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


PadrePoint

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One part poly (specifically Britesides) has fallen from grace with me.  It doesn’t wear as well as two-part poly.  I suggest that you buck up, and just do it.  This is what my interior looked like after four seasons.  Last summer I even did some touch-up.  I use my boat about the same way you will use yours.  I just don’t think it is worth putting anything on our boats but the best.  

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Week 5 — Day 22: Little stuff

 

Just a bit over a half day was spent doing some small jobs that just need to be done. After adding a 3/4 pine backing to the top part of the gussets yesterday, I trimmed off the lower points, drilled out the 1 inch hole, rounded all the edges, and installed the gussets. The reason I modified them (I haven’t made any modification except for this) is to be able to slip the two-part oars all the way under the side decks and out of the way. The lower points prevented the oars from lying next to the side. While losing the point extension, the gussets gained a lot of strength, I think, and the oars can nestle in nicely. 
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Other small jobs included adding some coats of epoxy to things, making epoxy bushings, reviewing videos and plans, some scraping or smoothing, and adding the two blocks to the rear thwart area. 
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I also ordered stainless steel hinges, screws, hatch clasps and gasket stripping. 
 

I’m satisfied with the half day’s accomplishments. Those are things now out of the way. More of these smaller tasks await for tomorrow. 

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Thrillsbe,

 

Thank you for the paint input. I already went ahead with an order for Interlux and have confidence it can work well for my concerns. I generally am fortunate at making things last reasonably well over time. For instance, the boat I built in 1968 was repainted only twice with Rust-Oleum type paint prior to this year’s painting by my son (he chose some kind of basement or garage floor paint... and spar varnish for the cedar strips.)  Not bad for over 50 years. 

 

And, my discomfort with using a two-part paint is just too much for me this time around. 

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I Need To Stop Work Again

Dang, dang, dang.  A day and a half of working with epoxy again (relatively small amounts) and my skin symptoms intensified, even while still on the medications.  It looks like my “hopes” that I was primarily dealing with a poison ivy reaction seem to not be the case.  I must indeed have a sensitivity to epoxy.  (It looks like social distancing with my boat is in order.)  So, I will return to NOT doing boat work, at least that which involves using epoxy, for an unknown duration.  A respirator should be my first attempt to improve the safety measures, but they cannot be found... anywhere in my searching. Earliest shipping date I’ve seen is July... and that might be optimistic. 

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 Feeling Better

After a couple days away from epoxy work I am beginning to feel better. It will be 8-10 more days before safety equipment I ordered will be here, so no epoxy attempts will occur until then.  It took a bit of searching but, among other things, I found inexpensive 10 foot lengths of air tubing that I could connect together for a remote “forced air supply.”  I plan to use an old backup cpap machine located outside the garage with 20 or 30 feet of tubing into a face mask. Full body paint suits with gloves will also be used when I return to epoxy work.  Maybe the precautions will work. 
     In the meantime, I could identify a dozen “sub-projects” for the boat that don’t involve epoxy... and a few around-the-house things calling out to me. I might begin these things tomorrow. 
    And, for novelty’s sake, the person who has cut my hair for the past twenty years opened her salon. My hair was feeling a bit like the old college days.  My photo for the day ?:

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Wow!  Not much on the top there. 

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Week 5 — Days 23 & 24: No Epoxy Work Yet

 

Today ends week five. I intended to work on the boat full time, but sometimes things happen that divert the best intentions. These past two days were productive, however, and I was able to do some “sub-projects” that did not involve using epoxy.  So, what non-epoxy tasks was I able to get to?  Every one I could think of:

• A stem backing piece was made to support a bow eye

 

• Two sprits received 1/2” round-overs... I really like how they feel in my hands with the rounded edges while still having an overall square shape. 

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• Pins were formed on the sprit ends... it was kind of an uncomfortable and unfamiliar task, especially since I don’t really understand yet how the pins engage with the sail clew. 

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• The keel was shaped to receive the hollowback steel. 

• Gunwales were also shaped for the hollowback steel. 

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• Two deck plates were screwed in place (to be sealed later)

• The carlin’s were cut to fit and put in place (to be installed a bit later).

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• The deck pieces were temporarily clamped in place... all the wood is now out of the basement and ready for gluing into place on the boat... soon, I hope. The aft side deck doesn’t quite cover everything at the transom, but I think I can easily fix that when I am ready to install them. Perhaps if I had pushed the middle out a bit more when the inwales were installed the curve would have matched the cnc cut aft side deck pieces. I really am enjoying seeing the lines and overall shapes of the boat become clearer as the pieces are placed. 
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• I saw several approaches to mast cradles while on a trailer and thought I’d give it a shot. The first attempt broke from the way I’d held it in a vice... I should have known better. Then again, breaking the first one let me make a beefier one.  I haven’t decided how it will attach to the tabernacle. I’d like to fashion a way to easily connect and disconnect it. 
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• I also turned a post for the mizzen tube and fashioned a two-mast bracket for it. This can be neatly tucked into the hatch area. 
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My sprits were rounded over as you did, then I tapered them to round as you approach the ends. The loads on the sprits require the meat in the middle to be strong enough, but not so much as you approach the ends. Tapered is still strong enough, but lighter, I like lighter. I added the pin at the end after.  I made the pin on my lathe and it inserts and is glued into a hole.  There is a loop made of webbing at the clew of the sail that slips over the pin, but it too small to slide over the sprit. The pin and loop mean no hardware is needed for the clew to attach. No hardware is lighter than hardware. I tie my halyard on each time, no shackle. The only corner hardware is the hook for the downhaul to attach to the tack.  KISS

 

Snazy mast supports. I made my mast cradles much shallower and with the grain running horizontal. They could be simply flat cross bars as you should lash the spars in place for trailering any way. I then added leather padding inside so that I don't scratch my spars.

 

 

 

 

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Chick,

Good idea on making a more solid cradle... didn’t occur to me as an approach. 
 

Hirilond,

I appreciate the descriptions for the sprits. It helps me better visualize how the system works together. My sails are back-ordered so I haven’t seen them yet. Also, thanks for giving me a sense on why tapering the sprits is part of the plans. 
 

Mast Cradles:  This was my last little “sub-project that doesn’t involve epoxy. It was sort of a “nothing else to do” project and I’m not convinced that I will make actual use of them or whether I might fashion something different. 

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About Boat Names: “Baltic” and “Norma T”

 

Since building two Glen-L boats in junior and senior high school I have always wanted to build another, a 16 foot Glen-L Stiletto ski boat (and yes, I could waterski behind my 11 foot boat with the 30 hp motor.)  Since decades had passed without that third build, I came up with a name for that yet-to-be-built boat: Baltic. It’s an acronym for “Been A Long Time In Coming”. That name has given me at least something tangible to think about... “All the name needs now is a boat.”  My boys and I had purchased a boat together in 1996 with the $105 checks we each were paid for playing in the city summer band (my brother-in-law — a boat salesman at the time — had available for us an 18 foot tri-hull with a 185 hp inboard for $300!!) It was a great source for family fun and displaced the unfulfilled plan/hope for Baltic.  (The aqua blue tri-hull was already named Miss Tulla;  the name stayed on the boat’s transom.) I sold it after the boys got married.  (I’ll place a few images of these boats in another post.)
 

The year 2020 came along. I retired in January, went downhill skiing nearly every day, and when skiing ended prematurely in mid-March (Covid-19 shutdown) I began thinking about a boat... surprisingly, a sailboat... one that might appeal to my family and the grandkids. On March 28, after exploring options (including having purchased from B&B Yachts the plans for Bay River Skiff 17 — #179) I ordered the full build-kit for the Core Sound 15 — #162.  And , of course, I intended to name it Baltic (thus the name of this blog’s heading.)

 

After thinking about this for a few days, today I decided that it would instead be named Norma T.  I ordered a vinyl name just before making this post. And just before that, I told my 96-year-old mom that the boat shall go by her name (the “T” is the first letter of her maiden name that she always used for her middle initial.)  Mom has been under my wife’s and my watchful care since 2013 when my dad died. At that time, we bought her house, and, to keep things as familiar as possible for her, she lives with us. It has worked quite well for all. She has been under hospice care for about a year but is currently failing quickly.

 

The stimulus checks came out about the time I went to North Carolina to pick up the CS15 kit. Mom wanted her check to help pay for the boat. My wife and I also dedicated our checks for that purpose... to “stimulate B&B Yachts’ economy.”  (A fine use of our stimulus checks, don’t you think?).


As I explained to mom today, “Our three-way investment makes you a full partner in this family sailboat” and “We would like to put your name on it.”  “Your grandkids and great-grandkids would also like that, I’m sure.”  That was enough for mom to agree. (Yes, a bit of persuasion was needed.)

 

As I began writing this post, my wife went to check on mom; mom couldn’t figure out who came in, even with my wife stating her name.  “It’s nice to meet you,” mom replied.  That is a first as she is sliding into decreased functioning in the past few days. She is moving from lucidity and recalling short/long term memories, to confusion and seeing things and people (she has been “black-level” blind for many years.) 

 

I’ll keep reminding her that the name for our new Core Sound 15 family sailboat is:

 

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Great looking build. Graham shared this mast & sprit storage/trailering alternative a while back. image.png.fabbc2a86bf9f26ad805e7528ab9d6b8.png

Keeps the foremast/tabernacle clear for just running rigging. Also have you considered a alternate mizzen step in the forward thwart to stow the mizzen and clear it for rowing from the mid thwart? I had one on my BRS15, and I'm going to add one to my CS15.  Just thoughts. R 

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Alan,

I JUST finished making the mizzen mast tube, sat down in a cool room with a refreshing beer, and saw your message above. 
Please know that your video on this task was easy to imitate and I think the effort I put in to make a tube is successful. We will see what the result is like after the epoxy hardens. 
Thank you for making the set of clear videos for the building of this boat. 
 

The next morning:  It worked. The tube fits quite nicely and will be installed later, after I smooth the outside surface. 
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Getting the fiberglass tube off the mast took some doing. The plastic strips would not come out; they stretched and tore. Perhaps I could have wrapped things a bit more loosely.  So, I had to just pull it off. It was an isometric workout, pulling the tube at around 50 pounds while restraining the mast with equal force. It was sort of like:

1/4 inch... 1/4 inch... 1/4 inch... no movement... must... rest... No! Keep pulling!  But I’m only exerting 30 pounds now and even that’s fading... OK, take a break... break and wonder if there is another way... time to try again... 1/4 inch... etc. 

Eventually: success. 

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That is lucky, when they don't come off and you just start pulling they can wedge on there forever. I've had some i had to walk away from after doing that and using all manner of icicle hitch, come-along, tractor, tree etc etc. 

Quote

 

Getting the fiberglass tube off the mast took some doing. The plastic strips would not come out; they stretched and tore. Perhaps I could have wrapped things a bit more loosely.  So, I had to just pull it off. It was an isometric workout, pulling the tube at around 50 pounds while restraining the mast with equal force. It was sort of like:

1/4 inch... 1/4 inch... 1/4 inch... no movement... must... rest... No! Keep pulling!  But I’m only exerting 30 pounds now and even that’s fading... OK, take a break... break and wonder if there is another way... time to try again... 1/4 inch... etc. 

Eventually: success. 

 

 

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I appreciate the input above:

 

Ricknriver:  I remember seeing something along this line in another thread but didn’t find it again. Your photo is provides a great illustration of Graham’s bracket. I’m not sold yet on my rendition of mast brackets. Thanks.
And, yes, I think I will add the mast step to the forward thwart to add a bit more flexibility. The thwart from the kit has the hole inked in and the extra step pieces are part of the kit.  I might also add a second set of forward oarlocks to be able to row sitting on the centerboard trunk (with a cushion or some fashioned seat.)


Hirilonde: Thank you for the photo of the sprit connection to the sail. That is very helpful to understanding more of the system and a thoughtful gesture. Sure looks like it was a beautiful day to be on the water. 


Alan: Sure, I will consider myself lucky that I successfully got the tube off. Though a slow, ebbing movement, I was just able to supply sufficient force. I thought at one point it might have gotten wedged or stuck, but I managed to get it moving again with a bit more “concentrated” effort. I didn’t need to resort to alternative methods that came to mind. 
It’s just a bit like Winston Churchill’s comment from his early army years: “There’s nothing more exhilarating than being shot at... and missed.”

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Week 6 — Days 25, 26, 27:

 

Finally, I have the safety stuff that I ordered so I can finally get back at it. Finishing the earlier round of prednisone prescribed by urgent care for the awful rash on arms, chest, and neck (a reaction to epoxy, likely) things had gotten much better... but then began to get worse again over the weekend.  I was most fortunate on Monday morning to get in right away with my dermatologist who prescribed a very strong steroid ointment. I’m hopeful that will let me finish the boat and eliminate the rash. I am concluding that this will likely be my only stitch and glue boat-build. Then again, I am confident that this CS15 is exactly what I want and I won’t be enticed by another kind of sailboat. If I build another boat of any kind, I think it would be that 16 foot Glen-L Stiletto I described a few posts earlier (it is built using resorcinol glue.) Since this CS15 #162 sailboat is now called Norma T the name Baltic is still available. Building a Stiletto will not happen until I am willing to depart with the money needed to purchase a 100 hp motor... that has been the main reason I never began building one.  However, I might find that a 2 1/2 hp motor on this sailboat might be all the outboard power that I’ll want... we shall see. 
     My wife had to get a shot of the safety get-up I’ve begun using when working with epoxy since she enjoys opportunities to laugh heartedly at “my expense”... and yes, I have provided a substantial number of these opportunities over our 46 years of marriage. 
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Yes, that is indeed a nail gun. I found one inch 18 gauge stainless steel nails that, when put in at a slight angle, are completely embedded in quarter inch plywood and 3/4 inch material. I used it to install the seats and might (or not... haven’t decided yet) use it again to install decks. and thwarts. Since I’d like to put varnish on these pieces, I might choose to not do that to avoid the very small nail holes... but I’m not sure how else to keep the decks tight enough onto the inwales for gluing. That’s a problem for later.  Meanwhile, my wife enjoyed the image of Elephant Man with my face mask and 30 feet of air tubing extending outside to an old cpap machine.
     All this was to avoid as much as possible any contact with epoxy and its fumes. I even double gloved.  It reminded me of high school “sweat workouts” being in full sweats in a heated gym... for the purpose of becoming as miserable as possible... great times were had by all.
     It was over 90 degrees here in Wisconsin as I installed, trimmed, corner-rounded, coated, filleted, sanded, and twice-more coated the seats. I also, during these few days, prepped the deck and thwart undersides by coating them with epoxy, sanding, and adding two more coats. Yes, I could actually wring out a cup of cooling agent (sweat) from my t-shirts.  But, those jobs were completed and I will flip the boat soon to do the work on the outside of the hull, including painting.  After those tasks, I will flip it back upright to finish the topsides: installing the tabernacle, mizzen tube, and centerboard, along with sanding, priming, and painting the inside. The carlins, decking and thwarts will then be installed for varnishing. 
 

I think things are at least getting closer to this:

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Glad you are able to get back to work. The things we are willing to put up with to build are boats is amazing. I have uses composite brads and stables on my OB26 and Kendrift and they have been a real winner. The hold well for gluing and it is easy to sand the heads off. 

From the looks of things you might be able to get a job with the CDC.

Ken

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