A Very Worthy Endeavor

Tom Pamperin is a boatbuilder and sailor. I first "met" Tom by way of the WoodenBoat Forum, where he is a regular contributor. Tom and I attended Sail Oklahoma in October 2011 and I had the privilege of sitting at the table while Tom interviewed John Welsford. Tom and I attended Howard Rice's Small Craft Academy in Mackinaw City, MI in June 2012, where, in addition to the classroom work, lessons and exercises, we shared an enjoyable late afternoon sail from the beach back to the launch ramp.

Tom also teaches English at the high school and college levels (not necessarily at the same time…) and writes - often of small boat adventures. A number of his stories have been published in magazines and on-line. Tom is talented, generous, well-spoken and an all-around good guy.

Tom is now writing - perhaps it is already finished - Jagular Goes Everywhere, (mis)Adventures in a $300 Sailboat. Having researched the publishing options available, he has decided to self-publish his book which is, to me, another great adventure for him. Here is a link to his KickStarter fundraising effort. KickStarter Campaign For Jagular

Take a look and, if you are so inclined, help him get the book published by making a contribution. The KickStarter fundraiser will close on March 12, 2014.

Temporary Solutions and Oar Leathers

I built my oars more than two years ago… I used inexpensive Home Depot 1 x 6s on the theory that I didn't want to butcher expensive lumber in my first attempt at making oars. The oars made their debut - without leathers - in March of 2010.

Shaw & Tenney sell a kit for oar leathers, which I ordered in early 2011. Reading S&T's instructions and other comments on-line, I was intimidated… installing the leathers seemed to be some sort of mystic transmutation I couldn't comprehend. The examples of oar leathers I've seen on-line have all be gorgeous works of art. I was intimidated.

Over the last two days I've overcome that intimidation and installed the leathers… they are not artistic triumphs but I suspect they are functional. I will find out later this month when I take the boat to Cedarville, MI for a week (or so) of sailing expeditions.

Beginning the installation:



Interesting that the stitching is different on each oar… and I thought I was doing them the same…



New varnish (after sanding) will finish off these oars.

I am reminded of a comment a friend made to me when I stated these were "practice" and "temporary" oars… "There is nothing as permanent and long-lasting as a temporary solution." I think he is right.

Karen Ann - formerly known as GIS Sacramento - is receiving some long over-due maintenance and re-fitting. After one full year of sailing (albeit sporadic) she needs some work.

The dagger-board case was never finished.



I am installing a cap on the dagger-board case and should have that work done (save the varnishing) tomorrow.

The photo also shows the 'damage' done by my 'training wheels' - sand bags on either side of the case as ballast. Water held in place by the sandbags deteriorated the varnish/epoxy finish. This will be sanded, coated with epoxy and varnished.

Frame No. 2 has separated from the hull on the starboard side.





I will sand/grind it out, inject epoxy into the separation and clamp the joint. It will be coated with epoxy and finished with varnish.

An inspection plate will be installed in the foredeck, which has been sanded and readied for epoxy and subsequently finished with varnish.



The oars will be sanded (enough for the new varnish to adhere) and leathers will be installed. No photos of the oars as yet but when they are done, I'll post photos.

The Ups and Downs of Sewing a Sail

Sunday I overcame my trepidations and concerns about sewing machines in general and sewing a sail in particular. I began sewing the sail after much practice and worry. I was pleased with the results.

Tuesday I was disappointed and dejected over the prospect of ever getting the sail completed to say nothing of getting my Goat in the water. Tuesday's problem was the bottom thread bunched up into a rat's nest of tangled thread. It didn't matter what adjustments I made to thread tension, the bottom thread always tangled itself into a mess. This is not good as it means the stitches aren't really stitched and it is very unsightly. The seams on a sail are visible from both sides so they have to look good (to say nothing of being right).

Friends offered suggestions and solutions - including the notion of buying a new machine. I kept changing the thread tension and could sew passable short practice seams. But on the sail panels - disastrous results.

After spending 2 days doing the same things and getting the same results (isn't doing the same thing and expecting different results a sign of madness?) I found some information on line. The Singer site said most "problems" with the bobbin thread had nothing to do with the bobbin. First recommendation was to rethread the machine making sure the thread went through the tensioner properly. Guess what... I had been threading the machine incorrectly - effectively bypassing the tensioner altogether.

After properly threading the machine I successfully sewed two panels together. That seam isn't perfect but the second row of stitches is better than the first. I suspect (hope) my sewing improves as I work my way through this sail.

Whew... I was really getting frustrated with the machine when it was operator error all along.

Well, once the sewing machine (operator) problems were sorted out there were other issues to resolve.

New Dacron is slippery-slidey stuff and the 10'+ panels don't want to play nice on a 3' x 3' counter top. All of the floor space large enough for the panels is carpeted - which isn't firm enough for basting the panels together. And, on second thought, those spaces really aren't large enough...

The garage floor? Certainly large enough but pretty darn rough and dirty.

Okay, my spar bench is already in the garage (for varnishing the spars) but at 16" x 16' it really isn't helpful with the sail panels. Or is it... ?

With a bit a thinking and a trip to Lowe's I came up with a work table measuring 8' x 11.5.' At Lowe's I bought two sheets of 3/8" ply and a 2-mil plastic drop-cloth. I had them rip the plywood in half.

I took the four pieces home and, using the spar bench as a base and some wood bin extras, I made a sail layout table. By spacing the pieces roughly 15" apart (okay, the middle two are only 12" apart) I have a work surface measuring 8' x 11.5.' The table is covered with the 2-mil plastic to minimize the risk of snagging the Dacron. A 1' x 8' piece of 6mm ply (edges taped to minimize snagging) serves as a bridge to span the gaps when I am basting two sail panels together.

DSCF4588, originally uploaded by bob.wessel.

After setting this up I realized I can set the sewing machine at one end of the table (over a spar bench sawhorse) for sewing the panels together. So I have a layout/sewing/run-out table.

The cost to assemble the table (given that I had the spar bench) was less than $30. The table makes handling the sail panels much less of a wrestling match.

Sewing resumes tomorrow. :)

Visible Progress

More progress... and even more important (to me at the moment) is that the recent progress is visible! Okay, having said that, I must admit to having precious few photos of the "visible progress to share. I'll see what I can do to remedy that.

The hull has been primed with the first of two coats of primer. The foils have received two coat and are now waiting for the first color topcoat.

I decided to revert to my original color scheme with a bright yellow hull and blue gunwales. When I left California the flat blue paint I had didn't make the "take it" list so earlier this week I bought a new quart of blue paint - this time in a semi-gloss finish. I've been experimenting with the blue on the skids. This paint showed one of the same characteristics I didn't like with the old blue paint: it doesn't cover the white primer/undercoat very well. Since I'll be painting the gunwales, inwales and inwale spacers, I want better coverage. When at the hardware store this afternoon I had them tint the white undercoat blue. Looks like that solves the problem and I ought to be able to use two coats of the semi-gloss instead of three or four.

The varnishing is coming along. I would prefer less time between coats but one coat a day will have to do. Below is the "varnishing room (formerly known as the garage)." Being able to use this space makes life easier - I can sand in the barn without worrying about contaminating the varnish.

DSCF4532, originally uploaded by bob.wessel.

Tonight I began work on the sail! No, I'm not sewing yet but I assembled the patches using the double-back basting tape. Tomorrow I will begin testing (developing) my sewing skills.

Yesterday I drove over to Avon Sailboats in Rochester Hills to see about blocks to rig the downhaul and to buy the running rigging for the boat. Avon Sailboats is a first-rate operation. They are very knowledgeable and have an extensive inventory of parts and line. Lindy is also the driving force behind the Creekfleet Sailing Club. While I do want to sail with CFSC it is a long drive - actually, the drive over wouldn't be bad. But the 2 1/2 hour trip home after sailing would be tough. Lindy suggested I consider forming a sailing club locally and offered assistance with getting started. This is an interesting prospect that I will give serious consideration and thought.

So, progress continues and I am getting more excited about getting the boat done!

Busy Day

Ah, today was a busy day...

The mast received its first coat of varnish.

The yard is shaped and ready for epoxy. I measured the deflection after shaping (rounding the ends and easing the edges) the yard but I left that data in the shop and I'm to lazy to go get it. I post that tomorrow.

The boom needs its varnish touched up a bit (and I haven't even used it yet!) so I sanded and prepped the boom for varnishing.

The rudder received its 1st and 2nd coats of primer. I am repainting with Interlux Brightsides. The first coat was straight primer (Pre-Kote). I used a 50/50 mix of Pre-Kote and Brightsides color (a suggestion from WBF) for the second coat. I am impressed! These two coats of primer look better than the porch paint I used originally. I am looking forward to seeing 2 coats of straight Brightsides color.

The bottom of the hull received its first coat of primer.

For better or for worse, I've decided to return to my original color scheme of yellow hull (never in doubt ) and blue gunwales/inwales. I picked up new blue paint today.

My order of boat bits arrived from DuckWorks today. It is always fun to get new fittings.

Except for the boat bits I suspect there is more of the same on tap for tomorrow.

My 3 Spars

Aha! This has been a day of discovery for me.

Last night I tried posting the yard deflection data by formatting it in the forum "Reply" window. It looked fine until I previewed it... I mean the data was there but the formatting wasn't.

I don't have Excel on the Mac but I did prepare a Google spreadsheet with the data. But copying and pasting into a post did not work - the formatting was lost in the pasting. A couple of guys on the forum suggested creating the table and saving it as a PDF. While I knew I could read PDFs I didn't realize I could save documents in the PDF format. A little more exploring and, ta-da, I figured that out (really, really simple - I should have looked harder).

The other night I wanted to include a photo with my blog post but Flickr wouldn't do it and indicated I had to reset something or other. But tonight I tried posting a photo to the blog to see what needed resetting - and the photo posted.
So, today I learned a couple of things that ought to help me share thoughts and ideas.

And, here is the photo that would not load last night - My 3 Spars.

My 3 Spars, originally uploaded by bob.wessel.