Tidmarsh

FYI--There's an article in the newest Small Craft Advisor about Larry Brown & Brendan. He's got a book coming out soon that will include plans.

I also used the RAKA cold weather epoxy during the winter here, in temperatures around 40F to 50F during the day. The epoxy gets pretty viscous at those temps; I thinned it with xylene, but in retrospect, warming the epoxy would have been a better choice.

I'm no expert on old motors (or new ones, for that matter), but from what I've read, you might be better off with an OMC than a Mercury. See this Primer on Old Outboards for more: http://www.duckworksmagazine.com/articles/oldoutboards/index.htm YMMV.

One problem with using an electric trolling motor for auxiliary propulsion in a sailboat is that the propellers they come with have a very low pitch, designed to move big heavy bassboats slowly. Their top speed is therefore limited regardless of the amount of thrust available. (low pitch is kind of like low gear in an automobile good for pulling, but not for speed). For a light sailboat, giving up pulling power for speed is probably a good trade off. There aren't many propeller options available, but Kipawa Propellers makes a higher pitched prop that might be useful. I have one that I'm modifying to fit the 30 lb motor I use on my catboat, but haven't finished or conducted speed trials yet. A higher pitch would provide a higher speed through the water and allow you to fight faster currents than the stock trolling motor prop. I don't know how much faster, though.

You don't necessarily need 2 leeboards as long as a single leeboard is sufficiently braced to handle the loads when it is on the windward side. Take a look at Jim Michalak's designs for numerous examples of single kick-up leeboards: http://www.duckworksbbs.com/plans/jim/sail.htm

I built some rope-stropped blocks for my small catboat. I used Douglas fir for the bodies, UV-resistant VHMW polyethylene for the sheaves (cut & shaped with holesaw & Microplane rasp as Barry describes), and 3-strand Dacron line from Hamilton Marine. I also pressed oilite bushings into the sheaves, which turn on short pieces of brass rod. Instead of using grommets, however, I used eye splices to make tail blocks. Here are the finished halyard blocks that hang from a thumb cleat at the masthead: These were the first two I made. I liked them so much better than the brass blocks I made, that I made more wooden blocks for the mainsheet as well. I rounded the edges more on subsequent blocks and finished them with a teak oil finish instead of glossy spar urethane. I think they look better, but don't have any good photos handy. You can kind of see one in the background here:

On a recommendation from someone on another mailing list, I used Benjamin Moore M29 DTM (direct to metal) industrial latex paint on my boat (~$28/gallon). It's only been on for a little over 6 months now, so I can't comment on longevity. It's done well in terms of durability, however. After a week at the beach, dragging the boat on and off the sand a couple of times a day, the paint shows hardly any wear. Frank's right--give latex plenty of time to dry. Here in the Alabama humidity, it took a month before the paint stopped changing colors when splashed with water.

It could also have something to do with the survey on the Wooden Boat home page. I enjoyed the Birdwatcher article but haven't taken the time to do more than skim the Redwing article.

I don't know what type of material Delrin is, but I've heard of sheaves made from it, so it should be appropriate. Don't know how easy it is to carve, though. You might also have a look at these sheaves: http://www.duckworksmagazine.com/store/hardware/blocks/sheaves.htm I'd have probably bought these if I'd had a source at the time. When I built my blocks, the cheapes sheaves I could find were ~$10 each.

Sure' date=' they're not too hard and look really cool. You'll need a drill press, 1.75" hole saw, drill bits, a 6.5" round Microplane rasp, a flat microplane rasp, a jigsaw or bandsaw, a 3" #10 machine screw, nut, and wingnut, and a small scrap of 14" inch plywood. Make the sheaves out of 1/2" UHMW polyethylene or UV-resistant VHMW polyethylene. Cut them out with the hole saw, which will give sheaves just over 1.5" in diameter. Then chuck them into the drill press using the machine screw and a couple of pieces of plywood cut out with the hole saw. Use this like a lathe, and turn a groove into the sheave with the round rasp: [img']http://216.77.188.54/coDataImages/p/Groups/147/147689/folders/113785/795896sheaves2.jpg[/img] Use 1/4" brass rod for the pin. You can then drill the sheaves out to 1/4", or out to 5/16" if you want to use an oilite bushing. Brass rod, 1/2" polyethylene sheets, and oilite bushings are all available from McMaster-Carr, http://www.mcmaster.com For the bodies, the easiest way is to use a piece of douglas fir 2 x 2. You'll want a block about 3 or 3.5 inches long. Draw a curve on the top and bottom. Mark where the pin will go through; you'll want it to be offset about 3/8" off-center toward the bottom to allow the line to pass over the top. Drill a 1/4" inch hole witht he drill press. Mark the opening for the sheave on the face perpindicular to the pin. Mortise it out by drilling a 1/2" inch hole at each end, cutting the waste with the jigsaw, and shaping and enlarging the mortise with the flat rasp. Now use the rasps to shape the body of the block and cut a rope groove around the outside. Sand smooth. Finish with either an oil finish or varnish, splice an eye to fit around the block, and tighten it up with a seizing of tarred marline: Tie the tail off to the boom where needed:

You might also wanto to look at some of Jim Michalak's designs. http://www.duckworksmagazine.com/store/plans/jim/michalak.htm I've just finished his 12' catboat, Skat. Be aware that a 12' boat will be fine for 2 people, but likely will be crowded with any more. Take a look at one of his mayfly designs--small, flatiron skiffs designed for sail or rowing. With a flat bottom and nail and glue construction, it will go together quickly and cheaply. The covered storage areas in bow and stern provide flotation and might also be a good place to mount a battery out of the way. The leeboard design eliminates the centerboard case for a much roomier interior. Consider the Mayfly 14: http://www.duckworksmagazine.com/store/plans/jim/mayfly14/index.htm Or perhaps the Mayfly 16, if you're more ambitious and want more room for the family: http://www.duckworksmagazine.com/store/plans/jim/mayfly16/index.htm

Here's another description of a simple jiffy reefing system from Jim Michalak (it describes a lug sail, but would work for a gaff as well): http://marina.fortunecity.com/breakwater/274/2000/0615/

Has anyone here heard from Paul Heyse at Ultasail lately? I got a sail quote from him in early February. He asked for payment in advance and promised a six week delivery time. I sent payment and a copy of my sail plan. The check was cashed in February. I have been trying to contact for more than two weeks now, by email, telephone, and certified mail. I have received no response and now his telephone has been disconnected. Does anyone know how to get in touch with him to see what the problem is?