Steve Day

In the little bit we ran her, there was no need to have spray rail. We have not, however, encountered any seas or wakes to see how they affect the boat. As we use the boat it will become evident whether we need rails. If so, we will add them. As far as the trim state goes, we were about 1/3 on fuel with one person in her. Fuel is located just under the pilot's seat. There is no weight, other than the hull material, forward of the engine. When Wally and I were both on the boat (with one of us sitting on the foredeck) the trim was better and she seemed to move a little better through the water. We are planning to add coaming around the open deck and bench seating, so that in itself will add some weight forward, but the real weight will be people and/or cargo. There will also be storage under the foredeck and there will be some weight there, such as the anchor. I was initially worried about the trim, but I think we are OK, after thinking about it overnight. Are we having fun yet? Steve

Good day today! :grin: :grin: We got her over to the ramp and slid her into the water with no problem. When we started the engine, there was no raw water flow, so we shut down to assess the situation. Seems we could prime the system by closing the sea cock and filling the line to the strainer and raw water came through like it should. If we shut down, the water would flow back out the sea cock. We will add a check valve to the raw water intake and that should solve that problem. A few other minor problems cropped up, but they did not prevent us from running the boat. Operationally, she needs a little bit of weight up front, but passengers will take care of that. While she steered well, we will add a bit to the rudder to increase the length (and area) of the blade to give the rudder a bit more authority. All in all, it was a very successful sea trial and a nice afternoon on the water. A few photos to show her off. Steve

Today is the day!!!!!!! We are going to take the boat over to one of the local boat ramps and put it in the water to find out whether it will float and move under its own power. I should have a report, and pictures, this evening. Hopefully we will have success. :thumbsup: Steve

Red letter day today! We got the engine running! :-D :-D We had a little difficulty getting her to "light off," but she purred when she finally fired. Yippee!!!!!

As it turned out, Wally didn't get to hang off the boat last night and I ended up jacking it into position. We got the trailer under the bow and slid her on with little difficulty! :grin: :grin: :cool: This is a major milestone as the boat is out of the barn for the first time and we were able to get our first good look at her. She looks pretty good, IMHO. Here are a couple of pictures of the operation and the boat on the trailer:

The keel support bunk is installed on the trailer and the glide strips are installed on the bunk. The trailer is positioned just outside the east door (bow end) and ready to roll into the barn under the boat. Wally is lifting the boat tonight and hanging it off on straps, so we should be able to get the boat onto the trailer tomorrow evening. Then we need to put the side stabilizing bunks onto the trailer to secure the boat in position for travel. Getting her on the trailer will be a major step in the process! Steve

I hope all y'all on the east coast are hunkering down for the possible arrival of "Earl." Our prayers are with you. Steve

Not much done this week as the big boat is demanding too much attention while it is out of the water and Wally is very busy at work. We did get some stuff done during the week and the trailer is almost ready to accept the boat. We had to extend the tongue and put new bunks on to "fit" the Rescue Minor. The trailer should be back at the barn next week and we can get the keel support bunk installed then. In the meantime, we installed the rudder and steering system today. And, believe it or not, the rudder turns the correct way when we turn the wheel. :shocked!: We also were able to get fuel into the lines from the fuel tank to the engine. The boat is ready for the trailer - now to get the trailer ready for the boat. We were talking about the build and discovered that it has almost been a year since we started the boat. Our goal is to get her floating and running before the one-year anniversary of the start of construction. We will see. We'll have pictures as we transfer onto the trailer. Steve

I have been following this discussion with great interest. When you mentioned a book that is quite "dense" and getting a simpler one, it made me think of "Sailing for Dummies." That book has the clearest explanations of sailing principals that I have seen. We like it so much, we leave a copy on our boat that we bareboat charter to others (Hopefully, they use it). We highly recommend it to everyone that asks for a simple, concise, description of elements of sailing. Steve

My large sailboat is a documented vessel. I don't have to display the "AL" numbers on her, but I do have to display the (current) state registration sticker on the base of the mast. I was unaware of that requirement and got caught without a current sticker. That little deal cost me $165 for the fine and court costs. :shocked!: I won't let that happen again! Be careful of all of those little rules. The state marine police don't have much of a sense of humor about that stuff. I guess we really hijacked your thread, Wes. Steve

Photos from today. Steve

Wow! It has been 11 days since I posted. :-( I have been able to to get over a couple of times to work on the gunwhale varnish and that has been done. However, not much else has. Wally and I have both been very busy - He with work, and me with with the big boat and a Coast Guard inspection on the Delta Explorer. We finally got to both work on the boat this morning. We were able to get the engine to turn over with the starter after putting oil and a new filter on the engine. Success! That answered one question in the back of our minds with a "used" engine. We need to get coolant and diesel fuel installed to run the engine, but that will happen in the next little while. We also installed the cleats (for mooring lines) and one of the hatches today. We put some fuel in the tank today to make sure the fuel gage works correctly and it does. All of the electrical works on the boat. :-D :-D Most importantly, we put a serious cleaning on the shop today to get some of the scrap wood and trash out of there. Pics to come later when I get the camera in here to transfer photos. Steve

Could be in the next couple of weeks. Wally & I have a lot going on and are not able to work on her much, but I'm getting oil & fuel for her in prep for starting engine. Next step is trailer. We'll keep you posted. Steve

Didn't get much done on the Rescue Minor this week. I was polishing and waxing the big boat while it is out of the water. I got that done Thursday and it looks really good! Nothing like a job well done and to get compliments from the guys at the boatyard. I did manage to get two more coats on the deck of the Rescue Minor and she is looking pretty good, too! I was able to get the masking tape off the gunwhales and will start the brightwork treatment on them this weekend. We now are ready to get the deck fittings in place and get the last few things done on the engine connections finished, including mounting the rudder. Since there was something that can be recorded with the camera today, I took a couple of pictures. Note the reflective tag at the starboard side of the transom. This is the ID tag left by the Marine Police after their inspection.

It has been so hot here that I opted to work in the air conditioned shop with the Rescue Minor rather than out in the afternoon sun on the big boat. It was a good choice because the thermometer on the truck indicated 104 degrees on the way out to Wally's place. Way too hot for Lower Alabama! A Marine Police officer came by to inspect the boat yesterday and he "passed" it and affixed the Hull ID to the boat. We are one step closer to getting her licensed. We cut the hole for the rudder shaft today and will fit the rudder later in the week. We also installed the fuel gage and wired it up to the tank. I was able to get the second color coat of paint on the upper decks and it is beginning to look pretty good. Nothing worth taking pictures of at this point. Hopefully, it will cool down a bit so we can work on the trailer and I can work on the big boat. Steve

Haven't had much time to work on this boat this week. We hauled our 40 footer Tuesday and did a survey on her Wednesday finding that the keel bolts need to be replaced. We have been working on that and also rubbing out and waxing the hull while she is out of the water. A fellow doesn't realize how much area there is on a big boat until he starts to polish and wax it! :shocked!: The next step with the Rescue Minor involves getting the trailer ready. Are we having fun yet??? Steve

Got a good day in today. Worked on the ground side of the electrical and the feed to the "distribution" panel. I was able to get the second coat of primer (early this morning) and the first coat of the gray paint (this evening) on the decks. Here are two shots of the boat as she sits tonight:

Looking very good. Looks like you had a nice day for the first sail. There is absolutely nothing better than a day on a boat YOU built! And you got Travis there as a bonus! :wink: Steve

Ray, Glad to see the old "wit" returning. I haven't heard that type of attempt at humor in quite a while. All we need now is to have Konrad chime in and we will be "complete" once again. Steve

I have pictures today. :grin: I got the hull cleaned up near the gunwhales and have primed those areas. I also primed all of the decks now except a couple of small areas that still have filler curing. The boat looks better. Here are some shot of the boat as she sits now:

Howdy, I got a couple of hours on the boat this week and was able to get the rub rail across the transom and the wiring essentially completed from the distribution panel to the lights, bilge pump, etc. Today, I was able to get the rub rail sanded smooth all the way around the boat and ready for epoxy and varnish. I also completed the bracket for the shifter and that is operational. The only control left to complete is the engine cut-off, which needs to be connected at the engine. I was able to get the proper adapters and we now have fuel connected from the tank to the engine and the return line back to the tank. Cooling water is completed from the sea cock through the cooler. However, we are still missing the mixing elbow for the exhaust, so the engine installation is not quite complete. The last thing I did today was prime the foredeck and side decks back to the console area. One more step toward launching. :grin: :cool: Steve

I got the trailer back and promptly had several other things to do, including going up to Joe Wheeler Lake in North Alabama for the Antique and Classic Boat Show last weekend. I have a couple of pictures of the boats that I will include with this note. I was able to get out to the boat this week and do a little work. I ran the wires for the nav lights, courtesy lights, and bilge blower. I was also able to build and place the rubrail across the transom. The larger hatch on the after deck was not able to mount on the deck due to the arch of the deck, so I added a layer of plywood and sanded it flat to allow proper seating. I was also able to procure a piece of aluminum to be used to mount the gearshift cable and get it cut to size. We are getting closer, but there is still a lot to do. We are hoping to get a lot done this weekend. Here are a couple of shots of the boats at the show. A nice Chris Craft

Larry, Thanks for the offer, but I just came back from picking up a trailer that I bought on E-Bay. It's pretty good and will serve well, we think. Steve

Ray, Great story! I know that Josh learned a lot on that trip and that you did also. I envy you and your son. My son did a sea voyage with Outward Bound down in the Keys years ago, but I was unable to go for a number of reasons. We have had sea time together, but not like that. He wants to help me with deliveries in the near future and we are trying to work that out. Good on 'ya, mate! Steve

I've had several boats that had to have the mast erected. What I used to do was use the jib halyard to hold the mast in place while I made the forestay pin. That allowed me to get the pin in and secured with relatively little difficulty. After the forestay pin is secure, we used the jib halyard for its intended purpose. When it came time to take the mast down, we reversed the procedure. This comes in real handy when we do the Hobie 16, That mast is HEAVY now that I am older. Steve