posted December 09, 2004 09:25 AM               

In anticipation of next summer's event we're looking at small Mountain Equipment Coop camping single burners. I'd be very interested to hear other peoples experiences and recomendations.

We also both love the thought of a hot tea or coffee while sailing. A thermos can only go so far.

posted January 08, 2005 10:06 AM               

I am in the process of:
Building a new rudder head.
Installing a new traveler track.
Mounting the compass, GPS on the bulkhead.
Bringing a VHF speaker back to the rear of the cockpit.
installing clips to hold the oars and whisker pole.
Installing new trailer lights.

posted January 12, 2005 12:08 PM            

The sliding companionway has been completely cut out on Hull #123. The hatch was trimmed, clamped and glassed in place inside the opening. And, a "ring frame" or beam has been added at the forward end of the hatch to help support the cabin top.

The hatch boards are only bolted in place but have already been cut out as per Sketch #1. I have been climbing through this smaller opening for a couple of weeks and to my surprise, it seems to be large enough to accommodate a small adult. By entering the cabin from the quarter, the keel trunk and table are not in the way. Cool!

Getting out is easier than getting in.

However, the flat top of the new hatch is not aesthetically appealing. Therefore, tomorrow evening I intend to modify the opening to Sketch #2. Sketches #3 - 5 are alternatives for increasing the opening size. I expect to stay with #2.

I will post a photo on the weekend while the hatchboards are being epoxied in place.

By the way, now the only teak on the exterior of the boat are the grabs on the cabin top. And, they are destined to go, too. I have 1/2 cord of discarded teak to bring to the rendezvous. Does anyone want it?

posted January 12, 2005 12:56 PM               

I've got Shortwave's rudder next to the boat in hope of sanding, filling and refinishing it by Spring.

posted January 12, 2005 06:47 PM            

quote:

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Originally posted by whited:
I'll be interested in how the rudder goes. I have to strip black paint from mine and deal with a bit of plywood delamination at the ss rudder head.

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Is the plywood itself delaminating or is it the joint between the sheets of plywood?

I had reconditioned my blade by removing all previous finishes using a belt sander. Worked real slick and really quick to get down to bare wood without removing much of the wood itself.
I used the West epoxy system rolled on two coats thick to re-seal. Leaves a real nice woody look. To repair a nick at the tip I used fiberglass. To finish that off and reinforce the tip from further nicks I put two layers of narrow fiberglass over the edge on the bottom portion of the blade. I sanded that nice-nice then did the two coats of epoxy all over the blade (had the blade hanging from the ceiling so as to coat evenly to be able to controls runs before the epoxy started to set up)
Normally epoxy needs to be protected from UV light, but very little of the blade is exposed above the water. I left my boat in the water all summer.
I used Cetol marine to finish the rudder head. One touch up coat per year was all it required to maintain it.

posted January 12, 2005 09:10 PM               

We then varnished the hull for UV protection. My brothers Shark rudder is finished the same way but without varnish. But he stores the rudder in the cabin when he's not sailing.

posted January 12, 2005 10:29 PM            

quote:

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Originally posted by elmet3:
2short - Did you leave your rudder in the water all summer with just 2 coats of epoxy over most of the surface???

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posted January 12, 2005 10:36 PM            

quote:

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Originally posted by Darcy:
My brothers Shark rudder is finished the same way but without varnish. But he stores the rudder in the cabin when he's not sailing.D'Arcy

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posted January 16, 2005 03:41 PM               

Now I've got to get to work , and YIPPEEE, I've now got teak for my rub rails!!

posted January 21, 2005 07:29 PM            

Eric, thanks for the thanks. I hope that you are able to put the teak to good use.

posted January 21, 2005 09:02 PM            

I am curious as to your motives for this retrofit. I have a DS 2 currently and if you know this model, it does not have a sliding hatch, only an opening in the companionway. I have retrofitted mine with a single board that slides down two edge tracks to act as wash boards. I have thought of glassing the opening and putting in a smaller opening as well. In fact the DS 3 has an even smaller opening in its factory model. Certainly, in a knockdown capsize, it prevents water from entering the cabin. What moved you to make this modification?

[This message has been edited by Roger (edited January 21, 2005).]

posted January 21, 2005 10:22 PM            

Roger's comments about seaworthiness were definitely part of my justification. The true reason for the modifications stemmed from the fact that the slider was structurally inadequate and amounted to little more than unusable space on the cabin-top.

posted February 27, 2005 03:08 PM               

Your to-do lists are way more sophisticated than mine:

- install some kind of fishing pole holder (I'm way too girlie to handle 'bait' or the fish itself, but I did get a fishing pole for Christmas. Yay!)
- refinish the small bit of teak in my CL14
- install windex
- create plexiglass 'doors' for the two cubbyholes (idea received from this forum!)

Is it really almost time to take to the water again? I'm so excited I can hardly stand it!

- Christy

posted March 19, 2005 04:40 PM            

The hatch boards are epoxied in place. There are still a bunch of bolt holes to fill and the whole joint area should get 3 layers of 6oz glass.

posted March 19, 2005 04:47 PM            

And here is how she appears from the cockpit. There are as many as 3 layers of laminate to make the whole surface flush. Much to my surprise, the assembly is actually about 200g heavier than the 2 plain hatch boards.

Yeah, there are some gaps to close, some joints to fair and some holes to fill. A drip cap needs to be added along the top 1/3.

posted March 25, 2005 05:05 AM            

First, it is important to get the mix correct: 1 part hardener, 5 parts resin, 20 parts patience. As great a product that epoxy is, there sure is a lot of room for improvement. It is not a particularly operator-friendly product. I spend a lot of time acting as a human vacuum bag: pushing the glass back down into the mix, catching the drips and brushing the runs, etc.

The set-up time for expoxy seems to always break the project into 3 hour tasks (one & rarely 2 tasks per day, so only 2-3 tasks per weekend).

I read a tip about cool weather epoxy work. I use a paint-stripper hot air gun to pre-heat the area. Then after the application, I continue to apply local heat. Of course with temperature, the epoxy gets more fluid and starts to run and drip. And I found out the hard way that the styrofoam cores I use do not withstand the heat. They shrink/melt and then require repair work to get back to the intended shape.

I have a small electric heater in the cabin to keep the space warm during the work. The hull and cabintop are still cool to the touch.

posted March 31, 2005 12:47 AM               

Amazingly enough, we're still adding things to the boat. I'm sanding down the rudder for finishing. We're also thinking of putting on Harken jib cleats to ease lifting the sheets off when it blows. A slightly longer tiller extension may also be added.

As well, we now have a small camp stove, kettle and ice box for the rendezvous.

D'Arcy

posted April 01, 2005 09:27 AM               

Here's a shot of one of the four stainless vents which help to reduce hull and locker condensation when thew water is cold in May/June.

[This message has been edited by Ken (edited April 01, 2005).]