Thread: Tom Cat

Looks great. How far are you from putting it in the water?

At this stage I’m still a bit up in the air. It’s winter here and considering I would like to involve the local sailing club I’ll need to wait until spring. I haven’t approached them yet either. However, there is still a bit to do as mentioned previously. Don’t worry, you guys will be the first to know!

OK..so I’ve wimped out and tried again for the Mast finish. This time around I’ve used a 75mm brush in lieu of my standard 25mm job and am finally happy enough to call the clear coats finished. It appears the smaller brush was the thing creating all the angst with the Poly Clear.

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Also finished the Mast Step with a couple coats of U/C plus a couple of O/C so once they harden up I can commence the rigging process!

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Still have the fittings to do from my previous post.

Call me blister for turning up when all the hard work is done but I have found the best applicator for Norglass Poly Clear Gloss is a 4mm nap roller. I buy 100mm sleeves in bulk from the big green shed and dispose of them after each coat. I am up to 9 coats on my runabout.
Fantastic job on your boat - congratulations.

Hi Bagman, many, many thanks for your response and as you rightly suggest the nap roller was to be my next methodology if the the big brush didn’t work! But as you can see I’m done. However, I will be using it when it comes time re-varnish so thanks again One question...do you brush out as you go?

The last part of this great project has now commenced so on with the rope requirements.
I have opted for the following…

Donaghy’s Double Braid Polyester 6mm

• Green fleck ...Main halyard
• Red fleck ......Gaff halyard
• Gold fleck …. Traveller Control Line (maybe)
• White………… Mainsheet & CB Control Line

Textech 8 Braid Polyester 4mm

• White ……... Sail ties & Lazy Jack Loop on Boom
• Red ………… Port Lazy Jack
• Blue ………. Stbd Lazy Jack

It all seems a bit much at the moment – I may just use all white for the Lazy Jacks. We’ll see.
My latest issue is the amount of room I have provided for the Luff of the sail between the Boom and where the Gaff sits on the Mast. I thought I had this sorted but after the upper block attachment being fitted it all appears to be too close for comfort. Refer pics below.

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I will use a Halyard Hitch to attach the Main Halyard to the Block and so save all the length required for a back splice. See below with correct diameter line.

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Looking good Laurie but really, you need to do that back splice - you know you want to .

Thanks Bob but for me it’s to early to take that plunge!

Gosh! Forgot to mention above that I obtained a few metres of Spunmax Double-Braided Polyester/Dyneema 6mm, Brown rope for the Gaff Span in lieu of wire. I guess most people would use wire which I think would be the norm in this space but technology is moving me forward here!
I used Double Bowline knots to attach the line to the Gaff after whipping the ends with “Mike’s Quick Rope Whipping”. Looks OK!

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So, my next tasks are to finish the fittings on the boat and attach the Aft Fairleads. Also have finally decided to go ahead with the Stern Sheet Lead and Deck Cleat.

I thought it prudent to manufacture some timber deck blocks for the aft Deck Cleats prior to attachment - mainly for looks but it may also provide some additional ease of use. They require oiling before fitting.

I have also followed Garden’s use of a couple of items for managing the positioning of the aftermost Main Sheet Block that is attached to the Traveller, however, fitting the Sheet Lead is a bit of a dilemma. For me the placement of it is a question – should I have it slightly in front or behind the Traveller? My current thinking is behind. This setup also requires a further Deck Cleat to be available. The 1st 3 pics show the Sheet Lead in front whilst the next 2 show the Sheet Lead behind.

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I'm also showing the issue I had with the Sheet Lead in that it required me to manufacture a special deck block for it. I don’t know if I was sold a defective one or they’re always like that.

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Refer #358…Post 163

Finally made headway with completing the Mast Supports with the addition of the same Marine Velour Carpet that was used on the Trailer Bunks for cushioning the Mast and Boom in their cradles. I must admit I tossed up a number of different types of carpeting for the job before making this decision – we’ll see how it goes! The carpet has been glued to the cradles. The Gaff will reside on top of and between these for transportation with the addition of padding between them. I believe with appropriate tie down supports this will do the job.

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Not much has been happening – mucking around with the control lines etc. I also wrote an article for the WoodenBoat website see below…

Attaching Blocks to Boom

Received some nice feedback and made a decision to stick with what I had. I have added a pic below of the outcome. Please disregard the colour of the line being used to attach the blocks to the Boom - it certainly won’t be black!

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Have also looked at buoyancy and I like the Anko Foam Rollers available from Kmart. They are 450 long x 140dia and I think 10 of these should fill the bill under the rear seat. I may put a couple up in the bow, we’ll see.

Also have finally made a decision regards the CB Trunk top. Have drilled a couple more holes to add additional screws to assist keeping it in place due to the positioning of the Mainsheet Block at the aft end.

Sorry…been busy elsewhere!

Reference Post 208 – I eventually decided to attach the Deck Cleats direct to the deck without the timber blocks. The more research I did the more it was obvious they weren’t required. These have been screwed down rather than bolted. I figured the strength required was available as they were being fixed thru the deck into the Sheer Clamp Supports (see Post 66). The SB wood screws used provided a 28mm thread length in the timber. Also utilised the Double Sided Butyl Tape again to provide waterproofing when attaching them.

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Just adding some pics re: the setup for the Tie Down on the Trailer. The Motor Max Wooly Seat Belt covers (purchased from The Reject Shop - $3.00 pair) were cut open to allow the insertion of a piece of carpet. This should further reduce the wear on the boat where the Tie Down hits the Rub Rail and the Coaming.

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After much procrastination and thought I finally went with fitting the Main Sheet Lead (MSL) at the rear of the Traveller as I was unhappy with it in front. Also had to allow more distance between the MSL and the Traveller to enable access to fasten it to the deck. I added a timber block to the Deck Cleat to bring it more in horizontal line with the MSL.

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So, all the deck fittings are now on and time to concentrate on the rigging, buoyancy and anchor requirements.