ok what's up?

[capt jake]

Awfully quite around here lately. What's up?

Me? It seems that when all things need to happen, they all happen at once! Too many things to talk about on this forum, but life and work have all of the sudden taken a huge turn!! Some good, some bad some yet unknown! Some yet to be determined! :) har har!!

Haven't browsed sround here like I used to do, but I notice Paul J is not here lately. For that matter, where is Jo? Sorry, I may have missed others (I know I did)! Just missed his "kick it up another notch" quotes from that chef guy (can't remember him at the moment).

And you????

[Guest]

Traveling, fishing, for me. I did notice it has been quiet. Tried to keep my idle chatter to a minimum. Cheers

[ken connors]

EMERIL

[capt jake]

Emeril!!!! That's it!!! Nothing further????

Another notch maybe???

[Tom Holder]

Too much work and its getting colder up here. I'm stuck with a keel and not much else. Also six kids under 9 with two in hockey and two in dance. And three that still wake up all night. I keep reading but don't have much to offer I'm afraid.

Been modeling a rounded fantail stern but that's just a for fun kinda thing so far.

[SeaEagle]

I'm hoping for a Feb / March Launch - Everytime I think I'm making good progress work gets in the way.

I've travelled interstate (Australia) 9 times in the last 2 weeks, (usually means hitting the road around 6am and not returning until 9-10pm (this includes flying time). Unfortunately this doesn't leave much time for boatbuilding.

I'm all 3D, and hoping to sand, prime and paint all the internals this weekend, then planning to close-up in the following 2-3 weeks. I haven't done the cabin sides/top yet either, but have made the rafters.

I'm trying to get some small jobs done in the evenings (it's now warm enough with a couple of days hitting 28deg C in the last week). We went from 10-15 deg C to high twenties almost overnight.

I'll try and post some pictures in the next few days - something to keep you northern hemisphere builders enthused with the approaching winter !

[Fintan Murphy]

Work, study, work, study, assignments, work,study.

The boat won't be uncovered and worked on again before spring next year.

So close and yet wo far. There's just about 1 month left in it before it's on the water. I've semi-decided not go put a motor on it, but try mounting a sculling oar. Within the harbour, you're never too far from anywhere, and if you wait an hour, the wind will always come up.

Just when things are settling down, we saw a house we are interested in. There's a lot of work involved (a diy enthusiasts dream according to the brochure - understatement of the year according to me)

Here's hoping !

[Russ Sylvester]

Opus is still for sale and I would really like to hurry up and sell her. It just breaks my heart to see her sitting patiently on the trailer. SWMBO has her heart set on buying a new house so I'm furiously working on this place to get ready to put on the market. Going sailing is only a fantasy at the moment but I'm getting closer to declaring mutiny and taking a weekend off.

I'm still looking for my next boat. Just missed a 27 foot Watkins down in Miami a couple of weeks ago but it sold before I could get down there. Would like to buy one now so that I have the winter to work on it. Come next summer I want to be able to throw off the dock lines on friday afternoon after work and be completely unreachable for the entire weekend.

[tomstock]

I glued my hull sides in place, and then proceeded to cut the last of my rafters (the supports for cabin bulkhead) when my skillsaw self destructed. Brushed were gobbled up and the comm on the motor was destroyed.

I'm sort of stuck at the moment until I dig up the cash for a new one. In the meantime I'm playing with bondo. I wish I had a belt sander too cause the little orbital sander just isn't cutting it.

Tom

[Jan Williamson]

I have 3/4 of the hull sides done, toe rails and rub rail done on one side. Cabin roof is on and two portlights done. Doing some studying up on electrical. I want a trolling motor contemplating what size still, and three or four lights ( haven't decided yet) I priced 6 gauge wire at $.89/ft online, so I will order that. I would like a switch panel on the cabin wall or something. Still tossing around ideas. Like whether or not to do a drain plug in the cockpit. Wondering if it makes sense to put the drain through the keel. Or just throught the sole.

Had to take a break this week, My husband and I are flying to Colorado Springs to send off our Army son who is to be deployed to Iraq :cry:

I think after Thanksgiving, it will be time to fire up the heaters and get things going again. I miss the busy forum.

[Guest Anonymous]

Jan, please remember that you and your son, along with so many others of our people, will are in our prayers and thoughts, as our family, here, goes about our daily chores. I can relate with you, but with a bettter ending , for now, on a personal note, for us.

Regards,

Mike and Linda[Oyster]

[Russ Sylvester]

Hey Jan, second on Oyster's comment.

Two other comments, first is the trolling motor. I have used a 40lb motor since the very first day and have only had trouble once. Wind was very strong and dead on the nose with sails up. I needed to get out of a marina and couldn't sail my way out. The motor eventually did it but it was slow going with the motor on full. In retrospect I suppose I should have dropped the sails.

Second is the drain, I put in a cheapy West Marine white nylon deck drain through the cockpit sole and use a small cork for a stopper. Never had a problem with it except for one time I accidently kicked the stopper out and the cockpit flooded a little. No big deal.

My wife just got a PDA with a camera built in so if I can get some pics this weekend I'll try to post them here. She'll have to teach me how to use it first though. I'm computer illiterate.

[Jan Williamson]

MIke and Linda, Thank you for your comforting comments. I believe God has a plan for all of us, and if my son's plan is to do his job over there come home, get married and get old, then it will happen.

He will be building the trailer for my boat next year too

I think the simpler the better on the drain plug. If I bought a 50lb trolling motor, I wonder, would the 6 gauge wire still be adequate? Or maybe I should I be looking at 4.

[Russ Sylvester]

I use 6 gauge wire and have my battery up forward along with an electrical panel against the forward bulkhead. 4 would obviously be better but it would be somewhat more expensive and harder to find. I've never had a problem with the 6 except for the wires getting a tad warm when I need full speed for a long length of time (like trying to make port before a squall line hits). I've never measured the voltage drop but it shouldn't be too bad. I added a circuit breaker to the line as I was worried that the trolling motor was connected directly to the battery. I installed it in the panel as close to the battery as possible just in case something shorts out further down the line.

A 50lb motor would push a weekender very smartly I should think.

[Capn Trey]

A 54 # pushes my Weekender II Plus to 4 knots

[Johannah]

Don't all jump on me at once, but I have been actively searching for a decent used Laser as a Christmas present for Wild Child who is 14. She really took to sailing lessons last summer and even did a little racing. Our first plastic boat and yes, I remember that this group is not mean about such things. Having finally found a place to sail within easy driving distance (but it's not the ocean :wink: ) we want to have something to toss in the water for her to see if she likes racing.

Since Jake isn't ready to come to Pennsylvania to paint Nan's room (and why not, I ask), we are very slowly working toward getting her space ready to paint. Then we can fight about the colour. Our family process is that kids pick but mum may veto (no black, dark brown, dark purple, etc., but we have 2 :shock: pink bedrooms due to now grown persons).

Time and energy have been taken up with some sadness in the loss of a very dear young friend. And trying to complete the work on our mother's legal stuff. Calling them "estates" sounds too much.

Jan, may I add my prayers and thoughts for your son and those with whom he serves.

Hey, Big Jake, thanks for asking about everyone. This is a slow time of year on the 3 boat boards I read. I, too, find myself wondering what everyone is up to.

[Russ Sylvester]

Hey Jo, a little tidbit for what it's worth about Lasers. Some time ago I tried racing my weekender formally in a monthly yacht club race and it was a total disaster. They couldn't figure out what my handicap was other than it's a gaff rig and they all got a good laugh out of that.

Anyway, while I was there wandering around waiting for the race to start I was looking over a whole rack of lasers. Some old guy came up next to me and we got to talking about laser racing. He talked about how fast they are and how they were great to learn on. He also mentioned that the number one problem with used lasers is that the mast foot was usually blown out and that the owners tried various repair tactics but none seemed to work very well. I remember thinking to myself about how they've finally designed throwaway sailboats. Sort of like TV's nowadays, cheaper to throw away and buy new rather than fix the old.

Not trying to disuade or anything, just something to watch out for.

[Johannah]

Thanks, Russ. We have heard an earful about the mast step from just about everyone who ever sailed lasers. It's a worse problem with some manufacturers than others (there have been at least 8 builders in the 33 year history of this design) and not even the worst problem, in my opinion. There are lots of directions around for doing repairs or avoiding the problem in the first place. I doubt that a boat with that repair would be as fast again, but that's not what we're trying for. We think we have located, after much looking, a decent boat with good trailer and full rig and a beater boat with the smaller radial rig. If we can make both usable, the kids can have some fun. You should see some of the 30 year old boats we have seen, but some boats from the 70's are better than some 15 years younger.

[Wild_Dingo]

Im stunned!!! flabberflamingasted even! :shock: ... Why I figured you had dropped of the planet somewhere Jake :? you had been so quiet I thought perhaps yer were either busy as a tic on a emus bum with the boat or else you were out enjoyin the kayakin somewhere special for a time 8) ... then I figued what with yer youngun an you buildin geetars maybe you had gone all feral on us and joined some mad crazed rock an roll band an was on the road to fame an fortune :wink: ... and here it was flamin us that had gone quiet! :roll:

Ohhh okay Ive bin pretty quiet lately everywhere I hang me hat on this internet thingy... things was a happin that I really dont want to go into here since none of it was particularily good... so I stepped away for a time... but see then I gots to wonderin if canoeythingy had gotten her beautishuslyflamingorgeous shapely self onto the calander so I wanders back and well... Frank musta gone on holidays and forgot to let us know what happened with it... ah well never mind she'll be right! no flamin worries! 8)

An now Im busier than a bungarra on heat in a wombats burrow cuttin and slicing all that wonderous Tuart into a nice big old pergala out the back and wonderin to me own good self if I shouldnt maybe build a deck... whachareckon Jake? should I?????? mmmmmmm

Hey sis!! missed our yarns me dear! hows tricks up yonder? Say gidday to the motley crew from this mad bunch of galahs downunder :wink:

[capt jake]

wonderin to me own good self if I shouldnt maybe build a deck

Well I tore out 700 sq/ft of wooden deck and replaced it with concrete. I hate wooden decks in the NW. Too durned much maintenance required!