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Topic: Stiffeners in my Grand Villa (Read 2096 times) previous topic - next topic

Stiffeners in my Grand Villa

Hi all,  Im Back,

Hope your all OK and enjoying life, I am,

Been held up with leaving on my 34 foot Cat to sail around Australia, Due to Covid Border closures and my new Copilot renting her house out,
The last two years Have been Full time rebuilding my Gemini Sailing Catamaran with two new Hulls and all associated works, Etc Etc,
Its fully repaired and ready to go, As per Picture below,  Two years ago it didnt have hulls in it, I have come a long way in two years,

My Coach has just sat there, Dejected and Unloved, Cant go any where with broken windscreens, Sadly,

So Ive been doing some over due work on my Grand Villa, The front cap moves at the top and has smashed both windscreens,
I have the new screens and the rubbers, But wont fit them till the front cap is rigid again,
I think I have finally solved the problem,
I did put angle bracing in the front, In front of the firewall, But the roof still floats, Pictured Previously,
But that only stops the bottom from moving, Under the windscreens, It dont do any thing for the Cap stiffness,
Another problem that I did have, The windscreen repairer cut the top off my right windscreen to make it fit,
It then allowed the screen to move sideways as they were not tite in the frame,
I learn from my mistakes, I should not have allowed him to cut 1/4 inch off the top of the glass,

This latest idea should make the walls and the roof solid and stiffen the lot up,  Fingers crossed it will work,
The RHS inside is bolted thru the walls to plates on the outside, The bolts are welded to the plates on the outside walls,
But you cant see the welds, Welded and ground flush, I dont want bolts hanging out the side of my Coach,

The bolts go thru the frame of the Coach, So its about 9 inches thick where the vertical posts are inside the coach, and welded to the floor angles, The floor angles are 3/8th thick, 3 x 4 inch angle, ,
Vertical its 6 x 2 RHS, then 2 inch thick frame and walls and a steel bar on the outside,
The big angles on the bottom on the floor are bolted thru the floor to the Angle stiffener under the Coach welded to the Chassis,

All the floor angles and RHS standing vertically and horizontally are all welded together to make one solid piece,
So the coach wont be able to Twist the front Cap,

It came up well with a coat of paint,  It dont look out of place,
Im waiting for the windscreen fitter to come today and have a look at it, To see if he can fit the new windscreens,
Once thats done, I can drive my Lovely Coach again

Cheers, Brian,

Re: Stiffeners in my Grand Villa

Reply #1 –
I wondered what you have been up to the past year Brian now I see. Did you get mud slick driveway squared away?

Re: Stiffeners in my Grand Villa

Reply #2 –
Quote from: Dub –
I wondered what you have been up to the past year Brian now I see. Did you get mud slick driveway squared away?

No, Its still the same, I just keep the Coach away from the slippy bits,

Re: Stiffeners in my Grand Villa

Reply #3 –
Looks like a 37 foot glass version of Rudy Choy C/S/Y catamarans. That's the boat I wish I had for SE Asia. Just nose it up on the beach to clean the bottom. About 5500 lbs displacement?

Pierce

Re: Stiffeners in my Grand Villa

Reply #4 –
Quote from: Pierce & Gaylie Stewart –
Looks like a 37 foot glass version of Rudy Choy C/S/Y catamarans. That's the boat I wish I had for SE Asia. Just nose it up on the beach to clean the bottom. About 5500 lbs displacement?

Pierce

2003, Gemini 105MC, 34 foot long, About 4.5 Tons, Yes, I do park it on sandy beaches,

Re: Stiffeners in my Grand Villa

Reply #5 –
Welcome back Brian.

Re: Stiffeners in my Grand Villa

Reply #6 –
Well after the stiffeners went in, I thought it would be safe to reinstall the windscreens,
That happened today and they had a difficult time doing it,
I had all the rubbers taken out including the side windows and reinstalled with the new rubbers,
It was a complete rubber with the centre rubber only,
It was missing the vertical rubbers on the side at the front of the windows, and it was a different rubber,
The packing rubber was different to my old rubber that came out of the Coach,
He had to make a new vertical rubber from the old rubber,
Waiting  for a day or so for the eurathane to settle and set,

Then I can put my driving seat back in, Wash the Coach, And take it for a drive,
First time in a couple of years,
Looking forward to it,

And a couple of Piccys looking North from inside the Coach,

Graeme with the other Grandvilla that lives a few miles from me is about to get his Coach registered here in Victoria,
Then he is going to drive it to Western Australia for a holiday,
Thats about 2500 miles in a straight line from here,
Arrrhhh, Its all dead straight roads,, Stinking Hot,  Across the Nullabor, Beside the Great Australian Bight, Southern Ocean,

Cheers, Brian,
PS:  Happy Christmas and a Very Happy New Year to all,





Re: Stiffeners in my Grand Villa

Reply #7 –
After you are done, the coach will reward you with years of enjoyment.
(real pain in the back having to lean over to do all that work on the top of a sloping windshield.)

Re: Stiffeners in my Grand Villa

Reply #8 –
Quote from: nitehawk –
(real pain in the back having to lean over to do all that work on the top of a sloping windshield.)
I was thinking exactly the same thing!  Made my lower back ache just looking at Brian's photos.  Took two Advil and felt better.

Brian:  Not to add to your workload...but, how old are those tires on your coach?  Talking about your friend driving his coach across the Nullabor made me think of tires exploding.  Very common occurrence here in West TX in the summer.

Re: Stiffeners in my Grand Villa

Reply #9 –
I'm curious Brian... On the 2500 miles of straight desert road what is a typical distance between towns that could offer a traveler mechanical help?

Re: Stiffeners in my Grand Villa

Reply #10 –
So Brian your mate will be pulling a trailer with half a dozen mounted spare tires, right ?

Re: Stiffeners in my Grand Villa

Reply #11 –
Average "highway man" In Australia is more than capable. Different breed of traveler.. Does the man in Brian's photo look afraid of a challenge.. Don't think so.

Re: Stiffeners in my Grand Villa

Reply #12 –
Not sure about his tyres, But he seems like a level headed Bloke,
Its the one and only road across the bottom of OZ,  It has a lot of trucks on it
So he can get help if needed,
100 miles or so between towns, Its not very populated,

My longest section coming home under Australia is 200 miles, Esperence to Ceduna,  In the Great Australian Bight,
Bunda Cliffs has no Hidey holes from big seas and monster waves,
I ca do 200 miles in 48 hours, So watching for weather windows across there is essential,

I am going up the Tasman to the Great Barrier Reef and across to Darwin and the Kimberlys,
Down to Broome and then Perth and back across the Great Australian Bight to Adelaide and Melbourne,

Then sell the Boat and away in the Coach to see the inside of Australia,
Mine will get new boots before I go,

Re: Stiffeners in my Grand Villa

Reply #13 –
Quote from: Mr B3 –
I am going up the Tasman to the Great Barrier Reef and across to Darwin and the Kimberlys,
Down to Broome and then Perth and back across the Great Australian Bight to Adelaide and Melbourne,

Brian,

How cool is that, to circumnavigate the continent in your Gemini Twins.  Do you have a web site or blog that some of us can see to keep an eye on you?  If not, I would bet that there are several of us who would like to hear of your travels here, that is if it would fit in with the philosophy of this forum. 

Richard

Re: Stiffeners in my Grand Villa

Reply #14 –
Quote from: Jan & Richard –
Brian,

How cool is that, to circumnavigate the continent in your Gemini Twins.  Do you have a web site or blog that some of us can see to keep an eye on you?  If not, I would bet that there are several of us who would like to hear of your travels here, that is if it would fit in with the philosophy of this forum. 

Richard

I cant see why not, 
 Ive been on here quite a few years now with my Grandvilla and my rebuilding it, ,
And when I finish my Boating cruise, I will be back on here travelling in my Grandvilla again,
I have become good friends with a lot of the people on this Forum,
We have all shared our knowledge on our Coachs,
Lots have enjoyed my Piccys that I have shared,
I very appreciate the help I have got on my Coach over the years, As there is no one in Australia I can ask,
Its all came from the people on this Forum,  I would have been up the creek with out a  paddle with out the good people on here.
My Bike, My Boat and my Coach are all a part of me, They all go hand in hand with each other,
My Coach will be towing my Bike when I get back,
I will be cruising inside Australia in my Grandvilla then, ,
I now have a GoPro so I can Take proper Video's of my travels,

Its great to see our different Countrys as we all travel around,

I have  a few video's up on Youtube,  Coming home in my boat from Fiji,  A few Bike video's of our roads here,
Brians Gemini105MC,

Cheers, Brian,



Re: Stiffeners in my Grand Villa

Reply #15 –
Quote from: nitehawk –
After you are done, the coach will reward you with years of enjoyment.
(real pain in the back having to lean over to do all that work on the top of a sloping windshield.)

They were lucky I had the scaffold I made to do it, They didnt have a scaffold,
The mirrors Came in handy to rest  a foot on,
Im looking forward to cruising in my Coach again when we come back,
We are going away in it this Christmas,
Averil has to rent her house out before we can leave in the boat,

Re: Stiffeners in my Grand Villa

Reply #16 –
Quote from: Dub –
I'm curious Brian... On the 2500 miles of straight desert road what is a typical distance between towns that could offer a traveler mechanical help?

Its  a good Bitumen road, all the way,  Bit over 100 miles between servo's,  Maybe 2 or 5 houses and the Service Station, Pub, Post Office and Grocery store, All in the one building, and thats it,
Ceduna may have fifty houses, Thats a very big town in the middle of it,
Its Semi Arid desert, Most of the way,
After the rains, Not very often it rains out there, Its just one big carpet of flowers,
Mechanical help is near non existent,  Its a tow job if you break down and cant fix it your self,
Parts would have to be trucked to you after ringing up for parts,
Port Agusta and Kalgoorlie are the big, two towns that have mechanical services, A good thousand miles apart, 
One each end of the Eyre highway,

Between Kunanurra and Halls Creek, Between the Bungle Bungles and the Kimberlys,  The Main Highway up north in Western Australia,  Its 400 miles between the two service stations,  And nothing between them,  Minimum temperature during the day, 30 Degrees Celcius,
There is a telegraph repeater station half way with a water tank and a windmill, Thats it, 200 miles each way with nothing,
I blocked the outlet on the water tank the night before, and the wife and kids all had a shower in the morning from it,
I spent 3 days there unsoldering my radiator, Cleaning it out and resoldering the top tank back on, in 1974, It was 45 Celcius every day,
Propane gas tank and a soldering nozzle on it,  B-B-Que gas bottle,
One car and one truck went past in the 3 days,
Its a very empty country, Australia,
If you leave your car and walk, You can die in 6 Hours,  Its that hot, 

Re: Stiffeners in my Grand Villa

Reply #17 –
Quote from: Mr B3 –
Its  a good Bitumen road, all the way...

That sounds amazing!  We are used to the heat here in Tucson, Arizona.  I hike when it is 100, and sit on my porch when it is 110.  We see 115 nearly every summer.

We were looking at plans to visit Australia, just before the fires and then Covid.  Not so much into the Opera House and cities and such.  I would love to get a capable vehicle and explore, though I feel my time for such antics is waning.

Congratulations on your FT repairs.  It is so cool to make something good out of something old.  I see too many once fine RVs rotting in yards.

Re: Stiffeners in my Grand Villa

Reply #18 –
New windscreens installed, New batterys put in, 1 x 200 amphr AGM and a 75 Ampjr, 900 CCA starting battery,
Filled it with water, new 8 Lb gas bottle put in, turned on the fridge and away we went,
700 Kays later, Im home again,
Coach ran perfectly,

The stiffeners in my Coach work wonders, The windscreen wipers move on the centre line of the windscreen about 1/4 inch max with full body twist going down my drive,

I went down to Paynesville for the Fireworks and Bands, New Years Eve, Which were cancelled at the last minute due to the Covid Plandemic,
Hundreds of people just dissapeared at hearing the news,
So I went down to Lakes Entrance for a Sqizz at the Entrance of the Gippsland lakes,
I will be bringing my boat thru there in about a months time,  The other side of the Entrance is Bass Strait,
I will try again later with the piccys as it wont let me post them,

Re: Stiffeners in my Grand Villa

Reply #19 –
HAPPY NEW YEAR Brian!  Glad to hear you got your classic coach back on the road.  ^.^d