ejds

Congratulations on launching Rosie. She just looks beautiful, specially floating in her element. Egbert

Isn't it something to see the whole boat for the first time. Congratulations on this milestone. Egbert

I'm not an expert in anchoring. Since I need to be able to do things alone I'm using a winch. I jut got an 8 plait 200 ft rode with 15 ft chain. The winch was jamming up my 3 strand rode. The anchor is a 14 lbs Lewmar delta anchor. The actual anchor to use depends on the bottom structure. The plow anchor seems to work in our mud hole. I get it to set a lot easier than the West Marine fluke anchor that I started out with. We had to anchor in Beaufort NC after leaving the boat show there and getting caught in a bad storm. There was a lot of wind and current but it held good. Must be exiting to getting close to launching. I am looking forward seeing more pictures of your boat, the ones in the past looked astonishing. (Just found some pictures on Google) Egbert

It is turning out beautiful. The attention to detail in the trim work looks amazing. I hope to see it for real someday. Egbert

That is really becoming a beautiful boat. The bi-fold door is a nice solution. You might be able to use a sliding door lock the way your door opens. I used a Southco lock on my sliding door. However latching at an angle like your door opens might be a problem for those locks. Egbert

I have two ways to get into the cockpit with my Bluejacket 25.5. The transom has a small platform with boarding ladder or through the side door in the cockpit where I can hang also a ladder inside the door opening. The side door is really handy at docks and also for use on land. I like the cover over the motor, it does cut a bit of the noise down. On the other hand you can't see which direction the engine points to. I had to add a rudder angle indicator. Also with a 25" shaft the cover would be too high. The midsection tilts up when the motor is tilted up for transport. A fellow Bluejacket builder/owner without a motor cover once stated "I paid so much for that engine, I want to see it" Egbert

Here are some pictures of the installed bow thruster. Trick is to find the right spot in an existing boat. It needs to be as far forward as possible but at the same time it also needs to be far enough submerged to be effective. Mine did fit nicely under the v-berth. I also put a dedicated battery next to the thruster. Thing draws a tremendous amount of amps for very short bursts. I used the boat only once for just a short run on our creek. The thruster did move the bow around, that's all I can tell. It's a Lewmar 140 TT 2 KW. Egbert

Nice solution for an expensive problem. I was shocked to see the prices on the Perko stuff but did find a pair on Ebay pretty cheap. The package was all faded but the adjusters were fine. It never occurred to me to make my own. i probably spend as much time to fit the Perko ones to my windshield as you made your own. Egbert

The owner is Chas231 on this forum. I think he was planning on a sail but I haven't seen it.

Here is a Bluejacket with a wooden mast. More pictures at https://www.flickr.com/photos/chas231/ /'

I think for these smaller boats a nesting dinghy is the way to go. I'm working on a skin on frame nesting dinghy. Due to some other projects I haven't finished it. Back problems prevent me from lifting heavy stuff. Any inflatable gets up there in weight. The boat in the picture above abandoned the inflatable for a larger towed dinghy. Attached is a picture of the unfinished SOF dinghy. Egbert

Our nice days are gone. We are back to below freezing in the daytime. I could see if the Bluejacket can be a good icebreaker. Egbert

Here is a Hull Truth thread about flushing without access to water. https://www.thehulltruth.com/boating-forum/837804-flushing-outboard-without-access-water-tap.html I would think that flushing the engine through the flush port needs pressure to do it effectively. If earmuffs were used to flush with the engine running the pump would provide pressure. That might be tricky to do in the water. You do have a fresh water tank, can you run a hose from a faucet to the motor? I have a wash down pump that can pull water from my fresh water tank.

The charm about a custom made tank is the possibility for a greater capacity in the same space. https://www.flickr.com/photos/ejds33/ Scrolling down are a couple of pictures of the new tank and way down the install of the old tank I don't think I have any of the venting specific. I do have flotation foam under the cockpit and pilot house floors as per Tom's plans, the blue rigid foam. I personally don't like completely closed spaces I'm just not sure any moisture can't get in there and start to cause rot in a dead air space. I looked at your woodworking pictures and your work looks stunning. Reminds me of a neighbor we used to have and the woodwork he does. Egbert

I don't know about Canadian rules but for the US Coast Guard the gas tank area needs to be vented if the tank is plastic. My original plastic Moeller tank manufactured early 2012 stank. Later plastic tanks have an extra coating which suppose to eliminate the smell. I did change the tank to a higher capacity custom made aluminium tank They included instructions to prevent oxidation The gas tank under the cockpit is fairly easy to remove for inspection or whatever. For the vent I used 3" vent hose. The intake is a louver facing forward in the hull side and the exhaust ends in the splash well via an exhaust blower. Speaking of venting while you are at it think about battery areas if you plan to use lead acid. For the rest just listen to Oyster. Egbert

Round or sharp edges in relation to performance is beyond my skill. I rounded pretty much all edges to facilitate the glassing. I was also told that paint doesn't work well on sharp edges. In my eyes a rounded edge looks better on a boat but these would be under water anyhow. To save at the gas pump make the boat as light as possible that does make a difference. Egbert

Here are a few pictures from the Florida trip. Hontoon State Park Boater Homing Underway

My 25.5 was close to 30,000 that includes most of the bling as in solar panels, water heater with solar panel, radios, gps, backup camera and screen, ac and dc wiring, ice box wit compressor, kitchen sink/propane stove with propane alarm, anchor winch, composting toilet and two water tanks with plumbing. Egbert

Chuck, Congratulations on a job well done! Egbert

I did send you a message with the details. Egbert

The ladder is not collapsible, that would have been nice. My neighbor welded it together from aluminium. I put a couple of lawn mower wheels under it to drag it in the back of the pickup. It is the right height with the side door to get in and out. Too stiff to climb over the transom. Not all campgrounds take boats so it is advisable to plan and call ahead. The two nights we did where a good experience. Cheaper than a motel and you don't have to worry about the boat in a parking lot. Egbert

Thank You, I'm pretty bad at taking pictures. We are currently floating in the St. John's river with two other Bluejackets after spending two nights in different campgrounds with the boat what they call boater homing. Oyster, you should put your pictures up somewhere. It is for sure a build with a lot of different ideas and building methods. I wish I did it that way for the bottom when I was laying on top of it trying to work on the keel and the area around it. Egbert

Hi Jeff, Welcome to the group. There are in the Bluejacket plans two options for the roofs, one is just two layers of 1/4" plywood glued together and the other is a sandwich made up by a bottom layer of 1/4' plywood, 3/4" ribs about every 6" with rigid insulation in between and a 1/4" top layer of plywood. Some used beadboard plywood for the bottom layer for good looks. The second is the better option since it eliminates condensation and provides a bit of insulation. Both types of roofs are built on a rounded form made out of 2x2 lumber spaced 6" apart. On the Wooden Boat Forum look at the building of a barge by Waltwood. http://forum.woodenboat.com/showthread.php?201767-Building-Another-Barge He used a product called Carbon Core, a lightweight honeycomb sheet. Good luck with picking out a Bluejacket model. I have a 25 foot version. https://www.flickr.com/photos/ejds33/ Egbert

We haven't used the boat a whole lot yet to get accurate data. According to the gps we got about 3.5 mpg going around 15 mph. Top is almost 24 mph. At 4000 lbs my boat is fairly heavy for a Bluejacket. I don't know what made it that heavy. I did use quite a bit of oak in the interior, a water heater, golf cart batteries etc Those don't contribute to a lean boat. I am happy with performance of the motor. It doesn't feel sluggish or strained. We are planning a week cruise beginning of March, I hope to get some better numbers then. Egbert

I like the more simple approach and low maintenance of the ETEC 75. For me it was local dealer ship and the price. The major dislike is the vibration around idle speeds. I'm changing the motor mounting in the hope to absorb some vibration. This vibration manifest itself in my rattling side windows. Two Bluejacket owners with a Yamaha 90 both hit something underwater and it destroyed the lower unit gears on both of them. Sofar I just hit some Chesapeake Bay mud. Egbert