Work Space!

My daughter's place has a ground level basement (I described it to someone as a "daylight" basement and they had no idea what I meant. Maybe "ground level" is easier.) that she told me I can use to assemble the hull. I had seen the space before and figured it is big enough (which is why I asked her about it this summer. So, today, with a tape measure in hand, I went to take a better look at it. I like it.

With the double doors on the front end closed the space is 20' long. It is probably 12' wide (nope, didn't measure that dimension!). The low (6'3") ceiling makes it kind of cozy. It will seem a bit cramped with the double doors closed and rather spacious with the doors open.

I need to get the space set up a bit: a set or two of saw horses, some tools, and a moaning chair should do it!

Time to get busy.

Lessons Learned

I painted the rudder and dagger board. I like the color...

I do not like the lemon peel look (It was there before the color went on - but I wanted to pretend it wasn't.) When I painted the foils with the KILZ primer, I knew it was "thick" but I didn't realize what that would do to the finish. Thick paint seems to a) show the depth of the roller nap, and b) dry to a somewhat pebbly surface. I have heard this referred to as an "orange peel" finish. I knew the surfaces of the foils were not "perfect" before painting the color coat, but I was impatient.

Something else I learned: color shows up the flaws and imperfections more than white. Instead of an "orange peel" I got a "lemon peel" finish, what with the bright yellow color and all. I was pretty discouraged - enough to go to bed thinking seriously about scrapping the foils and beginning again.

Fortunately, that thought was short-lived. On my morning bike commute the next day I realized that 80-grit sandpaper and a power sander would be a better alternative than new wood and a lot of work. Sanding is the solution. I've sanded nearly all of the lemon-peel away and along with it most of the flaws and imperfections.

I learned - from discussing the problem on the Michael Storer Wooden Boat Plans Forum - that I need to thin the paint by 10 to 15 percent, maybe more. While I know the color paint can be thinned with water, I learned that KILZ cannot. So, I need to figure out what to use to thin the KILZ so I can re-prime before applying more color paint.

All good things to learn before getting to the hull.

First Color!

After stalling for several weeks I finally went out today and bought paint for the boat. I wanted tractor paint as it came highly recommended. The only place I've found it is Tractor Supply Company stores but the closest store is in Galt (other choices are Dixon and Woodland). So, today I went over to Orchard Supply, found a bright yellow (Dutch Boy's "Noon Sharp") in Weatherbeater semi-gloss exterior porch paint.

Here's a pic of the rudder with one coat of color over several coats of KILZ primer:



I like it. I suspect it will look even better with a second coat. I think this yellow will contrast nicely with the bright finished interior. Those almost unnoticeable darker areas across the middle of the rudder are shadows from the overhead light fixture.

So, having seen the color on an actual boat part, I am motivated to get both foils painted and move on to building the hull!

Time to Build

The Timothy Lake trip was a great experience. Great location and scenery. Lots of fun boats built to be used. Plenty of wonderful people trading information, tips, and stories. Seeing David's Goat Island Skiff in person was worth more than all the pictures of it I have seen. Meeting Mik, talking with him, watching him rig the Goat, and sailing with him was invaluable.

So, I have all these memories, inspiration and motivation. It is time to put all that to good use and focus on finishing my Goat Island Skiff.

Timothy Lake Messabout

This is a fairly long, relatively off topic post of the Timothy Lake messabout.

Wednesday, September 16: I picked up the rental car without any real issues. There were no compact cars available so they upgraded me to a Ford Fusion. I ran a bunch of last minute errands, grabbed some stuff out of storage and took it all home to pack.

Thursday, September 17: Out the door by 0600 for fuel and coffee. On the road by 0630. The 545-mile trip broke into five segments: Sacramento to Redding, Redding to Weed, Weed to Klamath Falls, Klamath Falls to Bend, and Bend to Timothy Lake. Each of those segments has distinct landscape and scenery and the entire trip was visually impressive. Some segments had several different “looks” to them but the transitions from high desert to piney forests certainly tied those together. Since I didn't remember everything I needed on Wednesday, I needed to stop a couple of times during the drive to pick up what I was sure I needed. I arrived at the lake shortly after 1600, and was greeted by one of the COOTS – Casey, aka Dirt Sailor, and his 8 year old son, Blake.

I set up camp.


After that I prepared and cooked a meat loaf in the Dutch oven. It took longer to cook than I expected, but tasted fine later that evening. One of the key discoveries of the weekend for me was parchment paper liners for the Dutch oven. They really made clean up much, much easier.

Thorne arrived well before dark, launched his boat – a Chamberlin Dory Skiff.


Once the boat was launched he set up camp. Thorne camps in style.




Another of the COOTS, David – aka Babbles – arrived with his 14' Dutch designed Flying Tern.



Friday, September 18: The lake was mirror-glass smooth as the sun came up but a wind soon filled in and Thorne and I took his skiff out for a sail. We were seriously overpowered sailing across the lake under full sail, but Thorne found a sheltered spot for us to reef the main and swap out the normal jib for a smaller one. The boat was better balanced during the ride back to camp.

More people and boats arrived. Joe with his Core Sound 20


Dan with his 21' power boat in a functional mode but really less than half complete.


David Graybeal and Michael Storer arrived with David's Goat Island Skiff and his PDRacer.




It soon became difficult to keep up with the new arrivals.

Michael Storer had an audience as he rigged the GIS.






Watching and listening to him was very instructional. This weekend will certainly help me as I build my Goat and get it ready to sail.

Saturday, September 19: Clouds in the morning promised the rain that had been forecast for the day. While it did rain on Saturday, it did not rain hard enough or long enough to drive anyone inside.

Michael sailed the Goat a lot and took folks for rides. Despite the rain Saturday was turning into a very good day. Lots of looking at boats. Lots of talk about this detail or that detail. Lots of sharing of information.

Michael had the opportunity to sail the Goat side by side with Joe's Core Sound 20. The consensus was that the Goat is faster in lighter conditions, but in heavier air the CS20 is faster. However, a lot of boat speed and performance comes from how well the skipper performs. Michael told me later that he seemed to be reading the wind and reacting to the gusts a little better than Joe did that day. So, in the hands of identically experienced skippers, the CS20 is the faster boat in some conditions.

Jerry – David Graybeal's Goat building partner – decided to take Morgan, the wonder dog, for a sail. Jerry rowed the GIS out away from the shore and went forward to raise the sail. As Jerry went left, Morgan moved to the same side and – in slow motion – the Goat capsized! Several folks on shore watched it happen. Some of them caught the capsize with their cameras. But nearly as soon as Jerry hit the water, Dan and Greg were under way with their power boats to assist.








It all turned out to be fine with possibly Jerry's pride being the only injury of the day. With the goat on the beach, Michael and David set about bailing it out.



Michael re-stepped the mast and re-rigged the boat for sailing. He and I took off for a sail.

The Goat is sensitive to crew weight and movement but through a running commentary Michael gave me a short course in sailing the Goat. I had my GPS with me and at one point on a broad reach we hit 7.7 mph (8.85 knots!). Shortly after that I heard Michael declare, “I've lost steering, the pintles broke.” Then after a short pause, “And the oars are on the beach.” We got the sail down and the boat turned toward camp. We had a favorable wind and were making slow progress in the right direction. But, Joe was out in his Core Sound 20. They passed us a tow line and sailed us back to the beach. So there were two “rescues” that afternoon, and both involved the GIS. The verdict on the pintles was that had they been through bolted instead of installed with wood screws they would not have failed.

By Saturday afternoon there was an impressive collection of boats on the beach or on the water for the messabout, including the following:

A Yankee Dory
Chamberlin Dory Skiff
Blue Canoe (small lapstrake canoe)
Flying Tern
Goat Island Skiff
Core Sound 20
A Michalak A4
4 PDRacers
John's “Pickle” (can't remember the design)
Gregg's power boat (can't recall the design)
Dan's power boat (can't recall the design)
Dan's craigslist row boat

Saturday's dinner was a crawdad boil using the catch from the “home-made crawdad pot competition.” Crawdads, sausages, corn, and potatoes were combined in a large pot and cooked with a mix of spices. When it was done, the whole thing was poured out on the table for a serve yourself buffet feast. The Dutch oven apple dump cake I had made earlier in the day was dessert.



More campfire conversations about boats and boat building finished off a fun day.

Sunday, September 20: I was up early – probably because it was get-away day and I knew I had a lot to do. One thing I did was to bake another dump cake. Somehow David G and Michael did not get any dessert the night before. Dan watched me put the cake together. As a former pastry chef he was impressed by two things. One, how the cake goes together – just dumped into the Dutch oven without mixing. Two, he was impressed with the Dutch oven cooking process. While the cake was baking I began to break camp and load the car. I walked the cake over to David and Michael's campsite and served them a sampling. They were delighted with it and had seconds. I stayed and chatted. After a bit, John Kohnen came over and we discussed a wide range of boat related topics.

As I was saying my good-byes, I was invited to return next year – a sure sign of acceptance to me! I was also invited to come the the COOTS' Depoe Bay event in April. I will have to look into that and mark the calendar.



The return drive was long but uneventful. However, seeing the scenery from the opposite direction was fun. I was completely unprepared for the approach to Warm Springs on Thursday. It was stunning. But on Sunday, even knowing it was there, it was just as stunning because it looks different from the opposite direction. Next year I'll stop for pictures!

I am already looking forward to next year's Timothy Lake messabout knowing I'll be taking my Goat Island Skiff with me. :-)

Slow Progress

Reading others' posts and blogs makes me think I'm moving in slow motion - and I guess I am. A couple of things have kept me at a standstill for a while now (that's my story and I'm sticking to it!). With the Jeep out of service I have not been able to purchase the materials I need (stuff like plywood!). I have allowed my lack of space to become an excuse for lack of progress. I have plenty of bits and pieces to work on before I absolutely need that bigger space (besides, as noted last week, my daughter has the space for me to assemble the hull).

I guess a third rationalization for limited boat progress this week would be my preparations for the Timothy Lake outing. The camp box is nearly done.
It is just a box but it will gather a number of normally loose items (stove, nesting cookware, Dutch oven, utensils, and miscellaneous supplies) into an easier - albeit heavier - to carry piece of gear. I really dislike the multiple trips to carry stuff from the car to the camp site, and back. The fewer trips the better. Think of this box as a prototype - I'll use it a few times to see how I'd want to change/improve it and then make another one. Since I don't plan to paint this one (at least not before the Oregon trip) I am sure it will rain all of next weekend!

As for other preparations, I am staging my gear and making the inevitable lists to make sure I take what I need. Wednesday afternoon is going to be busy.

For now, it is time to sand and prime the foils one (at least) more time...

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.