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Bought plans for the next one

I bought plans for my next boat. I'm planning on building a Sonatina, a design by Chris Koper, who lives in Missassaugua (Sea K Designs, #24—3265 South Millway, Mississauga, Ontario, Canada, L5L 2R3. (905) 608-8994). I like this boat because a) it's small - 14’6” - and still a dinghy, b) it's simple enough I can sail it with the kids, c) it's a scow and so is pretty stable, and d) it's made of plywood, and so a lot quicker to build. I'm a little worried about a note that went up on the site - the business is up for sale, due to the health of the designer. I wound up calling him because I didn't get a response to my email, and it turns out he has ALS. I hope there's a good support network in Ontario (from the pictures on the site, it seems like there's a lot of them...)

I found another design I really liked - the Mini 6.50s (Here's a link to the class association.) There's a race from Plymouth England to Tenerife in the Azores - and they look like great boats. Not really weekend loungers - more like 6 meter thoroughbreds. CDK Boats sells kits, and another designer, Dudley Dix sells both plans and kits. (There's also West Coast Minis, a Vancouver importer of Spanish-built ClaseZero boats.) One of the nice things about these boats is they aren't shockingly expensive - $40k for a decent build. I was introduced to these via Sailing World, Jan/Feb 2006 issue. I can always dream, right? (Oh, and here's a good article on how to get started racing, just what I need.)

So now I have plans for the Sonatina, the Blivit 13, Northwest Marine's Delta V (based on the NS14 class - here's an extensive builder's diary) and Northwest Marine's K12.

[Update 2007 Jan 27: I've also considered the RS Feva, which looks like it would be a good boat to take the kids out in, and - well - I wouldn't have to build it. In researching that, I found the wikipedia article, which pointed me at the Mirror Dinghy. You can only buy kits for the Mirror, there's one place in Ontario which makes the kits, and they take around 150 hours to build. Hm.]

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Ever more whack-a-mole

Continuing on with the game of whack-a-mole. It's hard to get motivated to continue onwards, because progress is so slow (and difficult, because I'm always reminded of how poorly I assembled the hull itself). I also suspect motivation wanes because it takes long enough to get everything set up, that it's really something that requires a couple hours to get going - and these days, finding a couple hours is getting harder and harder. The kids are in bed and the house is clean by 8pm, and I go to bed between 9 and 9:30. And there's no other time during the day to get anything accomplished.

The bow now fits nicely - there's about 1/4” of space laterally in there, and I can shift the deck side-to-side when I press deck to hull. I took a few pictures of how station 8 fit, and have come to the conclusion that 1) pictures aren't productive - they aren't accurate to tell what to focus on next (despite advice to the contrary), and 2) the deck and hull need to be clamped to really understand what to focus on.

I also cut some templates out of matte board, so I could ensure the stations fit correctly at station 6 (against the backing block of the jib track). This has worked really well, and I'm going to use them again for the backing blocks for the bevel pieces under station 8.

I also took another leap of faith and cut the first hole where the centreboard trunk should go (measure twice and all that). This led to the determination that the hull was within 1/8" of the deck at this point - pretty good tolerance.

I took a day off work and spent most of it working on the boat. One of the things I did was cut an additional 1/8” off the top edges of all the bulkheads. Bram's original directive was to take about 1/4” off; when I first did this I only removed 1/8”. Bram's VMG boat had an overhang where my middle finger would fit up to the first digit. I figure this is how far up I need to get mine. I'm not there yet, thus the need to cut down the tops of the stations. It's also worth noting that I cut down the bulkheads by 1/8”, the soldiers by 1/4” (too much), and the tee-soldiers not at all. I've had to rasp the trailing edge of the tee-soldiers down, but I doubt I can get to the point that the leading edge meets up.

Also during day off I picked up some new playdough, and now I have a lot more of it, and it'smuch squishyier. This means I can spread it out all over and check once where the deck is high across many stations - which makes work a lot faster. Because it's squishier, I don't have to worry about the playdough not deforming when the deck meets the hull.

I also spent some time trying to get the bow even better off. I laid a strip down over the tee-soldiers to see what was high on the bowpiece. The rasp has a tendancy to remove more material at the front and back (it's hard to always rasp perfectly level), so the middle of the bow piece touched the strip. I used the edge of my belt sander, turned sideways, to make this perfectly flat.

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Re-drilling the bow holes

It's been two slow weeks of trying to fit the bow into the space available in the hull. It's terrifying work, because I'm slowly carving away the edges of the hull where the bow piece fits. I finally got to the point where no more than 1/8” of hull was left, and I still had to get the bow to slip down a good 1”. At this rate, the two sides would poke out the side of the hull. Before I did that, I figured I would give Bram a call.

Bram said "forget that" and recommended I drill out the tee-nuts, fill the holes with epoxy/graphite/404, and re-drill new holes using the same entry hole but a different exit hole. He even suggested not bothering to put new backing on it, since what was there already would hold just fine. This bouyed me enough to give it a shot.

I drilled out the neck of the tee-nuts from the bottom, then sanded out the insides of the holes. Tape the bottom, and fill with epoxy/404/graphite (I also filled a void in the backing epoxy).

Once that cured, I drilled new holes. They use the same entry point at the top. I lined them up so they are very close to vertical, perhaps even tipped inward slightly, and around 3/16” from the widest point of the tube for the bow pole. They also tip forward very slightly, the exit points are about 1/4” further aft than the first set of holes.

I pretty much nailed the points I wanted to come out at. The new exit points are around 1/2” further in than the old ones - the old holes are going to be cut right out. For this reason, I didn't bother removing the entire backing plate - there's enough plate here that these won't have any issues. (I also considered adding in another layer of backing, but that too didn't seem worth it once I saw how much further in these holes were.) The tee-nuts don't even touch the previous holes.

Once this was drilled, I removed the old tee-nut backing pieces -- I sanded off the containing s-glass, and then hit them edge-on with a hammer and screwdriver. Sand that down, and there's a flat surface for mounting the new tee-nuts. Widen the holes for the neck of the tee-nut, and bond in place with epoxy/404. All that remains is glassing over them so they don't pop out.

Good to go again.

Also this week, I bought a few acorn nuts and cap nuts for the centreboard trunk inserts. (Cap nuts are $2.99 each - not cheap!)

Wouldn't this be a cool image on the side of the hull? (This is Team China's America's Cup boat.)

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Oh Mole, are you eating through my hull?

Still fitting deck to hull, mostly making the bow fit correctly. I've shaved off as much of the sides of the backing block as I reasonably can. Now I'm carving into the sides of the hull. On one side, I figure I have around 2mm of hull left - and there's still plenty of space between deck and hull. This isn't good. If I keep on at this pace, I will have to have the fitting pop out the sides of the hull - which would look rather weird.

I called Bram and described my problem. Bram said, Don't cut through the sides of the hull. Just rip out the existing tee nuts, fill the holes with epoxy laced with graphite, and drill new ones. No need to even put another piece of backing block down, what's there already should be fine.

Now that I have a plan and some idea of what needs to be done, I'm happy to plow away again.

I also bought a few new screws. Most of the reason to get this order was the stainless 1/4” tee-nuts - I ran out, and with this re-drill, I need two more. I can't source them locally. While I was at it, I got the two lengths of 10-24 square head screws, which should allow me to fit out the entire deck without cutting anything down. But everything else I subsequently realized I could get the quantities I needed at West Marine, without much hassle. Should have got them there.

And here's a couple pictures to keep you boaty (since I didn't do much of anything while I pondered how to solve the bow problem). This is Mike, sailing out of Jericho in Vancouver.

In other news, there's been an interesting conversation on Sailing Anarchy, which must be where all the cool kids hang out. This is the thread. Ken (WaveDragon) put up a great post.

Reflections of a newbie swift builder.

I have a green thumb, but thumb screws for any wood building. I have a small area of macular degeneration in my dominant eye. I have ADHD and often confuse my right from my left. I am sometimes hardheaded when it comes to my mindset, especially when it comes to any project. I will often over-complicate a simple process and have to redo it. I often deviate from the tried and true to find my own way. Costly, but that's my problem. In the end it has been more that worth it. I have another extreme toy.

Hence building a swift solo was the perfect independent plan. Done completely alone. The only help I needed was for flipping the hull. Once that was sandwiched, I found independence again. I completely messed up my first launcher dolly, still being new to the epoxy process. It was almost impossible to destroy. I knew then, this boat was going to be bullet proof especially with the exotic hybrid weaves of carbon, kevlar and the s-type glass called for not to mention the multiple blends of epoxy compound combinations. The sandwiched strength and beauty of redwood cedar that makes for a boat like no other. It's trice renewable, plentiful and lightweight as a resource. A probable classic that will stand the test of time, performance and continuance. I think we have a hit here.

The manual was self explanatory. A testament to "If I can do it, so can you." My posts to the builders'forum for clarification were minimal. The responses were nonjudgmental and always helpful. I loved the archived supplement on the website: This compliments the manual in a way that it becomes our own. A unique evolving gathering of constructive experiences, problems encountered and resolved minus the Yak. It's a key to the understanding of a process of what may be taken for granted by an experienced woodbuilder and/or boatbuilder using the FRP (Fiberglassed reinforced plastic) method. A builders' discourse for the uninitiated. A small but essential addendum to improving our one design class.

I think it was chance that the selection of building a Swift Solo excited me so. Maybe it was the young lady on the cover of Wooden Boat, inspiring me like a call of the wild with dormant talents yet hidden, like an ancestral right of passage yet incomplete. Maybe it was reviving my young adulthood memories of catamaran sailing with the promise of high speed sailing. I had no idea that the Swift Solo would be at the top of that game, at least in the circle of high performance small craft monohulls. It's speed plus high to weather manoeuvrability. How lucky could that be?

If one could be smitten by beauty, it was my flaw. Somehow beauty justifies the higher cost. Why else do we assign all manner of power, fame and wealth to the chosen ones. The set-up of my space and tools devoted to a process of wood strip building I had yet to learn.

The trial and error of learning to mill by first planking then stripping then coving and beading this aromatic wood. Yes, I was doing it from scratch. This extra step I wanted to do. The hull and deck being the easy parts to create, just time consuming. So many parts to build. Step by step it got done. I couldn't believe I made this. I spent more time gawking at a piece than it would take to build three. I'm not a craftsman nor a technician. Just an average joe with a dream.

In the end, I yielded to convenience. I had a boat that I wanted to get to the water. There were builders in the class who would build the remaining finished products for me. Like pre-rigged spars, the rudder/tiller cassette, the forestay, and the Vang arm. What I got was an excellence in craftmanship of products. I got pre-designed foam blanks for me to complete the rails, the blades and the launcher throat. I got all of these.

The pdf's explaining the lay-ups and rigging were like the secrets to our craft; once done the experience added to the layers of my being. Like belonging to a guild of boat masons of the higher spiritual order. I felt like being part of that. More than anything, it was the satisfaction of completing this unique design hopefully within specs of the class. What remained was adding state-of-the-art hardware. A tinkerers dream. One could tweak this or adjust that when adding the non-wired rigging and the mylar reinforced sails with carbon, kevlar and spectre threads.

The combinations of tactical adjustments are endless. What 's more one could do this on the fly. Now try that for solo seamanship. An unparallelled experience for one person trying to get the most out of his her boat with changing conditions. The challenge remains to unravel the secrets of performance as this boat has yet to test and chart the winds, waves and courses across this Nation and other continents. The other half of my odyssey, my dream, my soliloquy.

I thought I was alone, but not really. I was part a class of gifted men and women who had all completed this particular design. A bunch of people assembled throughout the world for the purpose of competing to the best of their ability and to have fun. I stand in awe of each of their crafts. As a new builder it speaks volume to me. Mind you I look at mine as the worst on the lot. I don't care because it was so much more than what you see. I take pride that I have a swift solo. I will look forward to the adventure that now awaits me.

Now just because you bought one or are thinking of purchasing one, please take enormous pride. You have skipped all the above cursing, bemoaning and misgivings of following a beaten path. The empty space, used tools, lots of sawdust, the sweat and perseverance, juggling of family and events. Each boat is worth all that. I respect the advanced skiff sailor who can just jump on and fathom all the workings of this high performance boat. Thank you Bram and all the builders out there for helping me complete this awesome toy.

I spent time with these people and their families last year at Fort De Soto. The memories and camaraderie of future gatherings will be the legacy of stories yet to come.

Wave Dragon
Treasure Island. SF, Calif

Oh Mole, where art thou?

I'm continuing to fit the deck to the hull, and it's slow going (mostly because I get depressed about how something isn't fitting very well and have to stop and regroup). I have learned a couple important things, however:

1. Drill the holes for the forward set of bolts in the bow fitting as vertically as possible, perhaps even tilted inwards. It's ridiculous how much time I've sunk trying to get these things to fit well. I'm starting to carve out the inner edge of the hull to make the bolts fit - much more and I'll have to re-do the installation of these things.
2. Make the t-soldiers (and the other soldiers) about 1/2” longer than called for. The forward end of the soldier has to touch the deck, and having this extra 1/2” of height means the rise of the deck won't be a problem. And it makes fitting a bit easier, because you don't have to worry about how to make deck touch hull (as I am).

For the first problem, I have a contingency plan. I can slice off the front half of the backing block, chisel off the epoxy and hybrid layer, fill in the holes, then re-drill the holes more vertically and re-install the backing block. Desperate, yes, but perhaps necessary. I'm not sure I need to yet. (Yet - there's still 1/4” between my #2 t-soldier and the deck...)

For the second, I will probably have to create wedges of t-soldier to fit between the soldier and deck. I'll tape the edges with epoxy tape to keep the piece in place. Not the greatest, but it should work.

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