wayfarer3130

I just unfolded mine last week - make sure you use a full 12" of tape on the butterfly connecting the sides, and use a reasonably strong wire to wire the center/forward part of the boat - when they say tie the keel line loosely, it is only a bit loose. I stripped some regular house wire that I had lying around of it's insulation and used that - it isn't that much wire you need and the copper is big enough to not pull through the wood like small diameter steel would do. I still managed to break 3-4 pieces of wire, but mostly I could snug it up with the wire. I did find it very hard to get the first bulkhead in place - I ended up cutting the sides a bit to make everything fit, but it looks nice now, so I think it is going ok. I've now cut my boat in half and it is waiting in the basement to be carried outside for sanding and clean up - although I might install the seats before I do that depending on the weather. Bill

I folded out the butterfly this last weekend and wired the boat - what a job that is. I started with wiring with fairly light copper wire and switched to house wire in order to be able to pull the joins tight. Last night I started putting on the rubrails - that is also harder than I expected as I've had to cut relief cuts to allow the rail to bend enough. Most of the parts seem to fit fairly well, although I would have liked a slightly higher side near the middle to try to get a straighter rubrail. The boat seems pretty straight - a center line goes within 2 mm of the marked bulkhead centers and stern center and within the same amount on a diagonal to the stern corners and the dividing bulkhead corners. Since I have two of the rubrails attached and some of the seams epoxy tacked in place, it doesn't look likely that it will shift much. Next task is to glue the last rubrail, finish all the epoxy tacks and then remove the rest of the wires. After that, adding the fillet and fibreglass to all the seams, turn it over and do the bottom seams and then the scary bit - cut the boat in half. I need to cut the boat before I do too much trim work as I can't get it out of my basements to do any larger cuts that generate lots of sawdust :-) I'm debating whether to add an extra doubler to the area under the oarlocks - that always seems to be weak in a boat - alternatively, a fibreglass stiffener or two for 40 cm and 20 cm just under that area but on the outside would likely work. I prefer to be able to row fairly strongly and that puts a lot of torque on the sides. Bill.

I used a piece of balsa 1/2" x 1/4" - edge on for flatter sections, and the other way for more curved sections. I nailed finishing nails into the curve points, and drilled a hole through the wood, attaching to the nail with a tie at each end, then held the middle to match the previous curve 1/2 way to the first nail, and then 1/2 way to the next nail. It worked pretty well - at least the curves look fair to me. I just didn't want to have to drive to the nearest lumberyard and I had the balsa on hand. Bill

I picked up my plywood this weekend, ordered the epoxy fibreglass, and laid out the lines for a Spindrift 10N. I'm trying to get everything in the hull cut out before snow arrives so that I can move things to the basement to assemble over the winter. This is my first boat I've built, although it will be the fourth or fifth boat (sailboats and kayaks) I've owned. She, "Wee Dram", will be a tender for an Alberg 30 "Chewan". Chewan came with an inflating dinghy on it's last legs, and I want something I can sail and row - currently I don't plan on an outboard if I can avoid one - I don't mind rowing or sailing a distance. Things so far that have worked well: 1. Drywall square - I think I would have gone batty without this - BUY one if you don't have one for laying out all your lines, it makes then easy to draw/manage. 2. Balsa sticks for creating fair curves - just long enough to attach to 3 points at a time, draw the middle 1/2 of the stick, and then continue. 3. Carpenter pencil sharpener - from lee valley or from home depot now - makes it much easier to get a clean point. Things that surprised me? The marine plywood I bought is 96 1/2" x 48 1/2" NOT 8' x 4'. The instructions say 1' of 1x6, but in fact 9' is needed. How much enjoyment I'm already getting out of building this boat. I knew I wanted a hard shell dinghy and I didn't like the commercial options - although the folding options looked very interesting, so building seemed necessary, but I find I'm enjoying it more than I expected. Things I'm going to try/do? Cut the gunnel from 2x8 rather than trying to figure out how to edge-cut 1x2 material - besides which, the 2x8 I found was clear, but the 1x2 was all jointed wood 8' maximum length. Try a thin-kerf ripping blade from Freud. Cut the gunnel to width, bulkheads/doublers and stern as assembled/glued components to get exact alignment and clean cuts. I will leave 1/8-1/4" or so on my cuts to allow the final size to be cut once assembled. Try Bristol finish for the brightwork. I haven't yet decided how much brightwork to include - it looks awfully nice, and the 2 part bristol finish is supposed to last quite well, so I might try doing the interior & gunnels to the waterloo, and then paint below the waterline. Has anyone else tried finishing their boat with Bristol Amber? Bill