tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-365334222012-02-16T20:01:32.384-08:00Since I'm starting out on building a small sailing boat, I thought it might be useful for others to learn from my experience. This will be a log of the building project, and any problems and solutions along the way.Rational Roothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09548699235171215976noreply@blogger.comBlogger2461100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36533422.post-8871496660947587082011-11-29T14:07:00.001-08:002011-11-29T14:19:44.507-08:00

No boat is ever finished, and I have my list for the winter.... Brass rubbing strips on the rudder, centreboard and the front of the hull Cargo Netting for bits and pieces Fix the bow eye, it was too small and it bent Add a nose wheel to the launching trolley Add a winch to the trailer or trolley. This needs some thought, I want to make it easier to get the boat onto the trolley and the

Rational Roothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09548699235171215976noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36533422.post-46966657729842046972011-11-06T13:03:00.000-08:002011-11-06T13:13:39.143-08:00

My wife's family is from Cavan, and my parents have retired there too. So, on Friday we drove to Cavan, with the boat in tow. While my wife and the children visited her parents, I met my parents at the lake with the boat. (Thank you my love for the time you give me to sail.) The lake was up about 4 - 6 feet over it's banks, which meant the car park was flooded to 18 inches. So I had to push the

Rational Roothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09548699235171215976noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36533422.post-62846085976427304752011-09-26T12:47:00.000-07:002011-09-26T13:13:16.630-07:00

I picked up a Ceramic Folding Knife on the internet. $49 + $5 postage - from Canada to Ireland. Nice, usually postage makes things like that prohibitively expensive. You can see them at http://www.ceramicknife.org/ It's about as sharp as you will make a steel knife without taking a strop to it. That is it slices paper like all the demos you see on youtube, it won't shave the hair off the

Rational Roothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09548699235171215976noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36533422.post-7003752947301673812011-09-25T11:48:00.000-07:002011-09-25T11:55:29.966-07:00

I have a Myrchin P300 knife. It's really quite nice. But the serrations are very aggressive. This means that It catches in the rope if you try to cut rope. I can't sharpen it very well (ymmv) At the end of it all, I take 3 serious attempts to cut 8mm double braid. I have a small Leatherman and it has a plain blade and a serrated blade.  The plain blade will take an edge which cuts through 8mm

Rational Roothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09548699235171215976noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36533422.post-2814649660162802962011-09-19T12:16:00.000-07:002011-09-19T12:16:29.643-07:00

The wooden pump sucks water just fine, provided that it's either in water, or primed. It won't self prime more than about 3" or so. I could see the water climb about 3" through the clear plastic hose. No More. I guess that while the clearance of the piston, and the valves was just fine for water, air just flows past them. I could do a better job, and add seals, and improve the valves, but now

Rational Roothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09548699235171215976noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36533422.post-10028795687143031562011-09-12T04:30:00.000-07:002011-09-12T04:30:20.942-07:00

I can't claim credit for this, I found it here at duckworks (thanks By Tim Ingersoll - Superior, Wisconsin - USA) but I thought it would look a lot better on my boat than a grey / black plastic thingy. I cobbled one together out of scrap plywood to see if it simply functioned. I didn't want to spend a lot of time and effort and expensive wood to find out that it trickled water out, or had to be

Rational Roothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09548699235171215976noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36533422.post-66304954369972705732011-08-29T06:59:00.000-07:002011-08-29T07:14:54.827-07:00

Don't underestimate the importance of setup time on a small boat. Sloops have tall masts, which are more effort to build, set up, and store. Gaff / Lug rigged boats have multiple, but smaller spars. Often fitting right inside the boat itself for storage / trailering. Every Cotter Pin you need to put in place, with a tiny, fiddly split ring takes more time, especially with cold tired hands. (And

Rational Roothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09548699235171215976noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36533422.post-64571554718305244112011-08-21T13:05:00.000-07:002011-08-21T13:05:56.553-07:00

Ok, so I need a whole lot of practice. To get off a shallow lee shore, stick one foot on board, hold the tiller centred, and shove a few times with your other foot like you were on a child's scooter. Don't lower the mast in a cross wind. Really, Don't   

Rational Roothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09548699235171215976noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36533422.post-18470389279358502592011-08-20T12:45:00.000-07:002011-08-20T13:13:21.403-07:00

It's amazing how much better she sails with a functional centreboard. Gravel is a bad thing for pivoting centreboards. On our second trip, a quick spin around some lakes in Cavan, was a whole lot better. The engine remained unused. I sailed a short loop on my own to ensure all was well, then took Sarah and Abigail each for a spin, under sail. I remembered reading an article where a sailing

Rational Roothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09548699235171215976noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36533422.post-25748144495287537212011-08-16T15:30:00.000-07:002011-08-16T15:30:27.759-07:00

Ok, so not quite a master class in sailing, but she floats, she sails, and she motors.

Rational Roothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09548699235171215976noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36533422.post-76523461738074907842011-08-16T11:36:00.001-07:002011-08-16T14:46:33.079-07:00

A quick snap of the boat on her trailer

Rational Roothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09548699235171215976noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36533422.post-71971974303010956522011-08-15T05:21:00.000-07:002011-08-15T05:22:58.173-07:00

On Sunday I launched The Lady Caroline. I had the assistance of Ben, and the patience of his whole family who came along to join us. The boat floated, upright, and no-one drowned. We even got to the stage where we were confident enough to bring his kids for a spin around the estuary with the sails down, just running the outboard. Before much more ado, A HUGE Thanks to Ben and Family. Ben and

Rational Roothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09548699235171215976noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36533422.post-61713506115786150632011-08-11T04:33:00.000-07:002011-08-11T04:36:50.441-07:00

I am now watching the forecast for a suitable date to Launch The Lady Caroline. The last of the "necessary" jobs are done. I have still some nice to haves, but I gather than when you have a boat, the todo list never goes to Zero I have a few things to get, including a stout bucket for bailing. But Ultimately, I'm ready to go sailing.

Rational Roothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09548699235171215976noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36533422.post-43613489155818234342011-08-04T05:07:00.000-07:002011-08-04T05:07:54.352-07:00

I have put in most of the Buoyancy, I have just the bow bag to do. (1 evening) I have finished the fittings, including the self-bailers. I have still to put on 3 mooring cleats, (2 bolts & 1 backing plate each - 1 evening for the three) And to sort out the trailer board for towing, (1 evening) and a holder for the mast. (? not sure about this) I'm now gathering things like a paddle, flares,

Rational Roothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09548699235171215976noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36533422.post-1705295977815088732011-08-02T06:31:00.000-07:002011-08-02T06:31:02.023-07:00

The boat is now surveyed (a requirement for the insurance) and the surveyor has declared it "built to a very good standard of workmanship" Ps, A word to the wise, plan where the deck fittings will go before you put in any screws which might be in the way. Otherwise Sods law will ensure that you have drilled 3 of the 4 holes to mount a fitting before you find a screw in the way of the final hole.

Rational Roothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09548699235171215976noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36533422.post-23145326002818161522011-07-31T03:30:00.000-07:002011-07-31T03:31:54.551-07:00

The engine mounts is done. Since the transom is angled, I made a rookie mistake and set the mount too low, then I had to fill the bolt holes and re-mount it higher. (Luckily I popped the engine into place with the mount dry fitted,  so at least I didn't have to clean up bedding compound.) The Self Bailers are dry fitted. If you are ever mounting these, it's hard to drill holes square to the hull

Rational Roothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09548699235171215976noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36533422.post-35420223852806699972011-07-26T00:58:00.000-07:002011-07-27T00:04:51.092-07:00

1 more coat of paint(1 evening) *Flip her over and back onto the trailer(1 evening) Thanks Alan ! Bedding compound for the mast track & fittings (1 evening)   Mount the rudder (1 evening) Mount the Engine (1 evening) Fit the drain plugs / self drainers (1 evening) Mount the Hardware for the forstay and Jib (1 evening) + Repaint the deck, it looks pretty grubby. This weekend is looking

Rational Roothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09548699235171215976noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36533422.post-20503922747233015732011-07-15T00:04:00.000-07:002011-07-15T00:04:47.319-07:00

I finished painting, and had her covered about 3 minutes before a small shower. One more coat and she's going for a swim.The todo list is down to1 more coat of paint(1 evening)Flip her over and back onto the trailer(1 evening)Bedding compound for the mast track & fittings (1 evening)Mount the Hardware for the forstay and Jib (1 evening)Mount the rudder (1 evening)Mount the Engine (1 evening)Fit

Rational Roothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09548699235171215976noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36533422.post-61182817774148680842011-07-14T00:10:00.000-07:002011-07-14T00:10:45.199-07:00

A nice even mid grey.I can almost feel the salt spray.

Rational Roothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09548699235171215976noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36533422.post-22963448861918976972011-07-11T14:44:00.000-07:002011-07-11T14:44:49.288-07:00

 Hopefully she will look a lot better shortly...

Rational Roothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09548699235171215976noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36533422.post-16392297097281113402011-07-11T04:45:00.000-07:002011-07-11T04:45:28.312-07:00

It's the weave of the fibreglass cloth. You see you have to fill the weave. So you paint on the high build. Then sand it off again. The hollows start to fill up with High build 2 part epoxy. You could make up your own, but based on the smell (and after one whiff, I pulled out my organic respirator) you have epoxy, fine powder, and a whole lot of nasty solvent to keep it flowing. If you just

Rational Roothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09548699235171215976noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36533422.post-13246688136073154972011-07-03T15:03:00.000-07:002011-07-03T15:04:11.740-07:00

 When Monday comes, I need to order some more high build primer and wait for it to arrive. In the mean time, I set to work on the mast. The last big job there was the Mast Track. It's all screwed into place. I was a little worried about the join (the track only comes in 3 meter lengths), but I used and adjustable spanner to hold the two tracks in line while I screwed them down. I also ran some

Rational Roothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09548699235171215976noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36533422.post-71608627760450730652011-07-03T08:31:00.000-07:002011-07-03T08:31:02.772-07:00

My DIY Random Orbital Sander gave up the ghost. Sanding back the entire hull of 2 part high build epoxy was beyond it. So I went out and got the Makita one I should have gotten in the first place. I have also found that the weave on the glass cloth is a lot harder to fill that I thought. I have 2 coats of high build epoxy primer sanded back, and there's a few spots that will need special

Rational Roothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09548699235171215976noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36533422.post-36725477874879589512011-06-15T14:14:00.000-07:002011-06-15T14:14:12.936-07:00

The heavy filling is done, the first sanding is done. I've started the undercoating. The stuff is a high build 2 part epoxy undercoat. It's got some manner of solvent in it cause it stinks something nasty. As soon as I opened the tin, I went straight for the Organic Respirator. Spread a litre of that stuff out and you really don't want to be leaning over it and breathing it in. My set of

Rational Roothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09548699235171215976noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36533422.post-13825421501652445912011-06-03T12:38:00.000-07:002011-06-03T12:38:19.323-07:00

Thanks to Andy & Caroline for helping me to flip the boat and to Andy and Nick for helping me to pop it up on a stand. The last sheet of fibre glass is done. Now I'm sanding and painting. The mast has it's first coat of Varnish, and before I flipped the boat I added various fitting like the eyes for the main sheet traveller, and the jib sheet leads. There's 3 liters of EasyFair fairing

Rational Roothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09548699235171215976noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36533422.post-72157209388930575352011-05-18T04:33:00.000-07:002011-06-03T13:17:44.909-07:00

The randomness of the weather, children, Maths projects and life in general has slowed work on the boat. I did manage to fit the Centreboard Case Cover, and the Centreboard Pin Covers. The Case Cover was easy. The Pin Covers not so. It would have taken about 30 seconds to drill the pilot holes for the screws before the Centreboard case was installed in the boat. The Covers are very close to the

Rational Roothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09548699235171215976noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36533422.post-8188905775874669392011-05-02T12:47:00.000-07:002011-05-03T00:44:47.075-07:00

Or experience is what you get when you do something wrong.... Either way, now, I'm pretty good at dealing with poly-sulphide bedding. Now that the four coamings are in place: I know that if the tape is too close to the wood for the radius of your bead, then the bedding will be quite thick on the tape and you leave a nice groove when you pull the tape out. I know that for the brand I used, 5-8

Rational Roothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09548699235171215976noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36533422.post-66411314573228853652011-04-25T14:41:00.000-07:002011-04-25T14:41:36.485-07:00

 To figure out exacly where the boom needs to be attached, you need to raise the Main Sail. And to figure out where the jibsheet leads need to go, you need to raise the Jib.It helps that there was virtually no breeze once it started to get dark.A splash in June looks at least credible now.

Rational Roothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09548699235171215976noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36533422.post-42669094210299195722011-04-25T01:14:00.000-07:002011-04-25T01:16:26.435-07:00

With a little help from my supervisor. I managed to get the mast upright. And I made up the wire stays in place. It all worked quite well. But it could do with a little varnish I guess.

Rational Roothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09548699235171215976noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36533422.post-7027790644024586842011-04-24T03:38:00.000-07:002011-04-24T03:40:07.817-07:00

My first attempt to step the mast ended rather quickly when I realised I had no way of stopping it from swaying from side to side. It was a bare inch out of the bracket when it became obvious that disaster was beckoning. For all the remaining lifts, I moved car more than 20' away from the boat !!! I used a 4 part block and tackle and a 5' gin pole to give me leverage. Round 2 involved putting

Rational Roothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09548699235171215976noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36533422.post-3247705135270811442011-04-16T08:04:00.000-07:002011-04-16T08:04:41.623-07:00

I made up a mast step. It's just half lapped joins, on a plywood base. The plywood is mostly just to give it an extra 1/4" of height, but the alternating grain won't hurt the strength of the step. I thought it turned out quite well.

Rational Roothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09548699235171215976noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36533422.post-34651942189266476072011-04-13T09:07:00.000-07:002011-04-14T05:33:03.392-07:00

The todo items that is Glue the mast Plane the mast after gluing and & Round the corners  Sand the mast  install the hardware rudder fittings need bedding standing rigging The mast step's mostly done. Varnishing a 20' long mast out of doors is going to require a little bit of thought...

Rational Roothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09548699235171215976noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36533422.post-36197415718094408392011-04-06T04:35:00.000-07:002011-04-06T07:54:05.758-07:00

When you glue up a pair of 20' long sticks to make a mast, there's going to be a bit of work with a plane to be done afterwards. You could use a Power Planer, except that : It's noisy You have to wear Ear Protection. You can't listen to music. It makes a mess (dust and chippings by the bin load). The wood dust means you need to wear a mask. And the dust gets right into your very soul. Your

Rational Roothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09548699235171215976noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36533422.post-79888098509152287782011-03-24T05:36:00.000-07:002011-03-24T05:36:15.299-07:00

Someone asked me recently if I'd gotten what I wanted out of building my boat..... I could have just bought a second hand dinghy for a couple of grand, less than I've spent in tools, materials, etc. But I wanted to build a boat. It's taken 5 years, and now it's nearly finished. I could have played golf, and now I'd have a nothing but pitiful handicap and a load of expensive sticks to show for

Rational Roothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09548699235171215976noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36533422.post-67430917006813649122011-03-22T15:04:00.000-07:002011-03-22T15:09:35.780-07:00

The pieces for the mast are cut, but still have to Glue the mast Plane the mast after gluing and & Round the corners Sand the mast Install sail tracks. Varnish the mast Varnish the boom 1 panel of the hull still needs glassing Paint the hull install the hardware rudder fittings need bedding standing rigging running rigging various cleats Install Centreboard Case Cover Buoyancy bags Add some form

Rational Roothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09548699235171215976noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36533422.post-18414928416154772012011-03-22T14:52:00.000-07:002011-03-22T14:58:45.707-07:00

 At least there's paint on the deck now, and coamings cut and clamped in place.  They look pretty good, for an amatuer. Any my new temporary boat tent, so that I can paint the boat.

Rational Roothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09548699235171215976noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36533422.post-76649526522929487842011-03-11T13:44:00.000-08:002011-03-11T13:44:08.502-08:00

When you are tired, it's hard to get motivated to go out and work on the boat. The TV and the Couch beckon, and you can "flop and veg". But if there's just one little thing that you can do in the shed, that gets you out there. So last night I cut a set of bolts to size, drilled out the countersunk holes in the cleats, made up backing pads for the cleats, drilled out a whole pile of washers. (I

Rational Roothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09548699235171215976noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36533422.post-58020035611285249462011-02-27T12:52:00.000-08:002011-02-27T12:52:54.474-08:00

I was asked how the floorboards are held down.... There's a Jamb Cleat on the frame, and a wooden "hook" on the underside of the floorboard. The cord goes up behind the hook, around the bottom of the jamb cleat, around the cleat and pull. You can see in the second picture, the Jamb Cleat is simply a piece of wood cut so that where it meets the oak frame, it makes a very narrow triangular gap.

Rational Roothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09548699235171215976noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36533422.post-21166709817459581752011-02-07T14:02:00.000-08:002011-02-07T14:07:47.235-08:00

Ok, the first attempt at cleats were functional, but frankly, ugly.A quick post to http://forum.woodenboat.com/ and I have a much better Idea of what I wanted.Longer bases, for strength, lower, and more rounded.

Rational Roothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09548699235171215976noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36533422.post-32435199463085401312011-02-06T02:11:00.000-08:002011-02-06T02:11:46.917-08:00

  Since I don't really need a metal cut off saw all that often, and I have little room for more tools, I cobbled this together. It's just an angle grinder, and a sled. The sled is constrained by runners, so it moves in a straight line.The Cutting blade is close enough to square to the table for my purposes.I tried it out by cutting a hollow steel rod at 45 degrees, and then flipping the parts to

Rational Roothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09548699235171215976noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36533422.post-52649625810967650352011-01-23T13:20:00.000-08:002011-01-23T13:24:31.342-08:00

So I have started working on the Coamings. I can't claim the carving, I tried some smaller work, and it came out fine, but my practice pieces on larger letters were less consistent. So I sent the coaming to Wood Graphics Ireland who did a nice job.Of course cutting to fit is a job and a half, since you have compound angles and a curve.But I need to figure out how to join the ends

Rational Roothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09548699235171215976noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36533422.post-50430248948831116672011-01-16T12:05:00.000-08:002011-01-16T12:09:27.159-08:00

You can see the blanks here, the curves are cut on a drill stand with a 20mm Forstner bit. ThenI cut the horns before putting a 1/12 slope on each side. Of course, with my new found confidence, I made the base a little too short, but since they are for a 14' sailing dinghy, they should cope ok. A rasp and a belt sander clamped upside down on a table with an 80 grit belt will do most of the

Rational Roothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09548699235171215976noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36533422.post-25543352118707651592011-01-14T14:14:00.000-08:002011-01-14T14:32:31.725-08:00

Ok, so it took about 2 hours to make this, and it turned out a little thin on top. But since it's only going to hold the centerboard pennant, it should be fine.Now that I have an Idea what I am doing, I think I will be able to churn one out in about 15 minutes.A simple guide on the drill press means I can cut the holes for the curves without carefully measuring each block. The order of cutting on

Rational Roothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09548699235171215976noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36533422.post-52371549513158767222011-01-03T12:00:00.000-08:002011-01-03T12:01:15.896-08:00

 One home made brazed drill bit. Not pretty, but it worked just fine.

Rational Roothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09548699235171215976noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36533422.post-36215617786394773942011-01-02T13:20:00.000-08:002011-01-02T13:30:51.508-08:00

All I needed was a 3/8" drill bit, about 2" long, and with a 1/4" hex fitting on the end. You see I could not get a drill in to the gap, so I'd have to use a ratchet with a hex drive.No problem, I have lots of long drill bits, lots of screwdriver bits, a grinder with a cutting wheel, a Propane/Butane torch (1610ºc / 2930ºf), and some brazing wire.I chopped the drill bit short, chopped off the end

Rational Roothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09548699235171215976noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36533422.post-46262073673459788852010-12-29T12:23:00.000-08:002010-12-29T12:41:50.514-08:00

Since we've had about a month of snow, and I'm pretty much working outdoors, and since My Family and I got nailed by a nasty flu over Christmas, there's been the some total of very little progress. I did get to do some reading, and I can recommend Something About Navigator or you can get it at Amazon.com Albeit the first chapter or two are a bit over the top. Think love struck teenager & rose

Rational Roothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09548699235171215976noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36533422.post-39618231554670257342010-12-29T12:20:00.001-08:002010-12-29T12:23:04.953-08:00

You can see here a very rough and ready decomposition of the forces (in blue arrows)on the auto-release cleat. I've split the force into the part acting towards the pivot, and the force acting around the pivot. What's important is the force acting in rotation around the pivot.As you can see, if the line comes up to the cleat, the force available to pop the cleat open is much reduced. If the line

Rational Roothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09548699235171215976noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36533422.post-22824425817180412782010-11-25T13:11:00.001-08:002010-11-25T13:11:25.872-08:00

First, please forgive the paintwork. It was not right, so it needed sanding back, and it will need another coat or two.Note the uphaul has a 3 part tackle to overcome the mechanical disadvantage of pulling up the rudder from the top.I need to sort out a latch for the downhaul. I tried one of the camcleats that pops open, but with nylon cord, the cord just stretches. Once I get some proper 4mm

Rational Roothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09548699235171215976noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36533422.post-77067292078783971842010-10-17T01:55:00.001-07:002011-04-08T07:40:50.587-07:00

So I was ripping a 20 foot sitka spruce plank to size for my mast. I set up things as usual, put the wood up on scrap pieces of wood, on top of metal stands. The trick is to set the saw blade to cut the spruce, and cut a little into the scrap, but not all the way through to the metal stands. I remember thinking ah these glasses will do, then changing my mind and putting on my safety glasses.

Rational Roothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09548699235171215976noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36533422.post-88953198863938805302010-09-04T07:30:00.000-07:002010-09-04T08:12:07.981-07:00

I spent a long time worrying about the lead sink weight for the Centerboard. I needed about 30 sq inches of the CB to be cut out and replaced with Lead. And I was a bit concerned about the strength of the remaining plywood with such a big hole. Of course it's much smaller than it sounds. 10" long, 3" wide parallel to the leading edge, leave 13" of 3/4" ply. Add Epoxy Glass and you have no worries

Rational Roothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09548699235171215976noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36533422.post-17108113132878904292010-08-24T12:42:00.000-07:002010-08-24T12:53:21.400-07:00

Or at least part of it. The blade shown here will be pinned through the shoulders to provide a kick up rudder. It will have a down haul to a break away cleat, and an up haul to let me pull it up Before I hit things.As you can see, I have switched to foam rollers, and there's no shaggy dog hairs all over it.This coat is still wet, but the finish is about that glossy when it dries.I have also found

Rational Roothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09548699235171215976noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36533422.post-71439230513843986522010-08-19T04:19:00.000-07:002010-08-19T04:27:03.462-07:00

There's an old tradesman's saying "do a great job, the customer will tell his friends, mess up and he'll tell everyone"It's rather unfair. To address the asymmetry of it all, allow me to heap praise where it's very definitely due.Robbins Timber, in the UK They have been helpful, even though I am a tiny customer. They have been knowledgeable, and when I had a small problem, they went far above

Rational Roothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09548699235171215976noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36533422.post-40193566057805686292010-08-16T13:55:00.000-07:002010-08-16T14:07:40.142-07:00

So I reckoned I'd try to paint the rudder as a learning exercise in painting.Cheap rollers loose tiny fine hairs like a stray dog in the summer. The hairs don't show up in the undercoat, just the gloss.High Gloss Paint shows surface defects or blemishes as well as a High Power Magnifying glass.You will use WAY more paint that you imagine until you start to get the hang of what you are doing. (For

Rational Roothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09548699235171215976noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36533422.post-77570818656561799492010-08-09T13:35:00.000-07:002010-08-09T13:55:09.668-07:00

My second try at a rudder was a big improvement. It's amazing how the details matter, if you put too much pressure on a wedge on one side, then you cut a little deeper with the router. More sanding to do later.The blade is now glassed, and I'm adding a few extra coats of epoxy. The rest of the rudder assembly is under-coated. This will be my first chance to see how the Paint turns out.Since the

Rational Roothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09548699235171215976noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36533422.post-90042627987605589732010-08-01T08:00:00.000-07:002010-08-01T08:08:54.167-07:00

I had to "nip over" to my Sister's house to pick up my Sitka Spruce for my mast, they had been minding it for me. (Thanks Lisa & Peter).The simplest way to do this was of course to run over with the trailer, it has a mast crutch and all.Having never driven with a trailer, this 45 minute drive (which became an hour, I travelled quite sedately) was far easier than I had expected. My neighbour had

Rational Roothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09548699235171215976noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36533422.post-66658391061018335952010-08-01T07:47:00.000-07:002010-08-01T08:00:46.920-07:00

So I followed the basic idea here http://www.duckworksmagazine.com/09/howto/foils/index.htm to make up my rudder. I thought that I'd have to throw out the first attempt, and then use the second one.As it happened it turned out quite well, the second side was clearly better than the first. I was actually considering using it, until I realised that I'd put the leading edge on the wrong side, and

Rational Roothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09548699235171215976noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36533422.post-2063920850905805952010-07-06T14:10:00.000-07:002010-07-06T14:44:04.365-07:00

I've temporarily bolted on the Gudgeons, I'll take them off again to epoxy the holes, and for painting. But I need the Gudgeons for 2 reasons.1) I will need to go fetch my mast, so I will need the trailer lights mounted, which will mount onto the Gudgeons.2) I wanted to make up a test rudder.I was in two minds about a kickup rudder, see the diagram at the bottom of this Glen-l Letter page. And I

Rational Roothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09548699235171215976noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36533422.post-37095156554654231392010-05-24T13:14:00.000-07:002010-05-24T13:33:55.224-07:00

There are two pairs of cleats on the frames, and matching cleats on the bottom of the floorboards, so when you drop the floorboards down they have to locate properly and it all ends up like thisIf you look at the cross piece on the underside of the floorboards in the top picture, you see it extends beyond the slats, this runs under the centre floorboard which is fixed in place, and helps hold

Rational Roothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09548699235171215976noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36533422.post-17223822335142134782010-05-17T13:28:00.000-07:002010-05-17T13:33:05.996-07:00

The floorboards are made up of the centre which will be fixed, and the two sides, which which are removeable.The battens which join the four slats on each side extend under the centre peice to fix them down.A small batten at each end locates the side forward and aft. And some angled blocks (yet to be added) will locate the floorboards to prevent them sliding side to side.They are sanded screwed

Rational Roothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09548699235171215976noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36533422.post-81581795767216422512010-04-28T13:20:00.000-07:002010-04-28T13:44:58.021-07:00

And now there's somewhere to sit. The seats are 6 by 1 ¼ inch wide slats of Sapele, given 4 good coats of garden furniture oil.I'm putting cross braces underneath the slats half way between each pair of frames. This means the 6 slats move together. I makes them much stronger.

Rational Roothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09548699235171215976noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36533422.post-65940738434413066902010-04-24T12:49:00.000-07:002010-04-24T12:49:19.597-07:00

I've got most of the slated seats done. I'd have them finished tonight only it's raining, so I'm here typing. And I've started on the coamings. Since I've only just enough wood, I am being kind of careful not to cut anything too short. Given the complex joins, with compound angles, I cut the first one 1/8" too long on purpose, intending to sneak up on it with a plane.Damn, end grain in Sapele is

Rational Roothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09548699235171215976noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36533422.post-25834840512557420792010-04-24T12:40:00.000-07:002010-04-24T12:40:22.934-07:00

I'm still thinking of doing a hollow mast. I made up a quick jig on an 18v hand saw to cut the groove in a single batten, then I cut this into 8 pieces.Even with this rough and ready attempt, it came out rather well. Go to Duckworks website and search for Birdsmouth. They have LOTS.I penciled in the outline of the joints, othersiwe you could hardly see them.

Rational Roothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09548699235171215976noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36533422.post-44407273865429420392010-04-11T14:18:00.000-07:002010-04-11T14:27:56.045-07:00

Now that the deck is glued into place, and trimmed, I can see what The Lady Caroline will look like.I've just started the seats. I have some filling over the screws & sanding to do on the deck.It's all coming together.In other news, my Mom recycled an Old Leather Sofa. I acquired large amounts of the leather. And a short strip of it made a nice strop. Turns out that a scrap of leather with some

Rational Roothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09548699235171215976noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36533422.post-14639128338534321482010-04-06T04:54:00.000-07:002010-04-06T05:02:26.053-07:00

The entire deck is now glued and screwed in place. It started raining about 10 minutes after I'd finished the aft panel. That could have been a small disaster if the rain has arrived 30 minutes earlier.I see a router and an edge trim bit in my near future to trim back the over hang on the deck.I've started work on the seats. The slats look really nice with the deck oil on them. I just broke the

Rational Roothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09548699235171215976noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36533422.post-50334030099035980682010-03-24T13:31:00.000-07:002010-03-24T13:44:17.839-07:00

I took Wednesday off to do some family stuff, but I still had time for a little boat work when the littlest one was asleep.I've rough cut all the panels for the deck. They are all epoxies on one side, the other sides next on the list.Then I start to glue & screw it down.You can see the slats for the seats sitting in the boat.Sorry it's a little... untidy. My workshop consists of two D&B

Rational Roothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09548699235171215976noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36533422.post-20601049125701172052010-03-21T14:50:00.000-07:002010-03-21T14:54:39.446-07:00

I have already rough cut the 5 pieces that will make up the deck. But now the framing is completed, screwed, glued and dried.So I've finally started work on the deck proper.I've cut the backing blocks for the butt joints. All the main pieces are rough cut and I've gotten one side of each soaked in epoxy. (much easier to do now rather than climbing inside later.)I've started screwing the fore deck

Rational Roothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09548699235171215976noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36533422.post-73200759914757537012010-03-08T04:07:00.000-08:002010-03-08T04:27:02.071-08:00

The deck framing is now almost complete. I've one or two dovetails to cut, and I've almost all the fairing done.One thing that I learned is that white oak chines, when planed, can be sharp enough to remove chunks of skin. You always remember not to have a hand in front of a blade, in case the blade slips. But I forgot that a 60° oak edge is just as much a blade to the soft skin on the side of

Rational Roothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09548699235171215976noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36533422.post-34015760435224778212010-03-02T11:57:00.001-08:002010-03-02T12:13:50.438-08:00

So I wandered out to the boat last night after the munchkins went to bed, and I spent a while looking at the place where a cross member needed to go, and trying to figure out if I could laminate up a piece, since I didn't appear to have a piece big enough. I wanted to avoid another long trip to get one plank, when I noticed a piece that I'd tucked away under the boat a while back.....Looks just

Rational Roothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09548699235171215976noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36533422.post-20450830047934259452010-02-14T13:43:00.000-08:002010-02-14T13:47:02.456-08:00

"Is it finished yet?""Daddy, when can we go sailing?""Can we go sailing tomorrow?""When can we go sailing?"And the winning question from my 3 year old daughter...."Will I be older then?"

Rational Roothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09548699235171215976noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36533422.post-22780452444501827962010-02-14T12:13:00.000-08:002010-02-14T12:38:01.528-08:00

So I have 2 pieces of oak, 3" x 1" x 10' for the Carlings. (good luck finding that on Google without coming up with larger, or sports - try "Carling and Deck)All I have to do it cut them to fit.At each end, there's a compound bevel. And the wood curves along the length of the boat. So if you don't take account of the curve, it will end up short.You can see here how you cut the angle to get the

Rational Roothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09548699235171215976noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36533422.post-6793699835055747832010-02-12T13:52:00.001-08:002010-02-12T13:59:57.870-08:00

The last consignment of wood arrived yesterday, so I took a days holidays to.... get the wood tidied away out of the house.... yes. Get it Tidied....I have a cheapo shop vac that I can connect up to the power tools, after ripping various oak and mahogany planks into over 20 1", 2", 3" and 4" wide slats, each over 9' long, I had enough sawdust to fill a large kitchen bin.I now have all the wood I

Rational Roothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09548699235171215976noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36533422.post-3664711857300349132010-02-08T14:08:00.000-08:002010-02-08T14:15:21.348-08:00

I got out my Bevelator 1000 again. This time to bevel the sheer clamps where the deck will go on. I also cut 2 of the three beams that will sit under the foredeck.The remaining wood arrives over the next week or so. So I should have a deck on the boat in the next 3 weeks.Then it's the seats & floors.I found this for making up foils. Nearly as good as a 3d Cad system.

Rational Roothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09548699235171215976noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36533422.post-23802137549069536902010-01-18T12:28:00.000-08:002010-01-18T12:43:52.110-08:00

Against the day that I might actually have to sail the thing, I've started accumulating various bits and pieces that I'll eventually need.I picked up a marine compass a while back, and a last week I came across this http://www.opticron.co.uk/Pages/trailfinder_ii.htmNote the Inter Pupillary Distance. 58~77mm. For those who can't get a one size fits all baseball hat to fit, the normal ~72 mm IPD on

Rational Roothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09548699235171215976noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36533422.post-77984011403358616392010-01-12T13:52:00.001-08:002010-01-12T13:58:19.423-08:00

This is Ireland, we get 3 or 4 flakes of snow each year. That's it. Unless you are up the "mountains" (hills) and you might get enough to make a very short snowman.This year we had several inches, and real cold. Not the 2 Celsius (35 F) that we usually get, we were getting -10 Celsius (14 F).I took my 3 year old out on a sleigh. She loved it till she got cold.People's pipes froze, and burst.

Rational Roothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09548699235171215976noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36533422.post-53944872351368446462009-12-29T14:14:00.001-08:002009-12-29T14:22:30.797-08:00

As I could now put it in the water, and get in, and it would float, I now claim it's an unfinished boat. It is no longer a pile of sticks.

Rational Roothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09548699235171215976noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36533422.post-84779597895475021912009-12-21T04:38:00.001-08:002009-12-21T04:38:41.272-08:00

I’m painting at night, in the cold, with a site lamp and a head torch. I must look even stranger than usual. One thing I realised is that when you have lots of battens, chines, frames etc to paint, you get a lot less than the advertised coverage for a tin of paint. They assume you are painting a large flat area. When you have to work in nooks and crannies, expect to get about half the coverage.

Rational Roothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09548699235171215976noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36533422.post-6008215480305932402009-10-29T15:18:00.000-07:002009-10-29T15:26:16.433-07:00

The boat is now upright on a combi trailer.I have two tent poles across the boat holding up a Tarp.The inside is now sealed with epoxy. Sanding and painting starts next. I'm still in two minds about adding a buoyancy compartment forward and aft, or just using buoyancy bags, or using foam slabs.

Rational Roothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09548699235171215976noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36533422.post-64489836432424060522009-09-28T04:09:00.000-07:002009-09-28T05:54:28.046-07:00

It was like a weird and wonderful Team Building Exercise. All we had to do was move the boat from the back garden to the front garden.The boat has a 6' beam. The lane between the houses is about 6'10". Plenty of room.The fun bit was the 4'-5' high wall running down the middle of the lane.We had a short false start where we were still bolted to the ground (my Fault, sorry guys).Then the 7 of us

Rational Roothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09548699235171215976noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36533422.post-42691022544468090752009-09-24T04:38:00.000-07:002009-09-24T04:40:17.733-07:00

This is from google maps.You can clearly see the blue tarp that covers the boat in my back yard.Yes, it will fit out between the houses.(I hope)

Rational Roothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09548699235171215976noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36533422.post-59546591125525730332009-09-21T09:01:00.001-07:002009-09-21T09:01:26.903-07:00

It's amazing how some people are just so helpful. Take the guys at http://www.chinawindyachts.co.uk/ I needed some stuff in a hurry, no problem, I rang on Friday, they got stuff in that was not already in stock and they shipped monday morning. Bear in mind that my order was a couple of hundred Euro, and they know I'm a hobby builder. Peter takes a genuine interest in his customers, he was able to

Rational Roothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09548699235171215976noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36533422.post-60027442870304041622009-09-15T13:53:00.001-07:002009-09-15T14:04:07.179-07:00

As promised, pics of the Hull.I have filled and sanded most of the screw holes on the near side in the top pic. And as of about half an hour ago, I have filled the remaining screw holes.The Epoxy, Glass beads, and microfibers sands easily. It seems like a good mix for filling.I used a router, a roundover bit and a batten to round over the entrance to the CB for glassing.And I have glassed the

Rational Roothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09548699235171215976noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36533422.post-81116074430805220892009-09-06T05:38:00.000-07:002009-09-06T05:50:16.958-07:00

Sorry there are no pics to go with this, but I finished up working last night, outside under lights at about 11:30pm.It was gluing, screwing and filling screw holes, so the neighbours did get to sleep. 8-)The last panel is now in place. It needs to be trimmed, but the hull is now complete.I no longer feel like a fraud referring to "my boat". I also started the process of filling the screw holes.

Rational Roothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09548699235171215976noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36533422.post-78052371094227742672009-08-31T13:42:00.001-07:002009-08-31T13:48:48.087-07:00

The last panel is trimmed to fit, it is held in place with screws and plywood washers, and it has had boiling water poured all over it with towels to hold the hot water in place.All in all it's so nearly a boat. But On Sunday it didn't rain as much as it always looked like it would rain any second. This is a problem for building out of doors.There remains some sanding of the battens to do before

Rational Roothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09548699235171215976noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36533422.post-70730803096439675262009-08-23T13:47:00.001-07:002009-08-23T14:08:23.786-07:00

At about 8pm the kiddies were off to bed, so I nipped out to just sand the chines and keel, ready for a glue up the next night. But that didn't take long, so I thought, I'm here now, let's glue.A good plan and a bad one. I had not yet marked all the spots for the screws. It's best to do this before you start mixing glue. Anyhow... I did the usual, coat with neat epoxy, then mix up epoxy and

Rational Roothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09548699235171215976noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36533422.post-90151155095051058312009-08-18T04:27:00.000-07:002009-08-18T04:29:24.615-07:00

I played with a tiny ratchet driver and a 6mm auger drill bit. I clamped a scrap batten to a work bench, and I can make a 6mm hole in the batten about 1mm from the bench. This will do just fine. So when the hull is turned I'll do the job on the three battens. I will probably have to cut the auger short, and glue on a socket to the end so that I can fit it between the battens, but that's no big

Rational Roothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09548699235171215976noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36533422.post-85196183351856854782009-08-16T06:52:00.001-07:002009-08-16T07:05:25.034-07:00

I've started to fit the foreward sections of the hull.Both the aft sections are now glued, screwed, and trimmed (Since I took the photo above)The squares of plywood are used as Giant washers.

Rational Roothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09548699235171215976noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36533422.post-84217638523206996572009-08-10T03:19:00.000-07:002009-08-10T08:04:09.207-07:00

I just held the camera under the boat.The unplaned wood is the building frame and there is an oak plank in the top left corner of the pic.

Rational Roothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09548699235171215976noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36533422.post-23106833801899441572009-08-09T13:22:00.000-07:002009-08-10T01:46:46.266-07:00

Remember me posting "Note to self: I still have the limbers to cut." back about here. Well I was busy congratulating myself on a nicely glued up panel, trimmed and all, when I realised I'd entirely forgotten about the limber holes in the battens and keel.I've been on the forums and had lots of advice, from "you don't really need them" to various ways of fixing the problem. I've cut the limbers

Rational Roothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09548699235171215976noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36533422.post-86737025497632107182009-08-06T04:39:00.001-07:002009-08-06T05:55:45.767-07:00

The oak battens, chine and keel that I was going to glue the aft bottom panel to were all tarnished from just being open to the air. It took most of the first evening and 3 belts (40 grit) on my belt sander to remove all the tarnish and leave nice clean wood to glue up. New belts are cheaper than the added time it takes when you persist in using a dead one, and dead ones burnish a surface.

Rational Roothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09548699235171215976noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36533422.post-66918285273075598472009-08-03T04:36:00.001-07:002009-08-05T07:41:54.493-07:00

One thing to note is that if you run the power planer at 90 degrees to the scarf, some of the plies come off as long splinters than quickly block the vac outlet. Run at 45 degrees and your vac will get most of the rubbish. When the vac outlet blocks up it's not subtle, suddenly there's bits everywhere.The scarf joints are now cut, so I guess next up is to glue the aft panels in place, they don't

Rational Roothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09548699235171215976noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36533422.post-22080999829416108122009-07-31T04:21:00.000-07:002009-07-31T04:28:57.767-07:00

I spent last night marking up and cutting out the forward part of the panels for the bottom of the hull.I made up some patterns from scraps of ply to rough cut them (holding an 8'x4' panel against the hull to mark it off is not all that practical)They are now clamped to the hull, with a few strategic clamps, and a few truckers hitches pulling the plywood into the required shape. I'll tighten

Rational Roothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09548699235171215976noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36533422.post-4033372907709869472009-07-31T04:08:00.000-07:002009-07-31T04:21:45.417-07:00

I do like my eyes, not so much the charming boyish blue colour, but rather the whole seeing thing. It's pretty useful. They are however, not quite perfect, so I need glasses, and when I am working with high speed thingies like routers, or power saws, I need goggles over my glasses, and then it all steams up and I spend more time cleaning goggles and glasses than working on the boat.Glasses on

Rational Roothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09548699235171215976noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36533422.post-27121644059149516272009-07-20T04:21:00.000-07:002009-07-20T04:22:03.275-07:00

Not mine, though some day I will finish and I will post sailing videos of my own.....This is a Glen L 14 in Vancouverhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2oGMgpFavT0http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MRHpvXpFFmU

Rational Roothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09548699235171215976noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36533422.post-71771968449909046132009-07-13T04:52:00.001-07:002009-07-13T13:44:53.092-07:00

I've started the bottom planking.2 sheets of 8x4 are now rough cut on the outsides, and fitted at the keelson.You can see the work in progress hereWhen you place an 8x4 sheet up on the boat, and try to line up one side with the keel, you quickly notice that since the hull is curved the edge of the ply does not line up nicely with the center of the keel. A quick snap of a chalk line, or just

Rational Roothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09548699235171215976noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36533422.post-35680391792378939552009-07-10T01:00:00.000-07:002009-07-10T01:11:41.774-07:00

When you put in temporary screws to hold everything together while the epoxy kicks, you really should oil or wax the screws so that the epoxy cannot stick to them. Otherwise you will break off two screws about half way down and leave steel bits embedded in the oak frames well out of reach, and then spend the next hour heating each screw with a gas powered soldering iron to soften the epoxy so

Rational Roothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09548699235171215976noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36533422.post-59800764833558094782009-07-09T04:13:00.000-07:002009-07-09T04:19:13.850-07:00

The battens are now glued and temporarily screwed in place. Deck screws, and large washers pull everything together while it all sets up. In a day or so, I'll pop out the deck screws, and redrill the holes and countersinks, and then pop in the Bronze screws.I've epoxy coated all the areas that won't be accessible when the skin goes on, and the block and tackles still hold down the ends of the

Rational Roothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09548699235171215976noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36533422.post-38675859800828585902009-07-05T14:33:00.001-07:002009-07-05T14:43:24.087-07:00

That was about all I got this weekend, but it was still progress.Here you can see me checking that the ply will sit nicely across the battens, and if you look closely at the outside batten, you can see the end is tidied up, it's curved, tapered and clamped down to induce a suitable curve in it.I have the last batten sanded on the inside - I won't bother sanding the the outside where it will be

Rational Roothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09548699235171215976noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36533422.post-49761991163922433152009-07-03T04:15:00.000-07:002009-07-03T04:23:31.388-07:00

The forward frame is basically done. A decent Rasp makes life easy. And a sheet of carbon copy paper put inbetween the batten and the notch lets you mark high spots for rasping.I clamped a large scrap peice of ply in place at the forward frame/stem to make sure that it would all sit nicely.Next I have to glue and screw them the battens in place.I have a tiny block and tackle in place to pull down

Rational Roothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09548699235171215976noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36533422.post-66320347695435939232009-06-29T04:36:00.000-07:002009-06-29T04:46:37.464-07:00

On thing that I have realised, is that the second frame, which has a cross piece that goes through the building scaffold is going to make things kind of fun when I get to rolling the boat.I had initially thought I'd just disconnect the boat from the scaffold before putting on the bottom ply skin, and the weight would keep it in place, then I'd lift it off the scaffold and turn it.While looking

Rational Roothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09548699235171215976noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36533422.post-40431036678418119882009-06-29T04:25:00.000-07:002009-06-29T07:56:25.960-07:00

I got a good bit done this weekend. The fitting at the transom is done.All the battens are now trimmed to their final length and tapered, the two pairs of battens that continue forward of the front frame are tapered by thickness as well as by width. The other pair required less bending so they are only tapered width ways.I tapered the thickness of the battens on the surface that will be inside

Rational Roothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09548699235171215976noreply@blogger.com0