It goes against all of the traditional advice, but it seems to work! I have not had an algae break out in this tank, the glass is clean, the plants are not covered in algae, and the filter is running at barely a trickle. I have not had to scrape the glass clean for as long as I can remember. The only algae issue that I have are these clumps of thread algae but they come out really easy, you just grab them and lift.
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Friday, 25 March 2011
I've taken the canopy off of the shop aquarium as it seems to get a more generous amount of natural sunlight this way. I must admit that there is something very appealing about this kind of light in an aquarium.
It goes against all of the traditional advice, but it seems to work! I have not had an algae break out in this tank, the glass is clean, the plants are not covered in algae, and the filter is running at barely a trickle. I have not had to scrape the glass clean for as long as I can remember. The only algae issue that I have are these clumps of thread algae but they come out really easy, you just grab them and lift.


It goes against all of the traditional advice, but it seems to work! I have not had an algae break out in this tank, the glass is clean, the plants are not covered in algae, and the filter is running at barely a trickle. I have not had to scrape the glass clean for as long as I can remember. The only algae issue that I have are these clumps of thread algae but they come out really easy, you just grab them and lift.
Four planks hung. Its not just the time that it takes for the epoxy to set that limits the pace, but its the time to trim the plank to correct shape, to fit it to the boat, and to prepare the next plank. Working efficiently it takes about one day to get it all done. As much as I was looking forward to getting to this stage, I'll be glad to be moving on.
Anyway, its starting to look like a boat now!

Anyway, its starting to look like a boat now!
Saturday, 19 March 2011
Two planks per side are now on.
At the stems the the planks need to be fitted to lay flush at the very ends.
They are also very difficult to clamp at the stem as the clamps keep wanting to slip off, so I drilled a few holes and stitched them together. Some people get around this by just screwing them to the stem.
A view from the end.
You can see how my compression clamps are working to keep the laps tight while the epoxy cures. This is one of the limitations to how may planks can be hung in a day.
At the stems the the planks need to be fitted to lay flush at the very ends.
Friday, 11 March 2011
Shaped and glued on the back braces for the L-00, then started shaping them. One small glitch in the otherwise very nice plans that I am using: the width is given for the back braces, but not the height! So I had to do some sleuthing, and decided to use 15mm.
What I did find during my research, is that I'd really like to try a ladder braced Gibson L-1 style guitar.
And got the back glued on.
What I did find during my research, is that I'd really like to try a ladder braced Gibson L-1 style guitar.
Time to make planking patterns. Finally!
A 20' panel of 1/4" thick by 4' wide plywood is ungainly, at best. So I made up some basic patterns from long strips of cardboard, transferred the shape to the plywood, then cut the plywood out oversize.
As you can see, I have plenty of room to work in. Its a real luxury.
Clamped in place I can trace the actual shaped from the ribbands, then refine them.
A 20' panel of 1/4" thick by 4' wide plywood is ungainly, at best. So I made up some basic patterns from long strips of cardboard, transferred the shape to the plywood, then cut the plywood out oversize.
As you can see, I have plenty of room to work in. Its a real luxury.
Monday, 7 March 2011
Lapstrake planking is all about getting the lines of the planking to lie sweet and fair. You'd think that putting 8 little strips of wood on each side wouldn't be that much work. But it is! Everything has to line up just right.
Stems and keelson, and transom are made, joined, and in place. Rough bevel on the transom and stems, ready to be refined once I can offer the planking to it.
The tie down strap is useful in keeping the ribbands more or less under control while I set them into their proper location, then they are removed.
A view from aft. The Bailey Whitehall transom is poetry, as far as transoms go.
And two and a half pieces of 1/4" Fir plywood is joined into a 20' piece for planking patterns. I'll uses some cardboard to get an approximation, then transfer that shape to this plywood, rough cut it, offer it to the mold, then refine the shape so that I can get the planking shape out of the good planking material with the minimum of waste and hassle.
Stems and keelson, and transom are made, joined, and in place. Rough bevel on the transom and stems, ready to be refined once I can offer the planking to it.
A little more work got done on the L-00. The linings were shaped to the top dome of 25' radius, and the back dome of 15' radius.
The bracing for the top is glued in. I have been using fish glue more and more and really like it. I am following the traditional Gibson L-00 bracing pattern pretty closely, except that I am shaping the braces slightly differently.
Top bracing shaped, and the top is ready to be glued to the rim set.
I put the drivers into the new loudspeaker cabinets last Friday and fired them up. My first impression was that the sound was adequate, but these drivers take a long time to open up. 100 hours of playing minimum. After the weekend they sound really nice.

The main resonant cavity is lined with about 1/2" of cotton insulation to minimize reverberations. The back one these cabinets is recommended to be removable so that adjustments can be made to fine tune the box.
The second side is the lat panel to be glued on.