stuhaynes
New member
After 5 weeks Cygnus was re-launched yesterday. There wasn't much wood to change, but what did need doing had to be steamed. I'd never done this before so knocked up a box out of 19mm ply about 7 foot long and about 9 inches square, closed one end and drilled a 10mm vent hole in it. The other end had a 25mm hole drilled in the bottom for the steam pipe to go through. The steam came from a 2.3KW standard wall paper stripper.
I had to fit 2 new pieces of oak rail which were steamed for about an hour and half. After that timeI took them out and put them on a bench with a piece of 1" x 1" softwood where I needed the bend and pulled the wood down with 2 'G' clamps. After the wood cooled I took off the clamps and the wood retained sufficient of a curve to fit nicely. I'd previously tried to form the curve by screwing the wood to the hull. I stopped trying this way as I felt that I was stressing the ribs too much.
Anyway, she's back in now. Next year I hope to replace the cabin sides and the windscreens. This will be her 60th birthday present.
I had to fit 2 new pieces of oak rail which were steamed for about an hour and half. After that timeI took them out and put them on a bench with a piece of 1" x 1" softwood where I needed the bend and pulled the wood down with 2 'G' clamps. After the wood cooled I took off the clamps and the wood retained sufficient of a curve to fit nicely. I'd previously tried to form the curve by screwing the wood to the hull. I stopped trying this way as I felt that I was stressing the ribs too much.
Anyway, she's back in now. Next year I hope to replace the cabin sides and the windscreens. This will be her 60th birthday present.
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