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Steve W

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Posts posted by Steve W

  1. The two "halves" are wired togeter at the bow and then unfolded. It definately puts a bit of stress, but I followed the instructions and had no problems. It made me nrevouse, but was kind of uneventful. There is a picture with my boys in front of it who were thinking we'd be boating in a week.....little did they know that was the easy part. I had read of a few failures, so as a precaution I put a couple of hot wet wash cloths on both sides of the joints to boost the moisture content of the wood, but I'm not sure it was neccesary. I did use very good Okume ply.  

     

    One other tip. I noticed that all the experienced builders seem to have many things being worked on at once. I like a linear project, but I can see the wisdom of multiple simultaneous items. I built the hull completely first, failing to realize that the spars, rudder and centerboad reperesent quite a bit of time. If I had to do it again, I'd have done a few of these pieces ahead of time for a few reasons. When you mix epoxy, it take awhile until you consistantly always mix the right amount. If you have a few things that need gluing, you can always use the extra.

     

    Building%2520the%2520Suzy%2520J%2520%252

     

    Take Care,

    Steve

  2. Great advice here. I'll add a few things. They make a piece of vynil trim that they sell at home depot dor about 15 bucks. I bougth a 16 foot piece, with future boats in mind. It's about 1 x 1 in cross section and makes a great flexible curve for wrapping around the nails when you draw the big curves.

     

    If you are making the sailing version, and decide to leave the tiller so it can pivot up, make sure you use hard wood for the center piece of stock the tiller straddles. The plans don't spec the wood, but common sense should have told me this, but I had this nice spanish cedar, which is so pretty under epoxy and varnish!My first attempt came out beautifully. I snapped the silly spanish cedar piece the first time I sailed. The second rudder head took far less time!

     

    One other mistake I made was pulling the center wires too tight on the bottom pannels after I went 3-D. I was really carefull in measurement, but after I tacked it together, I found a slight oil can in the bottom that I had to break out and reglue. I'm kind of a perfectionist and I knew it would bug me long term.

     

    I found that studying the plans is really key. There was a suggested plan of attack, but no manual with step by step, so you need to study things carefully. I will say the plans are really good though.

     

    Keep us posted.

     

    I have a bunch of pictures of the process here: https://picasaweb.google.com/114007621203237706900

     

    This forum is a great resource.

     

    Take Care,

    Steve

  3. I'm not agains the nesting version. It's more complicated to build, and has less flotation, but other than that, it's an awesome boat. I just sort of learned that the only benefit I've gotten from nesting is easy storage. Otherwise it's stayed bolded together. there was some talk that the regular boat would be the better sailor, because it would be stiffer, but my 11N is prety stiff, and I faired the bulkeheads so there is minimal turbulance, and I'd sure love to race a regular one.

    No matter which one you build, you will be impressed with it's sailing qualities.

    Take Care,

    Steve

  4. Robart..... I'm not a body builder, and I agree that getting a 11N up on my van is a two person job. But when I built it I figured it would be easy to throw it into the inside of my 2009 Dodge Mini van. turns out I measured wrong and it isn't even close to fitting. So I usually haul it on a landscaping trailer, bolted together, defeating the purpose of a nesting design. It would fit in a pickup truck, tailgate down, facing backwards, and ultimately that is how I will eventually haul it.

    But putting it on the roof in two pieces isn't really practical. I like that it fits in my basement, but it was m own lack of planning that made me build the wrong boat. Just trying to make sure you think this through. I don't regret bulding it, because it sails awesome, and I got practice for my next build, and my kids shared my experience which means the most. Just trying to help you think it through.

    Take Care,

    Steve

  5. I sailed my 11N (I'm 6' 185 pounds) with my daughter (5'8", about 120 pounds) and on a separate occasion, with my two boys, who are both around 80 pounds, and average height 11 and 13 year olds, whatever that would be. Anyway, it was not crowded during these sails, but they were for fun, and not long sails where we carried lots of stuff. I think you are right in wishing to build a 12. As an old friend used to comment "boats are shortened in the middle, where all the volume is".

    My 11N works well with a 4 hp motor for fishing, so it's a very versatile boat. If I had to build it again, I'd think hard about whether to build it nesting or not. It turns out I made the hull light enough I could cartop it bolted together, and so all the extra effort to make it nest wasn't neccesary. I wonder how heavy (or light) a 12' would be. I also wonder about the bouyancy of the N vs the regular model. It seem the regular model has much more bouyancy.

    I will say that it is sitting in the corner of my basement man-pit, and is quite a conversation piece!

    take Care,

    Steve

  6. I took a piece of packing tape and ran it on the outside of the boat, between the ties. This held the shallow fillets from running through, so I didnt have to sand . I didn't put much of a filet there, but, but between every wire made for a sturdy enough seam that I could take the boat apart easily, but very gently.

    One thing that I almost screwed up.....my center seam was not perfectly fair, even though I was extremely careful getting those bottom panels symetrical and true. At this point I read that you should tighten the wires so it would take a good shape. I "tack welded" with epoxy like you are about to do. Later, I had my son shine a flashlight down the center from below and I could see a bit of a convex wave wher I had really tightened the wires.

    I had two options. take the whole boat apart, and trim a bit of wood fore and aft of the concave area, or break the few tacks in this area after easing the wires a bit. Obviously I did the latter. If I was doing it again (I am sure I will someday on a core sound), I'd be really carefull to study the bottom and make sure there are no waves before the temporary tacking. I hope this helps!

    Your blog pictures look a lot like the ones I took almost two years ago. My kids were just a bit bigger, but they loved to "help" and slow me down by a good factor, but I wouldn't trade a minute we spent together. One thing about my picture taking, I noticed that in the areas (like this) were my concentration level was very high, I took less pictures, so there is nothing about this in my pictures.

    I just ordered plans to build a Nymph 12' pack canoe, one each for my daughter and me, so clearly this boat building is addicting.

    Take Care,

    Steve

    https://picasaweb.go...621203237706900

  7. I didn't taper mine and I think she looks great. I thought about it, but I din't go through with it.

    As for the Gudgeons and Pintles.........When you mount them, you need to keep the upper one down low if you are going to use an outboard. I put my outboard on, and drew a line across the bottom of the clamp, and then kept the hardware below that.

    One thing I wish I had done different was to put a tapered piece of wood the same profile as the inside outboard pad on the outside. I may do this yet. The reason is I painted my transome and the outboard has left some good gouges.

    Take care,

    Steve

  8. I am not sure about the law, but on my Sea Pearl, once we are anchored, which is usually in really shallow water (<3') I make them wear the life jackets when they are screwing around, but once we settle down, they can take them off, and once in the tent cabin, they are positioned for deployment if needed, but not worn. They both can swim pretty well though. At age 6 and 8, I'm hoping they swim.

    I think overall that approach is safe enough.

    Take Care,

    Steve

  9. I made my gunneles out of white oak and spanish cedar. I wanted both impact resistance and light weight. there is an old tale about white oak being closed cell and not real good for gluing, but I think its a bunch of nonsense and used it after testing its joint strength. I did leave the glue surfaces rough. Being closed cell, if you gash through the epoxy barrier, it will still be somewhat weather resistant. I also used it for the keel, so if you find one nice piece long enough for the gunnels and keel, it's not that expensive. The spanish cedar was used because its a good choice for the breasthooks, and so I bought a nice piece. I did have a butt joint in the center cedar section, but its hard to see. I could have scarfed it, but one thing you'll find out after building is that every little belmish you see building goes away in the completed project.

    I did a three part lamination, but if I had to do it again I'd make it two parts, because it would be easier. Carefully cutting that nice trapezoid shape from three pieces was interesting. It probably could have been shaped with a rabbit plane, but my confidence wasn't that high, so I presahped them on my tablesaw. I also presahped radiouses with my router on the outer piece of oak before I glued everything, but I wouldn't have doe that either. It's so easy to sand a fair radius that it was just extra work.

    I was working alone, so I did clamp it all up and then I drilled and countersunk a brass screw at the bow. After removing the gunnels, coating with glue and putting the screw at the bow back in, I carefully picked them all up and wrapped them around the stern and set them on a block of wood I'd clamped to temporarily support them. I had coated all my pieces on the glue sides with silica thickened epoxy so it didn't run. Working from the bow I clamped all the way back, being carefull to get everytihng lined up. It was a bit messy, but the thickened epoxy helped a lot.

    I worried that gluing one side at a time would make the boat unfair, so as a precaution I temporarily clamped the cedar piece to the other gunnel, but as far as I can tell it made no difference. I'd do it again, because I would still worry, but doing the two gunnels seperately was less stressful, and I would have had to get more clamps! when I was done clamping everything, I put another brass screw in through the stern to the breasthooks, although it was probably not neccesary.

    Upon further review, this picture is just a dry run with the strips. I believe the bow piece and breasthooks were glued in first.

    Take Care,

    Steve

    Building%2520the%2520Suzy%2520J%2520%252826%2529_1200x900.jpg

  10. so now that you have the cabin top up, how is sitting headroom and general lounging? I don't mind a small cabin, but I need tobe able to get comfortable with a book and wait things out. It looks as if it may be possible to lean against the back of the cabin, but maybe not against the sides with the narrowed cabin.

    I can't wait to actually see it.

    Take Care,

    Steve

  11. thank you everyone for the compliments. It's been a fun and rewarding project. My son andrew had a birthday party this weekend and I evesdropped as he told his friends about building it. It was well worth the work just to hear him tell his version of the story.

    As for the workshop....I have a bit of a focus problem. If things get too chaotic, I can't concentrate. so to me, that is a mess! I've seen pictures of some peoples shops and I get jealous that productivity can be maintained in the midst of chaos. I just can't do it.

    Take Care,

    Steve

  12. After spending all the time building my 11N, the decision to buy good plywood seams like a no brainer. As for the epoxy, I bought mine from B & B and other than the fact it chrystaled on me it was very good, and the price was right. If it gets lumpy, just put the whole jug in a pot of boiling water and heat it slowly to make it like new again.

    One thing was that I bought slow and fast hardener. The fast was slow, and the slow was slower. I think since I made my boat in my basement, where the temp was about 62 degrees, was the factor in the slow cure. Once you get past the first few steps, there seems to be rarely a time where you can't glue and then move on to some other activity, so the cure speed just didn't matter as much as I thought it would. As a newbe to eboxy/taped seems, I was happy it stayed fluid longer.

    On the advice of B & B, I used silica/epoxy for the jonts were stregth was an issue, but for anything else I used west system 407. the boat came out pretty light.

    Take Care

    Steve

  13. There are a number of things that make it sort of complicated. An optimist it isn't, but it isn't a complaint. I knew whwn I got the sail it was going to get complicated.

    1. The sail has a zippered sleave. Great for performance, not so good for a kid who has to pull on a halyard while holding a zipper and can't douse the sail quickly without going forward to unzip.

    2. the big sail makes it haul a#$. Unfortunately, it needs to be reefed by my two light kids and the jiffy reefing adds lines and complexity. Again, I'm not complaining. Sailing it myself is a hoot!

    3. the big sail means the main sheet is riged 2:1. It's long!

    We sail up north in fresh water where it is common to need to row out through the vegetation to set sail and then rig. the kids are struggling and not able to do that. When the three of us sail together, they seem pretty excited we built a boat they are actually sailing.

    I guess the ideal thing to do would be to rig a different, simpler (again, think optimist or sunfish), ower performance rig, and let them sail.

    Take Care,

    Steve.

  14. I launched the Suzy J, my 11N recently. I'll have pictures soon. I love this boat, and how well it sails. But I intended my kids to sail it and they are a bit frustrated. I built it exactly as designed. I guess I wasn't thinking clearly about the simplicity of the rig. It is tough to row it out and get it rigged and sailed. The sail controls that give its rig all of its performance make it not so handy if you are only 12 and 10 and sail Sunfish, but want a drier boat.

    Has anyone adapted a simpler rig to one of these boats that would be more appropriate for kids? Lateen? Sprit, etc. Or do you have tips to help my kids and I rig it faster. I'd give up performance for simplicity and a quicker launch.

    Take Care,

    Steve

  15. That looks really promising. I have always lusted after a drascombe coaster just because it was light enough to pull with a small car, had shallow draft, a mizzen, and a small cabin. to have all that and what will pobably be great perfromance is exciting.

    By the time you have plans for sale, my wife may be over her moratorium on basement boat building.

    Take Care,

    Steve

  16. that looks awesome! Having just finished a little Spindrift 11N, I realize how big a project this is! The CS20 MK 2 with cabin is a boat I am awaiting. I like the 22, but I want to put my next build in my garage, and that won't make it, unlles my wife parks outside, and that isn't going to happen!

    Take Care,

    Steve

  17. Thanks for the link David.

    Interesting first sentence in the above link "Powerboat designs, even those sold as kits like our new Peeler Skiff, must comply with stringent Coast Guard regulations".

    The loading was neat, but when I was younger I swamped an 14' aluminum rowboat with a 10 HP motor in heavy waves (stupid youth!) and it didn't behave like it would have in a pool! I couldn't get it bailed, because the motor kept the transome below the water level. And while swimming with it, everytime I tried to get "in" it, it wanted to roll a bit, unless you were in the absolute center. Eventually the boat and I blew into shore!

    I think if you really wanted to test a boat, you'd be better off takeing it to the surf, flipping it, and seeing what happenned, including wave aaction and reboarding. Even in calm water, if the freeboard can't be maintained swamped, you know its never going to be bailed. But I will say, that CLC boat floats a lot higher than the boat I was in!

    Take Care,

    Steve

  18. I used Spanish Cedar for everything, but for the keel I used White Oak. I've heard it doesn't epoxy well, but I've never experienced it. I didn't put any thing over the keel, so the closed cell properties of the wood are important. The spanish cedar is light and looks fantastic. I also laminated the gunnels with a thin strip of white oak, thick spanish cedar, followed by a strip of white oak. It looks awesome. Pics soon.

    Take Care,

    Steve

  19. I hope I didn't infer that I thought any boat unsafe. What I applaud is the testing SCA did on Scamp. The second statement in Scott's response is exactly what most of us have to go on, to paraphrase "This is what I think will happen". I think Scott is proably right, but it's nice to se a design actually tested, and results made public, instead of us having to do it ourselves. I don't think the Scamp is a boat for me, but the testing and public sharing of the results I applaud.

    I new when I bougth my Sea Pearl about its capsize issues, but not from Marine Concepts advertising, only of reading past users experiences.

    Take Care,

    Steve

  20. Well, I think that actually doing testing, on video, instead of just saying, "She was designed to.....blah, blah, blah" gives them a bit of a right to crow a bit. Those test videos are pretty impressive.

    Contrast this with the situation with International Marine. SCA ran a few stories about unrecoverable capsizes (from my angle, poor sailing...I think a Potter certainly has a commendable track record) and they pulled their advertizing, instead of reacting with video or any proof that their boats are safe. I personally think they are, but at least JW and the staff at SCA clearly designed with safety in mind, and then went out to prove it was safe. I guess the dust eventually settled, because now I see they are back.

    I can't comment much about B & B boats, because I only built a Spindrift 11N and have yet to do a capsize test. But I certainly wouldn't take it out of protected water. I own a Sea Pearl 21, which is an amazing production boat, but its unrecoverable (Can't be bailed although it has positive flotation) and that is something I'd want to know if I was buying one. As I know this, the mainsheet never leaves my hand.

    I am watching very closely at the CS20 with cabin being designed as possibly my 2nd build.

    Take Care,

    Steve

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