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meester

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Everything posted by meester

  1. I put down some non-skid on the floor of my boat. I used medium grit walnut shells available through HD. 5 lbs is plenty. Lessons learned: Fine grit probably would have been better. Medium was uncomfortable on the skin, and I ended up sanding to flatten the texture enough that I can kneel on it without damage. You can see the walnut peeking through the sanded-off paint in the picture below. With medium grit, I found that it took several coats of paint to fill in between the grains to really lock them down so they wouldn't grind off under foot. For the base layer paint/epoxy you put down before sprinkling the grit, this is a time when a thick layer works best. I got it a little thin in places and the grit didn't stick as well, giving me thin spots. Vacuum, vacuum, vacuum. It pays to be a neat freak. I pulled off masking tape while my base layer of epoxy was still green. Later coats of paint lifted stray grains and glued them down in the channels I had masked off. I had to scrape them off and I have to do an extra touch-up paint session.
  2. Hi RBA, I'm a real beginning builder compared to the guys who have answered your post. I'm just getting close to completing my first stitch-n-glue boat, and not at all experienced in repair (yet). Here's my view for what it's worth. Doing a good job with the filling and patching also takes skills. Also, I found that cutting and shaping small pieces of wood is only slightly less work than larger pieces. So number of wooden pieces is probably a better way to judge the work than the size. Of course, as you weigh things, only you can judge. At any rate, the first step is going to be to get rid of all the rotten wood. Then look at what's left and make a plan. I'd also like to stress (Ha!) the mechanical importance of the centerboard trunk. If you're sailing along, say beating to windward, the forces on the centerboard are about the same as the forces on the sail, and the trunk has to be strong enough to support it. These forces also create torques that you balance by putting your body weight on the rail. To gauge the strength that's needed, ask yourself if you'd be willing to stand on the centerboard if the boat was on it's side. The real CB torque calculation involves ratios of mast length, beam and CB length in addition to body weight, but body weight gives you a convenient way to get a feeling for the strength that's needed for a light dinghy.
  3. Hi Thrillsbe, no worries. I look forward to inviting you aboard. --Bob
  4. An update on my CS 15 build. After a long winter, primer and sanding, I got a couple coats of paint done on the interior this weekend. The floor is still just epoxy - I'm waiting for my walnut shells. I'm going to leave the bulkhead and hatch door bright just to show off that it is a wooden boat. The square hole in the transom is for the bumkin Bob
  5. I made a birdsmouth mast for my CS 15. Aluminum will definitely be easier and faster. I d recommend to get the aluminum and get on the water before the kids grow up.
  6. What a clever idea! It looks like you have most of the geometry already figured out. Have you thought about how you would keep the seat from folding up when someone is sitting on it? I think you would have to make the mechanisms really strong. The distance between the two pivots on the left appears to be about 1/10 of the length of the long bar. Just guessing. If someone sits on the front edge of the seat, then all of the parts have to be strong enough to support 10 times the weight. Would you tolerate fold-down legs of some sort? Here's an idea. The triple lines are hinges that allow the red triangle to fold up and down and the small rectangle is a block to brace the back of the strut. It's not as elegant as your design, but it won't fold up unexpectedly and it may be easier to build strong.
  7. I used Alan's simple method for scraping the groove with a sharpened screw head. Worked great. See his CS 15 video #14 at about the 1:30 mark. Bob
  8. I'm also looking forward to making a boom tent. On the "unmarked" Core Sounds, it looks like most of the living space is under the mizzen sprit and the aft half of the main. Have you considered using the mizzen sprit as a ridge pole for the aft half of your tent and then supporting the fore part with a line running from the mizzen snotter to the base of the main mast? The aft end of the sprit/ridge pole could be supported either by the haliard or by a boom crutch. I think the best advice I have picked up is to make a trial tent out of polytarp and see what works before investing in expensive "real" material.
  9. Hi Don, I'm in the same boat, well, a different boat really, but you get the idea. I'm also eager to try dinghy cruising, but until then, I've been doing some reading. I recommend "The Dinghy Cruising Companion" by Roger Barnes, and also a number of Roger's youtube videos. The UK's dinghy cruising association website, http://www.dinghycruising.org.uk. The Shallow Water Sailors http://www.shallowwatersailor.us mostly but not totally Chesapeake Bay club. http://logofspartina.blogspot.com -- Steve Earley's super sailing adventures in the Mid-Atlantic. Tidbits on staying away from mosquitoes and preparation. Safety packing checklists on the watertribe website - somewhere. Can't find it right now.
  10. Family first. Then, if working in the shop helps you to regain your wits, YES.
  11. Hi Wile, Thanks for asking your question. It's one that I have had on the back burner for a while. I looked up leaf springs on a couple of on-line sites, and they're not so expensive, especially for light springs. Bob
  12. Thanks Chick! Enjoyed your pictures and writeup. You have a way with werds.
  13. HI Guys, I sewed the sails for my boat using a regular sewing machine that I picked up used and a Sailrite kit. I didn't trust myself with designing the sail myself since shape is so critical. If I was a production sailmaker, there's no way I would tolerate the regular jams and snags that I encountered, but we got the job done. For about the first 1/2 of the project I tried very hard not to put any little white creases in the nice dacron sailcloth, carefully rolling and clothespinning sail material to pass through the gap between the needle and the body of the machine. A cardboard tube, like from a carpet roll, would have been helpful to control all that cloth. Eventually, I gave up on trying to make it pristine. Less stress, more fun. Bob
  14. Here's an update - After trying out several schemes for coamings, I settled on this simple version, just enough to deflect drips off of the deck. I came up with that strange-looking cleat after thinking about ways to support the mast for trailering and as a guide for getting the mast in the fiberglass tube/step. I think I need to make it a little taller so that the mast won't have a chance of rubbing against the tip of the bow while trailering. Bob
  15. Man, that sounds like a great time. Sailing, followed by lounging around the campfire picking bluegrass. Wish I could pick bluegrass.
  16. How about naming the whale "Humpty?" Glad you are not more seriously hurt and that Chessie is OK. I'm finishing the interior of my CS15 on it's trailer. It's a little wobbly to be on board because the central beam of the trailer flexes a bit. I don't know if this will work for you, but my boat fits better with the bow going in first. I can tuck the tongue of the trailer between things that are stored at the back of the garage and that saves a few feet. Bob
  17. Thrilsbee, I'm glad you're enjoying your boat and the the cat ketch rig is making you so happy. I have this long-range vision of using this boat for dinghy cruising in the Chesapeake and beyond. Steve Early, (http://logofspartina.blogspot.com), Roger Barnes with the UK's Dinghy Cruising Association and the shallow water sailors (www.shallowwatersailor.us) have been great inspirations to me. I'm not so keen on racing, but maybe I'd even do a Water Tribe event someday. We'll see. My priorities are 1. Safety 2. Comfort and distant 3. Speed. Actually for me, and maybe others too, safety and comfort aren't really separate. Hungry, dehydrated, scared, cold, hot, tired, scared all mean stupid. And stupid means not safe, especially for a guy who doesn't have decades of experience. Fortunately, all of those uncomfortable, potentially dangerous conditions can be cured by stopping to eat, drink, rest, dress, reef etc. So, to be happy, safe & comfortable, I figure I need the boat to stop. I'll need to heave to to take a breather and gather my wits out on the water. One of the reasons I like the lug yawl setup is that it heaves to well. The balance lug is only attached to the mast in two places, it goes up and down really easily, with minimum friction. To heave to, the main comes down and the small mizzen is pulled flat. I have read and heard from experienced people that things become calm and quiet. Perfect for eating, resting, thinking. I assumed (should have asked) that it would be difficult to flatten the cat ketch's mizzen enough to keep it from flogging. Maybe that's not the case, but the mizzen on a cat ketch is still a significant amount of sail to have up. The downhaul tension is surely greater than what's needed with the sprit, but it's nothing compared to the forces that sloop sailors apply with their vangs, so it's not hard to make things strong enough. Yes, there's a boom. Most sailboats have booms. Are booms that awful? The center thwart has no mast sticking through it. I should be able to sit on it or row from it at any time. The lug is only attached to the mast at two points, so it goes up and down quickly and easily as I mentioned above. It's dead simple to rig, too. The price is one more light spar, but one that stays attached to the sail. I hope I've made the case that a lug yawl rig makes some logical sense for the purposes I have in mind. At least more than none at all. At any rate, I made the masts, sewed the sails and built the boat. We'll find out soon how it all works out. Peace. Bob
  18. Wow. Should I be feeling defensive? If you want to know my reasons for choosing a lug, just ask.
  19. Hi Amos, Sorry about the timing of this message. I have found it best to put the tape down while the fillet is still a little soft. That way little peaks and gaps in the fillet won't keep the tape from lying down flat, giving you bubbles. You can smooth the peaks down with your gloved thumb. You can still get the good chemical bond in the AM, but you might want to knock off any big bumps before laying the tape out, especially in the corners.
  20. I look forward to meeting up on Saturday. You'll be easy to find. I'll just listen for the oohs and ahhs. Bob
  21. Fore deck on and working on the coamings. For a steam box, I taped a section of aluminum dryer duct to an electric kettle and wrapped the duct in an old sleeping bag. I think this is my favorite of all the improvised steam boxes I've tried. The dryer duct collapses back down to about half the full length and stores easily. It turns out that a genius steam box is not enough. There's a right way and a wrong way. The right way: And the wrong way: Gotta go get some more wood.
  22. About that smart-ass response: I'm stumped. It was awkward in high school, but I'm totally ok with weird now
  23. I had a similar problem, and PAR suggested basically the same thing as B. http://messing-about.com/forums/topic/9349-cs15-with-a-lug-yawl-rig/?p=91788
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