cdunc

I have heard good things about the Bosch 1590 jigsaw. Plan to upgrade to that soon. Use that to cut outside the lines and then finish with a block plane. I am not one of the experts I just play one on TV

Too funny, I am also a computer programmer. I wonder if there is some connection wired into the brain related to building boats and programming or is it just a general desire to build things. I know that as someone who sits at a desk, I am attracted to boat building for the appeal of building something physical instead of virtual. I know that I have greatly enjoyed the building process. There is always something to do and you get to figure out how to solve the next problem/challenge. There are some parallels in there to writing and debugging programs or complex applications. I started my boat last October and never really set a deadline. I don't need deadlines for my hobby, I have plenty of those at work. My kids, 9 and 12, were able to help with the build on a limited basis. All the spinning metal objects, chemicals(epoxy) and cursing(yours truly) limited there time in the shop. If they were older I would have involved them more. Maybe when I build the CS. On the subject of plywood, I ended up ordering mine from Boulter plywood. I had to pay for the shipping but even if I could have found it locally I would have had to rent a truck to get it from there to my house or pay them to ship it to me. Sot it was shipped from Maine to Georgia. Darnit, Should have picked crocheting! Craig

After sanding the primer over the weekend I was able to get a single coat of system 3 topcoat on last night. I am using the Earlex hvlp. I started out with a setting where I was getting too much volume of paint so I throttled it back to almost nothing and then slowly opened it up. With the volume set too high I was getting some running of the paint. I settled on a very thin spray pattern so that it took multiple passes or very slow passes to get full coverage. That eliminated the running but of course took much longer to coat the hull. I am going to slowly bump up the volume to see if I can get a happy medium. I did get one coat on. Posting pictures of primer coat and first coat of topcoat.

I was in the same situation a year ago that you are in now. I thought I would get my feet wet (no pun intended) by building the Birder but then I decided that sailing a boat vs rowing sounded a lot better to me. So I decided to build the S12 cat rig. I am nearing completion on it. I have a 9 year old and a 12 year old that are really excited about going sailing when the boat is done. The S12 will easily accommodate one adult and two kids, it might even hold 2 adults and 2 kids. I will let you know when I launch. I chose the 12 because I wanted to go out with my kids. I also think I will someday build one of the CS models, someday. I would also recommend building with the marine plywood even though it might be your first build. There are a lot of threads on this forum and the main forum touting the reasons to use the good stuff. I know it is more expensive but if you want a cheap hobby try crocheting not boat building. :grin:

Congrats. Looks great. When is launch day?

I decided to go with the roller for the primer. I put on the second coat of primer this morning using a 4 inch roller. On a S12 it doesn't take long at all to put a full coat on with the roller. Took longer than spraying but not so much. Since I did not have to thin it the coat will be thicker. Once it dries I will be sanding to get a nice smooth surface for the system 3 paint. I still plan on using the HVLP for the topcoat. I am using an Earlex HVLP system. I was able to get it on sale at Woodcraft earlier this year. It seems like a good deal for the casual user. Probably not something you would use in a production shop but for an amateur woodworker and amateur boat builder it should work nicely. I believe I paid less than $300 USD. Craig

Good point Ray. I was wondering that myself last night. Since it is such a small boat (S12). In fact I was telling my wife that it takes longer to mix the primer wait 15 minutes(Induction time) and then clean up after than it does to spray it on. Rolling on would be a little slower but it would eliminate my current problem. What grit do you use when sanding the primer? I am assuming you are not wet sanding. Craig

Thanks for the quick response. I will try that. What purpose does the rubbing alcohol server over using water? When you say "You gotta go light" are you talking about throttling down the volume on the spray gun or more that I should not make multiple passes over the same area? Thanks again, Craig

I have just started priming the outside of the hull for my S12. I am using the Yacht(haha) primer from System Three. I initially tested the viscosity of the Part B and found it to be too thick for the sprayer. But once the part A and part B were mixed it is much thinner. I did add some water to thin out the primer but I am wondering now if I should have. The primer is running. This could be due to my lack of experience with HVLP. I was wondering what other people's experience is with spraying system three primer. Did you thin it? Any tips? Thanks, Craig

I read recently that all Mercury outboards under 40hp are actually built by Tohatsu. Anyone else heard that? Here is a link to what I read. http://www.onlineoutboards.com/Help.html?Question=Nissan-vs-Tohatsu Craig

Very nice. What is the species of the other pieces? Pine? Maple? Craig

Aluminum masts are different for each boat. My spindrift uses a thinner wall thickness than the bigger boats. Most people buy the raw material from online metals - http://www.onlinemetals.com/ or some other internet vendor. If you are lucky you can find a local supplier in the correct type and thickness. I was able to buy mine via Aircraft Spruce but they don't have the variety that online metals has. I don't know how the Belhaven masts are constructed but for my Spindrift it is 3 sections of 6 ft tubing in decreasing outside diameter so one fits inside the other. Give Carla or Graham a call and they can give more details. They are real nice folks. Craig

April to July! Holy cow! I have been working on my Spindrift 12 since October and I am still not done. :grin: Congrats on a beautiful boat.

Posting some new pics. Exterior has been coated in epoxy plus the side buoyancy tanks aka seats. Next thing is to get all the seats glued in and then seal the interior. Then I can start fairing and painting.

This link seems to work better for me: http://issuu.com/southwinds/docs/july_2009_issue

Just curious who is your supplier in SC for the Ocume?

Anyone going to be at the Woodenboat show this weekend in Mystic, CT. Craig

I am looking into trailers for my S12. I searched the forums and found mention of the harbor freight boat trailer. I was hoping to get more feedback from anyone who has one. I read the manual for it and it says it should not be pulled above 45mph, which seems to be deal breaker. It has 8 inch wheels. http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=5002 I also found a utility trailer at Tractor Supply that might be an option but it would require some mods to support a boat. It has 12 inch wheels and should be capable of interstate travel. http://www.tractorsupply.com/wcsstore/ConsumerDirectStorefrontAssetStore/images/products/600/1000215.jpg Should an S12 rest mostly on the keel or would bunks be sufficient? Other people have mentioned a used PWC trailer. The pictures I have seen of those typically only have bunks instead of keel rollers. Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks, Craig

Thanks Graham. Is that great service or what? ;D

It's been awhile but I have been slowly plugging away with construction on my S12. I have all the seat framing done and the CB installed. I was cutting the seat top for the starboard side last night. I am starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel. I wanted to ask the group where to get 3/8" copper tubing. I found it at the big box store but since I only need a small piece for the rudder I did not want to buy a 6 ft section of tubing when I only need about 6 inches. Suggestions?? Thanks, Craig

I have not used any other epoxy other than Graham's, but then I have not even finished a single boat. I am using the slow hardener. All my building has been in the colder months of the year so the slow is really slow, almost too slow. But it does give you plenty of time to work. I am hoping with the weather warming up things will move along a little faster. Craig

I think he is referring to this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portsmouth_yardstick

Wow. Here I am reading Blue Water Sailing magazine thinking I need a bigger boat, but apparently my 12' spindrift is more than adequate. ;D That doesn't mean the skipper is anywhere close to adequate. Speaking of books, I am currently reading "Sailing in a spoonful of water". Another good read. Craig

Any news on Southern Skimmer? I tried the watertribe tracker and there is no information on roo. I also logged onto the site listed above and the last position report I saw was from March 7th. Craig

I tried Dave's suggestion about clamping the matching pieces with the twist in the opposite directions. I clamped the two boards together with the kingposts to see if that would knock out the twist. It seems to have eliminated most of it. I think if I do as y'all have suggested and clamp it down to something flat during the glue up that will eliminate any other problems. Just have to remember to put some plastic under it when I clamp it down. I don't really need a centerboard trunk for my workbench. ;D