FRP. Some good outcomes.

Oh well, we had some half models finished to the Moulding stage but only one removed from the mould on site.
Two others left UNitec with the Mouldings yet to be de-moulded.
But looking OK.

Many thanks to Alan Wright for allowing us the use of the Lotus 9.2 lines drawings for the FRP projects.
Well done Tobias, Adam and Ben. (Though I know Ben has a bit of pre-release from overly thick gelcoat on keel foil.

Here are some photos of end days stuff.

Parting link from Inchie (Yin Li)

http://www.clubmarine.com.au/internet/clubmarine.nsf/docs/mg21-3+technical

Finished? relative thing that.

 Difficulties abound with the concept of leaving the final due dates for major portfolios hand-in until as late as possible. These difficulties include:

1.  Students tend to take time out of the practical experiences in the workshop (which is where they get evidence to complete 'portfolio of evidence') in order to rush portfolio docs. (poor scheduling)
2. Students therefore need to be aware of their efficient use of time planning throughout the year in both allowing time for the practical 'timetabled' contact and the self directed time needed to complete portfolio building reflection and readings. (This is pointed out to them often but...)
3. Students' tend to bring late or very late work to their tutors on or near the last day of the course. This is unacceptable but... Do we follow Unitec policy or allow some slack? How would i feel if I worked hard to complete on time and then find a 'slacker' had been allowed to hand work in late? Student success and retention? is it a real record?

These reflections are the sort of issue the students are well aware of. Some, indeed, play up/take advantage of the complexities involved to gain some leverage. Tutors, after all, are not policemen.

I need to address these issues before I 'kick off' with next years' group.

The down side for this year is...We lost approx three weeks work in finishing the Wilson 8M Launch. This takes some of the gloss off an otherwise terrific project. 

Hmmmmmm.

Where does all the Time go?

It's interesting how when students' start to undertake the portfolio for the Boat Construction course, all of a sudden I get asked, "Hey Merf, the learning outcome that says "Plan the building process" does that mean we have to work out what to do?"

Reply: YEP.

I've guided the team into taking control of the project as much as possible. This is not without its' risks, but long term it forces the guys to Think ahead, Communicate, Record actions and materials etc... The challenge is theirs, not mine.

I see some good progress.

The LO "Plan the building process" therefore requires some hindsight/reflection of a prior experience in boat building. Ideally this would come from the small craft build experiences, because it is hard to plan with out some experience.

Unfortunately for some participants the small craft projects were anything but smooth sailing experiences as far as working in a team, may fractions and in-fighting had a devastating effect upon the teams. Not all was lost... just some growing up to do in one or two cases. Fortunately this did happen and some deep soul searching redirected these members back on track.
Perhaps the recognition that we seldom chose who we directly work with is a timely eye opener.
This difficulty aside, it has still placed some students behind 'where I would have hoped'  in developing their construction skills.

The experience has happened now (partly in the Boat Construction project) and the planing is now over to the students. A good facilitator should 'back off' in order for the independents to be allowed to happen. A nervous time to be sure. Experiencing the chaos is a term often heard. It actually is a valuable part of the learning process.

The final foam cores and outer laminates for the side decks are urgent, as is the window flange secondary laminates.
Some initial fairing of cabin surfaces has started and this I hope will be shared around, as "real world" grunt work is the reality for many starters in the marine industry.

One frustrating area is around student attendances, or lack there of. 

This can mean the difference between success and failure of the project goals we have set ourselves. 

In general we have some guys arriving late every day, some absent without even informing fellow students that they will be away. 

Fortunately we have a nucleus of guys that are regularly here and it shows in their attitudes and abilities. Good for you guys, you know who you are.

Time for all to dig in and stop mucking about. There are few if any of the processes between now and the end of the year that are new to any of you.

I get very impatient when I know the tasks are do-able by the students' without my regular input, but I still get guys asking questions they know the answers to. Hmmmm?

The photo to the left is early afternoon, the guys, (without much input from me) have finally set themselves to task. The sidedeck foam core and vacuum bagging. Only about 2 hours late.

We have three weeks including this week to complete the project.
That equates to only 7.5 days plus any time saved in the Wednesday FRP practicum work which is only piecework from here. I have outlined the processes now we just have to do it.

Mac AutoCAD classic view

I Just needed to save this info somewhere.

http://docs.autodesk.com/ACD/2010/ENU/AutoCAD%202010%20User%20Documentation/index.html?url=WSfacf1429558a55de6d0beb1006696e53b-736e.htm,topicNumber=d0e9166

Tidy powerpoint on Google+

This is a good clear pathway to make sense of the how and why of google+

https://plus.google.com/114831291174925522786/posts/CoVGAath7TX

USU Rate My Course.

Hi Guys.

below is a link you may wish to use.
it gives you a voice to rate the six courses you are undertaking in the CAT Boatbuilding.
This is facility that the student USU sets up as an independent  means for student voice.

http://www.usu.co.nz/rate-my-course/ratings/?programme=911140004

You'll need your student login to participate.


This is also separate from the in-house feedback questionnaires i send out in google forms to you all.
Merf

Jobs yet to do Wilson 8m

The items below are to give you a general overview of the jobs yet to do on the boat.
I'm taking this from the expected stage we should attain by the end of this week.
The list therefore is from your fist day back after the midterm break.
We do not have a 'work experience week' available, so return to Unitec will be the 24th October.


In general, the below jobs already have set to be done by certain students.
it is obvious that each of these topics and 'jobs to be done' are more complicated than the short description outlined here.
It is incumbent on each student to identify the more detailed events around each job and acknowledge the learning these jobs have promoted by writing it up. E.g. Blogs, portfolios, Collaborative google-docs, etc...


Deck/Cabins:

fairing of all foam cores fitted to date.
Insert edging pieces and manually fit..
Inner laminate for the side decks.
Cores vacuum bagged for the side decks.
Side deck foam cores faired.
Cabin top outer laminates. This includes extra laminates to produce a flange for the window rebates.
Foredeck outer laminates.
side decks outer laminates.
Filling and fairing entire outside surfaces of deck and cabin tops. This includes replacing the window pattens to build an edge for fairing to the shape.
Trim accurate rebate window areas.
Temporary splashes (cradle) for the deck/cabin to sit in in the hotbox.
Removal of product from mould.
Placing in the hotbox for post curing.



Hull and interior:

Water tank area. hatches, Seacocks, water pipe run,
Head area doors, plinth, cabinet, fwd berth entrance trim, stiffener on fwd bulkhead.
cabinet top and basin.
Fuel tank fitted and held. Cabin sole glued in sheathed filled and faired.
Allowance for removable bottom of galley return piping etc...
galley bench sink fitting, cooker shelf and locker below. gas bottle shelf and outboard venturii vent.
Battery locker and seat plinth.
dropped sole over water piping, glued, sheathed and filled and faired.
Steering helm location and items.
hydraulic tubing ran, wiring loom run aft and to battery box.
access through bulkhead into head cabinet for hidden cabling.
Transducer fitted aft under engine locker,
Engine locker glassing and items fitted filled and faired.
coving all areas.
Aft boarding step and quarter badge.
Aft boarding door cutouts.
Fwd (anchor) bulkhead coved and glass taped with EDB430-100 tape. filled and faired.
Underside of gunwale small cove to tidy.


Hull /Deck joining:

Scribing bulkheads and fitting deck to the hull.

Gluing and fastening to the hull.

cleanup and coving inside join. Glass taping?

outboard gunwale toerail/belting?

General Filling, Fairing. undercoating (probably with roller sleeves)

4-10-11 Wilson 8M

Welcome back to Ogi and Dylan.
Adman should be back from the Barrier today...
The team has a goal that must be reached this week.
The inner laminate for the fwd cabin and the foam core must be done by Wednesday night.
Some of the team on the Hull can be spared to work with the Deck team to achieve this.

Inchie, Tiger, William and John however need to keep the Hull fit-out going.
John, water tank.
Tiger, Head area,
William, Companionway door,
Inchie (Yin) Engine box and locker. we have to place a transducer below this area now. Richard will supply.

The EDB430-1270 laminating glass is due to arrive this morning so there isn't any hold up.
Hoff and Lim have cut all the glass we had available for the foredeck lams. While Leon kept going with the foam pre-fitting.
Stephane, Ben, Dylan, Ogi and Leon are all available to get the foam finished.
The edges, where we have the rounded mould are to have the foam core kept back from the edge.  We will secondary bond manually these pieces.
Ogi and Leon are underway getting the edge treatment for the fwd coaming windows foam core.

The substrate surface of the mould has some major contamination. This will need a carefull light sanding before we can wax the surface. Hoff has masked off the flange fwd of the screen area.
The inner laminate must be done today.

Lets keep the shop clean....

FRP and General boat repair resource site.

I've got a link here you might all gain knowledge from.
Think of this site in relation to the work youa re all doing with your boat construction projects and your FRP half model work.

http://www.atlcomposites.com.au/atl_composites/epoxy_products/west_system_brand/publications

There are many sites on the internet...it can be overwhelming.

But here is another one that Chris Lovegrove discovered, I like it.

http://bateau2.com/howto/foam1.php

Update. Wilson 8M

Just a little reminder from last Wednesdays end of day.
I was called away with a student that needed some updating on assessment event timeline info. I was only in the tutor resource room but...

Well this week we again have students arriving late for workshop sessions.

Some late...some no shows...one disabled, oh well, that's not good.

William is progressing on the companionway door and frames.

Ben is working on the sub sole hatch in the helm area.

Stephane is getting the helm station box finished.

John is looking at the fwd fresh water tankage area.

Yin is getting there with the engine box arrangement.
I think we may use some of the EDBM for taping around the engine box area before the boatcloth and filling/coving.

James has a broken hand from league in the weekend and has gone home.

Tiger is busy with the head cabinet and pan plinth. The cabinet door has been cut out and the bench top doublers are being considered.

The transducer for the Chart plotter speed log is going under the aft locker area and this is another job to add to Yins' list of jobs. He may need to share some of this workload with Tiger?

Lim, Leon, Hoff are sorting out the fwd cabin for glass cloths and waxing.
They have calculated that we need a further 21M x EDB430-1270 to cover all laminates to the end.
Richard is going to get the glass for them tomorrow morning, this is good.

The foam is nearly fully fitted and labelled for the forward areas..

HERE IS SUPERB FREE PROJECT TIMELINE MANAGEMENT TOOL

The link below takes you to a very good free online resource that will allow you to input as an individual, or as a member of a team, a timeline and resources chart. It is compatible with MS Project and Google docs etc...

It looks very promising. Download it and try it.

Perhaps try it in retrospectively analysis of your efforts and timing with either the Small Craft project or the Boat Construction Wilson 8M Project.

http://www.viewpath.com/

There is a series of videos to help familiarize yourselves with the format and tools within this program.
You don't need to download it onto your computer. it is another CLOUD computing system, just like Youtube or Picasa-Web.

possible hatch for steering console

Serada is Richard's preference here, so below is the info:


http://www.serada.co.nz/pdf%20files/32%20hardware.pdf

20.291.00

Overall 380mm x 280mm (O.D.)

            310mm x 210mm (C.O)

Planimeter video

Here is a good example of a planimeter in use. This is the same tool we can use for body plan half areas.

Stuff to help you achieve TTEC3000 outcomes

The following links all allow student's to assess their own learning styles. This is often very empowering for anyone to discover. Knowing oneself in turn may help recognize strengths (or otherwise) in other members of your group or community.

Each TTEC3000 student should undertake at least one of the following Learning Styles assessment  samples and discuss within your group portfolio, your understanding.


http://www.learning-styles-online.com/inventory/

http://www.howtolearn.com/learning-styles-quiz

http://www.acceleratedlearning.com/adult/index.html

http://www.ldpride.net/learning-style-test.html

http://homeworktips.about.com/od/homeworkhelp/a/lstyleqz.htm

http://www.businessballs.com/howardgardnermultipleintelligences.htm

http://www.newlifenetwork.co.uk/whats-my-learning-style-c75.html

http://www.highlandschools-virtualib.org.uk/ltt/multiple_intelligence/learning_styles.htm


My intention is to give you all some sites or readings to use to help you fulfull your learning outcomes for the TTEC3000 course.
Much can be gained from the Theory CD in your Unitec student H:// drive.

Waxing mould, Glassing inner Laminate

Well this week is full on.

The guys are under the pump to achieve.
Monday.
We need to finish cutting edge glueing and edge treating the foam core inserts.
Tuesday.
Wax the mould,
Cut the glass,
Laminate the first (inner) laminate, Wet lam not vacuumed.
Wednesday.
Make the vac bag.
Bond the foam core.






Good news: Everyone here is working well as a team.
Room for improvement.
Some students' believe they can arrive whenever they wish and NOT miss out on something.
Some absentees.

The interior items are on hold during the mould work as it is an "all hands on deck" process.
The interior team have progressed well in the last week or two. The tank pattern is good.
Gunwhale is coming along well.

Console is getting closer,
helm seat battery bank nearly located.
Galley setup making sense.
Outboard well looking good.

The companionway door and Head area is also progressing nicely.




The Quarter badge concept is looking good. The cutting list and placing is on track. Where is...?


Students' must be aware that non attendance will come back to haunt them.How can you show evidence of your achievements, or gain any depth of understanding when you aren't here?
There are too many guys falling into bad attendance habits.

Wilson 8M update 14-9-2011

The guys are away and running again on the Wilson 8M.
The teams have stabilized into good productive responsible learners.
There had been times I was fearful that I had expected too much of these young men but...
as a wise man once said "learning takes time".

The first Wilson 8M boat (which had two CAT student groups involvement) has hit the water and is being represented in the Auckland International Boat Show.
Congratulations Richard Wilson.

A path to the picasaweb album, to view the maiden voyage and snaps, is:

Half model Plug

The Lotus 9.2 M half model work is back on track with all students sharing (in teams) the 5 suitable timber hull forms shaped by Tobias, Ben, Adam, Stephan and Tiger.

We brainstormed and negotiated, as a full class, the processes we need to consider to enable us to complete our goal of building fibreglass half models for each student.
Notes to this brainstorming session are saved on the student H:/drive under 2011 CAT theory notes (FRP folder)

Breaking into small groups (Lead by student's named above) students where able to take responsibility for specific tasks.
These task outcomes build to make a complete outcome.
These tasks and the conversations around them are to be recorded within the small groups Googledocs shared between each other and with tutors. (Both Brett and Richard as a minimum)

Each Wednesday morning the two classes will collaboratively work on the FRP outcomes inherent in these activities.

The following URL addresses are links to the 5 student group Googledocs.

1. https://docs.google.com/document/d/1_lgu-denGNcdWLrLwJdVSHBgE7_6GYN6-PU95GJ7_P0/edit?hl=en_GB

hydraulic steering system

https://mail-attachment.googleusercontent.com/attachment/u/0?ui=2&ik=d5051b6011&view=att&th=131df466c557e216&attid=0.1&disp=inline&realattid=f_gridi8ut0&safe=1&zw&saduie=AG9B_P8LbvAkK8b_DVxpedcowW7w&sadet=1314650917997&sads=W78XhxlE0bM_xvLmuZ7pklBAMss



https://mail-attachment.googleusercontent.com/attachment/u/0?ui=2&ik=d5051b6011&view=att&th=131df466c557e216&attid=0.2&disp=inline&realattid=f_gridj0et1&safe=1&zw&saduie=AG9B_P8LbvAkK8b_DVxpedcowW7w&sadet=1314650730396&sads=ucG4g1wxsdl9w9bjspl4VEidJWs

Simrad NSS8 chart plotter

Here is a short introduction into the chart plotter richards Wilson 8M design is to use.


<iframe width="560" height="345" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/cGRKraGbTl0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Wilson 8M project "Prep for week 2"

The "openproj" timeline document is located on the student drive in the following location

J:\APSK\MarineTech\CAT\Merf\Wilson 8M Composite deck

It should be recognized this timeline is a work "in-progress" at this early stage, and must not be altered.
It is available to students' as appropriate. The student will need to have the openproj.org extension software to access.
(This is a free download.)