St. Jacques Log 17 Mar 17 Gunwale, Knee and Breasthook

17 Mar 17:

Silicone bronze screws, TotalBoat sealant, Gleam Satin Varnish and varnish kit arrived from Jamestown Distributors. I was able to call them, talk to a knowledgeable person and order over the phone. Free shipping to CONUS because I bought a VIP membership for $59.99 USD, which paid for itself months ago.

Starboard side outer gunwale scarf fastened with Pettit Marine Paint Flexpoxy. Once it dries we might add a silicone bronze screw as well.

Irwin pilot drill and countersink for a #10 Frearson silicone bronze wood screw. I bought the Irwins at Lowes, Jamestown Distributors sells a full set by Fuller as well.

#10 silicone bronze screw for the outer gunwales. Why silicone bronze? Because we want this to be a 100 year boat vs a 7 year boat. "Traditional boatbuilders love these Silicon Bronze wood screws because they have cut threads and the full-bodied diameter shank. Unlike rolled thread screws with their reduced shank--these screws have a shank diameter that is the same size as the outside of the threads. This completely fills the clearance hole normally drilled for the shank thus creating a waterproof seal" (JD, 2017). Silicone bronze is also one of the most durable materials to use in the marine environment, especially below waterlines. Had I known earlier I would have considered them vs the 316 stainless.

Pulled the angle with a bevel for the thwart knee. Trimmed to fit around risers and duplicated for the other 3 seat knees.

Breasthook blank (triangular bow section). 6/4 S4S or 1 1/2 inch thick cypress, will be shaped down to 1 1/4 inch along the gunwales.

Cut bevel on forward edge of breasthook blank.

Found angle for sides of breasthook. It has to fit down and in, so that angle needs to be moved over. Arch describes how to do it in his book, my method is a little different so use at your own peril. (Edit: My method was wrong! I brought the top lines in instead of taking them out further to match the bevel. Ooops).

Found vertical to move breasthook bevel over, it will sit inside the gunwale. (Edit: Turns out this spacing was moved the wrong direction, I should have moved it outward vs inward. We want the top 1/4 inch of the breasthook to sit above the gunwale, so it can be shaped with a slight crown.)

Moved over breasthook bevel. (Edit: The wrong way...)

Marked forward edge of breasthook side profile.

Marked underside of breasthook side profile.

Drew cut lines for breasthook. I suppose you could cut from the top or bottom, depending on your saw. My intent was to cut it a bit wide and finish it to fit with a rasp and plane....stay tuned for breaking news.

I cut the port side line and the fit looked good. I wanted to cut outside the starboard side line to leave it a little proud for fitting the breasthook....well I moved the spacing the wrong way and I cut on the wrong side of the line! Moaning chair time. Looks like I need to adjust for the sweep a little as well.

5 minute epoxy in our future?

St. Jacques Log

St. Jacques Log 10 Mar 17 Gunwales and Bow

10 Mar 17:

Worked on the outer gunwales and shaped the bow and keel.

Measured for the outer gunwale.

Cut the outer gunwale to 1 1/4 high by 3/4 inch wide from cypress.

Clamped the gunwale and secured it with silicone bronze screws.

Shaped the stem and keel with a belt sander, handplane and randowm orbital sander.

Measured, cut and scarfed the starboard gunwale.

Log of St. Jacques

Webb in St Helena

Our friend Webb Chiles has made "port" in St Helena after leaving Durban SA a few weeks back. Quite an adventure for himself and his Moore 24 GANNETT.

More Info on his blog: Self-Portrait In The Present Sea

St. Jacques Log 07 Mar 17: Bow Seat

07 Mar 17:

I've been pondering the bow seat for the Penobscot 14 for weeks, finally tackled it. Used the paper pattern to get the first slat roughed in, then measured, cut and screwed the rest of the slats. Rounded the edges with a trim router, applied a coat of Jamestown Distributors TotalBoat Wood Sealer, then the first coat of JD TotalBoat Gleam Varnish Satin. Skipper brought out coffee and Skippervised.

Paper pattern that we made a few weeks back for the bow seat, traced the outer edge and stem notch for the port side seat slat.

Made the rough cut with a 4 1/2 inch circular saw. Then scribed the plank curve onto the bow seat slat. The nice compass was a junk shop find!

Bow seat slat outer edge trimmed and beveled 10 degrees inward to fit close to hull plank.

Marked the inner edge of the 2 1/4 inch seat slat.

Coffee Commander and Skippervisor.

Basic frame for bow seat slats, first 2 slats cut and screwed to battens with silicone bronze Frearson screws from Jamestown Distributors. Be sure to order the Frearson bit and Fuller countersink bits as well, they make installation easy.

Cut and fit more bow seat slats, spaced exactly number 2 pencil width apart. Secured with silicone bronze screws.

Cut a nice edge detail on one side of the seat then copied the profile onto painter's paper for the mirror side.

Made a pattern to transfer the seat edge detail to the flip side. Cut with jigsaw.

Sealed the cypress with Jamestown Distributors TotalBoat Wood Sealer Varnish Primer. They sent me a free sample to try out and I like it. It coats well and doesn't run, it also has a long working time. They also sold me the chip brushes, paint strainers, gloves and Gleam varnish.

First coat of Jamestown Distributors TotalBoat Gleam Satin Spar Varnish over cypress. I like the color and the varnish has a long working time.

Penobscot 14 bow seat, removable for storage and maintenance access. Arch's design calls for this compartment to be sealed, but we wanted access and ventilation instead. We will place a few Extruded Polystyrene (XPS) blocks in there and in the aft compartment as well, possibly spare PFDs and float cushions as well. Primary occupant of this compartment will be the anchor and anchor line.

Here are a few more detail photos.

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