Roofing with Erik

Hi there.

Today Erik helped me with placing the roof on the cabin.
Erik is my collegue who motivated me to build the pocketship in aluminum.

For this the boat had to move out of its cramped yard to be able to weld the two roof halfs.
This has to be done inside as wind is going well with making a good weld.
Nice oportunity for taking some pictures however...

As you see I did not add the dorade boxes yet. That is because I have to enter the floor boards through the inner openings of the vents. I have these still outside the boat becaus I have to weld the bottom still and I don't want to burn the floor boards with the hot welding splatters.

And what do you think of my rudder...

New phase

Last months I was very busy preparing for two exams both after about a year of training.
First of all I am officially a First Aid Instructor now. Happy to have passed that exam. Not as easy as I expected and a few organizations depended on me getting this certificate.

2nd and ofcourse the most interesting one my first official NIL welding certificate TIG (GTAW) Aluminum. I passed the practical exam and I trust I passed the theoretical as well but I'll have to await the official message.

So... A big black hole (time warp) ending study activities and time for the next phase in building the first Aluminum pocketship.

I cut the top pieces of the paterns and will make some templates in a few days.
I try to order the next set of sheet aluminum before Christmas holidays so that I will be able to do some cutting and welding between "Turkey and Fireworks".

Learning, learning, learning, deforming and welding process...

You can't imagine: my fulltime job is in (higher) education and I never learned so much as with this project...

Ok, that was to be expected for the good reasons that I am an unexperienced welder and that I try to build an intended wooden boat in aluminum 😎 but hey, would Columbus ever had discovered Turtle Island without trying "something else"?

In fact there is so much to tell that I don’t know where to start. All metals including aluminum deforms when heated. They tell you a very limited amount about it during welding classes, nothing about the size of a boat. So I have to learn my lessons during building-time and I can tell you: these lessons are very very interesting. I already experienced these phenomena with the centerboard-trunk but after that every weld caused its troubles. It troubled me a lot. Did I choose the right welding method? Did I really bought the wrong welding machine? Did I really do the wrong welding course?

Now a few weeks later I know the answer and of course as ever it is “yes and no”.
Why do most of the aluminum boat builders use the MIG welding process? Not because of the advantages of TIG but of the disadvantages ofcourse. First of all and most im portant the heath transfer. TIG is a slower process and adds more heath into the metal than MIG. The difference is not only significant but humendous (as I experienced). Second - I thought not very important - is that MIG welds with only one hand. In fact this has two important advantages: first you can hold the pieces into place while (tack)welding with the other hand. Turned out to be very very very handy. And second the “agility”. Single hand welding also means welding in narrow spaces, easy welding in all positions and welding left and right handed!



You guessed already I had to switch to MIG. Fortunately I could sell my TIG welder fast and for a good price and found a MIG welder with the right specs by my favorite supplier (HBM-machines).

 

Yep this is a professional machine and it’s about the same price as my TIG welder.

Now what about lessons? MIG is completely different from TIG welding. Aluminum-welding is aluminum-welding however. The metal behaves about the same. And the difference between no welding experience at all and some experience is much bigger than than the difference between TIG and MIG. They say that if you start with TIG (as the most difficult proces) you can learn MIG faster and I think that’s true.

What about eye sight...

Sometimes you encounter a personal "awareness" that almost feel spiritual...
I did today.

No it's not something magic but in fact something stupid!

When I started welding lessons I discovered that I had to get used to the sight behind the welding helmet. As I hadn't any experience before I accepted the "scene" as it was and that I had to train myself in observing the welding process.

During the lessons I discovered that  multi focal glasses aren't ideal. At reading distance the lower part of the glasses were looking exactly where the window of the helmet stopped.
So I used a cheap reading glasses and it worked.

A few lessons later I discovered that I had issues with keeping distance of my head to the welding process. Slowly creeping into the weld and not getting a clear focus of course.
So I decided to buy standard reading glasses a higher figure than my own. And guess what...

 

A new world opened up!!!. Welding is so relaxed now. I can see everything happening in the weld.
I wished I discovered this months ago.

Well, my welds made a shocking improvement again so I am happy.

Learned the first important lessons

I really had some tough struggle welding the centerboard trunk & keel section.

I know that aluminum deforms when welded and I guessed that as aluminum is quite bendable I could correct this afterwards... Not so!

I learned that when this construction is welded it is enormously stiff and strong (which is positive as well of course). I also learned that complex constructions deform in unpredictable ways.
I had to consider more tack welds and a smart welding order. And I even may consider another design of the parts when I build this ship again.

Fortunately I could correct this trunk & keel within acceptable limits but that took several hours.
First I tried to bend the deformed parts resulting in more severe deformation in others parts, leading into too big gaps to weld and a kind of "modern art" in the end.

After a night sleep I decided to cut out the "modern art" and inserted a new piece. That worked out quite good. Welding the new piece deformed the side of the trunk again which I could prevent by cutting a few slits in the trunk to absorb the heath deformation and weld them afterwards water tight again 😇.

The section is not finished yet but hope that the most difficult part is done by now 🙏.

 

First results & a bummer

Took a while since last post but a lot happened in the meantime: I drew the first pieces on the sheets with the templates, cut them and grind them to precise measurements. Which worked super! the sheet cutter did its job and the grinder slimmed the pieces down to the millimeter.

Welding something else than trial pieces was really different but I felt confident enough to build and shape the centerboard trunk and it actually surprised me that I made a firm piece of Pocketship.

First I had in mind to post some results when I finished the whole keel-and-trunk section but unfortunately my welding machine broke down after 1,5 week of perfect functioning. With a loud bang the machine stopped as well as the rest of the electricity in the house ;-). 

So cutting some parts in advance was the only option...

 

And of course I needed to "elongate" some pieces as well. In aluminum this is so simple: just make a straight and sturdy "butt weld" & grind it flat. After that it is immediately available for further process.

Hope to get my welding equipement back soon to be able to show you the complete keel&trunk section.

New welding machine

This week my new welding machine came in. And today the argon bottle arrived so I could give it a try.

Yes! This little machine welds like a charm! I ordered a pedal (for current control) as well and this works absolutely great. The torch is not so bulky as @ welding classes and the machine can be set very precisely. I tried approximately 25 cm but this welder already earned my respect.

Assembling the torch was a bit of a hustle. The thread was a bit rough so it cost me a couple of  minutes and a bit of WD40 to get it done.

Now waiting for the aluminum (next week) and do some cuttings.

Lets learn welding (and start thinking of buying welding equipement)...

After 5 lessons TIG aluminum welding it is getting somewhere. And I really enjoy it.

I did so many courses in de the past. For radio licences, for pilot licences, first aid, and many more and that times 3 of course because every course has its varieties ;-)

And every course brings its own kind of learning experience too. Not by content in the first place but in learning psychology.

TIG welding is a skill with a lot of cognitive aspects. It needs concentration, know your machine settings, apply the "rules", train a steady hand and... mess up the whole piece of metal.

From the past 5 lessons I learned the most important things in the last 2: Know what you are doing but forget thinking about it and relax in the timeless moment of your welding process!

Ok, seems very "mindful" and I guess it is. But it works for me as well. Somehow I seem to be attracted to skills that needs a combination of concentration, skills and knowledge and welding is one of them.

 

And yes I have a challenge: I need to remember that I wanted to learn welding to be able to build my Alu Pocketship. And not to to explore welding as an art on its own. But I have to admit: It's tempting...

So just when a new addiction is luring, holidays are knocking at the front door and that means: no welding lessons for weeks and weeks: Time to find some proper welding equipement...

Welding equipement

We can't do without the Internet anymore. It's a shame maybe but I really have to admit. In the past we traveled 5 shops, survived 4 con tricks and felt (somehow) lucky to make a "good" deal.

Nowadays we can surf hundreds of websites, compare dozens of brands and make a selection from a few heavily reviewed shops. And this is what "pops up" quite frequently...

The EvoTIG 200 Pulse AC/DC TW 85. Nice names, lots of figures. In fact it says that it has a capacity of maximum 200 amperes welding, pulse welding and AC and DC welding. Especially AC is important for aluminum welding as DC is not applicable for this. Up until now it is only dreams as I did'n order the machine jet. And of course you already understand that only a machine (an inverter) is not enough to get welding. I also need an tungsten electrode, a welding helmet, gas, filler rod etc.

So let the build up the bill... 

I also experienced that a pedal is absolute no luxury. Of course you can do without but to be able to start and finish your welds in a neat way, a pedal is important. Aluminum absorbs heat dramatically and you find yourself speeding up in the end drastically with all kinds of errors included! I never welded with a pedal but I guess that is one of the things I am missing.

Pocket ship in Aluminum?

Hi there and thanks for reading my first blog post about building a aluminum Pocket Ship.

After about a year of searching for a suitable design for a small sailing boat I decided to build John Harris' excellent Pocket Ship. I compared a lot of designs and every time a came back to this design so it wasn't a difficult choice. The Pocket ship is (in my opinion) a very attractive design, sails quite well and above all it has an overnight accommodation and still is trailerable behind a normal European car.

So I bought the plans, began to study and found out everything about wood epoxy "stich-n-glue" building and I was ready for building...

In that time I told a colleague (Erik) about my plans and it surprised me that he knew the design (we live in the Netherlands). He even was very enthusiastic about it and told me about his dreams of owning one of these as well. Erik is a real Sea Sailer and has a larger yacht but fancied the idea of trailering the Pocket Ship to remote or isolated locations and explore it with this unique vessel.

We got in a lively dialog and we both got even more enthusiastic up until the moment Erik asked: "why not build it in Aluminum?" And the question stayed in my mind.
After that day we explored the possibilities and had contact with all kinds of builders, small wharfs, metal-industries etc. And guess what...

Yes building the Pocket Ship design in Aluminum is absolutely possible. Even better: its easier to build, its more durable and it cost about the same compared with wood-epoxy!
There is just one thingie: Welding aluminum is about the hardest thing to do and learn...

So... I started orienting at welding courses. First thing I decided was that I surely would not going to weld my boat with MIG. This is however the most used technique as it is fast and works well on Aluminum. But... it also is a very rough welding method, leaving welds that could not match my ideas of building a slick craft like the Pocket Ship. So TIG welding it became.

And yes, I now understand that I still have to go a certain path to achieve enough skills. And I love it, it is such a satisfactory thing to do. My enthusiasm even doubled!

From Left to right is my progress in 2 lessons ;-)

So this is a start of my Blog. I hope to keep you posted in the various steps of building my Alu Pocket Ship. And please feel free to ask questions and tell me your tips and ideas.