Framing up the hull

The frames were stood up, aligned and tacked onto the jigs angle steels. Its a great feeling to see the 3D shape of the hull for the first time. A string line down the centerline and the spirit level on centreline angle irons (plus plumb-bob) are good tools here. This stage is when you find out if your earlier lofting floor work was accurate or not.

Nicks building jig had angle irons going into cement footings. The hull must be held down onto a secure building jig to resist any plating-up and weld shrinkage forces during hull weld up later on. Initially i thought the heavy railway sleepers might do, but given the expanding clay soil i decided to play 100% safe and make 2 cement footings per sleeper as shown above. The vertical angle iron of the footing is welded to the jig frame and tek screwed into the sleeper. Mixed cement in the barrow. Station wagons shouldn't really be used for this, but it was an old beast with a rusty tailgate.

The transom is set up. This took a bit of bush-geometry and stake into the ground. The transom was pre-fabricated at the frames stage. After oxy-cutting, it wasn't edge peened (like all the other plates were to be) in order to have a natural compound curve left in it. In retrospect it should have been edge peened, to make the sheet flat. The sheet should curve in one dimension only, across the hull. The sheet should be flat to line up with the 2" flat bar end of the keel. (straight angle iron tacked on centreline). In summary I strongly suggest - peen the transom sheet flat before it goes up.

The 40x10 mm stem bar was aligned and tacked into place to form the bow shape. See photo below

Next the 2x 1/4 " flat bar chines were fitted and tacked welded on. I had saved 3.2mm weld rod leftovers for use as spacers between the chine bar and frames. This is done because later on during hull weld up, massive contraction sets in, so the spacers are knocked out as the compressive forces begin. If it were not done the frames would get hugely compressed and start buckling under the load. 

Another problem with flat chine bars is they dont bend too well edge-ways. To bend them like this run a weld bead on the side of bar edge you want the overall bend to go. Suddenly quench the hot weld with water and a curve will form.

 1" flat bar stringers fit into their slots, also with 3.2mm weld rod spacers. All longitudinal framing should have fair curves. If a stringer or chine is too far in,  a small spacer can be tacked on to hold it out to a fair curve.

As soon as the hull framework was strong enough, 4 shade cloths went up over a large bamboo ridge pole. Several angle irons tacked to the keel plates held the ridge pole up. Two more long bamboos held the outer edges.

The stringers and chines were pulled into the transom by tie wires.

The hull shape takes form. The cabin ends at frames 2 and  8 are a little over 20 ft  (6m) apart.

The 1" stringers are located where 3mm thick plates are to go. No stringers were needed to support the bottom plates, at 5mm thick the bottom plates are strong enough on their own. No bilge stringers means fewer potential internal rust traps in this area.

Setting up the wyloyard

Utilities

The wyloyard started with installation of a powerpole and box  with  40m overhead powerline in from the street pole, at a fair price. Then the 50m water main trench was dug and the heavy duty 25mm PVC water main laid from the front water meter, along the boundary line, then some 20m of 25mm heavy duty PV main in from the property boundary to the  caravan site.

Site accomodation

The caravan site was raised above the flat claypan with a truckload of decomposed granite or "deco". Once the 14 foot 2nd hand caravan was in position it had to be held down to cement footings with heavy gauge wire, this is to prevent the van blowing away in a cyclone. The van was past its roadworthy lifespan so was inexpensive but they can get long and useful retirement life on project blocks like this. The water main supplied the caravan's sink and an outside tap on a riser. The wash room was a few paperbark poles augered and cemented in with a poly tarp wrapped around. Figured the small van would be about similar size to living on the boat so would do for a start. A power lead from box to van had the lights, fridge and hotwater jug on.

Tool shed

Next a 6x3m garden shed was delivered, later to become the tool shed. (it was a fraction of the cost of a 6x6m garage) A 100mm thick concrete slab was built. I did the preparation, gravel and sand base laid, 4x2" timber formwork using stringlines, leveled the sand, laid black plastic liner, then reinforcing mesh cut to fit, laid on bar chairs so it was 50mm below the formwork tops. The concrete pour involved a bunch of friends, a load of concrete mix gravel-sand, a petrol driven cement mixer and bags of cement and shovels and barrow. Its not the easiest thing to do. A friend was good at concrete finishing, leveled it off with a straight edge and gave it a brush finish with a broom for non-skid. Watered it with a tarp cover to cure the slab slowly.

The shed went up in a few days and came with assembly instructions. Panels screwed together. Cyclone reinforcing beams and portal went inside the walls. Tek screws held alot of it together with smaller screws on other spots. A windward shed ventilation window was cut and hinged from the top, a good arrangement as it keeps the rain out when open. Spare steel C sections made window studs inside and a simple locking system made.

If you have more budget a 6x6m or larger car garage would be better sized for the tool shed. It can later become the wood and equipment storage shed as the project expands into fittout stage. In Qld, the highset style house makes a good base for boatbuilding activities, the ground floor covered workshop area is immense.

Strongback construction

Wylos need a strong building jig before frames go up. In my case of unstable clay soil alot more work needed to be done.

A "Deco" base was spread out first, then a sand layer on top of that was leveled off.  Paperbark posts were augered into the ground to make steel sheet standing racks around the boat site (they wouldn't last long laying flat on this reactive soil). Poly tarps ready to cover the sheets.

Hired a truck and a friend with a truck drivers licence drove it to pick up the frames from the interim shed and first load steel   A load of 14ft hardwood railway bridge sleepers also came. (i had found them cheaply at the railyards in town, hired a big trailer to get them to the interim shed earlier).

A driveway made of "deco" was also built from the front gate to the boat yard. So vehicles wouldnt sink into soft clay during the wet. Most of this stage was done in the dry season when the ground dries hard.

A bunch of friends helped unload the first steel shipment, about 2 tons of   flat bars, heavy angles, heavy 5mm thick 8x4' hull plates. The 14' heavy railway sleepers were also bought in and carried into rough postion. Many thanks for the help to all who were there, sorry the photo's a bit faded.

The railway sleepers, one for each frame station, are carefully positioned and then leveled. This system was done in lieu of a huge expensive concrete slab. Steel plates are stacked upright against paperbark poles and covered with black plastic to reduce rain induced corrosion.

 Below is another angle of the early yard. A brown shade cloth garden fence is up and the deco driveway extends to the caravan site.

2 heavy steel angles are laid fore-aft and coach screwed to the railway sleepers to complete the building jig or strongback. The first frame, F8 companionway, is stood up! I don't know why but it seemed like a real milestone, tangible progress. A hull centerline stringline and the frames' centerline angle iron help get the position right. The frame is tack welded to the 2 long heavy angle irons of the building jig.

The grey 40x40mm square section aluminium straight edge (center of jig) about 3.3m long is a very usefull piece of gear. It was first used to level the shed slab and screed the concrete flat. Then in conjunction with a spirt level, it was usefull to help level the sand and building jig components. It's usefulness extended into  all stages of the hull and decks construction, like checking levels across the hull framework. Aluminium is lightweight enough to handle easily and it hasn't lost it's straight edge after years of use.

A tarpaulin annexe awning was added to the tool shed and the workbench placed there. This was a good position for it astern of the hull. I figured it was an equal distance to trolley the welder or oxy gear out on each side of the hull, usually it stayed on one side all day. Some builders prefer the hull parallel to the tool shed.

Wylos are usually built upside down and rolled over later. This makes it much easier to lay the heavy steel hull plates in position and the first phase of external welding can be done down hand, far easier for learning the art of welding.

I had bought the land before realising that the soil would not support a building jig as Nick describes it. So if you have to select land, make sure the soil is not reactive (expanding) clay type. Probably a sandy-loam or sandy soil is far more stable. Ask locals what they think about their soil type first.

Ideally, a flat concrete slab (with roof) exists to build the jig upon. A different method could be used.  Large 20'x5' - 3mm deck sheets could be laid down first to form part of the strong back base. The frames with 1" flatbar deckstringers would be tacked downhand onto these. During hull weld up the deckheads 1" long intermitent welds would  also be done downhand. I'm not sure if anyone has tried this method yet, but it certainly avoids the overhead deck stringer welding that i went through later on.

My budget was pretty basic and being single the location didn't matter so much at the time. I wouldn't entirely recommend trying to do it as i did.  The ideal yard situation is to have long-term use of a fully established property with house and sheds already built, located close to town with employment and facilities. This may also cover many other life situations that can occur during a build.

wyloyard background

A Map of Australia and NZ showing the Queensland coast.

Map2 the Queensland coast. Cairns to Brisbane. WhitSundays Islands are well located in  the tropical cruising grounds of the Great Barrier reef area.

I was living in North Queensland at the time, it was where my employment was located and had settled into the area a bit. In hind sight, a few key wyloyard selection factors were missed.

Considered a few places but finally spotted an acre block at a reasonable price, made sure that it had 240v power, town water main supply and a telephone junction box out front first..Many blocks around this area were vacant. It was classed as rural-residential and the neighbors were hundreds of meters away so you could theoretically do alot more than a residentialy zoned place. i didnt know much else about site selection but another friend had just bought a block down the road which encouraged me to sign on the dotted line and join the ranks of the landed gentry.

 It was not too far from a very small rural town with a school and police station. Near a nice beach and creek with a boat ramp and fish-n-chips shop. Not to far to drive to clear water streams coming down from forested mountains.  

The area was slowly getting subdivisions near the beach catering for retirees escaping from the cooler climes down south. The developer used the road with acres blocks to get to his golf course development near the beach. Not too many houses up at the time, a  few sheds and caravans that usually preceed a house build. The development had pushed ahead of the market demand, it had been flat for a few years and I couldnt see any reason why the market shouldnt remain like that and the area sparesley inhabited for quite a few more years.

I was later to find that the main draw back was that the  distance to the citys industrial zone is a bit too far (50km). This  requires more notetaking and planning for supplies than if it were just around the corner. One way around this is to have several jobs going at once.

Weather

Most of the time its nice NE-SE winds of the trade winds belt and winters have 25C days and sunny skies. But from November to March cyclone season is on. 

To cope with this sheds and housing must be built to cyclone regulations (or very strongly) to take very occassional hurricane force winds (for any one location). South of the tropic of Capricorn, near Gladstone it is theoretically sub-tropical and clear of the cyclone belt.

Other wylo yards in Queensland.

If you are in southern Queensland, a good place that comes to mind is in Maryborough in old timber mill? sheds beside the river. Its like the "wylo2 central" of this state. Gypsy Boots (originally named Wilpy), Ironbark and Pagan were built here. The yards owner built Ironbarks hull, sand blasted and primed, and it was moved to a 1/2 acre house block on the outskirts of town for fitout and final painting. (This system was also done with a junk rigged wylo2  being built near Cairns awhile ago) . Ironbark has sailed around the world to some very interesting to extreme places. Ironbark in Antarctica, Adventures of Ironbark.

The climate in southern Queensland is significantly cooler than up here the far north and i think this may increase building speed alot. Maryborough is also south of the cyclone belt. However, there can be riverside floods so a  block on higher ground for fittout  is a major factor there.

Car selection

To start the car needs to be a tough and/or old one that can carry or tow materials. I happened to already have an old 1970 XY Falcon 500 station wagon with a towbar.  It was a good car for it. A large straight 6 cylinder engine and automatic gearbox. It had 2 roof racks clamped to the gutters and i welded up a carrying frame to bolt to the front bumper bar. It wasnt too high so this allowed me to load on sheets of masonite (for templating) or 6m long angle irons etc. The back seat folded forwards to form a long storage bay inside.

This one is similar to my XY  (minus the venetian blinds)

The 2nd car. A 1986 Nissan E23 Urvan.  Light commercial van with 2 litre 4cylinder engine up front. 3 roof racks on top for long stuff and a large cargo bay inside. Large rear lift door and big side loading door.

I was away from the build awhile and the above 2 trusty cars above eventually slipped away in the sands of time. 

 

The 3rd and present car. Toyota Hilux Workmate ute (pick up truck). Its a rear wheel drive and has a sizeable aluminium tray at back, with 3 dropsides, which can carry 8x4ft sheets and a 700kg maximum tray load.  The singlecab has a 3 person bench seat and is simple/old style regarding the handbrake, window winders, quarter windows etc. The 4 cylinder engine is 2.7 Litres which is a fair ammount of hauling power. (sorry pic is off the net, my computers in at the tech-doctors)

Have added a rear window protection grille and ladder carrying rack (latter for long items) from Meteor Fabrications.

Today the tow bar (and electrics) went on at Bob Parkes Muffers. Their Aitkenvale workshop was damaged in the Townsville Tornado last week on 20th March 2012 (5am). The towbar guys moved to the main shop and didn't miss a beat. It's heavy duty, 180kg ball weight and can tow up to 1800kg. 

Summary

• Find a cool climate
• The yard should be near a fair sized town with industrial services
• But away from residential zones and near neighbors
• Tool shed and preferably a roof over the hull site.
• Live and work at the same site (or nearby).
• A good workhorse car. A commercial van or utility best.

A potentially good shed

The  potentially very good shed of the boatbuilding co-op and a wyloyard that wasn't.

3 friends bought the shed at auction at the decommissioned old city powerstation, it had originally been erected at an antarctic base so the portal frames were huge and J-bolts had held the cladding onto strong purlins in hurricane force winds. The walls were about 5m high the ridge over 6m. There were 2 giant access doors large enough to allow a yacht hull through on each end. It seemed like a pretty good yacht building shed. My friends boatbuilding co-op plan was to build 4 hulls inside (3 Vandestadt 34s, 1 wylo) and after each hull was welded enough, move it outside and rig a leanto over it for further work while another hull was born inside.. a good plan, we were fairly young and quite enthusiastic.

After the auction  (a what seemed a good price) it was found to be asbestos clad so contractors in space-like suits had to remove that permanently at fair expense.  We then marked up and  dismantled only the frame for transport.

A large 12x9m slab was laid on a 25 acre bush block not too far from town. We put all the framework up and clad it with brand new zinc-alum  iron sheeting fastened with tek screws. My wylo frames arrived for imminent assembly.

The power connection didnt go so well. It was discovered that a huge transformer  had to be fiitted to the high voltage mains line on the street to bring the power down to 240v. This caused nothing to happen for a long time.

A genset was considered but a break-in finally tipped the balance and it was time for me to look for another yard.