Drew

That's the plan. I have temporarily screwed the rubbing strake in place, but left 5mm (nearly 1/4") clear of the hull to help with the sheer strake placement. I appreciated the info regarding the inwales for the cabin roof/sheer strake intersect and also noting the extra supports or longerons for the cabin deckhead. Much appreciated. I love getting these extra little drawings from posts with measurements that I have never seen before, they are really helpful.

Pete, once again you have inspired me. I am back at boatbuilding and just at the planning stage for cabin construction, so I appreciate your ideas and pics. Bunk supports in and most of the internal glassing completed. I will upload some pics when I can remember to grab a camera, but so far my progress (and therefore pictures) is basically the same as yours, just a little behind. Today I dry fitted the rubbing strake to the hull and just stood there admiring the lovely fair lines that Graham designed into the boat.

I have never used rollers, probably because I was taught to use a squeegee (plastic spatula) and brush. I built an entire airplane that way. It is important when glassing to get the balance right between too much and too little epoxy. You know its right when the weave is visible but not dry or white. Too much epoxy and you risk floating the glass cloth off the substrate. When I fill the weave I put some micro balloons in the epoxy, it does a great job of filling and is easy to sand. Then a final coat of epoxy to seal the lot - no water is getting in there! After that, of course, is several coats of primer and finish coat.

Congratulations Chick, I'm 'green with envy' - hang on, that's your boat that's green. Love the colour but am going for blue hull and off white uppers. You have inspired me to build faster. Good sailing and fair breezes to you and Summer Breeze. BTW, I have made quite a collection of your photos for inspiration - muchas gracias!

Welcome to the Group. Yes, applying a coat of epoxy, preferably warm so it is thinner, is very important. It can soak in the fibres and then when you apply your fillet the epoxy in each coat bonds and you have a stronger bond. Just don't have so much epoxy that it is basically a puddle on the plywood as this makes it hard to apply the fillet.

Thanks Graham and Pete. That is very helpful. Pics later.

Thanks for the views on the sprit booms guys. Here is a question for those with Mk 3's. I assume that the bunks and the tops of the cockpit seats should both be parallel to the designed water line, and therefore parallel to each other and basically horizontal when afloat? Your experience on this appreciated as I am fine tuning the bunk bulkheads at the moment.

I do have one question for the group. As I look at pictures of the sprit being used instead of a boom (eg the NIS series of cat-rigged sharpies) I wonder whether the sprit spoils the set of the sails at all and reduces the pointing ability? What is the experience of those whose boat is on the water?

My past experience of epoxies is to take nothing for granted. Always prepare the surface well and wash down the finished epoxy before painting. Its no big deal. What I like about the Bote Cote is its genuine low toxicity. I still wear a full mask, but compared to the epoxies I used to build an aircraft, even the smell is more human-friendly. I use it with a range of fillers, but my favorite for fillets is flox. It sets like steel, so best to smooth it down while still very green or apply the tape wet-on-wet. After a few weeks away from boat construction I am back at it with a vengeance. Port and starboard sheers have been joined ready to install, all bulkheads are glued and taped and am about to trial fit the bunk supports. I'm putting off the tedious job of sanding the edges of all the taped joints ready for three coats of epoxy.

To CSIM, I picked up my materials through Drive Marine in Beverly Hills, Sydney. Dave Giddings is helpful and the ply was as good as you can get these days. I am using Bote Cote epoxy and liking it and Dave also handles a range of glass tapes, cloth etc.

Thanks Chick, your pics are helpful. Reassuring that the uppers could handle the weight of the boat when inverted.

Some advice needed. I'm wondering when is the best time to flip the boat and prepare the undersides, glass to the chines and maybe even paint up to the gunwhale. I could do it now, before fitting the sheer strake while it is lighter, or wait until I have built the cabin. With a little reinforcing, the gunwhales will be strong enough to rest on bearers, but the sheer won't be. What have those who went before done about this?

Chick, what did you use to manufacture your sprits?

I just want to build me a boat. Back to it after Easter!!! Determined. Stay posted.

I love reading about the progress you guys are making. No boat progress here. My lovely wife thought I needed a break from building a boat in my spare time. Now that you have spare time, how about converting part of the BBQ area into a cabana or retreat, or whatever. I call it the little house on the prairie. Can't wait to get back to boatbuilding.

Here's a question to ponder. I wonder why Graham chose to use the area aft of the bunks as empty storage type space instead of carrying through for the tail end of quarter berths? The sides would need strengthening to make up for less web in the bulkhead, but it could be useful space as a bunk and then for bedding storage with no risk of bedding in the bilges.

Going 3D is very satisfying as many members of the forum have said. Yours came together nicely, what a great team. Because our double garage ceiling was not high enough, we rolled it out onto the driveway. Entertained the neighbours no end. Even though ours is cut from plans, not pre-cut, it has gone together nicely - a testament to Graham's design. We are currently filleting and glassing all internal joins and chines. Photos soon.

Pete, do you have a breather pipe out of the top of the ballast tank to allow air to escape as the tank floods, or will you simply leave the hatch open until filled?

Thanks again for the photos. So many good ideas.

Interesting discussion. Actually the Port side was previously known as Larboard, short for loading board, as different from Starboard, or steering board, but this is too easily confused with Starboard. Due to the steering board being outboard of the boat's quarter, larger boats had to come alongside a Port on the left (larboard side) to avoid damaging the steering outrigger. Naval types usually refer to the "roof" above our heads as the "deckhead". Talking about "heads", they were located in the bows of sailing ships, one each side, always use the lee side head. Its all traditions from the mists of maritime.

Hi Pete, its summer here on the other side of the world, temps in high 20's Celsius. My son in Manhattan sent me photos of empty streets and people skiing in the street in NYC. Regarding the mast, you could use the sail halyard to hold it up temporarily by having a ring bolt somewhere in the forepeak, or you could have slightly larger cheeks on top of the tabernacle so as to put a pin through in front of the mast. Personally, I wouldn't be putting more holes through the mast as every hole, especially at a strain point, is a potential failure point.

By the way - I just want to put it out there that I love this design. I love the lines and the structure, so thank you very much Graham. Opening out the boat was one of those "OMG" moments. I am building mine with a little extra strength to handle Australian east coast conditions, which can get choppy, but overall I am loving the way the design comes together.

Thanks Steve. I decided that I would epoxy all surfaces before installation. I will now fillet all corners and run epoxy into every join and crevice, put a thick coat of epoxy over everything then line the bottom and sides with 4oz BID cloth and put a thick coat of epoxy over that. In other words, I am relying on many coats of epoxy to waterproof all surfaces, not relying on glass cloth, which can allow water to penetrate if there is a small area that is not properly saturated.

Thanks Graham. Loving your design - the lines are already looking nice.

What sort or size bailers are people fitting? I assume we are talking about the Anderson style venturi bailer? How to open and close it while underway could be an interesting design challenge. Easy in a dinghy with no cockpit sole.