Frank Hagan
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Posts posted by Frank Hagan
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There's a post in the Website Q&A Forum with some of the new features, including where the heck your avatar went.
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The forum upgrade is mostly complete. There are some important changes that were necessary to fix some of the oddities we had.
Avatar vs. Profile Photos
Instead of using your avatar photo, now all sections of the site use your Profile photo. The software has been updated to crop rather than stretch the photo to fit. To access your Profile and add your image, click on your username at the upper right and select My Profile.
Calendar Improvements
The calendar has a few new options. One is a "download as iCal" link at the bottom. Along with that link is one for the RSS feed of the calendar for those of you using RSS readers. Finally, you can set up an event on the calendar with a RSVP function. Clicking the "Add Event" button allows you to add your mess-about, meeting or other event. To enable RSVP for the event, simply check off the appropriate box.
Chat Issues
The chat room is having some kind of issue; I will try to get this fixed soon.
The chat room has been fixed!
Editor
The new editor is an adaptation of the popular CKEditor. It has some nice features:
- Change edit mode, from WYSIWYG to plain text, by clicking the "Toggle Edit Mode" icon (top row, left).
- Autosave - designed to prevent losing your long post if something happens. Refresh the page, and most of your content will reload
- My Media button - to insert photos, videos, etc. you have uploaded previously in a new post
- Special BB Code button ... to the left of the "Font" box ... has additional formatting options
- Change edit mode, from WYSIWYG to plain text, by clicking the "Toggle Edit Mode" icon (top row, left).
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The forum software has been upgraded, and I'm still tweaking the interface. Later today, I'll have a post on the differences in the Website Q&A forum.
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Can I stick little bits of video on here? For some reason, the only shots of them I got were as part of a video note I made for a friend.
You can embed YouTube videos easily using the "insert media" icon (last one that looks like multiple pictures).
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Hey Mike, how does the Vector do on sand (like in the Mohave desert?)
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Thanks, Pete! I will get it added!
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We hope to increase the amount of useful information here for amateur boat builders.
If you have a boat building related blog or other site with a RSS feed, I can add it to our News page. An excerpt of the feed is published, with a link back to your site. This is a good way to have free content links to your site on messing-about.com, a site with in excess of 40,000 page views each month. Please reply to this message and let everyone know your blog or site's URL, and I'll add it (unless it doesn't meet our very low standards around there).
Have an article, tutorial, or other content you would like to share with the amateur boat building community? I need content for the Articles section on messing-about.com. Right now, I have converted one of Bob Smalser's excellent forum posts on oar building to an article. I am looking for any content that would appeal to a fellow boat builder, including hints and tips, construction techniques, etc. You can include a link to your site or business in the article. Submit articles via email to frank@messing-about.com
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I am in Green Bay, WI. Home of the Super Bowl champions! Oddly there are not a lot of companies dealing with plywood, considering the majority of business north of here is lumber mills.
Frank, thanks for that info. The guy at the plywood shop said the plywood I bought is often used for exterior finish projects like sofit and such.
What about abrasion resistance on the keel when beaching? We have a lot of rocky beaches here (I should say, razor sharp zebra mussel shells)
The exterior ply should work. I used a pretty low grade of exterior ply; one side of it looked like the surface of the moon. I put the good side out, and just filled/painted the insides.
Glassing the keel has led to a lot of problems, but you can put a "shoe" on the bottom of the keel without too much trouble. One builder used a strip of UHMW plastic, while others have used aluminum and stainless strips screwed to the bottom. BTW - this solution can be done after you sail it for a while, and see what kind of wear you actually get. You can get some issues with screw holes starting to rot, but they are easily filled with epoxy and re-drilled. If you really wanted to get fancy, drilling 1/4" holes for each of your screws, filling them with epoxy and then pilot drilling them for the attachment screws would eliminate that problem.
But its a lot of work for a boat that is usually kept for about 5 years, and then given away (there are exceptions, but most people get "bigger boat fever" after about 5 years).
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The 1/4" ply does seem very flimsy until you attach it to the bottom and put the deck on top. Then it becomes very strong. A comparison would be a shoe box, something that is strong enough for a kid to stand on, but an individual side of it would bend under its own weight. In woodworking, its called a "torsion box". A hollow core door is usually 1/8" plywood (or even thinner) over a frame, and the door is very stiff. Same idea.
The Weekender is a boat-shaped torsion box.
Water resistance is less of a concern if the boat is going to stay on the trailer most of the time. If you're planning on leaving it on a mooring or in a slip then, yeah, I would avoid using anything but the best marine grade materials. If the boat is on a trailer most of the time you can use any exterior grade plywood. You can expect 5 - 10 years life out of a construction grade material boat.
The main enemy of these boats is rot from the inside when leaves or other debris, or rain, is allowed to collect and sit. Keep it covered and you'll be fine.
And, I'll add not to glass the keel. The Stevenson's knew what they were doing by leaving the keel un-glassed. Because of the construction of the keel, the seasonal wood movement causes gaps between the glassing and the wood, water collects and the keel rots. Keep the keel un-glassed and just paint it.
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If you have digital pics, upload them here into a post! I think we'd all love to see them.
My neighbor just spent $85,000 on a truck and 5th wheel trailer and went camping. I told him so far, his camping trip cost him $85,000. It will take him a lot of camping trips to amortize that truck and 5th wheel to less than staying in a four star hotel for those trips.
If your Jonboat only lasts 10 fishing trips, you've spent less than $10 per trip. Pretty hard to beat that! You could have spent 20 times the amount you did, but I'm not sure you would get the same per-trip cost out of the boat.
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http://www.raka.com is in FL and they were always a pretty good source for epoxy. I haven't compared prices in a while, but at the time they were more economical even with shipping across the country to CA.
They really need help with their website, but at least you can tell they are not a slick, multinational corporation!
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I have already lost the first 50 lbs. Lost the GERD also and BP is down about 20 points diastolic and systolic and resting pulse rate has also dropped 15 Beats per minute.
I have cut sodium to 1200 mg a day tops, eating 3 cups of vegetables a day, 2 cups of fresh fruit and no more than 6 ounces of meat and three servings of dairy a day. No simple sugars or artificial sweeteners and precious few simple carbs.
I hike an hour and half 5 days out of 7 up and down the highest elevation in town for about 1200 ft net gain every day I do hike.
Losing around 2-3 lbs per week.
Final goal is to lose somewhere around 70-80 more pounds than I have already lost.
I have no idea what my blood chemistry looks like now but no doubt it is improving as well.
I am tired of being overweight and simply do not wish to proceed to diabetes, hypertension, heart disease and stroke...
50 lbs more weight loss will be a pretty big milestone for me as it will be lower than I weighed on my wedding 24 years ago. After that the hurry to see it fall off will diminish. I will still want to lose 20-30 lbs but I won't be quite so frantic about seeing it off.
Without a doubt less weight will mean less wetted surface on the kayak in the next race!
Great progress, Ray! It sounds like you found what works for you. Plus you get to buy all those new clothes (or break out the old ones!)
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Next year I hope to personally weigh 50 lbs less than I do now and will plan on getting some paddling time in to train. I think I can be a contender for placing in top three solo make kayak class next year.
I am impressed with your results! As to losing weight ... I tried to lower my triglycerides and ended up losing 50 pounds in the process. Never got hungry. (To lower triglycerides you go on a low carb diet, and it certainly worked for me ... eliminated my GERD in the process too).
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Volunteering is one of the best "networking" methods to snag a job. Good for Josh! He already knows he loves it, so it should be a great experience for him.
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One other thing to add to my previous post and the only slightly irritating thing is that my bracket is designed for an outboard up to 15 hp and 35 kgs. As my 2hp yamaha only weighs 10 kgs I find I have to push it down quite firmly when I want to put it all the way down as the springs are designed for a heavier motor. A bracket designed for a lighter motor would work a little more smoothly...so try to match any bracket with the size/weight of your motor.
Cheers
Peter HK
I read somewhere ... and now I can't find it .. that you can put the springs upside down on the Garlick and reduce the force needed to lower it.
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The basic hull is complete, with all four strakes attached. Still a lot of work to do, but it does give me a sense of accomplishment. For pictures and narrative see http://176inches.blogspot.com
Great progress so far! She is really looking like a boat now (I always love the transition from the frame stage to putting on the planking).
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When people have added ballast to the Weekender, they have done it in two ways. Ray Frechette added cast lead bulbs to either side of the keel, a pretty complex undertaking, I think. He was concerned with stability stepping from a dock onto the foredeck area. I agree with PAR though; its probably not needed and may in fact make the boat less safe in the end, unless you have a specific need like Ray did.
Others have simply added weight in the forepeak to correct trim issues. I don't think it does much else.
Being flat-bottomed, the Weekender can pound in chop with the bow up. Weight in the forepeak does help lessen the pounding. You do not want to add weight under the seats. With the skipper positioned at the rear of the cockpit, the boat is already trimmed a bit bow up. When I weighed 248 it definitely helped to have passengers forward. I experimented with a 5 gallon collapsible water container in the forepeak, adding up to 55 pounds. About 40 pounds up there seemed to improve the trim quite a bit.
I haven't sailed her since I lost weight, and I suspect that for someone at 200 pounds no adjustment is necessary.
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Thanks. That will ease my wifes tension after reading other negitive forums about what a poor design the Stevenson Weekender is. Thats all hogwash to me though. We have downsized from a 40' Sea Ray with twin 454's that required a slip and dues payment, not to mention the fuel bills. After she experiences the 1/3-1/3-1/3 along with the savings, she will be hooked for life.
The Sparrow
People who say that are probably reacting to the idea that a Weekender is a blue water boat or "coastal cruiser". It really isn't. Its a pretty capable, flat sailing, un-ballasted small boat. In the end, sailing one is like sailing a dinghy. They are fun and look good, but you have to take its characteristics into account.
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Thanks. I will go with the ABS couplings to start with. What small thin lashing would be recommended to attach the sail grommets to the mast hoop. Until I feel comfortable with the un-powered craft, I want the sail to lower when I need it to (chicken-out)I don't need additional issues if in a crisis
On a Weekender that has the right mast angle, you can release the main sheet in a blow and she'll head into the wind like a good sloop. Makes a terrible racket, but you pretty much stop. Because its a gaff rig, you can also stall your progress by trying to point closer to the wind (sail into the wind). You can also drop the gaff quickly to spoil the sail shape and dump a bunch of wind.
The Weekender is under-canvassed, so it is a pretty stable small boat. I think I only had to reef once. Most of the time I just tried to point like a marconi rig and it slowed me down enough to gather my wits.
There's a saying about sailing: it is hours of boredom interrupted by brief moments of panic.
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Thanks. I'm sticking with the hull paint removal to start. Starting to extend the lower rub rail. Original owner/builder did not install this section. Can someone suggest a method to attach main sail to mast other than lashing. This has a gaff rig set up with tapered mast. I would like to use mast hoops. Have heard to cut 1/2" sections from 4" PVC couplings. Any other ideas?
A lot of us have used 1/2" wide sections of 4" DWV couplings (black ABS). They work fine; better if you ease the edges with sandpaper so they slip up and down the mast easier. See our Gaff Rig Main Sail article ... you have to scroll down about half way for the various methods used to attach the mains'l to a pole mast like the Weekender has.
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Not spammy at all, so don't worry about that.
McDonald's serves Spam in Hawai'i. Very popular there.
The question I would have on the ply is about the maple. Poplar is ok as far as rot goes, if I recall correctly, but I've heard maple is a poor wood for outdoor exposures. But then, I'm the guy who built a boat with ACX fir plywood.
Its been a while since I read the wood handbook, so maybe I'm not remembering maple's characteristics correctly.
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Due to the loss of my job, I am selling my 1999 West Wight Potter.
The boat is in good, sail away condition, with a 5 HP 4-stroke outboard, CDI roller furler for the lapper sail, galvanized Baja trailer, green hull with bottom paint, cockpit cushions, all lines led to cockpit, mast raising system, auto-pilot and factory installed knot meter and compass. I am located in Oxnard CA.
Contact me at fshagan@gmail.com for more details and to arrange a look at the boat.
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I'm looking to purchase the book/plans for the Little Dubber kayak by Peter Hunt. His website is no longer up
.Thanks,
I haven't been able to find his Dubber site up anywhere, but his marine surveying site is still up at http://www.huntmarinesurvey.com/index.html
You might check to see if he still has plans available.
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I'll second that (or third it, I guess)! I'd love to see some progress pics of the OB20. What a great looking boat.
Forum Upgrade - What's New and "Hey, where is ..."
in Website Q & A
Posted
A quick video showing some of the new features of the editor: