Notes and Stuff

This week's anxiety attack has passed. In the grand scheme of things it would not have been a major catastrophe had I missed the Timothy Lake Messabout this month but that's what I thought was happening. You see, the Jeep is still not running - and once it is running I am not sure I'd trust it on a road trip to Oregon. So I figured I could use the credit I have with Southwest Airlines, fly to Portland for Michael Storer's presentation at David Graybeal's shop and return home the next day.

David offered to find me a ride to Timothy Lake and back to Portland - but then how would I get my camping gear there?

Thorne offered to share his tent and to give me a ride home if that would help. That wouldn't get my gear up there either, and I didn't want to be mooching gear for the weekend. Thorne later upped the offer to a ride both ways which I really appreciate but I had found a solution.

I decided to rent a car after all. My initial reaction to the price of a rental was based on a week-long rental because I'd have to pick up the car on Tuesday to get to Portland on Wednesday and return the car on Monday. But if I skipped the Wednesday affair I could get a much better price on the car. So, I am picking up a car on Wednesday the 16th, driving to Timothy Lake on the 17th, and returning to Sacramento on the 20th.

I am glad to have worked that out as I have been feeling guilty about committing to doing things (Big Lagoon, Pirates Fest, etc.) and then not doing them. I really wanted to attend the Timothy Lake gathering.

The rudder and dagger board are being prepped for paint! Based on the (nearly identical) recommendations from two separate discussion boards I am using Kilz for a primer and oil-based enamel for the top coats. Following another suggestion I am going to use tractor paint for the top coats. Tractor paint is an oil-based enamel intended for rough outdoor applications and it is considerably less expensive than marine paints. I will use John Deere yellow for the exterior of the hull, the rudder and the dagger board. I have given a single coat of primer to the rudder - and it both shows the flaws and fills the very small blemishes. It looks to me that three coats of primer, sanded between coats will be sufficient on the rudder. The first coat on the dagger board is drying and I cannot guess how many coats of primer may be needed.

The work table is done! I used 2x4s for the legs (instead of the intended 4x4s) but it is solid enough for what I need. It is the same height as the WorkMate so the two can be used together for working larger pieces.

A side project - a camp kitchen box - is underway. I have been talking about this since the boys were in Scouts, and I found a relatively compact design a year ago. But me being me... I didn't get anything done about it until now. I expect to have it ready for the Oregon trip.

My daughter tells me the ground level storage area under her house is pretty much empty and I can use it whenever I want. This means I have a space to build the hull! Now, I need to do some serious planning and preparations. Once I begin assembling the hull I want the sequence to go very smoothly - and quickly.

Oars and Cleaning

There is a connection...

Having decided to make my own oars I have been researching plans and materials. I've got the Jim Michalak article on making oars, the WBF oar plans arrived this week, and I've read Clint's posts describing the dimensions of his oars. While spruce appears to be a unanimous choice if money is not an issue, I am in need of a less expensive material. Other woods suggested for oars include DF, WRC, and "cheap pine."

DF is probably the natural choice after spruce but hearing tales of DF splintering while planing makes me leery.

WRC struck me as being too light and not strong enough for oars. This was based purely on my limited experience with WRC while building the GIS.

Richard suggested making a practice set from "cheap pine" to learn the process. It would also be less costly if I made a mistake with the cheap stuff.

However, this afternoon I was cleaning up a bit. I grabbed three pieces of WRC (19mm x 45mm x 1830mm which is 3/4" x 1 3/4" x 6') to put them in the closet. I held them together (sort of stacked) and I was struck by the heft of the "block" they formed. The cross-section measured 57mm x 45mm (2-1/4" x 1-3/4") which is actually smaller than the 57mm x 57mm cross-section the blank for the oar loom will be. Now, it is true that this sample was only 6' long so the 9'6" oars will be much longer, but it wasn't glued together either. I am impressed enough with today's observation to plan on using WRC for my oars. Glued up the blank will be strong enough. Properly sized and shaped, the oars will be fine.

Jackpot!

Okay, so it wasn't exactly like Christmas, or winning Super Lotto, or even hitting a jackpot on a penny slot machine, but today was still pretty exciting.

While out for a lunchtime walk I stopped at the bookstore and bought the latest edition of WoodenBoat Magazine.

When I got home from work I checked the USPS Tracker System for the two packages I knew were on the way... good news, both were delivered today! So I grabbed those two items out of the mailbox. Along with all the junk mail advertising there was a flyer from the local Wood Craft store. Now, there isn't much in that store I can afford to purchase, but it is fun to browse.



What arrived in the mail? A set of oar plans from the WoodenBoat Store and a set of brand new, bright and shiny rudder gudgeons from DuckWorks.

The gudgeons are probably more substantial than need be but they'll work just fine - after I modify the rudder box a bit. The gudgeon straps are longer than I'd like them to be so I will need to use a wider spacer between the cheeks of the rudder box. That is not a problem but I think I'd like to lengthen the cheeks by the same amount. So, I will rebuild the rudder box using the gudgeons as a starting point rather than an add-on at the end.

Random musings... And Another List...

Another weekend of repeated sanding, priming, sanding the dagger board. Not a lot of visible progress but there are other types of progress.

One of the upcoming projects - related to the Goat - will be making a set of oars. This weekend I gathered more information, received some common sense advice, and decided the first set I make will not be made from expensive spruce, DF or WRC. It makes sense to make a "practice" set with less expensive material. From what I have seen on-line, the material doesn't matter a whole lot, the oars will work, and will probably last a long time. I'd rather climb that learning curve without making a mess of nice wood. I'm not sure what I will use but I will see what the lumber yard has to offer.

Last month I decided I would attend the COOTS' messabout at Timothy Lake in Oregon. (That link is to a report of last year's event.) An added bonus was learning that Michael Storer (yes, THE Michael Storer) would be at Timothy Lake. I had the crazy notion to get the Goat built in time for Timothy Lake. But after speeding up my work effort and making numerous minor errors attributable to rushing things too much, I decided it wasn't worth the stress. I decided to slow things down and regain my sanity. I'm glad I made that decision. I'll go to Timothy Lake without the boat. But... there are a couple of events on the not too distant horizon that may serve as motivation.

The Sacramento chapter of the Traditional Small Craft Association Schedules many events throughout the year. The Wet Turkey row Thanksgiving Weekend is my new target date for having my Karen Ann ready to go in a rowing configuration.

As for another list... here is the latest list of things to get done to facilitate building my Goat:

1. Build a set of saw horses
2. Build a "Ladder Table" to support working on hull panels
3. Build a work bench
4. Buy a random orbital sander

I also need to shop for materials for my oars, purchase four more sheets of plywood, purchase at least one more plank of WRC for the chine logs, buy two planks of DF for the gunwales and inwales, and buy the hardwood for the gunwale caps, knees, and skids. That's all...

Saturday Afternoon

Well the apartment is looking a bit empty today. Kati picked up her table yesterday, creating a large empty space in the living room. I definitely need to build my own work bench.

I have been thinking about doing just that but I will build my work bench a bit differently than I built Kati's table.

The legs will be 4x4 and 31 or 32 inches tall (instead of 36"). The rails will be 2x4 and I will follow the design a bit closer than I did with the table. I will use 1/2" material for the top and shelf, doubling the 1/2" material for a 1" thick top. I will compare the costs of a full sheet versus three quarter-sheets, and I will compare MDF to plywood.

The foils are becoming a never-ending project.

I primed the dagger board and discovered just how much work it needs. I sanded one side and applied a coat of slightly thickened epoxy to fill some of the still-open weave and to smooth the edge of the last layer of FG cloth. Part of me wants to say, it will be good enough. It will be good enough - after I spend more time on it!

Change of Plans

My carefully detailed plans to take a lot of material and tools up to Ed's tomorrow have been postponed. The Jeep is not yet running (my fault - procrastination, don't you know?) so I have no means to pick up the plywood let alone getting it up to Ed's.

I do have the part (I think I need for the Jeep) and the shop manual (with instructions for that part). So there may be progress today...

In the meantime I will work on the foils. The dagger board needs at least one more coat of epoxy. Once that sets up later today I can begin sanding and fairing it.

The rudder is so very close... it needs some sanding and some very localized touch up repairs to little imperfections.

After that I will clean!

Chuck at DuckWorks responded to my questions about the rudder hardware so I will order that today. I should have it early next week and be able to finalize the rudder box/tiller assembly.

Planning for the Weekend...

Saturday I plan to take some plywood, DF, WRC, and possibly walnut up to Ed's place to mill some wood.

Ed offered me the use of his garage floor to layout the plywood so I can draw and cut out the hull panels. The DF is for gunwales and inwales. The WRC is for chine logs. And if I can do it this weekend, the walnut is for the transom frame and gunwale caps.

Since this Friday is another furlough day, this is another short workweek so I need to figure out what I can get done on Friday to prepare for Saturday.

I need to put the wood rack on the Jeep early enough so I can get over to Hughes Hardwoods to order the plywood and possibly purchase a piece of walnut. Then I would head over to Berry Lumber for one or two pieces of DF.

The foils (rudder and dagger board) and the parts for the rudder box need to be ready to go. I want Ed's help in measuring the thickness of each foil. Once we have that figured out, we can cut the spacers for the center case and rudder box. I also want to take the saber saw so I can cut out the panels. Other items to take include the 4' rule, the metric tape, pencils and the plans.

Getting all that ready for Saturday will keep me busy on Friday.