High C

Thanks Craig. I appreciate it. Bill was the storm, though :wink: I'm High C. We've has three since last September, Bill, Lilli, and Isadore. Maybe we can get some rest now!

Hey Bruce, thanks for thinking of us. Bill was a bit of a surprise, came up fast and was more intense than forecast. We had 60 mph winds, lots of limbs down, 24 hours without power, and a 4 foot tidal surge that flooded the yard. But no damage. The driving rain blew a couple of tablespoons of water onto the Weekender under the house, her first wetting! She survived it with aplomb, I'm happy to report. She's almost done, all I lack is a couple more coats of epoxy and fairing on the seats, and installation of the sail rigging. All the painting is done, except the seats, of course, the rudder is on (that rudder is one fine piece of engineering!), the motor mount too. I could launch and do some motoring now, but I'll wait for the sail rig. We're headed to Tampa on the 17th for a week's get away, and may bring her along if she's ready. Pics soon, I promise!

Thanks for your tireless efforts, Frank. This is a wonderful forum!

Good thought Charlie, and I'm using a tiller, so both the same way. I had a boat in Madisonville the first 2 years of the show, a 1935 38' Matthews. And I will have my Weekender there this year. You know they changed the date to sometime in late October. Maybe I'll see you there!

Thanks mates. I realize they do need to both go the same direction, and they need somethiong to prevert the floating off thing. I looked more closely at the parts I have and see that they are Schaefer's medium weight p/g and one has a 1.75" pin while the other is 2.75" to make it easier to get the thing on. They also make a spring lock that keeps the rudder from floating off. I can't envision how this works from the picture, but I guess I'll go pick one up and figure it out. Thanks!

A question to you wise mates. I'm using real pintles and gudgeons on my weekender instead of the long bolt arrangement in the plans. Should they be installed both the same way, so the rudder can be lifted off the boat, or one up and one down so that it can not be removed? It would be handy to be able to remove the entire rudder assembly, but I worry that it may float off. The pins are 2 1/2" long so it seems unlikely that it could do so, but I see no way to lock the rudder on securely unless the pintle/gudgeons are installed one up and one down. Thanks a bunch!

I've gone with the open side access holes and no doors. If rain gets in those spaces (it will), I'll have some Sunbrella covers made that snap on over the openings. That should provide easy access and keep out 99% of the rain water.

Looks teriffic Mike! But those 4 strokers may not get any cheaper. They are quite a bit more complex, and involve more raw materials than a 2 stroke. So they will always cost more. I sure like the Tohatsu/Nissan motors, and they're often the cheapest of the major brands.

Well, I've gotten the toe rails on my Weekender, and they're painted a tan/buff color. The taff rail is mahagony, and varnished. Now that I see them together on the boat I don't like the way the buff color looks next to the varnished mahagony. I wish I had just painted it the same color. Question is, can I sand the varnish and paint over it? There are about 6 coats of varnish and a rounded over shape to the edges, so it would be a big job to remove ALL the varnish. The buff paint is acrylic latex floor paint. Could I get a good paint bond with a less than total sanding? Thanks!

Yep, you punch out the bottom seal with a hammer, remove it, cut the tip and poke with a long nail, like regular caulk, and you're on you're on your way. Just be sure you only use that stuff on a PERMANENT joint. It will take dynamite to remove it if you need to replace a piece later. It's great for gluing lead ballast to the keel and major stuff like that, but don't use it any old where!

I think you're right, guest, and I have made the upper rails easy to remove with that in mind. Here's hoping on those lowers!

One thing about the "sacrificial" nature of the rubrails, how can they be removed after the seats are glassed in place? The seats cutoff access to the rubrail screws. I've just done my rubrails and am about to do the seats, and I sure hate to cover up those screws forever, but I can't think of any alternative. :?:

Hey Bruce, At least it says "Carolina" on it! And that rudder looks too small and misshapen. You'll have a fine time with it, but do beware the highspeed turn problem when there's only an inch or so of boat in the water. Turn gently and she'll do fine. I was out painting my lovely Weekender this morning. Almost done, maybe three weeks to go. The cockpit seats are the last thing, really. I've been procrastinating there because I dread glassing the complex shapes in that tight area. :!: Just finished the toerails and rubrails. The lower rubrail was not easy. A 16' x 1x2 is easily broken! (I broke 2) I'll have more pics up soon, and will drop you an email when they're ready. Great to hear from you! JT

I've used Gorilla and the Titebond Polyurethane. I'm convinced they're the same thing. And PL Construction Adhesive in a caulk tube is also the same thing but thicker. All these are kind of hard to use. They set up fast, and foam as the excess oozes out. So you have to standby with a thinner soaked rag to wipe off what oozes. And you have to do it repeatedly, as the stuff keeps expanding. It's a lot like that expanding foam in a spray can that is used to insulate wall voids, or fill holes. It grows and grows! Kind of a pain, but it's supposed to make a strong bond if clamped tight, and is totally waterproof.

Wow, a museum piece in the making! Concerning the copper bottom. Do you think it's adequately UV resistant? Epoxy alone will break down quickly absent paint or varnish to protect it from UV. Do you think you have enough protection from Mr. Sun?

A professionally built Weekender is a bargain at $18,000. Has anyone shopped around lately? A plain plastic tub will cost you that. The problem with resale is the perception that wood is inferior, and a home built boat is always going to be seen with a degree of scepticism.

I'm a little leery of the Bondo myself, and don't like the way it works, either. Too thick for my liking. I use it only to fill something I need to dry quickly so I can move on to another step. I like fairing with epoxy and a little of the microballoons mixed in to the constincy of a runny milkshake. It spreads easily, I like to use a wide metal putty or sheetrock knife, fills the holes, and takes very litttle material to go a long way. Easy to sand, too. Rather than sanding it, sometimes I use my secret weapon, a cabinet scraper! It works great on flat surfaces and curved surfaces that only curve one way. Plywood only curves one way, so it's ideal. Then a little fine sanding to finish it off. Voila!

Tim, interesting issue, the question of sail shape on a partly rolled up jib. My question is an honest one, out of ignorance. Why would it matter? When you're reefing isn't it the goal to make the sail less efficient? Why do we want a proper shape in such a circumstance? I've thought about this on my 30' plastic boat, which has a roller furled 150% genoa. The boat is easily overpowered and I often find myslef rolling that big genny up halfway or more to slow the boat down below terror speed. Why does the shape matter? Thanks!

I just ordered a high tech, low stretch rope for my shrouds and forestay. New England Endura. I like the idea of rope to make it a little easier to deal with when stepping the mast, and bundling it all up for trailering. I ordered the 3/16" size, BTW. Cool colors, of course.

I have the stick on stuff on my plastic Hunter in a few spots. It stays put, looks good and works well. I'm going to use it on my weekender, too.

I'm making my rubrails and toerails out of treated pine. It's widely available in 4/4 or 5/4 in 16' lengths. Look for boards with straight, tight grain. Treated pine is pretty tough, very cheap, and easy to bend/work. Some people will say the stuff doesn't belong on a boat, but I know a gifted boat builder who builds up to 70 footers who swears by the stuff. Just be careful not to breathe the sawdust of poke yourself with a splinter. I'll use a bedding type caulk and screws to fasten the rails to the hull for easy removal in the future. I'm a fender guy, and I try not to bang 'em up. It would help if my motor had reverse!

A boat builder friend of mine uses Gorilla glue on his boats. He's built a 48' and a 57', and has quite a fine reputation around these parts. I'm going to use it on the rub rails, toe rails, etc. of my Weekender. I've already used it on the framing of the seats, and it seems pretty good so far. The excess that squeezes out looks like that expanding foam stuff, easy to clean up. Here's one of his Gorilla boats:

I hope you're single! :wink:

What? Do something according to the plans? You've got to be kidding.

A scarfed rubrail joint does want to open up. It's under constant pressure to do so. Hopefully you can pull them back in tight with screws, maybe #12s. And more glue, of course. Best of Luck!