Mike H.

Howard, I too am looking for two piece oars for my 10N (which I just cut in half today :!: ) The ones West Marine carry are 6' Caviness oars. I've read a few reviews that seem to point to a lack of quality control as the oars weren't even all the same length always. Aside from mega-buck handmade oars the only other ones I've found are for a nine foot inflatable pontoon fishing boat called the Outcast PAC 900. Here's a web site that sells accessories for it. (http://www.flyfishusa.com/outcast/02-Outcast-Accessories/outcast-acc.html) Basically they have aluminum two piece oars in 6' and 7' for $40 and $46 respectively and 7' carbon fiber ones for $100, also two piece. The only problem I see with them is that they're not nearly as pretty as wooden oars. They will be lighter and I trust the long sleeved aluminum tubing joint more than the couple of inches of thread on the Caviness oars. I think I'm gonna go for the 7 footers and cut 6" off if necessary, which seems unlikely as 7' is great for a 10 foot boat. Cheers, Mike P.S. Can't resist sneaking in a shot of "the big cut"!

Oops! That's right, you have the white Spindrift. I was thinking that the green one with the red sails was yours. That's the guy with the modified midship's seat. I'm thinking of going with that and side seats like yours. Cheers, Mike

Thanks Steve, I've started in on the smaller projects now. Rudder parts, centerboard, foredeck pieces. The centerboard has came out beautifully from Honduran mahogany and fir. They contrast nicely. I do have a bit of a challenge ahead of me with it. My wife is a bit of a hippy at heart (albeit born too late!) so I've decided to do a hollowed out 5" peace sign where the boring old 4" lightening hole would've been. The empty places between the inner "arms" has been cut away altogether and the outer perimeter is going to be deep groove. The arms and inner portion of the perimeter are going to be rounded off to match the outer groove, making it 3D. No worries if it was all mahogany but the difference in hardness between the light and dark veins in the fir is suprising. On the plus side it gave me the reason to buy the Dremel I've been wanting as the X-acto router blade knife just wasn't cutting it (pun intended). Of course my wife has been given free reign to paint the symbol as "groovy" as she likes when I finish. Steve, I was curious how you like the midship seat setup on your 10N. I was thinking of doing something similar as it seems it would result in a stronger centerboard and one less piece to toe around is always nice too. Til next time, Mike

Sounds like UV protective spar varnish and two-part polyurethane is the way to go. I imagine it's longevity will more than offset the cost. After a lengthy drive today I found some beautiful spruce 1x10's so it looks like I won't have to go the joining route. I may still go with mahogany for the knees, breasthook, and center seat as they look very sharp with a bright finish. I'd guess I've been putting in somewhere between 25-30 hours a week on my boat. A lot of that has been getting my workshop in order and aquiring materials and tools. Out of curiosity, how long did it take some of you guys who've built one? Cheers all, Mike H.

I've got a boat now! Taped inside and out, it's a good thing it won't fit out of the room I'm building it in until it's cut in half or I may already be floating around my apartment complex's pool! A few first time builder questions now: What kind of paint and primer have people had long term success with? This is going to be a working tender (as soon as I get a boat big enough to tend ) and as such will likely see it's fair share of knocks and dings. For this reason I'm not going to be spending loads of time on a "furniture finish". Clean and strong is my motto. I think I may want something that's not ultra glossy so as not to show it's slight "character flaws" and war wounds. After looking high and low for 1x10's I can't seem to find much of anything that isn't white pine. Would this suffice for the seats or will it be too soft? I'm planning on finishing some parts bright and am not certain if I should epoxy coat prior to applying the polyurethane. I've heard that with age and UV exposure epoxy can turn a yellowish color. Until next time, Mike H.

After a few minor setbacks my Spindrift is 3D! What a joy it is to see a stack of strangely shaped boards come together into the boat I can't wait to sail! Hats off to Graham for an excellent design. This is my first boat but with some care and attention to the plans while laying/cutting out, everything lined up beautifully and the curves are fair. Alright, alright I did take out the plane twice... The only problem I have is that I seem to have aquired a stowaway already :!: :?: I explained that #546 wouldn't be getting underway for a few weeks but he just kept yelling, "i'm ready!". Oh well. I guess I'll just toss some colloidal silica in his eyes and wack him over the head with a mast section if he's still there tomorrow. Cheers! Mike h.

Thanks Ray! You had me going there for a minute cuz your whole post wasn't on the screen when I read the "bad news"! I figured hey, this guy may know what he's doing but I'm gonna give rejoining the old joint a good ol' college try anyway! Today I'm gonna redo the joint but unfortunately I don't own a belt sander. I imagine that they would be the way to go for fairing though. I've got a random orbital and a finishing sander. I was thinking of buying some sandpaper belts and using them on a long flexible sanding board to get a belt sander result, albeit it with more sweating and cursing. Cheers! Mike H.

The tape on the outside broke at the seam and it folded up. The inside cracked enough the I cut the few hangers on. The plywood (6MM Okume) came through unscathed. Thanks for the quick response, Mike H.

With visions of having something resembling a boat in my shop before bedtime I started wiring up my 10N today. I got about halfway up the bow when I thought I could make it easier by pulling the sides closer to their finished position to relieve some stress up front. In retrospect I suppose that it was the pulling the sides down that did it. Anyway the starboard joint went *CRACK!!* and my face went * :shock: :x * in that order. Not a tremendously big deal I suppose, but how to fix it? The previous joint was the most beautiful, void-free joint ever. Can I get a strong joint by sanding it down a bit, roughing it up and doing another over the thin remaining layer? Or do I have to sand, sand, sand, and sand some more to get back to bare wood again? Mike H.

Wow :!: This is an active forum! Thank you all for the prompt and sage advice. I'm going to cut out and replace the bad glass today I believe. I'd rather do the filling and whatnot on a nice horizontal surface than on the boat. Mike H.

I started construction of my Spindrift 10N a few days ago and removed the clamps from my side/bottom butt joints. They are very strong but have a few areas where the glass didn't bond to the wood. The glass is still opaque and you can tell it isn't laminated by tapping on it. I was thinking of buying a syringe, injecting epoxy into these areas, and reclamping it. I've also considered cutting out these areas and putting in new glass tape. Does anyone have any experience with such repairs? Thanks all! Mike H.

I'm now the proud owner of plans for Spindrift 10N #546! I've only gotten as far as purchasing a few tools, talking my wife out of losing the office/workout room for the duration of construction :twisted: , and buying 4 sheets of 6MM Okume. Tomorrow we're driving to Vandemere, NC to meet Carla and Graham, take a look at a couple of completed Spindrifts, and to buy all of the hardware and a sail. I'm bringing a notebook and roughly 3,967 questions as well! A word on the Okume. From what I had heard, Richmond, VA was the closest place to the Hampton Roads area to purchase quality marine plywood. I'm happy to say that I've found a place that sells all kinds of marine ply (including BS 1088 rated Okume in several thicknesses) as well as nearly every other kind of hard-to-find wood you can imagine. Here's the info: Yukon Lumber Company 520 W. 22nd Street Norfolk, VA 23517 (757) 625-7131 www.yukonlumber.com I found the staff to be both knowledgable and helpful. That's it for now but I'll be posting construction pics as progress is made. Cheers, Mike H.