Thread: Suffolk Beach Punt

OK guys, a long overdue update.

Back from a very long holiday, and back into the boat after working out where I had got to with her.

The hull exterior is now epoxy coated, sanded back and painted with undercoat. The transom is also varnished. Beautiful stuff that Celery top.


Cheers, Cameron.

Painted with undercoat.jpg
Varnished Transom.jpg

Will she be ready for the festival Cameron?

AD

Hi Andrew,

Not a chance unfortunately - 2015 it will have to be!

I have been at this one it over a year now, but I reckon I have got easily that again to go. The day job gets in the way of a lot of things!

The build is going OK. She will be a big heavy tub of a thing though.

Cheers, Cameron.

Latest progress report sees the hull exterior painting done.

Paint is International Toplac,"Snow White", 2 coats (3 in places) over 2 coats Prekote, over epoxy base. Dry sanded 180 grit between undercoats, and wet sanded 360 grit between top coats. Brush applied, thinned part Penetrol / part thinners. A lot or work but has turned out OK.

Some strakes got 3 coats of Toplac because I wasn't satisfied with the surface finish, having rushed some of the work and messed it up. Glad I cut those bits back and did them again as it all looks good now. Shear strake is not yet painted, I will do this when the hull is turned and gunnels fitted. Shear strake will be a contrast colour, maybe dark blue, maybe black even.

Have also fitted brass rubbing strips to the hull. These are fitted with brass screws and bedded in with polyurethane sealant.

To break up the monotony of sanding / painting / sanding / painting I have been working on the rudder. This is my own design as I didn't like what was on the drawings. This boat has workboat traditions and I just wanted to make it less "clunky". Quite pleased with it anyway. the rudder stock is Tasmanian Blackwood and a very nicely figured piece at that. The blade is Celery Top seen here with fibreglass sheathing in progress.

Next job is hull turn-over.

Cheers, Cameron.

Looking great Cameron.

Hope my Guillemot paint job comes out as well.

Cheers
Mike

Looking great Cameron. Very nice job on the paint. It's going to hurt the first time you scratch it. ;-)

Rickey

Mike & Rickey,

Actually the paint isn't really as good as I would have liked it up close, but yes it has come up OK in the photos. There are certainly blemishes, however I know where they are so I keep looking at them. As time goes on maybe I will stop noticing them.

I suppose I could have spray painted the hull because I have a compressor and spray gun, but I didn't want it to look like a fibreglass boat!

The finish is not as good as I got on my last build, and I was using the same product and method. Nothing wrong with the paint, it is how I applied it. Having thought about it the last couple of days I think there are three factors:

1. The working area is cramped and I had trouble getting good line of sight in some areas to see minor defects in time to brush them out.
2. The lighting is not particularly good and my eyesight has deteriorated significantly over the 3 years since the previous boat. Sign of the times, I am 50 in a few months.
3. Because the boat is so much bigger than the previous one, by the time I was getting to the end of a strake, my paint pot was in need of more thinners and I was not noticing it gradually thickening up as I was working. You really need to keep the consistency right with this paint because it goes tacky really quickly.

I have been looking over the boat again tonight, and I may even strip it back and do it again, perhaps just the top 3 or 4 strakes that will be most visible, but I will wait until it is turned over and the sheer stake is done, then I will reassess the whole thing.

Maybe I am just being over-critical of my own work, she will probably still pass the 10 foot rule.


Cheers, Cameron.

I have a friend in Brisbane who's allso building one of these.

His blog is here:

Dave's SFD Able Build

looks like a solid, stable craft to me- built like a tank

Yes, I am aware of the boat in Brisbane. Have been conversing with Dave on another forum site. There is one being built in the US at the moment too.

I agree, it is a heavy stable looking design, and that is what I was looking for too. The design originates from traditional UK commercial beach fishing / work boats.

I have seen a couple of videos of examples in the UK. They seem to sail OK.

Cheers, Cameron.

Turned her over today. Easy to do with a few helpers.

It went without a hitch.

Cheers, Cameron.

Guys,

Good progress on the internal fit-out in the few weeks since turn over and the dreaded epoxy clean up from the inside laps. (all done now)

I have still got a fair bit of epoxy filleting to do on the bulkheads and mizzen mast step etc. but you can see how she is taking shape.

Cheers, Cameron.

No news for a while Cameron. How is the boat coming along? Just got back to my boat and hope to turn it over at the weekend.

Hi Mike,

There has been no news because the thread has been locked for months for some reason and I have not been able to post into it. Have tried many times, but looks like it is working again now.

Boat is still moving along slowly but the interior fit-out is nearing completion.

Will put some more photos up shortly.

Cheers, Cameron.