Walt S.

Two passes with unthickened epoxyon each piece to be glued then thicken the third coat with cabosil to mayonnaise consistency. To spread the thickened epoxy, You can make a notched spreader with an adhesive spreader or buy one: https://www.amazon.com/Red-Devil-2430-Multi-Notch-Adhesive/dp/B00004YNMN?psc=1&SubscriptionId=AKIAILSHYYTFIVPWUY6Q&tag=duckduckgo-ipad-20&linkCode=xm2&camp=2025&creative=165953&creativeASIN=B00004YNMN

Glue those pieces of plywood together on top of one-another to ensure they're symmetrical.

The battens on the Spindrift are Bainbridge 5/8" untapered. Just go to a sail shop and have them cut you some new ones to size. They're outrageously expensive to buy on WestMarine and take 3 weeks to come from the UK.

I originally started my project in a tent in the backyard with the best intentions of keeping it out of the garage. Eventually, my day of calamity came. High winds lifted the tent off the boat despite shoring it up with various 1x2s, galvanized pipes, and other damage control equipment. The rain started to fill the boat with water since I waterproofed the inside of the boat with 3 COATS OF EPOXY. My wife and I scrambled to get it inside. At that time, I hadn't glassed it or painted it or put on the seat tops and centerboard trunk, so it only weighed 60-80 pounds and I have a strong wife. Together, we pressed it overhead (she taking the heavier stern of course) and lifted it completely over the fence gate which wasn't wide-enough to go through. A bunch of other stuff had to be frantically moved out of the garage onto the side of the house. THe moral of the story, if any, is build a strong tent.

Beautiful. And she never will be, my friend. haha.

Steve, Re: the galvanized/aluminum choice, the guy at WestMarine suggested buying a painted trailer if you can't find a galvanized one and just adding sacrificial zincs to it to keep it from rusting. I don't know if there are any aluminum trailers for a CS20 - I don't think Trailex makes any that big and they're the only aluminum trailer manufacturer I could find.

https://messing-about.com/forums/topic/10035-spindrift-12-build-log/?do=findComment&comment=100433

My SPindrift is sapphire blue. You'll like it. I couldn't see the Stewie head until you pointed it out. That's the problem with boatbuilding - you see all the flaws and point them out to others.

William, Have you thought of vacuum bagging these panels? The vacuum-bagged surfboards I've used were much lighter than the ones glassed with layup. http://www.westsystem.com/wp-content/uploads/VacuumBag-7th-Ed.pdf

Alan did something similar with his CS15: towards the stern where the seat sides meet the stern seat, he put plywood so that there is no lip. Check through his videos on YouTube. I

I've removed some of the paint. You're right, they are parallel to the grain. I liked your gusset idea I just wanted to minimize re-painting. I ripped a 2x4 last night to make a dutchman for the gunwale but am not confident the result will be better. I should sand it down and re-post pictures so you all can see.

Mine doesn't have any except as the seat tops taper outwards towards the corners by the stern and as it tapers outwards towards the thwarts. Check my thread, I think I have pictures. Sealing the seat tops to the seat bulkheads is a good idea to ensure the airtight compartments are airtight.

Thanks, Alan. Did you use a scarfing sled and a router to make the dutchman while you were at the show or just a pull saw? It seems like you're going to have to use hand tools for this no matter what.

Dave, Rather than raised oarlock blocks, a modification of the Bolger oarlocks might work. A second spacer could be braised or bolted underneath the first one to give the oarlocks the desired height above the gunwales. The materials are available at all the big box stores. http://www.jimsboats.com/webarchives/2002/15aug02.htm William, I think I'm going to sawzall off the oarlock horns and add side-mounted oarlocks: https://www.jamestowndistributors.com/userportal/show_product.do?pid=2382&familyName=Perko+Side+Plate+Oarlock+Sockets I'm going to build some Bolger oarlocks using my harbor freight stick welder. I think I still need to do something about the damaged gunawales. I suppose I could try to flow some epoxy into the cracks. I'm not sure how well that would work. I don't think I could get any in.

I've used a heat gun on the pump and it worked well. I've also put in the microwave for a few seconds.

Welp, I should've made the oarlock horns wider to accommodate side mount or angle mount sockets. Instead, I drilled for topmount sockets and the width of the gunwales + plywood was barely enough for the socket holes. I think rowing put enough stress on the starboard gunwale to crack it. In fact, I could see the gunwale flexing as I rowed. I now have a cracked gunwale. I'm thinking of drilling in the sides around the cracks and adding dowels with titebond or other wood glue. Does anyone else have suggestions?

Are you going to glass over the tape?

Looking great man. The bulkheads, quarter knees, breast hook, and transom all look like they fit perfectly. It's amazing how long it takes to move clamps and braces around. Make sure to check for twist before filleting. My method is on my thread.

Thanks, Don. The trailer has tongue weight. The trailer and the boat together are only 300 lbs so there's only so much I can add. I will put a spare tire further forward to add weight. I'm not ready for freeway trailering. I haven't fully figured out how to secure the bow using only a bow painter. Yesterday, I used home depot poly line for the bow and found it too stretchy. I think also that Trailex intends for you to use the bow roller tower handles as a kind of cleat to secure the bowline. Now that I've built a boat, the real learning begins.

Guys, I adjusted the front roller higher so that it's supportign the keel. I'm not thrilled with the front bumper tower but didn't really want to buy the winch and tower. I'm just going to use another ratchet strap on the front. The oar leathers are duct-taped on. I'm going to try it out. Don, the wheels are 8". I could probably drop the bunks another 2 inches but was thrilled with how well they fit so I didn't want to adjust anything. The clearance of the keel over the center beam is actually not great. I did a good job measuring and beveling the bunks before I put on the boat. I can always adjust later. This trailer's so light I'm probably going to use is as a dolly when I get to the ramp. It's not very long, so it's impossible to see where it's going from the rearview. I probably need to add some guide-ons as Chick suggested. Finally, I ordered a clamp for the hitch to eliminate the slop between the hitch and receiver. I took the empty trailer up to about 50 mph and didn't notice any fishtailing.

I'm launching her tomorrow. Here she is on a Trailex SUT 250-S:

I think I'm just going to use an artist's brush and then wet-sand to 1500 grit. BTW, on Offcenterharbor.com, I saw a video where the guy said he put two coats of Brightsides on within 24 hours without sanding. I tested this idea with the first spot my toddler scratched. After I put the boat in the water HOPEFULLY THIS WEEKEND, I'll know whether the paint stuck to the previous layer.

Robert, How do you touch-up scratches? I finished painting my boat and the toddler has already tried to sand it twice. The first set of scratches were within 24 hours so I tried putting on touch-up paint without sanding. The second set are after the paint has cured for a week. It seems like I can rough-up the spot and hit it with a small hobby paint brush but it definitely stands out from the rest of the paint job.

If I could sand my boat all over again, I would've taken Dave's suggestion. I also like the 3M scotch-brite scrub pads of various grits. I found the very-fine pad to be great between finish coats. For the RO sander, I just use 8-hole 80-grit discs from Home Depot and replace them often. I'm coming to hate production sandpaper.

Will there be a sailing version? What was the final weight?