Tiller | Making Another One

One of the jobs on the snagging list could be more accurately described a a vanity project, because it was purely aesthetic.

When test fitting the rudder I found that for whatever reason I had located the aperture a bit too low in the transom, so the tiller looked out of place. Like this.

The rudder is in the right place, so it must be the aperture that is wrongly located.

I thought about enlarging the aperture but that would be a lot of work, and the rudder seems to be perfectly functional as it is.

Then I thought about grafting a piece onto the lower face of the tiller, to fair it in and make it look nicer.

And in the end I just made a new tiller. I always thought that the tiller looked a bit flimsy and was going to make a spare anyway, so that was the decision.

I made a pattern first. Here I am marking it up.

I checked that the pattern fitted correctly, as here.

That looked good so I marked up a nice piece of Ash, like this.

I am using the original pattern so I can spring a lath into place and mark a fair curve on the inside.

Then I cut out the tiller with the jig saw. Here I am shaping it in the vice.

This is the final shaped and sanded tiller.

And lastly I rounded it over with a 3/8" roller guided cutter in the router. This is it.

Varnish next.

Boom Gallows | Test Installation

I waited for a fine day before pulling the tarp off the boat and making a test installation of the boom gallows.

The port stanchion fitting for the support pole had always been a tight fit and I thought it might make the installation of the boom gallows harder than it should be.

A close examination revealed that the hole through the seatback top was too tight, and was impeding the stainless steel pole.

I wanted a snug fit, but thinking about it realised that it was the stanchion fitting that held the pole - not the hole.

So I reamed out the seatback hole until the pole fitted easily, and sealed it with two coats of epoxy  resin.

I had to remove and then refit the stanchion support but that was simple enough, and I found that sealing compound is not very adhesive and fittings are easy to remove.

So I fitted both poles and sat the boom gallows in place. I didn't really expect it to fit perfectly first time, and of course it didn't!

It was only few millimetres out though, and only required minimal reaming of the holes for the poles to achieve a good fit.

Here we are doing the reaming.

The boom gallows was then installed, and looked like this.

The stanchion fittings hold the poles in place with grub screws. This is the port fitting.

They are surprisingly effective!

This the 'persuader' that I used to tap the boom gallows home.

It seemed very solid and secure when in place.

I labelled everything so each piece will be installed in the same way. Like this.

That went better than I expected, and it looks great!

Gaff | Replacing Screws & Refinishing

I had a number of little tasks on my snagging list, and now seemed to be a good time to get them done.

The build manual tells us to use 50mm wood screws when fastening the eyestrap on the gaff for the peak halyard, because it is heavily loaded.

That makes sense but the kit only provides us with 25mm screws, which clearly won't suffice. But I had used them anyway.

So I purchased some bigger screws and refitted the eyestrap. Here it is.

I found that covering the screw threads with clear sealant both lubricates the screws and creates their own seal at the same time.

The other job was refinishing the varnish where I touched it up after planeing a flat surface for the sail track and plugging screw holes where I had fitted the eyestrap at the wrong end of the gaff.

I wet sanded from P400 through to P2500 grit and finished with P5000 to P11000 polishing compound. Like this.

You can see by the low afternoon sun streaming through the doorway that autumn is here and I am running out of time to finish fitting out.

I really need that boat cover too!

And that's the gaff ready to install.

Tabernacle | Refinishing

When I was fitting hardware to the tabernacle I used masking tape for the marking up, and I was a bit dismayed to find that it took a very thin layer of paint with it in some places when peeled off.

I wasn't too worried because I had learned how to get a good finish with wet sanding and polishing.

So when I had some spare time I wet sanded the blemished patches from P800 through to P2500 grit, and used polishing compound from P5000 to P11000.

Here it is.

It worked out just fine.

I put it back in the house to await installation.

Non Slip Finish | Product Test

I had been thinking about a non slip finish for quite some time.

It seems inevitable that without such a finish it will be difficult and potentially dangerous to move around the boat - especially on the cabin roof.

A tin of anti slip floor paint was supplied with the paint package, and that had always been my default assumption and choice.

Here it is.

But a visiting boat enthusiast (Steve) told me about a product he was using on his yacht, which consists of tiny rubber granules which are painted onto the surface.

He said it was excellent, so I purchased a pack.

This is it.

It came from Holland and like all things to do with boatbuilding was quite expensive!

I wanted to find out which product would be best, so I primed a pair of scrap boards for the trial.

Then I applied a coat of gloss to the first board and sprinkled on the rubber granules, making sure that the surface was completely covered.

I applied a coat of anti slip paint to the other board.

The following day I brushed off all the loose granules for reuse, and applied a second coat of gloss.

A second coat of anti slip paint went onto the other board.

When they were both dry I compared the two. Here they are.

The anti slip paint feels rough, and the aggregate material is unevenly spread - despite careful use of a roller. I think it would feel uncomfortable underfoot, and it doesn't look great.

The other board however is evenly covered and feels nice to the touch. It isn't soft, but it isn't rough either. So that's what I will use.

Again I'm not sure when the non slip surfaces will be applied, but at least I know how to do it.

Thanks Steve!

Tarp & Ridge Pole

The week after the boat found its new home on the trailer, it rained. A lot.

I immediately discovered two things.

The first was that I needed a cover, soon.

The second was that all the drain holes were too high, allowing rain water to accumulate in the forward deck well and Dorade boxes, and in the footwell.

The footwell in particular held a huge amount of water.

So, I will need to enlarge the holes at some point so they drain properly. I'm not sure when that will happen, now that she is outside and winter drawing nearer.

Nonetheless a cover was needed immediately to keep that water out.

So I bought a cheap plastic tarpaulin from the DIY store and tied it down with string. Here it is.

And here is the view from astern.

Oh dear. Poor PocketShip. That is not a good look, but it will have to do until I can get a proper cover made.

It rained again that night and there was a large pool of water in the middle of the tarp in the morning, sagging down heavily.

So I knocked up a 'ridgepole' to support the tarp. Here it is in place.

It worked, but it's quite flimsy and I doubted that it would support a canvas cover. So I made a much stronger version for future use. This is it.

That will do the trick.

I gave it four coats of Danish oil and put it up in the rafters to await deployment. I will pad the ends before installation.

Now I just need to find someone who can make a cover for me.

Trailer Side & Stern Supports

I climbed into the boat shortly after getting it onto the trailer, and I was immediately concerned about its stability.

Compared with the build cradle, it felt very unstable. And of course it was only being held upright by the bunks, which only make contact with the hull at one place on the bottom panels.

So I got out of the boat - quickly.

At one point in the build, before it was turned upside down, the boat was out of its cradle and held upright by a pair of modified sawhorses. And it was very stable and safe and easy to work on and in.

So I decided to do the same again.

I strengthened the sawhorses and added an upright to each of them to fit under the gunwale.

Here is the starboard support in place.

The top of the support is padded. When both are in place I lower the trailer until both gunwales are lightly resting on the uprights.

The boat is then perfectly stable to work inside.

The guys at the trailer supplier said to make sure that the rear of the trailer is blocked off, so it can't tip down when weight is over the stern.

So I made a support to clamp to the trailer. Here it is.

And here I am applying four coats of Danish oil to the support and base plate, so it's moderately weather proof.

Now I can finish fitting her out.