Weekender Plans Handy?

[Dave R1]

Does anyone have their plans handy? I need a couple of dimensions so I can continue drawing my steering mechanism. I need to know the half breadths of the deck at the transom and the next station forward of the transom. Appreciate the help.

Dave

[Jan Williamson]

Dave, When I saw your post, I just went to get my plan book out of the dry box it was in on our "recue boat" of the launch on Sat. I figured I'd bring it for crew review, because we were not soppse to get much wind. I learned that my daughter probably threw it overboard when someone got it out of the box :cry: :cry: :cry: I am not even completely done with me boat either

Sorry and I was about to be able to offer you some help. :? :?

[P Doug (WA)]

If I read this correctly at the transom station #16 is 19-1/2" Next one forward 15# is 24". There is 12" between the stations.

[adla]

that is what i see.....my plans are half chewed but that is what i make of it too.

a.

[Dave R1]

Thank you all. I did finally get home and was able to look. Doug and Adla are right. Jan I'm sorry your plans went to the fishies. I hope you can manage to finish up without the them.

Thanks again.

Dave

[Dave R1]

Here's what I needed those dimensions for. I omitted the turnbuckles (just haven't drawn them yet.) and the detail in the chain and sprockets.

[Jan Williamson]

Dave :shock: What a fancy steering system. And a great drawing. But what I really like the way you attached it to the tiller stub. I need to fill my broken one with thicken epoxy and find an alternative way of attaching the eye screws. I think I just found it. Thanks

[Dave R1]

Thanks, Jan. Does the sketch make sense as far as the way the tiller and cable connect? If you'd like I can make a close up of that for you.

The horn on the stub tiller is free to pivot and although I didn't draw them in, turnbuckles are attached to the horn and to the cables.

My original steering mechanism used the steel shaft with bronze pillow block bushings. The set was sold as a buffing mandrel. Cheap, cheap, too. I figured it was intended to have the shaft turned by a motor so it would certainly put up with a few turns back and forth.

My original set up had an oak hub on the steel shaft with the cable wrapped around it essentially like the plans. The problems associated with preventing the hub from slipping on the shaft and the cable slipping on the hub lead me to come up with what you see in the drawing. I replaced the oak hub with a sprocket and part of the cable with the roller chain. I added an idler sprocket on either side of the central one to keep the chain in contact with it.

I think including the wheel I have less than $50 in all that. The sprockets and chain came from a farm supply store and are overkill from a strength standpoint. On the other hand, they were inexpensive and easy to work with.

[Jan Williamson]

Dave, do you have the close-up already? That system will never break. Have you had problems with your original set up?

I will have to do something different. Maybe the pivot point is the key. Maybe there was a wrenching effect going on with the wood everytime it was turned.. I couldn't beleive how easy it was to steer.

Did you see what happened to mine after 2 hours of sailing?

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[Arnie Eaton]

Do like I did. Use a pc of gal. pipe bolted down into the rudder box and steel cable fastened to the other end. I think the Vac. plans call for pipe. Anyway that's what I did. I also used steel cable and a al. shaft. Won't break that either.

[Dave R1]

Jan, I'll post the close up in the morning when I get back to work. The model is on my computer there. All I have to do is rotate it and zoom in a bit.

I did see what happened to your stub tiller. That's too bad but I expect you can fix it up soon enough.

Dave

[Jan Williamson]

Arnie,

So you used a galv. Pipe bolted to the inside of the rudder box. This is instead of the tiller stub? And I am a little confused about how you used the steel cable, is that instead of rope?. But then I am kind of blonde, you know.

Dave, I look forward to your drawing Your right I won't have a problem fixing it. I just don't want it to break again. So you have this system ready to install don't you. I think I remember seeing a pic of it.

[Arnie Eaton]

Yep! The Vacationer Plans call for a tiller made from 1/2" Gal.Pipe. I think this is an improvement that the Stevensons made. The pipe is encased into the top of the rudder box. I also used SS 1/8" aircraft cable instead of rope and made the axle from 1" t-6 AL. round stock. SS cable pullies are used along with two SS turnbuckles. My wheel is locked on the shaft with a keyway and key and I turned threads for 1" locking nuts. The whole thing works very well but does make some small noise. I need to align the pullies a little.

[Dave R1]

Jan, I put this system in my boat last year after the second sail. On the maiden voyage one of the hardware store pulleys (as called out in the plans) in the steering failed so I replaced both with Harken swivel blocks (#166, I think) After the second sail I noticed the oak hub splitting where I had installed threaded inserts for set screws.

By the way, there is cable attached to the turnbuckles of the steel pivoting link. This passes around the blocks and goes back to the chain. The chain is just a couple or three links longer than needed to allow full movement of the rudder.

I sailed the rest of last season and all of this with the chain and sprockets system without any trouble at all. It can't slip but is easily adjustable.

Out of curiosity, what wood did you use for your stub tiller? I used a piece of oak and would be very surprised if it ever failed. Is there any chance you can replace the stub tiller with a piece of harder wood? Maybe rebuild the entire rudder box?

Pictures in the morning.

Dave

[Jan Williamson]

Arnie, That does sound like a strong system.

Wished I'd known how much strength this part of the rudder box/tiller would have needed, and I'd have beefed it up ahead of time.

I have mine done in the Nelson style. Used VG doug fir for the tiller stub.

And my rudder is not to plan either. Here's a pic.

The steering was quite easy, so I don't know why the tiller busted out, but I suspect it was weak wood.

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[Arnie Eaton]

Mines done in the Nelson style also. Wish T. Nelson would e-mail me. I had my 1st ride in a Stevensons boat, his Weekender. Had a ball. I gave him a frame kit and plans for a 21 foot Hartley Trailer-Sailer. Wonder if he has worked on it at all. He wanted a larger boat and I had decided on a Vacationer and didn't need the Hartley. Really a nice guy.

[Barry Pyeatt]

Hi Jan,

Couple things to consider with any wood you are using.

Grain orientation for maximum strength. Sortwoods, (V.Grain fir included), have annular growth rings that are quite hard and much softer wood between them. If the grain isn't tight (lots of annular growth rings per inch) then it won't be nearly as strong as a piece that does have a higher count.

Grain on edge is stronger than lies flat. But when you are thru bolting wood the bolts will have better holding power and the wood will be less apt to splitting/breaking if the bolts go thru the rings rather than with them.

Much of the splitting issues are because of grain orientation. That is one of reasons that quartersawn material is so often recommended. Not only is it stable but you have more or less good grain orientation no matter which surface you drill thru. Better holding power and less of a tendency for splitting.

Recently I was fortunate to haul away nearly a thousand board feet of vertical grain/quartersawn Doug fir from old growth trees that had been sitting in a 70 year old library for shelving. They didn't want to maintain it anymore and went to new melamine covered particle board. My gain, their loss. Same library now wants to know if i will come back and take away a great deal more of their wood that is headed for the dump. It is also old growth (read that as very tight grain fir) and Western Red Cedar. Some pretty good sized structural timbers there as well. Of course I will, it will only cost me some labor and gas. Lots of work to clean it up for use, but then that is just time and labor during the off season.

If you can find it, try a piece of Locust or Elm for your tiller stub. Both are very close grained, stable and tough woods for this application. Next you might also consider hickory, ash or white oak. Again consider grain orientation when cutting for assembly. Any holes drilled thru it should be thru grain rather than with it.

Good luck.

You rudder looks great. 8)

[Jan Williamson]

Arnie, now that would be fun. And the T. Nelson boat at that. I'd love to get a demo on a weekender any day. From someone who already is familiar with it. Was it the ride that inspired you to build the vacationer? I have a glav. pipe for the steering column, I switched to that becasue I didn't like the three screw idea for the hardwood column. End cap srews on with a hole in the end for the transom bolt, floor flange attaches it to the wheel, and a tension pin holds it in place. So I could go with ss cable and wire pulleys.

Barry, I don't know if you can see it in the tiller pix I sent, but it cracked the stub half way up. The coupler busted out the end, and if you notice the grain is running the length of the stub. If I go with the horn(steel bar) that Dave is talking about it bolt through the stub from the top through the bottom. I could fill the broken part, and completely avoid redrilling in that area. I think the coupler may have been twising inside the hole and creating a wrenching affect too, so maybe with a pivot point there won't be as much stress. I really don't want to build another rudder box unless I have to. But then again I don't want to be out on the lake an loose steering again either.

You lucky wood find is even better than my free trailer Are you one of those "wood stashers"? I used to be a fabric stasher.

[Arnie Eaton]

In regard to the ride with T.Nelson on his Weekender. No, I had started my boat long before going with him. The wife and I were invited to join Tom at Lake Cour d'lene in Idaho for a weekend. Had one of the best weekends ever. By the way, I used two bearing races, one at the transom and one on the Laz. for the shaft to fit into. Very smooth.

[Jan Williamson]

I knew your boat building went back a ways, but I wondered if it was the inspiration for the vacationer. Are the bearings the bronze type.?