Thread: Coquina

I've tried a lot of things for cutting bungs and had a similar incident with a Jap saw, which is probably why I don't like them much. I've found cutting bungs is all about technique, not tool.

I use a chisel, a well sharpened one. I place it on the surface next the to bung, bevel down and I use the heel of the bevel to lift the edge up about a 1/16" of an inch (1.5 mm) or more off the surface. Then an easy whack, shears the bung clean. I almost always shear with the grain to make life easier. This leaves a bit of a bung left, which I then trim nearly flush with the chisel (it must be awfully sharp) using a slicing action, taking care to not nick anything. The last bit can be sanded or scraped flush. Yep, it's a longer method, but if you're trimming bungs, you're doing it for looks or you say the hell with this and use putty, so I make the extra effort.

Originally Posted by m2c1Iw

No pics at the moment and work is on hold for a couple of weeks while I trek north across the Simpson desert.
The weather is a bit iffy with an inch plus of rain forecast for the area so if you don't hear from me again you can assume we did a Burke and Wills and
a) got permanently bogged in a claypan
b) drowned in Eyre Creek
c) ran out of fuel and beer thus perished.
d) all of the above

Taking the eureka can take care of one of them. If there is nothing else on your roof for it to bang against I think the Eureka would be fine. Might need some cosmetic repairs when you get back, but unlikely to be more than that.

Best wishes and enjoy the break.

MIK

Well I'm back and we didn't run out of beer or drown in Eyre Creek the usual crossing has been diverted.
Glad I didn't take the Eureka it would have been pounded to bits as we crossed the Simpson on the Madigan Line, a crossing first made in 1939 and it's rough even though we found that there have been 29 groups go over this season.

It was an amazing trip my second across and quite unique with all the water. The first pic is at our crossing of Eyre Creek then a couple of Big Red the biggest of the sand hills near Birdsville and the surrounding water which is 4' deep on the Eastern side.
We just managed to beat the closing of the Birdsville Track which was a bit of luck as the locals are expecting it to stay that way for a least a couple of weeks probably more. The only way out would have been a 2500 km detour via Alice Springs.

Thanks for the tips on flushing the plugs Paul, that is the way I have done it in the past and I think I'll give the saw a miss in the future.



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Not much to report on the build, in fact zero I've been too busy however it is with great delight I can advise Breeze has launched his Coquina and that has provided another prod to get things going.

N.G. Herreshoff Coquina

Hi Mike,

It crossed what passes for my excuse of a mind the other day that 1. I remembered that you were thinking about building a Herreshoff boat and 2. that I hadn't seen you on my own thread for a while. Since I need some gulps of fresh air from that little saga I thought that I ought to go looking - and here you are :).

Looking as good as I expected it would :). Wanna swap? No, don't answer, I already know what you would say ;). Well, in general terms, anyway...

I'll keep this build in a tab where I can keep an eye on it.

Cheers,
Alex.

Hi Alex,
I do keep an eye on your exploits and while I'm often tempted to post some smartaleccy comment it just does not seem appropriate. Those immortal words "I did it my way" do suit the situation, so keep on punching your persistence is an inspiration to the rest of us.

Cheers

Back when Mike first started this thread, I mentioned how similar to Cocquina my Perwinkle design worked out to be in layout and rig. I have to emphasise once again that she was not copied from Cocquina and the boats are different in many ways - but the rig specified by the potential owner brought about the layout, and it is remarkably similar to Cocquina. Periwinkle is 17' x 5' - once again very similar to Cocquina.

Today I received the first good video of Periwinkle under sail. This was taken at a recent Wooden Boat Association gathering at Atkinson's Dam in southern Queensland. Winds were very light at the time of filming. Skipper was John Shrapnel (owner) and the video was shot by Rick Sutton from his Navigator. Editing and posting was done by Paul Hernes.

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mazM15TACjc]YouTube - Periwinkle.wmv[/ame]

Great video Ross, Periwinkle really scoots along. You must be well pleased and I notice even with the skippers weight well to the stern the trim looks to be spot on.

Sigh, it will be a while yet before I'll be sailing but I can report I'm back on the job. The third plank is done ready to glue #4 so at this rate my calculations suggest I'll be struggling with the sheer around Christmas.

Thanks, Mike. The credit for the video goes to the three previously mentioned gentlemen.

Your trim comment is perceptive and interesting. Periwinkle is sensitive to weight in the bow (as I suspect would be the case with Coquina), but she has plenty of volume aft to carry crew weight. There is a trade-off between speed potential when the boat is sailed flat vs trimming by the bow when she heels significantly. The trick is to do what is done in modern racing boats - sail relatively flat, and keep your weight aft. The layout is arranged with this in mind. I really wanted to keep her fine in the forward sections.

You will find that the long aft deck makes it appear that the skipper is further aft than is actually the case. The aft bulkhead (to the buoyancy compartment) is quite a long way forward of the transom - another characteristic shared with Coquina.

Sorry about the incorrect spelling of Coquina in my post - it is something I do all the time, even though I know the correct spelling...

Ross Lillistone www.baysidewoodenboats.com.au

I love this boat and seriously considered building it. In the end I decided it was too big and built a Tammie Norrie (http://licensed2tinker.yolasite.com/boat-build.php). Checkout this guys coquina site (Breeze)

Originally Posted by Tink

I love this boat and seriously considered building it. In the end I decided it was too big and built a Tammie Norrie (http://licensed2tinker.yolasite.com/boat-build.php). Checkout this guys coquina site (Breeze)

Hi Tink and thanks for posting and yes it is the fault of Breeze I'm building Coquina.

I see from your site you have many interests and talents.

Well done on your build, the Tammie Norrie is a lovely boat and demonstrates Iain's ability to draw sweet lines.

Cheers

I'm up to plank #8

Things did go a little awry with #4 at the stern gain area.

I marked the cut line without removing the original rough cut line before nailing the batten and even though it looked wrong made the cut without rechecking, at least I think that's what happened.
Speaking of battens I've been struggling on with mine they really are not fair enough and have the odd bump should make some more but I've become accustomed to the irregularities and am too lazy.

Well #4 ended up a little narrow at the transom but after I got over my "oh damn" episode or words to that effect I reasoned I could continue rather than having to scarf a new plank as the transom provided sufficient support and the lap is still adequate for gluing. At least the error is consistent for both sides.

I submit exhibit A

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One of the things I've been concerned about on the early planks is the gluing of the laps. The planks have been pre-coated in epoxy and while one side of the glue joint has been beveled so the epoxy is removed with the planing the other edge remains coated.

Up until plank 3 I have been sanding with 80 grit to hopefully get a good keying surface however I remembered a tool my uncle gave me many years ago which has come in very handy. It's called a Dynafile a pneumatic sander, magic for removing a thin strip of pox and create a small recess in the lap to stop all the glue squeezing out.

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A few of the many pics

I'm beginning to relax a little over this planking lurk as the planks go on. I've been using Breeze's method of marking out the planks on a slightly oversize cut plank this works very well when one concentrates on clearly marking the intended cut.

I still wonder about plank 2 and every time I look from the bow I seem to see some unfairness I think perhaps a little more care on the garboard would have resulted in plank 2 working better and probably would have resulted in all planks lining up with Doug Hylan's grid. It is a credit to him just how accurate it is.
It looks OK from side on and I think though after sanding off the corners and perhaps a little planing of the edge all will be well and after all those planks are under water which is probably just as well.

I'm not convinced coating the ply was a good idea given the amount of time I spend sharpening the plane blades to cut bevels. I'm reserving my judgment till after the interior is finished as I suspect that is when it will really pay off.

Speaking of time, each pair of planks is taking me about eight hours from beveling through to glue clean up. I am cutting the gains after gluing so a lot of time is spent on this tuning and trial fitting the reason being I found if I cut the gain on the bench I was unable the get proper clamping on the thin edge at the stem.

Regarding cutting the gains and bevels I have often read how difficult this process has been to builders, perhaps I'm not fussy enough but I find it a thoroughly enjoyable process cutting them without jigs etc. and getting the wind just so.

The other little tip for any builders is bevel the transom but leave the jogs till after the planks are cut to size that way any little discrepancies can be worked as you go along. This is not a big deal but I've realized by cutting a pair of planks to size ensures both plank jogs will be exact and saves a lot of measuring and fussing.

I'm fairly happy with the result so far and I think the critical bow section is working out. Don't you just love the look of the laps as they transition to the stem that hollow is gorgeous.

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