Ship's Wheel Resto

 01 Sep 23:

A friend offered a real ship's wheel to add to the back yard light ship, to complement the plastic wheel already in place. I suppose there can be two, one for port side and one for starboard, useful for maneuvering the ship in port. 

The wheel was gifted to our retired Coast Guard friend Steve, but Steve's armada was already full up with wheels. It sat in storage for a while, then was called to active service for several years on his Grandkid's playset. When the family had a homeport change, the wheel returned to ready storage with Steve. Now the wheel has been called back into active service at our Mid Atlantic Station. We took it today, gave it a scrub with water, Dawn dishwashing liquid and then Tilex. Here it is ready for a wood finish. 

We had a few Minwax finishes to pick from, Chestnut Polyshades on the left, then Red Oak stain or Gunstock stain. Gunstock was the winner.

Staining raw wood is always a pleasant experience, the wood said "aaaaahhhhhh" and just soaked the stain in. We applied a base coat then went back with another coat, knowing that the color would darken with each application.

We set the wheel up in the drying booth (aka the westward facing windows of the Carriage House), to bake the finish for a few days. At the time we weren't sure which type of varnish we'd use as a sealant. We were considering TotalBoat Gleam Satin Marine Varnish, but know that this oil based stain needs to be dry dry dry before even attempting to apply a poly varnish. After a phonecon with Capn Rick, Skipper's brother, we decided to apply a coat or two of Minwax Helmsman Spar Urethane, to ensure compatibility with the Minwax stain. Capn Jack also liked to use Minwax with stain finishes, so that's the route we are going. 

We also made the first pass at cleaning up the metal, we used Pikal, a metal polish that we have used on some other projects. We aren't trying for a super bright finish, but we are more focused on getting a protective coat on the metal.

Kobalt

30 Aug 23:

Kobalt for the win on the 24V dual battery mower. It's light, self propelled and quieter than Skipper. Most importantly, she likes it. I edged with the 24V trimmer and then used the blower. 

We have found these cord reels to be useful, with the 4 outlets on the side. We bought a few more to add to our storm prep and portable generator back up plan.

Ladderwell Balusters

 17 Aug 23:

As usual the wee pirate showed up early, but announced, to check on the progress of the new ladderwell. She of course was not pleased with the lack of balusters. Today we cut two to check the look and fit and were pleased with the concept.

Our stair building friend Paul suggested a small chamfer on top and bottom, functionally to help shed rainwater and aesthetically for a pleasing look. This also helps reduce sharp corners. We fastened with wood deck screws from the backside to avoid drilling pilot holes, as a fastening a narrow piece from the outer face without a pilot or countersink  tends to split the wood along the grain.

Now to cut and fasten about 30 more :)

Bosun's Chair Dynamic Testing

14 Aug 23:

One of our furry friends came by today to conduct dynamic testing on the bosun's chair. He had been studying the chair for a few days and finally took the literal leap today. 

All is well. We named him Bosun. 

TimberLOK Structural Wood Screws

 14 Aug 23:

TimberLOK structural wood screws. We discovered these screws last year and have been using them in place of 3/16th inch diameter lag bolts. We use a lot of SPF (Spruce Pine Fir) lumber and the TimberLOK has over twice the shear strength of the lag bot or 16d nail. Easy to install, even more so with an impact driver. Most recent application today was to attach handrail posts to the new and and improved ladderwell for the light ship.

Hard to read the TimberLok shear load number in this photo, but it is 260 pound foot. 

Second post and handrail went up today. 

Trail Walking

 13 Aug 23:

The casual reader of our blog might have figured out that we enjoy being outdoors. Today we found ourselves exploring another section of the Noland Trail around Mariners' Lake at the Mariners' Museum, Newport News. There are several scenic overlooks around the trail and benches every half mile of the five mile loop. A picnic bench beckons ahead.

There are several spots to enter the trail, and most of the trail is shaded. With the hot weather we get out to walk early and chase the shade around the trail. The current goal we are working towards is to do the complete loop around the trail, but for now we are learning the topography of the different sections.

Keep pushing the Fun Button!

Kent and Audrey

Shade Sail Trials

12 Aug 23:

Shade Sail Trials are complete. We have used it several times and found it essential if we want to sit on the deck in the late afternoon and heat index in the sun is over 100F. There is a tradeoff if the wind is coming from one direction when the sail cuts down on the breeze. Also, the sail blocks our view of the arched bridge, where squirrels show up to ask for peanuts to be thrown at them.  

Here is the shade at 20:30:22 GMT (DST). If I posted a picture at noon, Webb could do the math based on the shadow and spars angles with relation to the sun and give you the Lat Long of our deck :) 

Skipper promises shadow puppets for our evening Theater In The Woods. She also mentioned something about the sun being over the yardarm...

Removable Trailer Caster Wheel

 11 Aug 23:

We bought a 6x12 aluminum trailer from Carry On last year and it has been getting a workout. We call it Huey II because of its flexible utility, just like the UH-1N "Huey" that I flew in the Marine Corps.

The trailer comes stock with a fixed drop leg jack with a small removable foot pad. We always like to have a wheeled swivel tongue jack on our small trailers, because as you may know, we all off our trailers (7) can be moved by hand so we can play boatyard TETRIS. We made a visit to our local Tractor Supply Company and picked up a Bulldog caster assembly wheel that will fit our A Frame jack. The swivel caster is held to the drop leg with a 3/16th inch diameter pin, and the polyolefin wheel will support 1200 pounds tongue weight. There's a lot more to polyolefin than just a simple olefin..... ha ha, get it? Anyway, polyolefin will be resistant to UV and corrosion, a few things encountered on boat trailers.

It was easy to remove the bolted on foot pad and install the caster wheel with the provided 3/16th inch diameter hitch safety pin. Once we get the trailer connected to a tow vehicle we'll have a better idea of whether we can leave the wheel permanently attached or remove it for each road trip.

While I was fiddling with the tongue jack I notices some surface corrosion on the safety chains, so I applied a protective coat of paint. We also like to paint the tongue red, as a reminder to our shins. If we do bang a shin, the red helps hide the blood. 

Tillers and Boat Hooks

11 Aug 23:

Wandering through our local hardware store we noticed some tillers and boat hook staffs disguised as axe and shovel handles. These handles are often made of ash, which has a nice blend of bendy-strong-light weight. 

Skipper's boat hook from a shovel handle.

Boat Yard Tour - Sunfish Shack Expansion Complete

 10 Aug 23:

We put the final bits of ramp on the Sunfish Shack, so we're going to call the 2023 expansion complete. 

Here's a throwback to where we were in June of 2021, when the first few orange cones went out to mark the space for the new Mid Atlantic Shack. 

And here's where we were in May of this year. 

And where we are today.

Skipper's Bridge.

Lighthouse and Bosun's Chair Academy.

Grapes coming in.

SCOUT's view.

The unmanaged woodlands on our excess acreage have been managed, no fewer than 8 dump trucks full of old brick, metal, glass, china, concrete, dead trees, country flotsam and rural jetsam hauled off. Now that the dead-diseased-invasive vegetations have been suppressed, we have a nice cedar mulch trail, great place for a shaded stroll in the summer among our cornucopia of oak, pine, maple, cedar, gum, dogwood....

A Carriage House, HEUER Garage and work deck showed up.

Soon we'll get SMEDLEY repaired and into his end spot, but it is ready. 

Log of the Sunfish Shack.

Ladderwell v2.0

 13 Aug 23:

As mentioned a few weeks ago the operational testing of the ladderwell for our new lightship identifed some serious ergonomic issues and safety hazards. Since the playset was built for wee tikes up to age 4, I scaled down the steps to those of a young child. For some reason I did not consider that Skipper and Crew would spend more time on the children's playset than the 3 year old...

Grumblings from the crew about the small steps, has led to a complete rebuild. The steps were rebuilt with a 10 1/2 inch tread run with 1/2 inch overhang and a 6 7/8th inch rise. We used a 2x12 stringer so that there was room to raise the stringer an inch or so above the treads. For the steps we used two 2x6 boards, with one trimmed on the aft edge to lead a 1/2 inch scupper slot just before the riser, as we didn't want rainwater and leaves pooling on the steps.

Today, with the 113F heat index, we got the bottom riser attached, landing stones fit, first handrail post and handrail fit. The Skipper and Crew gave the steps a test and there were Thumbs Up all the way around. 

Cypress Creek Kayaks

 12 Aug 23:

We tried out the new kayak rental kiosk at Cypress Creek. Very convenient, paddle and PFD are also provided but we brought our own. Spent 45 minutes or so messing about, the rental period is two hours for $25. It started to get soupy hot so we drifted back to the float launch and checked in with the Ramp Commander.

AMF Minifish Serial Numbers

 12 Aug 23:

AMF bought ALCORT in 1969 and introduced the Minifish around 1971. The Minifish is the 11' 9" little sister to the Sunfish, with a few significant differences. The mast was 9 feet vs 10, booms 2 feet shorter than the Sunfish. Hull weight advertised around 75 pounds. The deck, coaming and cockpit were one continuous mold versus three pieces, and the gunwale was the rolled edge style found on modern Sunfish vs the horizontal deck/hull flange used until 1989. There were holes in the gunwale for a bow line and bridle versus screws. No halyard pulley, just a cleat. Some Minifish had venturi bailers, some didn't. 

What most Minifish no longer have is their identifying Serial No. sticker, AMF thought a thin paper backed sticker on the deck would be sufficient vs a metal tag. We've found no record that ties serial numbers to specific model years, which leaves a 6 0r 7 year gap from the early 1970s until USCG mandated Hull ID Numbers (HIN) began showing up on AMF transoms. 

I rod tripped from Florida up to Tennessee for one Minifish and came home with two, SMOKY and BANDIT. They were fun little boats, small cockpits. Great option for kids or folks who want to lift as little weight as possible. The 65 square foot lateen offered plenty of fun. Skipper took me out for a cruise, I put us a few pounds over the advertised 300 pound crew weight, and the boat sailed fine.

One of many times that Skipper tries to run over the photo buoy boy Video: https://youtu.be/Gylr8IsRqos

We found that the Minifish still handled well when the breeze picked up, with the lower rig and smaller sail. A well balanced boat like the Sunfish, scaled down.

We passed the Minifish along to folks who were car toppers, because at the time we could beach launch any of our fleet from our back yard, and if we were going to rig a Fish, it was going to be a Sunfish. The Sunfish had more legroom and more cockpit lounging space on ghosting days. Maybe one day when 139 pounds on a dolly causes us to pause well look for another Mini.

Total Boat THIXOFlex Repair

 10 Aug 23:

After our TotalBoat THIXOFlex adhesive repair to the bosun's chair slat dried, we sanded the area with 320 grit and brushed on 3 coats of TotalBoat Gleam Satin Marine Spar Varnish. 

Bosun's Chair

 09 Aug 23:

The plastic swings on the playset were more like slings, so the Admiral decreed that we get solid seats. After trolling playset swings we decided to make our own, and they came out looking suspiciously like bosun's chairs. I cut up some spare cypress into 2 inch slats, rounded over the edges and fastened them together with cleats underneath, like we do for wooden decks. 

Next I was trying to figure out how to attach them to the chains and wasn't happy with the ideas I was coming up with, so Skipper said we probably had retired line that we could use. The jib sheet from the Day Sailer CYANE proved to be the exact, and I do mean exact, length. Serendipity.

The seat got several coats of TotalBoat Gleam Satin Marine Spar Varnish.

Worked on the second seat, it needed a small split repaired with TotalBoat THIXO Flex flexible epoxy adhesive. Light clamping pressure is best to ensure the joint fills but not squeeze all the epoxy out of the joint. 

Video: https://youtu.be/Ibq-kIAIsYw

Two retired Sunfish sheets made up the line for the second chair. I load tested the chairs and two pirates, one adult and one wee, set the desired heights.