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.