OK all, it has been some time since the last update, but there have been extenuating circumstances. Most of them centered around the need for a bigger building space. To be more exact, a taller, wider, and longer building to finish some of the needed work. The new housing for this build is 42′ long, 16′ wide, and most importantly, 14′-2″ tall at the peak. This does not include the needed height for the pylon. It would have needed a space 14′-6″ and several hundred dollars of additional side extensions to make happen.
There was also my farm duties and the ongoing construction of our home.
The building kit was purchased last April or so, and the pad was poured in June. (Dang this flu-19 crap, it sure does cramp a builder’s style.)
I still have a lot of wiring to do, as well as the interior and the man-door to enclose the wheelhouse.
But, in this update, most of the actual boat construction occurred last week from the 16th to the 20th of November.
Also, I needed to actually transfer the tug onto the trailer and build the bunk supports, etc. So here is the picture set to help show what I have been doing with regards to this build.
My little excavator was maxed out to reach up that high in the setting process.
FYI, the white framework leaning up against the back bulkhead of the wheel house, is the hatch cover for the aft battery bank.
One of the next jobs will be to cut off the extra foot at the top of the pylon to make it more functional and aesthetically pleasing, (as well as make it able to fit in the cathedral). Then there will be the exhaust cover, etc.
So, before I can make much more progress, I intend to hang shop lights in the cathedral and some of those clear vinyl strips for a flexible front door.
With the ramping up of building our home, the tug will be taking a bit longer than previously planned. But I am tired of camping in my barn these last plenty years. Time to make some changes. So stay tuned. I hope to make another update in the Spring.
I started repairing fiberglass pontoon pedal boats at 13, in Japan. I bought my first set of Glen-L plans on 27 Oct, 1969 when I was 14 years old. I then deviated from good plans (once only), and bought a pram design from Popular Mechanics. I then built the Pee Wee in the middle of the School year of 1971-72. I launched it that Summer. I continued to expand my knowledge base with boats, dunebuggies, motorcycles, and even traded a freshly rebuilt Pinto for a Piper Tri-Pacer that needed new wing coverings when I was 17. I went on to Autobody school at the local Junior college getting an Associates Degree. Served my country in the Airforce, and earned my private Pilot's license through off-duty training. More school classes, and became an independant contractor for the Idaho Dept of Energy and became the first person in Idaho's history to have a private working wind farm that produced 100% of the home's needs for electricity. I built an ultralight airpark, in the SW Idaho desert near Boise, and at one point was dubbed a "millionaire". Sold or traded it all away for a little farm in the Ozarks to pursue boatbuilding, sales, and amateur design and efficiency improvements.
I’ve been scratching my head on how to tackle the azimuth controls on my (much smaller scale) 9′ tractor tug, and I’m curious if 1). You’ve found affordable slip rings for the motors, and 2). If you plan to utilize a closed-loop azimuth control system (arduino perhaps) like the “real deal” or if you’re going to approach azimuth control in some other manner?
Thanks for dropping by! Feel free to join the discussion by leaving comments, and stay updated by subscribing to the RSS feed. There's no need to sign in to enjoy this Blog, but if you want to add photos or an article about your Glen-L boat build, please click the links below to Register or Login.
2 Responses to First attempt at making a steel boat, the Goliath-Pt 5
Dan, this is an incredible build!
I’ve been scratching my head on how to tackle the azimuth controls on my (much smaller scale) 9′ tractor tug, and I’m curious if 1). You’ve found affordable slip rings for the motors, and 2). If you plan to utilize a closed-loop azimuth control system (arduino perhaps) like the “real deal” or if you’re going to approach azimuth control in some other manner?
[…] Part 5 continues here […]