Thought I'd have a lash at a model of the Hartley 19ft 5in 15 deg V cabin boat I completed about 30 yrs ago. Hartley boats are NZ designed, and there have been around 100,000 examples built, ranging from canoes to large ocean yachts. Hartleys have been built since their plans were first produced in 1938, and wherever you go in NZ or Aust you are bound to find one example. The most common runabouts in the 50s- 80s, were Hartleys, Pelins, Augustins and there are still thousands around today,(I had the Hartley and still have a 70s Pelin Nomad 12ft dinghy)

I have been thinking of building this boat for a while and have decided to power it with a jet unit to see how it goes. My particular boat was designed for a Hamilton single stage jet, to be powered by a Zephyr 6 or 149 Holden motor or similar (around 100hp) but I fitted a MK3 Zodiac 6 with a stern drive which pushed it at 30mph at 5000rpm.

I scanned a drawing from the old Hartley plan brochure and modified it to resemble the model I had, with the longer dodger with longer side windows. I then enlarged it and scaled it for 30" on A4 (I was thinking of 40"but it would have been huge) Today I took the drawing to the big local stationers and had it blown up to full size (as well as the 1/2 bulkhead/frames I had scaled). I took some measurements originally from the A4 drawing at points along the hull for the frames, (height, width etc) and estimated some of the positions I remembered from my boat. The boat has quite a flare in the bow (a feature of most larger Hartleys) so I will have to do a lot of fiddling to get it all to look right.

Tonight I cut out some trial frames,and will set these out on the keel upside down, then try out the positions with a piece of 3x3 balsa stock to get the 'flow' right. Takes a while doing it without any plan but usually works out ok, (eg my HSL , ST and Maiami) Not in any rush so this will take a while. Have ordered the jet unit (26mm El Cheapo) from Ali Express and will probably try a brushed 540 30T or similar first to see how it goes. Would have loved an AMPS stern drive, (still have a brochure somewhere I sent to UK for, about 1970) , but they are long gone (mostly collectors items now)

This will be the usual balsa/ply/glass hull with Mahogany trim etc, so should be an interesting exercise, especially with the jet, (will have to come up with a reversing bucket as the El Cheapos don't have one.)

Slotted the frames for the keel to try the positions. Still have a lot of shaping to do (adding bits here and there, - mainly in the bow area trying to get the flare correct and F1 F2 curve to match nicely for planking. Once I'm happy I'll make new frames for the corrected ones and make a building board up. I'll probably make a top 'spine' to mount these on as with the ST, which will be cut out where required once the hull is eventually solid enough or glassed. This is secured to the building board to keep things lined up. (see pic of the ST before removing sections)

I'l be busy on the bandsaw and sander for a while I think. This is slightly more difficult than the ST and HSL as at least the frame shapes and positions were on the drawings (even if they were only 80% accurate and needed work), but I'll get there in the end with a lot of trial and error and probably cussin😁

Fitted the center 'spine' and screwed it to the building board to help hold everything straight. Notched the frames for the stringers and adjusted the frames for shape. Hopefully everything is lined up (chine curve etc) but you just don't know till you start finally gluing the stringers on. I am going to get some more small clamps and modify them to hold the stringers on while gluing (see pic- suddenly came to me,- been trying to think of a way for years,- bit slow😂). Haven't glued anything as yet (except the ply top L and R stringers which I glued together to keep them in shape, as the framing starts from there first, - at least with my method😁)

I'll wait till I make the clamps before gluing anything, as there are probably a lot more shape adjustments to make (I've already modified F1 and F2 4 times to try and get the chine flow looking ok)- compound curve so it's tricky, (interior seat/bunk framing etc of the full sized boat took me a year,-every cut was a compound one!☹️) but I'll get there eventually. It's worth taking a bit of time, as nothing looks worse than a 'lumpy' bow. I can work on the cabin sides anyhow in the mean time. Going to have to make a hobby shop run to get a few more hardwood strips for framing I think, as some I have are not suitable, and also check the $2 shops for clamps.

Found some handy ready made pine blocks in the Korean $2+ shop for $2.50, some of which I split for braces using a Stanley blade in the mill chuck. Good for holding bits in place and reinforcing corners. I have also bought packets of small wooden and plastic dowel lengths, and tons of cheap cyano. Handy shop for modelling bits, even found small hemp string for making anchor ropes etc.

Did a tour of the hardware and Chinese shops looking for packets of mini clamps (for my stringer clamp idea) but didn't find the ones I wanted. What I did spot at the local Chinese $2+ store, were coat hangers with handy clamps, almost like the ones I wanted. Bought a couple of these sets (5 hangers/set with 10 clamps ea) for $11 and set about modifying them. I first cut them off the bars, leaving an 'axle' to hold onto. Then I held the clamps nose first in the vice and carefully pulled the axles out and followed them with a 3mm electrical bolt with nut, - (took a bit to sort out a way of doing this to avoid the springs flying out) An extra hand would have been good, as you needed to hold the coil in place with one finger and pull the axle out with one hand, while pushing the bolt through with the other😀FUN!

Trimmed the bolts and cyano'd the nuts in place. I then used the angle grinder with a metal cutting wheel to cut slots in the noses of the clamps,- wide enough to take a normal stringer size. Tried them out on the hull and they work perfectly,😊 - don't know why I haven't thought of this before, (previously using pins, rubber bands and a dozen other methods. One of those things that is right in front of you but you can't see it (forests for trees etc)😁 I think it's the way the mind works, ie you know how a clamp is supposed to work so you accept it, but try to think of other methods rather than look at the clamp and turn your brain 90 deg😂.

Anyhoo, I now have 20 very useful and now dual purpose clamps. Hull shape is not looking too bad now so will notch the bottom stringer positions and then I can maybe start framing.

I've now cut out the frames and fitted the rear keel flat section to mount the jet unit. Also added the top center stringer. I won't be able to do a lot more to the frame until I get the jet unit, as I don't know any measurements and what I might have to remove or add. I might make a start on the cabin sides and try to find some mahogany veneer. I have glued the first 3 frames to the top ply stringer support blocks but nothing else yet, in case I need to make any adjustments. I've also ordered a 12v brushed high speed/torque 550 (with bearings) to try first. Much cheaper than brushless, and I could drag out my little used (fizzy) Electronize ESC or my 43 yr old Graupner 18A ESC to try with it.

While waiting for the jet unit and motor to arrive, I thought I might get on with the cabin. Copied the cabin plan onto baking paper and transferred it to 1.5mm marine ply (bought an 8x4 sheet at a bargin price of $60 about 10yrs ago and still have plenty left after the HSL and ST, - it was a limited stock deal and I wish I'd bought more at the time! - now about $300!

I cut the sides out with a Stanley knife, then drilled 18mm holes in the 'corners' of the windows ( I know curves don't have corners) then cut between those with the knife and finished them with the Dremel fitted with a small drum sander. I fitted the sides with 5x5mm longerons and braces, and made reinforcing plates to cover the joins where necessary to stop any inward flexing. I used PVA wood glue, then once dry, ran a bead of UHU along each side of the braces to seal them. The sloping rear braces on the full sized boat, continue down and attach to the hull frames to prevent sideways movement.

Next job will be working out the roof battens, roof sheeting and front cabin ply pieces for the front windows.

Made the cabin side flashes today (will be painted white before being glued on over the varnished comings), and fitted some doublers to the stem for the stringers to sit over (sort of reverse rabbet as it's too hard to rebate such a thin piece of ply)- gives the stem a bit more strength and can be notched to locate the stringers. Also made a set of templates in case I might want to build future models with this hull. The hull can be lengthened by adding an extra frame or two as with the full sized boat.

Was in a painting mood today so did the side 'flashes' to have them ready to slap on once the cabin is finished. I first doped them, then used an Inox primer then a white enamel for the final coat. To paint them, I made up a stand with thumb pins cyano'd into countersinks in a board, and the pieces pushed gently onto them. Once they were done I got on to the cabin framing which is a major amount of fun-NOT!

The cabin is an open cabin with no bulkheads so took a lot of cutting and re-cutting to get things right. as the cabin top is curved and the sides also curved and sloping, it was a bit of a mission to get the roof beams correct. You have to allow a tad extra width on the roof sheets, (1.5mm marine ply) as when bent over the curved top beams you loose a bit in width. You also need 6 hands to hang on to all the bits😁

I have temporary expanders and contractors fitted to keep it all in shape and 5 deg side templates to check it's all staying there. The 3 side stringers were slit with lots of saw cuts to get them to curve equally, and once the sides are all ready to glue up, they will be opened, cuts glue filled then re curved and all clamped back together again. once set, the shape should pretty much stay there and I can glue the beams on. The beams will have gussets from the beam to the sides to stiffen things up, and once the tops are on, it should be a bit more solid.

I will probably incorporate a slip-in bulkhead with galley etc attached to add more stiffening at the bottom of the main front screen (I put a bulkhead here in the full sized boat with partial bulkheads spaced back either side for galley and head) As there are no bulkheads aft, I will have to come up with a way to hold the rear cabin in shape on the boat (perhaps a 4mm coaming on the deck to locate it. It's probably going to be a bit delicate but there is no way round it other than an aluminium frame (too hard to hide)

To work on the cabin, I temporarily removed the hull semi frame which will screw back in the same place later. Might have been easier to have printed another drawing off while I was at it, but I'wasn't that clever (at the time)😀

Started framing the cabin today, - made cabin roof beams and capped the bent longerons (previously saw cut) with 1mm x 4mm hardwood to hopefully help it keep its' shape. A lot of cutting, notching and sanding later I finally managed to hold it together (the cabin, not me😁) with a few clamps (glad I just bought some more !) .Still have the bottom longeron to cap but will have to wait till I can lift it up when the glue has all set, to slide some more baking paper under to protect the plan/drawing when gluing.

I've steamed the ply cabin tops over the kettle and pre bent them to avoid putting too much down force on the structure when 'roofing'.

Success!, removed the clamps and the structure's reasonably solid which is a relief. Still have the tops of the roof beams to sand down, and will need temporary cross braces while doing any sanding, to prevent any sideways movement cracking the joints. Still have a lot of small gussets to make from the beams to the sides but will do that once the roof is on. With the roof panels just clamped on, the cabin is pretty solid for such a delicate structure, and should be even better once glued and gusseted and front screen panels are made, as the top joints are all that hold it at present.

Next job will be to make the front screen panels and associated beams etc as the sooner they are on, the less likely an accidental collapse will be (due to old age stupidity😁,- eg,-just tried to cut the side off my thumb the other day slitting some balsa,) I've had the sweat, now the blood ,-just the tears to go (if I break it😂)