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Working oh so slowly on our Spindrift 12.


Greg Luckett

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Ben, Sam, and I have been busy this weekend plaining the Sassafras, White Oak, and Walnut to be used on our Spindrift 12, at least until the rain drove us back indoors this morning.  The plan is to fabricate as many details as possible prior to assembly to maximize work space and minimize moving things around.  The goal is to have her done before any of the mess abouts next year. :)

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Glad to see that Ben and Sam are working with you on the Spindrift. I expect they are getting to be quite the young men now. I think it has been at least two seasons since you guys built "Dragon." Has it been that long?

This boat will be quite different from that one in many ways. I think y'all will like this one a lot.

Give us some photos when you get far enough along to take some.

Steve

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I was going to post some pics of the wood we have planed but my PC workstation died and this laptop does not have any picture editing software on it yet, which is needed to reduce the size. 

Sam and Ben are growing like weeds and Sam turns 13 next month....teenager already, sigh.  I think it must be going on 3 years since we built Dragon, but since that we did refurbish and sell a 24 foot sloop, two wooden prams, a fort in the ravine above the creek, the boat house/shed, and the fences, etc.  They already know more than most folks about how to make things, let alone the kids their age.  When I thought about this the other day it surprised me at first, but most people never get the opportunities these boys have gotten.  I made them learn to use hand tools, not powered tools, first.  You should have heard the complaining about that... ;D, but they are much better craftsmen as a result.  I have begun to teach them the power tools in order to speed up production work, but the skills learned using the non-power tools is really helping them to do good work and fast.  Ben has been repairing a bunch of bicycles for himself, Sam, and the neighborhood kids too.  This Spindrift will come together fast once we begin assembly.  The boys will attend sailing school next summer and expect to spend the summer sailing the Spindrift and the Oday.

Greg.

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Greg,

They are lucky boys. The selfconfidence they gain as they see they can make and fix things will be invaluable.

I often appreciate the legacy of my father who was not afraid to try t ofix anything. Having grown up on a farm he most always could fix it. The ability to understand how things work and fix them seems like magic to many.

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The only thing I don't mind about getting old is remembering how lucky I was to grow up before all the electronic gadgets.  Spent my childhood outdoors, playing exploring, hunting, fishing, inventing, building, working etc., etc.  Keep working with your kids Greg, they will be greatly rewarded for it and so will you. 

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  • 5 months later...

My PC has taken a couple of major dumps which caused the loss of pics since the last backup.  I took some more this morning.  Glue up of the hull panels started last night.  I did just one to evaluate the butt joining method in the plan set.  I am still leary of not scarfing and will be so until I see how this works.  Anyway here are some pics of the work so far. :)

Guess not.  I need to reinstall my photo software to reduce the pic sizes.  I will post the pics later today.

Time for more coffee, while the heater is warming up the shop.

On a different note, the weather forcast is for 12 inches of snow tonight through Friday.  And here I was about to get the RV out of storage and have been driving the convertable expecting to put the top down this week.  Now I must get it back into storage hopefully beating the weather.  Which incidently I am under the weather myself today...not feeling real chipper.

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Both bottom and one side panels are glued up now.  I did not get a picture of the side yet as it was epoxied after these were taken.  I have the one side panel yet to glue up, then it is time for the butterfly glue up.  If things keep going at this pace, we should be stitching up the hull later today or early tomorrow.  8)

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Greg,

Good to see you working on the Spindrift. The parts are looking good.

Sorry about the weather. Every time I hear you guys talking about that snow stuff, I remember why I moved to LA (Lower Alabama).

We're going out for a Sunset Sail this evening. Temps in the mid-60's and a nice SE breeze of about 12 knots with clear skies.

Take heart - better weather is coming.

Steve

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Thanks Steve  :).

Here are the side and bottom panels ready for further assembly.  I hope to glue up the butterflys tomorrow and hull assembly by Sunday latest.  I need to make room since the snow is keeping me from using the drive way.  I may not be able to make enough room in the shop and will then have to wait until the melt and better weather.  This climate stinks.

The snow on the van is about 30 minutes worth, as my wife got home about 5:20.  There is a good 6 inches of wet, packed snow out there now, and more expected.  It only really bothers me when it keeps me from building boats.

I am thinking that the panels when stitched together at the keel, prior to folding, will need about ten feet of width space and the length of 13 ft. or so.  I am going to try moving the shop around and find the space! :P

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I re-arranged the shop....really easy with most stuff on wheels...and then glued up the hull panels into the butterflys.  Sam helped me get it all done.  The grand kids visited yesterday and we did not work on the boat as a result.  Gotta play with them. :)

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Thanks Steve.  I agree. :)

Unfortunately, there have been a couple of slight set backs that will cost another day at least. 

First I tried some 1/16 or there abouts plastic sheeting I had in stock instead of the painter's plastic when doing the butterfly joints.  Darn if is isn't the very first plastic I have ever found that epoxy will actually adhere to.  Fortunately, I pulled it all apart before the epoxy had completely hardened and will just have to re-glass and epoxy the joints...using the right plastic.  My hope had been to eliminate the wrinkles in the hardened epoxy that then require both sanding and fairing compound.

Second, I was double checking the transom I cut out and found errors in either my layout or cutting or both.  I had some extra stock so I laid out another transom and cut it out, proud of its lines.  I will use a block plane and belt sander to shape it better.

I hope to get the Spindrift done in time for this years Lake Pepin mess about, but if not, my real drop dead dead line is to have it done in time to tow it to the Duckworks Mess About at the end of the Texas 200 in mid-June.  I bought a trailer yesterday for the Spindrift, and the sails are expected in April.

The push is on!!!! ;D

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The side and bottom panels are now epoxied & glassed together at the bow end.  The next step is to bevel the two bottom panels at the keel edges, then drill the wire holes, then install the wire stitching. 

The new transom was "final fitted" this evening by using a low angle block plane (one of my favorite tools).  It now is about as perfect as I can make it.  Angles and dimensions are all as they should be.

It looks like it will be tomorrow before the hull will be wired up and ready for opening to 3D.  I am keeping my fingers crossed.  Sam and Ben don't have much time on school nights to help, and the coming weekend is Sea Cadet small arms training, and the following weekend is Scout First Aid campout, and the middle of the week they are gone to visit the Grand Parents.  This is making me fly solo with the boat building and I am not fast anymore.  No one to blame the mistakes on either. ::)

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  • 6 months later...

Greg,

I was just reviewing your post about redoing some joints because of bad plastic.  I am almost at the same point in my construction.  I need to butt joint the sides and bottoms.  I was going to use trash bags but now I am leary of using that.  It looks like you got a much smoother finish using the "correct" plastic.  Where did you get the plastic?  Is it something the local big box store would have?  Where should I look for it? 

I checked online and see something called Film-Gard.  Quote from the ad says "Large sized clear heavy duty plastic sheeting ideal for crawl spaces, vapor barrier, all-purpose covering and foundation moisture barrier."  It is 4 mil.

Thanks,

Craig

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Craig,

It is painters plastic sheeting from Ace Hardware.  Get the thickest you can, but in any case do not use it unless it does not easily wrinkle.  The thin stuff wrinkles easily and is nearly impossible to get those damn wrinkles out.  I do not remember the mil thickness but it was in a folded packet.  I could not find the stuff I use to get on a roll, but that much is not needed.  I used the extra for draping and containing heat from the little space heaters.

I hope this helps but if you have any other questions, please feel free to ask. :).

Greg.

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You should use at least 6 mil plastic sheet, heavy duty construction grade (used for vapor barriers in crawl spaces, etc.). I generally keep a roll on hand. I had the thin stuff actually suck into a joint so I had to grind it out and repair the joint.

Or you may want to try even heavier material. I think someone here uses a plastic board of some type. My first thought is to buy a length of smooth vinyl siding and cut it into flat strips. These wouldn't wrinkle at all and would give a smooth finish.

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