Dave R1

Last year, when I made new standing rigging for my Weekender (because I got new turnbuckles that were a different length) I used the swages from Duckworks. I added pieces of vinyl (Tygon) tubing over the turnbuckles. The I.D. is large enough that air can circulate and water won't stay in. I slipped the tubing down over the end of the chain plates and that helps keep the turnbuckles aimed upward so they can't stick at an awkward angle when raising the mast. You can see that tubing here:

I can believe that.

Wow! That sounds like a ride. Glad you made it safely.

Steve, to whom was that directed? Me? If so, I did make it back with about 10 minutes to get the boat parked and covered. We got the downpour here in Rochester before you guys did. I'm surprised there was any water left in those clouds after they dumped here. Looks like you guys had a pleasant evening though. Peter's photos made it look nice anyway. Hopefully we can get there in July. The way the summer is looking, who knows?

Bob, that is indeed a nice boat. I think you should leave her finished bright as you have it.

With the recent purchase of a larger keel boat, I reluctantly offer Julie K for sale. I don't anticpate using her as much as she should be used and would rather she go to someone who will use her. Launched in 2003, she's been well cared for and updated. Hull is fiberglassed to the lower rubrails. cabin sides and cabin bulkhead are also fiberglassed. Deck and cabin roof are 3/8" lauan ply. The boat has never leaked a drop. The hatch covers are of lauan and mahogany with no exposed hardware to snag lines. Hardware is all Harken, Racelite or custom-made stainless steel. Running rigging is StaSet-X double braid and al hayards are lead back to the cockpit. Sails can be handled from the safety of the cockpit so there's no need to be on deck of on the cabin roof. Standing Rigging is stainless with stainless turnbuckles. Mast is three feet taller than the plans called for. This was to allow better spacing of the hardware aloft and to allow the boom to be raised 9". Raising the boom this much prevents cockpit occupants from getting smacked in the head during tacking and also allows for better visibility. Tanbark sails from Duckworks were new last year. Jib has luff wire for roller furling. A new hollow birdsmouth gaff was made for the new sails. New steering wheel and rudder box were made this spring. The wheel is of cherry and maple with multiple coats of spar varnish and a turk's haed on the king spoke. New rudder box was built to allow use of new Racelite gudgeons. These work better than the original eyebolt arrangement and the rudder box can be removed without using tools if desired. Auxiliary power from a Minn-kota 47lb thrust motor which was new in 2005. Battery mounts in forepeak for better balance. Trailer is a Karavan KB1250-50 rated for a 1250 lb boat. Custom canvas cover for trailering and storage. More pictures here: Weekender For Sale The boat has always been stored indoors during the winter and I always keep additional plastic tarps over the boat during the summer when the boat is sitting at home. I am asking $5000 Contact me through Messing-About or at drkr4109 at gmail dot com

Boy, you're full of excuses aren't you? I understand. Hopefully we'll see you next year, then.

http://www.iowadnr.com/parks/state_park_list/emerson.html Try this Greg. Shouldn't you be getting on the road for the Lake Pepin Messabout?

Greg, I used 12mm Baltic Birch plywood. I had it on hand and the only locally available alternatives would have been run of the mill fir ply compete with all the voids and so on. I used a cherry stain which looked pretty close in the store to the trim piece I took in. Then I put on four coats of spar urethane on both sides.

Just thought I'd make a report. The new bulkhead is installed--it went more easily than I thought--and the little rotten piece of teak I found under the bow pulpit mount has been replaced. The chainplate is reinstalled and has been caulked. Hopefully well enough to keep out the rain. While I was working on the boat the fellow who owned it before the folks we bought it from walked by. He recognized the boat immediately. He and a partner have a C30 now they've been working on. We almost would have been neighbors in the marina but my wife chose the slip closer to the shore.

Congratulations! And just in time for the messabout, too.

Well, I got started on the bulkhead replacement today. Here are some pictures to show some of the work. This is before getting started this morning. The top was simple to remove. I took out 7 screws and the fiddle and top trim pieces came right out as a single unit. Then it was a matter of removing the chainplate bolts, three other bolts and seven screws to remove the bulkhead. You can see the chainplate hanging there. all that was holding it in place was a bit of silicone sealant. No need to remove anything else. I haven't taken the pictures yet but the new bulkhead is cut out, drilled and stained. A few coats of spar urethane should get us through the summer anyway.

Good news. Thanks for sharing, Frank.

Well, actually I did glass the cabin sides and cabin bulkhead because they are 1/4" fir and 1/2" fir ply respectively. The deck and cabin roof are 3/8" lauan plywood and because the lauan doesn't seem to check like fir, I didn't glass those surfaces.

Greg, you're right, this chainplate and it companion on the other side pass through the deck and are bolted to the bulkheads. The other one is just fine fortunately. I say that because that bulkhead is larger as it separates the head from the saloon. Funny thing is that the chainplate for the lower shroud just bolts through the deck and is much smaller. Wait'll we're ready for the next larger boat and buy this one.

Greg, I know the plywood is expensive and I probably won't use teak ply. The bolts you see in the pictures are the mounting bolts for the upper shroud chainplate so it is structural. I don't think it's worth the risk of having a rigging failure to skimp on the bulkhead.

It's a Catalina 27 I thought I'd show my new project. I haven't started on it yet but I will this weekend. From the outside. First orders of business are to replace a little piece of wood blocking under a washer up in the forepeak And then replace a rotted bulkhead to which the port upper shroud attaches. And finally for this season, acttack the failed finish on an exterior rail.

I only glassed to the bottom of the lower rubrails. The space in between rails has some epoxy but is mainly painted. No checks after about 5 years. I do keep the boat covered when it is on the trailer and the cover comes down over that area so it is protected from the sun most of the time.

I've been pondering selling my Weekender lately. Mixed feelings about it and I don't quite know what I want for her. If you think about what you have invested in the big stuff, it's pretty easy to get the number up higher than you think.

I also drilled and tapped cured epoxy. This works nicely but if it isn't a through hole you have to drill the hole a bit deeper than you need so you can tap it far enough down. Don't get the vaseline too thick if you stick the screws into the epoxy before cure. You need the epoxy to form to the screw's threads and not around a blob of pertroleum jelly.

Thanks guys. Norm, I don't know how much lead for zero bouyancy. I guess I could figure it out for you. What wood do you plan to use for a rudder? For my rudder I used two packages of decoy weights. I suppose the rudder weighs three or four pounds but I don't know for sure.

I thought I'd add another modification to the list. When I was building Julie K I put a stern hatch in so I could get access to the steering mechanism. I decided on a center hatch instead of putting hatches off to the sides as some have done. I wanted a low profile hatch with no exposed hardware to snag the sheet or other lines. To hold the hatch down I ended up with a couple of small bungee cords hooked to screw eyes on the underside of the hatch cover. This spring I had to make a new hatch and the following sketch shows how I did that. The cover is a piece of 1/4" ply expoxied to a couple of pine rails that were cut to match the curve of the deck. I drilled holes in the rails and ran a piece of nylon cord through them. The bungees hook on the cord to hold the hatch cover in place. The hatch stays down just fine but can be removed even with one hand if needed. If there were ever a failure of the steering mechanism I have quick access to the stub tiller to steer the boat.

Hi Joel, Thanks. I hope it works as well as it looks. It is built almost to the plans, two pieces of plywood for the cheeks separated by some 7/8" thick stock so the 3/4" thick rudder will fit in between. All I changed wa the shape on the upper part and the mounting hardware. By the way, there are tee nuts mounted in shallow counterbores on the inside of the box for the lower, aft-most mounting screws. I used 1/2" long screws so they don't protrude into the the space where the rudder swings. Since the picture was taken I drilled for the other fastener for the rudder gudgeons. I'm through bolting there. I think I'd go with a wrap around gudgeon on the bottom but these flat ones are nice for the top one.

Sometimes I wish I'd done as Bill did. I like his boat without the cabin. Here's a new modification for the list. I built a new rudder box for Julie K this year. I changed the shape a bit and eliminated the gap between the cheeks. On the old box, that space was always getting dirty and wet. It was almost impossible to paint and it seemed fairly useless. I also have new gudgeons which replace the eyebolts. I just got the rudder box mounted this morning and not all the screws were installed. There appears to be less slop in the movement and with the use of stainless clevis pins the box is quick to install and remove. I also use a clevis pin to attach the stub tiller to the steering mechanism so removal of the box requires no tools. The gudgeon hardware is new from Duckworks. It was made by Racelite with input from Chuck Leinweber and myself. Chuck had a limited run of these made thinking other weekender builders might like this alternative. I'm not sure that they show on the Duckworks site yet but I'm sure they can be purchased with an e-mail to him. Here's a shot of the box on the boat. By the way, I weighted the rudder with lead. I used lead strips sold as decoy weights embedded in epoxy. There's no problem with gaps around the edges of lead as there typically is when you melt lead and pour it into the cavity. The weight elimnates the need for the downhaul. I have a hole drilled through rudder and box for a pin that holds the rudder up which is easily installed when needed. The rudder pivot is another clevis pin pasing through bronze bushings in the rudder box and rudder so there's minimal wear in the pivot joint.

Thank you gentlemen. Kari did say she liked it. Especially since it is for "her boat". :shock: