Thread: Running Rigging for the Goat

MAM, I can't answer that definitely, but I can say I would not be comfortable with only two coats of any varnish, 1- or 2-part, over an epoxy sealed surface (which requires 2-3 coats itself but doesn't protect against UV's unless an additive is put in). The WBF advice is a good one. For the perfection, I'd use 3-4 coats, more if doing a thorough sanding between coats. I would take advantage of the 2-part system and "hot coat" 2-3 coats then do a thorough sanding and do another coat. I like the last coat to go on a thorough "flat sanded" surface...you need at least 3 coats to get close to a true flat sanding. Do it too soon and you burn through.

The more coats the merrier...the art of all this stuff -- sanding, painting, varnishing, sanding, painting, varnishing -- is to know when to stop. Sometimes, it is good to go minimum and get sailing! I've then done further coats later.

Howdy,

if you have good epoxy coats and NEVER leave the boat outside for more than a day at a time then three coats of a good spar varnish will probably be OK. But if the boat is left outside for a couple of weeks the degrade will start.

So while I have gotten away with only three coats over the 'pox - particularly on more portable boats like canoes I don't recommend it and would reflect Clint's advice unless sure that the boat will be under a roof somewhere when it is not being used.

MIK

Thanks for the input, Clint and MIK.

I'm itching to get her in the water so my minimal varnishing schedule is meant to make that happen soonest. I fully intend to add more layers over the next few months. I've even considered wetting her with some bare sanded epoxy sealed areas but I'll probably wait until I can get a bare minimum of protection.

My temporary tarp is supposed to resist and block UV (unlike the cheap blue tarps) but it's such a pain to use I've tended to take it off for a few days work and then cover it when I won't be able to work on it for a few days. This means the bare epoxy has seen some sunlight--I have no idea how much and how fast it is working to break down the epoxy.

I don't have a covered area to store the boat on its trailer long term but I will have a custom Sunbrella cover made at some point. And I'll use the cover whenever I'm not using the boat.

I realize none of us are coatings scientists but I'll ask my question again, looking only for seat-of-the-pants opinions: Am I doubling the UV protection with a second coat of varnish (assuming none is lost to sanding)? Am I adding 33% more protection with a third coat, and 25% more with the fourth?

No Idea MAM,

It would be in that range of course. Though the epoxy underneath has a big contribution as it stops moisture related movement that can crack the varnish.

I would reckon that three coats of a good varnish are a minimum and will protect a boat left in the open for a couple of weeks. Maybe a bit more up to about a month.

Note a solid month of exposure is something like two years of regular use of a shed based boat.

6 Coats will probably give you a year of full exposure if water can drain off the surfaces reliably in the Northern Hemisphere. Here in OZ you would probably need 8 or more to get the same effect. However wear and tear of a boat that is used or has a flapping tarp over the top might require some patch up around the gunwales.

With a cover the Epoxy and full varnish interior and painted exterior of the white GIS is now 14 years old. Now it is under Peter's house but it was in a dinghy park with a fitted cover over the top for several years as well .. often with water inside for extended periods.

I don't recommend such abuse ... but it indicates the best thing is to do a good epoxy job, a good varnish job and keep the sun off the boat.

MIK

What is the best method for securing the shock cord around the rudder box? I would like to use just knots and seizings but those can be problematic in shock cord. At present I've secured the ends to each other with a Waterman's knot and that appears to be holding but since knots tend to creep along in shock cord under tension I'm wondering if there is a better way.

BTW--I asked this on the WBF and received a couple answers that used terms I'm not familiar with. One said to "just seize and rack an eye" but that might as well be Greek to me.

Howdy MAM,

the knot that works the best with shockcord is the simple thumb knot. Most elaborate knots are designed to kink the rope less .. but in this case you want the knot with the biggest bite.

Have a look at the "overhand bend" here.
http://www.cibolasar.org/minilessons/knots/knots2.shtml

It is not enough by itself.

It needs to be pulled really tight and then have a half hitch added on each side and that pulled really tight as well.

The other alternatives given at woodenboat are good, but my laziness means I want to do things fast. I lose some prettieness too of course! But generally you wont find me using hooks. I have occasionally done a whipping on shockcord but have not been particularly happy with the result in practice.

MIK

That's very similar to the waterman's knot, something I stumbled on a few hours ago. It was so simple (one less turn and tuck than yours) that I didn't give it much chance of holding but it snugged up very well and finally stopped creeping. Now that I have seized the loose ends to the standing part (with another new one for me--the nail knot!) I think I have something that will hold without a bulky and unsightly hunk of a knot along the side of the rudder box.

Thanks!

I had a choice this afternoon, launch the Goat for the first time and just wet the oars, or work on the rigging details. The last time I raised the sail I realized I didn't have everything to do a proper reef. After inquiring I got some guidance from the sailmaker so I figured I'd work on that rather than just launch and row.

I shot a lot of pictures showing the final rigging details. There was a very light breeze blowing from astern but that didn't prove to be much of a problem. It actually served as a reminder to tie a stopper knot in the end of the main sheet so it doesn't get away from me.

I think the word for what I am experiencing is .. anticipation!

Choose a nice day!

MIK

Here's a view of the downhaul:


I'm sure there are other methods for pulling the boom aft to obtain the correct amount of extension ahead of the mast but the most direct method seems to involve the downhaul lead. I had to shift it forward a couple times to get the right amount of sail ahead of the mast.

Here's the main sheet arrangement:



I have the tail of the sheet tied off to the starboard side to keep the sail close to the centerline. The slight breeze from aft wanted to push the boom up against the house.

I didn't mount the rudder box-tiller but it looks like I will need to tie the after sheet traveler a little tighter...MIK's instructions say to allow enough slack in the traveler to just clear the tiller.

The view from ahead:

Here's what's happening at the top of the mast:



I'm slightly bothered that the block on the yard is pulled hard against the after face of the mast when the sail is fully hoisted but I guess there's nothing to be done about that except put some sort of material around the mast at that point to keep from wearing through the finish.

The blue masking tape is marking an area I thought I might wrap with small twine to protect the varnished yard where it will be in contact with the mast.

Oh, and I guess my secret is out--I eight-sided the yard and figured that was good enough. Rounding the boom took a lot of work and since the piece of Oregon was less than perfect I figured to leave some extra material on the yard may not be all bad.

Another close up:

Now to the point of the exercise, a picture of it with a reef tied in:



View at the aft end of the boom:



Forward end looking aft:

It looks like I need to find some way to gather up that excess sail at the forward end of the boom...no harm if I'm sailing downwind but if I'm trying to work upwind that's a bit more material in the way of progress IMO.



In this view I've re-tied the square lashing holding the boom to the mast to allow the downhaul to do its thing a little better.

I have to confess one more dirty secret--that rope binding along the luff. Stuart at Dabbler talked me into going against MIK's instruction to avoid rope trimmed edges on the sail. When Stuart said the rope was a mere 3/16th inch in diameter I relented and went with his suggestion.