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Core Sound 15 #162 — Building the “Norma T”


PadrePoint

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Alan,

 

Aaurgh!!  Palm plant to forehead... and again... and once again for good measure!!

 

I never made the connection between the numbers printed on the cut pieces and... (are you ready?) the first sheet of the plans. (You mean the plans and part numbers correlate??!!)
 

I did enjoy the use of logic and puzzle-solving with the hatch/hatch-ring pieces that were bundled together... but I cannot figure out how I managed to not connect the numbering.  Who ever said that guys always carefully follow directions?  (My wife said, “What? You didn’t realize that?”)  What I don’t want to admit is that I occasionally yearned for a little “code list” to explain the “random” numbers on the pieces. (Palm plant again.)

 

Enjoy a chuckle... add this one to your stories of kit-builder-foibles. 
 

If nothing else, my bit of ignorance demonstrates the inherent logic and sensibility of the kit. 
(Numbers?!  Numbers?!  I don’t need no stinkin’ Numbers!!)
 

Thanks again. Good to have some humor in my little boat-building-blog. 

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Graham,

 

I’m really glad for these observations. I am sort of pausing a bit today, not a full day off, but I’m just not doing anything yet today on the boat.  This motivates me to get moving. 
 

I did an inventory of the non-installed solid stock to try and figure out if pieces I haven’t installed yet are in the remaining kit. Right now, I can’t find anything for any of the three pieces in red (and up to this writing hadn’t realized were indicated in the plans.)

(Edit: Of course, I finally DID identify the two partial bulkhead stringers that were there all along.  A bit more chagrin here.)

07C30255-D545-4C19-AC13-0CE5C94D4400.jpeg.d47434f4533ad529c1a9751e7d5f87c0.jpeg
I certainly can cut them out of the extra board you supplied. 

1. Regarding this missing forward bulkhead/seat stringer: A1DB7AF8-6D49-4755-90AC-CDF5C183C5DB.jpeg.6a3bb1eb57f263bb4bc5bba0a697fc86.jpeg

the plans indicate 3/4 x 1 inch. The inventory for that dimension has only the four bottom stringers and keel deadwood:

90207071-87C0-484B-B204-912E0A7B77CE.jpeg.5bf0ce0f5f625dd83de257ec7c0e86d0.jpeg


2. Regarding the missing thwart/longitudinal bulkhead cleats (I hadn’t even noticed them in the plans until your observation above):3AF9AA0F-92C8-4BB4-B07B-A4C3819CB1E0.jpeg.c6895950e88474ebe4f5e07530f774dd.jpeg

the plans call for 3/4 x 2 inch. The Carlin stock is all that is in the solid stock listing and in my yet uninstalled pieces:

E5BC7895-59FF-4E2C-AC97-7ADA9FCBD1D9.jpeg.2f3ca1290cce6f2c8dd29e059e81919f.jpeg

 

3. And regarding the not-installed side bulkhead cleat:

A84F64DD-4E52-4035-ABC8-51B695BA37C4.jpeg.ecf79ff464345431a45faa91d903411e.jpeg

again, the plans call for 3/4 x 1 inch.  I don’t see that in my remaining pieces and they don’t appear on the solid stock page. 
 

So, at this point, I will saw them from the extra stock board and install them according to the plans. 
 

By the way, it appears that the thwart/longitudinal bulkhead pieces (3/4 x 2) are installed with the 2 inch side against the longitudinal bulkhead. Correct?

 

Thank you, again. 

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Week 3 — Day 16

 

Following the discussions above with Graham and Alan, I cut and fit the needed pieces, rounded the edges, installed them, and coated them with epoxy. I also taped two joints that I’d been putting off. Now I wait for the epoxy to harden.  I might start another sub-project tonight. 
 

And, this little boarding ladder was delivered this afternoon. I thought it best to get one now to see how it would connect with the transom before seats are place in case I think it would need some extra backing support. I do enjoy swimming off a boat and I’m thinking that the grandkids would find a ladder fun use in the middle of a lake.  (It’s just hanging off some screws at the moment.)  It’s quite small, will easily store in a locker and can easily be placed and removed (maybe using a couple lynch pins.)DD831946-C53E-48BE-BA83-79FBF8CCBFF8.jpeg.7c45675e593050b005eadc2bedbc654e.jpegFE8E15D8-CBF5-40EF-B67C-C643CECC4674.jpeg.8fa1188d4a420e6a3b79adcf9363b132.jpeg

 

I will finish the day with “The Rope Trick” on the leading edge of the centerboard. 
396D3CCE-368D-4AE2-9AD1-827EDD89997D.jpeg.4dac0578be71c5f628b02741163dfc46.jpeg

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Week 3 — Day 17

 

31F1BF39-8D70-4BA5-AC2C-19722D0C7169.jpeg.8c5e29bf12cbbe119ac33db110978908.jpeg

I was finally ready this morning to apply coats 2 & 3 to the inside surfaces. With the hull having reached this point, I’m trying to get myself into doing what I’m thinking of as “sub-projects” (centerboard, etc.)  Each sub-project has some elements to it that I find intimidating to think about doing... but I need to just press on. 
 

This is the second coat of epoxy and I’ll follow up with a third this evening. Then, this aspect is mostly done. 

59683DEC-4A9E-42E6-BEA1-DDB8332D9B71.jpeg.06d4c1d814025ea28bed684271cfee63.jpeg

 

The centerboard was smoothed out last week and I glued it together today. Tomorrow or the next day I’ll start glassing it. I also got a second coat to the underside of the seats. 
 

I will travel downstate tomorrow and possibly help my son start up the 1956 30 hp Johnson that hasn’t run for almost 25 years. He’s rebuilt the electronics and carburetor. With a little luck... we’ll see. 

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Week 3 — Day 18

I was downstate all day with errands and visiting a couple of my kids’ families (about 350 miles).  Last week, one of my sons painted the hull of the boat I built in high school (1969). Last year, he replaced the top plywood decking with cedar strips and repaired a few areas that had rotted from sitting unused and outside for over 20 years. Since I had stopped in today we flipped it back over so he can make a few cosmetic fixes on the topside before mounting the motor. We would have tried starting the motor today but the gas tank top gasket had a couple air leaks (it is pressurized by the motor to feed the carburetor.)  A bit more overhaul on the tank is still needed. So this is what the boat looks like right now:

2EB0D965-B22D-4332-9943-ABAFB5CAA54B.jpeg.1430c27cc6ebeec5880201f77923c1fd.jpeg
Looks like the trailer could use a coat of new paint... it was as last painted maybe 25-30 years ago. 
 

So, today was a day off from the CS15 project. Back at it tomorrow. 

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Week 3 — Day 18

(Since I took the day off yesterday for errands and visiting my kids, I shall reuse the day number.)

It took lots of time for the various things I attended to today, and there really isn’t a lot of change to the project.  Working to fit stuff into the bow area involved weird angles and shaping things a bit.  The four floor battens were shaped and glued in.  The anchor locker is almost done and the tabernacle bulkhead will be installed tomorrow. I checked the boat for “level” and it was on... I need level/plumb to set the tabernacle and it’s bulkhead.  The butt blocks for the seat tops are in but I’ll hold off installing the seats for a bit. 
Oh, and I purchased a new trailer tonight. 

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Week 3 — Day 19

Not quite a full day today. Mostly, I was involved in gluing stuff: tabernacle, tabernacle bulkhead, deck beam to the forward bulkhead, and a few other small things. The tabernacle is comprised of only several parts, all well made by B&B and fitting together perfectly. Easy to do... but challenging and messy/frustrating enough for me that I uttered an exclamatory word at one point in the assembly/gluing process... a word not at all typical in my vocabulary... but expressive of my dismay/disappointment level at having the pieces tumble apart when I misplaced a clamp and epoxy resin got all over. ?   I hope to get the bow area fairly shaped up tomorrow. 
D6604399-B59A-4B8D-B966-A893A82A4BFD.jpeg.c37f46f588bfee3a4ee4e90f2752cd83.jpeg
 

Meanwhile, my son sent me some photos of his boat project of the day, varnishing the cedar strips of his renovated 50+ year old boat from my kid-hood.  It’s quite a fresh look from my 1968 painting scheme of a white hull with a flaring red stripe along the sheer (the plywood fore deck was clear varnished.)

 

DA3BC492-BB06-40EF-8671-F657FD6E7D1C.thumb.jpeg.ac9f6119a9866e1cb1791be4f48c9044.jpeg

 

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Week 3 — Day 20  (End of the third week)

 

At this point in the build the bow area is mostly put together and it’s time for fairing. The tabernacle needs to be fiberglassed and coated before being installed, but it seems to be lining up correctly. There are two deck plates that I’ll install into the forward tanks. I spent a few minutes and made a basic spanner wrench since I noticed the deck plates seem to be much harder to unscrew than the pressure used to tighten them.
5A42AF28-8FB2-4A40-ADEF-6A4225A61E04.jpeg.0ab88b708ee767c40ebae34c25fed8eb.jpeg
 

The seat tops are ready to be installed but I’m holding off on that until I decide what to do about... PAINT.  The two-part paints intimidate me since I’ve never used them, I don’t know anyone that could directly guide me in the processes of using them well, two-part marine paint seems challenging/finicky to me in terms of mixing and application, I don’t like what I read and hear about the fumes, I don’t have a respirator and it seems unlikely these days in purchasing one (Amazon can deliver mid-July.)  So... WHAT TO DO?  I welcome some thoughts.
 

I would like to choose to go with a Rust-Oleum kind of one-part paint. I only plan to day-sail with a trailer and will keep a cover on the boat. A super shiny or flawless finish isn’t that important to me. On the other hand, this is a significant investment and it deserves a decent finish.  I suppose in the end of my pondering I will just need to buy some two-part paint as suggested by Alan and Graham and just figure it out. 
 

As I conclude this third week I am quite pleased at the process and progress of the build. In the beginning I had hoped to have a functioning boat by August and decided I’d see where things were around week 10.  Having a functioning boat by then would be an accomplishment for me. I would be even more pleased if the sails and were installed around then... we shall see about that aspect. 

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Week 4:  Need to take a break

 

Fairly early into the project, a rash developed on my forearms. It looks like poison ivy that could have developed when I gathered branches and yard waste to haul to the refuse center. My wife had pulled some vine-like roots (poison ivy?) to add to the pile and also developed small rash spots. So, since my body has gone bonkers with poison ivy before, that’s what I figured it to be.  My son, a nurse practitioner, looked at my arms a week ago and thought the same way. 

It become severe as last week progressed, even making sleep nearly impossible, especially the last few nights. While not being able to sleep the idea popped into my head that maybe epoxy might be behind this now spreading rash. Some internet searches bore this out and images look just like my rash... which also look just like poison ivy rashes. 
 

I went to urgent care this morning and whined a bit... well, I didn’t really whine. The “evidence” presented itself; both arms are covered in the bumpy red rash all the way to my hands and between my fingers. I haven’t had it this bad since my college fence-building days. Some powerful prescriptions were given to me. And, since I really cannot Identify its source I need to assume for now that working with epoxy is a problem for me. 
 

So, I will suspend all boat work for at least a week or two until this rash gets better. Then, I think I need to increase my safety measures in working on the boat. 
 

Bummer.   ?

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I didn’t do any boat work yet this week (rash is improving with steroid treatment). But my son put three coats of spar varnish on his cedar strip renovation to the 11 foot runabout. I think it looks stunning. 
5DA55393-F7BC-4C5B-A97F-CA4E7987C21C.thumb.jpeg.1c872d13056a80f2aa5b2df530354108.jpeg

He also sent me a video of it. 

 

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I gave the video a shot but it didn’t work... I deleted it. It was a short walk-around. 
I built the boat in high school from Glen-L plans: an 11 ft. runabout called TNT. I used a 1956 30 hp Johnson motor that my son refurbished over winter. Once he replaces the seals in the lower unit it should be ready for us to try starting it after a 20+ year hiatus of sitting outside. 

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On 5/11/2020 at 5:09 PM, PadrePoint said:

Week 3 — Day 16

 

Following the discussions above with Graham and Alan, I cut and fit the needed pieces, rounded the edges, installed them, and coated them with epoxy. I also taped two joints that I’d been putting off. Now I wait for the epoxy to harden.  I might start another sub-project tonight. 
 

And, this little boarding ladder was delivered this afternoon. I thought it best to get one now to see how it would connect with the transom before seats are place in case I think it would need some extra backing support. I do enjoy swimming off a boat and I’m thinking that the grandkids would find a ladder fun use in the middle of a lake.  (It’s just hanging off some screws at the moment.)  It’s quite small, will easily store in a locker and can easily be placed and removed (maybe using a couple lynch pins.)DD831946-C53E-48BE-BA83-79FBF8CCBFF8.jpeg.7c45675e593050b005eadc2bedbc654e.jpegFE8E15D8-CBF5-40EF-B67C-C643CECC4674.jpeg.8fa1188d4a420e6a3b79adcf9363b132.jpeg

 

I will finish the day with “The Rope Trick” on the leading edge of the centerboard. 
396D3CCE-368D-4AE2-9AD1-827EDD89997D.jpeg.4dac0578be71c5f628b02741163dfc46.jpeg

 

Many years ago when I developed the idea of an impregnated synthetic piece of line on the leading edge of foils, keels, bows, etc., I did not consider using three lay line for this purpose.  I always used braided Nylon or Dacron line with the thought that it would have greater non-directional strength and resist damage from blows better .  I hope this line will be fine though if well impregnated and covered with sufficient sheathing.

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Tom,

Very tactfully worded suggestion. The 1/4 inch three braid is what I had laying around; “directionability” didn’t occur to me.  I will make sure to fill it well before fiberglassing the centerboard. Thanks. 
 

Reacher,

I appreciate the nudge toward Interlux paint.  My brother-in-law also suggested it to me.  He used it on his 28 ft Chris Craft on advice of a friend, a marine paint rep, and is quite satisfied.  Seems like a good way for me to go. 

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I’m itching to get back to work on the boat, but I’m still itching from the poison ivy and/or epoxy rash on most of my arms and hands. It’s remarkably better with the aid of the magic drug Prednisone... but I’m still going to take time before getting back to things. ?

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The week-off is about done and I will return to the boat project this weekend. Yesterday, I went downstate to ride one of my motorcycles that my son “stables.”  Great three hour ride. The first 50 miles was on winding two-lane roads through rolling hills, woods, and farms. The second 50 miles was on a state RV trail, again through woods, farms and cute little towns. Much of the trail goes alongside several rivers. 
00257C56-31D9-4022-80A2-84B80414BA5E.jpeg.6305b366e7c782ca264019d8916158f1.jpeg


THEN, after my ride, three of my kids’ families got together at my other son’s house for his wood-fired pizza supper and a campfire. The three grandkids (4,5,6 years) hadn’t been with any other children for over two months... a rollicking time for them... sort of like squirrels in the springtime.  ?
 

Now, to again pick up the CS15 project. 

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Week 4: Absolutely Nothing (other than trying to relieve intense itching)

 

Week 5 — Day 21: Bow area, Deck Plates

 

I am starting to work on the boat project again!  Yay!  The rash has become better after not working on the boat at all for a full week.  Perhaps it is a poison ivy issue. 
 

Lots of little things we’re done today that require some epoxy curing time. After taping several new bow joints and and fairing the bow area stringers and beams (I actually broke out the old hand plane which has been idle for years),  I then put 3 coats of epoxy onto everything in the bow area that wasn’t already sealed.  
 

Since I will shorten the side gussets to help me get oars out of the way under the side decks, I beefed them up with 3/4” pine from wood left from shortening the king plank for the tabernacle. Waste not; want not. 
356BC735-C5E7-475A-9AF3-FE4364F537F8.jpeg.91c04558fea710c8b6aada53f5b32320.jpeg

 

I cut out the hole in the deck to accommodate the tabernacle, which received epoxy bushings finally (some glassing of the inside of the tabernacle tomorrow.)  

 

I was really being careful with this saber saw cut to the front deck. Even so, the cut is kind of wavy and bumpy as I run my finger along the curve. Lots of sanding helped, but...  this REALLY makes me appreciate the straightness and accuracy of the CNC produced kit. 

AFBAAEB7-1A21-44AA-8294-CB256ECF641D.jpeg.068e812107f1a881b0309d9388407a14.jpeg

 

The seats are close to being installed so it was time to cut the holes for deck plates to the forward trunk. That was an interesting bit of contortion to make those cuts. 
416F903B-F3BF-42AA-8514-510BE4190468.jpeg.8d628cdcaaa4e8e16626b637f8432692.jpeg
 

I thought that maybe I should fashion something to provide more wood for the deck plate screws... a couple circles of pine should do it. They only have one coat of epoxy so far. 
8EE96EC0-EF7B-4FAB-92B0-B2EE2B919151.jpeg.03e7f3f258657d1290dafd0b9bd8a751.jpeg

 

Finally, I ordered paint tonight: Interlux Brightside, thinner, non-skid compound and primer.  White and red. 
 

It was pleasant to get back to the CS15 build today and I anticipate a full week coming up... unless I go downstate on Wednesday for a motorcycle ride with my sons. ?

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