Steve Day

Rob, Looks like you had a good time. It's really fun to be way out front like that. I especially enjoyed your photos. A lot of nice looking boats and (I'm sure) great people. Thanks for the update. Steve

Well, it has finally happened! I got the boat assembled today and set it up completely. Here are a couple of pictures of the boat on cradles in front of the hangar. Now, all I need now is water. I took it apart after the pictures and put the finish coat of paint on the outside of the aft hull. The shots show the Barrier Kote on the aft hull. You might be able to see the difference in color between the two hulls if you look closely. We are taking the boat to use her with "Day's Dream" in Alabama next weekend. Should be a lot of fun! I'll have some pictures after the trip. Here are a couple of shots of her in the rowing configuration and the sailing configuration. Steve [attachment over 4 years old deleted by admin]

Konrad, Those are great thoughts. Takes me back to the days when mine were young. No more for us, but a grandchild wouldn't be all bad, would it? :wink: With your permission, I will send these thought to my two kids, who are 28 & 27. Thanks for the bright spot this morning. Steve

Hey, how about this? I got the inside of the after hull paint finished. It was the first thing I did today and I got to the point where I could put the oarlocks on just before I went home. Took the pics after I put the oarlocks on and I set the two "handhole" covers in place. The paint looks great and the non-skid is pretty cool! I was also able to get the first coat of the Barrier Kote in place on the outside of the forward hull today. This also looks nicer than I expected. Continued to varnish on the boom. Had a really good day - just too short. Here are two pics that I promised yesterday. Steve [attachment over 4 years old deleted by admin]

Had pretty good day today. Got the first color coat on the inside of the after hull this afternoon. Put non-skid in it to boot. It looks pretty good, if I do say so myself. Also epoxied the strips together for the centerboard trunk plug. We're getting closer! Pics to come after tomorrow's work. Steve

Boy, you do nice work, Charlie! I really like the little storage locker under the coaming. Is there one on each side? That looks like one fine boat. I'm looking forward to seeing more of her as you move toward the launching. Keep up the great work and keep showing a picture every now and then. We love the "teasers." Steve

And, if you have a cruising boat out on blue water, you might even have all of that led back to the cockpit to keep you off the weather deck while you are at sea. I have two sets of jiffy reefs on "Day's Dream" for the racing sail which are both led to the cockpit. Really cool, and probably needed, but we have not flown the racing main yet and probably won't until we take the boat off charter. The previous owner rigged the boat for offshore racing and put a lot of "bells and whistles" on her. Great stuff, but not what you want to have a bare boat charterer messing with. Steve

Captain Jake! Your boat is just beautiful. From your descriptions, you were able to relax and enjoy the experience of the launching and maiden voyage. What a great feeling of pride you must have with that boat and how well she looks and behaves. I'll bet she was a star at the wooden boat show. I'm sure she got looked at and photographed by nearly everyone there. Now, go out and enjoy her. Reap the reward that you richly deserve for such a fine construction job. Steve

Dave, What a great thing you have done with the cradle. The pictures bring home the reason for doing such a fine job. My dad and I built a crib for my son just before he was born and this brings back a lot of memories. thank you for sharing your project and showing the fine results. It appears the dog has taken up a guard position. How does he/she react to the baby so far? Steve

Ray, Yes, it does stink! :!: :!: Yes, I too, wear a respirator and the hangar is well ventilated. However, it appears to do the job very well. I am pleased with the results, so far. Steve

Well, I was able to get a little paint on the inside of the Spindrift this weekend. I put a coat on Friday evening and another today. I was involved in an electric car race all day Saturday and was unable to work on the boat. I'm using the Interlux 404/414 two part "Barrier-Kote." It is interesting stuff. The color part is pretty thick, but by the time that you mix the activator and the thinner, it is quite easy to apply with a roller and/or brush. I found the roller to be a lot easier as the brush tends to streak a bit if you get heavy handed. The primer sands quite well and it appears the surface will look pretty good after I get into the color (finish) coats. I plan to use the non-skid on the inside of the boat. Getting into and out of a dink from the mother boat is hard enough without adding a slick surface inside the dink to the equation. :wink: Here are a couple of shots of the boat taken this afternoon after the 2nd coat of primer. The clamps are being used to epoxy the seat supports to the sides of the hull. I remembered them after the first coat of primer, but was able to sand off the primer in that area to 'clean' epoxy and get them glued in place. :oops: Steve "God doesn't take away from man's life span the time he spends sailing" [attachment over 4 years old deleted by admin]

Jake, I have followed your threads for some time now and feel I have gotten to know you a bit in the process. Launch day is always a big deal for the builder. Enjoy yourself! This is the culmination of a lot of work and time. Remember, a little of the wine for the boat, and the rest for the participants and onlookers. This is supposed to be a party! I wish I could share in this happy event personally, but I anticipate the photos and will be there in spirit. May she float fair and sail well. Showing her off at the show is a really cool way to start her career on the water. I envy you. Steve

I'm not sure this will apply to your boats, but I think it will. On my Beneteau (yes, I own a production boat) I have put a Turk's Head on the spoke of the wheel that is straight up when the rudder is amidships. I can easily feel the position of the rudder without having to look at the wheel and it looks kind of "salty." Since the wheel on that boat goes around about 1-1/4 to 1-1/2 times from lock-to-lock, I have a pretty good idea how much rudder angle I am carrying as I sail. If it gets to be too much, I start adjusting things to get the boat in balance. You might give it a try. It should work even if the wheel goes around multiple times from lock-to-lock. Steve

Good point, Tyler. I think you are correct. Perhaps there is something you can do with Tyler. Steve

I used to fly a sailplane around Florida and into North Carolina on occasion. The sailplane had a "G" meter on it to measure the loading we put on it while flying. The meter also measured the "G" forces in the trailer when we towed the sailplane on the road. We always found it hard to believe the numbers we saw when we took the aircraft out of the trailer. On the order of +9 and -6! There are a lot of short duration loads that get put on a boat while on the trailer. I would highly recommend you not have the motor in place on the boat while towing. This is why a lot of the bass boats with those really large motors have a support running from the foot of the motor directly to the trailer. To save the transom. Steve

Just wait a day or two. At the rate that Adla builds boats, it won't take much more than that! Adla, You're really moving along. You go, girl! Steve

My family's boats have all been named "DayDream" (Dad and I had 8 of them over the years). When we bought the present boat, we wanted to Document her and went through a list of documented boats to see if any other boats were named "DayDream." As it turned out there were two, but there were none named "Day's Dream." We chose "Day's Dream." If you know my last name, you can see the reason for these names. I am probably going to name the Spindrift I am building "Little Dreams." I thought it fit the situation. I sure like some of the names and reasons I have seen in this thread. Great going! BTW, "Ploas" is the one for you, Kudzu. You should fit the boat for oars even if you put a motor on it. Steve (I never thought I would get to 100 messages when I started here.)

Greg, Glad to hear you are getting a round TUIT. You have been busy with the Amphora and other projects, but you talked about being ready to build the Spindrift when I started mine in September. I have taken entirely too long with mine, but am getting very close to painting her. I am sanding and fitting seats, etc. right now and hope to get her ready to take to the big boat over Memorial Day weekend. I have managed to get all of my bright finished parts varnished, except the boom, which I am doing again because of a poor choice of wood on the first piece. I have thoroughly enjoyed my project and want to do another. That will probably wait until I move south to get to a better shop situation. Steve

Garry, Outages are like that. They take the stuffings out of a person, and.... we aren't getting any younger, are we? I put lines on the boom sections where the bushings were supposed to be and worked with the lines. It wasn't very hard, just be careful as you wrap the tape to keep the edge reasonably near the line. The bushings fit snug, but not tight. I used calipers to measure the outside diameter of the bushings and sanded lightly to get the final fit after laying them up slightly oversize. Here are some pictures of the bushings. Steve [attachment over 4 years old deleted by admin]

Garry, The reason you don't see the steps is that they were not there when the photos were taken. :oops: I really have completed them, just didn't take pictures after I finished. I'll try to get a couple of them tonight and post them. I'll be gone Friday and Saturday on the Spring Camporee with the Boy Scout Troop. Might get back to the boat on Sunday. Steve

One more picture of the gooseneck. Steve [attachment over 4 years old deleted by admin]

Garry, Here are the pictures I promised. They are of the bushings and the mast plug. More to come on another post. Steve [attachment over 4 years old deleted by admin]

Guys, Thanks for the compliments on the rudder and dagger board. I tried to use contrasting woods to show off the laminated look and it worked. Garry, I used a piece of pine for my boom. Went to the trouble of putting epoxy bushings into the wood to ensure that water wouldn't get in. It might not have been as clear as yours. Anyway, it was a little greener than I thought and took a little "wow" at one end as I was getting the epoxy coating on it. I went ahead and finished it clear in varnish, but I'm looking for a better piece of wood for the boom this afternoon. :oops: I did the fiberglass collars on the mast a few weeks ago. I roughed up the aluminum with 50 grit sandpaper, measured the length of the cloth to achieve the desired thickness and started to wind it on with the epoxy. They came out pretty good. I had to add a turn to one layup and had to sand all of them a bit to smooth them up and to get a good fit. All of them fit very well now. I was fortunate to have a metal lathe in the shop, so I chucked the sections up and turned them by hand to put the bushings on. It helped make things even, but it wasn't essential. The mast system is pretty cool, and I really like the concept of storing the sections inside each other. I also have the gooseneck fitting in place and glass tape epoxied on the mast to hold it in place. I'll try to get a couple of pictures for you, but that will be from the house - maybe this evening. Keep on keepin' on, Steve

My little Spindrift continues toward a launching, but there sure is a lot of sanding happening on her. :evil: I've put a lot of hours into the sanding and it is beginning to pay off. I have also been varnishing some of the parts and making good progress there. The rudder assembly and centerboard are complete! I'm hoping to get primer on the inside of the boat sometime this week or next. Hoping to launch in May. Here are a couple of shots of the rudder and the interior or the boat with filler applied. Also one of the whole boat on the horses. The white spots are dust showing up in the flash (sorry about that). Steve [attachment over 4 years old deleted by admin]

Ahhhh, a 50' Utility boat. What a great, seaworthy boat that is. I remember many a port of call on my Fleet Oiler, USS Chukawan (AO-100) using 40' Utility Boats to get to shore. You could pile a whole lot of sailors into the 40' boats, the 50's are even more capable. Typically, they are fiberglass construction and very stoutly built. If this one is typical it probably has anywhere from 6 to 20 coats of gray paint on it. You remember the line "If it moves, salute it; If it doesn't, paint it!"? I think all of the wooden U-boats were out of service about the time I was active in the Navy in the early 70's. If you need a good, stout work boat, this would be a logical choice. Unfortunately, I don't have a need for one and it is a long way from Nebraska. Not much water to float one here anyway. Steve