Friday, March 30, 2018

Penobscot 14 ST. JACQUES 30 Mar 18 Row and Sail

30 Mar 18:

Light winds so we took ST. JACQUES out for a row to the bayou and hoped to test out rudder repairs on the way back. I rowed from the front seat for about a mile, Skipper steered and paddled a bit. The Penobscot 14 carries well and is fun to row.

Left the bayou to head home, wind had picked up to 12 gusting to 15 on a broad reach. We dropped the centerboard and popped the brailing line loose on the spritsail. Skipper surfed us back to the house through lots of fetch on the lee shore, ST. JAQUES rolled through all of it on an even keel and felt very controllable. The spritsail acted like a spinnaker, and we didn't have to worry about ducking a boom or a gybe. We covered the last 3/4 mile in under 8 minutes :) As we neared shore we brailed the sail and glided in to shore. Rolled ST. JACQUES back up into the yard on the dolly and she got a fresh water rinse.

Here's a few pictures of the boat to see how we outfitted for the morning expedition. Outfitting for the 1:20 cruise included coffee, water, two foam seats, a throwable device/cushion, 2 towels, a blankie for Skipper and of course the PFDs.





Here are some shots of the rudder uphaul and downhaul. The uphaul is used primarily on land and during launch and recovery. The downhaul is used to counteract the buoyancy of the rudder. The rudder worked great during the sail.







Miles rowed 1.5/Total 7.5

Log of St. JACQUES.

Sunday, March 25, 2018

Carriage House Art

25 Mar 18:

I am not the neatest painter, so when big blobs of paint get on the carriage house deck, I turn some of them into Sunfish. Each one has a story tied to a boat we were painting. Pretty soon the whole deck will be covered :)

Saturday, March 24, 2018

1979 Drascombe Dabber VICTORY 24 Mar 18 Pettit Easypoxy Second Coat

24 Mar 18:

Sanded out a few runs with 120 grit on a random orbital sander.


Rolled and tipped second coat of Pettit Easypoxy Blue Ice.


Restoration Log of VICTORY.

Shop Tips

24 Mar 18:

We put a wire shelf up high, behind the overhead door tracks, mainly to store spars. Turns out it is a good spot to store other supplies, and with the glove box flipped upside down I can reach up and pull gloves out one at a time. The track also rides herd on our shop rag box.



When I use blue tape I turn an edge down to make a little tab, that makes it easier to grab and remove when the time comes, even if wearing gloves.


This shelf at shoulder level holds our most used small power tools and gloves. They are the things that I reach for the most, and they are easy to see.


More information on our Carriage House aka Boat Works.

Vintage Line New England Rope

24 Mar 18:

We wanted the look of vintage line on a few of our boats, so we did some research with our friends at R&W Rope and found New England Rope Vintage and New England Rope Vintage Sta-Set. They come in small enough diameters for our small boat rigging.



They also sell a tan paracord that worked nice for whipping and bending sails onto spars, and natural hemp in very small diameter, good for brailing line.




R&W Rope
NER Vintage Jamestown Distributors

Redtree Fooler Chip Brush

24 Mar 18:

If you have a unicorn bristle varnish brush that has been handed down through generations, carefully used, cleaned with vintage spirits and religiously stored under lock and key, then please read no further, as it might offend sensibility. I don't have one, probably because my Dad didn't varnish. I was watching a varnishing video made by everyone's buddy Louis Sauzeede, and he mentioned that he liked the double thick chip brush sold by Jamestown Distributors. I liked the ides of a thicker, disposable brush for our varnish jobs and if it is good enough for the fine work that Louis turns out then it is definitely good enough for me. I checked into it on the Jamestown Distributor website and they are made by Redtree, called The Fooler.


The Fooler is good enough to do the job and cheap enough to toss. $1.21 for the one inch and $1.57 for the 2 inch. The sticker on the brush packaging says it can be used for epoxy, resin, industrial coatings and bottom paint. No mention of varnish. In fact it says "Not for fine finishes." My finishes have been described as nice and beautiful, but never fine, so I think I'm okay to keep using them. I hope no one ever calls my hastily brushed varnish jobs fine, because then I'd feel obligated to get a $27 Italian brush to justify the compliment, and keep it wrapped up in the shop in a 20,000 thread count bamboo robe. Until then I'll keep buying Foolers, they felt nice in the hand and there were enough bristles to hold the varnish and keep it flowing evenly onto the work surface.




Talk amongst yourselves...

Available through Jamestown Distributors

Motor Starting Checklist

24 Mar 18:

I think I need a motor starting checklist, printed out, on waterproof paper and tied to the motor. Pretty much every item on the list has been overlooked during the excitement of launch, the most interesting event was when WILLOW's motor wouldn't start because the safety switch clip was not installed. Crank crank crank crank crank.....why won't it start? Skipper figured that one out. I haven't tried to start on dry tanks, yet. So I made some notes....


And here's the list, so you can print one out too.

MOTOR START CHECKLIST

SAFETY CLIP
BATTERY
FUEL (1/3 TANK OUT, 1/3 BACK, 1/3 RESERVE)
OIL
VENT CAP OPEN
TANK LEVER TO RUN/SOURCE
PUMP BULB
NEUTRAL
CHOKE
THROTTLE SET
PRIME
START
CHOKE AS NEEDED
WARM UP
CHECK WATER PUMP
REFUEL


We run a Suzuki 2.5 on our DaysailerCYANE.



ONKAHYE has a Suzuki 6, we needed a long shaft and wanted a motor with an external tank fitting in case we wanted to do some long range gunkholing.


WILLOW has a Suzuki 25.




Friday, March 23, 2018

1979 Drascombe Dabber VICTORY 23 Mar 18 Pettit EasyPoxy Roll and Tip

23 Mar 18:

Rolled and tipped the first coat of Pettit Easypoxy Blue Ice. Mighty Mini rollers and a Redtree double thick Fooler brush. Thinned the paint 5% with Pettit Brushing thinner.




Restoration Log of VICTORY.

Thursday, March 22, 2018

1979 Drascombe Dabber VICTORY 22 Mar 18 Prime Second Coat

22 Mar 18:

Filled number plate holes on the bow with Pettit EZFair.






Sanded the strakes with 120 grit on a random orbital sander, prep for second coat of Pettit EZPrime rolled and tipped.


Applied first coat of TotalBoat Gleam Marine Spar Varnish Satin to the spars, used a Retdree Fooler brush.






Restoration Log of VICTORY.


Alcort Super Sailfish ZSA ZSA 22 Mar 18 Prime, Fair, Paint and Epoxy MAterials

22 Mar 18:

We put in an order to Jamestown Distributors for materials to restore ZSA ZSA. We will need ring shank nails, thickened epoxy, fairing compound, primer, paint and rollers. We chose products from the TotalBoat line, which include THIXO, TotalFair, Topside Prime and Wet Edge Fire Red and Blue Glo White. JD always ships cups, gloves and paint sticks with their orders, and we use the boxes as mixing pallets for the fairing compounds and thickened epoxy. Another great deal is that TotalBoat ships free! If you prefer Pettit or Interlux, they sell their complete lines as well.


Restoration Log for ZSA ZSA.

Wednesday, March 21, 2018

1979 Drascombe Dabber VICTORY 21 Mar 18 Sand and Prime

21 Mar 18:

Sanded the planks on the 1979 Drascombe Dabber VICTORY with 60 grit on a random orbital sander to get rid of loose paint. Applied first coat of Pettit EZPrime, thinned 5% with 120 Brushing Thinner. I rolled with Mighty Mini foam rollers and Skipper tipped with a 2 inch short handled sash brush. Also prepped an anchor and secured a dime to go at the base of the mast.

From right to left there is the original gelcoat, old sanded paint and new primer.


WINNIE and ZIP supervised VICTORY's first coat of Pettit EZPrime. One more coat of primer and then we will finish painting the hull with Easypoxy 3213 Blue Ice, like seen on the bottom plank.


All the supplies available through Jamestown Distributors.


VICTORY's anchor, chain and line.


Dime to go under the base of the mast. Sailors and shipwrights have been putting coins under masts of ships for several thousand years, and still do today. They’ve been found in the mast steps of ancient Roman shipwrecks, even recently. The hope, still, is the offering will bring good luck and safe passage.



Restoration Log of VICTORY.

Tuesday, March 20, 2018

ALCORT Fiberglass Sunfish and Super Sailfish MKII Rudder Carriage Bolt Tube

20 Mar 18:

The fiberglass ALCORT Sunfish and Super Sailfish MKII rudder had a carriage bolt that could move around under sail and that slop allowed the vertical hinge plate to pop out of the bottom latch plate groove. AMF/ALCORT added a rubber tube over the bolt to help keep it centered in the middle of the transom slot. We recently came across a few spares. In 1972 the rudder design was changed to the current style.


Here's a picture of the tube installed on our Super Sailfish MKII SWEETNESS.


1963 Super Sailfish MKII SWEETNESS.



Have you ordered your copy of The Sunfish Owners Manual yet? Great information on the most popular boat ever built.

Fair Winds,
Clark and Skipper