Craig

Hoser!

Dave that mast box is another poor piece of design that needs a bit of help. I also drilled ventilation holes on the structure after my rain cap failed and allowed water into the the box. I liked to never get the stub mast out! Since then I have given up on the mast caps and gone to partner wedges with blue foam covering them to nearly the surface of the mast dam on the deck. Then the opening is sealed with 3400 all around and tapered up the mast a little bit to shed rail or spray. I had to remove all of this when Ivan brooke my tabernacle. It came apart with nor problems and no evidence of ever having leaked. It is quick, easy, and best of all, water tight!

Tom I used that SYP that I am so fond of and followed the instructions to the letter using boat nails and weldwood glue for the keel. the wood cupped over time causing the gaps to open up. I used a 1/4" drill to open the cracks and pour in the epoxy. My web site shows how I fixed a delamination at the rudder post. This method will also work in other areas. I would do the entire length of the keel now to be sure I got everything I could to stabilize the structure. My big problem is I used the fiberglass mating called for in the instructions. The epoxy is not "hot" enough to breakdown the binder in the mat and I had all kinds of dry spots in the layup. Over the years the water has got behind them and delaminated the glass and the wood again began to move. SYP is great stuff in large timbers but usless for boatbuilding in 1x sizes in my experience. You can use duct tape to block the gaps between the keel pieces and hold the epoxy until it cures, or fill them with thickened material and then fill from the top. Cross bolting will solve the problems for the areas you can not get into. YOu can also drill completely through the keel from side to side and then follow with a shallow but larger counter sunk ( ~1/4") hole over the first on both sides. Damn up the two holes with tape and pour the whole thing full of epoxy. When it cures you have an instant thorough bolt than just needs to be sanded flush.. It is not an elegant fix but it works and is good enough for these boats. For most of us this is our first boat building project and all of the mistakes you can make are all right here in one package. Still they are very nice boats and pretty easy to fix. Plus the price is right. Good luck with it

MUch below 50 the regular mix will stop curing. Get the low temp hardner and you will be fine.

Thanks Frank.

Tom are you in the water yet? If not flip her over and rout out the bottom of the keel gaps and pour them full of unthickened epoxy, as much as she will take. You may also want to consider cross bolting the keel with galv bolts and nuts. Countersink the head and nut and then epoxy the holes and smooth. The delanination just gets worse till you stabilize it. The dark color is a bad idea on an epoxied hull. Afterr ~110 degrees 1:1 starts to get soft. 2:1 isn't so bad but the dark color makes everything too hot down here.

Glad you finally found what you wanted. Sometimes it's tough. We have one "real" lumber yard here, Gatlin's, who still stock good lumber. It does come dear however.

Very nice as always Bob. Will this method work with stainless steel?

The same goes for the Vacationers Frank. Even pulling the tip of the mast forward with the stay helps a lot.

Mark that damned bondo isn't worth the effort unless the top finish is "PERFECT". I wouldn't use that again on a bet! Epoxy with 401 or the purple stuff is the only way to insure lasting repairs. I would recomend always using a good seal of epoxy in the cockpits and anywhere else that will routinely get wet. Cabin areas do not need this level of protection but the exterior areas do. Good luck with the repairs.

Thank God you, the wife, and kids are OK. Saralee says what ever don't kill you makes you stronger. I am not real sure about that, however, the family is what's valuable. Please let us know if there is anything we can help with Shane. Hang in there ole son, we're all pulling for you. P.S. Mongrel is one of the nicer names I have used lately refering to insurance companies. The rest I can't put into a public post...

Yes the patterns are fickle. Ed Jones and Oyster have been rained out for two weeks running. It just will not quit. Crestview, appox 20 mi N. of here, is getting rain every day. Here on the beach it is dry as a bone. Now, wait until tomorrow night! First of the year and damned if it ain't coming here again. Still nothing like Dingo is suffering with though. Water is the gift that keeps on giving, good and bad. Sorta the luck of the draw I guess.

Damn bad luck. I hope it all comes out well. I can feel his frustration in the posts.

Yup you missed something. I have been buioding a top for a friends 55 footer. It is a hard top for a motor cruiser. We started it in Sept or Oct last and have yet to get it finished.

Thanks TIm. I wondered how she came out.

I am itching to finish my spars and make the sails, but, I have to finish Tom's top first. We have been busy as hell and haven't got much done on it. He was hurt last week so he will not be able to participate in the finish. I sanded the last of the primer tonight so a bit more prep tomorrow night and it will be ready for the top coat. This Allgrip is nice stuff but a pain in the ass to do if not sprayed. Rolling a tipping a big job is a real test of patience. 8)

I was going over to Harbor Town for lunch and expected to make the ~18-20 mile run in 5 hours one way with the predicted winds. Got to the almost 40% point making only 3 knots. Gave up there and spent the rest of the afternoon on the home end of the bay. Winds never over 10 kt. Sure could have used the lapper and topsail. The little plastic boats with 5000 sq ft of sail walked right away from me. Damn! I had the mate shovel more coal on the sail but it didn't do any good. :cry:

That does look like a grand time. Thanks for sharing the photos.

Jake when I was young I worked in the Continental factory that made those engines. Bobs right, there are hell on gas and expensive to fix today. A lot of folks up on the lakes replaced those Grays with marineized 283s. That boat was an el cheapo when it was new. Be careful, might be cheaper to build a new boat of that style then rebuild that one. You'd get the best of both, clasic style and modern materials.

I thought the photos had telephoto lens distortion, it really looks like that? Dam!, that's one ugly boat! Must be a new Bolger design...

Ya, Ya, this is all bad and it's hard to say it is finished because it never is, however, at the risk of being called Noah you have to go to the water some time. No one else can see what you were agonizing about anyway. Suddenly all the little stuff you were thinking about is forgotton in the joy of sailing something you made with your own hands. Not from a kit, not a collection of plastic subassemblies, but a real no kidding built from scratch boat! She looks GREAT and sails even better. Then, as Mike and Barry will tell you, there is the next boat to build..... Happy Sailing, gitterdone!

For my money there are no good uses for either on small boats. As Mike says the SYP will warp like hell and the PT is too wet for anything The bird's mouth method is an excellent way to use cheaper wood and still have the strength and looks you want. If nothing else get Dg Fir 2x4s and rip them into staves for the mast. Stagger the butt joints to use short pieces. Most of the larger schooners over here have used this method for the 30 and 40' masts they carry. I must admit they are mainly SYP (that I hate) but in much larger and more stable chunks then we use. Take your time with this and find the wood you want. Another option may be a saw mill out of town that has stickered cypress that could be cut into staves, or maybe a large stick ready to shape.

Tim I have completed the topmast as initially planned and will be running a fore stay up 80 inches above the current fore stay top position. The sprit extension is a bolt on for now. A new, one piece, sprit is warranted if this all works as expected. The Yankee is, as previously defined, for those medium air flow days. Additionally, I want a 150-160 lapper to fly on that stay for the really light days. I didn't bother with the load calculations for the bigger sail as everything is overbuilt anyway. Back stays may or may not be needed for the topmast but it is better to start with them than without. When finished the spared length will be about 28-30' so, unless I build a pulpit over the sprits I will either have to live with what I put on at the dock or set the foresail flying on the running rigging. Roller furlers are a bit pricey. I still have not spent much time on the topsail. It will look as we planned, however, should it be set flying or be self furling to the mast or gaff. There is an economy of space and motion of it can be setup on the spars prior to launch and the furled or unfurled at will. I think we are reaching the practical limits of how much junk we can get on the boats. They sure will look cool though!

HAving a longer mast solves a host of problems. With my top mast arrangement Iwill need an extra set of side stays to hold the new Yankee and lapper, plus th topsail. A longer mast would preclude having all the extra steel. Depending on how this all works out I may need to fabricate an new mast. This is the fun part of all this for me. The expirementation. 8)

Got out for the first time today. The winds were 15-20 out of the SW all afternoon and fairly steady. I singled handed as my regular mate had an operation on Friday and Saralee didn't want to go out. I read Berry's post on the longer jib clubs and let me tell you what a difference they make. I didn't mess with the GPS as it was windy and a bit rough, but damn does that full length club make a difference. Much better sail control. It sure stopped the sawing of the wheel. You can lash the wheel and steer with the sail or just let her work the seaway and never touch the helm. I ran all afternoon with the rail in the water. She was so stable that I just held her down and let the water run over the comings in some instances. She was more stable then I have ever experienced with her. On launch I forgot to put in the plugs, yes I know "again", but, it is quite cool to have the only Vac with twin fountians in the cockpit though The bilge pump works fine! Used it on launch and then shipped so much water fooling around that I had to pump her twice out on the Bay. The charter schooners from Destin were all out also. We played gaffer tag over near the shallows. I can out run the big one, the Clements, but the little ones are too fast. Or, they cheat and motor sail even in brisk winds. Once I was tooling along and dropped into a trough and had a little wave broke over the deck. Never had that happen before. All in all a great day! BUt, what sailing day isn't? What did the rest of you do?