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jalmberg

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About jalmberg

  • Birthday 11/24/1953

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    Huntington NY

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  1. Battens are one of those things that professional boat builders take for granted, I think. They've seen them since their first apprentice days, know what they look like, their different sizes, which batten is right for which curve, and on and on. Not so for we poor amateurs trying to learn boat building out of books. I must admit they are still a bit of a mystery to me. Such a simple tool. So important. So easy to break! Read blog post: Battered By Battens Clear wood: John
  2. That's one word for it. I broke two battens today, trying to loft one of the buttocks. Not fun! Guess I need a 1/4" batten for that tight curve. As Scarlett said, tomorrow is another day...
  3. Yeah, I would like a picture of her under sail. Next summer I'm going to finally put her topsail up and have someone take a picture. Broke two battens today. Grrrr. -- John
  4. So what is a lofting board for? For lofting, of course. Lofting is the process of blowing up the relatively small-scale plans you get from your naval architect (in my case, from William Atkin), into full size plans. This process is thought to be so complicated that many modern architects supply full-size plans to eliminate the need for lofting. Just roll out the plans and start building. But if you don't know how to loft, you can't build about 98% of boats, because full-size plans aren't available. Plus, you miss out on all the fun of lofting, which really is a kind of relaxing exercise, once you have all your hair torn out... Read blog post: The Grid Fair Lines: John
  5. I have no friends? That is so sad...

  6. I thought I'd start this thread for anyone interested in watching a relative newbie build a traditional round-bottom boat... The goal is to build the William Atkin designed "Vintage" in time for the "I Built It Myself" show at the Wooden Boat Show in Mystic, CT. Why "Vintage"? Several reasons. First, I think it's time I tackled a round-bottom boat. Again, I think this is a project that is way above my current skill level, but I'm a real believer in the adage that people can do more than they think they can. Just because I doubt my ability to build such a complicated boat, is no reason to not do it. Sounds weird, right? Ah well... Read Blog Post: Building "Vintage" Fair Curves: John
  7. But I don't want to hijack the thread with my problems. Here's the pics I mentioned: Before: After: After a couple weeks of sailing, I added another coat on the deck with non-skid additive. Less shiny, but a heck of a lot safer. Live and learn... -- John
  8. Software... tell me about it (26 years in the business, and counting.) That's why I like building boats. It keeps me from tearing my hair out.
  9. I grew up sailing modern fiberglass boats, so it was a big change to learn how to sail a gaffer (a Tom Gilmer "Blue Moon" yawl.) I thought it would be more or less the same, and it is, but there are some significant differences. I learned a lot by volunteering on a historic gaffer in my area (the "Christine" oyster boat), and watching/learning from her experienced captain, and I also found the Tom Cunliffe book "Hand, Reef, and Steer" very useful for learning and understanding the finer points of sailing a gaff rigged boat. Highly recommended. -- John
  10. Hey Steve, I'm a big Atkin fan, and in fact live in the town (Huntington, NY) where William had his first boat shop in 1906. I've built his "Cabin Boy" skiff and am working on the round bottom "Vintage" sailing dinghy. Great boats, in my opinion. Good to see another well-built model on the water. -- John
  11. Ah, I get it. This should do it, then
  12. Ah, so the bumps were there before you painted over them. H'mmm. My wife and I faced this problem when we were painting our boat. The deck had probably 6 coats of paint on them, some better than others. As a result, large chunks were peeling off. We chipped and sanded and tried to fair off the 'craters', but eventually, we bit the bullet and sanded down to bare wood, or nearly so. I can't seem to post a clickable link, but there are some pics on my blog, unlikelyboatbuilder.com. I'll post them if I can, later. I think it was worth the effort, and it was probably less total work than trying to 'fair' with paint. Helps to have a helper, though! -- John
  13. I also use Rustoleum, but just the 'normal' stuff, not the Marine paint. From what I can tell, this is just regular old alkyd oil paint. I used it on my Atkin-designed dinghy (over an oil primer) and it held up well on an 8 month, 2000 mile voyage, where the dinghy was towed the whole way. That said, I can't quite figure out why you need to strip it off. Why can't you just sand it and re-paint? I'm missing that part. -- John
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