SteveKos

The ease and speed of rigging these boats is what attracted me to build one (Spindrift 11). I can't wait to get it on the water after all I've read from those who have built them. The unstayed mast is a real safety feature, and is great when you have to 'drop everything' to attend to something urgent. Just let the sail go and she stops. It's as simple as that. On my sailing kayak/trimaran I can go out fishing, anchor off the stern and let the sail go forward. Unless it is very windy it sits nice and quiet, and allows me to fish all round the boat. My preferred sail is the leg-o-mutton sprit sail which is a very simple sail to rig and handle, and due to the ability to adjust the sail tension with a snotter line, the sail can be let go, and then trimmed or reefed on the water without having to worry about the sail position. I sailed a catamaran with a friend as crew for a couple of seasons and was always cursing the complicated (and potentially dangerous) rigging that would so easily get in the way, or snag sails and ropes, and even cause capsizes, let alone the tedious time wasted in rigging and de-rigging every time we went out.

Thanks mate. There is a difference between slight personalized modifications and 're-speccing'. And there is no such thing as a 'perfect' design for anything on earth. Every boat design can be successfully adapted to particular needs within reason. I haven't met him personally but I have corresponded with Graham, and I doutbt her is as concerned as you seem to be about minor personalizations. That said, I respect your points and will think carefully about things I might not be able to fix easily.

Same for the 11. 18mm ply or laminated battens. I am going with the ply for now, and maybe will make a laminated one later. I was going to make my daggerboard with 2 layers of 6mm and one of 4mm with glass either side of the middle section and sheathed in glass as well. That should make a nice strong daggerboard about 19-20mm all up. This daggerboard and trunk affair is the most fiddly bit of the whole build so far. I was thinking of a Jim Machalak style leeboard at one stage but decided against it.

Yes, thanks again Hirilonde. I was planning to do all that, but I was going to go the other way and size the daggerboard to the trunk. I think your way might be better as I will be using ply for this one, and 3 layers is 18mm plus glass and glue, so it might end up being a little oversize for the standard trunk. How would you suggest shiming out the trunk if the daggerboard is oversize?

Latest pics: Test assembling the daggerboard trunk. Showing the trunk lined up along the centre line. I had to adjust the position of the trunk to suit my sail's CE, but only about 40mm forward. I might as well try to get things as exact as possible. This shot also shows the side benches coated with 2 coats of epoxy to seal them thoroughly.

Latest pics:http:/ Sent from my HTC One X using Tapatalk

Thanks for the input. Of course what we are talking about is keeping the boat as flat as possible in heavy wind, and there are more ways of doing that than just how far you lean out over the side. There's the ability to spill wind with fine adjustments of the sail with the sheet in a gust, the ability to flatten the sail with an outhaul (or in my case an adjustable snotter on the sprit) if the wind is up for longer periods. Also,sometimes it is best to allow the boat to heel, which requires a good knowledge of the boat and experience in such conditions. The other thing about hiking out is that if something goes wrong you can end up overboard, or injured if you get thrown around by the wave action. I think I would rather stay more inside the boat knowing that if it does capsize it will be safer than without the extra floatation.

Hello all. I am well into my Spindrift 11 build, but something I encountered in another forum was a discussion about side benches on a dinghy and their limiting effect on being able to comfortably hike out in a strong wind. The opinion of the writer was that sitting on the benches may not give enough leverage in a heavy wind, and the benches prohibit hiking out any further. All this is academic for me as it's too late to consider all this in the building of my boat, but I thought I would ask those of you with Spindrifts or other dinghies with side benches about this issue. Personally I like the idea of side benches because of the ability to 'half hike' comfortably by sitting on the bench and leaning out a little with still some support and something to hold onto. I also intend to use them for storage of gear when beach camping. I would probably rather reef my sail in heavy conditions if known in advance rather than hiking out to maintain balance, but the ability to hike when an unexpected gust comes up seems like a good option if it happens suddenly. I actually prefer not to have to hike out, as I am getting a bit longer in the tooth these days and my experiences of hiking out on a trapeze when sailing a catamaran were sometimes downright scary!

Yes, I plan on putting hatches in, but i'm still deciding on what type and size. I may make my own or buy them but there are lots of different types and sizes on the market. Because I have customised the rear tank I want to fit a fairly large hatch there and for the side benches I would rather have top opening hatches than side fitted ones for easier access,

Some more pics. These bulkheads for the rear tank took a bit of working out. I ended up cutting 3 to get the shape right for the starboard one, and thankfully the shape was the same for the port one, apart from a bit of fine fitting.

Thanks for that Alex. I was inspired by this little beauty when I visited a wooden boat building business locally. I think I'll go for a similar look, but not so much timber finish.

Thanks Peter. I have built a boat before, but every project is different, and I felt that a detailed build log for this model would be of benefit not only to me but anyone else who needs more of a 'step by step' guide. I'm glad that you are getting some encouragement from it .

Thanks Alex. How much will I need?

I think it's time to ask what I am sure is a vexed question. What kind of paint and finishes to use? I used a high gloss enamel on my kayak on the hull above the waterline, which looks great and has retained it's high gloss well for over 2 years, but it does sustain scratches and chips reasonably easily. I used an epoxy/graphite coating below the waterline which works well for resisting scratching by making the hull slippery and it looks great, it almost looks like metal-flake paint in the sunlight. On the topsides I used a clear polyester varnish, but it flaked off (I think the brand of epoxy I used doesn't adhere to polyurethane very well), so I just use clear epoxy which I sand and re-coat annually. I store it out of the sun so it doesn't degrade much due to UV. But that was my kayak. This time I'm thinking of painting the Spindrift a cream/beige throughout with clear-finished timber featuring (gunwales, knees and breasthook, transom stiffener, dagger board and rudder gear). For the paint I am not sure whether to go with 2 pack polyurethane or to go with enamel again. For the timber I have a small kit of 2 pack clear poly which will be enough for the timber work. Any suggestions?

Today I took the day off. Our daughter and son-in-law left to move interstate for work. I was too upset about them leaving to go to work, so I consoled myself by working on the Spindrift. In this pic you can see the space I have left for the storage locker I am installing aft. It will extend the full width of the boat to make for more storage, with a large sealed hatch on top. I increased the size of the locker to 30cm instead of about 22cm. I intend to take fishing gear, camping gear etc. and need a larger space for storage than the plans allow for.

Yes, I promise not to put you off with too many more of me.

Over the last two days I managed to get a bit done. The centre bulkheads are now glassed, the inner seat stringers are in place and the mast collar and foredeck supports are glued in place. I thought it was about time you saw yours truly.

More photos. Tonight I cut and fitted the notched cleats to the transom and the forward bulkhead, and temp-glued the centre bulkheads in place with hot glue. This is a great way to temporarily fix some parts in place prior to filleting and taping. I use it for all sorts of jobs. It is easily applied, "dries" in seconds and holds quite strongly, but can be cleaned off once the temp fitting is not needed any more, or the tacks can be filleted and taped over. The forward notched cleats for the inner seat stringers. You can just make out the starboard one being held in place while the glue cures. The aft cleats. The centre bulkheads hot-glued in place. I'll fillet and tape them in place tomorrow night.

Today I encountered a little problem. When I first looked at the plans, I noticed that there were no dimensions for the seat tops. I emailed Graham to ask if I got all the sheets, and he explained that these need to be measured 'as built' instead of 'as drawn'. I now understand what he meant. When I cut one of the centre bulkheads and trial fitted it, I noticed that the angle from the chine to the gunwale was more than the measurements had allowed for (about 6-7 deg.), so it was a poor fit. I think that this is because I used single piece gunwales, instead of a laminated ones, and they pulled the side panels out a bit more than they would have if I had used laminated ones. (It might have something to do with the timber also. Harder gunwale timbers might do this more than softer ones...?) This means that my boat's beam will be a few inches more than the plans indicate. I don't think this is will be much of an issue when it comes to performance, but it meant that I had to re-measure the centre (seat) bulkheads to get a closer fit. It also means that the seats will measure slightly differently to what might have been the case if I had cut them to 'design' specs, which would have meant buying another sheet of ply. (It also means that my side seats will be a little bigger than standard). I guess I could have tried to pull in the sides with ratchet straps to get a better angle, but the stress on the fillets on those little bulk heads would be too great to hold I think, so I'll live with the result I have. Makes me appreciate a little more the 'method in the madness' of designing boats .

G'day Bob. Actually I've got alot to do yet, but this build is no Sabalo for complexity, so I am making surprising progress I think. (I like working with bigger bits ). With this one there are not so many detailed step-by-step instructions, so it's a matter of judgement when to do some things. This week I taped and glassed the outside hull, but only one coat of epoxy. I'll finish it later when I come to the final stages. Last night I shaped the mast collars and foredeck/seat. It took a bit of work to get the shape of the foredeck right, my plane and sander got a real workout as I knew I needed to cut it oversize to be safe (but I ended up with it just a bit too oversize, so I had to shape it back quite a bit, but it's a nice fit now). Next will be the other little bits for the interior, like the notched cleats, Tank frames etc. I am hoping to be all finished by Easter. I'm taking some leave then and I would love to give her a real shakedown on lake Alexandrina. Some pics: Sorry about the quality of these first two images, the light was low and my phone battery was low, so no flash. Taped. Glassed. I didn't have enough glass to do the whole hull, but I managed to grade the coverage from almost full at the bow to a few inches above the chines at the stern.

Yes, I suppose I am moving at a fair pace, but it doesn't seem like I'm rushing. I just get a fair amount of time to work on the project. I work early mornings to mid afternoon, so I am home by around 4:00 most afternoons, and can put in an hour and a half or so before I need to get dinner on ready for when my wife comes home. Then I can usually work on it another hour or more several nights, as well as a few hours on the weekends. Anyway, on the glassing, I decided about 5 minutes after posting that question that I would tape and glass the hull. The chines and bow need as much abrasion resistance as they can get.

Today I flipped the boat over to get to work on the underside. Sanded the edges smooth and flush, and filled all the gaps and holes. Not a difficult job, and after another sanding to get the filled areas smooth I will be ready to glass. Another question - I am glassing the hull with 6oz cloth to above the chines by about 3". Do you recommend I still tape the seams, as the cloth will do the same job as the tape? If I tape the seams first it will mean a double layer at the seams, so will be stronger.

Tonight I made some good progress. I filleted and taped the inside seams in one session. It wasn't too difficult, I just had to keep a steady pace and it all went ok. The only challenge was the centreline seam. I had to lift the boat off the table onto it's side on the floor to get to it properly. I got it down myself ok, but I needed my wife's help to lift it back up again. A word on the epoxy I'm using. I'm using West System this time with the slow hardener. I find that it stays workable for quite a long time, but when it does start to go off it does so very quickly. It is a good consistency for brushing, and is low odor compared to the Bote Cote I used last build. With the pumps on the bottles I think I'll get good economical use from my 6ltr kit.

Thanks for your input on this forum Hirilonde. It would be a waste of a valuable resource not to ask questions that don't cost anything but can avoid costly mistakes . This is such a pleasurable boat to build. It's not overly complex but there's still enough of a challenge to make a good result very satisfying. I hope I can achieve that. So far so good!

Some more pics of this week's progress. Installing the transom stiffener I used almost all of my clamps on the one side. I fitted the other side with temp screws to balance out the stress. The transom stiffener is fitted and looks pretty nice. I still have to fill the extreme edges with filleting material when I do the seams. Looks nice and straight and even.