Craig

Just don't torque the screws untill all the glue is gone. You want a bit of squeeze out to know the joint is good but not enough to starve it of the epoxy. Is is kind of a expierence thing. You know how much you put in and you can see the amount pushed out. Just play it by ear and know there is a good film in there. Allow for the joint to absorb the epoxy also. If possible paint the mating surfaces with resin and allow to tack up before glueing the joint for final.

The 25" wheel is the same as I used only this is $20 US cheaper. Good deal!

Both of us are from Muskegon. She'd go back north and I'd die first. The hard water season is too long and the tornadoes and lake squalls are just too much. Hell, the cold has already killed all the palm trees and shrimp up there! All things being equal we will get the edge of the hurricane winds and Trey will get it all. I have' not heard from Dan near P-Cola in a long while. I think he is in Milton or Pea Ridge. He is gong to get some hurricane winds also. Some of the newbes here are already in a blind panic. YOu would think they would evacuate.... What ever....

For what it is worth Jake I would keep the current position. Here is why, a) too young for the desk, the commute and pay cut will erode future retirement benefits,not to mention the more rapid wear out rate of your vehicles, c) War horses don't do well in office environments, d) I work for the government and frequently get "wonderful" offers for different positions, most are FUBAR already and they just want someone to fix them, e) It is always better when you run run your own ship as opposed to having a bean counter second guessing every decision you make. From the information you have given us I suspect this is not a good deal for you in the long run. If you really want to try this new position insist that a temporary Captain be appointed to your current position and that you have full right of return to your existing command NLT 6 months from the trial period. Anything else and you stand a good chance of getting hosed upon return. It is your call Jake but it sure doesn't look to be in your best interest. It is just flattering. Beware, see d above. Best of luck with this Jake.

Tell me it wasn't the canes that drove you to St Jo Greg!

I have been wondering about you all day. Glad to hear you are ready. We are staying also. If i have figured this right and the track doesn't change we should get just high winds and rain. We are not far off the water but at 34' msl so the storm surge is not a factor. Everything is inside or tied down. Best of luck with this Trey.

Thanks Tim.

You guys need a hurricane! Washes all the moose up off the rivers so you can get them. Then again we don't have many left. The gators ate most of them. In a couple days Russ will have a hurricane that he is willing to part with. He may even pay you to take it. Moose or no moose.

We request please Tim.

Oyster the same things are happening here. The tourist $$ cross the county lines on Sunday and tax money goes with it. Many panhandle county comissions are rethinking all of this. There is a safety issue here as well. It is better to kleep the drunks close to the hotel as opposed to having them running up and down why 98 all day and night. Russ, you will be suprised at how fast the hotels and resoprts are rebuilt. Once they get the FEMA money thay are seemingly back up before anythig else. Our island structures were all but gutted up the the third floors with Opal but damned if they wern't all rebuilt bigger and beter. As long as the owners don't have to pay for the repairs there is just too much $$ in it not to rebuild. The FWB/Destin/San Destin area is getting to look like St Pete. Three rows of high rises between the road and the water. We were "discovered" about 15 years ago and the county comission has managed to "sell" most all of it to the developers now. It sad as this was a nice place and now it looks like a poor cross between South Beach and Panama City Beach! However, you can drink on Sunday!

I love it Phil! Sic em boy. At least you tie your fenders on. 3/4 of the time I don't even bother with them. They will not stay where I want them anyway..... Lubberly my ass!

I currently have 6 lines running over the cabin top. Three on each side. I coil the extra line and tuck it under the line ahead of the clams. The jib sheet stays loose on the seat.

Jan the dexion is for the cross members only if you can find it. ( Scrap Yards ?) . Don't try top make the keel box from it. Sorry for the confusion.

Jan dexion is perferatorated steel channel. You cut it to length with a shear and the holes are uniforn so you just bolt it together and make what ever you want from it. It was a military thing but there is still tons of it floating around. Handy stuff, Your plan sounds good. If you have trouble getting the height just right use wooden shims under the angle brckets for the bunks. Remember an man on a fast Dol[hin will never see it....

Giving your boat away is a big step. Yes, it is best to study on it for a while. Where there is a will there is a way.

Jan your trailer has all you need for the basic frame. It looks lik it fits the boat well and can be easily modified. Below are some links to photos of my trailer. The guy who built it misquoted the price and then didn't build what I had speced. As such it needed some modification to be usefull and is a bit too high. Anyway, as Florin says the after part of the keel box is just there, it doesn't really function. The same can be said for the front third of my bunks. That is the ski jump looking part in the photos. ( They are gone now by-the-by) I thought I needed to support the rocker but it was not necessary as the keel supports the front of the boat. The curved portion just ate paint while loading and increased the drag winching her up the last couple feet. Reviewing your photos it appears that the box could be bolted to the tounge with some long U-bolts and then use two cross member aft for support. For fresh water you could use two dexion channels and bolt them to othe trailer rails as crossmembers. That would hold the weight of your boat just fine. If the roller mounts are adjustable use them for the bunk boards. It doesn't matter if the rock, they will level out with the weight of the boat anyway. Here's the photos. Hope they are of some help... http://members.cox.net/~loveylou/Trl1.jpg http://members.cox.net/~loveylou/Trl2.jpg http://members.cox.net/~loveylou/Trl3.jpg http://members.cox.net/~loveylou/Trl4.jpg

Jan you may be able to mod those roller supports with the bunk boards. The keel box is easy to do. I will send a couple of photos of my trailer tonight to show you how mine works. For the keel box you only need to support the keel over the forward 2/3s of its length and it will really only contact a small area of the keel once loaded. The rollers will be nothing but trouble at the least and have a potential for damage to you boat.

NOw that looks like fun... Thanks for the picks Tim.

Keep them coming Mke! I am really enjoying this. What is the freeboard on this boat? Wart, I finally made it through all of your excellent photos. That is going to be a real fish killer when you get her done.

I have driven my boat right up the keel box on occasion. This takes a helper with a good eye though. I cut off the extra 4" of un used bunk when I replaced the boards a couple weeks ago so I doubt I will be able to align good enough to do that anymore. I split the weight of the boat between the bunks and the keel box. Keeps her from tipping or suffering point loads under the hull.

Here are some photos of the new top mast. and the sprit extension. Every thing seems to fit OK. http://members.cox.net/~loveylou/56.jpg http://members.cox.net/~loveylou/59.jpg http://members.cox.net/~loveylou/60.jpg http://members.cox.net/~loveylou/63.jpg http://members.cox.net/~loveylou/65.jpg http://members.cox.net/~loveylou/65.jpg http://members.cox.net/~loveylou/66.jpg http://members.cox.net/~loveylou/69.jpg

Talc works like a champ Frank. I get it by the pound in cans at the dollar store. It is very easy to control the mix and it cures up like a rock but sands quite easily with power tools or by habnd if it is a small area. I have even used Saralees old face power in extremis

Where ever possible do it right the first time! That is always the best route if you can use it. The heavier gage, as Rays says, shouldn't need reinforcement.

Florin do you want poly or dacron?

What diameter and how long is this mast Jo? What can be done is to use galvanized fence top rail sections. They are made to fit together and have a narrowed end to fit into then next section. A pice of wood ripped down to fit inside will stiffen them up. Please give me a bit more information about what you are trying to do and I can give a more specific answer for you. After re-reading your last post you may have a good canadate for a birds mouth mast. They are light and strong as all get out. ( Don't over build them like I did). Tell me what the sizes are you need/want and we will work it.