GIS Build in New Jersey, USA

[paulie]

Remembering which side of each bulkhead is front and back -- and which side gets each piece of framing -- was a major hassle for me. I ended up sticking blue tape on both sides of each piece with "FORE" and "AFT" written in big capital letters. Even so, I almost beveled bulkhead #1 the wrong way, catching myself just in time.

The side arms "to be left unattached" were another potential pitfall. So much time elapsed between the day I cut them and when it was actually time to attach them that I almost forgot them entirely. And twice I almost cut them into something else, thinking they were scrap. Luckily, I had labeled them in huge letters as well.

As for planing concave curves, get yourself the smallest block plane you can find. A little teeny plane, kept razor sharp (you can get 8000 grit stones pretty cheap on Amazon) makes cutting bevels a snap. Not only can it handle the curves, but the light weight means your wrist doesn't hurt at the end of the day.

[IanHowick]

Remembering which side of each bulkhead is front and back -- and which side gets each piece of framing -- was a major hassle for me. I ended up sticking blue tape on both sides of each piece with "FORE" and "AFT" written in big capital letters. Even so, I almost beveled bulkhead #1 the wrong way, catching myself just in time...

Yes, be careful with which way to do the bevels, I think there may be an error in the plans regarding which way one of the bevels should go, but I can't remember which one. It should be obvious which way to go with the bevels if you label each bulkhead with 'front' and 'back' in big letters.

Ian

[davlafont]

All this labeling advice reminds me of a humorous bit of military trivia: the Claymore Anti-personnel mine is a moulded plastic slab that has a convex front side and a concave back. The convex shape provides the fan pattern of fragments that do the dirty work. That side is embossed with big bold all-caps letters: "FRONT TOWARDS ENEMY" I'm very likely to use that terminology on my bulkheads!

[davlafont]

...that never seem to stop coming.

Tonight I did a little beveling of bulkheads and knocked out a batch of inwale spacers. I just love the curved edges that many Goats have. Simon had an interesting technique using a plunge router. I went a different way with a bench router and round nose bit.



I ran both edge of the 8' board over the bit to produce something like an extrusion.



Then I chopped off slices from the extrusion to fit the width of the inwales.






Meanwhile, I'm aching to get out on the water! Here's a homebuilt Proa with homemade Lugs'l that I hope to sail with in the waters of the New York Harbor (not far from where AlZuger once hailed):

[Warning: The videographer has foul mouth and some attention deficit issues]

Video courtesy of peterchech, builder, owner, and captain of the sailing vessel Red Clementine

[callsign222]

WOAH Dave, do I smell PROA or some other Outrigger Sailing Canoe in you future???

I can smell it in mine!

I see you have been following the thread as well! I have the book, I am salivating. Speed and stability, speed and stability, let's go fast!

[paulie]

Those spacers are going to look SWEET. I wish I had thought to do something similar on mine.

[SimonLew]

Nice Dave, very efficient method of making the spacers!

The proa video link is not working. Is it just me?

[davlafont]

No, not you. I didn't link it right. It's fixed now.

Actually Christophe, I don't really get it myself. Proas, Outriggers, sailing canoes. It all seems very wet. I traded some messages with Peter when he was researching Lugsail design and building. He saw my location and has offered me a ride. I haven't taken him up on it yet though. I really would rather show up in his waters in my own freakin boat! My "I Dream of Jeanie" blink is not working!

[callsign222]

But the spppeeeeeeeeeeeedd!!! Don't worry, your Goat will get you wet one way or another.

I like the spacer picture with the bicycle, the bottom of the boat butt-strapped up, the beer, and the tools! Great mix of awesome in there.

[davlafont]

My bicycle is glaring at me with rage, jealous of the new kid's gestation. What's not seen in that photo is all the crap on the floor between the workbench and the bike that makes it clear she's not rolling anytime soon. I'm such a bad cyclist. And right now, I'm an even worse sailor. But boy oh boy, I've got the wood butchery block checked.

I just posted a question on your blog Christophe...

[davlafont]

No pics tonight but I got some good progress done this weekend. I finished beveling the various bulkheads and got three wet-on-wet coats on one face of all of them and the centercase and rudder cheek interior faces. I did all of the faces that are hidden from view to get some practice/experience with rollers and brushes.

I spent quite a bit of time contemplating the tiller/rudder box. I ordered pintles and gudgeons rather than the single rod set-up MIK prefers. As some of you are aware, that requires a larger transom slot to accommodate lifting the pintles out of their gudgeons. I spent some time deciding how to go about that.

While messing with the tiller/rudder box, I found that the spacer portion of the box (what in my mind I'm calling a stem piece) set into its epoxy slightly askew such that the two cheeks will not be parallel when the two halves come together. It's slight enough that gluing the two halves together can correct the angle. But I'm going to ensure that through careful sizing of the tiller's aft most spacer block. I'm also seriously considering reinforcing the box with plywood along the tops of the existing frame members. I'm already skeptical about the utility of the aft bolts that are flush mounted from the inside. They're in there now, but I wouldn't be opposed to cutting them off if I provide a different strengthening solution.

I also laminated some pine together for the stem.

Finally, I paid some more attention to my oars. Lots of sawdust, but still only a rough shape...

[davlafont]

Still pre-coating parts. I hit the visible sides of the bulkheads and centercase halves plus the hidden side of the aft seat and thwart seat. This time I used a squeegee rather than a roller. Amazing how much thinner the coats are with the squeegee. I'll absolutely use a squeegee for the big jobs of hull bottom, sides, and front seat.

Pintles and gudgeons are on back order.

[paulie]

Squeegee is a good idea. I used rollers and foam brushes and ended up putting the epoxy on way too thick. Made for a heavier and more expensive boat than necessary.

If you haven't yet cut a larger tiller hole, it's not too late to switch to an all-gudgeon approach for your rudder. I found gudgeons from Ronstan, part #s RF2503 and RF2510A online, and a 5/16" stainless rod at the local hardware store. (Yes, I know it is probably not marine-grade stainless. But it was cheap. If it rusts, I'll replace it.) I haven't actually attached it all yet, but I'm pretty sure it will do fine.

[BobWes]

I had difficulty fabricating a workable rod that would stay put (no drill press or vice). I ended up using pintles and gudgeons from Duckworks and 1/4" bolts with Nylok nuts. Yeah, it is a bit of a bother to attach the rudder box when I launch but it works. Just another way to do it.

[john goodman]

Here is my rudder assembly in action. It's all-gudgeon with stainless steel pin. My hardware was Ronstan too and pin came from Duckworks. I had a drill press so drilling holes for ring-dings in the pin was somewhat easy. I glued a mahogany dowel over the pin so I can grab hold of it. It does not provide enough buoyancy to float however.

I intended to take my rudder housing off at the end of each day, but the universal joint for the tiller extension now gets caught in the transom slot. Not wanting to cut the transom hole any larger I just leave the rudder housing attached. I bungee the tiller to the inwales so it does not flop around while on the trailer.

I do have an extra pin and I check the gudgeons and pin for premature wear regularly. So far, after 2 years there is no significant wear. The only problem I have is that the safety pin shaped retention rings somehow get unlatched and fall off. (You can see this type of safety pin in the picture) This happened twice and so I now use the round ring-dings.