Phil Gowans

Gedunk and poggy bait are terms I haven't heard since I was in the Navy. It's kind of fun to see them again. But to be called a landlubber, just because I'm kind of quiet and don't post a lot is really embarrasing. :oops: That's really a term of derision in the Navy. I sail as much or more than some of your more chatty members. :cry: I didn't mind being an Ensign again, but a landlubber, well that's something different.

Here's another point of view. I started with the gunwale strap. I found I had to tighten it really tight to keep the boat from moving around and even then it didn't work well. It also was wearing away my varnish on my coamings. I looked at all the powerboats and they all used transom straps. I placed some small pad-eyes on the lower back rail. They have never been in the way. I did not want u-bolts for my steering, but these are not similar. I love these straps and would not go back to a gunwale strap. The boat is extremely stationary now. Some of the difference I'm experiencing from other is probably due to the wide trailer that I am using. Here is a picture of what I am talking about. [/img]

Bill - the clear coat is working fine. However, I'm not much of a painter. I had the painting done by a professional in his paint booth. He clear coated the paint and bright work. That way I didn't have to varnish everything. That was also an easy way to leave large panels (like on the deck) bright. But now that I'm home and on my own, varnish is a lot easier for me to deal with in my garage so I thought I'd use it. A question about your feathering. Is that on the initial sanding or your final sanding :?: Barry - I don't think I was very clear here. I was trying to be lazy and not have to strip down and redo the whole rub rails for a few spots. I've got a number of different kinds of problems. I have dented finish, some damaging the wood, and worn spots down to bare wood. One bad spot is missing fiber. I planned to build it back up with epoxy filled with mahogany sawdust. This technique has worked fairly well before and matches the color fairly well. I used epoxy over my brightwork just to get a little better abrasion resistance. I really don't want to strip it all down and to redo it all. But, I am concerned about doing just a spot. I thought I'd sand out the bad spot then reapply epoxy to the spot and varnish the whole rub rail after all the fixes. My question is: How do I tie in the epoxy to the existing finished surface around the spot I'm finishing :?: Or is that even a problem? Maybe I shouldn't even use epoxy on the spot. I can always just use varnish on the whole rail after sanding out the bad spot.

I knew this time would come - one of the down sides of brightwork. I've got a number of dings that need fixing. Some of the spots even need filling. My rub rails are epoxied and finished with automotive clear coat. I would like to cover all wood with epoxy and I plan to use varnish instead of clear coat for the repair. I know how to sand it all down and start over. :?: But, My Question: How can I fix a spot? Will epoxy stick to clear coat? Am I going to have problems with the edge of the spot that is covered with clear coat when I epoxy? Is a good sanding sufficient preparation? Any tips from you old timers? I suspect Charlie and Barry might have some expertise in this.

I just got my lapper yesterday - It looks great. I'm sure that if Paul wants a little rest from posting while he works on my jib and main he needs it. Leave him alone while he works (if you get my drift. :wink: )

Be Careful here. My cousins father in-law built a small (12ft) sailboat in his kitchen. He did a great job - I've seen the boat. But it took him a year. He said that was what ended his marriage. He laughs about it now, but I'm sure it was no laughing matter then. I simply can't imagine that kind of turf battle. I seldom saw SWMBO out in the garage during my building process. I picture the two of them working in the kitchen at the same time. "Oh honey, I'm sorry about that epoxy spill, but could you pass me that clamp." :oops: "If you expect dinner anytime soon you've got to keep your sawdust over on your half. I'm tired of eating gritty food." :x

Capt Jake, I haven't done anything but dream about it for a while. I'm still waiting on my new sails. I don't think I should do much setup with out them. I guess it's about time to see what Paul J has been doing all winter. I'm planning to keep mine pretty simple. I will probably start without a block and just reeve the outhaul through the eyebolt and tie off on a small cleat on the boom. I haven't tried to adjust the foot under sail before. RAY, do you really need that much advantage?

Here in Utah, I not only had to provide the state with my receipts, but they wanted to know the value of my labor. Me: "Well, my labor was free, I donated it". Them: "We can't allow you to do that, so we'll add $1000 on to the value of your boat." To be honest, they really undervalued the amount of time I spent on the boat. :wink: But it burns me that I have to pay property tax every year for my own free labor. :x

That pic is from http://www.stevproj.com/WkndrBBB2.html - page 2 of builder pictures. It is attributed to Bob Jones of Lantana FL. There are only 2 pictures of his beautiful boat that I know of. The Stevensons say that it has a 3 position boom crutch (whatever that means). I have mostly been lurking around for the last while. :pirate: My web site was down for a few weeks but has been up most of the time. Try the WWW at the bottom - It should work.

This picture has been around alot, but I had to have the boom gallows pointed out to me once. Perhaps you haven't noticed it before either.

I love Trailboards. They don't help your boat sail any better, but they are a great place for a builder to express himself. I love to see all the different personalities show up in the trailboards. Here's a couple shots of mine, you might not have seen. I took them to show the running lights. I hand carved mine before I built anything except the wheel. They allowed me to do some work before I got building in earnest. And yes, I went a little crazy and even gold leafed the design. They are attached with 3 screws like Capt. Treys.