BYYB Forums

Yeah, the rigging is a head scratcher.  Once you get into it, it will all make sense.  One suggestion: instead of drilling the mast etal,  first try lashing the blocks to the mast and spars, and rig it up temporarily, then measure and drill.  My mast has quite a few holes both mistakes and adjustments, but no one seems to notice.  I did peg a few of the bigger ones and that worked pretty well.

Anyway, rigging is a lot of fun.  You will probably change it often the more you learn about the boat and sailing.  It is one place where you can customize the boat without worrying about changing it back.

Al

Instead of using eye bolts and eye screws, consider using lashing or strops instead, to attach things like the halyard blocks to the mast. It's lighter, much less likely to bind, will make a "fair lead" when pulled taut, and will not weaken the mast, like a hole and bolt does, etc.

The band is obvious and a metal band with rings welded to it. This is bulletproof, but requires some metal fabrication and they're heavy.

Lashing is simple. Apply a light coat of varnish around where the lashing goes, then wrap the line around, inserting the ring. Use a couple of small brads to tack the ends of the line, so it stays put. Lastly coat the line with more varnish once it's on, for UV protection.

Looped is traditional and simply a seized loop in a line that goes over the mast or spar. I use a self locking variation of this method and the photo shows the sheet block on the boom done this way. The block is seized to the line and loop made at the other end of the line. Pull the block through the loop and slide this over the spar. Once under load it cinches down. The thumb cleat just keeps it from sliding down farther than you want.

The cleat and gasket is similar to the lashing, except it uses a seized loop, instead of a simple wrap. Again the thumb cleat just serves as a place holder.

Blow up the photo and see how the boom blocks are done.

Paul,

  That is great information , thanks for sharing it!  I would rather, as you said, not weaken my mast with un-needed holes and bolts.  Will loop & thumb cleat method work for the Shroud lines as well?

Regards,

  Will

Yep, and this was the way it was traditionally done.

After nine months away from the project, I resumed work at the beginning of September and finally have something to show.  I've been working on the rudder assembly and it has taken another month to get it to this point.

But before I show photos, a little recap.

In November of last year I got to the point where I could start installing the rigging and build a rudder assembly.  But then it became too cold outside for epoxy to cure, and I have no room in my garage with all the junk in there.  So I decided to take a break, with the intention of resuming after the weather warmed up in the Spring.  But when Spring arrived I found out I had to go work in Chicago until the end of August.  So I lost my whole Summer without building or sailing.  Nuts.

Last Spring when I was doing my tax return I also had to figure out how much I've spent on this project so far.  Believe it or not, up to that point I'd spent nearly $8,600.00.  Yikes.  I still have a bit to go and I'll probably top $9,000.00 before I'm finished, and that won't include gear like life jackets, Coast guard required safety gear, dry bags for cargo, etc.  Don't let anyone fool you into thinking you can build one of these boats with quality materials for a couple grand.  Marine grade anything is bloody expensive.  Crikey!

Now back to my regular update report style.

Since resuming work on September 1st:

Hours building--33.5
Hour shopping--10.25

Money spent on materials--$196.18

Haggerty Insurance, annual renewal--$289.00


So back to the Rudder assembly.  I don't like the clunky stock rudder box design that came with the plans.  I decided to create my own, and based it on a drawing I found in the Glen-L e-book "Rigging Small Sailboats."



Using leftover 1/4 inch marine plywood, I created a rudder box from four pieces, and the rudder itself from four additional pieces.  I also didn't want to have to downhaul the rudder with a line primarily because if the rudder hits bottom, the line would prevent the rudder from kicking up, thus defeating the purpose of a kick up rudder.  Instead, I imbedded 7.7 pounds (overkill) of 1/2 inch steel bar.  the middle two layers of plywood have a cutout for the steel, and the outer two layers of plywood sandwich the whole mess.  The outer two layers are also shaped to approximate a NACA foil and once shaped were coated with one layer of 6 oz. fiberglass cloth and one layer of 3 oz. "surfacing veil" fiberglass cloth.  The inner two layers extend higher upward to fit the rudder box slot.  I also have the stop shaped to allow for a 10 degree rake to the rudder, and since the steel weight is closer to the trailing edge, this will provide positive force to keep the rudder down.  I tried to find lead, which would have been better, but I discovered that it's very hard to find in Washington State since the State government declared it a hazardous material a few years ago.  Anyway the steel works fine and it was free.

So without further ado, here are some long overdue photos:



The nearly finished rudder and box pieces.  The inner box is the second from right and is made from two pieces 1/4" marine plywood bonded together with epoxy and has two layers of 6 oz. fiberglass cloth on each side.  The cloth makes it slightly wider than the pivot portion of the rudder, which will provide an allowance for coatings and two shims made from plastic #10 can lids.  I thought the shims might be a good way to eliminate abrasion.




Here are the shims.  The ring is the leftover rim after cutting out the shims with a utility knife.




Here you can see how the rudder pivot will fit against the stop, and how the shims will be used.




Initial mockup.




Rudder box being glued up.




Today I finally got it all put together.  I built the cheeks from 1/8" x 4" 316L Stainless steel bar, plus a couple pieces of 1/4" plywood under the tiller since the tiller is 1/2" wider than the rudder box.  I had intended to use mahogany for the cheeks but decided they were too bulky-looking, and probably would hit the stern of the boat when the tiller is hard over.  Anyway I think it looks alright.  As it is, the rudder assembly is an elegantly slim 1 inch thick, and I think it's an improvement over the stock design.  Now I have to decide whether to paint or varnish the box.  I'm leaning towards painting it the same blue as the boat, and using bottom paint on the rudder.  The tiller is a very nice production tiller I bought used from another home boatbuilder.  Found it on Craigslist for 25 bucks.  I've seen similar at Fisheries Supply for close to $150.  Lucky find.  In the final photo you can see it positioned such that it clears my knees by several inches when I'm seated in the bench seats in the boat.

The boat is pretty much done!  Well, enough to launch it this past weekend.  I'll post more detailed photos shortly, and also report on the maiden launch.  Meanwhile, here's a teaser:

Looks great. Move your "tells" on the mainsail to within 6" - 8" of the luff. The upper one on the jib looks about right, so make the rest about this distance. Also try to move the mainsail throat closer to the mast, just below the jaws. The full luff should run as parallel to the mast as practical (also as close as practical), which usually means you'll need to adjust the way the throat attaches to the gaff.

I agree with Paul about getting the sail luff as close as you can to the mast.  I tossed my rings and laced my sail on to the mast in such a way as it is as close as I can get it the whole way to the gaff.  I also made my square mast into a hexagon mast from the boom to the top.  Now I can see that the leading edge of the mainsail/mast, gives me a nice smooth turbulence free leading edge.  The lacing allows the sail to rotate around the mast so that the hexagon shape is stable at any angle of attack.  If my mast was round, it would definitely be better, but I didn't want to work that hard.  I didn't do it to improve performance, but when I first sailed it, I noticed a distinct improvement.  I'm not that good of a sailor that I can notice little improvements in things, so for me to notice this means it was a big improvement. 

This kind of thing is a real positive for me.  I love to fool around modifying my boat, so every year there is something new.  I hope you also enjoy tinkering. 

Al

I definitely need to do something about the mast lacing.  It gets caught on the tabernacle bolts, making it hard to raise the sail.  I thought lacing would look more salty than PVC rings, but rings might make things easier.

The reason I tossed my rings is because they got caught on the mast hinge.  Look up Dutch lacing on Goo.  When I let my sail drop the lacing spreads out to clear anything that might catch on it, and vise versa when I haul it up.  It is a real pain to lace, but I only do it once a year.

Al