This weekend I will be mostly...

[prv]

...building a new binnacle out of clay.

I have about 20 kg of clay stacked up in my shed ready to work my dubious artistic talents upon. I will of course be offering up the various instruments to it to check fit - fortunately the clay washes off most objects quite easily once allowed to dry.

Then I will be painting it with garage floor sealer.

Wish me luck.

Pete

 

[Blueboatman]

You going to throw a wheel on there as well?

 

[prv]

You going to throw a wheel on there as well?

Yes, temporarily, just to make sure it all fits.

I've been itching to get on with my leather wheel-cover kit, but of course it will be much easier to wash stray clay off the plain stainless wheel, so I'm holding back on that till after this weekend.

Pete

 

[Bru]

that should be worth seeing, post some pics please!

 

[lustyd]

...building a new binnacle out of clay.

I have about 20 kg of clay stacked up in my shed ready to work my dubious artistic talents upon. I will of course be offering up the various instruments to it to check fit - fortunately the clay washes off most objects quite easily once allowed to dry.

Then I will be painting it with garage floor sealer.

Wish me luck.

Pete

I assume there's also an unspoken "ready to cover in FRP" in there somewhere too?

 

[Seajet]

Wet clay, hands on, leather...they don't call him PRV Pete for nothing then; ' Monsieur, are you sure that's a binnacle ' ?!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xvTfKg9sRR8

 

[prv]

I assume there's also an unspoken "ready to cover in FRP" in there somewhere too?

Heh, well guessed

I am remodelling the top of Ariam's modest binnacle to hold the things I deem desirable. Driven in particular by whatever half-arsed mechanic fitted the new engine (before our ownership) and put the control panel and the rev counter / display unit in completely stupid positions. The control buttons were on the aft face of the binnacle at ankle height, and the display (which is helpful to look at as you press the buttons, as they're little electronic things with no feedback) was mounted on the forward outboard corner of the binnacle, where you can't see it at all without craning around the wheel. You also can't reach the throttle from this position, so you cannot increase revs while watching the dial. You have to nudge it up a bit, look, move it a bit more, etc. After this work I will have the buttons and display on the sloping top surface of the binnacle, next to the throttle.

At the same time, I am also making room for a small plotter (the little Lowrance 4" one) for the helmsman to find the way up unfamiliar harbours etc. And I will be putting back the autopilot controller that was already there, configured so that it can also become the helmsman's private depth repeater when people are milling about in the cockpit with warps and fenders and getting in the way of the main depth display at the critical moment.

If possible, I'm going to see if I can find a home for the VHF remote too, as it was previously out of reach of the wheel - fine when someone else is steering, but awkward when I am and I just want to nudge the squelch or volume a bit.

The plan is to form my new design from a lump of clay over the top of the existing binnacle, take a mould from it, then go home and lay up the new top in the mould. This will then be spliced on over the top of the existing one and the joins filled and faired with flowcoat.

That's the theory, anyway

Pete

 

[Blueboatman]

If I may suggest, Pete .. Can you also work in a couple of natty recesses to hold hot( or even cold) drinks , if the binnacle is basically a hollow tube..?

 

[prv]

If I may suggest, Pete .. Can you also work in a couple of natty recesses to hold hot( or even cold) drinks , if the binnacle is basically a hollow tube..?

Yep, that's another thing that needs fixing. It currently has a pair of drinks holders on top, but they're only big enough for cans and not tea mugs or water glasses. They also fill up with rainwater and don't drain. I have a design in mind that will fix all of this, but it's in teak rather than GRP so is part of phase 2 of the project

Pete

 

[Elessar]

...building a new binnacle out of clay.

I have about 20 kg of clay stacked up in my shed ready to work my dubious artistic talents upon. I will of course be offering up the various instruments to it to check fit - fortunately the clay washes off most objects quite easily once allowed to dry.

Then I will be painting it with garage floor sealer.

Wish me luck.

Pete

good luck.

when I did mine i made it out of foam. Carved it to shape. But it was a male not a female as you are doing. Foam was hacked away when GRP cured to leave it hollow.

Pics of yours required!

 

[prv]

when I did mine i made it out of foam. Carved it to shape. But it was a male not a female as you are doing. Foam was hacked away when GRP cured to leave it hollow.

Well, my clay will be male, a plug. I did think of using a lost foam approach, but it wouldn't really work very well in this situation on top of the existing binnacle.

I have had a bit of a practice by building a pair of instrument pods to go either side of the companionway, holding the AIS display, radar/plotter, stereo remote, and switches for various lights, sockets, etc.

Pete

 

[ganter]

...building a new binnacle out of clay.

I have about 20 kg of clay stacked up in my shed ready to work my dubious artistic talents upon. I will of course be offering up the various instruments to it to check fit - fortunately the clay washes off most objects quite easily once allowed to dry.

Then I will be painting it with garage floor sealer.

Wish me luck.

Pete

Good Luck!
I think it will go well though.

 

[zzyyxx]

Well, my clay will be male, a plug.

Will you be making a mould from the plug?
If you make the mould in grp how do you stop the final grp sticking to it?

Pardon my ignorance, I've always wondered exactly how this works in practice.

 

[prv]

Will you be making a mould from the plug?
If you make the mould in grp how do you stop the final grp sticking to it?

Yes, I will be making a mould from the plug.

In theory, all you need to do to prevent sticking is to polish the mould (with wax polish) to a very high shine. Gelcoat won't stick very firmly to a really smooth surface - last weekend I was using this fact by using some ply offcuts with a shiny lacquered surface to block up holes, painting the gel directly onto the ply from inside, then laminating. The ply just popped off with a gentle tug afterwards.

That's nice in theory, but I'd hate to go to all this effort and end up with the part stuck in the mould. So I will probably also apply PVA mould release (not the same PVA as PVA glue). This wipes on as a liquid, then sets into a thin plastic film. You gel and lay up over it, then when you're finished you pry the edges apart and run in a little water. The PVA film dissolves in water into a slippery liquid (it doesn't go all at once, sadly, you have to work at it to let the water get everywhere) and so there's nothing for the gelcoat to remain stuck to. The part then comes free.

Using PVA doesn't give quite such a high-quality surface as wax polish alone, because the plastic film is slightly matt rather than shiny. But I'm willing to trade that off for certainty of release.

Pete

 

[zzyyxx]

How'd it go? Any pics?

 

[prv]

How'd it go? Any pics?

As is ever the way with boats, the preceding job (installing the autopilot linear drive and rudder sensor) took far longer than I expected. So I only got as far as slapping the clay on and roughing out an approximate shape. I didn't want to stick around in the dark trying to finish it by the light of a single inspection lamp, as that's a recipe for "that'll do" and regretting it ever after. The rough version was enough to prove that the shape I had in mind will work without fouling the wheel and all the instruments will fit, which I was a little worried about, so that's good. I'll finish it off and lay up the mould next time I'm down there.

Pete