PocketShip.net

Morning folks.

Pulled the trigger on my kit purchase a couple of weeks ago. For the past 8-10 months I've been reading everything I can on PS, scouring the manual, burning birthday and Christmas gifts on tools and such, etc. (all the stuff everyone else has done before me). I've built one other CLC kit, the Jimmy Skiff II and have just finished that. My PS kit is scheduled to arrive mid-May, and I'm spending time getting ready.

I have a few questions I'd love to put to those of you who have completely finished your builds. A little debrief survey, if you will...

(and I'm happy with simple answers too. i.e. 'no', 'yes', 'nothing', etc. all work)

1. Tools/Equipment : anything in particular you wish you'd had, or conversely, wish you hadn't wasted the $ on?
2. Construction: what do you wish you'd spent more time/attention on?
3. Construction: what do you think you wasted too much time/attention/money on?
4. What was your favorite resource besides CLC/website, this forum, or other people's blogs?
5. What is the top non-tool addition or change you wish you could make to your shop if you were building again?

I'm really excited to start this and infinitely grateful to everyone who posts here and all of you who have taken the time to blog your builds. As you already know, makes a hell of a difference to newbies.

-martin

One suggestion: start looking for reasonably-priced lead now! You will weep if you have to pay $2 a pound for sacks of lead shot!
Tire weights are no longer a viable solution: they're not made of lead any more.

A very important tip: take great care to build the keel perfectly straight and symmetric.

Doug

1. Tools/Equipment : anything in particular you wish you'd had, or conversely, wish you hadn't wasted the $ on?
Must have: Vacuum adapter for my sander. For the longest time I used duct tape as an adapter -- the real thing is pricey, but you'll never regret it
Pass on: All sorts of electric sanding tools, particularly those aimed at sanding fillets. Stick with a random orbital sander and hand sanding.

2. Construction: what do you wish you'd spent more time/attention on?
Fillets -- there are still some that bug the heck out of me (I even went so far as to redo some last year!).
I also wish I had been more careful making sure the bottom of the centerboard trunk was fully encapulated in epoxy/fiberglass and had been careful sanding it.

3. Construction: what do you think you wasted too much time/attention/money on?
Fillets - I spent several months not working on the boat because I was afraid of how imperfect my fillets were. I'm the only person is is still bugged by some of my fillets

4. What was your favorite resource besides CLC/website, this forum, or other people's blogs?
Microsoft Paint (for visualizing boat colors)
Coffee shop down by the waterfront -- nothing like getting ready for a Saturday of boat building lke a cup of coffee and looking at boats.

5. What is the top non-tool addition or change you wish you could make to your shop if you were building again?
New, bigger garage!!!!

Another thing I remember: Take great care to be sure that every bit of plywood around the keel and keelson is completely sealed with epoxy, and there are no dry spots, especially dry edges.
Before installing the triangular floor pieces against the centerboard trunk, give them at least one coat of epoxy, and try to minimize air gaps between them and the centerboard trunk and keelson.
It's probably a good idea to first make the limber holes a bit bigger, so they do not get plugged up by fillets or fiberglass cloth. If you accidentally expose raw wood around those limber holes while doing the
fillets or fiberglass, it could eventually lead to a serious rot situation.

I also put strips of fiberglass cloth on the inside edges of the centerboard blocking, so that the interior of the trunk was 100% fiberglassed. (BTW, this is specified in the "Guider" builder's guide).

Doug

One thing I did waste time on that I don't regret is sanding the area under the cabin sole and in the lazarette to perfection. I can't or at least seldom see any of that effort, but I know it is there and that it is good.

Jon and Doug,

Thanks to you both. I was hoping the two of you would chime in.

Doug...I keep reading about people's keels not curing straight. The process looks pretty straightforward to me. What do you think people are 'missing'?

martin

Creekboater wrote:Doug...I keep reading about people's keels not curing straight. The process looks pretty straightforward to me. What do you think people are 'missing'?

martin

About the assembly of the keel and its straightness. I find it strange that the instructions recommend assembling the aft section first. It can break straightness.
As for me, at the first stage it would be more correct to assemble the noseblock with the trunk and keel sides. You can do it on a flat table. Then glue the keel timber and aft section to the previous structure, using the reference center line and not pressing it against the flat table.
What do you think about it?

Dmitriy wrote:

Creekboater wrote:Doug...I keep reading about people's keels not curing straight. The process looks pretty straightforward to me. What do you think people are 'missing'?

martin

About the assembly of the keel and its straightness. I find it strange that the instructions recommend assembling the aft section first. It can break straightness.
As for me, at the first stage it would be more correct to assemble the noseblock with the trunk and keel sides. You can do it on a flat table. Then glue the keel timber and aft section to the previous structure, using the reference center line and not pressing it against the flat table.
What do you think about it?

I think that's it. We're constructing a long skinny airfoil on a flat table. Without special care the side against the table naturally turns out flat. I shimmed it up some trying to achieve symmetry while gluing. It's not perfect, but it's good enough and I've never had any centerboard problems.

One solution the some early builders hit upon was sliding the keelson into place when doing the keel glue up (being careful to you don't glue the keelson to the keel yet!) The trailing edge of the keelson gives you a reference to center the trailing edge of the keel to.

JonLee wrote:One solution the some early builders hit upon was sliding the keelson into place when doing the keel glue up (being careful to you don't glue the keelson to the keel yet!) The trailing edge of the keelson gives you a reference to center the trailing edge of the keel to.

That’s a good idea.