Charlie Jones

West 105/206 is my normal epoxy. That's exactly what I'd use (and did use on a Weekender I built) for the rub rails. Mahogany and epoxy that is. Just wet the wood with epoxy neat, rewet as it shows dry spots in the end grain, then recoat with epoxy with filler such as woodflour and clamp. Refrain from over clamping- that's pretty much the worse thing can be done on an epoxy joint other than not getting a good wetout. Over clamping forces the epoxy out of the joint and starves it. A good solid pressure is about all you really need to just hold every thing in contact. For things like rub rails I normally use spring clamps. Should do well for you Sometimes the clamping process can look like this though [attachment over 4 years old deleted by admin]

I've had enough joint failures in my shop using Gorilla glue that I quit buying it. It's expensive and also has a very short shelf life once opened. I build boats for a living and use epoxy on virtually everything. I've NEVER had a joint failure in a properly made up joint using epoxy. I"ve used Resorcinal but that requires a very close fit in the joint and heavy clamping pressure. The Plastic resin is a good glue and I've also used TiteBond II on interior fittings such as cleats on settee tops, but NOT on load bearing structure. The TiteBond II is reasonably water resistant as long as it's not soaked for long periods. Hard to really recommend a glue though because I don't know what you are gluing.

Howdy Riley- Thanks for weighing in. Looking forward to seeing S.R. Cat on the beach at BEER in June

Phil- Both of those models look very nice. I HAD a scratch built Glouchesterman almost done once- ready for rigging. Then I changed wives and the old one tossed the ship. What I've harbored thoughts of trying is to build a scale model of each of the boats I've built. I still have the plans for most of them. Trouble is, I'm so busy fooling around with full sized ones there's no time for model building Oh well- one day I'll get to old to go sailing and then maybe I can build models

Mike- those are Sprit booms. Not sprit sails or sprits, but sprit booms. The sails used to be called "jib- headed" or "marconi" Where the sprit boom is attached to the mast is called a "snotter" and it's adjustable for foot and leech tension. With sprit booms you do not need a vang since that rig is self vanging. Also reduces sheet loading measurably. That's the same rig I have on my 18 foot cat ketch sharpie (just like the one in your picture). We like it a lot. When we converted from regular booms to sprit booms we were able to reduce the sheeting by one part- there's that much less load. One of the big advantages of a gunter is that on most of them all the spars are short enough to stow in the boat. With a cabin on the boat, that might be a moot point. A gunter does give you a pretty close approximation of a jib headed sail though.

Here's a link to the Coast Guard Nav center . There's a chart there that shows what Barry posted, plus a few more channels, but it's a lot easier to read http://www.navcen.uscg.gov/marcomms/vhf.htm

DAMIFINO

Greg- it IS on the site I provided- under books- it's the forth one down "Building the Instant Catboat" as I said in my post I've never sailed ON one, but I've sailed along with one. Sailed well. He uses it for fishing and camping. It's one of those boats that about twice as big on the inside as it is on the outside Carries a TON of gear. Here's the best shots I personally have of the boat. These were taken late one afternoon sailing on the Escatawpa River in southern Mississippi. Just out of Pascagoula in fact. Again- if you want to talk to the guy about his boat, email me and I'll put you in touch with him- he dearly loves his I can tell you that for sure. [attachment over 4 years old deleted by admin]

Greg- Bobcat is in a separate book devoted to that boat. While it's called "Build the Instant Catboat" it isn't one of the real "instant boats" The boat is a really neat one, but it's a little bit more difficult than the instant boats are- worth it though I think- I've got the plans book also. I've wanted to build one for years- just never had the occasion- yet!! Payson has a website where he sells all the plans and books, etc. here's the link to Payson's homepage. The books are listed there. http://www.instantboats.com/

on the outside. John- what I do when building is cut out the parts, then the exterior (or whatever will get glassed) gets one coat of epoxy and a quick sanding. The parts that AREN'T getting glassed, or those parts that might be difficult to reach later get at least two coats, then a good sanding. Then if it needs it I roll on another thin coat, sand that and go on. So I'd epoxy the inside, and at least lightly sand it before putting the boat together- yes. Also- having the inside coated keeps the ply from stealing epoxy from your fillets as you apply them. If the wood is uncoated, part of the epoxy soaks into the plywood and tends to make the filleting material dry out as you use it. I much prefer filleting over precoated and sanded wood. For others reading this thread- I should tell you that John is a professional singer / entertainer and has a really nice CD out full of sailing type songs- ask him about it. I have a copy and really have enjoyed it.

nope - you don't need to glass the seams first, unless it's an extremely high stress joint- none of the joints on your boat are gonna be that high stress. I usually overlap about 2 to three inches. See the picture above- The glass is laying about 2 inches over the chine out onto the bottom. The bottom in that pic is already glassed . It lapped down the side about the same amount. Then I did a rough fairing of the edge and then laid on the sides.

AMEN

Hi John- welcome to the board. I always roll on a coat of epoxy before glassing. I usually let it cure past the sticky stage, then either scrape off any lumps and bumps, and or very quickly run over the hull with 100 grit to take them off. Just enough sanding to make sure nothing will snag the glass fibers. Then I lay out the cloth, smoothing it into place and do whatever it takes to make sure it stays put. Tape, lead weights, what ever. I then pour on resin and squeegee it out into the cloth, moving excess resin into the dry areas as I go. I generally start close to one end, wet out three or four feet, then go back and catch the end. Then I finish from where I stopped. The plastic bondo spreaders that come in a three pack work well as squeegees as do the credit cards apps you get tons of every month I save those to use as epoxy and glue spreaders. Get some throwaway gloves and use them. An apron isn't a bad idea either [attachment over 4 years old deleted by admin]

Walnut should do just fine inside, although it might be a tad dark. If you use it just for trim and go white or light on the rest it should be really pretty. I wouldn't even put a stain on it- just varnish.

I have a good friend in Mississippi who built and sails a Bobcat. Pretty neat boat. I've admired the design for quite some time now. One point- it was designed by Phil Bolger- Dynamite only builds 'em- Bolger design's 'em Email me directly and I'll put you in touch with the guy in Mississipi.

Wensum- I highly suggest you post this question on the Woodenboat forums. You'll get LOADS of info, and there are sailors on there who sail on YOUR waters in roughly the same type of boats. Here's the link http://media5.hypernet.com/cgi-bin/UBB/ultimatebb.cgi try posting under the "repairs" section and good luck.

Dave - on the rub rail thread you talked about starting in the middle when installing and I'd normally agree with you. But the Weekender has this heavy, seriously extended stem piece that precludes using a spanish windlass to pull the rails in at the bow- it sticks out something like a foot (or more). That's the reason , on this particular boat, I recommended starting up at the bow.

Agree with Dave totally on the butt joins. Don't do it on rub rails. Use an epolxied scarf , run the feather of the scarf aft on the outside and arrange it so it falls midships or aft of that. I found it easier to start fastening in the bow and work aft- gives you lots of leverage to pull the rail in - If you try to work to the bow from the middle, you'll be getting into the hardest bend (plus some twist) while running into decreased leverage to pull the rail in to the hull. You can fit the rail to the bow before you scarf it if you don't have room (or help) to work with the full length pieces. Then remove it, glue up the scarf and continue. Also- I WOULD NOT glue it down. I'd use a good caulk such as 3M 4200. Sooner or later you'll be removing at least a part of the rail for repairs. After all - that IS it's reason for being there- to protect the hull from scrapes

Justin, of "Just Right" spends a lot of his online time on the Trailersaiilor board. He really did a nice job on that boat. From reading stuff in the past, she's a really sweet sailor - he did well in the Cruiser Challenge in San Fran last year. You might also take a look at the B and B Board which is part of these forums- Graham has some very nice smaller cruiser designs also.

Gal- you are really crankin" Lookin' GOOD. Keep on keeping on

I tried Gorilla glue in my woodshop. Maybe I didn't do things right, but after two jobs came back because the glue joint failed, I junked the stuff and went back to epoxy for repairing breaks. I don't of course use epoxy for standard gluing because on furniture the glue joins need to be reversable. I only use it on breaks other than joints.

Agree completly on the ash. It'll darken for you to a nice color too. You'll have to keep it wetted with oil for a while but it'll wind up being a nice hoop.

A centerboard takes a tremendous side loading and it's a cantelevered loading. Using plywood, half of your grain is not doing anything- it's running the wrong way. The way the CB is designed, ALL the grain is running across the load so you get max strength from it. By the way, the Gougeon's have a brochure out on building rudders, dagger boards and centerboards. They reccommend strongly AGAINST using plywood for just that reason.

I think the 8K figure is probably pretty close on materials, counting trailer sails, etc. As for time to build, I've been working just under half time on this boat for about 10 - 11 months now and I'm doing interior now (without the cabin top Oyster). Had I been able to devote full time to it I figure it would have taken 9 months. That's using all first class materials. I totally agree with Graham on this- if you are going to devote this many hours and that much funding to a boat, use the best stuff in it. The difference between using Okume ply throughout and fir marine was about 600 bucks all up. Isn't worth the difference.

They don't HAVE to be left aluminum You can always shoot the sticks with some 2 part poly to a light brown color. Painting an aluminum mast isn't all THAT difficult.