Lapwing #20 aka Hirilondë

[Murray]

On 4/20/2015 at 10:46 PM, Hirilonde said:

More progress..........

 

I finished the last strake right side up and wanted to strengthen everything up a bit before flipping the boat again.  So I completed the side deck framing and added the curves that will support the curves in the combing.  The addition of the carlin makes a huge difference in stiffening it all up  I cut out the excess jig portion of the aft and mid bulkheads, so now all that is left will stay.  This cannot be done until  the deck framing is done.

 

 

I had made the centerboard and trunk pieces a while ago and it was now time to install the trunk.  I really wanted to be able to access inside and out while doing so.  I came up with an alternative method to what Graham suggests in the plans.  I did it all upside down.  I forgot to take photos of doing the first part of this.  I cut out the slot in the mid bulkhead and clamped the sides of the trunk together.  Then did a dry fit as suggested by Graham, but did it upside down.  Because the boat is resting on a saw horse on the longitudinal bulkheads the saw horse crosses the boat perfectly flush with where the top of the trunk should be.  And because the trunk passes through the aft bulkhead and should end up exactly flush with the top of that bulkhead I have 2 very good references and means for holding the trunk right where I want it for final fitting and aligning.  After scribe/fitting the temporarily assembled trunk to the hull, which took a couple of trim and fits I layed out and cut the slot in the hull.  I cut it with a Fein Multi-Master erring slightly narrow.  After another dry fit I discovered I could wedge the assembled trunk tightly up against the keel batten using scraps the same width as my king posts wedged into the slot in the hull and up against the inside of the trunk.  So rather than attaching one side of the trunk to the keel batten before assembling the other side in place I glued the entire trunk together first and installed it using these wedges, the saw horse and a board clamped across the aft bulkhed over (under because the boat is upside down) the trunk  This locked the trunk beautifully in place for tabbing to the hull inside the boat.

 

In this photo I have already tabbed the trunk to the inside of the hull, but it shows how I secured the trunk in place for doing so:

 

 

You will note 2 scraps of wood clamped into the inside of the trunk and sticking up (down, but the boat is upside down).  These assure that the slight bow in the sides of the trunk were straight during tabbing and later served to support a filler inside the trunk, 3 inches from the bottom of the boat.  This filler piece was then taped to the inside of the trunk, all the way around and served to keep all drips of epoxy from getting away from me into the trunk while tabbing the inside of the trunk to the outside of the hull. 

 

I tabbed both sides of the slot to the trunk at the same time, then wedged 2 pieces of okoume scraps, 3" wide and the length of the trunk, covered in plastic into the trunk such as to act like a mold to keep the tape flat and smooth to the inside of the trunk and cut down on sanding in that tedious place.  This is what it looked like:

 

 

I was pleased with the outcome, so I replaced the mold, wedged it in again and filled in the overly rounded corners to the slot that facilitated the tape and proceeded to hot coat the entire hull 2 times.

 

 

Now I am sanding, and sanding, and sanding some more to ready the hull for painting.

 

Graham has sent me a sail car/slide like will come with my sails I ordered from him.  I tested it to the bronze track on the Snipe mast that has hung in my garage for 30 years and it fits perfectly.  I will run up to the Wickford Marine Consignment soon and see if the Blue Jay and similar masts with hardware they have for sale match.  If so I will buy one and between the 2 I should have enough bronze track, masthead sheaves and sundry  hardware to equip my masts in bronze and at a cost of less than SS track alone if purchased new.  No better sliding surface then well broken in and very old bronze and I am not a big fan of shiny silver color.  Especially on a classic looking design.

 

While scoping out mast hardware I came across a bronze sand cast of a small bit that was missing the cross bar.  But as I was buying an old bronze rod I found for the centerboard pin I drilled out and fit it to the casting I bought for peanuts and came up with this:

 

 

Nothing makes me feel good about the security of my boat like a foredeck bit.  I will drill out the 4 bolt holes and through bolt it through the deck and deck beam with a backer plate.

 

Now back to sanding, and more sanding.............................

 

 

 

Dave - I'm just embarking on installing the trunk - yes, I've started again. Not quite sure from your description, but did you have the truck projecting through the hull, then trim to fit (so the bottom of the trunk is flush with the bottom of the garboard plank, or is the trunk still fully inside the boat as shown in the plans? Your photos have been a source of much help to me - thanks!

[Hirilonde]

No, the trunk does not pass thru the slot. I did a couple scribe and fits until it fit well, both to the hull, and have the top come out flush with the bulkheads. To avoid removing too much, I started by removing too little and fitted and scribed in progression till I got it just right. The trunk, and steps/partners require very exacting build and fit.

 

I never thought about running the trunk through the slot and then trim. I haven't really pondered this idea, but off hand it sounds pretty clever.

[Murray]

On 8/3/2019 at 1:08 AM, Paul356 said:

I'll jump in and say that, yes, the main sheet is the one you want to have readily available and in your hand, especially in gusty conditions.  My CS17 uses the same swivel-cams as Dave's lapwing, and they are well worth it.  So, when sailing in any sort of breeze, generally the downwind end is in its cam and the upwind end is in my forward hand, tiller in my rearward hand.  You can leave the mizzen cleated, and if there is a gust, it will head you up into the wind, not knock you down.  But the main will try to knock you down in a gust, just as on a sloop, so that's the one you want to be able to ease or dump in a hurry.  If you can make your boat look like Dave's, you'll be in great shape!

 

I have a double ended sheet on my mizzen, with the tails coming forward through a couple of turning blocks to swivel cams just shy of the cockpit lockers where I can reach them from either side.  

@Paul356 Paul any chance you can send a photo of how you have arranged your mizzen sheeting? Cheers, Murray

 

[Paul356]

Here are a couple of pictures.  The boat is in a bit of shambles now, recovering from the trip, but I'll try to make it clear.

 

The mizzen sheet leads aft from the cam/swivel in the foreground of the first picture to a large single block in the back, just in front of the transom.  That block is held upright by a spring.  The cam/swivel is, if I recall correctly, from Ronstan.  The single block in the back is from Garhauer.  The sheet comes out of the cam/swivel at a convenient location where I can set it from the usual helm seat just aft of the main thwart.

 

Then the sheet goes up to another single Garhauer block, also on a spring, mounted on the top rail of the transom, then up to a single block with a snap hook that attaches to the sprit.  In this photo, the snap hook is just latched onto one of the mast halyards, for illustration only, since the masts were lying on the boat and the sprit was elsewhere.  Normally that block with the snap hook would be a few feet up in the air, along with the end of the sprit, instead of drooping down as it is in this picture.   As you can see, the snap hook is on a little dynema tail I made, simply because the snap hook itself wouldn't fit into the sheet block shackle.

 

 From there, the sheet goes back down through a mirror-image set of blocks on the port side so that I have double-ended sheeting. 

 

I've seen other systems, include one that Alan uses on his 17 that is probably a bit simpler.  This works for me.  I like having the heavier braid for the sheets, just to have something to hold on to, and I like having the cleat close to where I sit.  I usually sail with the mizzen cleated and hold the main sheet in my hand, uncleated, ready for quick dumping if needed, especially beating into the wind.

 

Let me know if you have any questions!

[Don Silsbe]

It’s a Ronstan product, although Harken makes something similar.  You use a 58 or 67, depending on line size.

 

I sail in light air most of the time.  I prefer sheets no bigger than 1/4”.  Bigger lines than that are heavier, and dangle & drag in the water.  You could also use two sets of sheets.  It’s only money!