Cat mods

[Hood]

Yesterday was hunt a car day and turned out to be buy a van day instead, this morning was collection day so never got anything done to the Cat until this afternoon.

I had been going to look at a newer Passat but I must have put my sensible head on in the morning so decided on a van instead, not sure if I made the right choice but too late now

I am now a whit van man

This afternoon I got the 8mm plates welded to complete the hauler box.

Also got the front edge between the wheelhouse and roller welded in.

Next up was a working out where the guide roller will go and measuring up for the brackets.

Then I got the rope guide/chute welded in and tested, seems to coil the rope exactly where we wanted on the deck.

 

[Hood]

Went to the workshop first thing and cut some bits of 8mm and 5mm on the plasma.
The 8mm was for a roller bracket which I welded up when I got to the Cat.

Then I got it welded in place, the grinding stone was just used as an indication of where the roller will be but it will be the full 200mm long and made of nylon, don't think the ropes would last too long with the stone

Next up was to make the box for the secondary helm.

The helm in place ready for bolting down once plumbed.

Also got the control lever box top welded in place so I could measure for the side plates.

The dog was constantly looking up at me by this stage, it seems it was time for home

 

[Brad93]

Went to the workshop first thing and cut some bits of 8mm and 5mm on the plasma.
The 8mm was for a roller bracket which I welded up when I got to the Cat.

View attachment 252293

Then I got it welded in place, the grinding stone was just used as an indication of where the roller will be but it will be the full 200mm long and made of nylon, don't think the ropes would last too long with the stone

View attachment 252294

Next up was to make the box for the secondary helm.

View attachment 252295

The helm in place ready for bolting down once plumbed.

View attachment 252296

Also got the control lever box top welded in place so I could measure for the side plates.

View attachment 252297

The dog was constantly looking up at me by this stage, it seems it was time for home

View attachment 252298

I spy a fillet weld brush

 

[Ashley Burton]

@Hood Nice work as ever & you can't go wrong with a van! I don't plan to have another car anytime soon

 

[Hood]

@Hood Nice work as ever & you can't go wrong with a van! I don't plan to have another car anytime soon

I see the benefits of it but still not sure if I should have gone with the Passat or not, miss the acceleration Thankfully I got the 100horse one as it is bad enough at 12s 0-60, the 75 horse one is 16s

 

[Ashley Burton]

@Hood Who you trying to escape from?

My current van is limited, But still hasn't stopped me getting speeding fines here in Europe

 

[Hood]

@Hood Who you trying to escape from? ...

The cars that are flying up behind me as I pull out of a junction
One other bad thing about the van, speed limits on single carriageway and dual carriageway are 10mph less than a car

 

[Martinb]

The cars that are flying up behind me as I pull out of a junction
One other bad thing about the van, speed limits on single carriageway and dual carriageway are 10mph less than a car

Not if its a car derived van I think?

 

[Hood]

Not if its a car derived van I think?

Yes but to be a CDV it needs 2 things, first is the Gross Vehicle Weight needs to be 2000kg or less and only the smallest vans will be that and the V5C needs to have it registered as a CDV rather than LGV.
It is a stupid rule but...

 

[Ashley Burton]

It is a stupid rule but...

No comment

 

[Mac168]

If I was hauling creels all day every day I’d be doing it at that table, what a setup! Very nice work

 

[slim_boy_fat]

The dog was constantly looking up at me by this stage, it seems it was time for home

Or at least time for feeding.

 

[Hood]

Today I again stopped off at the workshop to make the front of the control handle console and chop and bore out some 100mm dia nylon for the roller and fitted some stainless bearings to it.
I don't have a pic of the Alu when cut but it was for a welded in section and a bolted on cover that the hydraulic spool valve will attach to. Here is the Fusion drawing of it.

When I arrived they were about to lift the Cat I am working on and place on a trolley I made a few years back so that it could be manoeuvred back and to the side to allow another Cat into the shed. I have a few jobs to do on it but nothing major, just welding up wear on the table where the ropes run when shooting the gear away.

Pic of the roller fitted, still have to complete the pin but that is for another day.

Got the control console box completed, also have the spool valve fitted but didn't take a pic of that.

Back up tomorrow to try and make up for the days lost van hunting.

 

[Hood]

Got the Cat finished today, well have a few bits and pieces to do such as make the rope keeper and skipper has to fit some plastic to the gunwale tops and hook up the hydraulics.
Needs a tidy up but it is now on the trailer ready for launch tomorrow high tide.

 

[Hood]

Launch day today, some pics.

 

[Ton-up]

How does that ally fair in the salt water?

 

[Hood]

How does that ally fair in the salt water?

Fine, it is 5083 which is marine grade. Only time you will have problems is if you have steel bolts or steel parts connected directly, stainless doesn't cause these issues likely because both the Alu and the Stainless have an oxide coating.

 

[Hood]

Last night the second Cat got trailered out and today I made a start on the roller refit.

First off was chopping off the Davit, gunwale top and baitbox etc.

Then I got the sides scribed and welded.

I then placed the roller in temporarily and got the front tacked in place, scribed the top and then cut, shoved it back in and then welded it in place. Lifted the roller out and welded in the plate below the roller which guides the mud and stones out the back then got the bearing housings mounted and roller fitted properly.

Progress always looks good the first day as it is basically just fitting pre made parts.

 

[Hood]

Bit more done today, the design is the same as his brothers boat but the hull and wheelhouse are slightly different on these two so the roller system is also slightly different.

Anyway got the frame for the table made.

Then I got it sheeted and welded underneath and along the edges.

Also got the edging welded on around the side plates and along the bottom and the round rubbing bar welded up the aft end. Tomorrow I will chop some bits up on the plasma for the steering box and the control handle console.

 

[Hood]

Cut a few bits out today for the Cat. Because all of the parts such as helm pump, wheel, control levers etc are the same as his brothers I was able to just use the same drawings.

First off is the helm box and the top of the control lever console, cut from 5mm 5083.

Next up is the bracket for the hauler side roller. It is modified from his brothers one as we are doing things slightly differently on this one, it is cut from 8mm 5083.

I then cut a couple of plates from 3mm 316 for the tops of the roller pins and then welded them onto the pins which are 25mm dia 316.

and after a wire brush, welds always look better before the wire brush

All parts ready for taking up on Monday.