Charlie Jones

Welcome aboard. I just read about the "Rose Buddies". What a great thing to do . Wish they'd been there when I came through E City back in the early 80's. But we found it a nice town even without them. Sure hope one day to cruise Dismal once more and stop in at Elizabeth City again. My wife and I are owned by several boats, smaller ones than yours, but owned none the less .

Thank you Graham. I got busy today and really forgot to look it up. Building hatches frames for the cockpit of the Princess. Pictures very soon cause the work is almost done on them-

LOL- I've had days like that

Greg- I'll have to look at the shop tomorrow for that info. I'll get back on it.

What kinds of problems did you have? Really curious to know. I remember building the bowsprit for the Weekender. I kept track of time for that particularly for a post on it. Took me three hours working time from the time I stepped to the radial arm saw to cut the staves to length, to the time I had a sanded round spar, ready for varnish. This does not count glue curing time of course, just my actual working time. Of course, that spar was straight, not tapered. Tapering does add something to the time to prepare the staves, but after that everything is the same. I cut and tapered the top part of the mast in about a day and a half if I remember correctly.

you might also post the same question over on the Trailer Sailor board - Many many innovative people over there also, with much small boat experience. http://bbs.trailersailor.com/forums/trailersailor/index.cgi

Brent- as an individual you can solder if you want to. As a professional builder I can't . Soldered connections aren't "code" Code requires crimped, using marine grade wire. The soldered connections are felt to be more brittle and subject to vibrational damage. Just for your information

two things I can think of right away. First, a gaffer doesn't do well with a box style mast- the gaff jaws really sorta need a round mast to rotate on. Second- a round, tapered Birdsmouth spar can be built very quickly and can be made quite light by varying the size (thickness ) of the staves. A birds mouth spar is hollow also. If it were me, I'd go with the birdsmouth if I wasn't going to use a solid mast per plans. That's exactly how I built the Weekender I built. Having said that, there's not a thing wrong with the idea, just I really think , not for a Weekender. In fact, I talked a bit with Graham Burns about using plywood for the sides to build a box boom for my Rhodes Meridian 25.

LOL- Greg- when you've run as many MILES of fillet as I have, you'll do pretty good too

Greg- yes you'll need to paint if you use the aluminum powder. It will protect the epoxy for a long time but it's still not the UV protection paint is. I doubt you could paint the graphite, but then if you did you'd be defeating using it anway. I have it on the bottom of a canoe and when it gets scuffed up to much I just rub it down and roll another coat. On vertical surfaces, I do things just a bit differently than Oyster does. I get a coat of epoxy on the surface and let it tack, or even cure. If cured, of course I sand it before glassing. Anyway- I hang the glass on the vertical surfaces and use a foam roller to get the epoxy on the surface of the cloth. THEN I use a squeegee to spread it out and really push it through the weave. In actuality, I'm just getting the resin up there with the roller, and doing the real application with the squeegee. All this proves is that there are many ways of doing the same job, depending on the workman I'm sure Mike and I get pretty much the same end results. I did the two sides and the transom on the Princess in less than a day this way. I posted pics of the glassing some time ago on this forum. I think I used the word Princess in the subject line- you might find them interesting.

Paul- don't you think it a tiny bit unfair to compare the Macs to blue water boats like the Allegra 24? Might we also compare the Weekender to that boat? About the same deal don't ya think. Actually, the old Mac 26 X wasn't all THAT bad as a sail boat. Not a "go to weather" like a 12 meter boat, but then neither is the Allegra and I'm sure Fred would agree. Different ideas behind the boats. The Mac power sailers are designed for protected water, although I have friends who have taken them to the Bahamas with NO difficulties. I also have a friend who cruises a 26 X powered by a 25 hp. He routinely gets 10- 12 knots out of that engine when he's powering. But he sails a lot. The new 26 M is suppose to be a better sailing boat than the X was. Basically it's a redeaux of the old 26 D which was one of the better sailng Mac's ever built. There is a D sitting on the lot at my shop and along side is a new M- Hulls look a LOT alike, The interior is also pretty close. The head room on the M is slightly lower than the X was, but still 6 foot. The boat also is towable by a standard 6 cylinder pick up. Can't be all wrong. The guy who owns the sailboat shop has towed with a Honda 4 banger- not fun but doable. I should add here that personally I don't like the looks of the X or the M, and wouldn't want one for myself (because of the looks) but that's why there are many boats out there. But it IS undeniably a lotta bang for the buck for a family wanting something to get out on the lake in. Personally I think my Rhodes designed Meridian 25 is gorgeous- others may disagree. But I'm happy.

good recommendations Oyster. I've used both the graphite (on a canoe we have) and the aluminum powder (on a 35 foot trimaran) For hardness, the aluminum powder wins hands down. The graphite will give you a black smooth surface, but it scrapes easily compared to the aluminum. The aluminum powder also gives you a TAD of UV protection for the epoxy- not enough so you can leave it bare, but it'll keep for months. Very hard surface once it's cured so be warned - do your sanding as early as you can, cause if you let the stuff cure for a few months you WILL regret it Scott- check the surface by sanding a small area before you add another coat- sometimes (often) the fill coats telegraph the weave long after it is actually filled. Meaning you can see what looks to be unfilled weave, but it's really not. I usually scrape down or lightlly sand with 100 grit after the second fill coat, just to knock off the high spots- it'll surprise you to see how filled it really is. Now- I don't mean a hard sanding by any means- just a light once over with the ROS to get rid of lumps and bumps. For example, sanding the bottom of the Princess took me about 20 minutes- that lightly. Bet you slept well that night after the bottom glassing HUH?

Welcome Laura. Good to see a youngster involved in boats. My wife is also named Laura and she's a very talented sailor and boat woman. She raced Sunfish and then switched to a Dolphin Sr. Both of those boats are lateen rigged and she was good enough to whip the dickens out of all the men racing against her. In fact, she was #2 in the club when she stopped racing. The only one who beat her regularly was another woman So tell your dad and brother to expect some stiff competition when you get your boat done- you gotta carry on the name's tradition

Wow- missed that:) Thanks. I didn't even realize "The Fuller Brush Man" was still in existance!!! I got the site bookmarked for later.

Yep- I share a building with a sailboat shop who is a dealer for them. It's a pretty good starter boat or a boat for a family. It will require another 6 grand for a 50 hp motor though. The usual price as delivered and ready to sail is around 26,000- 27,000 after extras are added such as the jib, which isn't part of the base cost. The new "M" model is a dagger board boat, and has a bit more ballast then the older "X" had. It also has a rotating mast. There is no other sailboat around that will allow you to ski behind it although it WILL do quite well with a 25 hp- gets around 10- 12 mph running a 25, somewhere around 20 mph with a 50, depending on how much junk you put aboard. Mac's are a love 'em or hate 'em boat you'll find. Lots of satisfied owners on TSBB by the way.

20 years ago the Fuller Brush portlights were considered the top of the line. I couldn't afford them when I was building my tri Too bad they aren't still in the market- I still couldn't afford them but it would be really nice to still have really quality stuff being sold, cause some of the plastic ones sold today aren't so great..

Draw knives are really useful tools . I used mine to rough down the keelson up toward the bow on the B and B Princess I'm building. Back when Laura and I were doing Black Powder rendezvous and living history re-enactments, we'd use the draw knives to peel poles for teepees. Take the bark off a 20 foot long pine tree in just minutes. But if you're gonna do draw knife work ya GOTTA have a spoke shave for the fine trimming at the end By the way- I like the traditional American style handles myself.

LOL- Not always Greg:) Back sometime in about 1961, a buddy of mine and I were waiting for the bus to take us back to Jacksonville from the beach. The station happened to be right across the street from a beach bar called the Sombrerro. Several ships were in in Mayport, so the liberty load was pretty heavy. That bar had been sorta staked out by the Marines, and they were well on their way to , well, enjoying liberty. A Seabee deuce came wandering down the street, and turned into the bar. Seems like seconds later, he came flying back out the door, having been forcibly ejected. He picked himself up, dusted off his uniform and headed off down the street. Within a very few minutes, the Seabees began to congregate. BIG dudes too When there was a goodly bunch outside on the street, THEY proceeded in the door. Very shortly the noise level increased (a bunch). Soon, Marines began coming out the door- and front glass window. Very soon a pair of Shore Patrol showed up, asked us what was going on and we filled 'em in. The two of them sorta stood and watched for a few, til a SP truck pulled up with an officer in it. He jumped out and ordered the two SPs to "get in there and break that up!" One of the SP's handed the officer his night stick Officer says" are you refusing to go in there?" SP says" No SIR- I'll be right behind you!!" By this time the brawl had wound down because there were no more Marines in the place. The Seabees took up a collection, paid the bar owner for the damages to the building and from then on til the battalion left, the Seabees OWNED the Sombrerro!!

Hey- Install the seats, flip the boat. THEN raise it high enough to comfortably sit under it, and paint the inside of the lockers, etc while seated on a bucket or chair. That's exactly how I painted the 18 foot Sharpie I built Seriously, it's really easy to get under decks, etc that way.

Interesting about the redesign Graham. Just how much more load can you expect the boat to carry Ours sure lugs a big load with no complaints when we ask it to do so. We're continually surprised with the boat. MUCH bigger than we expected. I suspect that it or another just like it will go on our new boat. Michel- what oar plans are you using- I still haven't gotten around to building oars for our 'Paw and really need to do that. Those aluminum things from my inflatable work but sure are NOISY!!!

JT- I'd say go for it. The older ones particularly are well built machines and you can do great stuff with them. The only drawback is resetting the machine to do different things if you are in a production type environment. If you want it mostly for boat type work, make sure the band saw parts work well- you'll use that part much more than a table saw for boat building anyway. For the home woodworker or hobbiest, doing mostly "one-of" type jobs, they should do well. On the other hand, someone in my position probably wouldn't be happy with one.

not having any real experience with the Core Sounds I can't really speak to the time on them- BUT- The Core Sounds are tack and tape boats. The Princess isn't really. The sides are installed on frames (bulkheads) and then the keelson is laid in and beveled, then the bottom is attached- uses screws (temporary) into the side edges and into the keelson. Plus the bow sections of the bottom are multiple layers to get the curve- not really cold-molded because the strips all run the same way, but time wise, about the same as coldmolded. THEN the boat is turned over and the chines filleted and taped. From what I can figure and this is pure guess- I'd calculate the 26 at at least a quarter to a third more time than the 22, and the 22 at about the same more than the Core Sounds, maybe a tad more because of the cabin.

Greg- I really can't say. Had hoped to do it in 2003, but instead we obtained and refurbished a building for Laura's art studio- she really needed a place of her own to work from. It's made her quite a bit more productive, so it was worth it. That gave us a tax writeoff on her building for 2003. Now maybe I can do the same this year. We are underway in the search for the steel I-beams. My shop will be a steel framed building, with metal roof and wood sides (to match our other buildings here). I need to build to a "100 MPH" code for insurance purposes, due to where we live (living on the coast does have a FEW drawbacks ) Laura's dad is a retired pipefitter/welder and has all his gear, so that's how the framing will be done. Looking to build at least 24 x 32 with 10 foot sidewalls, on a concrete slab. We'll see how that turns out though. Most likely we'll be late in the summer getting it done. Pretty much have to do it this year since the sailboat shop I share a building with is most likely gonna close at year end, and I don't want to pay the tab to rent the entire building by myself.

Greg- you are most likely correct on your time accessment for building the 26. However, don't use my build time on the Princess as a yardstick. Remember- I may be doing it as a job, but I also run a furniture repair and refinishing shop at the same time. I don't know just when the next boat building commission will turn up so I MUST maintain my furniture shop customers during the boat building times. There for I don't really get to work on the boat "Full-time". I try to get in as much each week as possible and some weeks that's all I do. But other weeks are spent on furniture work. I'd say I'm really turning out to be half time on boat building. Would that I could dump the furniture end and do boats full time. I could do them more quickly and I'D LOVE IT Perhaps when I get my big shop built here at the house (hopefully next year -ooops- this year ) I can quit driving the 76 miles round trip each day and just work here.

I have a small non functional chest freezer where I store my epoxy and other glues in cold weather. I can put a drop light inside with a 60 watt bulb and keep the whole thing toasty in sub freezing stuff. Of course we seldom get below freezing for very long at a time, but it really does make a difference.