50 ft Thames class lifeboat

The hull has now had the last of the grey primers, the lower section masked off and given a coat of red oxide primer. This has now been wet sanded ready for the next coat of red oxide.

After five days of painting, sanding and re-painting this is the hull at the moment. 








Now comes more sanding and painting but this time with gloss polyurethane varnish on the upper hull and matt varnish on the lower hull.  

Absolutely stunning Mike                            

superb Mike.............as Damien says stunning!!!

Thanks for the comments guys,  BUT....... after a recent visit to the surviving boat and lots of pictures by Scott (spongie), the bow deck/hull joint area will need a complete re-build as the shape in the two sets of drawings I have are not the shape of the hull as built !!


Still these little things are sent to try us and make us better people through adversity ( I Think Not!!!!!)  



Mike

Oooooh how I feel your PAIN Mike.             
It will look even better when you're finished though I'm sure.  

sorry to be the bearer of bad news!

as you can see like I said sadly lots of the fittings are missing too

After studying the new research pictures from Scott showing the final shape of the bow section of the hull a decision has been reached for the way forward.

This will be a new hull being built for Neil to use as a plug for the grp hulls as I don't really want to make a mess of the existing work done so far, plus it will be quicker than trying to modify what is already there and finish it to the same standard as the rest of the hull.

However the current hull will not go to waste!  There is a picture of the Thames on trials in an early stage of her development with the hull shape I have built AND with a superstructure that was based on the 44 ft Waveney (the ancestor of the Thames) before the wheelhouse also had a nose job.  



So the existing hull will be completed with this very early superstructure (a little artistic license will be needed as full information is not available) just for my pleasure and because I enjoy building obscure variations of lifeboats.  


So it's hull building board out again and onwards with the existing build!!

Mike

looking forward to seeing progress on both boats!

mike, you are a star..........will speak to you nearer the completion of the new hull with regards to finish for moulding. neil.

how is it progressing mike,

I've possibly got a few more pics of 50-001 coming which I shall forward on soon.

Looking forward to the extra pictures Scott, the more the merrier!!

I have been fitting out my prototype Arun with motors and r/c so things are hectic as I change from one project to another, just how I like it to keep myself interested and not get bored. 

The new keel for the hull plug has been cut and I have started fitting the modified sections . As this will not be a sailing hull the frames are being left solid and the keel has been cut along the datum line to make location easier.The two blocks at the stern reinforce the joint in the keel as the ply I had available wasn't long enough!!

looking good, can't wait to see it progress

Agreed looking good Mike            

All the frames for the "new shaped" hull have now been fitted and locked in place.


The front frames were marked up for chamfering and with the use of a multi tool grinder they are ready for the fitting of the hull skin.



First stage of planking this hull is to fit the top knuckle at the bow to conform to the "new" shape. As this not only curves around the hull but also rises to the stem it is made from two smaller laminations for flexibility and ease of bending.


This will be followed by the fore deck planking to make sure the shapes are correct before covering the rest of the hull.

great stuff Mike.....just one question.........does the bow have so much camber on the deck, or is that just the frame outline for building.
cheers. neil.

nhp651 wrote:

great stuff Mike.....just one question.........does the bow have so much camber on the deck, or is that just the frame outline for building.
cheers. neil.

Not when planked Neil. That was one of the problems with the other hull made to the "original as built drawings". The fore deck is set back from the edge of the frames as it gets towards the stem and has a flatter camber, the curvature you see at the moment is used to set the position of the upper hull knuckle, a curved stringer will be added later to raise the outer edge of the deck. It's easier to do than describe!!

Mike

you got me totally puzzled now matey ( doesn't take much, lol) I shall wait for the end product...............and as usual will be worth the wait.

Had me puzzled at first !!! Then the little light went off inside the head  and the answer was simple.

Fore deck made in two halves joined along centre line of boat. Apply glue to the centre line only fit the deck and allow to dry, bend down outer edges to correct hight and glue spacers under the edges on top of the formers, glue deck edge to spacers, sand to final shape (which changes from vertical to sloping back a bit at the stem), fill gap between top of knuckle and deck with a filler strip, sand to fit and bobs your aunty !!  

ahhh, got it now..........well done matey. neil.

Easier to do than explain as I said!

Nice warm, dry sunny weather today so this morning the filler strips were added with rapid set pva glue.


Whole area then covered in polyester filler and sanded back to the shape I wanted  this afternoon, result!!


Much the same as the first hull but with less severe angle at the stem.

that looks like the beauty i saw in Ireland!

spongie wrote:

that looks like the beauty i saw in Ireland!

It certainly looks more like the pictures than the other hull does!   

The rear deck has now been added and the hull released from the building board as it can no longer twist out of shape.


The stringers along the knuckle lines and the datum have been added and the planking commenced.

Great work Mike, keep it up. Will post some pics up on www.50001.org.uk soon

Nearly half of the planking of this "new" hull has now been done. Just the more complex shape of the hull sides to be done. With the solid formers the thing is getting heavier by the day!!   


Looking a nice shape!


Onwards and upwards!!!

what will happen to this hull once the mouldings are taken off of it?

wonder if it could be used as a basis for a half hull model to go onboard 50-001??

hi mike,
            just curious as to know   , how wide are those bottom planks compared to the narrower ones, I no you are using it as a plug when built so not bothering with scale,  you must be trying to save time with wider  planking before covering it up.       


david

spongie wrote:

what will happen to this hull once the mouldings are taken off of it?

wonder if it could be used as a basis for a half hull model to go onboard 50-001??

Assuming Neil doesn't destroy it during the moulding process yes it could be used to make a static model of 50-001.

davidjt wrote:

hi mike,
            just curious as to know   , how wide are those bottom planks compared to the narrower ones, I no you are using it as a plug when built so not bothering with scale,  you must be trying to save time with wider  planking before covering it up.       


david

The wide planks are 1", the narrow planks are 3/8" and some wll be 1/4" wide for the severe bends. Yes it speeds up the planking process but as the original was steel you woudn't see the planks anyway so 'scale' has nothing to do with it. Don't even worry too much about getting a perfect fit as polyester filler/grp surace tissue covers a multitude of sins!

When I build older wooden boats with double diagonal planking then I use scale width planks carefully fitted.

that Mould will pop out like a finger out of a bull's bum........the plug will hardly be touched, matey........bit waxy but will look lovely. neil.         

AT LAST!! All the planks have been fitted.   

Now comes the long process of producing the correct hull shape.

Stern has now had its primary sanding.


The bow section has had filler to correct a few low areas.


When this has been sanded back the next stage of covering/filling/sanding can start.

Should hopefully have some photos of 50-001 out of the water shortly!

She is dry at the moment.

Looking good Mike                  

Everything sanded back, hull given a coat of resin, sanded down again then a light coat of primer.


Close inspection shows up all the faults on what looked a nice smooth hull !! These are all marked with soft pencil so that they don't get missed, and it will be out with the filler again.


Sometimes the planks get sanded down too thin, especially at the stem. The only answer is to cut back to thicker sections and insert a wooden plug. This will be faired back in to the rest of the hull with filler.


More work to do !!

     ahh, the joys of sanding.lol..............looking great though Mike.

Got fed up with sanding the hull so did some work on the deck instead.

After filling and sanding, the positions for the wheelhouse and rear cabin were plotted and built up so that when moulded and the tops removed they provide the coamings needed to keep water out of the hull.





Back to more filling, painting and sanding !!!

            

TOPS MATEY..........that will mould beautifully................... neil.

Now, Mike & Neil have both seen these images but, I thought I'd post them for the general viewer to see too.

finally we see proof of different fore peak detail.


steeper forepeak as per hull #2


Shallower forepeak and shallower angle bow! as per hull #1



and just really for the fun of it.

The deck has now been attacked by a rare ship weevil that leaves square holes in the deck!!


These holes are for the wells that allow crew to reach down easier when pulling pople out of the water. When not in use they have a hinged grill covering.

The holes are re-filled from the underside so that when moulded they can either be opened up or just the grill added. As the hull is sealed new oversize pieces are fitted through the holes from above and held against the underside of the deck with cord through them. This will be cut off when the glue is dry and the hole filled in later.


Both sides now done.

clever idea! genius infact!


is that the mega mersey you keep using as a bench

now, this has caused me a little dilemma in the way I was going to mould the deck to the hull.

the usual way is for a large "hole" to be left in the deck where the access to the inside is to be.........and from there resin coated strips of matting could be laid into the boat between hull and deck mouldings to join them both up..............

but with this big boy I think the best way will be to do two separate mouldings...........one for deck and one for hull.....................taken off the plug and then the inside of the hull can be lined with wooden stringers around the bulwark (deck) tops, and the deck then glued to it..................

I don't think that there would be enough access to the inside of the hull from the two raised combing cabin areas to get to the bow and stern to make a good solid connection and "line up" of hull and deck.

BUT DON'T MAKE ANY CHANGES  to the plug............it will work superbly the way you have built it and I can adapt the moulds to suit very easily.

spongie wrote:

clever idea! genius infact!


is that the mega mersey you keep using as a bench

Yes that is the hull of the mega Mersey, still need to find props for her!

nhp651 wrote:

now, this has caused me a little dilemma in the way I was going to mould the deck to the hull.

the usual way is for a large "hole" to be left in the deck where the access to the inside is to be.........and from there resin coated strips of matting could be laid into the boat between hull and deck mouldings to join them both up..............

but with this big boy I think the best way will be to do two separate mouldings...........one for deck and one for hull.....................taken off the plug and then the inside of the hull can be lined with wooden stringers around the bulwark (deck) tops, and the deck then glued to it..................

I don't think that there would be enough access to the inside of the hull from the two raised combing cabin areas to get to the bow and stern to make a good solid connection and "line up" of hull and deck.

BUT DON'T MAKE ANY CHANGES  to the plug............it will work superbly the way you have built it and I can adapt the moulds to suit very easily.

Always a problem when the superstructure is in two parts, no BIG HOLE in the middle!! Just started to fit the fender bases/spray rails onto the hull, pics to come in a day or so.

The fender bases have now been plotted and fitted onto the hull.


The forward end of the lower fender base becomes the spray rail from the level of the step in the deck.


Hardest part was the stern, as the bases have to folllow both the curve and camber.


The hull has now had a full coat of grey primer. What looked and felt like a smooth surface is full of dents, dings an other blemishes!!  More filler and sanding.  

Been making the plug for the main wheelhouse over the past few days using 2mm mdf This will be the wheelhouse as the boat had in service.


View from the rear.


For the moulding process it will be easier to cut off the wings, make the mould, make the cabin and then add wings again.

Cabin on the deck and the upper steering position fitted.


Rear cabin next.  

              

you don't need cut anything of the cabin Mike....what I'll do if it is left with the wings on is cut a piece of timber to roughly fit into that area and then pad out with plastecine.....it will be held in place with a couple of pieces of double sided tape whilst moulding and easily removeable once the mould has been made

the marks will show where to cut out the spare piece of grp that is created byy the filler piece and  then leaving the wings in place and just a blank needing to fill in the rear wall of the cabin............and then there's no problems of the wings being knocked, cracking and falling off. leave it as is matey.

neil.

nhp651 wrote:

you don't need cut anything of the cabin Mike....what I'll do if it is left with the wings on is cut a piece of timber to roughly fit into that area and then pad out with plastecine.....it will be held in place with a couple of pieces of double sided tape whilst moulding and easily removeable once the mould has been made

the marks will show where to cut out the spare piece of grp that is created byy the filler piece and  then leaving the wings in place and just a blank needing to fill in the rear wall of the cabin............and then there's no problems of the wings being knocked, cracking and falling off. leave it as is matey.

neil.

You know what you're doing so the wings will be left on. Again this plug will be used for the static model along with the hull plug.

Mike

The main cabin has been given a couple of coats of primer and the rear cabin built and also given its primer.

The main parts for moulding have now been made and it's starting to look like a real boat.





Now I can finish the surface preparation then it's over to Neil!

that looks stupendous Mike.

will you be detailing the cabin tops with rivet markings..........I can either do that or leave it to you...........but if I were going to do it, I have some gell pens that make perfect rivets onto such items...........

however, as I haven't had a close up look at the many photos of her does she even have rivet marks on the cabins??

neil.

Both cabins are welded structures so no rivets needed on the main parts mate.