Build log - SteveKos' Spindrift 11

[SteveKos]

Steve-

What color/ paint type did you use I like the yellow against the white.

 

I used a local (Australian) brand - Norglass Paints. I used a 2 pack polyurethane for the hull, and a single pack premium marine gloss enamel for the topside. Both are Opal White (light cream). The white in the earlier shots is the undercoat only, which is two different types. I used Norglass Pri-coat first, but I used a Dulux external grade primer/undercoat for the other two coats. I like the Dulux better, as it has good fill properties but a better flow so it left a very smooth surface without much sanding needed. I used a total of 3 coats of undercoat and 2 good coats of enamel. The enamel is very opaque and covers really well without many runs, so 2 coats ended up doing a great job. I have not got enough left for a full coat so I'll keep it for touch ups. For an enamel it seems to be very tough.

 

The varnish is Weatherfast Poly Clear marine varnish. I think it is a single pack Polyester varnish with good abrasion resistance and high levels of UV stabilisers and inhibitors. I am applying 5 coats of that on all the brightwork areas.

 

I was going to go with a 2 pack clear gloss on the brightwork but I had both and decided to go with one that was easier for maintenance.

[SteveKos]

Tonight I started attaching fittings, starting with the rudder:

 

 

 

I had some trouble finding a stainless steel spring clip such as Graham recommends, so I used an old kitchen knife blade. I cut it down with my Dremel, and bent it into shape. It works perfectly,but I ruined 2 drill bits drilling holes to attach it. Oh well, nothing worthwhile is ever achieved without sacrifice

 

 

 

I am now attaching rigging fittings. I seem to spend ages just standing there thinking, trying to make sure I get the fittings in the right places. I did fit a cleat in the wrong spot on the daggerboard trunk, so I have had to fill the holes and I'll paint over those tomorrow.

 

I will need to make the dolly to get the boat outside so I can set up the mast and rigging. That will be done over the next couple of days. I have pretty much completed the boat loader. Looks like launch is on track for this weekend, if the weather cooperates.

[Hirilonde]

 I seem to spend ages just standing there thinking, trying to make sure I get the fittings in the right places.

One-off projects are like that.  It is even worse trying to explain to a customer why building a one of a kind anything takes so long and that they have to pay for it.  I just tell them I will charge less for the next 50 of them  ;-)

[SteveKos]

Yes, but that's the romance of it all! There's no satisfaction in just buying a boat off the shelf, only the enjoyment of sailing it. Building a boat from scratch and then sailing it - now that's a feeling no money can buy!

Sent from my HTC One X using Tapatalk

[labrat]

 Looks like launch is on track for this weekend, if the weather cooperates.

 

Latest forecast for the weekend looks good. Might be a good time to start getting excited

[Howard]

Steve: Looks good! (and one of the faster builds we have seen to date.......at least one that has been documented).

 

Clever trick with the knife. On drilling stainless steel, if you have a drill press, use the slowest speed you have and keep a steady drip of water on the drill bit to keep it cool and cutting. Slow, gentle pressure and wet is the rule. Do that and it is remarkably easy to punch through.

[SteveKos]

 

 Looks like launch is on track for this weekend, if the weather cooperates.

 

Latest forecast for the weekend looks good. Might be a good time to start getting excited

 

 

Yes Bob. You are invited if you can make it. I've planned it for Saturday morning at Seacliff. Give me a call if you can get there.

 

Some more pics:

 

I was scratching my head about how to stow the oars. I came up with a simple but very effective solution:

 

 

 

 

The oars are very strongly held and it takes quite allot of force to budge them The springiness of the oars means that they stay put with just the shock cord and the little pad eyes as retainers.

 

I will post some more pics of the mast set up and the rest of the rigging hopefully tomorrow night.

[SteveKos]

Steve: Looks good! (and one of the faster builds we have seen to date.......at least one that has been documented).

 

Clever trick with the knife. On drilling stainless steel, if you have a drill press, use the slowest speed you have and keep a steady drip of water on the drill bit to keep it cool and cutting. Slow, gentle pressure and wet is the rule. Do that and it is remarkably easy to punch through.

 

I guess I did it all wrong with the drilling. I used a hand drill, fast speed and no water. It got red hot but eventually I managed to break through. Another lesson for a future time .

[SteveKos]

Bought the trailer yesterday. I wasn't expecting to get one as good for the price, but spotted this one on Gumtree and it's going to do very nicely.

 

Not the best shot but I will post more after the launch, which is happening tomorrow morning!!  

 

[LennieG]

Best of luck to you! The boat looks great.

[Hirilonde]

You will be glad you bought a trailer.  Even my 9N isn't overly convenient to load into my pick up and take to the boat launch.  Fortunately it stays at the dinghy dock all year.  I think the key thing about enjoying a day sailor is making the process of going sailing as simple and easy as possible.  If it is a chore you will find yourself going less and less over time.

[SteveKos]

You will be glad you bought a trailer.  Even my 9N isn't overly convenient to load into my pick up and take to the boat launch.  Fortunately it stays at the dinghy dock all year.  I think the key thing about enjoying a day sailor is making the process of going sailing as simple and easy as possible.  If it is a chore you will find yourself going less and less over time.

 

You are right. The thought of having to cartop the boat even with a boat loader isn't appealing. I can now keep my boat on the trailer and hitch up within seconds and I'm gone. Much more sailing to be had that way!

[SteveKos]

Hello all. Well today was the day I finally put 'Aqua-bat' to the test and got her feet wet.

 

All was arranged to meet some friends at a local beach and to have a launching ceremony, champagne on the bow (poured of course) and everything .

 

It all nearly didn't happen though, as there was a problem with the new trailer's lights. It turned out to be a blown indicator fuse in my car. I remember someone saying once never to plug a trailer plug in with the ignition on as it can cause accidental shorts. That's what it must have been . Anyway, I tracked down the problem and replaced a blown fuse, which fixed the lights, and off we went.

 

 

I unloaded the boat and started rigging up. It took awhile even though I had only just finished rigging her last night. On the beach it's another matter!  I got lots of comments from passers-by which was a nice ego boost .

 

On the beach all rigged and ready she made a pretty sight.

 

 

 

I have more shots to post and others being sent from friends who were in attendance. I should have a video too which was shot by Labrat who met me down there as well.

 

Anyway, how did she perform?!

 

In a word, great! The spindrift is a lovely boat to sail. Agile but forgiving and very stable. The winds were failry light - to 10 knots - and ideal for a first outing. I was able to get used to the layout, controls and handling in very benign conditions. She sails great on all points of sail, and cuts through the chop easily.

 

The only issue I encountered was that I have a bit of an issue with slight lee helm. Not real bad but I need to fix it. I knew that with my sail I needed to bring the daggerboard forward a bit, but I had to install the trunk before I could check it with the actual sail. But I think I can tackle it in a few ways:

 

• The sail is laced very tight to the mast. I was going to loosen it off anyway, and that should give me another inch or so of CE to aft.
• I could adjust the mast foot a bit to get a bit of rake aftwards. This will move the CE about another inch or two.
• My daggerboard seems to have a rake to aft. I could possibly add a fillet to one edge to get a slightly tighter fit and eliminate the rake. This might give me another inch or so.
• This sail is a 'test' sail by Polytarp International. It wasn't expensive and I deliberately wanted to try out the sail so I could gauge the balance of the boat. I can order another one with a different sail shape to move the CE aft and try that.
• I could install a small mizzen. It would have to be off centre to allow for the tiller, but I could install a mizzen of only a few sq ft, which would not only balance the helm, but also give me some more sail area. (I'm not sure about this one though).

Any other suggestions for correcting this issue?

 

Other than she sails beautifully and I'm sure I can sort out the helm balance.

[SteveKos]

Ah! Just read an article on 'Good Old Boat' website about boat helm-balance. It talks about the tendency of some boats to display lee helm in light conditions with a correction to weather helm in heavier winds. This is because the mast flexes aft as the sail pressure increases and the CE moves aft accordingly. It seems to make some sense. I'll try it in breezier conditions before I make any drastic changes to see if this applies to my boat.

[labrat]

I was down at Seacliff beach today and saw this big kid with a new toy - he seemed rather pleased and I can't blame him as I was rather impressed myself........

 

Starting out

 

Sailing around

 

 

Well out

 

 

Zoomed in

 

 

Well done that man!

 

I have some short videos too but have never put any up on forums. Presumably they need to be hosted elsewhere and linked to - can anyone tell me the best way to do this?

[SteveKos]

Thanks Bob. It was great to see you there. Next time be dressed for adventure! Nice shots. Waiting to see the videos .

[labrat]

Managed to load the videos onto Photobucket:

 

 

This was heading out

http://s741.photobucket.com/user/rhutton2/media/00000_zps81994e5f.mp4.html

 

 

Showing some speed

http://s741.photobucket.com/user/rhutton2/media/00001_zpsf6398d41.mp4.html

 

 

Heading further offshore

http://s741.photobucket.com/user/rhutton2/media/00002_zps6cf093b3.mp4.html

 

Unfortunately they have been chopped in half by the processing. They were originally in MTS format.

Also the play back on Photobucket seems to be jerky but that could just be because of my old clunker PC.

[SteveKos]

Thanks Bob! Looks like I was going faster than I thought in the light winds. Took me awhile to work out the sail trim and how close I could sail to the wind, and it shows in that first video.

[Howard]

Steve:

 

I also have a leg-o-mutton from PolySail. I did not notice the lee helm issue, but my Spindrift is a 10 footer. If your sail is the same size as mine, most likely your CE is too far forward to tweak. That can all be calculated by those that know how.......that would not be me.

 

You might also try moving YOUR weight forward. Mine is the nesting version, so I sit on the bottom of the boat, but just aft of the center bulkhead. That about centers my weight where it should be. If you can't reach the tiller from there, you may need an extension.

 

Also, congratulations on your launch. These are great little boats. Stable, fast and fun to sail.

[Designer]

Congratulations Steve, she looks great. The videos show that she was moving very well.

 

I was worried about a bit of lee helm with that sail plan, I think that we had that conversation. Howard is right about moving you weight forward, especially in light air, you need a tiller extension, you will definitely need it for hiking out in a good breeze.

 

Moving forward might not be enough but you can trim off the forward edge of the mast heel and fill in the aft end of the mast step, this will rake the mast aft. I would also trim off the top aft corner of your dagger board so that you can cant it forward. 

 

I do not think that you need to to do any drastic surgery, just a few tweaks should have her sailing great.

 

Graham