Andrew_Butchart

Cool - what software did you use? I've been using GPS Utility for a while which works pretty well - I even upgraded to the paid version. But getting the map overlays to work right has been a nuisance even with the free Ontario maps I found.

Jim - the site is asking me to log in but still won't show the pictures even after that. BTW - Wish Megan a happy birthday from all of us. I'm taking Trueman out to the go-carts for his 12th.

Did you put a skeg or a keel strip on? Where I canoe there are lots of rocks and the keel strip takes a lot of abuse.

Another thing that I've "borrowed" from the autobody shops is to use an auto-body shaper (a big surform) to correct the worst of my mistakes. Then I move to a small surform. Sanding is pretty minimal after that and the nice thing is that the shapers make no dust at all. I've also discovered the auto-body shaper works well when I'm fixing plaster in my old house to remove the lumps there as well.

What I did in planning for my motor mount is to use two angle brackets salvaged off an old bed and bolt them to the transom. They're pre-drilled to accept another piece and since they held me, they should hold a motor or boarding ladder ;-) To re-inforce the inside of the transom, I just cut out 1 1/2" circles of 3/4" plywood and inserted a threaded insert nut. "Hopefully" this should be strong enough. I was going to go with a solid backer plate like what you are describing but was worried about getting it tightly fitted to the curve of the transom.

I posted a message on this topic a few days ago on UseNet. Other than the usual block of people who didn't read anything other than the fact that I was using polyester I got one "probably it will work" and one "maybe". For me I've pre-coated the parts that don't bend. For the lazrette and transom, I used really large stringers that I pre-cut to the right curve, attached the plywood and then glassed that. The reasons I have for doing this was for convenience - the parts can be be laid flat and are easily accessible, and to do a better job - no drips, sags or runs. I also pre-coated and painted the underside of my deck for the same reason - I just masked off where the joints were. For my sides though I'm now planning on attaching one side, coating and painting that and then doing the other. That way I'll only have one side that is really awkward to get to. I'm not going to fiberglass the inside of the sides though - just a fairly thin coat of resin and then a couple of coats of paint. I "did" fiberglass all the parts of the sole though as I fully expect to see water laying in the boat at some time and I also want it to be able to take some abuse.

Denis - you should try to connect with Howard Anthony. I believe he is posted just down river from you in Ottawa but I don't know what regiment. He finished his Pocket Cruiser a couple of years ago. http://howard4010.tripod.com/default.htm Where were you thinking of launching? There's supposed to be some good sailing around Ottawa and there are also some nice lakes in Algonquin. Sadly even though we're in the same province I'm quite a distance away. I did have the chance to meet up with Howard at a mess-about in Kingston last year which is held every other year - http://www.duckworksmagazine.com/06/gatherings/kingston/index.htm I'm hoping to have my Weekender done for it next year.

There are several different types of Polyester resin - it sounds like you're using a laminating resin which is fairly common. These resins are designed for multiple layers and are designed to not completely cure until the final finishing layer is applied which is usually the same sort of resin with a wax additive. The good news is that applying a coat of paint to the resin also has the same effect. It will also stop the smell that I'm sure you've noticed. While polyester is more forgiving of poor mix ratios than epoxy, if your hardener wasn't evenly mixed through the batch it might not cure for a while. Cooler temperatures can also delay curing as it is a chemical process. What I have done when faced with almost the exact same issue recently was to paint on a thin coat of resin mixed slightly "hot" over the uncured resin. After a day everything was set up properly. I'm sure though that if I were a more patient person that it would have quite likely cured on it's own. Just a tip - I've noticed a colour change in my resin after I have completley mixed in the hardener. You may want to see if your resin has the same property and just keep mixing until you see the start of that colour change.

I'm doing practically every finishing operation that I "can" do with the sides off - plus a few that aren't standard but will hopefully make the boat last longer or take less effort to do. For example: - I coated the underside of the deck with resin and painted it before I attached it - much easier to do when it is upside down - I just masked off any places where there would be a joint. - I fiberglassed both sides of all my bulkheads before I attached them. - I installed the mast box - I installed (a couple to go) the seat stringers - I fiberglassed (well sort of - that's another story) the top side of the bottom (cockpit and cabin sole and inside the forepeak) - I installed the bitts - I installed the steering Still to do before I do the sides - remaining seat stringers - companion way storage box - fix fiberglassing of sole - paint the sole, inside the lazrette, and forepeak bulkhead, and inside the cabin bulkhead My plan for the sides at this point is to pre-fit them into place, mark the joints and the coat and paint the insides of them before attaching.

The Skipjack looks like a fun little boat. You may want to also check out Ed Jones' skipjack that he built and later sold at http://www.geocities.com/edskipjack/SKIPJACK-PAGE-1.html Rather than the designed lateen rig - which is an easy to use and learn setup, he went with a gaff rig like on the Weekenders. It looked really sharp and I believe sailed pretty well too. I also believe that another skipjack recently launched by a member here had put on a small cuddy cabin into it.

Ah - so that means I put them on the "wrong" side then - :oops: It seems to have worked out OK though.

Ken: If you're talking about the stringers that join the aft cabin bulkhead to the deck - what I did was to make the the same length as the "wings" on the bulkhead pls a bit. After assembly, I cut them off flush to the inside of the cabin cut-out figuring that the cabin trunk sides would be over top of them.

I've built one and had a lot of fun during the building and the sailing of it. I actually have a pretty extensive web site - http://www.floatingbear.ca which sadly right at the moment isn't working. I think I have to hit a switch or something when I get home from work. If you check the Stevenson Projects web site you can find some others as well - http://www.stevproj.com/SPPBBB.html

I've gone with a hatch on top and below in the lazrette. The main reasons I have for the lower one are firstly for storage, and secondly so that I can get at any water that may happen to get back there which would be awkward from the top. Mind you, without that hatch, there's less chance of water getting back there.

At the rate you're going, you'll be past me shortly. Mind you, I'm not planning on launching until next year though so once I get my sides on then I'll probably slow down.

Any angle that doesn't involve "pointy side up" is probably bad

Shane - I can see your house from here http://maps.google.ca/maps?f=q&hl=en&q=Brunswick+Junction,+western+Australia&ie=UTF8&ll=-33.255843,115.841045&spn=0.034595,0.0842&t=h&om=1 Get back to work on that boat! The Leschenault Estuary looks like it would be a fun place to sail - out in the ocean, but well protected.

Hi Frank: Weekender CSD Pirogue If you please.

One thing I did when building my pirogue was to change from a single lee-board hung off the side to an off-centre centreboard. Yes - I suppose I have a "good tack" and "bad tack", but I'm not enough of a sailor to tell you which was which. There's no reason that the board would have to come up in the middle of the keel, you could put it on the side and then have the halyard for it come up in the little storage box like I believe it did in the original Weekender. If you don't like it, just unbolt, fill two holes and your back the way you were. I think if you look around the original popular science article for the Weekender - the first page was posted here http://www.messing-about.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=2808 a while ago you can see that the original centreboard was no higher than the keel depth and didn't require a trunk.

There were a couple of reasons for going with a 2X4 for these joints. Firstly, I did a lot of pre-assembly in my basement. With a 2X4 I was able to cut the curves in it and then dis-assemble and reassemble the joint. Secondly, having read of other people having trouble getting the stringers to bend in two directions made me think that not having to do any bending at all would be easier. Finally, I wanted these joints to be bullet proof so the extra weight and size would help. I used 2X4s for all four joints between the hull, transom, lazrette, and deck. For the upper joints I had to laminate two 2X4s together to allow for the curves there. This ended up causing me extra work though as I later had to knotch the transom-deck stringer to allow for the tiller and there was just barely enough room under the lazrette-deck stringer for my steering shaft. I'm still trying to figure out how to make my steering brake with so little room.

That's what I did - When attaching to the keel I fastened the transom to the stern post first then work my way forward. Mind you, I also did this upside down with the bottom on saw horses and the keel lowered down onto it (insert the bottom into the stem notch first). I also used 2X4s cut to the appropriate curves as stringers.

One of the (many) things I did different during assembly was to put the keel on the bottom upside down. The weight of my plywood keel caused the bottom to curve quite well to the keel. I also put the transom on before putting the keel in place. One of the bigger challenges with this task was doing it on my own. I used lots of rope and a bit of patience and also managed to get my daughter's help to align the stern post with the transom.

How exactly are you planning on using these? From what I've read you are looking for something permenantly attached to the upper rub rail that you can use as a tie-off point for your boat cover (?) I think I found what you're looking for in the West Marine catalogue http://www.western-marine.com/page38.htm They also have turn buttons which might work better.