BYYB Forums

Here is a photo of the wheeled cart I built today. I've tacked my hull bottom on the keel to check for fit, and I am pleased. Now to fire up my epoxy process...

More photos are available here: http://kingsfoldsailboat.blogspot.com/

Very nice and you'll find it damn handy in the shop to move around, especially if things are tight. The only recommendation I'd make, is to staple some felt fabric over the vertical supports the bottom panels will eventually land on. It'll save scratching up the paint, when this time comes.

That looks like the rig that I made up and still use today.  As to what Paul suggested, I used one by eight boards as bunks on either side of the jig to hold up the bottom.  When building, you will be climbing in and out of the boat a thousand times putting torque on the keel and whatnot.  The bunks spread out the forces over a large area which helped a lot.  I bet you will find that supporting the boat will be a big concern pretty quick.  Another problem is getting the darn thing to stand still.  I found that a towel jammed into the wheels does a pretty good job holding the thing in one place.  I also laid a couple pieces of ply on either side to act as tool and junk holders. 

I found my jig so useful that I kept it, and still use it today if I have to do any extensive repairs. 

Al

Good point Al, locking wheels are a given that I overlooked, mostly because I just keep using the same set, which do have a brake and a swivel lock.

Additionally, instead of those 4 upright stands, cut each one down 3/4" and toss a length of 1x4 or 1x6 over it (on the flat, as Al described), which will offer a lot more contact area, so you can dance around inside the boat, doing stuff.

Thanks, gentlemen.

The fore wheels are locking casters, so that suggestion is covered. You can see from the attached drawing photo, that I am with y'all on the bunks, although I hadn't thought of padding them to protect my paint job. Thanks, Paul.

And my plan is to build the boat with the stock keel so I can produce a how-to video converting to the fin Paul designed.

Here is an example of a sail(plane)ing video I recently produced. https://vimeo.com/155934444

And I think that when I add the bunks, I'll just shim the keel higher at either end, rather than cutting down all the posts by 3/4".

Or you could just lower the posts.

I now have a retrofit version of the keel modification available as a PDF. Drop me an email and I can send it to you.

I'm pretty sure you already did, thank you. It answered some questions I had about shaping/sizing the remaining keel ahead of and behind the fin, for example.

I don't know what others have done, but lifting the boat off the jig is very important and you will find yourself doing it more than once.  Many years ago in a former life I found myself needing to lift a large heavy plywood box off my pickup on a regular basis, so I bought a set of camper jacks.  These are the kind that come in pairs and use a ratcheting winch like a boat trailer winch to lift an angle iron bar up a steel post.  They need to be set to balance whatever you are lifting, but they do a nice job.  I can lift my weekender to about four feet off the ground by myself and lower it all the way back to the ground fairly easily.  It is surprising how many times I have had to do this for different reasons.  And yup, if you drop it, there is a big price to pay. 

When I lift Duckie with them I find the balance point and place one jack forward of the point and one aft of it.  That way the boat doesn't rock on them.  I use the rub rails which I have very firmly glued to the hull as the lifting point.  I know that this sounds kind of sketchy, but they are really strong and will not shear off if they are glued and screwed.  I only crank one side at a time just a little bit to keep the load balanced side to side. 

Probably I use the jacks mostly to steady the boat on the trailer when I am driveway sailing or working on the boat and climbing in and out of it.  That happens a lot.  With the tongue jack and the camper jacks the boat is rock solid on its trailer while climb all over it in the driveway. 

They are kind of spendy, but if you can find a pair or something similar, they will make everything more convenient into the future. 

Al

I was planning on rigging rope and pulleys from the rafters in my garage, and I probably still will, so I can flip it over easily while I am building it, adding Paul's fin modification, painting, etc. But this recommendation makes a lot of sense to me, especially for getting Kingsfold on and off a trailer. Thanks.