St. Jacques Log 29 Dec 16 Side Seat

29 Dec 16:

Tuned the edges of the 2 1/2 inch side seat slats. I had some peaks and troughs, but knew I had a little excess to work with because I wanted a pencil size gap between the slats. So I got the outer edge of the first plank faired with a Black and Decker belt sander and 40 grit, then used a Stanley combination square to scribe a line 2 1/4 inches onto the inside curve. Belt sanded that line to fair curve. By fair curve I mean that when you look down the edge it has a constant, smooth radius vs bumps and dips. If it looks right then it is right, we don't want the eye to catch on a chowdered up area.

Nestled the next slat next the first slat and used a divider compass to find the biggest gap between the two, then scribed the inner slat fair curve to the face of the next slats outer curve. Sanded to fair. Repeat. Scribe. Sand. Scribe. Sand. Scribe. Sand. Scribe. Sand. Then I routed the edges of all the slats with a 1/2 inch roundover bit on a Dewalt compact trim router. Don't round over the aft beveled edge, that takes all of the bevel off! Ask me how I know...

Next I cut a 3/4 inch riser from a nice piece of 1 1/2 thick cypress for support under inboard slat, it curves from under the middle seat back to the bulkhead. Used our Dewalt jigsaw for the cut. Attached riser with silicone bronze screws.

We really like how the TotalBoat Wood Sealer and Gleam varnish are turning out. It is exactly the satin sheen and hue we hoped for on the cypress seats and centerboard case cap. We will build up a few more coats for protection but the coverage, flow and leveling have been outstanding so far. href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7SXkig9_xc-TCQqQcH342cOqPMSdX6A1Hie-mt4EP1KXfh5XiYpYFX7xUvaIj3-LZ-03rlpqssInQENuYJzXSIfrEz13dxrGyRy7ruDXqn5Cfqblp_xk1SZX0iK8rj-IRbnCsZweWcJI/s1600/IMG_0364.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;">

St. Jacques Log 28 Dec 16 Seats

28 Dec 16:

Cut cleats for the middle seat.

Middle seat installed, silicone bronze screws through the hull to the cleat and seat, then screws inside through the seat to the cleat. Wood sealer for the case cap.

Marked and cult slats for the side seat. We wanted slats and curved fron, vs the solid seat in the palns. Lots of small cuts to get a decent fit along the sweepeing hull.

Slats are 2 1 /2 inches wide and flow over the aft compartment. We are not going to seal the stern or bow compartments, but instead add XPS foam and/or fenders for extra floatation.

Primed the starboard side with Rust-Oleum Marine Wood and Fiberglass Primer.

Click here for St. Jacques complete log.

Cyane Log 27 Dec 16 Sailing and Beach Ops

27 Dec 16:

Nice day, light wind, 72F, so why not go for a motor/sail/paddle/stand up paddle? One of the great things about the Daysailer, she will float in a teaspoon of water with her centerboard and pop up rudder. We were able to launch and recover from the beach with no issues.

Skipper drove and we flew the spinnaker!

Cyane's Log.

St. Jacques Log 27 Dec 16 CB and Seats

27 Dec 16:

Cut the handle for the centerboard from a broom handle. Drilled the 7/8 inch hole halfway through one side then finished it from the other side to prevent tearout. The bit was very dull, take a look at the shavings and the burn mark. Time for anew bit.

Worked on the fit for the middle seat, adjusted bevels per the Skipper's direction.

Exciting times, it goes up and it goes down! Except for the dolly underneath....



Click here for St. Jacques complete log.

St. Jacques Log 26 Dec 16 CB and Middle Seat

26 Dec 16:

Cut out the middle seat and attached the centerboard case. Sealed, primed and varnished some pieces.

Primed the port planks and stringers with Rust_Oleum Marine Coating wood and fiberglass primer.

Checking the plans to see where the seat sits on top of the centerboard case.

Pulled seat length and thickness off of this plan.

Picked the bevel off of the stringers and set the circular saw.

Scribed the curve.

Picked the bevel off of the stringers and set the circular saw. I cut the top board first hoping it would be long enough. It wasn't but the curve was right, so I used the first board to mark a longer boar. Cut the bevel and the curve with one pass. I'll use the first board for other seat parts.

Dry fit the centerboard case and middle seat. Drilled holes for the case log (bottom) screws and seat screws.

Sealed the bottom of the seat with Jamestown Distributors TotalBoat Wood Sealer and prepped for Gleam satin varnish. This is the first time we used the wood sealer, we got a free sample from JD and I bought the varnish to go with it. We also bought the varnish kit which came with paint pots, 10" stir sticks, paint straining filters, and 2" foam brushes. I really liked how it flowed on, nice and smooth with minimal brushing and it did a good job of sealing the wood for the varnish. The foam brushes knocked the top ridges down nicely and kept us from having drips down the side. It was nice to know that we had the right amount of sealer vs guessing on a thinned varnish approach. And we also try to stick to the same system of epoxy, paint or varnish once we get started on a project. I have to say I was impressed by the JD video and the results that Louis Sauzedde got with their varnish system. And I can't speak highly enough of how the JD technical and sales staff have supported us through a variety of phases in several projects, by phone, email and even their forum. Free shipping for VIP membership has come in handy, we just got some more silicone bronze screws with the varnish and THIXO on our last order. THIXO is ready to seal up the centerboard case.

Attached the centerboard case with Jamestown Distributors THIXO Fast Cure thickened epoxy and 6 silicone bronze screws. The screws are basically used to hold the case while the THIXO cures. I taped up the centerboard and kept it in the case during install to make sure I had the right clearance. Taped the area first to minimize epoxy spread. Peel the tape asap before epoxy cures. Don't drive to the airport and come back later expecting to peel it then....okay I did that...if that happens, get and exacto knife and cut through the epoxy along the tape edge, then peel the tape up.

Once the board was screwed in, I removed the centerboard and put in a few spacer sticks. I wrapped a few spacer sticks in plastic and dropped those through the top. Then crawled underneath to wipe out excess epoxy.

Port side primed for Oyster White. Starboard side sealed. First coat of varnish on the seat. Note the alignment sticks in the centerboard slot, I put plastic on the bottom of those so they don't get glued permanent. And yes, the centerboard case is offset to port because there is a small continuous keel under the boat. Where's Waldo?

Click here for St. Jacques complete log.

Gardner Shop Step Stool Update 26 Dec 16

26 Dec 16 Update:

It has been fun to look at other boat shop sites and look for their benches and stools. One funny time lapse video you could see the shop stool wandering all over the place like a little dog. Our little guy has helped on several projects and has a nice patina going now. I guess we could call it "Waldo" because we have fun finding out where it is at. :)

How to build the John Gardner Small Boat Shop step stool.

Hanna Log 24 Dec 16 Lug Rig and Bridle

24 Dec 16:

In an effort to simplify rigging of the balanced lug sails, we added a snap shackle to the yard end of the halyard. Now it can be snapped on quickly to an eye that is permanently seized to the yard. Also added a line of parrel beads to hold the yard close to the mast when on a tack that has the wind on the mast side of the sail. We tied a 1/8 inch line around the yard with a bowline, strung 7 parrel beads, then put a snap shackle on the tail end of the line, with enough line for the shackle to come around the yard and grab the parrel bead line.

We alternate the side of the foremast and mainmast that the sails are on to have at least one sail flowing free of the mast on each tack, per Doug's suggestion. Having the snap shackle on the end of the halyard will help us keep sorted out which side the yard is attached. It kind of doesn't matter for most conditions if it gets swapped, but there are more trim options if the downhaul is on the side of the mast that has the lower cleat.

The rudder can be removed by sliding it up to clear the top gudgeon off of the pintle and then rotating it 90 degrees to clear the lower gudgeon. We are experimenting with making the bridle long enough to allow the tiller to clear without having to remove the bridle, but that might be too much.

Our son wanted a photo of the boat so I photobombed. We discussed painting the end of the planks on the transom to give the boat a classic lapstrake transom look. The planks are 3/8 inch and we may bump them up to 1/2 inch when we paint

Brought the foresail inside to work on the rigging, clean up the outhauls and reef lines a bit. Merry Christmas!

Click here for Hanna's Log.

Barbashela Log 24 Dec 16 Line Drawing

24 Dec 16:

Worked on a line drawing for Barbashela.

Click here for Barbashela's log.

St. Jacques Log 24 Dec 16 Rudder and Centerboard

24 Dec 16:

Gathered bolts and bushings for the centerboard and rudder. I decided to use the same size for both pieces. Got a 5/16th inch bolt and what I thought was a copper pipe with 3/8 inch inner diameter to use as a bushing. I drilled the hole for the bushing then discovered that I bought the wrong size and now the hole was too big. So back to Ace Hardware and they hooked me up with 2 different size bronze bushings that they pressed together. So now I had a good bushing to fill the oversize holes and the correct inner diameter. Trimmed to fit with a reciprocating saw and bedded with Jamestown Distributors TotalBoat THIXO thickened epoxy. Got the fast cure because I expected temps to be in the 60s.

Measured the centerboard case and rudder head to determine required bolt length.

Checked the fit.



Click here for St. Jacques complete log.

Geoff Kerr at Two Daughters Boatworks

We have picked up a lot of building tips while watching Geoof Kerr build a Caledonia Yawl in his 42 part series hosted by Off Center Harbor. One we used today was a tip on how to clean epoxy out of a centerboard case slot during assembly with part of a paint stick :) One we forgot was to drill the case log screw holes before assembly because drill clearance is tight once the case is built :/

(Image: Small Craft Advisor).

He also has a great video on the steps in the painting process.

From Off Center Harbor: "Geoff Kerr does business as Two Daughters Boatworks in Westford, Vermont, on New England’s “west coast.” His interest in boats began at age 16 with a Hurricane Island Outward Bound School course and continued as a Coast Guard officer. Geoff learned the trade later from Joe Youcha at the Alexandria Seaport Foundation, where he served as shop foreman and instructor in that dynamic environment. In his present, one-man, full-service Vermont shop, Geoff does small-craft repairs and restorations, as well as new construction, specializing in Iain Oughtred’s Caledonia Yawl. He has been affiliated with Chesapeake Light Craft since the company’s infancy, and is a licensed builder of their many designs, as well as an authorized and experienced instructor."

Off Center Harbor/Geoff Kerr

Off Center Harbor offers a lot of free content and more paid. I think the Caledonia Yawl series alone is well worth the cost of a one year membership. We enjoy the site so much that we bought the Life Membership. But you know we are a little boat struck :)