PadrePoint

New “Outboard” I spotted somewhere an ad for a Temo 450. It’s about $1,600. (This was posted to YouTube a year ago.) This was kind of joked about in another forum thread (I’ll find it.) This drill powered device runs around $50. I suppose the $1,600 device make the silly cheap device seem more legitimate. It’s a temptation. I can see that it would be great fun for the grandkids to operate and useful (perhaps) around the dock. Looking around, I spotted a hand-powered version. ?

This past May, I joined the Dinghy Cruising Association (United Kingdom — Roger Barnes, President.) Part of the membership includes a quarterly journal, available in print and digital. Also available through the association membership is access to their forum and digital access to over ten years of their journal. I’ve read through a few of the previous journals, but I received my first print copy last week. I think it is a high quality production in terms of writing, photography, amount of material, and things of interest to a small-sailboat enthusiast. And so, I am sitting here in my screen tent at 10:30 pm in a Minnesota State Park campsite, paging through for the first time my copy of the 100+ page journal… …when I spot a familiar looking Core Sound 15… familiar, because I built it last year. How fun to see this. I had already spotted my name among the 86 new members from around the world listed on pages 6 and 7… but seeing the Norma T pop out at me from page 73 of this delightful magazine was a real surprise. I hope the boat presents itself reasonably well here. It’s just a snapshot that I took while walking back from parking my car/trailer after launching it the first time this year. I had posted it on the DCA Facebook page… and my post was placed into their magazine. ? AND, it should be recognized that this forum is also “International.” My LINKS on this forum: Blog: “Building the Norma T” Blog: “Sailing the Norma T” Blog: “Building Joe” (Introduction) Blog: “Building Joe” (Continuation)

Sounds like a fun, useful day. ?

Finally, the transom and motor well are ready for finishing: another coat or two of epoxy, then coats of primer and paint. Then, the boat goes to the marina for the installation of the controls. In May, I half-jokingly indicated that, to cover the back of the transom, I would piecemeal the scraps left from the large fiberglass roll that I got from my dad in 1968. (That roll has covered a couple boats and several canoes before “running out.”) When I started this little project last weekend (just before leaving for yet another vacation) I decided instead to use leftover tape that I had bought from B&B. I came back home this evening and epoxied the strips across the transom. (Note one of the seats in the floor that arrived while I was gone.) Sanding and a fill coat tomorrow… THEN, it’s off to another out of state camping trip with family. ? Here’s my son and family in a little paddleboat yesterday… he prefers his cedar-strip canoe and she prefers her stand-up paddle board. The little kid in the middle??? He just prefers to be between his mom and dad. ? And a NEWS FLASH… AND, a reason things aren’t quite exact in this build:

How fun looking.

Three weeks on Great Lakes water… some readers of this forum are gonna be envious of your adventure. ?

Progress has continued even though it has felt very slow. But, today was more productive… two significant additions. I installed the dash: and completed the motor well. Also, I have cut out and shaped all of the remaining pieces of the boat (except two front deck pieces and the gunwale… a final installation). I hoped that things were completed enough to have the controls installed while vacationing next week, but with a few little setbacks that popped up I still need a few more days. So, the controls installation will wait after I return. Of the stack of 8” x 16’ clear southern yellow pine boards that I bought from B&B (secured to the top of my van)… this is what I have left that won’t be used. I hit it pretty darn close. The boat’s frames were made from Lowe’s pressure treated 5/4 southern yellow pine decks boards. And, for fun, I am posting a short video clip made this morning of my son and grandson starting their two day canoe/camping trip down a local river that eventually passes a couple blocks from our house. I’ll see them again tomorrow. (My son built the cedar strip canoe.)

My First Sailboat Race The Lake DuBay Sailing Association is a small club just north of me, comprised mostly of small boat sailors… a few home-built boats are part of the fleet. They organize weekly sailboat races and several monthly sailing events. I joined by paying the “whopping” $15 annual membership fee. ? Tonight, I was finally able to join them in a few races. A couple weeks ago, the club received an email from a young lady who just moved into the area from California, she offered to crew for anyone. I invited her to join me in my boat, not to crew, but to “captain” and to help me in my first experience of racing, since I’ve never done it before and she has sailing experience. (Actually, I learned tonight that she has been a sailing instructor in San Francisco.) I asked her to take the helm for the first couple races, and then I took the helm for the third race. The other sailors patiently waited for us to finish each race before starting the next… a nice group of folks. Here I’m rounding a buoy for the first time… I thought I should take a photo but was a little slow getting my phone out. The “crew” who joined me tonight: We’re approaching the last turn… it was a really nice evening and sunset: The “mad dash” for the finish line… wing-on-wing… Well, actually, the winds kind of faded away and the weight of the sheets kept pulling the sails inward. ? And, for fun from our weekend Family Camp (our 4 kids and their families): our two sons are heading out with our two granddaughters to conduct a canoe-capsize drill. They had a blast… a weekend highlight for the grandkids (The guy in the front built the cedar strip canoe.) We’ll do this with the Norma T some day… not this year, likely.

Don, I sailed tonight… my first time of participating in a race. As I took a photo of rounding a buoy for the first time I realized it was a good photo of the mizzen sheet and motor on my repaired motor mount. On a weird low-wind jibe the mizzen sheet did get a bit tangled. Other than that, it stayed clear. (I put a ring on the sheet with an elastic cord to the sprit but the cord seems a little thin to do what I wanted it to do and I haven’t replaced it yet.)

You need a de-notching tool. Lowe’s has a special on them next week.

Don, When I visited Paul to see his CS17, while I was building Norma T, I noticed he had one of these mounts. I thought it could be useful so I bought one from Duckworks. I’ve had and used it from the beginning. It reduces the mizzen sheets fouling (I think) but not totally. I will pay attention to this detail (with some photos) for you in some upcoming sailing.

Don, this sounds like a great plan… and fun. Enjoy yourselves and your adventures. ? I’m not sure that I will finish Joe and make a sleeping platform for Norma T by the time you return. After all, Family Camp and “Gramma Camp” are coming up soon. ? Maybe…

A Bunch of Small Additions I returned from being out of town for nearly two months (vacationing.) I worked all day yesterday on my current ski-boat build, mostly painting epoxy onto various topside, transom, and inside pieces (this is a photo of the completed hull exterior: But today is all about the Norma T. I had a bunch of little projects (and a repair) that I wanted to get done. A repair: just before our trip to Lake Tahoe, I took my two boys sailing (meaning that I pulled the boat downstate and THEY did everything else.) Being on their own on a nice windy day resulted in a lot of fun on the water… and only one little mishap. In a moment of flurried effort to get the 2.3 hp motor to bring the boat to the dock a throttle burst in the reverse position broke the motor mount boards and bent the motor mount’s steel plate. Clearly, the wood grain I had installed should have been vertical (or I should have used plywood) and the boards’ horizontal split looked like they were worked over by an eager karate student. ? So, having about 6x15 inches left of a full inch thick southern yellow pine (from B&B) I cut and shaped new pieces with vertical grain orientation. But, the 2” thickness (plus the steel in the middle) was too thick to take the motor. Now what? ? Could I reduce one board by a quarter inch or do I need to use another 3/4” piece? POWER PLANER!! (I am really liking this new tool.) I marked a quarter inch all around and went at it… lickety split… now 3/4”. ? Then, to make me feel a little more secure when trailering the boat with the motor placed on the motor-mount, I drilled another hole through the wood and steel and added a bolted hook to secure the motor frame to the mount more than just tightening the pressure bolts (the “hook” is like a half u-bolt, a Fleet Farm hardware item): Next, I will try making a sleeping platform for the aft cockpit area. To help make room for a sleeping area, I will want to be able to move the mizzen mast out of the way. I finally finished installing the mizzen mast step to the keel batten under the forward thwart. Then, I got out my small motorcycle camping tent to see if it could be used. I think it can be set up while in the boat. Here, the tent’s floor sagged into the cockpit, of course, but maybe it could work for some short episodes of solo dingy cruising. (I didn’t add the tent’s rain fly.) The tent is a side entry, but I think there would be space and flexibility to get in and out. Next, I bought some plastic boxes with locking tops to organize stuff going into the seat locker area. I bought c-clamp lights last year but never took them out of the package. So, I tried ‘em out. They break down, fitting nicely into a “safety equipment” box, along with a Wisconsin boat regulation book, boat registration card, signal flag, and mini-airhorn. (The fire extinguisher will stay in its original box.) I figured out an easy way to tie/secure both of my two-part nine-foot oars completely out of the way under the aft side decks with a simple tie to the gusset. (I’ll probably get elastic cords for this.) And, to round off the day, I took the boat to the river for a short sail.

Two Months: NO Boat-Building Great vacation time in May and June… and a long time in coming. But, I’m back home now. It took me nearly a week to “decompress” from our trips and motivate myself to pick up working on Joe. Also, I needed to let my body recover from a sort-of spectacular slip on a hiking trail that sent me flying off the trail. Luckily there were some granite boulders to cushion my fall and halt the down-the-mountain progress. ? On a warm 90+ degree day, I finally took time to begin installing pieces of the transom supports. Four carriage bolts and four lag screws supplemented the installation of the 2x5 inch upper transom stiffener. The other transom pieces need epoxy coats, primer, and paint before installing. So, today was mostly about painting on an initial coat of epoxy to a whole bunch of pieces: coamings… dash, deck beams, the top transom stiffener, motor well forward beam, and the floorboards that will go under the front deck… then the cockpit floorboards, motor well plywood, and the underside of the four side deck pieces. Everything gets one or two more coats of epoxy along with primer/paint or coats of marine varnish. Whew… a ways to go. I might need to order more epoxy but I’m not sure yet. Meanwhile, an under-sink concern came to my attention:

That last photo looks like it was taken by a new toy… ?

The “kids” and grandkids are back home and my wife and I are just a bit lonely. We’re down to the last full day and we’re both anxious to head back home. This is the longest consecutive time we’ve spent on vacation, over three weeks, plus a couple more weeks last month. We took a hike to a few secluded (and clothing optional) Lake Tahoe beaches yesterday. This photo is from “Whale Beach.” I wonder why that name was chosen??? ? Actually, we walked by a flat-on-his-back heavier older guy trying for a tan on his entire — rather bleached — body. (Maybe too much information… but he kinda offered a beached whale image. ?) I’m really looking forward to our return flight, my first participation in a sailboat race in a few days, and getting back to the Stiletto build.

Pete, Hmmm… I haven’t thought about this issue (on behalf of the kid across the street — The Wheezer — who is finishing her S10 build.). My CS15 has the track and lug system and my sailing experience is very limited. I’m glad you raise the points here. I think you have a clever approach to raising the sail… might have to share that idea. Coming into a dock sounds like a logistical challenge as you describe. I would think the gooseneck would not like to have the sail going past 90 or so degrees, so it wouldn’t be enough to just let the sail fly freely with certain wind directions. I’m not inclined to suggest your zipper-replacement solution for the “kid” but it might work for you. I’m wondering whether a topping lift could raise the boom and sleeved-sail to “not” catch wind… too much… allowing for rowing. The gooseneck should be able to manage a raised boom. Maybe there is an easy/quick way to cinch up the sail material —bunched up from raising up the boom — to reduce wind effects… maybe something will come to mind when I help The Wheezer rig her boat after I’m back from my vacationing. I’m not optimistic about a “topping-lift/sail-cinching” approach so I’ll kind of keep it to myself for now. Could one release the clew instead of lowering the sail when coming in? Maybe attach a take-up line going from the clew to the base of the mast and back to the cockpit keep the sail from flapping too crazily?

HEY!! Today my son got the old 11 foot Glen-L TNT in the water and RUNNING!! (This small boat is patterned after my current Stiletto build.) I built it in 1968 while in high school. He recently replaced the deck, repainted the hull inside and out, and added seats. This year, I brought the non-working 1956 30 hp Johnson to an older marine mechanic and he fixed it. The fuel tank still needs a new pressure relief valve (soon) BUT, he got it running today in the water… the first time since about 1995. His six-year-old son was nervous about the speed but enjoyed his ride. He insisted on making a “cool” photo. ? Meanwhile, I’m still on vacation with the rest of my family. We went through a Sequoia forest today. (I didn’t realize my granddaughter with the pink hat was standing at the base of these two almighty trees when I snapped this photo… but she provides a bit of perspective.) A bit later on another hike… is this cute or what? My two granddaughters following their aunt down the trail. I especially like their little raccoon and fox first aid kits. ?

Re: Videos (I could hear and see the above videos well… and there was no delay.) I had stumbled into another way to share videos in this Messing-About Forum. I’ve uploaded a video I wish to share to my YouTube channel (easy to set up, and free) and pasted a link to that video into my forum entry. An example, I uploaded to my YouTube channel this little “My Memory” video that my phone had produced (on its own) of some photos I’d taken. Below, I pasted the YouTube link into this reply and the forum itself made the picture appear. (It is of last October’s Messabout.) This approach (I think) works effectively in this forum. (Only those who try viewing the video above will be able to state whether this approach works well or not. ?) Oh, and Gita Gira, nice post. I enjoyed it. Thanks.

No Sailing Today (But, this IS where I’ve sailed the most) We’ve vacationed here in South Lake Tahoe for a lot of years. And, this is where I’ve done most of my sailing. I took a three-day ASA101 course one year, allowing me to charter a 22 foot Catalina from Sailing Ventures. I did so and took a couple friends out on Lake Tahoe for their first small sailboat adventure and my first experience as “captain”. A couple years later, my youngest son and I took a three-day sailing course in the Apostle Islands area of Lake Superior that would allow us to charter sailboats up to 35 feet from Superior Charters. I haven’t chartered one of their boats yet (I just haven’t been able to justify the costs.) Then, a couple years later, I completed a three-day ASA103 course on Lake Tahoe. It was in spring and the winds were brisk, like they are today. It was some exciting sailing, learning how to manage Sailing Venture’s 32 foot Catalina in the changing mountain winds, complete with a few snow squalls while on the water. I’ve chartered Sailing Ventures’ 32 foot sailboat a few times since, with family and friends joining me. (It’s named “Breaking Wind”. ?) Again, I find it a little hard to justify the costs of chartering, even though the rates are reasonable. I thought about all this today during a hike up to the top of a liiiiittle mountain called Round Mound. This is what the lake looked like from the top: We hiked back down to the beach, and the wind and waves reminded me of my ASA103 course. This is looking back to Round Mound. It isn’t much, I know, but it was a VERY pleasant hike that I’m hoping to repeat soon when my family comes to join us (with two grandkids.) ?. And, my hike made me think about whether to charter a sailboat while I’m here. We’ll see. Having said all this, I am looking forward to returning home at the end of June and doing a goodly amount of sailing on the Norma T. ?

Nope, no work on the ski-boat since the second week of May. After the trip to the Smokies we spent a few camping days along the Mississippi River. This is a popular spot on a bluff trail. Then, we flew to Reno and are settling in for three weeks at the Ridge Tahoe. My first little hike brought me to the “Bench” above Carson Valley, on which I am sitting to write this post. ?

Reacher, I am vacationing with family until the end of June (it was kicked down the road last year) but I have a very open calendar for July. Maybe sometime then?

Reacher, I would enjoy taking a drive over to Marinette some day this summer to meet you and see your boat. You’re about 2 1/2 hours from my home... about the same distance I drove to meet Thrillsbe (while on vacation in North Carolina last month) and to see his naval yard... (driveway). ?

The Boys Sail the Boat on Their Own I trailered the Norma T downstate today and met my two boys at a state park. I didn’t do a thing today and let them do the whole process of setting up, launching, sailing, etc. Well, I DID park the van and trailer... and served as ballast... which was actually helpful with the wind being brisk and blustery and the boys doing everything on their own for a first time. One son brought with him my high school boat-build that he re-decked, repainted, and spruced up. I had the 1956 motor fixed and we hoped it would run. It did... but the gas tank works off pressure produced by the motor and we spied an air leak. The motor ran only as long as he covered the hole... so we put the boat back onto the trailer. I didn’t take a photo, standing in solidarity with my son’s disappointment. But, we think we have the solution to the problem, so... NEXT TIME! ? One other small casualty of the day: the motorboard on the motor mount cracked. I should have used plywood or at least made the grain vertical... plus, I’ll make it beefier. It broke like a board used in a kid’s karate demo. I’ll fix it after my upcoming month-long vacation. ? Ok... one other blooper that I realized just as I was getting back home. I had unhitched the pop up camper and hitched the boat to the van this morning. And, it occurred to me, after five hours of road time, that the camper’s hitch is for a 1 7/8” ball and the boat trailer is for a 2”. Dang. That was dumb. ? But, there was thankfully no casualty. Ok... another goofy thing... while bending over to unhook the chains in order to put the boat away, the car alarm went off: beep... beep... etc. (One of those key-in-pocket spontaneous set-offs.) I’m frantically pushing the **** buttons to stop my van from beeping and it WOULDN’T stop. After most of the annoying beep cycle was through, and my neighbors were all rolling their eyes, I finally realized it was my CAR, not the van. Oi... ? They launched the Norma T and then decided it would be smart to put the reefs in before setting out. (Looks like the main snotter is a “little” loose. ?) They got things set up successfully and we set off. I do note that, unlike my goofy reefing in the previous post, these guys got the reefing set up correctly... and I think having the reef in right away made the sailing a bit nicer and smoother. A great wind and blue sky. A really nice time for a few hours of sailing. Snacks were served. Yes, they seem to be having fun. With a bit of speed, I thought I’d try the Anderson Bailer. IMG_3855.mov

Nice work. It looks MUCH more challenging than my CS15... (of course, that’s a reason I chose it.) My son is considering building a lapwing (Phoenix 3). I think he has the patience and detail-focus likely needed. ? I passed along this blog to him.