Thread: Another GIS build in OZ

Another build! Excellent!

I think there are no "right" answers to your sail questions except to say that you're right about folks abandoning the full-length battens. Some builders really like the looks of having some roach supported by battens. You also get some additional sail area there, but probably not enough to notice performance wise without tightly controlled experiments. My preference was for a touch of hollow in the leech. That was strictly an aesthetic choice. It also simplified construction for a sail that I made myself.

The reef points have also varied quite a bit. You might want to think about your planned usage before making your final decisions. But the community has certainly figured out that if you want a reef that removes all of the luff's length leaving only a triangle, you still need a small bit of luff (50mm maybe?) to separate the boom and the yard. I've omitted that reef position. It is very unlikely I will be sailing under conditions that will need it. I could add it in the future if I want though.

Good luck with build, and keep the pics coming!

Thanks for your thoughts Dave. I have decided to go with the simplest option. Original design with no battens. The boat will be used for general poking around interesting places, plus the occasional camp expedition.
I hope to use recycled timber and whatever I have at hand whenever it seems reasonable.
Having completed the oars the next task is the boom and yard.
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These timbers come from a fence from around the corner. Oregon that was going to be burnt.
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After much cutting, scarfing I finally got the pieces together so the final dimensions could be close to what was required. The wedges were not entirely successful. Because both the wedges and the support behind the timber didn't go the full width, the job didn't remain entirely square. Seeing how the final timbers are round, I didn't worry about it.
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Glued together and now to get rid of the corners.

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After many hours with Granpa's no 5 Pope plane, they are somewhat round. The next part of the build is that split, scruffy and dirty plank on the right. It is a donation from my neighbour next door. I was relating to him the less than perfect timbers I had been using for the spas and he offered this. I had a quick look and said yes please.
Will continue later,
Trevor D.

Grandpa's plane and re-used timber. My type of build!

Pontus

Pontus, thanks for your affirmation. I find it interesting I use a small collection of my grandfathers tools regularly. They still do the job more than adequately, so I have never seen a need to update them. Grandpa passed away 38 years ago and they are still going strong. Whenever I use one of his tools I am reminded of a very gentle man.
He never really showed me how to make anything, but was more than happy to let me play for hours in his shed hammering nails into bits of wood. Maybe he knew I was learning stuff so didn't see a need to interfere.
He did have a very neat enlargement of a boat stuck to one of his cupboards. He was a crew member of it from about 1916- 1921.
Trevor D.

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Onto the mast.
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My neighbor next door donated an old plank, with a large split to the project. With a bit of luck, and some magical epoxy I hoped to get most of the mast out of it.
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After much clamping, unclamping, moving the plank on the saw horses I was quite excited to find what was inside.

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I count something like 30 rings for 25 mm (inch). The two narrow staffs only require one scarf per piece.
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Being a little unsure of constructing as per the instructions, I decide to increase the glueing to four steps instead of two. Sorry I didn't take any pics of the first step, which was simply glueing the spacers at the correct distances on one of the narrow staffs. This is at the second step, putting the two narrow pieces to make a ladder construction. Once again my generous neighbor thought he would make things a little easier for me. He brought over eight large clamps. I do approve of community spirit.
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This is one of my small clamps assisting the alignment. The hole in the centre of the spacer is for a wire antenna, which I will put up the centre.
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Now for the first wide staff to be glued on. I found the string lines did make it easier for keeping things straight.
Trevor D.

Wire antenna sounds interesting. What sort of device?


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Dave I am going with a J-Pole antenna as per this design, downloaded from this website. J Pole Antenna Handbook Home Page
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It's dimensions are for the amateur 2 metre band, so using my old ARRL handbook formula of
Scaled dimension= (original frequency/scaled frequency) x original dimension, I calculated the dimensions for VHF Marine channel 16 of 156.8 Mhz.
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My first effort of dinghy cruising also had a VHF Marine radio on board. Also a J-pole antenna. (look at top of mast) That one however I made from 6 mm aluminium rod and attached to the top of the metal mast. The problem with that however was when the breeze got up a bit, causing the boat to pitch about the antenna flexed back and forth so eventually I'm sure metal fatigue would have ensured that either the antenna or my attachment point would have broken.
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I had the radio in a waterproof box that could be attached under the forward seat. That worked pretty good after my fourth effort with door design and rubber seal selection. Having the radio in the box had good and bad aspects, as compared to a hand held. The major plus was it has a 25 watt output compared with, I think, 5 watts for a handheld. The major negatives are it's a bit awkward, down the front low in the boat; in times of risky conditions, the door is closed in case of capsize, so no access to microphone. If the worst does happen, you are overturned and needing assistance, you can't use the radio because the antenna is in the water and the radio in it's waterproof box.
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The old solid rod antenna.
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The antenna attatched to the mast and the feed line into a male connector at the top. The feedline ran down the channel in the mast where the sail is attached, then the feedline was attached to the box via another female connector.
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Because the Goat uses a wooden mast, I thought an ideal solution would be a wire antenna up the centre. According to the reading I could find, those with a lot more knowledge than me use this as a method of "stealth" antennas.
If it works, great and if not I had fun in the effort. The 300 ohm TV ribbon I used was obtained from a friends house, as they had converted to coaxial TV feedlines 25 years ago. I am very lucky with my friends and associates.

Cheers, Trevor D

The choice of inserting an antenna in the mast complicated things a little, but not too bad.
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Close up detail of the cutoff bottom insert piece in the mast. It is made from two pieces of cedar from an old window frame. The channels were existing, so I could use the larger one for my antenna feed wire.
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The attachment point for the antenna. I used some high quality fishing line.
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The final side glued in place. A few scarfs and additions, but I think it should be ok.
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A piece of laminate I decided to use as a bearing surface for the bottom of the mast
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Cheers Trevor D.

Onto the foils. I don't have any sash clamps. Nor does my next door neighbour. Not wanting to outlay money on stuff that gets used infrequently, my solution was wedges.

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I had a small top that was framed underneath with 35x90mm timber leaning up against the wall, should be rigid enough, so was pressed into service. Two pieces of timber on the outside.
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Add some wedges to compact the pieces together
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Then some down pressure to stop them bowing upwards
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Finally add the sticky stuff in the middle, and of course the most important component, some baking paper so the assembly can be taken apart at the end.

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We are getting there, but still a long way to go.
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Mik's method really is very clever. Very obvious as to which bits need more attention.
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marking the suspect spots meant just had to shave off the marks. Quite time consuming, but by taking it slowly any errors were not disastrous.
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Did I say errors?? Hmm that doesn't look right. I thought trailing edges were supposed to be thin??? A quick consultation with Kev (Flatdog) and yes that is not what it is supposed to look like. I should have cut off the trailing edge corner before shaping. Just doing something in the wrong order created doubts and then hesitations. Thanks to all the previous builders and their logs (no pun intended) , the result is just a small hiccup.
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Ready for the next stage.
Cheers Trevor D

G'day Trevor,

Looking good Trevor. An ingenious jig for glueing the foils. I was actually jealous of the fact you are using recycled timber. I would love to do a build out of recycled material but we can't get it here as they just smash everything up and ship it off to recycling centers. Ironic, isn't it. I don't know about you but I really enjoyed shaping the foils. Well I'm not finished yet.
Without the minor problems and setbacks it would be too easy . If we learn by our mistakes I should be an expert by now.

Cheers,
Kev.

Thanks Kev. Yes the recycled timber does have some appeal to me as well.
The huge problem is the time in turning old planks, usually too short, into the lengths and quality required for the boat. I have spent many days (I don't want to admit how many!!) ripping with the power saw, then planing down to the correct dimensions. Very tedious and repetitive. If I had an employer ask me to do the same task I would think he was crazy and in need of some counseling.
Doing it as leisure, it allows me to think on other tasks and parts of the build I have not quite come to grips with yet. So a chance to solve some problems while at the same time sort of being productive.
I think there are a few benefits to the recycled timber. In terms of cash it might be a bit cheaper. Epoxy to make short bits into long bits is not cheap. Great satisfaction in turning old bits into something of value. That gives me a positive feeling. The folk who have donated bits of timber that was just sitting around have great interest and it makes them feel some connection with the boat. So instead of boring someone, who has no interest in boats, as I tell them of my build, they ask "How's the boat going?" Of course they then genuinely, want to here about it. I guess when we share anything with other folk it can create bonds.

I know that when the boat is finally in the water the tiller will always make me think of Hayden from around the corner as he donated the timber it was made from. goat-050.jpg
First rip Hayden's timber
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Bit further along
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This stuff is wonderfull. Hayden was demolishing an old home and when he got to this piece he thought I might be able to make some oars. 2.4 mtres 90x90 oregon, with a couple of pin hole knots.
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Ahh yes, some nail holes that will need attention as well
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Perfect for the tiller. Oars I can make out of other stuff.

So even though building boats is a solitary exercise, using other peoples old stuff, gives me a real connection with them.
Hmm maybe there is hope for the world yet.
cheers Trevor D.

Nice. Old growth demolition oregon is good stuff. I always grab it myself any time I spot some that's up for grabs. Hoop pine and cedar sometimes turn up in demos too, and are well worth snitching if you can.

ETA: Oh and down that way you might get some good mountain ash too, which can be handy.

Sumbloak, your wood spies must have been looking in my "supplies". I have some mountain ash pieces in there. I have already used some of it for the leading edges of the foils. There is more than enough to do the edges on the gunnels. Only 1 scarf for each side as well.
It is actually timber I paid good money for. Left over "select" 100 mm strip flooring I laid in my previous house. Couldn't afford it these days.
Your "intelligence" sources must have also overhead the discussion I had with my next door neighbour yesterday. He has a cedar window frame he is happy to part with. Just doing my bit to tidy up the neighborhood!
cheers Trevor D

A lot of older houses in Melbourne used mountain ash for skirting boards, etc. They can often be 6x1 dressed, and flawless apart from the odd nail hole or two. Keep an eye out for those.