Storm 17 panel kit - The story so far

[Ray]

RUDDER + CENTREBOARD:
When I need a break from sanding or epoxy work I carry on with some other pleasant jobs. I joined up the c/board some time ago after filling the cut out with some old lead flashing and epoxy. It now weighs 8Kg which feels pretty heavy when you move it around the workshop. This is before shaping.
I Liked the look of the rudder in the photo CD so I made some changes to the standard ply parts. I added 12mm cheeks to either side of the ply rudder. I fitted a thin strip of hardwood 3mm to the front and back of the upper rudder - cutting away where necessary. My tiller was cut from 48mm thick hardwood and this will have 15mm cheeks.

[Richard Scott]

Many thanks for the updates Ray, it is great to see your boat developing!

[Ray]

I lost my building momentum after having a bit of a problem filleting in the one seat side panel and mini bulkhead. My fillets sagged and looked pretty messy. It slowed down progress while I worked out how to fix it. This was also at a busy time in my 'day job' so nothing really happened for a few weeks, and then it was time for summer holidays.

Well I'm back in full 'building mode and things are progressing.

[Ray]

I had to resort to modelling clamps to hold the hardwood strips along the seats. They worked perfectly.

I was reliewed to finally get the Kingplank cut out. This has been the most difficult job of them all so far. I made a template and had some help from a friend with a router table. The decks fit the rebate neatly. I drilled out the corners of the mast and sampson post cut outs and used a jig saw to remove the bits between. a file did the rest.

The centreboard case is ready for cleaning up and making the top seat piece.

I amd basically just going step by step through the instruction manual and it's working out great.

The motor well is complete and ready for cutting out for the outboard. This can wait for a while.

[Matt Newland]

Hello All,
Thanks to Ray in South Africa for posting these photos and keeping us up to date.
I just wanted to say that prospective builders do not need to buy 100's of small clamps like this to complete the boat. You can use temporary screws to hold while gluing, which are provided in the full kit.
Best wishes,
Matt Newland

[Ray]

Had a few problems getting onto the forum for a while. Progress continues.
Made up a guide for drilling the U bolt in the stem.

[Ray]

I have still to fit the Colour break line then the decks can be fitted. Here a few pictures of progress to date.

[Ray]

Have had a few distractions which have slowed me down a bit. I am moving along well again and the list of things to do is getting shorter.

[Ray]

Rudder ftest fitted.

[Ray]

I decided to seal all the plywood in epoxy. It feels like its a lot of extra work but is supposed to be worth it. Time will tell. I am now filling and sanding and sealing before 'final sanding'. I will then put on two coats of International Pre-cote followed by As many coats as neccessary of Brightside. I have already used this under the deck and in the compartments. It went on surprisingly well using a small foam roller and a brush to smooth.

[Ray]

I have started on the yard and mast while waiting for epoxy to cure. I've shown my long 'workbench' which is working well so far. I have had to cut quite a few scarfs as my timber had some odd grain in areas. When I bent it by putting one end on the floor and 'leaning' on it, it snapped in some places so I have removed any suspect grain. I am using 10mm Douglas Fir. This is going to be a true test of scarf joins!

[Ray]

I did my last scarf join for the mast and yard yesterday. I have avoided this part of the job. I set up positioning blocks and spacers so the pieces being joined could not slide about. Seemed quite simple by the last one!

[Ray]

Another job that I have left for months has been the final shaping of the centreboard and rudder. Well now they are complete and ready for epoxy sealing. A plane was much quicker than a sander for initial shaping. I left the trailing edges just over 3mm thick (maybe a bit less likely to be damaged).

[Ray]

Motor set-up. I did a final check of my motor set up (Honda 2HP) this weekend. It looks right to me. I had to lower the transom between 35 and 45mm to get the lower shaft (and it's odd shapes) to fit neatly at the lower hull cut out. I was worried that the motor might be a bit low but when I test fitted the rudder and tiller the clearance looked about right. Great relief.

[Ray]

I needed a wedge of about 13 degrees for the motor to lie correctly.