BYYB Forums

I am in the process of making some upgrades and makeovers on my weekender after four summers of sailing it.  Part of that is making a new lighter gaff and lightening up the mast.  My gaff is cooper layup which is similar to birds mouth.  In my opinion you should reinforce any hollow spar at any place you intend to attach rigging by through  bolting or screwing.  Also reinforce the ends of the spar with substantial caps laminated in.

After building a couple boats I can advise that you paint everything that will be difficult if not impossible to reach at the end of assembly.  Be particularly careful to not paint any joints that you will be making later on.  If you mess up and find that you have missed a spot after it is too late, you can usually spray paint into unreasonable places as a last resort. 

I am a big fan of the original idea that the plans called for on the weekender.  It allows the main to remain fully rigged which is not all that common as far as I have seen.  This cuts down rigging time at the landing which I think is a big deal.  If I had such a system on my Com-Pac, I would be in the water in half the time.

I don't know if you would have to glass the cockpit sole.  I probably would if I built a skipjack.  A good paint job with non-skid additives should protect it well enough especially if you keep it under cover when on the trailer.  As far as the joint between the sole and the seat fronts, I would for sure put a fillet there to strengthen the joint and make it easy to clean.

As far as floatation goes, keep it as simple as you can.  Inflatable bumpers or beach rollers can provide a lot of floatation and do not have to be an integral part of the boat.  From what I have seen it looks like the skipjack is a lively boat.  But, it shouldn't be as tough to stand back up from a capsize. 

Keep up the good work.  You build looks like it is going fine.

Al

I think your idea about the hull sides, it was a nightmare working around the seats, into the corners etc. just make sure to brace the deck perfectly so that things don't go out of alignment on you

Weekly update for 3/3/2015 through 3/8/2015.

Shopping hours  1
Build hours  17
Money spent  #45.84  (more fiberglass cloth, for floor.)

The trailer kit I ordered arrived this week.  Packaging was damaged but the trailer itself appears to be in good condition.










Got the mast box done.  That actually went fairly well.




Then it was time for the seats.  This did not go well at all.  First of all, The measurements in the plans appear to be wrong.  So it was wrestle and trim, wrestle and trim.  The forward seat support was too short and I had to add a couple inches.  But when I finally got the seat installed, the forward seat support ended up hanging in mid air.  I also goofed on trimming the rear of the seat back.  I'll have to cut a filler piece.  All in all a very frustrating weekend.  I feel like I should have chosen a Glen-L 14 to build instead.  But I think I'm past the point of no return on this project, so I'll have to slog forward.








At least I made last week's goof disappear.

Put some drain holes in the bottom sides of the mast box, to prevent future issues and ain't a smear of goo and some sanding a cool thing? A little elbow cursing and no one except the several hundred views of this thread will have any idea what kind of wood butcher you are. We're all wood butchers, so don't take offense. The better among us simply use more putty.

Paul, I have limbers on both sides of the panel joiner and bulkhead gussets, and a drain hole at the rear center of the mast box leading to a matching hole in the bulkhead.

Thinking about the struggle I had yesterday with the starboard bench, I'm thinking that maybe it was a mistake to install it prior to the hull sides.  For one thing, the hull sides would serve to lock the deck into position, whereas installing the bench may very well throw it out of whack without the hull sides in place.  For another thing, not having the hull sides in place makes it difficult to gauge where to place the bench.  Ideally the back of the bench and the bench supports should fit closely to the hull sides, if not actually touching.  (One could optionally increase hull strength by applying fiberglass tabs to form joints of the intersection of these pieces with the hull sides.)

I also had assembled the bench with it's two stringers and three support pieces (but not including the backrest) on sawhorses and tried to muscle this assembly into position as a whole unit.  I had not considered that while the floor is curved to the contour of the keel, the two stringers on the front and middle of the bench (and the plywood bench itself) would tend to resist this curve, making it more difficult to fit into position.

So now I'm thinking I need to use the following sequence:
--Test fit both hull sides.
--Cut bench and supports, test fit without stringers.
--Screw supports to floor
--Screw bench to supports
--Install bench stringers
--Measure between deck and bench to make sure backrest will be cut to correct width
--Cut backrest, but oversize on top to be trimmed later
--Test fit backrest and trim
--Disassemble, cut cubbyholes in backrest
--Apply epoxy encapsulation to all areas that will be difficult to access after re-assembly
--Reassemble with glue this time, keeping fingers crossed.

Looks like I'll probably have to buy another sheet of Meranti plywood to replace the goof.

Comments?

Weekly update for 3/9/2015 through 3/15/2015

Hours spent working on boat  17.5

Hours spent shopping  3.0

Money spent
    Exchange 1/4 Meranti and left-over 3/8 Okoume plywood for two 1/4 Okoume plys.  (I removed the bench I built and will start over with Okoume.  Using two 5x10's eliminated the need for a 3/8 x 4 x 8 ply.)  The exchange cost $31.76
    Tools, supplies  $92.63
    Styrofoam  $14.41

Reaching into the bow through the openings in the front bulkhead, I realized that I can only reach about two feet in.  So that means the very front of the bow is useless for storage.  So I decided to use the front half of the bow for a flotation compartment.  First I built a third bulkhead out of scrap plywood.  Also note the plank running down the center line of the deck's underside.  This is to strengthen the deck for hardware attachment (bowsprit, cleat).  It's glued and screwed in like everything else.






I was able to fit most of two 2' x 4' x 2" blocks of Styrofoam in the front compartment.  I'll fill the gaps later with Great Stuff.  (I checked with Dow and Great Stuff is closed cell foam, so it should be okay.  And I don't think I have to worry about solvents (gasoline, etc.) dissolving either foam, since it's in a sealed compartment.  I don't plan to use a motor anyway.


Fairing the sides with a power plane and belt sander.




Scarfing the side panels with a belt sander, freehand without a jig.  The trick is to make sure all the layers spread in even parallel lines.  If there are any flaws the Gel Magic should fill any gaps.



.

Weekly update for 3/16/2015 through 3/22/2015

Shopping:    8 hours
Boatbuilding:    21.5 hours
Assemble trailer:  2 hours (not done yet)

Money Spent:  $545.34 (most of this was epoxy and glue.)


Be careful with those power planes, boys and girls.  Here's what happened to the deck when I was using a power plane to fair the side of the rear bulkhead.




Here's a nifty hack I did for stowing the anchor in the forward locker.  I couldn't find suitable marine hardware for this so I just used a hook, two pieces of scrap wood, four screws, a lock pin, a cable tie and an eye bolt.




Side panels jigged up to glue scarf joints.




Plastic keeps the pressure plates from sticking.




I used four pressure plates per joint, made out of scrap Okoume plywood.  The spacer keeps the pressure even across the whole joint.  There's one on the underside too.




Finished Scarf joint.  The offset is deliberate.




Test fit.  Curve is pretty fair, no flat spot.  I pronounce the scarf joint a success.




I've reached a major milestone.  I now have butchered wood in the shape of a boat!







.

looks amazing, you're making great progress!
im looking forward to seeing what you do with the seats. have you decided on the tiller setup yet? (over the transom?)

(03-23-2015, 05:12 AM)bob lee link Wrote: [ -> ]looks amazing, you're making great progress!
im looking forward to seeing what you do with the seats. have you decided on the tiller setup yet? (over the transom?)

Thanks Bob.  I think I'm going to try to have the tiller mounted above the transom.  When I sat in my first bench attempt, it looked like my knees would interfere with the tiller if it came through the bulkhead hole.  I think over the transom would be more ergonomic, and eliminating the hole in the transom will be a bonus.

Holy Cow Mark, You are making some great progress !!  You will be sailing her in no time!!  Do you plan to fiberglas the hull?

Regards,

    Will