JEM Watercraft

Finally got the stars aligned (weather ( which has been terrible here), not being away in the camper, etc) and got the 'Saucy Gibbon II' on the water!! Everything went as planned. She was easy to launch, easy to board, handled really well under power, and isn't tender when stopped or drifting. We ha...

Thanks John.
Still negotiating with the insurance company but should be good to go next weekend

Nearly Done! Motor's on, all cables fitted, seats and carpet are in, power tilt works OK - Had to relieve a bit of the transom to clear the fittings on the front of the motor. That's the sort of thing you don't see until you actually fit out, unless you have 3D CAD. I applied some graphics and the r...

Now have the boat off the jig and on the trailer. This is a bit of a milestone. It went on without a problem. My trailer is a Dunbier 4.3S made locally in Melbourne. This is a very good and well made trailer. The Motor Dinghy is about the largest boat you would want to put on this size trailer. Afte...

Finished painting. Decided the lower cheat line needed to be lower down so repainted that part. The Northane Gloss Marine 2 Pack has a lovely glassy finish. Hope it survives! Had built a small control box, which I mounted on a bracket on the port side but now have decided to simplify the whole lot a...

I haven't posted for a while, so a quick update. The hull is well underway to being finished. I am into the painting phase. Two pack poly all over, which is a good looking and tough paint but a bugger to apply. My advice? Mix it well, add a some thinner and let it stand for a little while before you...

Don't get carried away fellas! This is an interesting topic. You've seen the head to toe textured swimsuits the Olympic swimmers like Ian Thorpe wear? Same principal - control the flow of water at the boundary layer to reduce overall drag, a bit like sharkskin. Next time you're sitting at a window s...

Thanks Gents! It was just an idea. Since my supercomputer has a flat battery and I can't run a simulation, it's out with the microballoons...

Having sheathed the bottom of the boat I now have a question: Is it better to fill the completely weave of the cloth or leave the texture visible? One thing that springs to mind is the issue of boundary layer and drag. I know that with some aircraft it is better to have a turbulent boundary layer to...

Holy cow! Sheathing the hull in 480gsm glass cloth was a task. Talk about thirsty - Must have taken good litres of epoxy. Prime coat with timber preserrvative in the epoxy, wet out coat to anchor the cloth, two rolled on coats over the top. Took all day. Looks good though, adds a heap of rigidity to...