A Note (Whining) about Printing Plans

Laser printing plans is surprisingly expensive.  A good size for the plans is 2 x 3 ft.  Black and white printing costs 40 cents per square foot ($2.40/sheet), while color is 8 dollars per square foot  ($48 per sheet).  The prices are about the same in California and Washington.  I had thought that they might have been gouging when I was in San Diego.

Paul's color coded drawings are quite useful and much easier to read, but I will be staying with black and white until I get to a critical section.

Staging of Plywood

I have been postponing delivery of the cut plywood panels.  It has been raining and off -loading the parts from a truck into the shop without a forklift may take a while.  The wood will probably show up on Monday.

The delivery will leave me with 21 sheets of cut 4 x 8 foot plywood.  After cutting, each sheet is stacked in place with all of the scrap and surrounding borders laid out exactly the same as before cutting.  This is basically a stack of jigsaw puzzles. To move these into the shop, each loose sheet will need to be transferred separately.  There are around a 190 pieces not including scrap.

The challenge will be finding the best way to stack these. The ordering should depend on the processing usage.

The majority of parts will get one of three treatments before assembly:

1. Sheathing with 200gm/sq m glass (6oz/sq yd)
2. Sheathing with 300gm/sqM glass (8oz/sq yd)
3. Coating with just epoxy

These treatments may be done on one or both sides depending on the part.  Parts that will have to be bent later during assembly will typically only be coated on one (the inside) side.

Parts with puzzle joints must be joined prior to glassing.  The largest joined parts will be 32 feet in length, so it may make sense to do these last.

Multiple un-joined parts maybe glassed at once.  The limit to the number of parts that can be done at once is a combination of epoxy working time, parts that would fit on a 4 x 12 foot table top and my glassing skill or lack thereof.  The parts have to be grouped by the weight of glass they require.

So, how to optimally stack the parts to access them in order?  This will take a bit of scanning of the build plans to figure out which panels get which glass.  This list has to be cross referenced back to the cutting nests.   It maybe be easier to divide the nests into groups separate from the original sheets, but  then quality storage space becomes an issue.

It seems worth the effort, to streamline the sheathing.  Future builders may benefit from the information as well.  A future optimization might be to reorder the cutting based on my findings to that the sheets are stacked in a more natural order at the CNC shop.

CNC Cutting of Plywood

The guys down at Turn Point Design started cutting the plywood for the main hull and ama today.

This video shows 9mm okoume being turned into an ama panel.  A little boring..., but

Interesting Paper on Proa Evolution

I ran across an interesting paper on Proa design and evolution by Herbert Wenskus over at multihull.de.

Shop Extension - Floor

My shop is 20 x 30 feet.  I've had to extend it to fit a 32 foot Vaka (main hull).  Below you can see a photo of a 12 foot floor built in my driveway that adjoins the shop.  I was looking for the most solid temporary platform I could think of.  I did not want to build a traditional structural deck because it would require a lot of digging to get it low enough to be level with the shop and it would consume a stack of lumber.  I settled on railroad ties settled a few inches into the ground. The ground is fairly compacted and has gravel on it.  The ties are heavy enough to stay stationary without concrete or other anchors.  A few 2 x 4 stringers are laid perpendicular to the ties and 3/4 inch plywood is over the top.

I am about ready to get down to business.  Hopefully I will get some CNC-ed panels that I can start glassing this week.

Task Time: 6 hours

Project total time: 22 hours

Construction Tables

The construction plans require a table 24-27 feet in length.  This surface is where the main hull panels are joined using puzzle joints.   The hull panels mus be flat and supported to be properly joined.  I have built two twelve foot tables that can be clamped together for this purpose.  The short tables will allow me to move and store them easier.

The tables are constructed from 3/4 inch particle board laid over engineered I-beams.  I have beams that are 9 by 2 inches.   These can be ordered at most lumber yards and cost between 1 and 2 dollars per foot.

Construction is fairly simple.

These will also be used as a surface to sheath some of the hull panels with fiberglass before assembly.  Additionally, fiberglass can be cut and vacuum bagging will be done on them.

My tables are 39 inches tall which makes for a comfortable work height.  They also happen to be 1/4 inch lower than my table saw, so the can be used an out feed.

The legs are easily removable so that I can store them.

Task time: 16 hours

Accumulated project time: 16 hours

Approaching Build

This blog will document building the new Paul Bieker/Russell Brown Offshore 32 foot Proa.  This design is sometimes referred to as the "Jester Class" Proa since it was originally designed with the OSTAR Jester Class in mind.

The boat is pictured above.  Check Bieker Boats for more information.

I am currently gathering materials and hope to get started with the work soon.  Watch this space...