Phil Gowans

Yesterday I sent off an e-mail to both my State Rep and Senator. Believe it or not I've already heard from one and sent him more information.

I just found out that Utah has changed their boat registration from a value based to an aged based law. It is supposed to be Revenue Neutral. LOL. It is based on the age of the boat and the length. Also, this is now a fee not a tax so you can't write if off on income tax anymore. I spent about $29 for boat property tax last year. The state has my boat registered as 19' long. That translates to $175 a year now, but only because it is 6 years old. If you try to register it new it will be $275 a year. I'm facing a 600% increase. It's almost enough to make me give up sailing. This may be neutral overall, and for an expensive stinkpot it is probably a good deal. What about us on a low budget with a small homebuilt wood sailboat? I doubt I could sell the boat for much at all. To show how out of whack this is. I bought a van the same year as the boat for $35,000. The "Fee" for it last year was $80. I'm sure it is worth a lot more than my boat, but I've got to spend more than double to pay the property taxes for the boat. Sometimes I think government is out to get me. :evil:

A continuous circle of rope can be made (not exactly a splice but done similar to one) and is called a grommet. These are fairly easy to make and you can find instructions in various places. I used them on my rope stropped blocks and also through my stem hole. However, if you are planning to use rope anyway, why just not use a mast lacing. This is a traditional approach and has some advantages to hoops. I have some alternate techniques of lacing on my web site: http://www.pragdata.com/philboat/PlanLacing.html I used the lacing for a couple years and it works well and doesn't seem to catch as much as hoops. I switched to sawn ABS hoops which I like the looks of a little more. But, they can break and the lacing doesn't have that problem.

I got one from compusa similar to this one. I just did a search for "enclosure" on their site and got 64 hits. There are lots of types. I got a 3.5 IDE usb2 external. Brit, I couldn't install my old drive in the new machine. They have changed the interface cables since then. Jake, let's not talk about old machines. For one example I've got a working Lisa from around '85.

Jake, I've been the stone age for a long while. I finally upgraded computers a few months ago. At home, I've been using a 10 year old machine (still running 95) turns out, transferring files was about impossible. My Zip drive died and that's how I used to get larger files off it. Can't write cds - 95 won't use a writable drive. Of course no USB. Couldn't get xp and 95 to network. No serial or paralell port on new computer. The amazing thing about my old machine though, is it still runs fine and the monitor is still perfect. I just couldn't get data off it easily. Best solution I found was to remove the drive from the old computer, put it in an enclosure (about $30) and plug in usb. Runs like a champ - fast and everythings there immediately You can copy the data disc to disk and replace it in the old computer. Or do as I do use it as a backup drive on the new computer.

Brit, I didn't realize you hadn't ever sailed. Unfortunately I've winterized my boat and got it in storage. When the weather improves - Mar/Apr give me a buzz & I'll take you out on the GSL. I modified my steering setup to have a turnbuckle in the lazerette. It's hard to see here since it's behind the spindle. This arrangement used 2 knots, but I replaced them with rope clamps and they work great.

When I lived in New Zealand, I got to eat lots of different seafood. When I lived up by the Bay of Islands, we ate a lot of tuna for breakfast. However, it didn't look or taste anything like any tuna I had ever tasted. After a few weeks I found out that the Mario word "tuna" meant eel. The boy that live there with us would go the to local stream and bring home some fresh water eels. I rather liked the taste of it, but it surprised me that I had been eating eel and never knew it. Even though they ate a lot of things raw, I always had "tuna" cooked, so I wouldn't know what eel sushi is like. The raw sea food I didn't like was octopus. The base of the suckers are kind of hard and not very palatable.

Yes, there were 4! I missed the wind, but here's a picture, while we were waiting. You see here: (L to R) Black Falcon, Morgaine, Aloha, Maiden Nevada. Pretty exciting for me!

Here's a picture of Steve's seats in his newly launched Black Falcon. I love the figurehead, trailboards, transom lettering and his seats.

I'm glad to hear that things are finally getting through. I have been donating to my church's humanitarian relief for years. I like this method because there is so little overhead. It makes your donation go so much farther. I feel a bit guilty in my comfort. Labor day weekend I went sailing with my daughter. She was born 33 years ago in Pensacola, FL. Her birthday is Aug 29 - quite a coincidence, but the weirdest is her name is KATRINA. I tell her she is quite a troublemaker. We had only one Hurricane hit that year and this western boy was nervous, not knowing what to expect. It turned out to be nothing. I can see how locals can become a bit jaded. They are always being told that there is another storm coming and they need to prepare.

My loosefooted sail was cut just a little different than my prior sail. It brought the boom lower. I decided to raise it this last winter. I did exactly what you suggested, I put a 6" block under the stub mast. This required extending the length of the shrouds and forestay slightly. I made short clip in sections for them. This way I could go back to the prior geometry without anything except taking out the extensions. It has all worked well and a little more headroom is appreciated.

Barry, Congratulations! It's nice to see pictures of changes to Spirit Wind again. It's been years coming. As I reflect back, when I was finishing up my weekender, you were at about the same point. That's has to have been frustrating for you to watch everybody making progress while you waited on your health issues. We are all the better off for the beneifit of your advice. I, for one, am happy to see this day come!

The canvas bag is a good idea. My shrouds have clunky deadeyes so I usually stick them in my seat hatches where I have fenders and other things so they won't cause damage when travelling. Getting them out of the way more would be nice. Where can I get some nice heavy bags? I want some for my anchors and other things, but I never seem to have tome to make them.

I used some of the extra kit material I had to make a boom cover. I made it with a hole in the front so that I could use it around the boom with a setup mast while on the water. I have never used it that way, but it works great for traveling. I put it around the boom, mainsail, mast, forestay and all halyards. I leave the shrouds out. It uses twist snaps on the bottom. When I return home I just throw a cheep tarp over the whole affair and boat. I know I have had it up to 75mph, and if the UHPs ask that's the fastest it's gone.

SlideWhat? ... Sliderule, I've heard of that. Oh, yeah I've actually got one of those. No, two of them. I wonder where they are now. Yeah there are a few of us old farts around. Now, if I still had some memory left, all this experience might be worth something. It's coming to me now, I use to use one of those things to multiply, divide and even more complicated things. Started using the thing over 50 years ago. I remember buying a fancy Versalog rule for college classes (you know with the cool hip case), but I used my little pocket one the most. I go back where we weren't told we couldn't use calculators - there weren't any. Because I was so lazy, I started using a sliderule in Elementry School. My kids can't believe it when I tell them about applied stat classes without anything but a mechanical adding machine. Yeah, those were the days. Sliderules didn't do any good for that kind of calculation. What was really frustrating, I could design a calculator out of nand and nor gates, but didn't have the money to build one. He He, now this is funny. This spellchecker doesn't recognize the word sliderule. Sorry about this diatribe, sometimes I'm amazed at how old I really am. Now don't let me start telling you about when we the iceman came 3 times a week to load the icebox.

Dave, My motor mount is really quite simple. I don't think I have any links to it directly, so I'm not sure what links are not working. Here is a picture of the rear of the boat that shows my motor mount. It is basically like that suggested by the Stevensons. It is removable and works well for an electric. I have a new (actually quite old) seagull that I haven't been able to use yet. It looks like the mount might work for it, but I don't know exactly where the waterline will hit.

Bill, It's almost as if we had been sharing a brain. After I stripped off all the fiberglass from my keel and painted it, I put on a 2" x 1/4" aluminum bar on for a shoe. I purchased it from a metal supplier. They come in 12' lengths. I used 15' total. It only cost me about $40. I put it on with 2" ss screws. It was really easy. I had one complication you didn't: my stem has been tapered, so I had to trim the bow end of the shoe down to a 1" width. I machined it all, the night I bought it and had it attached the next morning. I felt that I had to pre-bend the bar around the worse bend since my bar is twice your thickness and I was afraid I couldn't get the right bend by pulling it in with screws alone. I toyed with the idea of using Stainless, but the thought of drilling holes and working it just about made me cry. SS is so hard to work, and boy, aluminum is so easy. I'm amazed how beat up your keel had gotten. My heavy fiberglass shoe work very well for abrasion, but I think this 1/4" shoe will be better. I finished my work a couple weeks ago and haven't had a chance to post any pictures yet. You know, first things first, A trip to Cabo and finish Aloha up and get on the water.

Craig, Yes the keel has a bit of warp to it. I have got the keel free of glass to about the middle. The heat gun does help, but it is still a slow process. My son says he can get me some powerful stripper that will take everything off and not raise the grain of the wood. My current plan is to strip off all the epoxy / fiberglass, Fill the cracks with 5200, and paint with a good oil based paint. I want to finish with a good strip of probably white oak on the bottom of the keel I know, it sounds like I'm going from one extreme to the other, but in my super dry climate, all the salt (which might act as a preservative) and the fact the wood will continue to move, I think this might just work well enough.

Craig, thanks for the warning. I'm thinking I might dowel the keel now. I don't want any metal in the wood down there. Maybe a metal shoe, but no bolts or screws. I think the high salt water content I'm in ocassionally would play havoc with any metal. I know what you mean about the frustrations of a softwood keel choice. When I made that choice I really didn't know what I was getting in for. Richard, for now at least I think your recommended approach is what I'm going to do, at least for tonight.

I think old age makes me stupid(er). Last year I used some Jasco paint & epoxy stripper. I took off the epoxy from my deadeyes and cleats and did a linseed oil treatment. I doubt it would work well with fiberglass though. I'm going to try it and the heat gun together tonight.

My original thought was to patch the thing. When I discovered that it was fairly extensive I decided that all the fiberglass had to go. Now that I see it is not going to come off easily, I have second thoughts. Ok, What's the best way to get all the fiberglass off without tearing up the wood too badly? Scraping doesn't seem like a possibility. Grinding would be too dangerous to the keel. Sanding would be tedious or would probably require such a course grit that the keel would suffer. I know of no chemicals that would work. Or would a good stripper work? What are my possibilities?

While inspecting Aloha and planning my regular spring maintenance, I discovered some delaminating of the fiberglass on my keel. I know this will open up the "don't fiberglass your keel" debate. I don't think that's all bad. Here's a real example of what can happen. A little History: My keel was the standard 3-ply buildup as per the design. It was glued with epoxy and nailed in a few spots while it cured. The nails were then removed. I didn't want any metal below the waterline since I would be using the boat in the Great Salt Lake. I used tulip poplar for the keel. Despite some suggestions to the contrary I decided to encapsulate everything on the boat. I used a coat of fiberglass on the keel and filleted with thickened epoxy. On the bottom of the keel I used a strip of 24oz biaxial tape. The black color is graphite in the exterior coat of epoxy. This has held up quite well since launching in 2000, except for a section on the stem that started to delam. I suspect that I this was because I didn't precoat the keel with epoxy. This was nearly my first fiberglassing attempt. The biaxial shoe has worked quite well as shown in this picture of the keel at its lowest point. It has had some of the exterior epoxy worn off but not bad gashes or digs. Discovery: To my surprise, I found a crack in the fiberglass above the biaxial shoe where it was being pulled apart. In this same area there was loose fiberglass and even a slight bulge in one spot. There was also a separation between the floor bottom and the keel. The fillet had stayed with the keel and there was a 1/4" crack right above the keel and fillet. This indicated to me that one layer of the keel was moving since the center layer had no crack. You might be able to make some of this out here where I removed some of the fiberglass. The white dots on the black bottom are just salt. Preparation: For your viewing entertainment I included some pictures of how I got the boat off the trailer and set it up for fiberglass removal. I used 2 block and tackles to lift the boat. With the assistance of my wife and daughter we were able to lift the boat and pull out the trailer. I used a $0.50 mattress from the local thrift store for padding and Aloha up on her side. Damage: In removing the fiberglass I found that it came off the sides under the cockpit fairly eaisly - scraping with a pry bar. The bottom shoe was a lot more problematic. The fiberglass fore of the cockpit does not come off well at all. It would be very difficult to remove it without using power equipment. The wood even though discolored from water was not wet nor had any obvious rot occurred. Utah has one of the least humid climates and I think that this keeps the boat very well dried out. Questions: Considering my dry climate, fairly soft wood, Extremely salty water, The good discussion of keels recently on the BYYB site. Do I try to finish the keel with fiberglass again or just paint? If not, Do I remove all the fiberglass from the keel or just the part that I have off? Do I worry about the keel laminations moving? Do I fill the crack above the keel with epoxy or 5200? Do I leave the fillet off? Basically what would you do?

Frank, Yah, It's that time of the year and I sure spend a lot of time working on my taxes. Sometimes I think that government feels it is not there to serve the people, but that we exist to serve it. Then I start to feel like Will Rogers: Be thankful that we're not getting all the government we pay for.

In Utah, I had to document the value of the supplies, BUT that wasn't enough. They verified that I paid sales tax on the receipts, but for the property tax they also wanted to charge me for my labor. After all this is a property tax and they want to tax me on the value of my property. This is all very strange, since they don't consider resale value. I'm sure that I spent more on materials that I can get out of the sale of a "home built boat". I told them that I didn't keep track of my hours, and they could not do a proper assessment, so they added $1000 to the total value. Boy, they don't consider my labor worth much. I figure that's less than a $1 per hour, but it wasn't in my best interest to complain. I'm still a little burned up on this. You try to save a little money by doing the work yourself and they want to charge you for your free labor. :x And what really makes this hard to take ... I have to pay propery tax on that value every year.