CS17 #110 Goes 3D

[Scott Dufour]

Yup, tonight was the night. It was sooooo much simpler than I expected. I had absolutely no problems. I read all of your posts so many times and took every suggestion I remember reading from this forum, and poured over the CD that I got with the plans. Most importantly, I did it exactly as Graham said to.

There was a moment, just as the bow came together so easily into that beautiful curve, that I was on the point of euphoria. A mellow, satisfied euphoria to be sure, but euphoria none the less. I am deeply grateful to the people on this forum for making it possible for me to build this boat. There is no way I would ever had attempted it without the generosity you've all shown with your knowledge and experience.

And Graham: You've done a wonderful thing. Great plans, great instruction, great boat. Thanks.

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[Scott Dufour]

Here's some more

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[Scott Dufour]

'n a few more. I'm pretty psyched.

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[Tim Diebert]

Nice shots. Looks great Scott.

[Travis Votaw]

Way to go, Scott! Nice job. TV

[Joe Nelson CS#35]

Nice job!

I am impressed with the cradle. I am building the CS20 and the lack of a center support caused me a great deal of frustration. You will know that your hull has just the right amount of rocker to it.

Now, you do know that your enthusiasm for immediate gratification will have to be slowed? Now the woodworking starts.

[Scott Dufour]

Thanks Tim, Joe and Travis.

Having that cradle on casters is going to be a big help, too. Even though I've got significant space compared to some, I need to use that workshop for the Honey-Dos that justified buying all those tools. :wink:

Last night when I posted the pictures, I was still running on adrenaline. It was akin to winning the Conference Finals in high school or when Tate George made that shot against Clemson State. Now that I'm back down on Earth, I'm still pretty happy.

I unfolded it by myself, as SWMBO was pretty tired by the time we got the kids into bed at 8:30 last night. I just kept thinking, "I'll just do THIS next step,then I'll wait for help." There just was never a point where I needed help.

I put preventative blocks at the ends of the butterfly joints, where I had used two layers of glass tape. Having read other people's tragic stories, I didn't want to mess around with the chance of the tape splitting. Also, the temporary support pieces between the sides and bottom panels were instrumental in being able to manhandle the parts into place by myself.

Getting the forward bulkhead in early made stitching the bow a real simple process. Once I started tightening wire ties, there really was very little muscle needed in any of the process.

When I get home tonight I'll start casting a more critical eye over the whole thing to make sure it's all plumb and twist free. The only other boat I've built, a D4, looks a little like a drill bit due to carelessness at the stitched-but-not-filleted stage. :oops: But that's why I built that little bathtub: to get some of the kinks out.

[Ken_Potts]

Great work, Scott!

Your boat looks better than mine did at that stage. I'm determined to make as many mistakes as possible along the way.

Using the temporary blocks over the tape at the bow was a reasonable precaution. I managed to break the joint on the port side while tightening the stitches but it turns out that it's not really a catastrophic event (apart from the feeling I got when I heard the CRACK!). It was easy enough to fix and I can't tell the difference between the two sides now.

Also the sheer of your boat looks better than mine did at that stage. I had sort of a hard bend forward of the bulkhead. I was terrified that it was going to stay that way but installing the inwhales smoothed it all out. It's pretty now. (how is inwhale pronounced, anyway? Innel?)

After the dramatic event of going 3d it seemed like my project slowed to a crawl but don't worry, you'll be flipping the boat over before long.

[Scott Dufour]

Ken,

I've been warning myself for weeks that the real work comes after it looks boatish. I guess this is where I get to see if I've got the character to sustain effort without the promise of instant gratification. Now the pleasure has to come from the little things...

By the way, your earlier posts are largely responsible for me taking this stage so carefully and installing those blocks. Thanks for the heads up.

[Steve Day]

Scott,

You have done very well. Nice looking boat there and the cradle on castors looks great, too.

There is a lot of instant gratification when the boat goes 3D, but the successes to come will be gratifying, too. Other people just won't be as impressed, but we're not doing this to impress other people, are we? :twisted: :twisted:

Steve

[Brent]

Congratulations Scott, you have a boat now! There is only a little epoxy work and sanding ahead of you now. :wink:

[JeffM]

Scott, you take great pictures! I'm going to cheat by seeing how you do each step before I try it on the CS20 I'm about to begin.

[Scott Dufour]

Congrats on the CS20 Jeff. Seeing as you're almost a local boy, I'm betting we bump into each other sometime on the water. (If you sailing skill are like mine - we'll try to bump and miss. The only things I hit are the things I'm trying to avoid.)

I'll try to keep pics updated - each step seems like a big one.

[JeffM]

Thanks, Scott. As to running into each other (figuratively speaking!), Narragansett Bay, RI, my teenage stomping grounds, is a wonderful place to explore. I don't know what your part of the Connecticut coast is like, but I expect to trailer about an hour to reach it -- well worth the time. Let me know when you're coming (maybe sometime in July 2006), and I'll put the coffee on (gas stove in forward cockpit).

Jeff

[Scott Dufour]

It's a date. Two years, summer time, Starboard Coast.