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?

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St. Jacques Log 23 Dec 16 CB Case

23 Dec 16:

Cut the centerboard case logs, top support and bolt mounts. Trimmed to fit case sides. I screwed them in place then trimmed with a jigsaw using the edge of the plywood as a guide. Now would have been a good time to predrill holes for the keel screws, oops.

Skipper worked on a moaning chair, which I would need soon.

I cut a top support but placed it wrong. It is supposed to be 3/4" tall x 1 1/2". So I trimmed the next one the correct way, cut a new one and tossed one in the trash.

Skipper photobombing with her grog.

Put everything together with thickened epoxy and silicone bronze screws. Used a paint stick broken in half lengthwise to clean excess epoxy out of the inside seams of the case. Got that tip from Geoff Kerr at Two Daughters Boatworks. Used the "index finger fillet" to smooth the outer case seams and wiped off excess epoxy with mineral spirits. My nose is stuffy from a sinus bug so I couldn't smell the mineral spirits, woo! TMI, but just a note to remember to have lots of ventilation in the workspace.

Dry fit the case and middle seat. Right about then is when I remembered that I intended to predill the holes on the keel log for the keel screws. I can still do it, but will have to go at a slight angle.

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St. Jacques Log 14 Dec 16 Rudder, CB and Paint

14 Dec 16:

Worked on the rudder and centerboard.



Profiled the edge of the centerboard. Still have shaping to do on the rudder but we got the top edge trimmed so that it will swivel in the cheek.

The Penobscot has a reverse transom so the rudder has to swing quite a ways to be level with the keel. We will need to add a retract and extend line so we don't have to dive over the stern to move it up and down.

Where the madness happened for the centerboard.

Right now the plan is to paint the planks, stringers, bulkheads and centerboard case Oyster White. Varnish for the seats, seat supports, centerboard cap, inner transom panel, top stringer, breasthook, knees and rail cap.

The flood coat of paint gets a lot of paint onto the new wood, helps seal the wood, fill the grain and gives us an idea of what hills, valleys and voids we want to sand or fair. Then we apply the show coat and the finish coat. We are going to leave the okume inner panel varnished for now, and see how that looks with the varnished seats and gunwale. If the eye jumps around too much from cypress to okume to Oyster White, then we paint the inner panel as well.

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St. Jacques Log 13 Dec 16 Rudder, CB and Wood Sealer

13 Dec 16:

Continued work on the rudder and centerboard trunk. Left enough space between the rudder blade and rudder cheeks to put in bushings to help the rudder pivot smoothly. We will use stainless or nylon.

Planed the centerboard to 3/4 inch thickness.



Made a pattern for the centerboard case. It also serves as a seat support.

Had to find station 7 so I knew where to place the centerboard trunk. I was able to find it by looking at the screw holes in the stringers from the Station 7 mold.

Fit the centerboard to the trunk, checked clearance.



Rustoleum Spar varnish, thinned with mineral spirits to seal the rudder and centerboard parts.

2 coats of Rust-Oleum sealer varnish on the rudder and centerboard because I had some left over. The blade edges still need to be profiled, we will copy the edges that the Sunfish rudder and daggerboard have.

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