kydocfrog

Okay, interesting stuff here. Particularly the problem of the screws backing out. That one is a bit worrisome. Actually, the note that got me thinking here was Ray F's comment on the B&B forum about a CS20 constructed from okoume that the owner chose to skip the glass because of weight. CG II is all okoume, 3/8 " or better. Ray -- did the seams on that one get taped? I suspect that the answer is I'd better buck up here and get the tape and epoxy out. Doc A in Kentucky

Was just reading some stuff on the B&B forum about taping seams. So, I don't want to start too much of a fight, but having just made a horrible mess of some seams on the cabin I'm gonna ask... Charlie Girl II is entirely very solid, a bit overbuilt, full blown marine ply. I'm not going to go full glass cover. That's overkill for me. I could put her out in the backyard in the rain right now, and she would probably still outlast me. Wooden boats have done so for years. I'm going for sensible boat finish rather than yacht finish; galvanized, medium gloss, and a few really elegant touches. So how much do I really gain taping the chines and transom. I know I have exposed edges of the plywood in one direction at each seam, but will epoxy/sealer and paint frequently monitored take care of that? Doc A in Kentucky

I just went back and looked at your earlier posts. What a hoot! Doc A in Kentucky

I will say, by way of bragging a bit, that I don't think I ever used the kicker for docking with the original Charlie Girl. That was at Aberdeen Proving Ground at the old Speutsie Island "Yacht" Club. Used to get the attention of folks when I would charge the dock under sail with her, all those wooden spars and what seemed like the biggest sail in the world and Cape Dory overbuild. The dock was in far more danger than I was. I did use the kicker more often in Lake Champlain and most of the time when picking up mooring buoys. I hope I remember how to sail when I finish CG II...

I had a Seagull on my last boat, the Cape Dory, and loved it. Never missed a beat. Pure minimalist industrial design. It did nearly kill me one day when I reached around it for a line and wrapped my arm across the vertical exhaust manifold. Pain is nature's way of telling you that you just screwed up... :shock:

Actually, with a snapfit cover or raised soft-top or boom tent, I think I will end up with more overnight room too, depending on decisions about a dagger board trunk. Best visual until I find my camera cable are the pictures of the Stornoway design on the Scruffie website.

Had the first warm, sunny Sunday this weekend here in Kentuck, so got some work done. Lots of sanding on seat backs, but the major move was on the cabin. After dithering for weeks, I took nerve and skill-saw in hand and performed major surgery on Charlie Girl's cabin roof. I continued the hatch cut-out all the way to the forward roof beam, making a semi-slot top ala the Stornoway design (www.scruffie.com). It worked great! It opens up the cabin remarkably, adding considerable potential to the interior and making access to mast, halyards, etc directly feasible without sidling along the sidedecks or balancing on the cabin. I'm delighted. Will start on the coamings and new bracing next which will ultimately support the soft toneau style cover. I also did a test mounting for the outboard bracket and the Seagull kicker I picked up off ebay. In retrospect, I could probably have gotten away with a short shaft version. I'll have to see how this all works in the water. If it drags or gets in the way too much there's always a market for Seagulls. On a less positive note, I found some problems in the last epoxy batch I did. Either temperature or mix or both, but I had major randomly distributed spots that had not hardened after two weeks. Lots of really gummy work getting that cleaned up. But things progress. I can't find the cord to my digital camera. When I do, I'll send pictures of the cabin surgery. I'm tickled with it. Doc A in Kentucky

Spoil your whole day, that will.

I think that's the issue on the lazarette design -- lack of compartmentalization as opposed to sealed and air tight.

Nice coaminigs. Are they laid up or bent? DocA.

DuckWorks also lists a supplier for sail set for Weekender in their online store. Its a great emag to check constantly anyway. duckworksmagzine. com on the web DocA

Back from a week off on the road and trying to catch up. This is a great thread. As another builder who was chosen by an unfinished Weekender, this continuing discussion of possible mid-course corrections and mods is very helpful. One of the oddest aspects of the design to me, in the sense of a missed detail, is the bulkhead at the rear of the cockpit. For the life of me I cannot figure why it wasn't continued to the hull sides to make a fully enclosed lazarette. With a useful gasket across the tiller port in the transom, the reserve flotation could have been much higher, and, with access ports, some moderately useful storage space created. Seems like a rather simple detail that could have been different.

I've had the most luck (of not much) using a squeege sort of approach rather than a roller too. At least on relatively horizontal surfaces. What happened on the cabin sides you don't want to know. I'm wondering if a middle ground isn't available. We used to use a hard surface roller in rolling out ink for prints, silkscreens, etc. They were maybe a third the size of a paint roller; inch to inch and half in diameter out of very hard rubber. Kind of a rolling squeege. I may rummage around in an art supply house before I do hull seams. sigh.

I am learning so much from this! DocA

Well, a bit of progres on Charlie Girl II including on some of the curvy parts. Motor mount bits and pieces ready to install after transom prep. My "calculus" solution to the rather complex curves I inherited on the seat backs. Discrete vertical strips melding into curves;imbedded top bottom and sides in poly adhesive caulk. You can also see the something of the massive mahagony upper gunn'l / rubrail she came with. Not quite a 2x4 but close. I opted to seal the back of it and use it directly as toerail/gunn'l rather than trying to force in another strip. Deck tan will go up interior face; exterior face will be bright. That will probably be the major piece of brightwork. I won't include photo of horrible mess I've made on sealing cabin top seams until I get it fixed... :oops: Anyway, some progress with bits and pieces instead of sanding sanding sanding sanding... Doc A Kentucky [attachment over 4 years old deleted by admin]

Maybe the Air Force is just smarter. As a Green Suiter in Europe we used to "joke" that the Air Force fiscal management strategy was build the Officer's Club, build the NCO and Enlisted clubs, build the housing and the golf course and the PX, and then go back to Congress and say, gee guys, we need some more money for runways and gas... Us Green Suiters never did figure that out... (Of course even talking about O Clubs dates me.) DocA

Wow. I am looking forward to part II. DocA

Rather looks like the fit is darn near perfect...

I get Charlie Girl II up in the spring (at least far enough along to make sure the water stays out) we could have a mini-messabout this summer. Doc A Versailles

How about the arrival of Ellen MacArthur (hope I got that spelling right) at the Ushant on the 5th? Around the world, single handed, new world record of slightly over 71 days. One day of over 500 miles. Wow! Hard Core!

Well, a brief spurt of warm weather and a bit of time has resulted in a small flurry of activity on Charlie Girl II while Barnacle Bill was out sailing. Various cleats are installed with only minor visible blips, motor mount backing plate is in and installation is under way with a bit of a vibration pad made from a truck mudflap installed between the mount and the transom.... and my first cut at some epoxy and tape work done on top of cabin. I'm afraid I made a bit of a mess on that on my first try. Lots of lumps and runs which are going to result in some brutal sanding and getting the bondo and spatuals back out. Oh well. I guess some of that could have been avoided by full sheet glassing, but I'm skipping that in favor of sealing and taping major seams where end-grain of the marine ply is exposed and then hauling out the paint pot. I guess that's a bit of a short-cut that could be faulted, but heck; I figure two things. First, I could slap masking tape and latex kitchen paint on this thing and it would still probably last longer than me given the quality of the wood in her, but that might be a bit crude. But even at a little higher level of finish, -- again given my life expectancy and the boat's -- I can paint a lot of times for the price and weight of a full glass job. I'm gonna put my time in on floatation, keel mods and rig. I've definitely decided to go with a dagger board box (probably will skip the more elegant but more complex swinging center board) and a rig adopted from th standing lug layout of the 15'6" Scruffie ( www.scruffie.com). I really like the ability to get the peak a little higher yet reducing halyards to only one. I also like the added benefit of the loose-footed main which, given the clearances in the cockpit, gives some added safety with a slightly nicer proportion. The twin headsail layout while keeping the sloop proportions on the bowsprit looks good too. I'll think about that zippy mizzen from Stornoway (same site) someday later. Now, if I can figure a simple way to hang 40 to 60kg of external ballast... Pictures -- of the nice parts... :wink: -- when I find the digital camera. Cheers. KyDocFrog (DocA)

Go sailing...work on boat...go sailing...work on boat... Harley...Dinette set...Harliey...Dinette set... 'm at govenor's cup academic meet all day Saturday. I'll call you in the evening if that's okay. All this work stuff keeps getting in the way. It's like we say in higher ed; this would be a good gig if weren't for the faculty and the students... DocA

Ohhhkay. Innocently following a thread on the B&B forum, I got routed off to www.scruffie.com and oh, boy. I had earlier muttered about a small mizzen and loosefooted main. I'm thinking that Stornoway, a design on the Scruffie web site looks somehow like a Weekender grown fancy a bit. Anyone ever tried to sketch out rig like this for a Weekender? Would probably take some keel mods kind of like Tim D's changes and sketches, but I'm really thinking about going that way anyway. And that really neat variation on the slot top without really doing a slot top for cabin room and being able to move forward... Comments? DocA in Kentucky

So many good ideas; thanks much!

Okay, Charlie Girl II and I could use a little help here. Anybody got some advice on the seat backs; particularly that last odd, somewhat extreme curve into to the cuddy bulkhead. It seems like a perfect example of the kind of curve that plywood, even 1/4 inch which is the thinnest I can get, isn't supposed to make. My next try, and the word next is intentional, will involve some serious kerfing, but so far I'm not having much luck. A friend suggested masonite style hardboard -- much thinner and more flexible -- but I'm worried about durability since I can't find the type with both surfaces oil finished. I guess I could stop the seat back a bit short and then scupt in a massive fairing of epoxy and woodflour, but that seems a bit crude. Pictures? Advice? Alternate approaches? KyDocFrog