Melissa Goudeseune Posted January 6, 2004 Posted January 6, 2004 Hi all, I just put a whole bunch of progress photos online of my minipaw construction, along with a commentary of the process. Here's one pic of test-fitting the forward seat after glassing the inside seams: Full writeup is at http://sailing.guild.org/tanzer22/dinghy/minipaw.html Michel Quote
Roger Peterson Posted January 6, 2004 Posted January 6, 2004 Michel, Your links don't seem to work... even the one at the bottom of the page (the little button). I'd love to see your pic's... Roger Quote
Melissa Goudeseune Posted January 6, 2004 Author Posted January 6, 2004 Hi Roger, Some people have reported difficulties reaching my website. What you can try is using an anonymous proxy such as www.anonymizer.com. That's worked well for others. Let me know if you still have problems reaching the site! Michel Quote
Designer Posted January 6, 2004 Posted January 6, 2004 Hi Michel, It looks as though the family took good care of you while I was away! And you have resolved your immediate problem - which I will address at greater length below. First though, I want to compliment you on your web site. Actually, the boat you have is nearly a complete redesign since Charlie built his. I'd been wanting to further enhance the weight carrying abilities and had done extensive work on the design between your boats. The bow area can be a bit troublesome on prams. Some of it also depends on which wood thickness you are using - and I couldn't quite tell from the pictures (4 or 6 mil). You said that you used 19 gauge wire and we typically use 16g because of it's greater holding surface - and because it is the most common. Also, we draw the bottom CL together at the bow and stern before we lower the bottom in place. Once it is in stress, you can't draw it in - as you discovered. For the sides, especially if using the thicker plywood, we sometimes use a plane to ease that forward corner as necessary. It's that old thing of "every piece of wood acts differently". I'm glad you were able to solve the problem and the boat is just as strong and able as if you had managed a perfect fit. The boat looks great and you are doing a wonderful job. Congratulations and keep up the great work and the pictures! Quote
Melissa Goudeseune Posted January 6, 2004 Author Posted January 6, 2004 Hi Graham, thanks for your kind words about my work and website. Hopefully I can steer some more business your way through interest generated by my construction pics! The boat is made of 1/4" (6mm) meranti ply. I opted for the 19ga wire as (1) it's what I already had a 50-yard spool of, and (2) it only required 1/16" holes in the boat. For the remaining overhang at the front, I used an electric planer to bring the bottom panel flush with the sides + transom, once the boat was inverted again. All the outside corners are now flush, and only need to be radiused before applying the outside glass tape. I'll be sure to update the site regularly. The building process should go quickly, too. I still have to finish the oars, and build a new rudder for my Tanzer 22. The winter will pass quickly if I keep this busy. Michel Quote
Charlie Jones Posted January 7, 2004 Posted January 7, 2004 Interesting about the redesign Graham. Just how much more load can you expect the boat to carry Ours sure lugs a big load with no complaints when we ask it to do so. We're continually surprised with the boat. MUCH bigger than we expected. I suspect that it or another just like it will go on our new boat. Michel- what oar plans are you using- I still haven't gotten around to building oars for our 'Paw and really need to do that. Those aluminum things from my inflatable work but sure are NOISY!!! Quote
Melissa Goudeseune Posted January 7, 2004 Author Posted January 7, 2004 Hi Charlie, I'm building the Jim Michalak-designed oars. Each oar is cut out from one piece of 1x6 stock. Here's a link: http://marina.fortunecity.com/breakwater/274/2001/0215/ The neat thing is that there's almost NO waste with this design. When cutting out the centre section, the angle matches the two side pieces exactly for them to line up when flipped around. Look at the diagram and you'll see what I mean. The only waste was the 1/16" saw kerf on my bandsaw . Once I've rounded the looms and shaped the blades, they'll get a couple of coats of varnish, then a captive oarlock held in place with a turk's head knot. His plan shows the oars as 7' long. I'm building mine 6' long to match the smaller dinghy. Also, as I'm using pine, I'll be glassing and vacuum-bagging the oar blades for ding protection. The wood is fairly easy to dent. Michel Quote
Greg Luckett Posted January 7, 2004 Posted January 7, 2004 Michel, Thanks for the link. I need a set of oars for the Nymph I am finishing; these should do nicely. Greg. Quote
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