BYYB Forums

My Skipjack became a garage queen after only three launches, and an ongoing Craigslist ad has yielded no interest, let alone a sale.  So it looks like I'm stuck with it, at least for now.

I'm considering some modifications to make it more stable and easier to sail, more convenient to launch and retrieve, and to add electric propulsion.  So I'm posting my ideas here in the hope of receiving some constructive feedback from our community.

Mast:
This Saturday I'm going to a nearby city to look at and maybe buy a Finland-built woven fiberglass windsurfer mast which the seller claims weighs between 5 and 10 pounds.  This is MUCH lighter than my current solid fir mast, so if I can make it work should drastically improve stability (but will not provide righting moment).

Ballasted keel:
I'm thinking of either adding a lead-weighted swing keel, or cutting out a section of the keel, taking it to a lead supplier to make a mold from it to pour a matching lead slug, and bolting it in place of the cutout.  Depending on size, this may provide up to 100 pounds of ballast.  If this isn't enough to provide sufficient stability and righting moment, I may fasten additional lead sheets along the sides of the keel with screws.  I'm hoping that a total of about 200 pounds of lead (my approximate weight and about half the boat's current weight) will be sufficient for this purpose.  The boat will remain unsinkable with this amount of lead.

Cabin:
The first time I launched and after a pleasant sail I had the misfortune of turning the boat turtle due to a jibe error.  Phone ruined, wristwatch ruined and a boat filled to the gunwales with water.  Waves made it impossible to make headway in bailing out the water, even with a five gallon bucket.

So my next idea is to add a small cabin that can be sealed off  and adding sealed compartments under the cockpit seats in order to drastically reduce the amount of water that can be in the cockpit in the event of a rollover.  The cabin itself would be a tight fit suitable only for storage but the cabin itself is secondary to the purpose of keeping water out.  This would be major refit, the thought of which fills me with trepidation, since I'd have to cut out a front portion of the seats and do minor surgery elsewhere.

Electric propulsion.  Two options I'm considering: 

1.  Hang a Minn Kota off the transom.  Advantages: economical and easy to install, propeller drag can be eliminated by tilt-up of motor.  Disadvantages: Weight off the back end and aesthetics, may be hard to reach with the boom gallows in the way. 

2:  custom-built inboard drive based on this Glen-L design:



Advantages: Completely hidden in rear compartment, customizable controls that are conveniently located.  Disadvantages: more complicated setup than Minn Kota, constant prop drag, will require a thru-hull penetration.

Single-handing improvements:
1.  Elimination of tabernacle.  Since the fiberglass mast will be so much lighter, I can eliminate the tabernacle and just remove the mast for transport, laying the full length of it on the boom gallows and a fitting I'll fabricate for the front end.  Quick-release pins can be used for forestay and shrouds.  I found that the tabernacle made it impossibly cumbersome to raise the mainsail because the rings got caught on the tabernacle hardware.  So I replaced the rings with a sail track.  That was an improvement but had problems of it's own.  I may be able to return to using rings if the tabernacle is eliminated.
2.  The halyards can be routed over the cabin top putting it within easy reach of the helm.  I want to be able to raise, lower and trim both sails with one hand, without taking the other hand off the tiller.


Those are my ideas so far.  Any constructive feedback or additional ideas are most welcome and appreciated.

You might install the Minn-Kota in a well made out of a steel tube. Just slightly larger than the composite shaft of the Minn-Kota that can easily be shortened so that the tiller - regulator is just above the deck. It is easy to remove the top part with tiller and regulator from the shaft and if you are careful you can use a hacksaw to shorten the shaft without destroying the cables going down to the motor.
Been there, done that!

One of the best things I have done for my weekender was to make a hollow gaff to match my hollow box mast.  I would recommend that you use a cooper layup for the gaff and even the mast if you choose to.  When I first used the new gaff, the improvement was noticibale with my eyes closed.  The whole balance of the boat was greatly improved.  When I changed from a square mast to an octagonal mast the amount of pull that I got out of the main sail was also noticeable with my eyes shut. 

Those are just a couple of the many changes that I have done to my weekender to  make her perform better.  There are more in the offing.

Al

Mark
I built one and feel your pain, heres my thoughts
Keel: cut the keel to a more traditional shape which should help alot with the sluggish handling
Weight: paul told me that weighting the keel won’t have any more effect thn just putting weight low in the boat, on thefloor midships , couple lead weights or even sandbags
Motor: i had a 40 lb thrust minn kota was amazing pushing that boat
Cabin: seems excessive id close in under the seats adding floatation ( i used pool noodles ) then secure a waterproof box to the floor behind the mast if you’re concerned about your stuff

Try a few minor mods see if you start liking the boat before spending big $$
Just my 2cents

Yesterday I went down to Olympia and picked up two sets of windsurfer masts with wishbone booms, and one sail.  The masts weigh hardly anything but i'm concerned over whether they'r strong enough for the Skipjack.  They're woven fiberglass, tapered from about 2 1/2 inches at the base to just over an inch at the tip.  Made in Finland.  I think the brand is Vinta.  They're designed for the slip-over sock type sail that came with them.  No holes for hardware.  So I'll have to figure out a no-holes-for-hardware rigging solution.  I'm afraid that any drilled holes will weaken an already marginal mast for this boat.  I think Paul (RIP) offered up some advice over on my build thread that may be useful.

Al, I'm planning to replace the solid wood gaff and boom with lightweight hollow ones.  Not sure whether aluminum, carbon or fiberglass at this point.  Depends on cost and what I can find.  Can you explain the cooper layup?  Google didn't help.

Bob,
I've been thinking of something similar for the motor.  And if I can somehow keep its ability to rotate then I can power through a tack when the winds aren't cooperating, so in that case can leave the keel alone.  I'm skeptical though about putting ballast inside the boat on the floor.  I can't picture that positioning providing the leverage necessary for righting moment.  Although I like the sandbag idea...that's a cheap way to test the theory.

Mark
I think the mast will work try it with the slip on sail
All i did with the motor was lock it straight and steer with my rudder tiller. I did exactly what
you said and would motor mail alot you can’t even hear the motor and it moved the boat through turns
PAR suggested the only way keel wait helps is if its farther from the boat then is possible with the skipjack keel. I’d try the sandbags

Hi Mark,

I wonder if Paul's keel modification would improve your boat. He was never a huge fan of ballasting little flat-bottomed boats, but his plans gave an easy way to make a more fin-shaped keel.

I did it on my Weekender, and although I was only able to sail it a couple of times before the bad weather set in, I thought it made the boat snappier in the tack, and it had less leeway and weather-helm. Frankly, when it's up on its trailer you can tell by looking at it that the Ricelli keel is a better idea.

Paul recommended trying the new shape first before trying ballast. But you know, just looking at the geometry, saving ten pounds of top-hamper is almost the same as putting a hundred pounds on that stubby keel.



I have to admit, I've never had the trouble you have had with sailing the design. You did a beautiful job on it, and it LOOKS the same, shape-wise, as any other weekender or skipjack. There must be a problem, easily fixed, that you might be overlooking. Like maybe your mast is raked back too much for instance. Otherwise, you might try re-shaping your keel. I'm not sure how you might get a copy of Paul's plans but if you look at my thread on the subjet you'll get the idea.


edit: about the sandbag idea, Imhave to admit that after noticing the boat sailed better with one of my friends in it, I put a fifty-pound lead ingot on the floor right in front of the bulkhead. I'm not sure it helps with stability or not, but I think it miht give the boat more momentum. One of the reasons tacking can be difficult is that the boat is so light, and has such a draggy profile, it basically stops dead when it's coming through the eye of the wind. A bit of weight would give her the momentum to carry through. Your boat has got to be at least a hundred pounds lighter than mine- mine has all kinds of crap stashed inside for camping, plus an anchor and chain up front AND that lead ingot I was talking about... maybe try the sandbag idea and see what you think?

I just discovered that Glen-L has an electric trolling motor version of the electric inboard plans.  So now I have two choices:

http://www.glen-l.com/designs/special/etm.html



I don't think I'll need the remote steering though.

(06-12-2018, 10:21 AM)Mark Shank Wrote: [ -> ]I just discovered that Glen-L has an electric trolling motor version of the electric inboard plans.  So now I have two choices:

http://www.glen-l.com/designs/special/etm.html



I don't think I'll need the remote steering though.

This is exactly what I meant and what I have built in my boat although ithout the steering. My Minn Kota is fixed in its tube and I use rudder to steer the boat.

I’d just attach it to the transom and see how the boat saiils with your changes its a cheap easy fix. Costco sells great inexpensive marine batteries