A place to work
Before I get ahead of myself in building SV Sojourn, I know I need to set up a shop. The idea is to have a clean dry area to work that is not too cramped, but not too large to become unmanageable both financially or physically.
One must consider the weather to be dealt with. How strong will the winds be and from what direction? How hot or cold will it be? Will I need heat or even cooling of some type? Or both?
How far is it away from the house? The electric? Will it be secure?
Think ahead. When the boat is finished, will I have to crane it? Or maybe I can build the shop so a truck can back up to it.
What about the walls? I like having a workbench and a back board to hang things. All these things need to be considered in planning your shop.
Building a temporary shop
In the spirit of "Cheap" I have in mind a framed wall section along one side, and then pvc pipe construction for the rest of the structure. Seen in the Image above is a plan that I think will work. Some variation will be applied as the center poles will only get in the way and not be very feasible.
The roof and sides will be covered with vinyl tarps. I will dig a drain ditch around the base to avoid water collecting inside the shop. I will plan on framing in a section on the roof or high up on the side so I can put in a stove pipe for a woodstove as it gets a bit nippy here in the winter.
I can run power from the house to the temporary shop. I could even run water but not really necessary.
I may spread a load of gravel on the floor just to keep down the dirt and dust. Maybe even mix in some dry concrete mix and then water and pack it down to make a poor mans concrete,
Where I plan to place the temporary shop, it is perpendicular to the driveway so the boat would need to be turned to face toward any truck and trailer that it is to be loaded on.
The plan would be build some sort of loading ramp. The boat would already be on a cradle with large wheels attached and can be pivoted to face outward and rolled out and onto a trailer.
I am planning on having enough room for table saw, work bench etc to be placed on one side. My neighbor tells me if I expect him to ever come over and help, I better put in a bar!
Many things are possible if you put in a bar!
One final thought, I have a pallet stacked high with recycled snow fence slats. I think 1/4 inch x 1.5 inch x 3 foot. I have thought about forming these 2 thick so they can be about 1/2 inch thick and bending them to form an arch. Maybe I would make a jig on the ground, bend them into the arch and then practice with fiberglass or epoxy resin to bond them. I will think more on this.
This is of course the beginning of the big project. Next after the shop is complete, I have to decide on either locating a solid timber for the keel or laminate up 2x8's x 16 or 20 foot probably to make a full keel of 8x12 and 23 foot of so not including the stem etc.
After that will be the lofting. Seems simple but actually doing it will tell the whole story.
Till next time....Fair winds and following seas!
One thing I lack in my garage is adequate electrical outlets. I have to work with three outlets and it is a major pain at times.
ReplyDeleteConsider that you may want to add portable air conditioning for the summer months (or at least a large fan) so that will take one outlet all the time. Lights will be necessary as well. Then if you need to run a shop vac or dust removal system and air compressor at the same time, you can see where this is going.
The other thing to consider is security of your equipment. Are you going to have to wheel tools out every time you want to work?
Finally, be sure that your ceiling and walls can handle snow, because I know it snows there!
Thanks clipper, My plan will to be run 220 from house to shop then split it.
DeleteI plan to run a few power strips in shop. For the cooling, I plan to be able to open the ends in a way to keep most of rain out so it will be open airflow. Security, Fortunately I live in a fairly remote location and never had a problem with theft. Even when I left my chainsaw in driveway for a month while gone.
Yeah snow will cause me to pay attention. I will have to rake the roof for sure!