Andrew

Richard I've just put my keel together with a product called Purbond, its a polyurethane glue that goes on as a clear yellow gel and reacts with the moisture in the wood and then 'bubbles' and expands to fill in any gaps. It worked really well, the only problem being that the keel must be clamped fairly hard or the expansion of the glue will force the keel apart. I did mine by laying it flat and putting half a dozen breeze blocks (cement bricks) on top of it - it cured in 10 hours at 4 degrees celcius (about 35F) Andrew

Hi all Just to let you know ('cause I know your all waiting on this news NOT). I glued and screwed the keel yesterday I checked it this am and it's cured - so now I have to sand down ALL the rough spots Ah well another day in paradise

Hi all I don't know if any of you have checked out the Project Gutenberg site, its a collection of 'out of copyright' e-texts and they're free (Cap'n cheap strikes again!) Two of my faves are Moby dick (tough reading) and Sea Wolf Andrew

Hi Can anybody clarify the plan for the rudder for me? I'm just trying to loft it and the two curves at the bottom of the rudder are labelled with a four inch and eight inch radius curves. I can only get it to fit if I use a 2" and 4" radius curve Do they actually mean 4" and 8" DIAMETER? Thanx Andrew

Hi all I am thinking of making the deck around the cockpit a little thinner than is shown in the plans by about 2" each side. This I hope will give me an extra 4" or so to move around in in the cockpit. What I would like to know is wether I have to adjust the size of the lazarette at all? I can see in the plans that I will have to alter the 'holes' in the cabin bulkhead where my seats will be a little shorter, but the plan isn't very clear about the lazarette. It suggests that the lazarette is big enough to reach behind the seats and seat backs, but that it doesn't reach the hull sides. So I guess what I'm really after is does the lazarette have at least a 2" clearance behind the seat and seat backs so that I can 'use' this space? Thanx Andrew

Barry Other than looking rooly funky, do the grates perform any function? Why are they there? PS Has anyone ever thought of mounting their anchor on or near the bow of the weekender? Andrew

Phil I have seen your cleats on your site and that was one of the main drivers for me doing mine (and its cheap!). PS I like your 'new' steering clutch - do you have a spare one I could have?

Very nice Chad I'm just starting my first jam cleat in Meranti (mahogany), what knives did you use? I'm stuck with a crappy 'hobby' knife 'till pay day comes round!

Richard You might like to check the FAQ page, because the plans are a little misleading about the dimensions of the deadwood. The FAQ will explain all to you Andrew

Buying graph paper - 'not for me!' says Cap'n cheap - I have a much more devious way of aquiring such things..... When I am in need of such, I wait 'till I'm at work - fire up Visio and plot a n by n grid using whichever measuring scale I choose, then print it on laser up to A3 size et voila 'cheap' graph paper (its also great for the kids school work!)

When I was young, living in the UK, I used to help? my father in his shed. Many a time he would ask me to hand him the 5/8 open ended spanner or the 7/16 socket. I understood that the fractions were measurements, but didn't have a clue why the sizes seemed to go up then down 1/4 - 3/8 - 7/16 - 1/2. Then at school I learnt all about the metric system and what a joy it was. Everything was in powers of 10 and decimals of 10. No more fooling with those fractions :x now I could use .25 and .775 :? and they seemed to just 'click' with me and my calculator - and so it went on through my (modest) home renovations. But now, having read the weekender plans dozens of times, buying myself an Imperial 'yard stick' and lofting the keel (3 times just to be sure :? ) I'm starting to lapse back into this OLD! system. I've just finished drawing a design for my cleats that I'll be hand carving and found that paper ruled to 1/4 inch squares seems to 'fit' with the designing process better that the 1 mm sheet I tried with earlier in the day (and just couldn't seem to get right). I was wondering... (and my US friends will be of very little help here) is anyone else in metric land suffering from the same 'relapse', or is it a 'boat' thing? Maybe I'm just getting swept up in the whole nostalgic feeling of building my own boat - or maybe the system 'just works'. Andrew

Sorry :oops: , I should have included this picture... [attachment over 4 years old deleted by admin]

Trey When you moved the cockpit to the hull sides, did you have to re-inforce the hull at all? I guess another way of asking this question is, does the deck provide support for the hull and what have you done now its not there? It sounds like an easy way to make some room in the cockpit Andrew

Well I don't have a lot of info (I'm still haven't made the first cut!!) Keel is Oregon from Oregon Timber Supplies in Fyshwick, OK service OK price and they gave me an extra 9' of wood that they would have had left over. Epoxy is from AusCraft who sell the Boat-Cote range of Epoxy, Service is a little haphazzard but he is a one man band in the ACT - price is good. Plywood from Mr Ply and Wood in woolongong - price is OK and the service was excellent (they asked me lots of questions!) - its just a little out of the way Thats about it for now - except Cap'n Cheap has struck and I am using an unknown wood salvaged from pallets (not the pine ones) for lots of little stuff. Plenty of 1" x 3" and 2" x 3" by about 3' long - some of it is fairly ordinary, but some has a lovely 'aged' look. I'll let you know more as I spend the money. Andrew

Fantastic stuff fellas Thanx to both the Aussies and kiwis :wink: I suppose I should post my info soon - probably later today, and then I'll get something together for Frank to add to the FAQ page. What is it with the sandgropers? (my assumption from the reference to Mandurah), must be the same thing in the water as in the ACT, with Shane and Simon over there and me and SeaEagle over here (I'm ex WA)!! Keep it coming Andrew

Do it Mike It will be a lot easier for you/all involved especially for us 'foreigners' - deciding if we have NTSC or PAL videos. :? Having said that, will the DVD be 'zoned' or will it play in any country? - It would also be easier to watch while building in the shed with the laptop Andrew

Simon This is exactly the information I'm looking for - the guide will mainly be for any newbies who don't know where to start! This will (hopefully) give them a little handholding for the first couple of weeks, 'till they get their feet wet. I am in no way endorsing this list as the 'complete Stevensons boatbuilding guide to Australia' (Hmmmm, maybe a best seller in the waiting ) just a place to start from Thanx Andrew

Thanx Frank I'll try to limit the slanderous comments and personal attacks to those who post on the forum :shock: Just joking fellas!! I'll let you know just as soon as I've got something for you. Andrew

Trey I found that if I right click the doco and save it to my hard disk it works fine! - maybe it the way its being accessed from the site. Andrew

Hi all As temporary, unofficial, self appointed, co-ordinator of no other builders in Australia :wink: I was wondering if we could start a small database of materials that we use (instead of the US naming) and a list of suppliers who we use ('cause they're great/cheap) and a list of suppliers we don't use ('cause they're a pain/expensive). This would be a great way to help any future Aussie builders - and at least put them 'on track' with some pointers so that they don't have to start hitting the yellow pages for their area and deciphering those crazy US woods. I don't know if Wayne/Buck want to do something similar for our Kiwi cousins - or they just want a single AU/NZ list - fellas I'll let you have a think about that. So if you want to voice your opinions and if it seems moderately possative then I'll post an e-mail address where you can start to drop the info. Just as an aside - Frank (if your reading this) how goes it for the site (legally) if I start posting messages like 'don't use xyz shop because they don't know what a boat is!' etc.? Thanx all Andrew

Ahhhh, I can see the modification now.... It's another one of those square fronted cabins!

GREEEEN with envy and FULL of admiration for all you builders who are well on your way to getting there!! I've just lofted the keel and seeing shots of where I will be in the not too distant future only spurs me on to get there sooner. So keep it up guys and keep the photos rolling in (that doesn't screw around with the site too much does it Frank?). It gives ME and I guess all the other wannabes the push to be where you're at! A

I'm certainly glad I asked... I feel like I must be on the right track (still haven't made the first cut yet - the wood arrives tomorrow!!) Most of my sailing will be in fresh water - with the odd trip to the coast, so the external oak rail appeals

I know...I know...I'm getting waaay ahead of myself again, but I'm pricing up how much this boat is going to cost :shock: . I seem to recall that Phil put a heavier fibreglass cloth along his keel (24oz??) to reinforce it. I was wondering if the heavier cloth is worth the cost (small as it is), does it provide any more protection? and if it does would anyone have any comments about a stainless steel fairing being epoxied to the front of the keel and then fibreglassing over the top of this? I realise that the fairing is probably a little 'over the top' :roll: but being the landlubber that I am, I worry that if I damage the keel front then the whole keel may need replacing if water gets in there :cry: Maybe I can turn her into an 'ice-breaker'? that could come in handy in a couple of months in Canberra Thanx Andrew

Barry Thanx again for the 'indepthness' of your response - you're making my boat stronger, if not quicker to build . Be warned - these are only the questions I've got BEFORE I start building!!!