All Activity
This stream auto-updates
- Today
-
What about a stopper block insert for sailing? Definitely have to retrieve board all the way to haul onto traliler.
- Yesterday
-
You guys are awesome. Thank you.
-
I just started gluing my Spindrift 9 together yesterday. This is a great way to build a boat. Never had pre-cut parts before. Wow, sure makes building easy!
-
Test embed of a google album of Nick's CS-20 from this years messabout. https://photos.app.goo.gl/z3GXbdQNEERWDMMN8
-
I've got an album here that has some video of how I do it. I screw side 1 down to a scrap piece of flat 3/4" ply with plastic underneath. Then first coat with neat epoxy the edges of the fingers. Then, with fingers spaced about 1" apart, fill it up with thickened epoxy using a putty knife. Then push together then screw the second side down. Add screws if needed in specific spots to push a non-cooperative finger down. Don't squeeze between boards as this offers no way to A: ensure the fingers are lined up or B: clean up the squeeze out. This wastes a fair amount of glue but it's important to get 100% fill of the joint. If you have multiple finger joint lined up to do at once then you can re-use the squeeze out for the next one in line. https://photos.app.goo.gl/GSJM4KiecSW5upM86
-
Kinda interfere with your trailer keel rollers, though.
-
I love them! Easy to do and strong. I did glass over them in the 4mm ply. Sounds like those 2-1/2 # weights are the same as my "ducks" left over from my drafting days.
-
Thanks, Graham. I thought that a strip of tape was laid over the joint. This becomes very easy then.
-
Don, I am confused by the question as there is no glass involved in gluing the joint together. I prefer to call them finger scarfs rather than finger joints. Finger joints are typically parallel sided and equally spaced fingers. This means that roughly 50% of the joint is a butt joint which is not very strong. We used to use step scarfs which gave us a strong joint but the edges were vulnerable to handling and were often damaged by the time it was used. The other problem was quality control. We used 9 steps in 6mm ply which gave us steps of .013" . If the end of the sheet was not perfectly flat to the table the scarf was rejected which messes up a good sheet of ply. If a new shipment was 10 or 15 thousand's off in thickness our cut file did not work and we had to make another one until the next batch. Most of our competitors went to a puzzle joint. We tested them and realized that up to 2/3 of the joint was a butt joint. I made up all kinds of joints and tested them. I discovered the worst part with them is that to assemble, you have one part on the table and the other part is positioned above it's partner and lowered and pressed place. A lot of the glue gets squeezed out of the joint. When I cut the joint open I felt that if I was lucky, 60% to 70 % was effectively glued. The finger scarf edge gets loaded with glue and the joint is brought together horizontally compressing the glue and squeezing out the excess glue with 100% glue contact. While a small part of our finger scarf could be called a butt, it is minimized by keeping it to the bit diameter, typically 1/4". We have tested it on lots of different applications and it is working well. We like to think of it as scarf turned on it's side. we do not usually glass the joint at all. Any joint in 6mm ply is fine if you are going to glass the joint. As with all joints it is not perfect. It does not automatically align the joint. When the joint is brought together you need to look to see if there is any gap at the at the end of the fingers at one side of the joint. If there is, you need push the panels together with bias to the side that is open. On wide panels it is hard to get it wrong but if one is careless with narrow panels it could happen. Another possibility is that if the fingers are not in plane and level with each other when you bring the joint together, the wedge effect lock them together out of plane. Usually you can tap a piece of wood with a hammer over the fingers and massage them back to being level with each other. You do not need to use much force for the joint. The main thing is that 6mm ply is not perfectly flat and you are bringing two pieces together that need to be flat in the region of the joint. We have a bunch of 2 1/2# lead weights that we put down wherever they are needed. Clean off the excess glue and you should have a fine joint.
- Last week
-
Oops, I don't know why I thought the gybe story was about a CS 17. Obviously was confused. Yes, a Wayfarer would be different in a gybe, a lot.
-
This discussion has me thinking that I want to make my stopper block lower in the box. This would cause the c/b to always poke out of the slot a couple of inches— enough, maybe, to grab onto it if I were to turn turtle.
-
A friend is starting a Spindrift 12 kit build. We are both wondering about the details on how to assemble a finger joint. My quandary is how you get the bottom glass tape in place without messing up the joint. Can one of y’all please explain, and/ or provide photos? I’m sure she’ll be on this forum soon. But in the meantime, I’d like to know how this is done.
-
Hi Wommasehn, Thank you for the information on your ePropulsion spirit 1.0. I started reading about it on the internet today. Some nice features, and some good reviews so far. I'm waiting for more information on a U.S. dealer. Seems they are more expensive than the Torqueedo 1003 here, by almost +$1,000 US but that could be a "marketing" experiment. Will do more information searches. We were stationed in Bremerhaven, Germany 1966-69 and really enjoyed our stay. Please send us your impressions/reviews of the motor & battery when you have had a chance to use it for a while. Enjoy your boating and please keep safe, especially with the virus challenges. Rick
-
I would put this in the not likely category. The cleat that runs across the top is pretty thick and the sides are plywood. I can tell you that on my 20 the board sits below the slot. I may have a picture somewhere.
-
Regarding the invisible centerboard, I have a theory. The tip of the c/b on a mark 3 boat has approx 17# of lead on it. If the board was fully down, and the boat suddenly went turtle (say, from the prop wash of a helicopter), that 17# pendulum could come crashing down through the top of the c/b trunk. I wonder if this is what happened to that c/b. This worried me when building my BRS 15, since I went with a weighted c/b and no downhaul. I installed a block of oak at the top rear corner of my trunk. My swinging c/b would have to shear that block out, and knock the seat loose, if I turn turtle.
-
@Paul356– there is a big difference between a Wayfarer and a hard-chined cat ketch sailboat. The Wayfarer has a gigantic main and a small jib. That, coupled with its multi-chined hull makes for some delicate situations when gybing. If you are not ready for a gybe in a Wayfarer, you are going to get wet. Been there, got wet. The Wayfarer is a swell boat. It simply behaves a lot differently than a CS or BRS.
-
HEY! They DID have engines back then. But they had to figure out how to rig the paddle wheel that the big-ol' steam engine on such a little boat. I'm afraid I'll be done long before things are normal at the camp grounds. They're also closing down boat ramps, so it will even be hard to try the boat out. Next county up north of us is asking folks to stay home except for certain things---not including boating. I expect Henderson county will do the same. It will be awhile before Miss Debbie is recovered enough from a surgery to be able to lift even half a boat. Or climb in and out of it. I've already got the plans from the good folks at B&B for my next project, so I won't get bored.
-
Your location may have something to do with the lack of interest. But the country's situation makes things difficult to travel too, to even consider it and possibly meeting you somewhere close too. So don't be too outdone. I like it and if you were closer it would be a nice project to fill the time away awaiting for things to calm down in the country from the issues of the virus. I have a perfect engine for that boat too.
-
Wait a minute,, they had engines back when you were a kidling? Hopefully you will be able to use this in your intended use with your camper. Right now most of the public campgrounds are shut down. Maybe they will open up by the time you are ready.
-
Joe, There isn’t any “if” about loosing a fraction of [our] strength! It will happen, and in a major way, as we age — most noticeably approaching the 80s. Although I consider myself physically fit [for my 86 years] my strength has very much diminished since I started building Chessie 5 years ago. I haven’t actually measured it, but [for example] it is now impossible to standup from a squat (or even from sitting on a low stool) without arm assistance. So, for example, taking two-stair steps at a time requires [for me] a railing, preferably one on each side. Although I’m sailing Chessie solo for at least another season, I’m consciously approaching it at a slower less demanding pace. Sailors, especially skippers, should perform in-water re-boarding practice early each season. Without that, an full understanding of the physical challenge is not likely.
-
Don, I sent you a note on your site.
-
Don, After my reply on your post about the transom, the thread died. Since my suggestions are completely counter to the plan your took in repairing it, I expected some kickback. Instead there has only been silence. As an engineer, although not in structures, I am pretty certain that my thoughts on the forces involved are correct and that a knee as seen on many plans is the wrong way to handle this issue.
Even if the transom were strong enough to transfer the force through the knee to the keel, the result would be a hollow or hook in the bottom just where it would do the most harm. Such knees are a bad idea on a boat powered with an outboard.
Just wondering how this was seen by you and others as I certainly did not mean to shut down an active thread...............Tom
-
Meanwhile I have bought an Epropulsion spirit 1.0. I couldn’t try it out yet but it seems to have similar performance data to the Torqueedo 1003c except for the noise and it is considerably cheaper than the Torq. 1103c. See how it behaves. The battery can be connected by an extension so that its weight can be put in a less disturbing place
-
Mini 6.5s are required to paint their rudders and canting keel bright orange for easy spotting when capsized. Something to consider if you are sailing off shore or in races like the Everglades Challenge.
-
i remeber going to a boat race down in Good 'Ol Florida when I was a kidling, and the dealer for Boston Whaler was their and cut a boat in half with a chainsaw, and motored off in the back half.
