Thought I’d do another update bringing my project into the new year and news from The Man Shed.
New Name - Goals I will be changing the name to TMS Composites. I’m in the process of doing the legal paperwork now. Currently the website is still themanshed.net . I’m doing this as I bring the project more into line as a business. My goal is to have the TMS-20 finished and in the water in 2010. The doc has released me on my shoulder and I’m feeling much better still sore at times but I suspect that is something that I’ll have for years to come. I bought a bowflex to put in the shop to work my shoulder out with, as it gets stiff if I do not work it every few days, and god knows I could easily use to drop 50 or more pounds. So those are my goals for the year.
TMS 20 I’ve finally fared out the hull enough to my liking. I’m starting to work on building the bowsprit mold and will be cutting foam strip for the second half of the hull as soon as it warms up. I’ll post a few pictures of the fared out hull then move on.
Composite Tubing I am going to make the mold for the bowsprit out of PVC pipe. I’ll cut the pipe in half the glue on a flat section to make two pieces that are ½ round then flat on the bottom. I’ll wrap several layers of cloth around the curve and on the flat surface but not joined to form a complete semicircle. That way I can peel it back some to remove the PVC. Once the two sides are formed and dry I’ll glass the flat sides together and lay some glass in the middle to form a circle with a flange in the middle that will be the length of the tube. When that is dry I will have a composite tube that I can wrap glass around to build up my thickness. To “bag” the outside wrap I’ll use the plastic heat shrink tubing to compress the lay-up. I feel that by doing it this way I do not have to worry about removing the lay-up from a mold or core and I’ll have a nice flange the length of the tube for stiffness. The bowsprit is 6' long if this works well I'll use the same method for the beams they will be 17' long.
Beer Hammer X-Mas gift from my son picture says it all! I guess you never have too many tools.
Mike Shappell www.themanshed.com TMS-20 Builder G-Cat 5.7 - Current Boat NACRA 5.2 - early 70's
Hammer is also good idea for also keeping crew in line...I will have to test it out next time I am by TMS.
I need to swing by once to finish cleaning up the bottom of the Supercat 20. The keys beaches really suck. Ground Coral instead of sand. Hopefully get the boat out on the water Sunday. Supposed to be near 80 degrees. Come on heat!
Let me know your schedule for Cavallino so I can leave it open. I have a media hard card for the track so you won't need to use one of your track tickets for me. Looks like you will get a track tour.
Went by the shed and finished touching up the bottom. It is as good as it needs to be to put her back on the beach. Just need to replace standing rigging and she is ready.
I'll be around tomorrow. There is a guy in Stuart that does CnC work I may go see and another dude with a carbon fab shop but it will not be an early start in the morning.
Last edited by TheManShed; 01/13/1010:48 PM.
Mike Shappell www.themanshed.com TMS-20 Builder G-Cat 5.7 - Current Boat NACRA 5.2 - early 70's
Today I decided I had to make a rack to hang the hull so I could use my bench. I had some racks I built for the G-Cat hull work that I kept so I modified them. Here are shots of the TMS-20 that have not been available in the past.
Last edited by TheManShed; 01/14/1006:27 PM. Reason: Spelling is a bitch at times my mind is faster then my fingers!
Mike Shappell www.themanshed.com TMS-20 Builder G-Cat 5.7 - Current Boat NACRA 5.2 - early 70's
Mike…Mark is an acquaintance of mine...spent a little time with him and his girlfriend four or five times over a number of years...(known his long time girl friend for 30 years)...have known his office manager for 30 years and use to windsurf with one of his top carpenters. Everyone from his friends to his competitors, clients to employees, speak very highly of him.. I do know he is well respected within the industry for his custom sports fishing boats, many of which are in the multimillion dollar range...top quality. Among a number of other projects, he has been using his five axis CNC router to make high end cold mold boat kits to build an 18.5' flats/bay boat of his own design. To give you an idea what kind of heart this guy has, my windsurfing buddy Don, asked him about a piece of mahogany that I could use to build a chambered hollow body electric guitar, Mark, also being a guitar lover, "gave" me a huge piece of mahogany (around 3" X 14" X 24") for a guitar body… not a cracked checked piece from the end, but had Don cherry pick a premium piece out of the center of a 13’ long plank (if memory serves me correctly), Not trying to delude you into thinking that he does this for everyone...yes times were better then but regardless...most would want an arm and a leg for a solid piece of mahogany that size... I greatly appreciated his generosity.
Mark reputation for quality is second to none, if you use him for your project he will not disappoint. It just so happens I saw an article with a section about him and his CNC business in Professional Boat Builder Magazine #121 October/November 2009 Pg 64-67.