ChrisObee

That is probably correct. If they publish full plans in a magazine have at it. In most cases when you purchase plans from a designer it means that you are licensed to build one boat. In any case the designer will provide you with instructions with you plan package that will make this plain.

Its a tough thing to do. I recall cutting the centerboard slot in my project. It seemed an unnatural act.

I like the Bateau VG20 Its a pretty boat. It has a fairly large cabin, a few mods make it very sea worthy. Its very light for its size, fast and weatherly.

That's quite the upgrade project.

Yes very much like that but extending all the way to the main mast. I think I would call this a dodger. Perhaps a little higher as well but then I'm rather on the large size.

Sounds to me like you want a canvas top. A couple of aluminum ribs and a few tie down points and you are all set. easy to stow, easy to erect. Kind of an extra long dodger. But I see that you are set on a hard top of some sort. I'm not sure why a hard top would be preferable over a canvas top during a long passage.

In Ohio the state only provides a HIN if you can prove that you did not purchase a kit (in that case the manufacturer is supposed to supply HIN) and that the boat is not stolen or constructed from a previous boat with a HIN. I showed the inspecting officer the boat, photos of the boat at various stages of completion and the plans. When I go for the title they may get into the tax bit but I think all I need to do is show that I did not buy the boat whole but rather built it. I have most my reciepts but I don't like to look at them in the fear that I might tally them up. I will probably go for my title and registration shortly as the boat is approching the splash date.

Lots of home owner insurance will put a rider on for any of your expensive personal belongings. You just need to document your belongings and give a reasonable estimate of the cost to replace.

Bassets are not that good at swimming so keep them safe in a proper PFD. I love my Basset.

Yes as the epoxy cures it releases heat. You use straight epoxy to coat wooden parts. You use fillers when glueing, filleting, filling gaps, etc. For gluing wood together you use epoxy thickened to the consistency of catsup. When filleting or filling gaps add fillers to the consistency of peanut butter. The filler you use depends on what you trying to do. wood flour is good for glue, silica makes a fillet hold its shape better, wood flour alone tends to sag. microballoons are good for fairing. I typically add two heaping tablespoons of wood flour to three oz of epoxy for glue. For fillets I add another 2 or three heaping tablespoons of silica to the epoxy and wood flour. for fairing I use quickfair. Your milage will vary and there are as many practices and formulae as there are boat builders.

[quote author=Hirilond

At the moment all I am doing is sanding, participating in another build, however virtual, helps keep Mr Jones at bay.

I bow to your long experience. My remarks are based on my own experience with varnish. It always seems rather soft after it sets. On the other hand I used the helmsman product just recently and it set up as hard as a rock.

No I didn't take that as a criticism of me. I just wanted to be clear that your comment being specific to the boat should probably have more weight than mine being general.

My comment was general, this appears to be specific to the boat in progress.

There is probably not much difference in sailing the 17 and the 20 singlehanded. handling the boat outside of the water on the other hand, the 20 will be much heavier. I'd go with the 17.

I use helmsman spar urethane. You can buy it at home depot. Very tough stuff, will last longer than varnish.

You should fill ALL such gaps with thickened epoxy. With gaps larger than 1/4" in width you should make a plug of plywood that will fill the gap and bed the patch piece in thickened epoxy. The plywood is not nessarilly stonger than the thickened ply but is cheaper. Oh... and a fillet is a fill-it not a fill-a. slight stress on the first.

None of your options represent my opinion. When you purchase you are buying a license that gives you the right to build one boat. Your purchase is a contract between you and the designer. There is no philosophy involved only lawful behavior and theft.

It might be easier to give advice if we could see the depth of your problem. I take it the wood has gone grey and weathered. there are treatments for turning that grey back to normal. Then some sort of coating over the top. I would epoxy first and then varnish over that. My only question is if epoxy will go over that treatment to return the color to the wood.

Lovely boat. I've been tempted by that one myself.

I use the bateau marine epoxy and the medium hardener gives a reasonable pot life at 85 degrees. Above 90 it gets a little brisk but I could have gone to the slow....

It would be an adventure to be sure. I'm kind of wimpy I guess cause a 10% chance of not making a 100 mile passage is in my view an unacceptable risk. I wouldn't venture on it untill I could figure a low single digit risk. One in ten isn't my idea of a vacation.

Mostly for day sailing, but I do aspire to a little camp cruising. For quick sails I have the Maumee river. If I want to go further there is Lake Erie. Further still, there are lots of large lakes in both Ohio and Michigan.

Here is my project that has been in progress much longer than I am willing to admit. Most of my progress has been done in the last couple of months. She is a Bateau CV16, a pram style sloop roughly 15 feet long.