Thread: Building a Waller TS540

Hatches will be OK under the mattress as long as you don't take any princesses on a cruise (as if princesses are the only ones who can tel if someone has pea'd in their bed!)

The boat is looking fantastic by the way. I LOVE what you have done with the deck - I'm very jealous.

that looks great rob, and as above i too LOVE the decking.
it's a great feeling every time you add a bit of ply to the structure and you can feel how much the over all strength of the hull has changed.

it looks like you have a lot of space in the lockers

Thanks for the feed-back both of you.
As to princesses, I seem to recall 7 mattresses were involved in that story, which would place sleeping height well above deck level. On that calculation I either have to commit to an open boat, or stick to the princess that I've had for 36 years... . Open boats are great, but I think the cabin on this one is worth plugging on with....(in a manner of speaking)

I got the mast step to-day, and although I would have had fun making it myself, (I would have taken ages and made some mistakes, and it would all get complicated) it was marvelous because of the man I met. Bob at a well-known spar and rigging business in Moorabin should be recognised as a National Living Treasure. While I waited for him to machine and set up this casting he had for me, he regailled me with stories from as far back as the Great Depression and most decades since, about boats and rigging and fittings and things. What he doesn't know about spars and rigs isn't worth knowing.
The point I'm making is that sometimes the power of a person makes a simple transaction very special and an ordinary object becomes part of a story and I really love that. My mast step is the way it is because of the mast specified by the designer, the fact that I asked advice of my Chandler concerning keeping it strong but easy to use, his chat with Bob about castings and halyards, and my chat with Bob about everything else...I've no idea if this mast step differs in any significant way from what other Waller TS540's have, or even yet if it will be good, but I've really enjoyed the process of bringing it (and the mast blank) back home. And I just hope that someone like Bob can be remembered for the help he's been giving people like us since before we were born. (He can remember the 1930's!)
Incidentally, for other beginners like me, the pulleys in this rig mean that I don't have to weaken the mast by cutting great holes in it for the ropes. And the outside flanges locating the pin give extra stability to the mast as it is raised.

That looks like a nice well made bit of kit.

Madaz, I confess I have kept it on my bench- it just begs to be played with. Reminds me of an old carburetor I once knew quite well.

Originally Posted by rob540

Madaz, I confess I have kept it on my bench- it just begs to be played with. Reminds me of an old carburetor I once knew quite well.

Side draught SU on a Beeza?

Never got that close to a bike carby, but tilted it does have that sidey SU look. Actually it reminds me of a number of things but the Zenith on an old Landrover I restored years ago comes most to mind. All flanges and srew holes and panels and levers and pins with circlips, machined grey alloy, round at the corners and flat underneath, throaty and open on top.

Some 'warts and all' shots of cabin progress. It all looks pretty grotty, and I am finding it hard to be neat and clean while working coiled up like a clock-spring. (I'm 6'4" and there isn't much space in there to work, and what ever you are doing in there, the next tool you need is out on the bench) The berth framing and locker tops are taking longer than expected and I just hope they are worth the work. The smears on the ply are my weak attempts to clean up epoxy spills as I go, but I always seem to leave finger smudges in the process. Sometimes I'm a very dirty boy.

Lovely job on those hatches, very neat. What method are you using to cut them?

Nice to hear from you Darce. It's funny, with the bulkheads and early work I used a circle cutting template and a router for cut outs, and my rechargable circular saw for any straight lines. For these hatches though, I've just done a drop cut with the circular saw on the straights, and joined them with a jigsaw, then smoothed with a little drum sander...no routing and the fit is less than perfect really, but the advantage is that you can use the cut out piece as the lid for the hatch. Doing the drop cut first means that you don't have to drill a hole to start the jigsaw cut.

wow she looks good on the inside and the berth framing and locker tops look neat to me.

mine to had the warts and all but after a bit of sanding (ok a lot) and a coat of paint and varnish she soon changed.

the best bit is when you get out the boat to get the tool you need from the bench just to find it was with you in the boat all the time

Originally Posted by honkongphoie

wow she looks good on the inside and the berth framing and locker tops look neat to me.

mine to had the warts and all but after a bit of sanding (ok a lot) and a coat of paint and varnish she soon changed.

the best bit is when you get out the boat to get the tool you need from the bench just to find it was with you in the boat all the time

Yes mate and having three measuring tapes doesn't stop them all ending up in the same (wrong) place


The first of four cabin sole panels, from 19mm Merbau- will probably need to seal them because it has quite a bit of soluble pigment which could otherwise stain the surrounding paintwork.