as the rudder to minimise the visual impact. The drawing shows a small cleat for locking off the rudder blade hoisting line. I was unable to source anything of this size at any chandlers so I manufactured one from some oak stock.

I began the build by manufacturing the tiller and can now see how it looks when mounted in its mortice.

I constructed a jig to manufacture the coach roof and companionway sliding hatch. Although not an inconsiderable structure in its own right, it was well worth the effort, allowing for a relatively straightforward process of bending and gluing the layers of plywood together. After the lamination and set, the coach roof was removed, additional packing pieces of the appropriate thickness were fixed to the jig in order to maintain the correct radius for the companionway hatch. Both were then filled and rubbed down to achieve an excellent result. 

Within the cabin beneath the mast tabernacle, fixed either side of bulkhead 4, the drawings show two 60mm x 20mm beams glued tight up to the coach roof. I increased these dimensions to 60mm x 40mm to allow me to machine a groove in the upper edge to insert plastic conduit which will contain cables for cabin lighting, navigation lights and the coax cable for the VHF radio. To minimise the impact of these beefed up beams, I machined an ovilo radius-ed moulding onto the lower edge which, should look quite attractive when the sapele is clear varnished along with the inner face of the house coamings.

The beefed up beams either side of bulkhead 4 showing the grooves and conduit machined into the top. You can also see the cable conduit that will run beneath the deck all the way to the stern.

I greatly increased the specification of the folding table by rebating the Sapele faced plywood top into a solid timber frame. I inserted a 2mm thick inlay between the two for aesthetic reasons, also as a nod to the home grown ash I have used to manufacture the tiller. To enable use of this table in the cockpit during fine weather, I designed and constructed a hardwood base frame with locating sockets for the legs. The whole assembly is manufactured from Sapele which I shall finish in clear varnish.

Before starting the build there were a number of aesthetic design alterations I had decided to make, one of which was the panelling of the aft face of bulkhead 3. These are individual 5mm thick boards machined with an edge chamfer to produce a v-groove when butted and glued together.

Drying legs with stainless steel folding steps fitted to one side.

Sliding hatch. Note the drip groove machined beneath the aft edge to prevent water tracking back into the cabin, also the finger purchase for closing from within.

Many other items and trims have been manufactured ready for use at a later stage, including the assembly of the companionway panels. I have also spent a considerable amount of time researching various fittings and other products, sourcing and purchasing timber for the Mast, Spars, Oars and the teak decking.