Building the Bay River Skiff 15 #152

[Don Silsbe]

Normally, I don't expect to make much progress on a Tuesday, as it's my volunteer day.  But I had a breakthrough.  At the Messabout, I acquired some data regarding the kick-up rudder.  I did some R&D (see Graham's recent definition) about uphauls and downhauls.  I've been trying to come up with something new and clever.  (I'm a retired engineer, and I can't help myself!)  The downhaul was fairly straightforward, but I wanted something special for the uphaul.  I really didn't want the line chafing on the outside of my rudder.  I know it works, but...  Anyway, this is what I came up with.  The yellow line is 4mm Dinghy Control Line.  The gray channel is made out of a 3/8" OD water line, the kind that you use to connect a faucet to house plumbing.  It still needs to be trimmed, of course.  Cutting the radius was another interesting challenge.  But here's what I've got.

[Chick Ludwig]

Hmmm, clever stuff. If it works good I may have to "R&D" your design.

[Don Silsbe]

What do you mean, "IF"?  LOL

[Steve W]

Don, I didn't put an "uphaul" in my Spindrift 11N and I wish I had. I like the stealth look. I put a bolt in the back and made it so the tiller can lift. On bigger boats where I was likely to stand it was an advantage. On the little Spindrift I'm not sure I've ever lifted it once. However, when I put the rudder in the padded bag I made for it out of moving blankets, having the tiller able to straighten out makes it pack nice with the dagger-board and  laying with the spars and I don't regret the change.

[Ken_Potts]

   Don - Unless I've missed something (and I probably did) I think it was Jay who came up with "Research and Duplicate" and it's too good an acronym to mis-attribute (that's probably not a word but you know what I mean).  If Jay was quoting Graham I am fully prepared to stand corrected.

   Regardless of who came up with it I'm going to steal it.

[Designer]

Ken,

 

Thanks for clarifying the issue, I wish that I had been clever enough to have come up with that line. I suspect that Jay is too much of a gentleman to have corrected Don.

 

I will try to remember to use it also.

[Chick Ludwig]

Don, I stand corrected. Remove "if it works good".  

[Don Silsbe]

No worries, Chick!  I'm fully prepared to make a new rudder 100% to the drawing, if this doesn't work out.  I just had to pounce on that "if".  

 

So Jay's the originator.  Duly noted.

[mattp]

That looks really good.  I did something similar by screwing a nylon eye on the back end of my tiller and it works well for uphaul'n but can foul the mizzen sheet when jibing.  This solution wouldn't have that issue.

[Don Silsbe]

Thanks, Matt.  One of my goals is "clean" fittings.  Keep the decks and seat/thwarts as clear as reasonable possible*, etc.  The same applies to the rudder.  I wanted it neat and tidy.  We'll see how it all shakes out.

 

* This will also be my fishing boat.  The fewer blocks, fairleads, & other associated nautical stuff the better.  Gotta keep the decks clear for fighting those huge Carolina Bass!

[Don Silsbe]

Yesterday, I made my first glass tube.  I have been "worrying over it" for a very long time.  Thanks to Alan's video, it was a snap!  It is an amazing process.  Kudos to whoever came up with this one.

[Designer]

I have been making glass tubes over aluminum mandrels wrapped with plastic for so long that I do not remember where I got it or what inspired me. The problem was that it was often very hard or impossible to get the glass tube off of the aluminum tube. Tom Lathrop came up with the 1" plastic strips. This changed it from a sort of okay method into a brilliant system. Alan probably came up with drywall screws into wood plugs for bearings so that the whole lot could be rotated easily.

[Action Tiger]

Okay, I'm learning now. What is the glass tube for? I'm not all into epoxy stuff, so glass sheathing and taping is about as far as my understanding goes.

You're tube is really nice looking, Don. It almost looks like ice.

[Chick Ludwig]

Answering for Don. The glass tube is for the mizzen mast to step into. It goes from the thwart to the cockpit sole. It is optional. The mast could just slip through a hole in the thwart and fit into a mast step on the sole.

[Hirilonde]

Graham, Alan, do you or have you tried using heat to expand the mandrel before and during cure and then cooling to shrink it for removal?  I am not up on the details, but this is done by carbon spar manufactures

[Action Tiger]

Aha! I suppose I should have guessed that. Thanks, Chick.

[Tom Lathrop]

Graham, Alan, do you or have you tried using heat to expand the mandrel before and during cure and then cooling to shrink it for removal?  I am not up on the details, but this is done by carbon spar manufactures

 

Dave,

 

No doubt that can be made to work but the details of doing it on individual basis is making a simple process complicated.  Safety of heat and resin could be a issue also.

[Don Silsbe]

Dave,

After using the technique as described in Alan's video, I don't see the need for heat.  The plastic strip technique was easy-breezy.  The tube started sliding around on the mast section after I had only half of the strips removed.  FYI, the plastic I used for the strips was extra strong stuff-- cut from a dog food bag.  I really don't think it was necessary, but I had concerns about this whole process.  They were totally unfounded, though.

[Don Silsbe]

Robert (aka Action Tiger),

Chick said it pretty well, but let me put in my two cents.  To step a mast without the tube, you have to hit two holes-- the deck or thwart hole, and then the mast step hole.  This can be a little tricky, given the size and weight of the masts.  It's bad enough doing it on a trailer.  If I had to do it in the water (such as relocating the mizzen for rowing), that would be an ugly process.  The tube guides the mast into the step.  Once you've hit the first hole, you're almost home-free!  Here's a photo of my main mast tube, without the bottom step.  FYI, the clinometer in the photo was NOT used to establish mast rake!

[Don Silsbe]

Here are a couple of photos of today's progress.  Besides working on the main mast step, I also made a template for my deck.  Since mine is strip-built of walnut, it must be trimmed and glassed prior to gluing.  So, I had to make a righteous template, to make sure it actually fits where I intended.  One photo is the template, and the other is the untrimmed, unsheathed deck.