Andy's Ramblin's - Continual entrys

September, 2009 Update  (Please go to the bottom of the blog for most recent update)

March 15, 2009

One of our illustrious colleagues on WBB (Wooden Boat Builder) asked me recently how I came about choosing the Curlew as my next project to build and so I am adding this little memoir to my notes here...

It started many years ago (around 1977) because when I was around 16 years old I had a paper route and worked at a Boy Scout camp and had earned a fair amount of money.  During this time I had become, through the Boy Scouts, initiated to water sports like canoeing (heavy, almost indestructible Grumman's) and sailing (we played "pirates" on a small impound lake on Sailfish boats).  I became enamored with sailing and the concept that I could harness the wind to take me places.  So, with my hard-earned paper route money I bought a used 10' sailing dinghy built of oak ribs and mahogany plywood.  The mast was footed in aircraft aluminum and the top third of the spar was made of spruce, I think.  The boom was spruce, the mainsail was of saggy nylon, there was no jib and half of the chromed fittings were chromed no more and brass was showing through.  All of this for $100.  My Dad drove me in our F100 pickup to fetch her home.  I spent hours cleaning her up, hand-scrubbing the sail and finished by painting the hull with some aqua-blue marine paint I got at the local hardware store (I think it was Petit's). 

She was taken out to my Grandparent's summer house on Big Cedar Lake near Slinger, WI.  There I spent many happy hours on the water.  Late that fall I was up to the lake with my mom - I think she was closing up the house for the winter and helping my elderly grandparents get ready for the move back to Milwaukee.  I took the boat out for one last time.  It was a cold, grey day with steady winds.  As it was the last sail of my first season I ventured way over to the big east end of the lake where the sailing regattas were always held (I think that I was drawn there by the thought of maybe competing in some of the beginner classes) I was on a running reach and some how got knocked down by a strong gust.  I went over and started to turn turtle.  The boat had no additional buoyancy other than it was made of wood and ply.  The mast had no running rigging and so became un-stepped.  So here I am with no life jacket on, I am trying to hang on to the boat to keep from drowning and the mast because I was afraid it would sink and somehow I was trying to use my third hand to wave a red boat cushion over my head to signal anyone for help.

I was extremely fortunate that I am here today to tell this tale as a man had seen me from shore (he was probably admiring my fine little craft and my expert seamanship) as I flipped over.  He quickly jumped into his fishing boat and raced out to rescue me... I was towed back to shore shivering and freezing...  I only sailed her that one summer - she was stored first in my grandpa's garage at the lake and then got transferred to a neighbor's boathouse the following year.  I was busy doing other things and lost track of her.  I think that I eventually gave her to that gentleman's grand kids - I never saw her again...

This started my interest in building my own, more substantial boat.  A dream I carried for many years until I had built my first cedarstrip canoe (the one you see in my photo album).  It was 2004 and I had been in my professional career as a florist and greenhouse operator for several years and had managed to accumulate a fair bit of woodworking tools owing to the business and building the canoe.  Here was the time to start searching for plans to a boat that would fulfill my dreams, that didn't stretch my woodworking skills too much, and that I could afford the cost of.  I had through my later childhood and college visited the library and bookstores often, checking out books on sailing and boat-building and stumbled on Edwin Monk's book on building sixteen different small boats.  And there was the 'Curlew'!

 

The design showed a boat which didn't look too hard to build.  She was more substantial with an iron pivoting centerboard (I guess you could call it a swing keel) and I figured that I could use her on larger lakes and even sail some of the coastline of Lake's Superior or Michigan.  With the pivoting centerboard I could run her up on a beach and sail in quite shallow waters.  That late summer, I began building her in an unused 24x32' greenhouse at the back of my property on Rice Lake (in Rice Lake, WI).  As a side note I will say that that greenhouse was the best workshop I ever had.  The cover was an inflated double layer of tough, uv resistant 6 ml plastic.  During the day, even in the winter, It was very warm - at a minus 10 deg F it was still 60+ deg inside, even on a cloudy day.  I had a small used house furnace which I ran during the nights, keeping the work area around 40+ deg.   By the spring of '05 the hull was essentially finished. 

 

The failing economy (and my business) forced me to stop most of the work on Curlew.  I was having to sell the greenhouse property and try to reestablish my flower shop in a new location, move to a new home, and struggle to make a living.  At no time did the boat itself really cost me that much to build.  I had the tools, I had most of the materials other than the plywood, and I rarely spent more than an hour or two at any given time working on her.  She now sits as you know in my shop (converted garage).  We have moved to a rental place on another lake north of town where I hope to launch her this summer once I finish the deck, build the spars and rig her.  We shall see lol....

 

April 8, 2009

 

The ice is coming off of the lake finally.  I am looking forward to going for a paddle and maybe even go after some pan fish.  Bass fishing doesn't start for another month but I can still catch and release...

 

Lots of yard work to do but as I am off today I am hoping to get in the shop and do some work - maybe pull the sailboat into the driveway so I can maneuver inside and continue the cleaning/straightening project.  Work has been so busy with the new owners, inventory, getting ready for spring sales and, because of the economy, a large influx of new do-it-yourself er's trying to save money.  I am not complaining mind you.  Part of my future wages will possibly be in the form of sales incentives, i.e., the better my hardware department does, some extra will be thrown in my end of the year...  Kind of like an AIG bonus....  lol....

 

May 1, 2009

 

Well, the side and stern decks are framed in although I am probably going to add a few additional members in the bow and stern areas because of the potential for extra weight from boarding, rigging and anchoring, etc.

 

The workspace is coming along.  I managed to install the workbench under the window and hang some pegboard above it...  I have a bit more pegboard going in on the side wall - probably an area of about 3x8 ft.

 

The weekend is supposed to be beautiful!  It is the fishing opener, we are supposed to get temps up in the mid-sixties, sunny, with less wind than we have been having around here lately.  I need to get my license, maybe fish for some bluegills and crappie...

My wife is off this weekend also so we can spend a little quality time together.

 

I do have to mow three properties this weekend - the grass is really coming up and I don't want to let it get ahead of me otherwise it is extra work later.

 

 

June 27, 2009

 

As you can see from the date on the picture (yea, a new camera!) I have now installed all of the intermediate deck beams and am ready to fit the decking.

I have decided to go with plywood and cover it with painted canvas as this is more in keeping with the original design and it is much less expensive and much faster to do...

 

I am having to correct a minor error I made in the original beams...  where they butt into the sides of the hull they ended being slightly higher and at a different top angle so now as I lay the plywood down, I have a big gap all along the underside of the deck edge.

I am now using my power planer and hand plane to "shave" down the top edge of the beams and ribs so that the plywood lies flat along the hull edge...

 

July 6, 2009

 

All of the decking is roughed in.  I need to now prime and paint the undersides and then plan to attach the decking with screws and 3M 5200 sealant/adhesive.  I will post pictures tomorrow here on my blog...

 

July 20, 2009

 

The priming is done finally, now I need to move on to painting the undersides with the interior finish coat.

 

I have been very pleased using the Porch Paint from ACE.  It has performed beautifully and has developed a very tough film that I can attest to as I have bounced a few tools off of the interior bottom and floors and haven't done any real damage to the finish

 

 

July 25, 2009

 

Decking is now roughed in and I am getting ready to paint the deck framing and underside of the plywood before I screw and glue it all down.

 

I got a great bargain through work the other day.  I picked up 25 6" clamps like you see here for $1.00 apiece.  The new ones I just got actually have a bolt with nut through them instead of just a pin (which occasionally slips out).  These new clamps have about a 3" capacity and will work just fine...

 

You will see that I have some paper laid out on the starboard bench.  This is "green-line" computer paper I get as scrap from work.  It works beautifully for so many things like scratch notes, basic layout and plans, pattern making, paint catching, etc. 

 

Here is a shot of me trimming the edges of the plywood.  I am using a Stanley Low-angle block plane (I have two of them) which is just about my favorite hand tool.  I use it for so many things and not just for difficult wood grain although it excels at that.  I like it for standard edge planing too as it has a nice heft and fits comfortably in my hand.  The whole key to using planes is to keep those blades SHARP! 

 

I hand hone all of my blades.  I use a diamond stone (mine a DMT brand) for basic grinding of the blade and then switch to Arkansas soft and hard stones respectively.  I finish up by stropping the blades on an old leather harness strap.  I do not use a honing guide as I have had lots of practice at this.  I imagine as I get older and a little less steady that I might go to a guide...

 

Well, the bow section is calling my name as I need to put the final paint coat in the interior and paint the underside of the bow decking so I can get the hull closed up.

 

From this point I will finish sanding, staining, and varnishing the centerboard box.  I sealed and varnished the inside of the box (the board slot) when I put it together but I think that I am going to apply several additional diluted sprays of varnish using a tank sprayer and wand to insure as much protection as possible to a rather inaccessible area.  I will use a long bottle brush-type tool to put a final full strength coat on.  A friend put me onto the idea of using a long cotton wool swab that is used for cleaning shotgun barrels.  They hold alot of material and should work great for this application.  I will let you know after I have experimented with this idea.

 

September 14, 2009

 

The deck is on now.  I have placed a bead of PL  Adhesive on all of the tops of the beams, breasthook, etc and placed heavily galvanized screws every 4 - 5 inches.  This deck is not going to move except with a fair wind following...  lol.  All of the screw holes were filled with wood putty and I am ready to turn the hull so I can touch up the priming and paint.  I had primed the hull several years ago but because it spent a winter outside under a leaky tarp in northern Wisconsin it has come off in a few spots and I need to touch up/repair one of the plywood scarfs.

I have chosen a deep blue color as the main color with the buff (light tan) interior paint as the accent stripe and topside color.  I am going to need to recruite a few friends to assist with getting the hull over and on its sawhorses.  I figure on allowing the paint to cure about 1 - 2 weeks before righting the hull again.  I should be able to get the iron swing-keel epoxied and installed by that point and then I would like to do a trial launch to make sure the damn thing doesn't sink (otherwise its going to end up being a very expensive lawn ornament!).

 

I am very excited to get her afloat with an official launching in the spring under full sail.  This brings up a question I have - has anyone in the group had experience using the "navy" style anchors.  How well do they work?  Problems or issues?  I figure that I will need at least two anchors and with a 16' boat each one should be about 18-22 lbs.?  This is assuming that I will be doing occasional sailing on Lake Superior with stronger water movement, winds.  I have also considered the "danforth" style...  Any suggestions.