Don Silsbe Posted October 11, 2023 Report Share Posted October 11, 2023 Congratulations on a job well done! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve W Posted February 19 Author Report Share Posted February 19 Since I made the last post, I went to the MASCF and then I trailered Skeena to Amos's place near the start of the Dismal Swamp Canal. We went in tandem to the Messabout and it was so much fun I'm hoping to repeat it this year with maybe a modification of the route. I had promised a few people I'd write up the 2023 experience, but I've had some things going on at work that have taken all my time. I will get to it. I have moved into a house with really no place for a workshop while my wife and I are working with an architect to design another house that will be built over the next year suitable to our retirement. I feel like I have another boat in me. But this means my ability to modify Skeena has been limited. This morning, while it was snowing, I attached cleats to the cabin top like I saw on Amos's Larissa. I also added a table below which is really going to be a nice addition. I'm getting close to retirement, but for now there are times when it will be necessary to work and laptops aren't that great in your lap. The table top uses this mechanism: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B09H7J9KQL/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1 I need to build a tabletop at a friends who has a shop, but I installed the mechanism and made a thick carboard temporary top and I think this is going to be a nice addition for day I'm stuck below. The neat part is it can be easily removed and stowed. One other thing I'm doing is adding a bigger outboard with reverse. The 2.5 Suzuki I have has plenty of power, but reverse would be so nice. Unfortunately my custom motor mount which works perfect with my 2.5 doesn't work with the Suzuki 6 I purchased. FTR, the 4 was the same weight/size so I went bigger. I'll be adding an extension to the current mount. If anyone with a setup like this posts a picture for R & D purposes, I'd be much obliged. Take Care, Steve 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve W Posted April 22 Author Report Share Posted April 22 I came across some video footage on my phone from back at MASCF last October. This was taken by my friend Joe right after the start which is a strange downwind leg. The last clip is right before we put Skeena back in the Slip. I ultimately made a strategic mistake by being in the lead and not knowing which channel marker indicated the next leg of the race. I was in the lead and looked back to wonder why nobody was following. By the time I realized my mistake, I'd lost significant ground. But its a race for fun anyway and Skeena and her new centerboard performed awesome. 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AmosSwogger Posted April 26 Report Share Posted April 26 Enjoyed the video. Looks like a fun event. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve W Posted May 6 Author Report Share Posted May 6 After spending so much time on the boat going to the MASCF and then on Amos and my travel to the Messabout, I got really thinking about a table. Mostly I cook and spend most time in the cockpit, but there were some times after the bugs came out and I was in the cabin I just needed some horizontal space. My friend Doug mentioned an idea of a table mount he's seen on a camper van conversion. I wound up getting a mount on Amazon and here are a few pics. The boat is named after a cat, so I added a little whimsy on the top. It's just a 1/2 piece of maple plywood with a maple edge. The top is big enough for two to eat or play cards. It's hard to tell from this picture, but the mount is through the bulkhead. It came with a backing plate that makes the whole rig rock solid. You can also see the pivot from the table is offset making for many options of table placement. Each of the connections has a built in "wrench" to tighten everything down. It's amazingly sturdy. The best part is that it pops off in two seconds and can be stowed out of the way. I sized the table so it will fit in the locker aft of the bunks, but my guess is that I'll just lay it on the back part of the bunk while sailing. The video shows best: Cabin Table.mp4 Link to part 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan Stewart Posted May 7 Report Share Posted May 7 Steve, That is way cool, definitely added to Wishlist for my boat. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Don Silsbe Posted May 10 Report Share Posted May 10 Nice innovation, Steve! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Todd Stein Posted May 11 Report Share Posted May 11 Steve, wonderfully innovative idea and execution of design! This is a project I was thinking about over the winter and here you come up with a fantastic solution. Thanks for sharing the details. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AmosSwogger Posted May 11 Report Share Posted May 11 Steve, I hereby award you best modifier of the 20.3 line. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve W Posted May 12 Author Report Share Posted May 12 Glad you all like it. If you go this route, the swing arm needs about 10 minutes with a file to clean up the machining, followed by some paste wax to make it all slide on the dovetails smoothly. The parts are very nice quality and once you do this, it's a great upgrade. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain Tim Posted May 12 Report Share Posted May 12 Can I borrow your cat so I can duplicate those cute little paw prints? 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy B Posted May 13 Report Share Posted May 13 This is the paw print from Steve's previous boat. Obviously he has really downsized the size of his cat! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve W Posted May 13 Author Report Share Posted May 13 Andy, it makes me happy to see that picture. WildCat was pretty tender (wild) and the name was chosen from my daughter's reading of the Swallows and Amazon's series. I always liked that name for her. She treated my family well and I have many similar pictures. Skeena was the name of our family cat. She was supposed to be Christina but my daughter at 4 had a hard time saying it and she became Skeena. I'm pretty happy with that name. Tim, I bought a stamp at Michaels for 5 bucks and a stamp pad for another 6. Deciding the way cats walk was the hard part. I looked at all kinds of prints on line and finally decided to not let perfection be the enemy of good. The stamp pad is permanent brown ink and it worked great. I did practice on a piece of paper. I'm pretty happy with how it came out. Also, getting my current cat Leo to do anything useful would be problematic. He's never getting a boat named after him unless I build something useless. Here he is in front of the heater sleeping. 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve W Posted June 14 Author Report Share Posted June 14 My son and I took a lot of video from a trip I was invited on last month. Hope you enjoy. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul356 Posted June 16 Report Share Posted June 16 Real nice, Steve. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan Stewart Posted June 17 Report Share Posted June 17 Very cool! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Don Silsbe Posted June 22 Report Share Posted June 22 Thanks for taking me along, Steve. What a great ride! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve W Posted July 13 Author Report Share Posted July 13 When I was finishing up Skeena, I had a lot of trouble finding 3/4 hollow back stainless rub rail. After refinishing the teak rubrails I used, I'm revisiting this again. I made them with profile that would allow me to add 3/4 so it's a matter of sourcing. It's hard to find in 12' lengths (would need 4 lengths) , so if you have a source LMK. If you went with 6' sections (readily available), also LMK how that went. Thanks in advance! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve W Posted July 29 Author Report Share Posted July 29 I added the gear shelves to Skeena this past weekend. It took so much time I couldn't help wonder how I was able to ever build Skeena. I didn't have any 6mm Okume, so I overed the pre-cut pieces from B & B. They fit great except the slot for the first bulkhead was off. No biggie, I filled it with Epoxy. Both the shelf bottom and face were a bit short, but I had a few scraps to stretch them. The location Alan sent a diagram might have had them a bit higher, but I leveled the waterline and put them where they seemed right, and I'm pretty happy Of course the Epoxy had crystalized over the winter, I couldn't find all my tools, etc. so the going was slow. I also added a couple of new cleats to the cabin top and created backing plates, so there was a lot going on. I had to sand the paint back and later tonight I'll clean the blush so she'll be ready for paint later this week. Not shown was a little dam I made so if I spill something on the shelves it won't run down the wire cutout. I feel like this shelve will hold the book I'm currently reading and stuff like snacks that I need access too during the day. I may run a 12V socket so charging is close by. We'll see. Garage sailing has me convinced it's a great upgrade. In a week and a half my daughter and I are heading to Maine for a week so I'll have a full report. Update: this mod is a must! So much easier to keep stuff handy both during the ay and sleeping. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve W Posted August 27 Author Report Share Posted August 27 I just got back from a week in Maine on Skeena. What a boat (full report to come). Anyway, I had made a mod that worked out really well. Here it is: It's a clamp on golf umbrella made for a push or pull golf cart. I added a handle to the front of the mizzen tabernacle to clamp it to. Unbelievable how a little shade can be like magic. We had a few stretches where we motored with no breeze and it was nothing short of amazing. It's tilted a bit here, but the umbrella is very adjustable and stood up to a decent manufactured breeze just fine. I was thinking how handy this would have been when Amos and I were getting scorched last fall heading to the messabout. Link to Umbrella Link to handle 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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