Bikermouse

The problem with storing sails on the mast during winter is that, as they go through warming and cooling cycles, condensation can form in the folds that will never completely dry. In the springtime, then, you find mildew damage. Having read from people with much more experience than myself, I'd really recommend unbending the sails, cleaning and drying them completely, then storing in a sail bag in a climate-controlled area. Maybe a closet in the house instead of an unheated/uncooled garage or shed.

Not really a boat-building question, but a boat repair/restoration one. I just picked up a 1967 Cal-20, with hull & fiberglass in generally good shape, but there are some stress cracks topsides and the keel needs to be refaired. My question is, since I'm fairly sure that what I'm looking at is a polyester or vinylester hull, can I use epoxy resin for patching & repairs, or do I need to hunt down the older style resins? I'm sure that there are lots of grey areas in this question's answers, so I'm looking forward to any input. Thanks!

I've used the threaded rivets to great effect on Harley fenders often in the past. They have a tendency to spin loose when you install and remove the bolt several times, but for a permanent installation like a cleat, I'd think that they'd work well with some blue Loc-Tite on the bolt

This may sound stupid, but as I've been building a Glen-L Sabotina in my backyard I stopped occasionally and looked at it. All 7' 10" of it. Then I looked at my own frame, 6'4" and around 250 lbs. I couldn't help but notice that, by comparison, I'm kinda large for this little boat, and I was wondering if I'd even be able to sail her once she's done. This week, I'm visiting my Mom in VA, who has a dock off of the Chesapeake Bay. She's been wanting a rowboat and, since she knew I was coming, she got a used one with a sail kit. It's a Starcraft Starlette 9 that is, technically, a foot or so longer than the Sabotina, but with the Sabotina's pram bow they have practically the same interior space, flotation, and sailplan. I've had a blast in it the past two days and, even if it isn't a home-made wooden boat, it's convinced me that my project will be usable when it's done. Just that much more incentive to finish! And now I've dinghied in (almost) 2 oceans!

Didn't he take that idea from Moby Dick?

I apologize for not being strictly on topic for the board, but I wanted to brag on a family friend. Abby Sunderland, age 16, cast off from a dock in Marina Del Rey this morning in her bid to become the youngest person to circumnavigate the world solo. There have been a spate of these attempts recently, but I know the Sunderland family, and their kids are better equipped to handle a voyage of this sort than most folks twice or three times their ages. She's planning a non-stop Southern Ocean route in her Open 40, Wild Eyes. You can find more information and pics/video at http://www.abbysunderland.com.

I haven't bought from anywhere else, so I'm not sure about the quality difference, but I got my epoxy from Glen-L, and I've been happy with the quality for the cost so far. I'm using Poxy-grip and Poxy-shield for gluing and fiberglassing, respectively. You can shop and compare prices at http://www.glen-l.com.

So, like most artistic endeavours, if you did it for the money, then you wouldn't do it... With apologies to all of our professionals here, for me that's also the philosophy I have towards woodworking, boat building, et cetera.

I'm no expert, but I believe it's pronounced with a hard "t", and the accent upon the first syllable. Relates to the drafting/engineering term, like fillets and chamfers. Of course, the basic rule is, does to person to whom you're speaking know what you mean? If your audience poronounces it one way, right or wrong, it's usually easier to just pronounce it the way they do.

Good to hear from you, but sorry to hear about your brightwork. Haven't seen you since Kehilat that oncve so long ago. I lack the experience to help much with advice, but I could maybe help with a Sunday afternoon's work sometime once you get a direction. PM me if you want.

I know I try to never post, just to mess with the numbers... and yes, I agree that Frank is groovy!

I had a compy with 3-1/2 discs years ago. They still make those?

Wow, my family's farm is about 20 miles west of Evansville, in Poseyville. Unfortunately (in so many ways) I'm now in So. Cal. and that trailer sounds like a bit of overkill for an 8' dinghy...

Have you ever seen what a shirt looks like after a few shifts around a battery bench? I'd avoid having anything else in that compartment if you're putting as battery there. Many modern designs don't have liquid acid that can spill or spatter when the battery heats up, but they still get post corrosion if they're not cleaned regularly (and they never are). That corrosion is almost as bad as the acid itself on fabrics.

Peter, I only have a daggerboard trunk, not a centerboard, but that's basically what I did. Seems good so far, and the overlap of the trunk down into the keel just feels stronger than a fillet joint. Not tested or mathematically proven, but it feels intuitively good.

And sharpening the blade myself did garner a sense of satisfaction that doesn't show up on a balance sheet. On the other hand, I also now have a spare so I can switch blades if (when) I screw up again instead of wasting 1/2 hour of precious daylight sitting inside sharpening a blade.

I had been expecting the hand plane to be difficult to use, and I was surprised when I used it to find it pretty easy and generally precise. I only have a 6" block plane (it's only a 7' 10" boat!) but it's been slicing the wood with gusto! As far as sharpening, I did sharpen the blade once when I nicked it on a proud screw. It took me about a half hour with a two-sided stone and I did get a good edge on it and that edge is working well. On the other hand, a half-hour at work earns me $7.50 and a new blade from Home Depot costs $4.95, so I fugure I save $2.55 every time I just buy a new blade.

Pretty boat, but with no bright work I couldn't tell what kind of wood she's made of.

I saw this story and instantly thought of all y'all sailors down Florida way. Sep 5, 5:23 AM (ET) SARASOTA, Fla. (AP) - Scientists on Florida's Gulf Coast are trying to find an underwater robot that has mysteriously vanished. The robot from the Mote Marine Laboratory in Sarasota has been missing since Monday. It cost about $100,000. It also was equipped with a detector to find red tide, a toxic algae bloom. That was valued at another $30,000. Scientists aren't sure what happened to the robot, which is nicknamed Waldo. It could have had a leak or malfunction and sunk to the bottom. It also could be on the surface, but its communication system isn't working properly to signal its location. The lab hopes boaters out for the busy Labor Day weekend might spot Waldo.

Ok, looking for help on my next dumb move. I got my daggerboard case assembled and installed, and the bottom panels on my Sabotina. It wasn't until after doing this that I noticed the glops of epoxy and silica filler inside the case. Some were squeezed out from when I assembled the case, and some were drips from installing the bottom panels. Given that, yes, if I'd noticed this problem while the epoxy was wet then it'd have been easy to clean up, how do I now sand the epoxy glops off inside the case? I'm nervous about damaging the fiberglass inside the case, but if I cut the daggerboard to fit the glops then it'll be outrageously sloppy. Maybe wrap some sandpaper around a 1/2" dowel? I'm sure that someone here has pulled a miracle out of a similar mistake before! On an unrelated note, after I sanded the joint between my bottom panels, you should have seen the look on my wife's face when I told her to come outside and see how smooth my bottom felt!

If your vehicle is up to it, I've always found big trailers to be a LOT easier to handle and maeuver than little ones. If nothing else, you get a second's more warning before they jacknife. Especially with an RV, and its limited rear visibility, that'd seem to help.

A lot of those WWII fyers became bikers when they came home. Now bikes have a nearly foolproof tool for eliminating gremlins. They hang a small bell on the bike, the gremlins are attracted to the sound, and get caught in the clapper. Then they eventually fall out, and that's where potholes come from. I don't know of any reliable way to get more gremlins, though, except for adding more poorly designed accessories...

We have that already. Just type <ctrl> "Konrad"

I'm betting on he'll materialize his TARDIS around the boat, then take it to a planet of genetically enhanced shipwrights, before finding out that the shipwrights are secretly being controlled by the Federation Senate from a Bizarro universe. Enough cross-topics yet?

Do you mean the electric-start Passport? That's a classic!