hull # 342

[makenmend]

Well the masts and sail track came as well as my deck plates,hindges ect so mast bearing/sleeve made up and installed, also added the drain as recommended.Fwd seating goopied in, Picked up some Mahogany for the thwart which is now ready to install when painting completed, plus rub rails cut scarfed but not finished,now working on fairing masts for sail track, making wood top mast extention,plus some of the blocks for rigging,hope to have decks on and glassed in a day or two, and Carla is chasing down my sails, getting close.

Plus last week Tx Parks & Wildlife did my inspection,so now I'm totaly legit,when paint dries the # can be applied !

MM

[John Burritt]

Too bad you don't have anything to keep you busy.

Just kidding. Its looking great. Keep up the good work.

[cprinos]

cool deck. Couldn't tell from the photo--did you decide to run that mast drain to the cockpit or through the hull?

[makenmend]

I ran the mast drain through the hull, the plastic tubing in the picture is at the bow, going in at an angle, slightly through the mast step and into the bottom of the mast bearing/sleeve.I then slathered goopie around the tubing using "it" as the form/mandrel. then finished off with a pure epoxy pour into the base to act as a watertite seal/bearing surface for the mast. Hope that makes sence.

Monday drove back to Austin (hate city traffic)to Parks & Wildlife paid $53 for 2 year regisration and $27 for title, so the total outlay to legitemise(sp) a home built in Texas is a grand total of $120.00.

Also picked up all new bearings/oil seals for my (new to me) trailer, never had a trailer where the bearings run in an oil bath before.Thats all back together now and hope to have the boat on it in the next couple of days.

MM

[hokeyhydro]

Oil bath bearings are kick bootie! I love them. A glance and you can see if the oil has gathered water and changing is easy. However, you should move the trailer (rock her back & forth) every month or so to keep bearings damp with oil.

[makenmend]

Yesterday was 1st day on the trailer and out of the shed,

now I can see her wrinkles, these will have to wait, I still plan on going to Sail OK with her if my sails arrive in time ( told they'd been shipped to New Zealand by mistake).

The trailer was from an 18' bassboat, but this baby fits on there with no room to spare.

So now decks are trimmed, planed and sanded and 1st epoxy coated prior to glassing.

Also stepped mainmast for test fit all good, very happy with getting to this piont wish I had more time, rudders to paint/fit, out board to set up,before rear deck is installed, start some pre rigging etc.

MM

[makenmend]

Oil bath bearings are kick bootie! I love them. A glance and you can see if the oil has gathered water and changing is easy. However, you should move the trailer (rock her back & forth) every month or so to keep bearings damp with oil.

I like that as well, but with all new seals,"O" rings etc I hope not to see that any time soon.

MM

[Hirilonde]

So now decks are trimmed, planed and sanded and 1st epoxy coated prior to glassing.

Your decks look great! So I have to ask: Why are you glassing them? I know that glass cloth goes virtually transparent, and bright finishes do work over glass cloth, but it is never as nice looking as no cloth.

[PAR]

4 ouch cloth, will be transparent under goo, but with really good eyes and the right light and if you're right down on the surface, some can see the weave. Cloth lighter than 4 ounce is extremely difficult to see, without magnification. If the cloth is over some species of wood, such as mahogany, the little silica sparkles can lose their luster, but most folks don't know about these very subtle differences and mahogany tends to get stained anyway, which also kills this shimmering effect. A 2 ounce cloth will offer pretty much the same abrasion resistance as 4 ounce, with half the epoxy requirement to wet out and fill the weave.

[makenmend]

Well I went with 6oz cloth, strength (Standing on upper deck) being the main reason and protection for the soft western red cedar second, Iv'e finished my kayaks/canoes this way and has proven durable and still looks good given the 5' rule

Not long ago got off the phone with Carla, my sails are on the way,fedex in Fort Worth as I type (pick at the keyboard)so hope for monday delivery,the time to start rigging before I get on the road to Oklahoma.

MM

[wkisting]

Nice looking deck. I think you were smart to use the 6 oz. glass over the Western Red Cedar. I built a cedar strip kayak and had a friend building a cedar strip canoe a long while back. I remember how easily the cedar would print and dent if it was only epoxy coated or covered with light 3 oz. glass. I used 5 and 6 oz. glass on my kayak, and it was considerably more resistant to wear and took quite a lot of bangs and bumps to do any damage.

[makenmend]

OK nearing the end,but have a question, how are you attaching sail track to the aluminium masts?. Stainless sheet metal screws would seem the easy answer but talking with Graham he warned of corrosion problems.

MM

[wkisting]

I used stainless pop rivets, dipped in 3M 5200 adhesive to prevent contact and corrosion with the surrounding aluminum. You could also use Tefgel or some other isolating coating/product. I used the 5200 because I had an open tube to use up. It coats thickly and dries ultra durable, but also cleans up very quickly/easily with a rag soaked in mineral spirits.

[Phil Garland]

Really the best thing is to drill and tap and use ss machine screws and use loctite, teff-gel or duralac (zinc chromate paste).

[Phil Garland]

Wes's suggestion is fine too...stainless pop rivets have better pull out resistence and won't unthread. You need a decent (strong) rivet gun to pull the stainless rivets.

[makenmend]

thank you very much for promt replies guys, heading to the hardware store (again) !!

MM

[PAR]

There was a recent, previous discussion about attaching the track to a mast. I used stainless rivets, but nutserts, which are fancy rivets that permit machine screws are a little stronger. Personally I don't see the need, as once the track is installed, it would be a rare need to remove it. Sheet metal screws wouldn't have the holding power of a rivet or nutsert, simply because of the thin wall nature of the tubing.

[MaxHammer]

Hey guys,

This is my first post on this forum and I already feel the load of experience here :-). Thats what greenhorn like me needs. What sanders do you use for sanding? I know its about skill too. But I am thinking about some good sanders, but still cant decide. Its for the yacht project..but still only in the phase of "only on the paper" phase.

Thanks for some advice

[PAR]

I have about a dozen distinctly different sanders. Sander fall into three basic categories, bulk stock removal, finish work and specialty efforts.

You'll have a need for a belt sander, which in skilled hands can be a very effective tool, but the novice should probably buy a DA first. A good quality DA (Duel Action) orbital sander can cover a lot of ground. The common 1/4 sheet palm sander (hand shakers) really aren't good for much, though they are cheap. These are strictly finish tools, though with a piece of 40 grit can do some damage, if you don't mind making a career out of the task. Lastly are the specialty tools, like the long board or the multi tool. These will make you invent new colorful curses, but often are the only thing you can employ on a job.

Simply put, you'll need different sanders for different tasks. You can fair a boat with a DA or a belt sander and you'll regret using a multi tool to smooth a hull side. Finally, you don't really need any of them. Boats were built long before tools had cords or batteries in them.

[MaxHammer]

Hey guys,

Thanks Par for your answer. Yes, that rings the bell. I heared a lot of good things about belt sanders, but as you said you need the skill to make the surface smooth and dont make any damage in the process. I will definitely check the types of sanders you mentioned.

I like the idea of the of the specialty tools you mentioned. Any professional flexible board would be nice. I dont have too much good experience with plastic boards. Some board with durasteel base would be nice. ( For filling too!)

By the way - This is bit silly question. But are there any flexible sanders on the market? I mean power tools. You know something that would be able to work with large curved surface and "copy it".

Thanks again :-)