Goal posts or Gantrys........In timber!!!

[miketherestorer]

My first post guys, please be kind. I have been thinking for some time of fitting a gantry to my Nic 35. Stainless steel is the obvious first choice, but expensive and maybe not quite the thing for a 30 year old boat. I have some experience as a cabinet-maker and could produce a good looking, well constructed design in timber, (of which I have lots,free). What do you think? Any suggestions for choice of timber?

 

[Tisme]

Sounds like an interesting job to use laminated construction. Possibly using ash?

If you have any timber left over afterwards I'll take it off your hands!

 

[miketherestorer]

You know laminating had never occured to me. All my experience has been in solid timber or man made boards. Interesting. Mmmm.

 

[Tisme]

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experience... in.... man made boards.

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Definitely not a job for MDF!

 

[miketherestorer]

There's nowt wrong with MDF........In the right place.

 

[howardclark]

Got a wooden boat which came with wooden davits shaped in laminated iroko.. Fitted using heavy gavanised shoes which bolt to the deck. Incredibly strong - heaver than using metal tube though. IMHO looks much pretter

 

[miketherestorer]

Howard, thanks, how is the frame fastened into the shoe and do you have a problem around the bottom of the frame inside the shoe?

 

[simonfraser]

laminate / epoxy & two pack paint it, there are lots of good boats made like that.

 

[Phoenix of Hamble]

Mike, I would have thought, done carefully, could be a very attractive and appropriate addition to the boat.... would look superb in laminated hardwood...

 

[miketherestorer]

I'd be quite confidentthat I cvould make a fair fist of the laminating. Still puzzling over how to make the attachment to the deck. Any ideas?

 

[Appleyard]

Incorporate stainless steel fittings into the laminations at the point where you want the gantry to attach to the deck..use these to bolt or screw the assembly to the deck. All will depend on the design,but with good design and a little imagination it would look brilliant. Have fun and post a piccy of the finished article!!!

 

[Tisme]

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Any ideas?

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Anything here?

 

[LadyStardust]

I'm just making a gantry in stainless and got some fittings from www.seascrew.com they do a great range in fixings, check them out. Im not connected in any way other than a happy customer.
However you now have me wondering if I could build mine in laminated hardwood. It's got to look better

 

[miketherestorer]

Adding stainless fittings into the laminations. Sounds good. I had been thinking along similar lines. I,m begining to feel quite excited about this. Thanks.

 

[howardclark]

good question! -i'll look when i'm down this week & photo or take notes. Suspect each shoe is bolted through. Just a point on laminating metal into wood - I would be concerned that differential expansion could crack epoxy. Would suggest fittings are screwed from the ouside or bolted through. Also consider the finish you want on the wood. Personally for an excellent finish and minimal maintenance I would use Coelan.

 

[miketherestorer]

I have been considering a large stainless sole plate bolted in the same manner that some bedframes are assembled. The plate in turn bolted to the deck. Would this suffice, do you think?

 

[DinghyMan]

One way is to put any metal fixings for threaded items inside the laminations but don't glue them solid - have then shaped so that their shape stops them coming out but gives some movement. Simplest explanation is imagine a stainless bolt with a T shaped head put in a T shapes recess in the wood but with the threaded part stuck out the end for fixing, or do the reverse and have the nut with a bit of bar welded to it in a sort of -0- shaped recess. Really should have drawn something here...

I use this for some of the stuf I've made in the past and if you use good quality fittngs they seem to last OK.

 

[miketherestorer]

Is this the kind of thing I've just described?

 

[DinghyMan]

Yes - for non-marine stuff I use the round threaded cross dowels like These fixed with Cross Dowel Bolts , examples from Screwfix but would be better in stainless.

 

[miketherestorer]

Brilliant, what a star you are! I seem to remember dismantling a large industrial bench/table some years ago. It had been assembled using just the same "T" shaped fittings you describe. If only I can find them.