BYYB Forums

Al,
Looks great, but I wonder about the area around the madt that looks like a great place to collect a few gallons of water. Am I missing something or is there a purpose to that area being boxed in like that.
Going to be a beautiful boat thanks for sharing the pics !

Thanks for the updates again, Al. The companionway and hatch slide photos help to give us a really good sense of what it will be like to use. I can picture you sitting in the "easy chair" just inside on a summer evening with that big hatch wide open, feeling both secure and out there in mother nature's ocean.

It sounds like you're going for a launch sometime this coming spring/summer, eh?

Dale

Drywall screws are made of a hardened (worked) steel with a black phosphate coating and they're nearly half as strong as conventional mild steel screws of the same size. The work hardening makes them very weak and they snap at an alarming rate, especially as the head seats against something. If you use an impact driver, this issue will become more of a problem. This said I did for years use the cheapest drywall screw I could find, for temporary setups, jigs, etc. I did discover a drywall screw still left in a transom job I did some years ago. It was a mistake at the time, but it rusted to all hell after about 10 years buried in epoxy, on the lower corner of a bashed in transom I did. This was a good lesson for me, as I got to see if my techniques worked after a decade of service. I did have a few stainless crews also still in the transom, connecting the 3 pieces of plywood's inter-laminate bond, but these where just as if recently installed.

My conclusions were to leave stainless screws in, instead of bothering to find and pull them all and to never use a drywall screw for anything that just might get forgotten again.

To reduce the visual height of the companionway slides, paint them a darker contrasting color (or stain), with a much lighter cabin roof and matching companionway hatch top. This will break up the impact they have and hide some of the roof crown too.

I'm assuming that madt is a stand in for mast.  Yes, the fore deck is a bath tub.  There is a pair of good sized scuppers through the coamings up against the cabin wall to drain it.  I like the way this area is set up.  I intend to keep my foldup bike there when I travel far enough to need it. 

After I dry fitted the hatch I sat for a while in the recliner niche and thought about comfort.  I am going to make a huge bug screen for that opening and one for the forward hatch.  I think sleeping in there is going to be magnificent.  With the mizzen set tight, so that she doesn't swing too much and all my weight forward on the bunk, ahhhh.  At the same time, I started to think about maybe changing the interior layout to make better use of all that volume. 

I glassed the roof and cabin sides today.  I will mount the slides either tomorrow or the next day.  The cockpit gets it next.  A warm stretch is coming so I plan to get the topsides glassed then.  I won't be able to paint for another six weeks probably, so the sticks are after the glass.  Yeah, I want to be able to wet her butt by May if possible.

Al

I agree with every word Paul.   There isn't a single drywall screw anywhere that I could prevent.  I will be really lucky if I am still able to sail this boat in ten years time, so she doesn't have to last forever, and I am building her that way.  I will always keep her under cover or indoors and not in a wet environment, so she should last that long.  Because I am crazy, I think that this boat won't owe me a dime the minute she hits the water.  The fun and stimulation is worth everything I will have spent.  The satisfaction of doing the job as well as I reasonably can is all the payment I can hope for.  See?  I'm nuts.

Al

Actually that's a reasonable assessment. Most think they're building an heirloom, but they rarely end up with this. Work boats tend to be used hard and don't last very long, but you do get good service if a reasonable effort is made during the build. I've never kept one of my builds 10 years, though have reattained them afterward (buy backs), for some reason or another. Use it, keep her clean and dry, preferably under cover from UV and weather and it'll last a long time and more importantly can have a little lipstick and mascara added, when it's time to sell.

Well, I am about half way through the topsides glass and there is some new progress that shows up so I will do an update. 

I have mounted and adjusted the sliding hatch so that is could be used if I put the aluminum shoes on the cover and nailed down the cap.  I got it to fit and operate the way it should, I will have to carefully hand fit the drop boards to the cover to keep water and bugs out when it is shut down tight.  I glassed the ramps because they are made out of oak and I just might leave them bright.  I may laminate some cedar slats to the top of the cover because they varnish up beautifully.  If I go that route, I will do both hatch covers the same.  I will have to glass them both or they will split sometime later.  I also left eves around the sides and front of the cover roof so that rain doesn't drip down into the raceway on top of the ramp.  The cover frame is also oak which I also  might leave bright so I plugged the screw holes, something I haven't done in a long time. 

I designed and built the tabernacle for the mizzen mast and am pretty pleased with it.  I was going to cut it down a bit but I strung a board from the fake mast I have been using for the main mast, to the mizzen tabernacle to see where I need things to be in order to clear the cabin when I drop the main mast for trailering.  It turned out to be pretty high.  Armed with all this information, I set about designing a mast step that will not penetrate the foredeck while being strong enough to hold the stub of the main mast while trailering and rigging.  I came up with an idea,  but it is pretty clunky.  I may have to wait until I can get the boat outside to finish designing this part, though I am confident that it will be plenty strong.  Because it is a mast step, I designed it to fit the mast about a sixteenth loose on each side, and about an eighth front to back,  The idea is to leave room to rock the mast forward and back to balance the rig.  Duckie's mast is stepped like that and its been a big help. 

Today I got too caffeinated and went after the tiller and its mounting.  I had sawed down the handle of the axe and glued a couple wood blocks to it, and today I cut them down to make a nice substantial area to bolt two aluminum plates to.  I had a two inch by quarter inch strap that I could  make the plates from.  Cutting and fitting those two pieces took up most of the day.  They do fit like someone that knew what he was doing did the work.  Drilling two holes in my short piece of pipe was too easy to mention.  They came out like a machine made them.  Love that drill press.  It was smooth sailing until I had to make a decision.  I needed to decide how far to drill the pivot bolt hole from the butt of the tiller to clear the top of the pipe so that I could lift the tiller up to vertical.  I have to be able to do that or I won't be able to screw the pipe down into iron flange that holds it in place.  Missed by that much.  (obscure pop culture references are a hobby of mine.)  I could have done the logical thing and drilled two new holes, but no,  that would have left evidence of my sin.  I took a grinder to the top of the pipe and shaped it so that it would just let the stick slip by.  Whew!  That was enough.  The caffeine was gone. 

Sometimes that is just the way things get done.

Al

Thanks Alden,

I thought this would satisfy you for the short term.  I can't get my head around how many views I have on this thread or how that happened.  My best guess is that some people who are interested in autumn leaves found out about this thread and are following along.  If that is true I want to write an accurate and complete record of my struggles and accomplishments if it will help.  I also want to stay faithful to the plan as best as I can because I know that John is following, and that he is anxious to see one sailing and hear some reports. 

I agree with you that she is a real looker.  She has a real old timey look that has me bouncing around between classical finishing and somewhat more modern appointments.  I think the classical look is going to win out.  All of that will have to wait until next winter.  I'm going to button her up and go sailing.  Here's a pic of her  sister just to show you what I mean.

Al

Everything looks "salty" parked next to a pontooner . . .

Yeah, I live on the shores of Lake Superior. 

First up, you have my permission to use any pics I post on the thread.  This is a safe place to talk about boat building without having to put up with a lot of crap from trolls.  These guys are my buddies and I am being open with them.  You too. 

One of the things that I haven't mentioned  before is my desire for a boat just a bit bigger than my weekender.  While I can do anything aboard Duckie, it can be inconvenient to say the least in certain situations.  I don't want a boat that I can't manhandle in the yard though, which Indie might turn out to be.   I think that a 18 to 19 foot weekender would be a great boat to travel in.  At the very least I want to keep it down to where I don't need winches to set the sails. 

Alden, did you get a good idea of autumn leaves size?  Yesterday I stood in the cabin with my head out of the sliding top, and it was up to my armpits.  Sitting on the recliner I have about six inches of headroom.  I am certain that I will be able to use the head indoors with the hatch closed up and I am six feet tall.  I think she sits right in the sweet spot between a day boat and a cruiser that you'd probably want in a slip.  I think she would be a perfect boat for the Norfolk broads. 

Anyway, please feel free to chime in. 

Al