Thread: Goat Island Skiff

Here's a bit of advice:

Let's say that you've been working on your Goat all afternoon and have a few bits epoxied and curing. But the weather has turned unseasonably cold and you are worried that your unheated, uninsulated boat shed (garage) will not be warm enough to keep the chemical reactions moving along. What to do?

Brew a batch of beer in the boat shed, of course! A robust porter will do nicely, the kind which kept factory workers well-fueled at the height of the Industrial Revolution. A good beer for the cold weather to come. And not many left in the fridge. Pour one from the last batch for inspiration.



Fire up the kettles. A couple of hours mashing



and boiling



keeps the shed warm enough until the epoxy is well on its way.

The beer produced is strictly a by-product. "Really, honey. I had to keep the garage warm...."

What? Yes, there is the potential for a sticky black boilover right near the spar lumber. No guts, no glory!

Well, now... that is the way to build a boat!

Last weekend I had the pleasure of sampling my brother's home brewed beer - and I was pleasantly surprised. I liked it! Makes me wonder if I shouldn't brew my own.

Bob

It is an underappreciated selling point of the Goat that you can build one in a 1-car garage and still have enough room left over to brew beer. I don't know why Michael doesn't have that on his web site somewhere.

Alas, keeping my Goat warm last night proved unexpectedly costly.

Like many cheap -- I mean "eco-friendly" -- men around here, I believe that there is absolutely no reason to turn on the furnace before Nov 1 each year. My wife and children have the silly idea that the outdoor temperature -- in particular, the abnormally early frosts we've been having -- are somehow relevant to the discussion.

I came in after brewing last night to find the rest of the family watching TV with the furnace roaring away. As I reached for the thermostat, I heard, "Don't you dare try to tell me that you'll keep that boat warm but not your family!" I was all prepared to deliver a lecture on the differences between warm-blooded mammals and inanimate objects and the ease with which we can put on more sweaters, etc. But the looks directed at me from the couch let me know that I'd lost before I started. I know when I'm beat. Head down, I slunk off to the shower.

Luckily, I think the Goat will be worth it in the end.

Originally Posted by paulie

Here's a bit of advice:

Gratefully accepted, trouble is we are moving into summer so I will turn on the shed fridge to keep the beer cool along with SWMBOs giggle juice.

Thanks to everyone for the warm welcome.

@ woodeneye - I'm not sure what timber to use - the local agent (who is quite a distance away) said meranti would be suitable. Our local pine is notorious for being weak and distorting, so that's out. I'll have to visit some timber yards and see what they can get and at what price - meranti will be OK for most of the construction I suspect, but I might try to get something more suitable for the spars.

Unfortunately my knowledge of timber is mostly restricted to stuff that is good for turning, not boat building.

Any suggestions will be welcome...

Colin

Originally Posted by m2c1Iw

Gratefully accepted, trouble is we are moving into summer so I will turn on the shed fridge to keep the beer cool along with SWMBOs giggle juice.

Yes, all you "upside-down" people will have to hold onto that tip for 6 months.

Originally Posted by Colin62

Thanks to everyone for the warm welcome.

@ woodeneye - I'm not sure what timber to use - the local agent (who is quite a distance away) said meranti would be suitable. Our local pine is notorious for being weak and distorting, so that's out. I'll have to visit some timber yards and see what they can get and at what price - meranti will be OK for most of the construction I suspect, but I might try to get something more suitable for the spars.

Unfortunately my knowledge of timber is mostly restricted to stuff that is good for turning, not boat building.

Any suggestions will be welcome...

Colin

Hi Colin,

Meranti could be quite heavy, but there is some variation. Pick the lighter coulor since these are the lightest parts. Feel en check the planks before you buy.
You defenitely should not take meranti for spars, it's too brittle and heavy for that.

Good luck

Hi Colin, as Watermaat has said, Meranti varies considerably, from extemely light to really dense and heavy. We built Dabchicks down to minimum weight using meranti that my dad hand picked, so as long as you can do that, meranti is a good choice as it's nice and stable. The light weight stuff is also light in colour.

Jelutong also used to be in plentiful supply in South Africa, and this is also light in weight if you can get it.

Is Bruynzeels still there? If so they used to sell the best Okoume ply.

Originally Posted by Compass Project

That sail has roach! And leech battens to support it! Nice shot with the heeling...shows the modest but sweet sheer.

Ralph, Would the sailmaker be able to make more comments about adding the roach and battens and his reasoning for doing so. I'd also be interested in his opinion on the spar bend.

Ralph, Are you in contact with the sailmaker. I could contact him, too. Wanted to run the above questions by you first.

Clint

Originally Posted by Compass Project

Ralph, Are you in contact with the sailmaker. I could contact him, too. Wanted to run the above questions by you first.

Clint

Hi Clint,

I forwarded your question to him and asked him if he would participate in this forum. It's probably valuable information for everybody.
You could also ask him directly [email protected] .

I like his sail because of sufficient "build-in" profile ( curved panels and seams ) , roach and battens to stabilize and keep this section flat and lower set of reefs. I ordered a version that could be set loose-footed on a stiffer boom. Al together a "power package" comparing to standard sails. I like this because of my racing background; get the max out of existing surface. This will probably be benificial in light weather, but I am not shure GIS will need this cruising in normal conditions. I think it's VERY worth to have the best sail on any design, it's THE mayor factor in performance on a given design.

Regards
Ralph

Originally Posted by Compass Project

That sail has roach! And leech battens to support it! Nice shot with the heeling...shows the modest but sweet sheer.

Ralph, Would the sailmaker be able to make more comments about adding the roach and battens and his reasoning for doing so. I'd also be interested in his opinion on the spar bend.

Hi guys,
I've commented previously on this sail somewhere but I'm not convinced that it has any any roach built into it at all. The very insignificant amount it shows in the picture could be due to the significant bend in the yard which is due to a fair amount of downhaul? The generous cut may be contributing to the illusion as the fullness has to go somewhere when vanged down hard.

When you think about it, the balanced lug is already approaching similarity in shape to the latest sail designs we see on ocean racers nowadays, with the big square cut at the masthead supported by a massively stiff full length batten. This batten is equivalent to the yard on our lug rigs, so they are copying the lug's design to a degree! Maybe one day they will attach a yard to push out the roach as far as possible and things will have gone full circle!

I recall Mick mentioning that he found that the full length battens on Midges sail affected performance too much so he leaves them out. Controlling sail shape with full length battens involves an awful lot of trial and error to get a decent sail shape compromise for most wind conditions. For the goat, better I think to just have a couple of leech battens to control the sail shape as is evidenced my that great looking McNamara sail.

Or the Good Looking battenless/roachless sail made for Biting Midges "Gruff".

Originally Posted by Compass Project

That sail has roach! And leech battens to support it! Nice shot with the heeling...shows the modest but sweet sheer.

Ralph, Would the sailmaker be able to make more comments about adding the roach and battens and his reasoning for doing so. I'd also be interested in his opinion on the spar bend.

I got the answer from Michael McNamara
"
Good question Ralph. As you can see from the enclosed photograph the roach
is not large but together with the battens has a profound effect on the
sails performance.
The purpose of the battens is to straighten out the exit to the sail because
as a racing sailor I hate to see a hooked leech. An over tight or hooked
leech not only stops the air escaping easily but also has the effect of
moving the centre of effort aft. If the flow is too far aft the boat heels
too much and develops weather helm (ie the boat wants to luff into wind)
The purpose of the positive round to the roach is to help the sail "blade
out" as the wind gets up. By that I mean the leech will actually open up and
twist away slightly. This reduces the curve the air has to go round and
helps to reduce heeling.
As a Finn sailor you will be familiar with this. I am sure that you will
remember in windy weather having to really pull on the vang and tension the
Cunningham to flatten out the sail. The aim when doing this is to make the
sail leech become almost self controlled as it "opens" in the gusts and
"closes" in the lulls. Thus making the boat not only easier to sail but
nicer too.....
I measured Richards gaff bend. He has made the spars to the specification
given by Michael. What was interesting was that we could not put on the same
amount of weight as you used. We ended up with approximately 11 kilos
positioned at the halliard block which gave 43mm deflection. This means that
his spars are a lot more flexible that yours. I have increased the positive
round to the head of his sail but he has not managed to sail with it yet.
With your stiffer spar I have decided to keep to the original curve."

FYI, I made my gaff from fir and slightly heavier as designed. I send Michael McNamara a measurement, with 25kg in the middle between two workhorses it gives a 5 cm curve.
He checked Richards gaff to compare. I wait untill I have his sail, perhaps I need to plane my gaff down a bit to match.
For the rest I totally agree with his thoughts on roach and battens..............
MIK perhaps we have to agree that we disagree in this

Man, he makes a beautiful sail. He knows more than me, so I trust his reasoning on the roach. But I also agree with Mik's that it is not totally necessary and a simpler, less expensive sail can be made with a straight leech. Traditional sails even have a hollow leech, without battens.

Cheers,
Clint