Repairing the steel trawler's hull 

War ships, including submarines are put together with stick welding. For a good reason. Hence: Navy certified rods. Shielding gas is frequently useless outside due to wind. And I will include bridges and skyscrapers in the list, for the same reason. Don't think stick is obsolete, it's not.

You're the hardest working man on RU-vid.

I thought you were pulling an April Fools Day joke with that “sunburn from tig welding” bit. Thanks for sharing that info.

Working on steel boats over 40 years love the fact that you can just cut out any bad areas and weld up a new piece of stock. We mostly use 6010 and 7018 stick welding outside because of the wind and way lower costs. Ya doing a great job, take your time because you will have this nice boat for life :)

Unreal! I had a Mate, I'd watch Him Weld for Hours, best Welds Ever, He was always telling Me to look away. Haven't seen Him in Years? Beauty DM.

Your intro music is way too cool & retro to ever change. Thanks for the video.

I almost unsubscribed after I heard your justification for using the TIG welding method outdoors on rusty metal. Stick was the only appropriate method to use as you soon found out. I’m so impressed with your positive attitude in the face of such difficult circumstances. I’ll keep watching with great interest. Best of luck.

I think the holesaw patching is a brilliant idea. Well done you :)

Great video Stu. She is going to be perfect and look terrific by the time you are finished.

I’ve done a fair bit of metal fabricating myself, and am really enjoying catching up on these episodes.

Standardised steel repair coupons is beer induced genius.

More stick welding! Love seeing the stick welding coming into play to render the repairs. Stick welding is cool stuff.

Mate youre a genius with that standardized size patch idea, onya legend

Our lakes are still iced over but this has me wanting to get the boat ready.

The steel band-aid patch idea sounds like a winner.

I think I saw you pushing the rod when you were stick welding. You're probably doing that because that's how you mig weld, but when stick welding it is better to drag the electrode. This allows the slag to flow out of the weld pool to the surface. When you push you create the risk of trapping slag inside your welds making them weak.

My first trip off shore was a six week trip as a welder's mate on an old drilling semi in the North Sea. Good memories. Love your work

You are showing much more confidence in what you are doing as you become more familiar with the material. I remember my first steel boat (Colvin Ketch). Lucky I didn't have to weld but learning what to do with it was a big milestone. Doing good.

Stu, One mob I worked for used to cut off 12mm or thicker plates to add a mounting plate for a strain gauge to be fitted between the load arm and the lift tube. The certified welder used to pre heat the metal with two LPG/Oxy torches before stick welding the new mounts in place. That apparently did two things, one was fewer sticks were used up , better welds resulted and apparently the weld stresses in the metal were much lower. The last one I have no idea if it was true or not, but the pre heat definitely resulted in fewer sticks over all being used and the welds were much cleaner smoother and far easier to smooth out as a result.

Easy to patch a steel hull... Cut hole to fit patch, then on the inside, trap a thin sheet of copper between the hull patch and a magnet, Weld up and done! Cheers from The Great Lakes!

It looks like the former owner did not do any hull maintenance. I think its time to put those crabs on the beach to work. Lol Its a labor of love, we all have to have a passion for some thing, I'm glade that you found yours. Good Luck, and more beer too!

Making great progress Stu, I drive past often, will have to drop in for a Beer one afternoon

Metal repairs look like they are going well Stu. Lots of work now, but will be so worth it in the end. You’ll have a vessel that will be strong and dependable for many years to come.

I hope you get a million dollar boat for all your hard work! I appreciate how meticulous you are!!!

This is one of the most interesting channels on you-tube. Thanks for posting...……..

Welding plates onto my rusty old boat trailer as I watch this LOL good to see some 'Proper welding' (Stick) Tip for the oxyacetylene cutting. Get the cutting line really clean and pre heating to cherry red at the start point will guarantee the cut will be super clean, with no 'blow outs' or swirls which are almost always caused by rust flakes on the face you are trying to cut.

Thanks again Stu, loving the weekly informative sessions...

boat needs a name

Solid, smart thinking ahead of the work. 👍

Looking good mate cant wait to see it once its blasted!

Stay at the boat and keep cutting the holes where you need them. You can weld all the patches on when they arrive. No need to wait for the patches to make the cutouts. Just call and make sure they are on the way, then keep working.

Man I could watch this all day long ...

These videos are fantastic! Really enjoying this series.

Great progress Stu.

I'm really enjoying this series. Thank you all the way from Cape Town South Africa.

So much to comment on. I'm enjoying this series

I'm havin' a few beers now and watching .Great progress and videos ! That inside weld does look fantastic ! Cheers !

You are doing GREAT work!

And you thought you were going to get her sorted at the Marina …. not a chance. Great work by the way, keep the vids coming, don't stress about missing welding footage, it's kind of boring, talking about what your doing and how your going to do it with the before and after shots is more than enough. Brad from Brissy

Just wanted to say that I have really enjoyed watching the restoration of this boat. I particularly enjoy your approach to such a large project, and your honesty when problems occur. Good luck.

I look more and more forward to the next episode for every episode i watch. Dont have a steel boat myself, but i find your videos very interesting 👍🏻

Love ya Eddie, you'll have fun on your new boat pup! Stay safe, God bless

Your a GENIUS, hands down. LOVE THIS STUFF😀

Wish you made more videos I really enjoy watching your show ...upload more often

Great job looking forward to your next video!

nice to finish work on a Saturday night and come home to see another of your excellent videos. You are doing a sterling job indeed.Keep up the good work and take care

Really a beautiful ship

Making good progress... Can't wait to see the hull after blasting

Another grate video I so look forward to seeing your new uploads. Its to see the boat come along. Looking forward to seeing the next instalment. Regards Richard

Can't help but admire your ambition that involves this much work. My hat's off to you mate!

Another great video as always! Cheers from "across the ditch" in NZ!

Hi, to fill gaps with a stick weld or MIG put a piece of copper or brass at the back of the hole and fill it from the edges, the copper or brass with keep filler metal in the hole and will not adhere to the backing , do it all the time works fine. Stick welding is so much quicker than TIG.

Another great video!

I’m hooked with this channel. Keep it up

Damn you work fast...You`re an inspiration Stu...friggin love your videos

You are very ambitous! Keep up the good work. I am doing the same thing on a rusty Pantera.

Nice job on the Tig and stick welding .. good job.

Hey Stu, From over 45 years of welding experience and having been taught by my father (who did his apprenticeship as a boilermaker way way back) I could offer some welding tips to save you a lot of time and money if you are interested. (Been there, done that) Wahroonga only 5 minutes from Hornsby Steel. Have home workshop with Mills, Lathe, Tooling, Hydraulic Press, Bandsaw, Plasma, TIG, MIG, STICK, Oxy, etc. plus everything else needed in a good man cave. You are doing it the hard way for sure. (Edcon Steel Brookvale {Mathew} => First tip) Cheers, Ron

Just discovered this...great video, very informative and enjoyable to watch...I'm sure it will stand me in great stead when I get my steel barge (one day)...many thanks.....on to the next one.

I tell you what ... if I ever own a steel boat I’m going to have a wealth of knowledge as long as RU-vid is still around 👍👍👍👍👍...

Awesome, been waiting all day for this weeks update - Love the comment Russia is watching, I am watching from Tuggerah NSW about half 45min drive away.

WHAT! ONLY A TWENTY MINUTE VIDEO! Well that lets you know that I thoroughly enjoyed your journey fixing your boat. Until next week then Captain!

Love how your channel has exploded with this project. Good work DM! Always looking forward to this series! :D

Thanks for the video.

Nice work!

Looking good DangarStu. You have motivated me to do some work on my 15 footer. I have enjoyed and learned a great deal from you. Thank you!

Keep up the good work Stu.👍

Thanks for the awesome video

Love these videos, just like we do it in Holland, work hard but always have a couple of beers ready! Keep up the good work!!

Another great vid

Getting close now mate ! Brilliant idea with the patch discs...hope they arrive soon. Sorry to distract you with my evil beer drinking ways the other day...looked like you needed a break :) Welds are looking solid as...will stand the test of time I am sure. Cheers

Great job!!! Really enjoy watching and learning from you. I was excited to see a new video when I sat down for my morning cup of coffee here in Ohio. Keep up the good work can't wait for the next video.....

WOW really moving along now some times seems like we don't get enough done, but this time you are going straight on, keep up the good work....Cap.

Great video

G’day Stu I liked how you cut those pieces out and welded new steel in with what you got planed for the hull it’s going to be great to watch the steps that your taking. It’ll be interesting to see how the sandblasting goes thanks for filming it kind regards John

Nice video!

Loving this series mate.. I was hanging out for the latest vid all week!

Hi Stu, At first I wasn’t sure about the circular hole patches, I’ve always cut square pieces & the stock is always in flat bars. So when you cut your patch from the stock you’re taking from other straight edges. But then I thought, well if there’s wires, fabric, or anything else that melts the torch will cook it, and a cutting disc takes some effort. So I think your idea is brilliant. Then I was thinking, instead of having someone make you some discs, just cut the discs from the stock with the same size hole saw. If that can be done without a center bit. I suppose if you couldn’t & there is a hole in the center of the patch, then it would have to be filled with weld. Which is kinda of a waste. I was trying to think of way to cut another trip and expense from the project. Your doing great, your making good progress for the conditions you’re in. It’s hard to explain, but there’s more and more of you going into the boat. The intent behind your effort equals quality and reliability. Simply, you intend for it to stand the test of time with out failure and it will. Well, that’s all you bud, your sweat equity will be paying off for years to come. Your UV comment was an understatement. Those rays are as intense as the sun without earths magnetic field and atmosphere. I’ve been cooked before and its the most uncomfortable, irritable condition I’ve ever experienced. You’ll have a giant intense itch for about six weeks that you cant touch, and ya its not good at all for you. So I also am often wearing heavy clothing and leather when it’s 90 f, 90% humidity, & working inches from hot steel all day. And its worth every bit of clothing vs the UV burn. Your torch and welding skills are very good. I don’t think any of your welds would break if put into a vice & stressed by hammering and prying. (Thats how my shop teacher graded students arc (stick) welding projects he assigned. In 7th grade btw. Boy, times have changed) oh and my gosh, the condition and thickness of the hull steel is mint dude! I mean I’m watching from a phone in the US, but it looks look like real good quality steel. The rust isn’t digging straight down its been just slowly working from the surface. I think that boat is solid. She’s gonna be a wave crushing tank. Im excited for the next video. Great job and great video.

did you know Seadoo does the same hole patch thing on their skis and boats.........so great idea Stu........They have them as weak points along the exhaust manifold so they rust out there instead of a worse point..........I cut out 10 discs to have on hand for my skis !!!

You're doing a cracking job mate. Enjoying this. Pity you're breathing the stick gasses. It'd be cool if you had a snorkel mouthpiece attached to a flexible pipe to a activated charcoal 3M filter on your belt/back canister thingy

I've no idea why, but I'm completely invested in your venture. While I like all things steel, not much of a boat guy. Can't wait to see the finished product. Don't forget that you were going to tell us your plans for this boat.

Getting tired yet ? Your perseverance is awesome. I've never had to shipyard a boat by myself . Keep it up looks as if you may be well past the halfway point now.

Very interesting vlog i love these videos.

Good work Stu,,,,

interesting insight from you saying "a bit of work but I found it relaxing".

Those welds look like the lovechild of a turd and a crap..... and they STILL look better than my welds..... ;-) Keep up the good work!

Good vid stu, I do like the idea of the laser cur beer mats that can double as patch discs too. I can see the welding is getting better by the day with very little pigeon crap showing now. Keep it up, looking forward to the next vid.

you look very very smart wearing those glasses kind of like a chemistry teacher !!!

thanks for taking time to make the vids , always enjoyable, no brewery indulgence on this last one ,sad

the Essential Craftsman, a genius and genuine nice guy, a master blacksmith and sword maker had some interesting things to say about his collection of hand grinders the main thing was that he had acquired enough hand grinders to have one set up with the disc or brush for each metal work requirement.

Dig'n the boat build. Give it a 8.8/10. You lost a point for beer not making an appearance. 🤘😎

Great video! Been following for a while, Id suggest using a low hydrogen rod for this type of work, I've found it's much more forgiving, quicker, and much more versatile in all positions except vertical down, I would use the WIA 16tc, excellent stick rod! Cheers!

Hi. Good video. I haven't been following a long time but I like the content. About the holesaw idea - great idea! I was thinking maybe to use the same size saw for the hole and patch. Then you are left with a gap for butt welding them together. You can cut the patches out without the pilot hole also. First take the holesaw and cut a hole in a osb board. Then you use the osb board, put it over the material that you are cutting the discs from. Remove the pilot drill from the holesaw. And now when cutting, the osb keeps the cutter in place and the disc is without a pilot hole. (can be osb, can be a thicker piece of metal etc.) Have a good one. Greetings from Estonia!

Oxygen acetylene torch use: Try tipping your torch head 15 to 20 degrees, sometimes more, in the opposite direction of your cut, this will blow the slag forward away from the cut, preheat the metal in front of the cut, reduce the slag on the underside of the cut, and will result in a faster cut with less distortion. All bets are off with rust, that shit just explodes. Your doing a great job, always a thumbs up. . . best of luck. . .Oktim

Years ago worked repairing rusty barges in Brisbane spent some time making good barges which should have been scrapped. You'll get there, your doing a good job

Hey, you should try 3M cubitron Ceramic grinding and sanding discs. They last forever are self-sharpening and cut like a machete through butter.

Like your work

Looking nice... Well done.... :)

Excellent idea making standard patch disks! Have you considered getting a plasma cutting torch? All you need is electricity & air compressor...no wasting acetylene for cutting.

Nice chair! You do have me in the palm of your hand every video too :-)