Buckingham 20 restoration, formerly Plant Pot

[sogood]

I thought about the double axel/wheel ( which I have) approach and tried it. The problem was that the spring pushed the "flat" wheel down, despite the good wheel being raised. I think maybe I'll just keep the bottle jack in the car when I'm towing and as it is, I use my cars wheel brace with the appropriate socket for the trailer nuts, which are, of course, a different size to the cars nuts. Apologies if I've hijacked the thread!!

 

[waynes world]

I thought about the double axel/wheel ( which I have) approach and tried it. The problem was that the spring pushed the "flat" wheel down, despite the good wheel being raised. I think maybe I'll just keep the bottle jack in the car when I'm towing and as it is, I use my cars wheel brace with the appropriate socket for the trailer nuts, which are, of course, a different size to the cars nuts. Apologies if I've hijacked the thread!!

Yes it would need a high ramp i reckon which will take up more room than a jack .

Is there room for a small tool box on the A frame or anywhere on the trailer to store a jack just for the trailer.

Hi jack away, fine by me

 

[sogood]

My 12 ton bottle jack arrived yesterday and I used it today on the boat. What a pleasure!! It lifted the boat with such ease. I'm actually going to keep it in the car as the car jack also struggles a bit. I talking about the actual jack that was designed for the car, but it's one of those screw/scissors type and not as stable as I'd like. Plus, an XJS is a pretty heavy car, about 2 tons!
So, if it's kept in the car, it will always be with the boat when I'm towing and for the foreseeable future I won't be towing very far, about 20 minutes to my launch ramp and then the boat will stay mostly in the water.

And to answer your question, there is a lot of free space on the trailer, including a place to fix the spare wheel. I have been working on the trailer, in the typical DIY/ modify manner. The boat and trailer is American, and as we all know, Americans have the wrong sized balls, that is, on the tow bar! So I had to change the hitch to a European model, which meant losing the surge brake system that was incorporated into the original hitch. A pity, I thought, but................

So I dismantled the original hitch, removed the bits I needed, remodelled where necessary and got my brakes working again! Then I set about incorporating a manual "handbrake" feature into the set up, so that when launching or retrieving, it would be possible to apply the brakes on the trailer if needed. I've seen too many youtube videos of cars being pulled out of the water and back up the ramp.

When driving, if you apply the brakes on the car, the trailer continues to move forward, causing the spring loaded hitch to push against the piston on the master cylinder and forces the brake fluid down the line, thus operating the brakes. (A collar is employed to prevent this from happening when reversing) So I made up a handle of sorts to go between the hitch and the piston and by pushing on the handle, it operates the brakes in the same way. I can spring load this mechanism, attached to a breakaway chain, so that if the trailer comes adrift, the brakes would automatically apply. All that's needed now is a lick of paint!

Looking forward to your next update.

 

[sogood]

Some pics to explain better.

 

[waynes world]

OMG i hate computers, just spent an hour trying to download pictures. Think my laptop is overloaded with pics so i had to delete a few hundred.

So here goes for the update, again not much but still bits done.

I started to make the new cabin step, not sure if i mentioned that before, it is being made from the left over Iroko off cuts of the old school work top i got for the galley worktop. It is not yet done but as soon a si have done this i will be doing a bit more.

I have had the Propex HS2000 heater going for the last few weekends to see how it coped with the cold temps. All i can say is that even with no hatch and the cabin door not sealed and lots of drafts it is great. Today the temps got down to -2degC and the heater was set half way and it held the temp at 17degC with ease. So i am happy there.

Little job was to fit the finger door pulls i made a week or so ago, no big job but done atleast.

Clamped inplace while the glue is setting

About a year ago John ( jfm ) sent me some goodies and these are what was in the box. These courtesy lights give a nice cosy feel now. I wired them to a switch on the radio box.

Most of this weekend i have been onto the Heads, i decided to use the bathroom PVC wall cladding but not the trim as the cost is way over priced IMO. The cladding cost £42 for four packs which has done all the Heads and more to do the cupboard when i do the frame work. The trim would of been at least £80.

With that i have decided as said to use silicone so the joints are very close together so i can get a good bead down the joints. At the minute the panels are stapled in place.

Again as before to get the quickest and best profile i used the canvas. Well worth the £10 it cost for 8m of the stuff, it was a off cut/roll end from an awning manufacturers.

Just pushed in place and stapled before running a pencil into the corner. The staples easy pull out when you need to remove it.

A few more measurements and then mark out.

And fit

All done but for the door and rear lower panel as this will be removable incase access is needed to the water tank pipes.

Once i have siliconed the panels inplace i will be making a small cupboard along the port side, on narrow so as not to take up to much room. Running along that under the port hole will be a towel rail.

Like i do i spent hours and hours choosing light for the heads and i have decided to go with these. Two will be fitted from the corner above the sink.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/302363560029?var=601199625846


I am on the look out now for a SS or aluminium port hole liner to finish it off nice.


I will be ordering the shower head next month from Germany, the one i posted to last update. Need a switch yet for the heads light also.


Today the batteries ran to low to run the heater so i need a charger now, debating if to get a cheap one for now or a decent one for when the boat is done.

And one or two of these. I would like one for each of the two batteries.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/VAC1100A...e=STRK:MEBIDX:IT&_trksid=p2060353.m1438.l2649


Things to buy, it never ends.....such fun i love it

Righto i am off to rip some Iroko up

 

[Bouba]

Good work. Nice to see you back in the real world

 

[waynes world]

Good work. Nice to see you back in the real world

Never been away.....i just easily get distracted when i am resting

 

[sogood]

Coming along nicely Wayne. Guess the big boat will just have to wait then? Keep up the good work and thanks again for posting.

 

[waynes world]

Coming along nicely Wayne. Guess the big boat will just have to wait then? Keep up the good work and thanks again for posting.

Next boat is always in my mind:friendly_wink:

When I am not doing this I plan the next lol.
I am trying to save for a trailer. I was going to build one but can't be bothered now. How do you find your american one. Good for parts etc.

 

[sogood]

Next boat is always in my mind:friendly_wink:

When I am not doing this I plan the next lol.
I am trying to save for a trailer. I was going to build one but can't be bothered now. How do you find your american one. Good for parts etc.

As mentioned, the Americans use bigger balls so I had to change the hitch. Then last week I left two of the wheels in for new tyres and my tyre man couldn't get the same size anywhere, either here in Ireland or in the UK. So he's going to fit two with a slightly lower profile. No big deal as I'll only be towing (very rarely) on a 20 minute journey to my local slip. When the boat is in the water I'll be able to do some work on the trailer.

The springs are looking a bit crusty, as are many of the "U" bolts and I want to reinstate the built in washdown. There's a point to plug a hose into which then supplies a water feed to the hubs, to flush them after dipping them in saltwater. The water hoses are a bit suspect and brittle, so a simple worthwhile fix is in order.
Otherwise, the trailer is spot on. Heavy aluminium and very sturdy with a super strong winch and jockey wheel. It has adjustable bunks which carry the load nice and evenly and as there are no moving parts, as in wheels or rollers, they don't break down!

I'm busy at the moment putting a sort of "before and after" video together, following the resto of the Wellcraft. The boat itself is all but done, just waiting for an improvement in the weather!

 

[vas]

About a year ago John ( jfm ) sent me some goodies and these are what was in the box. These courtesy lights give a nice cosy feel now. I wired them to a switch on the radio box.

nice like the feel of the space, if you could have the two top ones dimmable it would be just perfect!

I also like this pic above, all these intersecting planes make the heads a v.interesting place to be!

yep, sorry was lost with lots of real work and didn't follow the developments!

cheers

V.

 

[waynes world]

Hi V

Yes the berth lights are a bit bright, i wasnt expecting them to be that bright as i have some other 3w lights that are nowhere near as bright.
I dont think i can make them dimmable either. They are switched lights so i would have to faff finding wires etc

I could make a some light diffuser caps to go over the lights for those romantic setting

 

[mlines]

Bright is fine, you can top up the tan

 

[CLB]

I am trying to save for a trailer. I was going to build one but can't be bothered now.

Wayne, with your skills you should think about one of the following. The guy sells em for a quid. You may need a double axle one, and he has those sometimes too. The downside is that you have it get rid of the shell on top, which might be tricky. The up side is that it is galvanised, good UK spec equipment and basically already 75% a boat trailer. Just need to weld a few supports or rollers in place and add some mudguards. Could have a really good trailer for a few hundred quid.

https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https://www.ebay.co.uk/ulk/itm/272969681333

 

[waynes world]

Wayne, with your skills you should think about one of the following. The guy sells em for a quid. You may need a double axle one, and he has those sometimes too. The downside is that you have it get rid of the shell on top, which might be tricky. The up side is that it is galvanised, good UK spec equipment and basically already 75% a boat trailer. Just need to weld a few supports or rollers in place and add some mudguards. Could have a really good trailer for a few hundred quid.

https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https://www.ebay.co.uk/ulk/itm/272969681333

Yes easy job to convert a caravan chassis, i have done a few in the past but as either a flat deck of box trailer. As you say it will make a good trailer and at a£1 cant beat that as most nowadays go for a few hundred quid when a few years back you cold get them for around £100. I reckon if is since the new trailer laws came in.

I would have that to make a few quid on though if i had the space now.

That was the first idea for a trailer plan a few year back. Only trouble is that they dont have a good pay load, a twin axle is usually around 1500kg so with the extra weight of the frame work to strengthen it up and the boat it is going to be very close to the max if not over. More like to be over loaded. Single axle are a few hundred kilo less n payload generally.


Good thought though , and well spotted there on that bargain

 

[waynes world]

Bright is fine, you can top up the tan

So if i lye down the middle i wont look like a half BBQ`d sausage

How cool to have a built in sunbed hey

 

[waynes world]

Hope you all had a great xmas day , me, well not really the best but its all over now and i can get on with the boat a bit more, you would not believe how hard it was for me to not do anything on the boat or in the workshop for a day.

I wasnt going to bother updating until i had actually finished one of the jobs i have been getting on with but i thought heck why not.

The jobs in hand are the heads/shower tray and the cabin step.

I have fitted a drain the heads floor as it will sort of be a wet room type heads. The drain will be piped up to the Whale Gulper that is also used for a system drain when needs be. Just the matter of switching over a couple of taps to empty either the shower or system.

How it started was with the choice of where to fit the drain. I decided to fit it here so i have easy access to the drain from the inspection hatch in the galley floor area.

Here i got the sink to get a mould from to get a good finish for the drain/pug hole to fit. I layed up two 350grm and then a 650grm combo.

Oh and not to forget the PVA Blue to ease removal.

Screwdriver is to keep the laminate tight against the hole edge.

Day after peeled off nice and easy, then time to mark out and trim to shape. An angle grinder and plasma disc comes in again.

Now the messy bit, and sorry as i seem to have lost the pics for this stage but once the drain housing had been drawn around i used a Tungsten Carbide disc like here.

These just rip out the wood in seconds, like i use on GRP to remove that.

Then a Dremmel to drop the edge lower down so then the housing can sit below the floor level.

To fit it i sealed all the timber first with epoxy then 316 SS screws to hold it down in time for laminating the whole floor.

What i also did was lay a new floor of 4mm ply to level it a little more and help the water run towards the drain a little more, if it does we will have to see as it will depend on how the boat sits in the water once afloat.

Here it is in place ready for laminating, the hole o drilled out and used the Dremmel to trim back whilst holding the mould on the original sink.

As we know GRP matting does not go into tight corners to well so to get a nice radius i rotted in the shed for one of my old fishing poles.

Just a matter to cut down into four sections with the grinder again and with the help of some ally angle i have to get a straight edge.

Trim to length and wot not

One thing i have been thinking on what to do is if to raise the left/stern half of the floor so there is a run of to the drain. Only thing is where it will be raised is where the porta loo is going so the loo will need the front edge raised to level it out.

I was going to laminate it today but temps dropped down to 2-3degrees so i decided to leave it for now.

Well thats as far as that got.


Now, joinery, a new thing for me but i gave it a go. Not very accurate but it is going ok. As mentioned earlier on the thread i have some left over Iroko that i am using to make a cabin step. I do enjoy working with wood and have a lot more bits n bobs to make yet which are more simple than this step so i have jumped in the deep end here.

Oh and dont forget it is not exactly finished yet as the sides need making yet aswell as loads of sanding back before a few coats of Le Lonkinois varnish.

Did i say i love the new table saw. Well worth the money.

A pile of scrap Iroko.

And please be kind as this is do as i go fashion. I dont tend to do drawings etc of what i am doing. Maybe i should to make things quicker and easier.

Rip it up here and there for the main frame.

Both riser are made the same.

The risers are infilled with 28mm x 5.5mm, but the step is 95mm x 8mm (i think) i forget now.

One of the riser glued and drying

And as it is at the minute. Fairly happy with it and i think it will look better once sanded back and vanished.

Plan is to have the steps hinged as the step is over the water pump so i will need access there aswell as to the pipe work.


If temps stay low, well expect them to be, i cant do much laminating or gluing etc i will do small jobs that need doing like fit a few mains plug sockets wiring and things.

So all best y`all and now we are near into 2018 i am gettig more excited for the launch in late spring/summer

 

[Bajansailor]

I wonder what has happened to your photos Wayne? The only photo that is 'showing up' is the one of the angle grinder disc.

 

[waynes world]

I wonder what has happened to your photos Wayne? The only photo that is 'showing up' is the one of the angle grinder disc.

All working here, I have found at times pics can take a moment or two to load up.

 

[Bajansailor]

They all 'came up' for me now - I guess they took a while initially. Excellent photos and progress and workmanship!

Just a thought re the new / extra 4 mm thick plywood floor you fitted in the heads - I presume that you are going to glass over everything (including those excellent fishing pole quarter rounds around the perimeter) however I would still be a bit worried about water getting in between the two layers of ply at a later stage (eg if you had a full bilge?). That could be a good recipe for rot (or has the plywood in this area all been well sealed with epoxy?).