John Burritt

If one liquid floats on the other, they're not the same density. Unless there's a dramatic difference, this probably isn't the problem. The mixing tolerance of the resin/hardener mix (+/- 5%, I think) should accomodate the difference. (How's that for changing my mind?) I'm still curious about using a different thickener and/or what happens if things are warmed up.

A couple of thoughts - the pumps measure volume, not weight. Hardener will float on resin, so its lighter. Does each pump give you the same volume? 2nd thought - could possibly be the thickener. Microballoons, being hollow, might not cure real hard. Fairing shouldn't be very thick. Not sure about the wood flour. I usually use it as an additive to cabosil. Try cabosil (fumed silica) for filleting. If this doesn't get hard, you've got some kind of epoxy problem. I regularly do epoxy work with a shop temp in the 50s to 60s without a problem. Obviously cure times increase.

Paul- The BRS15 belongs to Marty. He got it from a neighbor/friend of mine who built most of it in Graham's class. It finished its "birthing pains" in my shop a few years ago so it could make its debut at the Beaufort boat show. I'd finished Miss Stephie a bit before that. John

Paul- The boat you labeled as a CS15 is actually a Bay River Skiff 15. There was a CS 15 under the shelter up by the shop, but I don't think it made it to the water. All the pics are great. Can't believe the range of boats that were there.

I'll ditto what Tom says re: using a scraper. A number of stores (Lowe's, etc.) sell carbide blade scrapers w/ replacable blades. These hold an edge better than a card scraper, but necessitate a little more care to not gouge the wood w/ a corner. A long coarse rasp also works (pattern-maker's rasp?). The convex side is more controllable. Whatever course you take, don't dally. The longer you wait, the harder the epoxy gets.

Garry - too bad you're not here. Just about every B&B design is here, or expected before the weekend is over. Tom Lathrop's Lapwing took her maiden sail this afternoon. The boat is gorgeous. He and Graham were both thrilled how it sailed. As billed, the weather is crappy at the moment, but lots of sailing took place before the rain, which should clear by late tomorrow. I'm sure there will be lots of pictures posted.

Looking forward to this weekend. It will be fun to see the boats and meet everyone. I'm bringing my B&B designed 18' fan-tail runabout. We'll have several other products of our local boatbuilding class that Graham teaches - a CS 17 in the completion stage, hull #1 of a B&B designed rowing "wherry" also in the competion stage, a Bay River skiff done a few years ago, plus some local Birders and Divas.

Being a bit of a smart-a.., 1/4" = 6.35 mm. Although we use 6 mm okoumi, some of us can't get over calling it 1/4". The longitudinal chafe strips are a good idea. Need to be placed so they'll keep the chine off the rocks/sand/ramp/whatever. A thin piece of brass half-oval will also work.

Both fir and pine will work. It just needs to be knot-free and relatively straight grained.

You're right about the tapering on the stringers. The vertical height remains constant, the horizontal thickness gets smaller. Makes it easier to go 3D with the hull and minimizes the chance of a hard spot. John

Flights into New Bern NC usually connect thru Charlotte NC or Atlanta GA. Lots of people also fly into Raleigh and drive down - a bit over 3 hours. There are 2 "suite" motels and at least 3 B & B's in Oriental, NC - a nice village on the Neuse River about 20 minutes from Graham's. For the Oriental lodging, Google "Oriental NC lodging". Also several restaurants in Oriental ranging from sandwich shops/deli's thru "down-home" to up-scale. There also are several hotels available in New Bern (check your favorite name brand) plus bunches of B & B's- about a 30 minute drive from Graham's.

Have heard that she would deal on price if the buyer didn't want the motor or ?

Frank - Graham is reluctant to post direct contact info for the family. Apparently they don't have internet, or at least not on the forum. Anyone interested should contact Graham and/or Carla. Still haven't found any pics.

Greg- The boat is in Wilmington, NC (or thereabouts). Don't have any photos. There may be some back in old forum posts. John

Looking betterer and betterer - or whatever. Very nice.

Greg I'd do several coats of clear epoxy, making sure that I tipped it out well each coat so there aren't any runs. Probably don't need varnish. It'd just get scratched up anyway. Only the top grip on the board will have any significant sun exposure (this could be varnished), so you shouldn't have to worry too much about UV degredation. Main thing is to keep water out of the wood, as always. John

Greg Looks like you did a great job on the board. Much prettier than plywood, and a bunch stronger too. John

I think there may be an open hunting season on jet skis around here. If not, should be.

Greg- White oak and epoxy don't get along. Bond won't hold. We just had a guy in class want to use oak for the gunwales on a spindrift 10. Graham vehemently vetoed it, even though the wood had been bought and cut. We used walnut alternated w/ fir on one of the Opti's we built. Looked good. Seemed to bond OK. Another good combination is to use mahogany as the dark wood. Also bonds well. John

Greg I agree with Tom that plywood is getting more and more "interesting." However, I don't think the Chinese have a corner on this. For example, five equally thick laminations suddenly aren't. Maybe the skins are thin, maybe thick. Going back to the glued up centerboards, the only failure I've seen with the ones we have done in class was with one that spent too much time in a hot car while only partially shaped - split on one of the glue lines. Added a small insert & reglued it - good to go. Working with Graham in class has been a great experience. Gives you the opportunity to gain experience on lots of different designs. Different boats go together lots differently, even though they're all "stitch & glue." You're absolutely right, seeing it done first hand is hard to beat. Even after all this time, though, I'm still finding new and innovative ways to "create corrective opportunities." John

Plywood centerboards MAY warp, or (as in your case) MAY NOT. Properly constructed laminated boards won't. We've been doing this in Graham's boat class "forever." Take a piece of plain sawn 2x fir and cut it in strips whose width is just a bit more than you want the thickness of the centerboard. Turn the strips on edge, reverse every other one end for end to reverse the grain, and epoxy them together, making sure that you keep it flat. Now your finished board is made up of reversed quarter sawn strips. Now shape the board and you'll have one that not only stays flat, but looks great. I've never seen Graham do this with a rudder, but there's no reason you couldn't. Rudders aren't as apt to jam. I seem to recall hearing that Charlie got pushed sideways into something. Any board will break if you put enough side force on it. Building one the way I described above will be as strong, and sure won't jam in the trunk.

If you haven't already recoated the transom, try steaming the staple holes with an iron and a damp cloth. This will cause the wood around the holes to swell a bit and make them less noticable. Looks good.

Check Graham's web site. He may list the plywood, etc. requirements for the different boats. If not, email him. He is more than willing to help. So saying, the 12 is definitely a bigger boat than the 10. Duh! Seeing the 2 together, its more than just the added length. The 12 has a lot more volume. More carrying capacity. Not quite so frisky. If I were going to build other than the 10, I would go for the 12 rather than the 11. Don't really know what your desires are, but hope this helps. Just to confuse things a bit more, take a look at the core sound 15. Its really a spindrift 12 on steroids.

Mark- You need to epoxy (thickened) fillet and glass tape the chines and center seam before removing the center frame. Also put the gunwales on. They will help hold the shape of the shear. I assume the transom is already in at this point. Good luck.

What kind of speeds are you getting w/ the Tohatsu? We put a yamaha 8 on Princess #1 when we rehabbed her this fall. We were getting about 6 1/2 mph at a fast idle. The more power applied, the more the stern wanted to squat. Got a max speed between 7 & 7 1/2. Had the motor mount tilted as far down as it would go. This was more than enough speed but could have been achieved w/ a smaller motor. The 8 had a few more creature comforts than the smaller motors, but not a lot more speed. Another plus is that it is really quiet.