BYYB Forums

Hi Al!

She is so darn perty! Thank-you for sharing. I see that you decided to split the difference in respect to Herreshoff. It just hit me. When in the Keys, a black hull is of course striking but toasty! I like Herreshoff's quote about black vs white. Just hard cause I've got a soft spot for a black hull. I think you have balanced her out perfectly! (just my opinion, of course!) Any chance of a pic of the interior with a perspective? Per our previous chats, sometimes my dog is silly bigger than I thought!? Many thx in advance. Can't wait to see you launch and sail her!

capnpablo

Well, here I am in my motel room with nothing to do.  Before I left I tried to button up Indie so that she could sit outside for a while if need be.  I didn't quite make it, but you couldn't tell just by looking.  I put the portholes on made from some poly that I had laying around.  I'm not real happy because they are green tinted.  I will go back and re-do them with rings painted copper to blunt the jarring edge of the glass.

I also mounted the front hatch with the hinge toward the  bow.  I am well satisfied with that arrangement.  I will have to do some workarounds for it, but nothing to make me want to do the reverse. 

I added another layer of black to the hull which may turn out to  be the last.  When I went out to inspect it the day after I rolled it on, it was nearly as good as Duckies' paint, so it's good enough for me.  I expect that it will be too much effort to paint the bottom of the sides with the copper, so I will probably wait until she is up on the trailer for that. 

I got the top rub rails screwed to the gunnel for now.  I will let the wood react to the torture I am inflicting on them until August.  in order to get that miserable doug fir to take the bend without splitting, I ripped it to 3/8's and used fender washers on the screws so that they wouldn't split from the angled pressure of the heads.  Worked like a charm.  I bought a box full of them because I expect to use that technique a lot in the future.  I think I am going to try gluing hemp rope to the upper rub rail with epoxy.   I will route a channel along the center of the rail and nail some gooey rope into the channel and let it set good and hard.  I think I will be able to hammer that pretty hard with no damage.  I am also contemplating doing the same to the forward edge of the bilgeboards. 

There is still a ton to do, but this is as far as I got.  I am starting to like how I have done so far.  She's not perfect, but if the builder is satisfied, then she done her job.

Al

Rope soaked in epoxy basically turns to rock. You will be gouging the dock, rather than vice-versa. This is good.

Well, I've been home for a few days now and am working my way back into life on the farm again.  I'm not working on Indigo with any vigor, but I am futzing around with her from time to time.  My attitude for now is that the project that I need to focus on is me, not the boat, so only when I don't have anything better to do will I work on the boat.  Right now I am finishing up the bilge boards.  I want to mount them next but that is a two man job.  I have hired a guy who knows what he is doing to help me finish up the build, so that will have to wait until he shows up later.  I expect that with some capable help I will be able to put her under sail before the ice sets in. 

I am also fastening down the deck plates so that the boat can sit out in the weather while I finish up with the spars and getting her on the trailer.  I still have to make the drop boards and adjust the slider so that it slides smoothly and is weather proof.  There is a ton of little chores like that to keep at until I can really get going again, so I won't be bored.  Yesterday one of my best friends saw the boat for the first time since I just started working on it and it was kind for funny.  This guy is a physician and consequently a little fussy and detail oriented and hard to please.  He was momentarily stunned.  I didn't know whether to be insulted because he didn't think I was up to the job, or happy that his reaction was genuine.  Anyway he didn't say anything for a while so I'm happy. 

I guess the upshot is that it will still be a while before any progress will be made, but there will be progress.

Al

Hi Al,
 Glad to hear of your progress. Since you mentioned bilge boards, I do have a question. Please forgive my ignorance. Am I correct in assuming they "swing" like swing keel on my ole Mac? Do you just drop them whilst underway and forget during tacking and such or do you have to raise and lower depending on windward/ leeward?

capnpablo

In my rocky shoals up here I would never use a dagger board.  I would lose the boat in the first summer.  These boards swing on a pin, which is one of my problems right now.  I will need two people to sight into the hole from inside while I have someone else outside moving the board around until the board lines up with the hole.  Right now I am armoring the leading edge of the board with thickened epoxy similar to my rudder on Duckie.  That is about the extent of it for today.  I need to get on my bicycle now and work up a sweat. 

Al

(07-29-2018, 07:42 AM)Al Stead Wrote: [ -> ]In my rocky shoals up here I would never use a dagger board.  I would lose the boat in the first summer.  These boards swing on a pin, which is one of my problems right now.  I will need two people to sight into the hole from inside while I have someone else outside moving the board around until the board lines up with the hole.  Right now I am armoring the leading edge of the board with thickened epoxy similar to my rudder on Duckie.  That is about the extent of it for today.  I need to get on my bicycle now and work up a sweat. 

Al

I totally understand. I grew to really appreciate my swing keel in the Keys. I would rarely pin it down. It was a very effective depth sounder when I was learning what the water looked liked for certain depths. ( Nope, no fancy electronics) Do you have to raise the bilgeboards when tacking or just leave them down?Have a good "ride".

capnpablo

After learning to tack with the standard Weekender keel, I expect to drop them when the water gets deep enough, and forget them.  I also won't pin them down. 

Al

Hi Al, good to hear you are back at it. Another question re Indigo's bilge boards - are they weighted to help keep them down whilst underway? I ask because I've got a centreboard in my (old) FJ, and it floats upward in the trunk so I need a bungie to keep it down when in deep enough waters.
Dale

Yah know what?  I don't know.  If they don't set on their own, I will probably figure out some way to hold them down with a handle that I can set and lock lightly, or a downhaul.  What I'm not going to do is pull them back out just to put weights in them.  Now that would be a big job. 

I am painting them right now, so once that is done, they will be water tight.  At that time I will probably haul one down to the pond in my back yard and toss it in to see if it floats.  If it does, I will consult my helper to see if he thinks I should back up and weight them just to make sure.

Al