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Frank Hagan

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Everything posted by Frank Hagan

  1. Go to Walmart and buy a "gunwale strap" for a powerboat. Or use one of those 2" wide racheting straps. Put eyebolts in the trailer about equal with the front of the cockpit (or wherever you can put the strap over the splash coamings without damaging them) and put the strap there, and tighten up some. You only have to hold the boat DOWN to the trailer, and she'll stay there. No need to have any more mechanical stuff sticking out of that beautiful hull! I use two straps ... one just behind the splash coamings and another up toward the front, which goes over the forward hatch. Then the winch is clipped to the bow eye and a safety rope is tied there as well. Works like a charm!
  2. Well, whenever I'm looking for advice, I always take actual experience as a better guide than general knowledge! :wink: Make it long, then start whittling it down. Or make a temporary short one to see how it feels before cutting that nice shiny tiller down!
  3. Waaaaaay too long! You won't have any "feedback" from the tiller with it that long, and you'll weave all over the sea lanes! :shock: Mine protrudes into the cockpit about 13" when on the centerline, and when its hard over to starboard over the splash coaming is just about 6" forward of the edge of the lazarette. Mine protruded about 20" initially, and was too long. It was hard to come about, as I had to lift it up (hinge is a good idea!), duck under it, and then move over to the other side. And it was a mushy helm ... no feedback, hard to sail in a straight line, no feedback from the tiller (kind of like that awful mushy power steering found on cars when they first introduced it). Not wanting to cut my expensive tiller too short, I used a temporary tiller that protruded about 8" into the cockpit, and met the corner of the splash coaming and the lazarette when it was hard over to port or starboard. I really liked that size, and cut the Catalina down to that size. THEN I sailed it in a stiff breeze :roll: and realized I was really having to hold on to it. So I built my third tiller long enough to protrude into the cockpit 13", and that's been a great compromise. I still get plenty of feedback from the helm, but don't have to really hang on to it when the wind pipes up.
  4. I did find one post regarding the addition of antifreeze directly to epoxy (formerly suggested by some as a way to put that anti-rot protection in the stuff directly ... I'm not sure, but from the context of the thread it looks like this was suggested by Dave Carnell at one time): Epoxy and Antifreeze But this doesn't address the rot-preventative claims like the Richard Jagels article did. When I find it, I'll post a summary.
  5. TheChemist does give a lot of detailed information. If I remember correctly, he didn't think much of Dave's antifreeze claims when it came up several years ago. The Jaegle article went further though, and validated some of what Dave is saying. I'll see if I can find it.
  6. I fell in love with the Princess 22 when I saw it, and I'd love to build one someday. But I may have to wait for retirement ... I haven't even had time to build my Spindrift 10' that I bumped to the top of the "wish list" last year. I love to sail around the harbor, but want something I can car top and launch quickly since I will be alone most of the time (I'm afraid the novelty has worn off for my wife ... she wants to get somewhere quickly, so a powerboat is more to her liking). The Princess 26 just looks like a great boat, an improvement on the 22 for those that need more room. I'm anxious to see someone build it and launch (and take me for a ride!) :wink:
  7. Wooden Boat Magazine did a story a while back on the plywood Thunderbird class of boats, a boat designed by Ben Seaborn in an American Plywood Assn contest. There are dozens of them still sailing here on the west coast ... many with polyester resin over marine fir ply (the International Thunderbird Assn is at http://www.thunderbirdsailing.org) Thunderbird hull #1 is still in good shape, having been launched in November of 1958 (see the story on it by Clicking Here So I guess plywood can last, huh?
  8. No problem, Oyster! I share your concerns on using it under epoxy. I have just had too many bad experiences with epoxy being contaminated ... I tried to make an epoxy/wood flour paste that I used on a newly painted post to fill a hole, and it never cured. The latex paint ... fine when cured ... was a disaster when it mixed in with the epoxy. And if the epoxy manufacturer won't recommend it, I'm not going to waste my money trying it (I waste enough on my own ideas!) I really think Dave oversteps when he talks about using it as a medical cure. Its one thing to delve into an area where he was an engineer (chemicals), but quite another to use that same aura of authority to tout that it cures rashes and bedsores. I'm sure he is well intentioned, but the "law of unintended consequences" might cause someone real harm when they slather it on Grandma. I would check with a medical professional ... not a chemical engineer ... for medicinal uses of antifreeze. But as a rot cure? Killing the spores? I wish I could find the Jeagles (sp?)article on wood preservatives and the comparison to antifreeze. But in that type of application, perhaps the risk of harm is less, and its once again "builder's choice."
  9. Well, people can discuss it. We really don't have a topic cop here :wink: It is pretty controversial, almost like religion and politics, so people should remember we're not talking about religion or politics. Just boat building.
  10. The Catalina tillers are nice, and expensive. After I adapted mine, I found a site where a Weekender builder used an axe handle from Home Depot ... a $10 masterpiece of hard ash, perfect for the job. It is straight and not curved, but it works fine when installed over the lazarette. I'd still probably go with the Catalina tiller though. The current tiller I have on Aslan is actually my home made copy of the Catalina. Once you cut it too short, its hard to make it longer ... :roll:
  11. Heh ... 3 pm and he's "working". I should talk; my day has started again, I'm sitting in my office, and I'm checking the Forums. Tough job, but someone has to do it! And I can't help thinking that Simon is probably snoozing away "down there". Lucky guy! :wink:
  12. Hey, Simon, what are you doing up? Wait a second, what am I doing up! :oops: Work starts all over again in 7 hours
  13. Nope, that's those tee-shirt guys. And they have the quote wrong. It isn't: "There is nothing - absolutely nothing ..." The real quote is: Maybe I should re-do the tee shirts so they'll have it right. Source: The University of Virginia eText project, at Wind in the Willows, look under number "7" to see the full quote and the context.
  14. Joe, your username has some unusual spacing in it: Joe(Cold Spring onHudson) Note that there isn't a space between "Joe" and the parenthesis, and none between "on" and "Hudson". I can change your password, but you'll have to change it back to something you'll remember. You can also use the "reminder" on the login page to get it emailed to you.
  15. I used latex on Aslan. You trade off gloss and durability against ease of use and cost. All latex paints are compatible with epoxy, but not all oil based paints are. You can have spectacular failures with oil based paints, so you should do a "scratch test" prior to painting the whole hull. Paint a little on, let it dry, then scratch a cross-hatch pattern in the paint using a straight edge and a razor blade. Put a piece of cellophane tape on the hatch pattern, burnish down one edge of it with your thumbnail, and pull it off. If the oil based paint comes off, you will have problems later. Mike Donlin's experience with latex is the extreme end of the same mistake I made (although my paint never came off the boat). I put on three coats, with just a day between them. Latex paint isn't made to be built up in multiple coats. It was soft for a few weeks, then got a bit harder, then finally hardened up nicely. But it seemed to take forever! If I had it to do over, I would use just two coats, with three weeks between them. Durability does suffer. Latex is softer paint, and it will scratch easier than a really good oil based paint. But it is also pretty easy to touch up, and so cheap you don't care if you do have a gallon left over.
  16. Dave is actually pretty controversial, especially his views on using glycol or antifreeze for rot preventative in wood. I do have his article in the links section under "Information Sites", because he does have a lot of good information. But he kind of reminds me of the father in "My Big Fat Greek Wedding", except Dave uses antifreeze instead of Windex. He lost me at a critical point ... you won't find me using antifreeze on my penis anytime soon! :wink: I would encourage anyone thinking of using antifreeze as a rot preventative call the epoxy manufacturer for their comments on compatibility. Last time I heard, West System and System Three both refused to endorse the idea. And I think Richard Jaegle in Wooden Boat Magazine had something on his "rot preventative" idea too. If I remember correctly, the gist of Jaegle's article was that while glycol can kill mold spores on contact, it won't penetrate into the wood, and doesn't have "staying power" like some of the other preservatives out there.
  17. It might be a bit far to drive, but Justin Pipkorn, who built a Jacques Merten boat, found a dealer in Chowchilla: There's a web page about Daryl's racing and supplies he sells at http://www.boatracingr11.com/sorensenmain.htm. And a price list, although it might be outdated, at http://www.boatracingr11.com/Sorensen_boats/sorensen%20marine%20plywood.htm The phone number there is (559) 665-2690.
  18. Try again with that same password (and then change it if you log in!)
  19. Like most other amateur boat builders, I would recommend epoxy. HOWEVER, if you are building the Vacationer, you have to change the materials list to use epoxy. I think the Vacationer plans call for fiberglass MAT to be used on the hull. Epoxy will not work with fiberglass mat; it has to have either polyester or vinylester resin to break down the binders in it and cure correctly. If you are building the Vacationer, you have two "good" options: use vinylester with fiberglass mat, or use epoxy and have two or more layers of 6 ounce fiberglass cloth. Most builders today choose to use two layers of cloth and epoxy rather than the fiberglass mat and vinylester.
  20. I do feel safer using my band saw, and maybe that's a bad thing. It is the only power tool where I routinely touch the blade ... to see if its tensioned (while it is off, of course). But that feeling of safety combined with the common act of putting my finger right there on the cutting part, could lead in a complacent moment to cut something I didn't intend to cut! Good reminder, guys. 8)
  21. You might check our FAQs out for a discussion of the difference between marine and "Exposure 1" plywood (which is what a lot of us have used). See the FAQ on wood and plywood by Clicking Here. Robert's right, especially if you're going to glass and epoxy the boat; cheaper fir "Exposure 1" plywood will work fine on a Weekender or Vacationer. The bends are not so severe that you need to worry too much about "fairness" as you bend the panels. And the fiberglass keeps the "checking" in place (fir plywood tends to crack, and paint or epoxy alone won't stop it, but fiberglass will). That being said, if you plan to keep your boat in the water in a slip, the more expensive marine plywood might be more appropriate.
  22. If you have a B&B Yachts related website, perhaps with pictures of your building or sailing the boat, please feel free to add the URL to our Links page at B&B Yacht Designs Links You are also welcome to post pictures of your boat here in our My Gallery photo albums (free to all of our registered users). People thinking of building a boat get a great amount of inspiration by looking at your pictures and reading about your experiences.
  23. The plywood looks great. Judging from the progress so far, I think you'll be very pleased with the finished boat. The MSN sites will accept HTML if you know how to code in it, although there is a learning curve for that. And I know what a constraint time can be to learning something that may not be all that useful in the rest of life. The site looks good, though, and you're right ... the pictures tell the story. I wasn't aware of the price of the upgrade; I knew they had a way to upgrade, and at $20 a year its certainly reasonable.
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