We like to make sawdust outside the shop, so we built a cart for the sliding bevel saw. We either roll the cart into the grass, or in this case we cut small holes in the gangplank to capture the cart wheels.
If we feel the need for feed tables, we have folding card tables that we use on either side. In fact, we set the saw table height to match the card table height, a standard table height, around 30 inches I believe. Or you could make 2 more carts to act as rolling feed tables, a tip we just saw from Louis.
One of the reasons we enjoy boating is to spend some time with the local wildlife. Sometimes the wildlife comes to visit us. We spotted a second Carolina Box turtle patrolling our work deck area and named her Betty. Skipper brought her a snack.
We have several small boat dollies from Dynamic Dollies and Racks for our Sunfish. We did not realize when we ordered each dolly that there are two versions of the Sunfish dolly. One dolly has two V-Braces, one on the tongue and and one on the handle for the 1960-1987 models that have a deck/hull flange covered by a piece of aluminum trim. Here's an example of that type of dolly with our Penobscot, the keel and bow are seucred.
The other dolly has a V-Brace on the tongue and a bow cup that fits the rolled flange deck edge of 1988 and newer model. We use the bow line to tie the bow to the dolly, and the boat is very secure.
We had ended up with a few dollies that needed a second V-Brace, those came in the mail today from Dynamic and it was easy to add them to the handle with the included bolt and wingnut.
Dynamic has great customer support from owners Ben and Chris, and they pointed out that the second V-Brace on the handle is not needed if the bow flange of the older style style Sunfish is rested on top of the new style bow cup, and then a short piece of line is used to secure the bow to the cup. That will work for most people, but we prefer to rest the keel of the boat on the tongue and nestle the bow into the second V-Brace, that is a better angle for the stern when rolling the dolly up and down our utility trailer ramp.
We also ordered some spare wingnuts and nylocs for the tongue/axle fitting. We lost a wingnut while trailering, so Dynamic suggested that if we are going to leave the dolly assembled while trailering that we replace the wingnut with a nylon insert lock nut (nyloc). With the new parts we set up one dolly with nylocs for use on the utility trailer.
Now if you're keeping track we are adding a few more dedicated boat trailers to augment the utility Carry-On ramp trailer. One, maybe two Sunfish are finding new homes on our new Malone MicroSport multi boat trailer, and the Penobscot 14 now has its own trailer. The Carry-On trailer will mainly be used for the boats 12 feet and under now.
We've been fiddling with trailers, racks and boats for 50+ years, for trips around the corner and transcon journeys. If you are interested in a dolly, rack or trailer, we can help you find what you need and offer free shipping to the 48 States. We'd also like to hear about your tips and tactics! Drop us an email to lewis dot kent with gmail.
Our little Nutshell Pram EXCUSE ME had a visit from our three year old Granddaughter today, the little pirate was checking over the security of the hardware and I asked her if she wanted to get in the boat. Surprisingly she said yes. That went okay so I asked if she wanted to go for a ride, and again the answer was yes. So I pulled the pram and Capn around the backyard forest trail on the dolly while she serenaded the crowd with a rendition of Row, Row, Row Your Boat. We tried a few paddles on for size and they were too big, so a new design for a Junior size paddle is being drafted.
EXCUSE ME was worn out but happy at the end of the day, and we promised to add water next time.
We went on our walk by Cypress Creek and checked on the marsh, it is greening up pretty good for late Spring. We are not used to wearing jackets yet, especially in June with 4th of July decorations going up!
Skipper having fun and providing valuable logistical services, moving materials around the boatyard with her John Deere E130 WILEY and Carry On trailer HUEY II. The new tractor hitch is working great, they've moved all of the lumber from the driveway for the Sunfish Shack North build.
One upgrade we made to WILEY was a more aggressive tread on the rear tires to a turf traction tread design. The fine turf tires that come standard on the tractor did not have grip on challenging terrain such as deep gravel or soft soil when pulling carts or trailer. The wider stance also provides some extra lateral stability.
Our Ford Edge ST SUPER SANDY has been doing the hauling from the lumberyard to the driveway, Skipper lets me drive that. I found that using Sport mode provides a better shifting schedule, with helpful earlier downshifting when decelerating.
Orange Cone report: 4 1/2 more feet of decking went down, this slip will most likely be the Penobscot 14 ST. JACQUES' new spot, with the far slip set up for our Alcort Catfish SMEDLEY.
The bluebirds are back, we've seen and heard them in two of the three houses. The Pensacola Lighthouse residence has been very active...
...but we haven't spotted any birds yet at Lima Signal Flag.
This house has a bunch of noise coming from it as well.
So far so good as to the squirrels and Blue Jays leaving them alone.
Thursday, June 1, 2023
01 Jun 23:
The Mariners Museum in Newport News, VA just added a great page to their website, with information on 60 boats on display and a variety of nautical objects that can be found in their International Small Craft Center.
International Small Craft Center
A shared maritime heritage.
Come behold the diversity of people, cultures, and lifestyles through the 60 boats on display, illustrating exploration, economic survival, and recreation over the centuries. Experience this exhibit!
We are local to the Museum now, so if you can't come out to visit but need information on a boat, drop us a comment and we can go gather more information for you. We've also made a trip through the storage facility, and plan to get more information out ASAP on those boats as well.
We have spent over a decade with the Jamestown Distributors Tech Team, ordering a variety of supplies through the years and along that trail we started using several of their in-house TotalBoat Products. We bought a lot of THIXO thickened epoxy adhesive, epoxy resin, hardeners, fillers, WetEdge paint, primer and our favorite, TotalFair fairing compound. They also have polyester resin systems. We shared photos with the team of our restoration process, and now we mutually support each other and share information on products we like. As Ambassadors for 7 years now, we have a new custom link to the TotalBoat webstore, which if you care to use it offers a 5% discount on items purchased. And as always free shipping.
Here's an adhesive we like, THIXO Wood. I smiled when I saw our photo on the website, from a deck repair we did to our 1953 wooden Alcort Sunfish ZIP. The THIXO (thickened epoxy adhesive) dispensed from a cartridge takes out all of our guessing of mixing the right amount of resin, hardener and filler, and the mixing tip does the mixing for us. Also less time exposed to a cloud of filler dust. Leave the tip opening small for a small bead or cut the tip back a bit for a wider opening and let her rip! Once finished, just leave the tip on the cartridge or replace the cap, THIXO stores well, and when it's time for the next paste party put on a new tip and have fun.
PS: Speaking of paste, Skipper LOVES to paste. If she is nearby I better offer the pasting honors to the little pirate first. If I don't, I won't be walking the plank, I'll be running and screaming off of the end of it.
Did we mention free shipping on TotalBoat products? And you may or may not know of all of the other products that Jamestown Distributors sells, we've bought a little of everything from them. Another favorite for our shop are the Redtree Fooler brushes. JD ships fast with nice cardboard packaging, that we reuse for a variety of things, like backers for internal fiberglass patches on Sunfish or templates around the shop.
We're always happy to answer questions in the comment section and hear about your favorite tips.
