Thread: Setsuna - A Goat Island Skiff build in Sydney, Australia

Alex, I thoroughly enjoyed following your Wood Duck thread and look forward to seeing how Setsuna unfolds. The name is fitting for your second, wiser build:

...she is depicted as older and more sophisticated than the other Sailor Senshi characters.

[Courtesy Wikipedia]

I hope you take the advantage of the warm weather to enjoy Wood Duck while prepping and planning for the Setsuna build. I offer the following feedback on my GIS sail building experience:

--I tackled the sail first before buying a single piece of wood. It gave me something to do in the cold of winter which is when I got the green light from "the boss" to build. It also provides me with a source of inspiration to finish the boat; I have a sail, it should hang on a sailboat!

--The cost of materials for me in the US was about 1/2 to 2/3 of the price of a professionally built sail. Part of that can be attributed to having a sewing machine at home that features a zig-zag stitch setting.

--I enjoyed the mental challenge of learning sail theory (I, too, read Sailmaker's Apprentice but also supplemented with WBF and this forum's discussions). My goals for the overall GIS build were about having a creative hobby that results in a useful sporting device. Making my own sail fit in with my goals.

--I used a sail design application (SailCutCAD) to assist in the panel development. It's free. My assessment is that SailCut requires a good deal of comfort with both sail design concepts AND computer skills. It has been noted by some very authoritative voices that working the design on a computer without having a plotter to print the panels directly on the cloth is just silly. There is merit in that argument. I lofted all the panels by hand based on a printout of coordinates. I don't regret doing that, but it's not something I recommend lightly.

--One can take a more traditional lofting approach and by following some simple advice regarding draft depth and placement one should get good results. The big caveat is that you'd need the loft space to lay out the full 105 sq ft lug. I don't have that. I'm going to take a guess that you don't either.

--I am comfortable with making mistakes, correcting them or living with them. Several times I found myself sewing with no bobbin thread. The result is a bunch of tiny holes and time elapsed with no seam created. I have many seams I call "drunken monkey" stitches. They add character to my sail. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

--The interplay between sail shape and spar bend is important. By making my own sail, I control both the chicken and the egg. The flip side is that I have no one to blame but myself for the outcome.

I wish you the best of luck with your endeavor, and just as many well wishes for your current vessel!

Really? Musing about whether or not to sew your own sail in a forum full of avowed DIYers? That's pretty funny. You expect an impartial answer here?

I did NOT make my own sail, and now I wish I had. The sail I bought is more than adequate, and I'm not about to throw it away. But I've already made one change (ditching the full-length battens) and I'm planning another (completely re-working the reef points). Even then, it won't have the fullness I think it probably needs for best performance. So I will eventually make my own sail anyway, some years down the road.

Now, full disclosure: Besides building my own boat (obviously), I also make my own beer, cider, mead, bread, and sausage. I hope to soon start making cheese as well. I build small robots from trashed electronic devices and have begun making a 3D printer from scratch (google "reprap"). My wife quilts, knits, cross-stitches, etc. My 14-year-old daughter bakes everything from scratch. My 17-year-old son is always covered in sawdust and welder spatter. He just got his hunting license with the intent to bring home small game for the table. And when the warranty runs out on my diesel Jetta, we intend to start making our own bio-diesel for it.

So, if you take my advice and build your own sail, do so in the knowledge that it comes from the lunatic fringe.

Originally Posted by davlafont

Alex, I thoroughly enjoyed following your Wood Duck thread and look forward to seeing how Setsuna unfolds. The name is fitting for your second, wiser build: [Courtesy Wikipedia]

I hope you take the advantage of the warm weather to enjoy Wood Duck while prepping and planning for the Setsuna build. I offer the following feedback on my GIS sail building experience:

--I tackled the sail first before buying a single piece of wood. It gave me something to do in the cold of winter which is when I got the green light from "the boss" to build. It also provides me with a source of inspiration to finish the boat; I have a sail, it should hang on a sailboat!

--The cost of materials for me in the US was about 1/2 to 2/3 of the price of a professionally built sail. Part of that can be attributed to having a sewing machine at home that features a zig-zag stitch setting.

--I enjoyed the mental challenge of learning sail theory (I, too, read Sailmaker's Apprentice but also supplemented with WBF and this forum's discussions). My goals for the overall GIS build were about having a creative hobby that results in a useful sporting device. Making my own sail fit in with my goals.

--I used a sail design application (SailCutCAD) to assist in the panel development. It's free. My assessment is that SailCut requires a good deal of comfort with both sail design concepts AND computer skills. It has been noted by some very authoritative voices that working the design on a computer without having a plotter to print the panels directly on the cloth is just silly. There is merit in that argument. I lofted all the panels by hand based on a printout of coordinates. I don't regret doing that, but it's not something I recommend lightly.

--One can take a more traditional lofting approach and by following some simple advice regarding draft depth and placement one should get good results. The big caveat is that you'd need the loft space to lay out the full 105 sq ft lug. I don't have that. I'm going to take a guess that you don't either.

--I am comfortable with making mistakes, correcting them or living with them. Several times I found myself sewing with no bobbin thread. The result is a bunch of tiny holes and time elapsed with no seam created. I have many seams I call "drunken monkey" stitches. They add character to my sail. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

--The interplay between sail shape and spar bend is important. By making my own sail, I control both the chicken and the egg. The flip side is that I have no one to blame but myself for the outcome.

I wish you the best of luck with your endeavor, and just as many well wishes for your current vessel!

Hi Dave,

Thanks for your kind words, and your comments on the sail. It was in fact your blogspot posts that lead me to ponder making my own :). Once the current fuss being created by the work on the workshop dies down - and I have a workshop to work in at last, and more importantly time to think about it - I'll give it some more thought. In the odd moment i'll read/re-read your blogs :).

Cheers,
Alex.

Originally Posted by paulie

Really? Musing about whether or not to sew your own sail in a forum full of avowed DIYers? That's pretty funny. You expect an impartial answer here?

I did NOT make my own sail, and now I wish I had. The sail I bought is more than adequate, and I'm not about to throw it away. But I've already made one change (ditching the full-length battens) and I'm planning another (completely re-working the reef points). Even then, it won't have the fullness I think it probably needs for best performance. So I will eventually make my own sail anyway, some years down the road.

Now, full disclosure: Besides building my own boat (obviously), I also make my own beer, cider, mead, bread, and sausage. I hope to soon start making cheese as well. I build small robots from trashed electronic devices and have begun making a 3D printer from scratch (google "reprap"). My wife quilts, knits, cross-stitches, etc. My 14-year-old daughter bakes everything from scratch. My 17-year-old son is always covered in sawdust and welder spatter. He just got his hunting license with the intent to bring home small game for the table. And when the warranty runs out on my diesel Jetta, we intend to start making our own bio-diesel for it.

So, if you take my advice and build your own sail, do so in the knowledge that it comes from the lunatic fringe.

Hi paulie,

I wasn't actually expecting anybody to jump on that one in particular - see my reply to davlafont above :). I used to think I was a bit of a DIY-er until I read your post: I hang me head in shame! I did use to make my own wine, though (nearly poisoned myself, so I stopped) and have taught myself to weld (after a fashion), but that's about it. Oh, I did make the sail for my 'Duck, but the design was already there and din't need broadseaming ;).

Cheers,
Alex.

Design for goat sail is already there and doesn't need broadseaming.

Originally Posted by Boatmik

Design for goat sail is already there and doesn't need broadseaming.

You little beauty ! Thanks!

Cheers,
the alex.

Right. The HWH is out ot the workshop. And the hot water is out of the HWH. BUT...some of the hot water is still in the workshop and lapping at around the bottom of my wood stack.

Actually, it's now cold water and I've mopped most of it up and moved the affected wood <grumble grumble, curse curse>. When the concrete slab was poured, it was supposed to have been finished off so that the water ran towards the front of the building (where the wood stack isn't) and not to the side, where the wood stack [/i] is (or was) <grumble grumble grumble, curse curse curse>. Fortunately, the better stuff - including the 6 mm PM ply and 4 mm Joubert gaboon - was actually up off the floor, whew...

That didn't prevent a panicky hour or so whipping around moving stuff and mopping up, though.

Also fortunately, most of the water went out the door in a flexible pipe used by the plumber for the purpose, so the wood heap only got the trickle, not the flood - although the trickle was bad enough. Since the (brand new) HWH now lives outside permanently and the plumber is currently sealing off all the old pipes, that shouldn't ever happen again. Another bonus of the new arrangement is being able to permanently remove the poly pipe attached to the old HWH overflow that has been annoying me for over ten years as it has got in the way of most activites on that side of the workswamp, including welding, vacuuming, walking about, closing the door, etc., HOORAY! It was almost worth moving the HWH for that alone!

I've noted this elsewhere (on Mr Storer's facebook page), but I'm adding it here for completeness.

The Boss's isn't too thrilled with the idea of me starting another boat right away: the 'duck being finished, she has discovered that I now have a lot of "free time", which is to be saddled up and put to work painting various parts of the house :(. Urgh, I loathe painting, especially doors, they're worse than boats! I'm going to try to get the workshop sorted out first, at least, and then there'll be an attempt at a bit of, er, persuading of The Boss to let me start. There is the vexèd question of the plywood to sort out in the meantime, anyway...

But without the swamp, what will Mr. Snappy do????

Bother!

Originally Posted by AlexN

Hi paulie,

I wasn't actually expecting anybody to jump on that one in particular - see my reply to davlafont above . I used to think I was a bit of a DIY-er until I read your post: I hang me head in shame! I did use to make my own wine, though (nearly poisoned myself, so I stopped) and have taught myself to weld (after a fashion), but that's about it. Oh, I did make the sail for my 'Duck, but the design was already there and din't need broadseaming .

Cheers,
Alex.

There's some great information on broadseaming a lugsail from Todd Bradhaw here. Almost a book on sailmaking in a couple of posts. Save it all locally in case some of the links to extra files disappear with time.

Ian

Hi Ian,

many thanks for the link - which will come in useful even considering MIK's statement above regarding the GIS sail.

Cheers,
Alex.

1. Workshop tidying. The stack of ply on the left is the 6 mm Pacific maple on the far left, the 4 mm gaboon to the right of that. I would prefer to store it falt, but I don't have the space





In the process of tidying up bits of the workswamp, I found a pool of water big enough to keep tadpoles and small fish in, up the back. It was about 50 mm deep before it eventually drained away again. The water is still coming in despite my efforts to block it, and venturing further afield outside to see where it might be coming in, I also found this:

2. Water-erosion problem. If I don't get a solid concrete pier under this rock, it will one day plunge down through the wall of the house...


Follow this link to my Flickr account...


So if I don't get this done pronto, we're in real trouble. This is going to cause all sorts of delays - time, effort, financial - and comes on top of the return of the tennis elbow (both of them). Don't hold your breathe on the start of this Goat. As the title of this post indicates, I've gone and jumped the gun on this project :(...

Two separate problems.

I wouldn't put a pier in yet. It will just wash out. I think I would lay in some plastic and backfill under the rock with coarse gravel and then bundle it together with some rebar and *maybe* partially stabilize it with concrete mortar on the outside (Just a bit to tie things together. Not enough to block the flow of water.) Much like a French drain.

Then I would dig a sump to collect water and put a pump in to remove the immediate threat. Then you have time to see to the source.