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Don Silsbe

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Everything posted by Don Silsbe

  1. Agreed, Paul. Pretty varnished floorboards are unsafe; walnut shells in paint are nasty on bare feet. Oiled wood is a good middle ground, as well as looking very traditional. Mine'll be under a cover, so it is worth considering. right out of the shoot, I'll probably go with some plain plywood boards. But these will be at the top of my list of improvements-- that, and a swivel fishing chair, to fit into the after mast step.
  2. Thanks for the peek inside Tatoo. I like the way you've stowed your extra propane bottle. It all looks so neat and tidy. I can't wait to see your new boat at this year's mess-about. I hope you're coming.
  3. That old work bench will sail as well as a Puddle Duck Racer! LOL I believe that the effects of buoyancy are negligible, especially when this lifting above the waterline. The final 10-20 degrees of blade lift provide the highest resisting force. This is a classic engineering problem-- the sum of the torques about the pivot must be zero, in order to overcome the gravitational pull on the blade. As the blade goes horizontal, the resisting moment arm (the vertical distance between the center of gravity of the blade to the pivot) increases. If you like, I can make you a diagram, but you need to know a little trigonometry. (Yes, that is a threat! LOL) Graham and Alan will back me up on this one, I do believe. But since I am cheap, I will probably add the final stage after I've struggled with the current set-up on the water.
  4. Paul, The cedar looks lovely, too. Is it varnished, or oiled?
  5. I'm moving right along on the small bits, as it's too cold to work on the boat outside. I made a c/b mock-up, first using a dummy c/b section. Then, I completed the pennant attachment to the real c/b. Finally, I got to test the final lift on my bench mock-up. Results: the final lifting force is around 20#. My Boca Grip's fish scale only goes up to 16#, and it was a bit beyond that. Conclusion: 20# is a little high for the final lift, so I think I'm going to add a double block to get 6:1. That'll get me down into a comfortable lifting effort range. I don't think I'll have enough throw to simply add another cascade to the system. I'm gonna try and figure it out, though, because adding another cascade would cost about $15, whereas adding a double block is close to $30. Some notes on my pennant: I wanted to have a replaceable pennant for the first stage. I know that many simply go with a knot in a hole, and might even epoxy it all up. I wanted to keep it serviceable, in case I (or somebody else) changes their minds later. This is why there is so much hardware at the attachment point. One of my design objectives on this build is to use as little hardware as possible, and keep it simple. This is a departure from that objective, in order to make changes later, if desired. I wanted to make sure the eye bolt stayed put, so I went with an encapsulated nut. I will epoxy this in for eternity in the next couple of days. I don't think it's going anywhere. This pennant is my 5mm Amsteel. It has a long tail, to allow for the final installation. The rest is just clothesline, and will be replaced with Sta-set in the boat. Centerboard Cascade System.MOV
  6. I love your cabin sole. It's gorgeous. Now you've got me thinking about the floorboards in my BRS15. Originally, they were going to be made out of 3/8" Meranti. I might have to do "something else now.
  7. I started glassing my centerboard today. The beige islands are Quick-Fair.
  8. Which of the two in the attached photos is more prone to jamming?
  9. It is true that my loads are around 100#, by my calculations. Using Amsteel or SS wire rope is overkill in either case. The main concern should be jamming. 3/16" Amsteel is larger than 1/8" SS wire rope, so is less prone to jamming. I could go with 1/4" Sta-Set for everything. But Amsteel splices better than Sta-set, so I am going to splice up the first stage using it with thimbles at either end for better load distribution. It will be replaceable; if it proves to be unsatisfactory, I can replace it with whatever. But if I use wire rope, I will have to go to a rigger to get it swaged, and change a sheave and two cheek blocks to wire-compatible equivalents. Photos will follow, of course.
  10. My plans don't call for this type of system, Tom. They call for the uphaul and downhaul system. I went with the weighted c/b system, because it offers a clean lounging deck for my first mate. I have about 16# of lead in the c/b. (I forgot to weigh it, before attaching it!) I guess I need to take a peek at Chick's plans, to see what you're talking about with that ring. I do plan to test it all in the workshop, before finalizing anything on the boat. I'd prefer to keep it to 4:1, but my bench test will tell me everything. Chick-- they are offering emergency repair kits for broken standing rigging made of pure Amsteel and a couple of thimbles. Every ocean sailor should have a coil of Amsteel on hand, in case he loses a wire shroud, and doesn't have a power swaging tool on board. And wire rope for running rigging is ancient history. Moderns use either Amsteel or a two-part high tech braid like FSE Robline's Dinghy Control Line. That one is essentially a Dyneema core with a polyester cover. Just sayin'.
  11. This is thicker than wire rope, so less prone to drop into the cracks. Many are using Amsteel as a replacement for wire rope applications, Chick.
  12. Well, that's what I get for taking something at face value. According to Pinnell and Bax, it's a 16:1 system. (http://www.pinbax.com/index.asp, search word "kicker") According to Ronstan, it's an 8:1. ("Vang 10", http://www.ronstan.us/marine5/vang_systems.asp) With a cascade system, the mechanical advantage of the movable blocks are multiplied, not added. So, with three blocks it should be 2X2X2=8. (It's darned difficult to find technical data on cascade systems, btw.) On the subject of how far the blocks move, that term is "throw". I know that I have enough throw for a two-block 4:1 system. I might be over the limit for adding one more block. I'm going to bench test everything, so we'll see.
  13. That's encouraging, Chick. I'm starting with a 4:1 cascade system. We'll see how that works out. If I add another block (only about $10), I can up it to 16:1. I'm not sure that I'll have enough "throw" for another cascade, though. In case you're wondering, this is what a 16:1 cascade system looks like. The photo is of a boom vang system. A 4:1 system takes one less block. It's an inexpensive way to get a lot of mechanical advantage. Double and triple block sets are priced out of this world!
  14. Thanks for your input, Dave. The gloss level doesn't bother me as much as the softness. It'll see a fair amount of banging, loading it on & off the truck, and in and out of the garage. Pea Green is the perfect color for my taste. If anything, I'd be asking Jamestown Distributors to mix up some Epiphanes 2-part to that color swatch. I'd like to use a polyurethane. But it's going to cost me double, just to get the color I want.
  15. Me too, Robert. But I'm getting tired of the Interlux palate.
  16. Robert, Local Honey will have enough yellow for my boatyard. I need another color! I've been looking at a unique shade of green that Kirby's offers. They call it Pea Green. My family has another name for this shade of green, which comes from a story written by Jean Shepherd. In that story (Ollie Hopnoodle's Haven of Bliss), Jean's father's car is painted this ugly shade of green that his father calls Goat Vomit Green. So, that's what it'll be called around here. The color in this photo doesn't quite capture the pukey shade of it. It is more like split pea soup. I think it will contrast nicely with the varnished Okoume interior and the Walnut trim. I wanted something old-fashioned for this build. Speaking of the Walnut, this is a different batch of hoardwood than I made Local Honey out of. My family has been carrying this lumber around for over 50 years. It is truly hoardwood, and it'll be nice to finally put it to use. This is a slightly more red version than the skiff's trim (Michigan wood vs. North Carolina). Does anyone have experience using Kirby's paint? It is old school enamel, so it should behave well with the roll and tip method. (I assume.) I am considering having Jamestown mix a custom batch of Epiphanes Two-part Poly in this shade. The poly would be more durable, which would be the reason to pay double the price. But the Kirby's should touch up easily. What do y'all think?
  17. Very interesting. They show them being used in strip-built boat construction. I wonder how you knock out the forms, if there are a biz-zillion plastic nails holding it to the hull.
  18. I think it was a joke, Chick. The answer he's looking for is "Cedarville", which is in Michigan. There is local cedar, here in the NC foothills. It is aromatic cedar, and is quite knotty. I wanted to build a strip canoe with it-- a design named a "Wee Lassie". One builder did build this boat with knotty wood. He named it "Knotty Lassie".
  19. Actually, I discovered they were closed on Saturdays! Anyway, I realized that I have enough walnut to do the wales, too. What do y'all think?
  20. I just picked up my centerboard, for the first time since I bonded the lead to it. Holy Moley! The plans call for a 1/4" pivot, for the unweighted c/b. Are any accommodations made to the pivot for the increased stress? (i.e., increasing the bolt diameter to 3/8"?) I will add an extra block, to up my cascade system to 16:1. I will be more mindful of the terminal attachment of this system. I am using 3/16" Amsteel for the first stage of the lift system. What else?
  21. With the painting mostly done, I shifted my efforts to parts. I'll let the photos do the talking. (The hardware arrangement on the tiller has changed from what is shown.)
  22. While my priority is still the completion of my skiff, I did manage to fix my cutting error. There is 6 oz. cloth on both sides of the butt joint. Tomorrow, I'll drive to Asheville to pick up an Ash board (!) for my wales. I think I'll just use some scraps of walnut for the breasthooks. These are my next steps.
  23. Sometimes I hear voices. I'm OK with it, and I'm harmless. Last week, when I was laying out the pieces, a little voice said "measure twice, cut once". Of course I ignored it. This is what I got by ignoring that little voice. I was supposed to take a 3/8" wedge off each sheer. Instead, I took it off the chine. Doh! Remind me to listen to those voices in the future, OK?
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