Port Townsend Foundry made us some beautiful belaying pins. They be used for the downhaul, snotter and sheet. And for capturing prizes on the bay...
Log of St. Jacques.
Friday, June 30, 2017
St Jacques Log 30 Jun 17 Belaying Pins
30 Jun 17:
Port Townsend Foundry made us some beautiful belaying pins. They be used for the downhaul, snotter and sheet. And for capturing prizes on the bay...
Log of St. Jacques.
Port Townsend Foundry made us some beautiful belaying pins. They be used for the downhaul, snotter and sheet. And for capturing prizes on the bay...
Log of St. Jacques.
Thursday, June 29, 2017
St. Jacques Log 29 Jun 17 Sprit!
29 Jun 17:
Finally got a sprit shaped. We took a 1 1/2 inch blank and eight sided it on the table saw. Flipped the spar jig and turned it into a spar bench. Used our new Stanley Number 52 spokeshave to take the edges down to round.
Cut a line for a shoulder with a dovetail saw. Roughed out the inner edge of the shoulder with a quarter round file. Cut a 1/4 inch taper about 2 feet back.
4 sided taper for the pins on ends, rasped off the excess to a rough round shape
Sanded 120 grit with the random orbital sander then hand sanded.
TotalBoat Wood Sealer then Gleam Marine Spar Varnish.
Log of St. Jacques.
Finally got a sprit shaped. We took a 1 1/2 inch blank and eight sided it on the table saw. Flipped the spar jig and turned it into a spar bench. Used our new Stanley Number 52 spokeshave to take the edges down to round.
Cut a line for a shoulder with a dovetail saw. Roughed out the inner edge of the shoulder with a quarter round file. Cut a 1/4 inch taper about 2 feet back.
4 sided taper for the pins on ends, rasped off the excess to a rough round shape
Sanded 120 grit with the random orbital sander then hand sanded.
TotalBoat Wood Sealer then Gleam Marine Spar Varnish.
Log of St. Jacques.
St Jacques Log 28 Jun 17 Sprit Moaning Chair
28 Jun 17:
Wow, as great as the mast turned out, the sprit has been a pain. While the mast was 2 1/2 inches, the sprit will only be 1 1/2. Turns out that extra inch in diameter makes a big difference in how flexible the sprit is on the spar jig. We went through not one, not two, not three blanks before we abandoned the router sled method. The first couple I thought were cut too close to diameter and there was no room for error. Those got tossed into the boat hook handle pile. For the third attempt I cut the blank to 2 1/4 inches, but it was still too bendy, plus we got some green lumber that wanted to crawl all over the place. It developed a nasty kink about 1/3 from one end. More boat hook handles I guess!
The Log of St. Jacques.
Wow, as great as the mast turned out, the sprit has been a pain. While the mast was 2 1/2 inches, the sprit will only be 1 1/2. Turns out that extra inch in diameter makes a big difference in how flexible the sprit is on the spar jig. We went through not one, not two, not three blanks before we abandoned the router sled method. The first couple I thought were cut too close to diameter and there was no room for error. Those got tossed into the boat hook handle pile. For the third attempt I cut the blank to 2 1/4 inches, but it was still too bendy, plus we got some green lumber that wanted to crawl all over the place. It developed a nasty kink about 1/3 from one end. More boat hook handles I guess!
The Log of St. Jacques.
Wednesday, June 28, 2017
Lapstrake Boatbuilding Volume 2 by Walter Simmons
Simmons, Walter. 1980. Lapstrake Boatbuilding Volume 2. Camden, ME: International Marine Publishing.
Excellent information on lapstrake methods, we used some sprit details on our build of St. Jacques. Simmons covers some common problem solving and shares thoughts on building boats for aspiring professionals.
Small Boat Library.
Excellent information on lapstrake methods, we used some sprit details on our build of St. Jacques. Simmons covers some common problem solving and shares thoughts on building boats for aspiring professionals.
Small Boat Library.
Sunfish Coaming Rivets or Rivnuts
Update 28 Jun 17:
The Sunfish coaming or splashguard is held on to earlier models by machine screws and riveted nuts (rivnuts) or by rivets on later models. you can tell by whether there is a slotted screw head or a rivet head. Sometimes coamings come loose, leak, are broken or need to be removed for repair and restoration. Here is a Sunfish damaged by Hurricane Sandy, it has rivets that you can see in the coaming remnants and fractures around the deck holes where the rivets pulled out.
Here is a Sunfish that has clean rivet holes on the deck. The owner is cleaning up old silicone and a makeshift screw and wall anchor repair.
Rivets can be purchased from a Sunfish parts house like Yankee Boating Center and installed with a rivet gun, available from your local hardware store. The demonstration holes in this piece of particle board are 1/4 inch.
The rivet is inserted into the gun and then the barrel is placed though the coaming into the deck hole.
Squeeze the rivet fun handle, keeping rivet flush against surface. As the rivet shank is pulled the barrel will expand inside the hole. Continue to pull the shank until it snaps under pressure or will pull no further, gently rock rivet gun back and forth to shear top of shank if needed.
Here is comparison of a pulled rivet on the left vs new rivet. You can see how the barrel is shortened and expanded, filling the hole. It will expand below the deck on a Sunfish and anchor the coaming, the collar of the rivet holds on the top and the expanded barrel holds on the bottom.
This is what the rivet looks like on top of the hull and inside the hull.
1960 to mid 70s boats had closed end rivet nuts (rivnut) and 10-32 x 3/4 inch stainless steel machine screws to attach the coaming. The rivnut had a small bead of sealant that prevented water from leaking inside the hull.
Closed end rivnut seen from inside the hull.
If the screws are frozen, soak them with penetrating oil for a few days. Give them a few light taps with a screwdriver and hammer. Tighten slightly then back them out.
1st Gen splashguard.
2nd Gen coaming aka "The Mustache."
The Sunfish coaming or splashguard is held on to earlier models by machine screws and riveted nuts (rivnuts) or by rivets on later models. you can tell by whether there is a slotted screw head or a rivet head. Sometimes coamings come loose, leak, are broken or need to be removed for repair and restoration. Here is a Sunfish damaged by Hurricane Sandy, it has rivets that you can see in the coaming remnants and fractures around the deck holes where the rivets pulled out.
 |
| From Small Boat Restoration 2013 |
Here is a Sunfish that has clean rivet holes on the deck. The owner is cleaning up old silicone and a makeshift screw and wall anchor repair.
 |
| From Small Boat Restoration 2013 |
Rivets can be purchased from a Sunfish parts house like Yankee Boating Center and installed with a rivet gun, available from your local hardware store. The demonstration holes in this piece of particle board are 1/4 inch.
 |
| From Small Boat Restoration 2013 |
The rivet is inserted into the gun and then the barrel is placed though the coaming into the deck hole.
 |
| From Small Boat Restoration 2013 |
Squeeze the rivet fun handle, keeping rivet flush against surface. As the rivet shank is pulled the barrel will expand inside the hole. Continue to pull the shank until it snaps under pressure or will pull no further, gently rock rivet gun back and forth to shear top of shank if needed.
 |
| From Small Boat Restoration 2013 |
Here is comparison of a pulled rivet on the left vs new rivet. You can see how the barrel is shortened and expanded, filling the hole. It will expand below the deck on a Sunfish and anchor the coaming, the collar of the rivet holds on the top and the expanded barrel holds on the bottom.
 |
| From Small Boat Restoration 2013 |
This is what the rivet looks like on top of the hull and inside the hull.
 |
| From SBR 2013 |
 |
| From SBR 2013 |
1960 to mid 70s boats had closed end rivet nuts (rivnut) and 10-32 x 3/4 inch stainless steel machine screws to attach the coaming. The rivnut had a small bead of sealant that prevented water from leaking inside the hull.
 |
| From SBR 2013 |
Closed end rivnut seen from inside the hull.
 |
| From SBR 2013 |
If the screws are frozen, soak them with penetrating oil for a few days. Give them a few light taps with a screwdriver and hammer. Tighten slightly then back them out.
 |
| From SBR 2013 |
1st Gen splashguard.
2nd Gen coaming aka "The Mustache."
Tuesday, June 27, 2017
Alcort Standard Sailfish and Super Sailfish Handrails
We ran across someone looking for a handrail for their Super Sailfish MKII, the fiberglass version of the 13'7" wooden Super Sailfish. The handrails are a pretty important part of this boardboat, as there is not much to hold onto while sailing. Here are the rails on our SS MKII.
Most likely there are not a lot of spare Super Sailfish handrails laying around, so I offered to make a replacement. We measured the rail at 3/4 inches thickness, 41 inches long and 1 5/8 inches tall. Most likely the originals were mahogany, for this project I chose red oak, because that's what Lowes had in stock, ready to buy. I forgot to measure the height before I went to Lowes, so I guessed, as it turns out I can cut 2 rails from this 48 inch section that is "4" inches wide (actually measures 3 1/2"). There are host of other woods that could be used, in the future we might make a few from cypress or ash.
For this rail I took the oak out to our SS MKII and traced the profile with pencil onto the wood. Then I came inside and checked some basic dimensions with a caliper, like how wide the screw bases were, how high the rail stood and how tall the cutout areas were. The pencil tracing was off a little along the top, so I marked off 1 5/8 inches then redrew a straight line using a straight piece of wood as a guide.
I cut out the entire piece using a jigsaw. Next time I will use a table saw to cut the straight part of the top edge, that will make a straighter line. Remember your goggles and hearing protection.
Sanded the edges with a rando orbital sander, 120 grit to give them a nice smooth feel. Our edges are not as rounded as the 50 year old original, we left some room for them to age :) While I was sanding I decided to refinish the rails ou our SS MKII, they were pretty crunchy.
We used our rail as a template on where to drill the holes. When I drilled the holes, I put a scrap piece of oak under the new rail so that the drill bit would not blow out (tear out) the back side of the hole, couldn't show that here because I only had two hands. You can see the crusty patina on Sweetness' old handrail.
The original rails used a #10 bronze screw that was countersunk. I copied that with a 3/8 inch bit for the head of the screw and 5/32 inch bit for the threads. Next time I'll use a drill press, it was hard to control the exact depth I wanted by hand. Or skip the countersink. After holes were drilled we applied a coat of Minwax clear Polycrylic, it will protect the wood and let the grain show through. Polycrylic is water based and very easy to clean up.
The new handrail has shipped, and Sweetness has newly varnished handrails.
27 Jun 17:
Made some more handrails, made a set for the 11'7" Standard Sailfish as well, its handrails measure 28 inches. Used the pattern to set the table saw and cut the plank to height.
Traced the Standard Sailfish handrail profile with Winnie as the model.
Cut the ends. Rounded the top edges with a 3/8 inch roundover bit on my 30 year old Makita router.
Cut out the handholds.
Sanded the edges with 120 grit.
#10 bronze wood screw specs.
#10 Combination countersink and pilot bit.
Finished up with a set of Standard Sailfish handrails. Also made a pattern.
If you'd like to order a new handrail, click on the Paypal Buy Now link below. The handrails will be cut from rot resistant cypress and shipped without a finish, so you can finish as you like. Please select the appropriate handrail for your type Sailfish. The 11' 7" Standard Sailfish has a smaller handrail than the 13' 7" Super Sailfish series. Standard Sailfish handrails are 28 inches long and Super Sailfish handrails are approximately 41 inches long.
 |
| From Small Boat Restoration 2013 |
Most likely there are not a lot of spare Super Sailfish handrails laying around, so I offered to make a replacement. We measured the rail at 3/4 inches thickness, 41 inches long and 1 5/8 inches tall. Most likely the originals were mahogany, for this project I chose red oak, because that's what Lowes had in stock, ready to buy. I forgot to measure the height before I went to Lowes, so I guessed, as it turns out I can cut 2 rails from this 48 inch section that is "4" inches wide (actually measures 3 1/2"). There are host of other woods that could be used, in the future we might make a few from cypress or ash.
 |
| From Small Boat Restoration 2013 |
For this rail I took the oak out to our SS MKII and traced the profile with pencil onto the wood. Then I came inside and checked some basic dimensions with a caliper, like how wide the screw bases were, how high the rail stood and how tall the cutout areas were. The pencil tracing was off a little along the top, so I marked off 1 5/8 inches then redrew a straight line using a straight piece of wood as a guide.
 |
| From Small Boat Restoration 2013 |
I cut out the entire piece using a jigsaw. Next time I will use a table saw to cut the straight part of the top edge, that will make a straighter line. Remember your goggles and hearing protection.
 |
| From Small Boat Restoration 2013 |
Sanded the edges with a rando orbital sander, 120 grit to give them a nice smooth feel. Our edges are not as rounded as the 50 year old original, we left some room for them to age :) While I was sanding I decided to refinish the rails ou our SS MKII, they were pretty crunchy.
 |
| From Small Boat Restoration 2013 |
We used our rail as a template on where to drill the holes. When I drilled the holes, I put a scrap piece of oak under the new rail so that the drill bit would not blow out (tear out) the back side of the hole, couldn't show that here because I only had two hands. You can see the crusty patina on Sweetness' old handrail.
 |
| From Small Boat Restoration 2013 |
The original rails used a #10 bronze screw that was countersunk. I copied that with a 3/8 inch bit for the head of the screw and 5/32 inch bit for the threads. Next time I'll use a drill press, it was hard to control the exact depth I wanted by hand. Or skip the countersink. After holes were drilled we applied a coat of Minwax clear Polycrylic, it will protect the wood and let the grain show through. Polycrylic is water based and very easy to clean up.
 |
| From Small Boat Restoration 2013 |
The new handrail has shipped, and Sweetness has newly varnished handrails.
 |
| From Small Boat Restoration 2013 |
27 Jun 17:
Made some more handrails, made a set for the 11'7" Standard Sailfish as well, its handrails measure 28 inches. Used the pattern to set the table saw and cut the plank to height.
Traced the Standard Sailfish handrail profile with Winnie as the model.
Cut the ends. Rounded the top edges with a 3/8 inch roundover bit on my 30 year old Makita router.
Cut out the handholds.
Sanded the edges with 120 grit.
#10 bronze wood screw specs.
#10 Combination countersink and pilot bit.
Finished up with a set of Standard Sailfish handrails. Also made a pattern.
If you'd like to order a new handrail, click on the Paypal Buy Now link below. The handrails will be cut from rot resistant cypress and shipped without a finish, so you can finish as you like. Please select the appropriate handrail for your type Sailfish. The 11' 7" Standard Sailfish has a smaller handrail than the 13' 7" Super Sailfish series. Standard Sailfish handrails are 28 inches long and Super Sailfish handrails are approximately 41 inches long.
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