Steve Day

I would agree with Brent. At this point in the game, if the joint isn't right, there would be very little additional effort expended to make it right. It would help the process later in the game and ensure that the shape is fair on the hull. Stuart, Florida. How about that. I used to live there in a "previous life." I have been going to Stuart from where we lived in Boynton Beach since the early 50's, when my grandfather lived there. We used to go fishing out on the St. Lucie from Frasier Creek, where he kept his boat. Later, my wife and I moved there in 1974. we lived in the area for 20 years before we moved out here. I've spent a lot of time in that area flying and boating. Where is the Maritime Museum? Is that the one at the House of Refuge? Looks like you have a good project and will have a wonderful boat to sail the flats out there north of the inlet. Steve

Adla, I've always tried to keep a healthy balance between work and life. I think I have done OK, but every once in a while, I think I should have devoted more time to life and less to work. I'm very happy to see that you realized your path to the "dark side" and changed course to a better balanced lifestyle. We all need an outlet other than work. As I said before, it is fun to watch your progress. Keep up the good work and try to keep the epoxy out of your hair. Steve

Adla, You are truly amazing! You're progress on that boat is really fun to watch. I wish I had the time that you are devoting to the project. I'm humbled, since I started on my 10' Spindrift in September and you're now blowing past me like I'm standing still. :oops: And that is with you doing a much larger project. My hat is off to you. You appear to have been bitten by the boatbuilding bug REALLY HARD! Keep up the good work! Steve

Well, I got her together last evening. All of the bolt holes lined up just like they should and the boat looks pretty good. Started to work on the athwartships seat when I ran out of time and had to go to a meeting. Looks like it is going to turn cold for the long weekend and I won't be able to get any varnish, paint, or epoxy work done. :cry: However, it won't be too cold to sand, so maybe I'll still get some time with the boat. :wink: More pictures to come, but I keep leaving the camera at the hangar. :x Steve

Garry, You really do have those seats formed to fit the bow section. They look great. The athwartships seat/floatation box is impressive. That is where the extra two feet in length makes a difference. I don't think that would fit in my 10' boat. It's good to see you are still able to make progress while working an outage. I have been around power plants for most of my 30 years in the electric utility business and I know what outage work is like. I have been making a little progress, but there is little to show in a picture as most of it is sanding and filling at this point. I have the nesting bulkheads just about finished to where I can put the boat back together to continue fitting her out for the maiden voyage and, of course, sanding her for finish paint. Good to see you're still making progress. Steve

Hey Greg, While you are pondering other boats, are you ever going to build your Spindrift? I think mine will get wet in late April. Just depends on how much finish work I do before the maiden voyage. Steve

I got into this round of boat building with the Spindrift 10N. I had build three boats during my life, but this was the first "stitch & glue." I'm sold on the process now. From what I see on this forum and the B & B Forum, the Core Sound boats are a good choice. Lots of fun to build and lots of fun to sail. Maybe I'll try one in the future in my "retirement." We have a 40' Beneteau in Point Clear, Alabama and the Spindrift is going to be a tender for "Day's Dream" when we move down there. In the meantime, it will be a way for me to feed the sailing habit while in Nebraska. I doubt I need another boat right now. :cry: Steve

Kudzu, I have always had a soft spot for that type of boat too. My dad had a lapstrake inboard very similar to yours, but I believe it was a Lyman (sp?). We had a good time in that boat, but graduated to a larger boat after about a year. Unfortunately, I have never had enough money when I came across one or two of these in the past. Now that I might have the money, I haven't seen one for the "right price." I have always dreamed of finding one of the old mahogoney Chris Craft boats that were designed to look like the Gar Wood boats. In the meantime, I openly admire anyone who has been able to make one of the old girls look good and run well. You have a good looking boat and a fine story to tell about your boat. Thanks for sharing it with us. Steve

On our way out to Wyoming for the ski trip a couple of weeks ago we made our annual pilgrimage to Cabela's "home" store in Sydney, NE. I was looking around in the boating section and came upon a set of 7' oars for $25.00 each. That is just about half of what I was pricing them for at Boat US and West Marine. Needless to say, I snapped them up in a second or two. Having those in the back of the pickup on a ski trip elicited a few comments about my sanity, but what the heck. 8) At least I didn't have to pay for shipping. Now I have a couple of oar blanks epoxied together in the back of the hangar. I think I might finish them later, but for now they will remain as is. Got the oarlocks and sockets from West Marine. Steve

Garry, Lookin' good. However I must point out that is not the correct attitude for sailing. :wink: :wink: The boat looks pretty big in the living room. I was able to get the boom cut out, shaped, and epoxied. I located all of the hardware and drilled oversized holes and filled them with epoxy. That way I will drill the proper holes in the epoxy and protect the wood in the boom. Started to lay out the rudder cheeks last night. It is a lot easier to work on the boat now that it is light later and the temperature is more conducive to working with epoxy. More pics to come. Steve

Garry, I have to tell you, the after floatation compartments are almost perfect in size. When I put the bow section into the stern section, the floatation compartments just miss the hull by about 1/4" on each side. The two sections fit together almost perfectly. All in all, I'm glad I waited until now to saw it in half. Steve

The two guys with the table saw are really cool! (No pun intended)

Garry, Thanks for the tip. I remember that thread, but had forgotten the details. Steve

Mike, Those ice sculptures are fantastic! Is that what you do when the weather gets too cold for boating and boatbuilding? Steve

Oh boy! Those are two great looking boats! You folks should really be proud. Seeing those pictures makes me want to complete my project, and make sure it looks the best I can make it. Thank you both for the excellent inspiration. Steve

Klaus, The aluminum strips on the bottom of the keel sound like a good idea. I suspect I will put some sort of rubrail strip on my keel too. Do you have additional skegs on your dinghy? If so, where? I have been thinking about sand, and rocks up here in Nebraska, abrasion on my boat. Maybe an additional skeg out near the chine on the bottom would be a good idea. What has been your experience? Thanks, Steve

Garry, I noticed you brought your rubrails around the stern a bit more than mine. I thought 6" to 8" was enough. The boat looks good! This is the fun part, when the creation comes together. The project for today is the boom and the rudder structure. I have the rudder blade done, but the remainder needs to be completed. I'm hoping to get the structure roughed out today. I might even rough out the tiller. Will show progress, if there is any. Steve

I had a pretty good day, but could only work until about noon as I had a funeral to go to this afternoon. I screwed up my courage and cut the boat in half today! It went a lot easier than I expected, but it does take a bit of a leap in faith. I've attached a couple of pictures of the boat being cut and in the nested position. I managed to get the outside seams sanded smooth, radii cut, taped, and epoxied. Also was able to epoxy both of the nesting bulkheads. The folks around here think I'm a bit of a lunatic to build a boat, but when I tell them I cut the boat in half, they look like they want to run away from me screaming. That just makes me want to get nearer to some real water where they just smile and shake their heads at us. More to come, Steve [attachment over 4 years old deleted by admin]

Garry, Your nesting brackets look pretty cool. However, I am subscribing to the KISS principle and will use Graham's original design of 5 machine bolts and wing nuts. As far as the CB plug goes, I'm probably going to go with some sort of cap as opposed to the plug. My cap will probably extend down a couple of inches into the slot, but for now will not extend all the way down to the bottom of the boat. Steve

I just tried a couple of minutes ago and cannot get the site to come up either. I hope they won't be down too long. :cry: Steve

What a great bunch of pictures!! It appears that you all had a good time. As Kudzu said, the girls will remember that trip for the rest of their lives! It does us a lot of good to see you having a good time during your "summer" while we try to remember why we are building our boats in the winter. Those pictures remind us why we are doing this. Soon this old "blue ball" called earth will move a bit further in its orbit and we will have our summer. I'm very happy you encountered an insulated power line. In our part of the world, distribution conductors are uninsulated. That would have made a "bloody big spark" if you had encountered one of those. It does testify to how strong those masts are if you were able to get one of them over the top without breaking something. Keep the photos coming. We'll do the same this summer. Steve

Graham, Thanks for the quick answer. I didn't get the chance to look at the plans last night, so I'm glad you answered my question. I will plan to put those screws in after I cut the boat in half. Looks like I'll be able to limber up the saw this weekend. I've put it off enough! :wink: I want to make sure the mast step is complete before I cut, but that will be done on Saturday morning. I should have pictures this weekend. Steve

This one is for Graham and anyone else who would like to weigh in on this subject. I was contemplating my centerboard trunk the other night and was wondering if there was enough support for the side loads that will be encountered there. On the Spindrift 10N the after part of the CB trunk lays along the forward nesting bulkhead, but that is the only direct support the trunk gets for side loads other than the fiberglass at the base of the trunk where it mates to the hull. From your comments on screws, Graham, I take it that there are a couple needed through the forward nesting bulkhead into the after end of the trunk. This didn't really dawn on me until I read this thread just now, and I don't have the plans to consult here to corroborate this. Am I on the right track? Thanks, Steve

Garry, I'm impressed! Your boat looks great nested together. I am going a bit further before I make my cut, but it isn't too far off. I want to get the mast step completely epoxied in before I cut. It appears you are spending a bit more time working on the boat than I am. I get a reasonable Saturday in with a short Sunday most weekends, but when the weather is cold I can't do too much. Ther just isn't quite time enough to get out to the hangar in the evenings and do all of the meetings that I have during the week. To further set me back, I am leading a church group on a ski trip this weekend. Won't get anything done on the boat until sometime late next week. Oh, well. It doesn't get warm enough to sail for several more weeks. BTW, here is a shot of the sail and mast as I tried them out on the floor. Steve [attachment over 4 years old deleted by admin]

Garry, I had another good day today. I was able to get the lower plug for the mast turned down on the lathe and tapered properly. The last thing I did today was epoxy coat it and put it into the end of the mast. There is a picture of the plug below. I also have a picture of the centerboard in the lowered position on the boat. Looks pretty good! I was able to lay the sail out on the floor and put the completed mast into the pocket. Looks pretty good. We're just not quite ready to sail yet, but it isn't far off. The third picture is of the setup that I had to use the plunge router to cut the CB slot. Steve [attachment over 4 years old deleted by admin]