My new boat

The seats slide on the black runners to adjust the weight to get the right trim.  Power is either 30lb thrust electric outboard or 3.3hp outboard. It rows easily as well.

drug sub has finally hit the water

Doing do-nuts in its own length.

At speed in a creek.

Cabin interior which is larger than a real drug sub.
This is the final post on the drug sub/ It worked as good as expected with a small problem of tracking, some work will have to be investigated on this and propeller pitch as it does as fast in idle as at top speed. The top photo shows it on the Shoalhaven river.

drug sub

I have made new bearings for the winch and rebuilt it. The cable was refitted and wound up and it works like new. will heve to wait for the weather to improve I do not want to fight bad weather in a untried boat. This gives me more time to do those small jobs that require time. i will make a list and then get that work all done. i read about someone talking about messing about in boats and they said it was the journey and i find this to be true.

drug sub

I have been busy on another project and the drug sub wants to get in the water

This is one of the cabin hold down bolts and it has a small leak.

 Looking for more leaks with the camera.

 more of the same

 this is looking down the left bunk

 Seats are dry

 Rain comes down but surprisingly warm inside the boat

 Water drips from the roof

 Window leak

 These two photos of the space between the inner hull and the outer hull

 

drug sub

I have been given some perspex to make a few more windows to get rid of the blind spots in the sides of the cabin. This will have to be done before launch day.

My little launch from forty years ago

 The motor is a 1.9cc engine with home made water jacket and flywheel. I am thinking a refit with electric drive. The photos are about actual size on a lap top.

Model tug

This is my tug boat that I built 40 years ago, It is older than my youngest son. I will let the photos talk, The real tug was sailed from South Shields to Australia as a top sail schooner, the propeller was removed for the trip. It also towed the last sailing ship into Sydney harbor. It was sunk twice during its life once under Sydney harbor bridge and was lifted 3 years later with the death of a diver ,she was the first tug to work in Pt Kembla and worked in Newcastle as well. The last time she was sunk was trying to help a ship in Port Kembla harbor and was cut up on the spot. I dived in the sight and found a copper fitting very eroded by time and cast the bell for the model from the remains.So here are the photos.

 This photo shows the forty year old electric motor which incredibly still works

 The skipper was one Jimmy Robinson who I meet and was the skipper when she went down the second time I was nine at the time and my dad took me to see the boat upside down in the water . Jimmy liked the model/Note the bell..

 The figure of the skipper was carved out of wood and was unbelievably like Jimmy the skipper.

 Life boat made from paper

 These are the tow hooks the closes one has the release handle broken off.

 The real tug was a riveted hull

 Many years of dust and the last photo shows the knortz nozzle which on the on the model and the real tug made both more maneuverable. The bollard pull rose from three tons to nine tons on the original.

drug sub

 My nephew on my wife's side lost everything in the floods in Queensland and they moved out. They crossed flooded creeks and highways to get here. Being independent Oliver and his wife four children all under seven and his mother in law who was injured in a car accident all staying in a tent. They ended up in Nowra and were being charged $140/ night in a caravan park..... phucken thieves. They have been offered the drug sub to stay in. So It will be some time before it gets to the water. So like me you will have to wait some time longer. These things happen and its good to be able to help. Its Oliver birthday tomorrow..

where is this blog taking me

 When the drug sub hits the water things will change. Its into summer here and the weather is hot and dry usually. First thing to do is sea trials and setting up the boat to live on for extended periods. Then there is where to go and I think the first trip will be up to the head waters of the Shoalhaven river which is 60 km of salt water. I haven't had a good look yet on Google earth, with the holiday season ending I will have the place all to myself. No traffic noise total quiet as the river is in some steep gorges which will keep out the sound. Its national park or impenetrable scrub I might look at building an underground shelter to stay in over winter. It will be like staying in the high country near Kosciusko without the occasional visitor and the bitter cold. Wonder if there is brumbes there?  "O" how the mind wanders and the imagination runs rife.

stolen from

http://houseboatshantyboatbuilders.wordpress.com/2010/11/11/words-to-live-by/
 Shamelessly stolen from Boat Bits who undoubtedly ripped it off from some other location but certainly words to live by.

lightening strikes on small boats

I have had to seriously look at lightening strikes as they can be fatal. Having been struck by lightening I do not want to put myself in to that position again. Some sort of protection is needed. Maybe placing a heavy cable in the boat attached to the metal roof and sending it to the water on the outside of the hull. Does any one have any suggestions? Also do I attach the cables to the motor and bow rails as well.

drug sub

I hope you had a good Christmas and new year.Now that the silly season is over I have a couple of photos of the drug sub to share. The steering wheel was taken from the mini tug and placed on the drug sub. The little red wheel will be used on the mini tug. As you can see the motor has been mounted and all that is left to do is conect the controls when the cables are delivered. The motor is a little 5 hp job as any thing bigger would have to be registered in NSW. Then I would have to get a boat license as well. They change the rules to suit them selves the rule before was 9.9 hp then it went to 6.8 and now its 5hp, They also have a length of 5 meters now. Now that the boat is made and set up I think that any new changes will have to apply to new boats and not taken back to older boats,they make the rules and we all suffer. I might have to go back to sails as there is no hp rating or registration for sail.

drug sub

Sorry for the bad quality as it was getting dark. The wheel is from the rubbish tip and I have to make something to hold it to the steering shaft. The controls are set up on the dash and cables have to be ordered to the correct length.

drug sub

Drug sub is probably not a good image to portray for a recycled sailing boat. This lead me to what to call it, Its made from glass and plastic commonly called glass reinforced plastic ( G.R.P.) Now if it going to float then Jesus what a miracle.
So we put the two together and we get Plastic Jesus.
Now there is this song Plastic Jesus  which is a fun song about a plastic Jesus doll riding on the dash board of a car. This doll is filled with booze which is a drug of one kind which brings us back to weather the boat is going to sink!
Drug sub, and it looks like one a bit.
Think it all ties in so there it is. That's how I came about with the name. Plastic Jesus...


I have been working on the navigation lights and interior lights and doing the wiring which is all soldered and shrunk wrapped on all joints. There is also a hole on the interior of the boat that has been fixed and still needs about an hours work to finish. All of these jobs are not ones that I will bore you with but need to be done. I have just ordered a 6 HP Tohatsu four stroke outboard motor .with power propellor and control stuff so this will be installed in the coming weeks.

Had a small job waylay me

I did this small job to a dingy that had a hole smashed into it, It is easy to do small jobs like this one the photo shows the finished result.

drug sub

For all those of you who have been waiting to see the sub in the water you will have to wait a little longer. Is it going to float or turn turtle? I am thinking the same and am a bit apprehensive myself, Will I come out smelling roses or will I have egg on my face? The suspense is getting to me as well.
The big question is who is running the betting as I would like to have a bet myself say 50 cents each way.
Cheers Stewart

Want to buy a boat

From my experience the most fun was had with the smaller boats. Now with that said what to look for?
 The deeper the boat the safer the boat! I would rather 12" of free-board than 6" less chance to take water over the sides. Decking amounts to more free-board.  Engine size, The bigger the engine the more it costs to run. With that said you need to match the power correctly with the size of the boat. I had a sixteen footer with a 25 hp engine and updated to a forty and the fuel consumption went down. Shallow lakes can get large swells so I would recommenced to have a high front to keep out the water. I had the bow raised on my boat to five feet and on the lake I used it I took green waves over the front. The wider the boat the more stable, again if bilge keels are attached then the stability is increased. Drop center boards increase stability. If you go slower you see more and on the water time doesn't count as you have all day to get there. Most people these days have the hurry worry disease and its fatal. No hurry no worry. Now if it takes more than a day to get there then you need a boat that you can sleep on. Then there is the weather rain or just the heat of the sun or the wind so some sort of cover is needed.
With this boat you will also need to get back in the boat if you fall out. Must have a ladder available at all times. Then if the motor breaks down some sort of auxiliary power is needed so a small sail or a kite is more efficient than oars. Water is collected from the roof, if you have one. Its all about self sufficiency as you just don't get out and walk home when things go wrong.
The must haves are emergency radio beacons on the person as well as buoyancy vests as you don't know when you might end up in the drink.
If you are out at night navigation lights are essential and red interior light to keep night vision.
I will add to this post as things come to mind, The boat described above is my drug sub but you might like other features so give it a go. My little 8 foot tug boat could take waves over the deck and hit the wheel house and remain dry inside where a open boat would have sunk. The best boats are not necessarily the spruced up expensive boats.
In Sydney Australia they made a little motor called the Chapman pup and was 2.5hp. I was looking for parts for one of these and met the maker of this motor who took it on a voyage up the east coast of Australia and it took several months to see if it would last and it performed exceptionally and this was in a sixteen foot open boat. I can't think of the blokes name but he was in his seventy's when he told me of the story, I must admit I was Humbled in the presence of this man.

drug sub

I was asked a question as to how I fixed the top to the hull. Around the joint area there was 2" by 1/4" flat bar shaped to fit the fiberglass boat and was bolted into position and the cabin was welded to this. In the photo the flat bar is shown. Under the fiberglass large washers 2"x2" were placed to spread the load. Silicon sealant was used to seal the joint. The cabin was tack welded to this flat bar and the whole lot was taken off to fully weld. There was little scorching of the glass surface.

drug sub

Those drug subs that the Columbians build are probably one of the best types of boats made for the open ocean. I read where they crossed the Atlantic ocean in a similar boat with a small Tohatsu outboard motor.  please check out the following http://www.tohatsu.com/news/seiko.html . Maybe I should use one of there motors.

strawler

I have put the port and starboard lights on and have had to get more parts and have to spend more time to get all the parts. The photo shows the installation.