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Alex

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Everything posted by Alex

  1. I would forget the pumps altogether. I now only use syringes. They are cheaper, more accurate and a lot faster than pumps. Here is a link for 150ml syringes on ebay for you to have a look at. I use a few different sizes and can easily measure accurately as small as 3ml batches. That you can't do with pumps. https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Pro-150ML-Plastic-Reusable-Syringe-Tube-Pipe-Sterile-Injectio-Measuring-Nutrient/142061882380?hash=item21138c4c0c:g:kasAAOSwaB5XkcjC
  2. Just make another step lower down and problem solved.
  3. Hi Stareed, Your biggest mistake was telling your wife how much things cost. When it comes to boats you always have to divide the cost by at least half and even then they will still say gee that's expensive. Surely you don't think that she tells you the truth about how much her new handbag or shoes cost. I have learned this over time that in order to continue with my hobby of boat building, you have to fudge the figures a little or sometimes a lot in order to get the ok to start a new build.
  4. Comments for sailing the cat ketch in these higher winds would be great. Drop the sails and motor home.
  5. Not only photos, we also want video if possible.
  6. Walt, If your keel isn't installed yet you can shove it in the centerboard slot to hold it up.
  7. Painting the inside of my Spindrift was easy. Just lift the boat on its side and place a stick under the keel. Easy as. I did this for all the sanding and painting with not having to bend over at all. You don't have to leave it up, just while your working on it, so it shouldn't be a problem for the kids.
  8. Use a compass and then a jigsaw. If you can't cut a circle with a jigsaw, get a different blade. You can buy rather thin blades that make cutting circles very easy.
  9. All this talk about Hydro Lock. Have owned my Suzuki for about 5 years now and never had any issue at all and certainly never experienced Hydro Lock.
  10. It might be ok but I wouldn't do it. I just tilted the boat vertically and put a prop under the keel to hold it in place while I sanded and painted the inside. Very easy to do and very comfortable to work as well, without having to crouch down for hours on end.
  11. An easy way is to use fly screen wire. Just cut it out into whatever shape you want, then place where you want grip, then paint all over the screen and then remove. You are left with good grip that is as easy to sand as paint and you don't have to go looking for any special products.
  12. Absolutely awesome videos. The editing was great as well as the soundtrack. What a great experience.
  13. I am surprised that you are making your tabernacle already when you haven't even sourced your mast material. I hope whatever you settle on will fit without having to redo them. I have used 4 or 5 different brands of epoxy in Australia and you can't go past the Bote-cote system, however their water based paints are shocking. I have seen quite a few boats that have used their paint and I don't like the look of any of them not to mention the boat I half painted before realising that the paint was terrible. Their gloss is more like a matt finish. I would sand smooth the top coat without going through the paint and then roll and tip a coat of polyurethane for an awesome gloss finish. I do this with baseball bats and they look great and stand up well.
  14. Drew, have you decided what you are going to do about the masts? Have you located any suitable aluminium sections yet? If so I would like to know where from as I am thinking of making wooden masts as I can't locate anything suitable.
  15. Thanks Graham for the great explanation and also to you Par.
  16. Hi All, I will be starting my build of a CS 17 soon and was wondering if anyone has tried or at least thought about putting in a false self draining floor for the water ballast like the MK 3 models? If Alan or Graham could respond with some info on how deep the floor would have to be to be self righting that would be great. Thanks.
  17. I would only ever build from plans. Once I bought a kit only because the designer did not sell plans and it was absolutely rubbish. I sold it for about a quarter of what I paid for it. Kits are fine for those that don't have the ability or patience to build from scratch, but if a designer wants to sell world wide he needs to sell plans. I know of a few designers that refuse to even think about selling plans because they think they can make more money selling kits. Unless you have agents all around the world to make up the kits, you are greatly limiting your potential buyers.
  18. For those that sail on lakes you can probably get away with a pair of oars, but for the rest of us who sail in the salt water with strong tidal currents oars are pretty useless. I have found that I can't make any progress into the current and can only hope to make shore going across the current while being pushed sideways. I will definitely have my motor mounted on the back at all times and not stowed away in some locker.
  19. I do love my Suzuki and have never experienced any of the above issues. My motor is always stored on a stand or on the back of my boat and never in the horizontal position.
  20. I pre-bent my gunwales for about a week before fitting and had no problems at all. It is easy to do and I also did it for the other curved pieces inside the boat.
  21. What are you looking to build? It will help you decide on which plywood to use. If you are building something small go the good stuff, but if you are building a bigger boat then you have to think about the budget more. So what design do you have in mind?
  22. You mention cost is an issue. If it is a small boat it doesn't make that much difference in the long run. The biggest investment in building a boat is your time so you may as well go the good stuff. Like all things, if you skimp on cost you will regret it later.
  23. I went with the suggested location for the main which is easy to tack aft one or two up. The new sail is basically a training Laser sail, which has a sleeve. Yes the mast does rotate with the boom which causes no issues that I have found. Below is the website where you can purchase from in the US. http://isails.com/laser-store/
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