Ok here we go, I will try to go through the build of the yachts with lots of pictures to go with it and keep it as short as possible.
Both yachts were built using the plans from the forum as close as possible but Chris made a few changes that I will note later in the review.
So we begin with the rear axle made from 40mm SQ steel tube with 30mm SQ tube axle stubs
The centre axle was cut and bent at 4 degrees before welding together
The axle stubs were fitted with threaded nuts welded in place to take the wheel bolts.
Next came the keel made from 58mm steel tube, one end cut at 30 degrees and plated to take the steering column
The keel and axle were squared up and levelled before welding together
The mast spa was welded at approximately 78 degrees towards the back of the keel
The rear axle was strengthened with 10mm tube at 45 degrees each side
2 brackets were made and fixed to the rear axle to fix the seat onto and a bracket to take the rear seat support
The tyres are inflatable wheel barrow tyres with the old weak bearings removed and new stronger ones fitted with a steel tube between them to take the bolts.
The steering mechanism was built using an old bicycle steering tube, with a 25mm SQ steel tube for the fork
Wheel fitted and checked for centre alignment
The foot pedals were made from steel plate with a sliding bracket
A small piece of steel plate welded just below the mast support to fix the front of the seat to then the completed frame was painted with black enamel.
Moving on to the seat next all done by Chris
wood plaster & clay plug for seat, plug prior to being sealed with G4 pond sealer then pva release agent
mould imperfections smoothed over with body filler then waxed & pva'd prior to actual seat lay-up.
pigmented gel coat applied to mould
2 layres 450g csm with local reinforcement at mounting points and seat back up to 5 layres
Seat prior to having waste cut off, front to back
Hole cut out for the mast support
Seat fitted to main frame for the first time
I added some Pawjazzel to my seat since I had some spare decals from another project
The rigging and steering on my yacht were all as in the plans using 5 pulleys on the boom but Chris decided to make some changes to his yacht as below.
The steering was changed to using the pushrod system with push/pull pedals
Also the rigging was changed to a central position with triple pulleys
The central post is fixed to a bracket under the seat
Both yachts completed and having fun down at the beach for their maiden voyage.
I have tried to keep this review fairly short, Im sure Chris might add more details later and if anyone would like to ask questions please feel free. I will try to answer as best as I can.
