PocketShip.net

Looks really nice. The only thing I wonder about is the strip starting at the rear end of the trunk. Do you have it tapered enough? I agree with John that the bottom of the hull needs to be as slippery as possible. Not that I need to win any races--I just want the boat to be able to move in the lightest air possible. It's surprising how many dead calm or almost dead calm days we have even here in Oklahoma. I've had to paddle back to the dock more than once.

You may have considered this already, but a good compromise may be a small trolling motor. I have a 40lb thrust MinnKota that moves my 22' along well enough, even in a good headwind.They run about $250 new, weigh about 15 lbs, can be stored easily, and can be found in any marine store. You just need to run power that way; I've seen them run through companionways in a pinch but there are nice fittings that can be waterproofed. It sure beats rowing. For the record, after careful consideration, I'm putting 2-3 layers of feathered 9oz 'glass along the keel and calling it a day.

I'm curious about using graphite/epoxy mixture for the hull. I've heard that it gives a very strong, smooth finish when sanded down really well. What is the technique for application? I guess just fiberglass as usual, but for the third epoxy coat to fill the weave, use the graphite/epoxy mix? Then sand down as usual.

Does the final mixture need to be painted to protect the epoxy from UV damage, or is the black graphite enough protectant? If using graphite made the hull tougher, slicker, and avoids the need to paint (if you don't need antifouling because you trailer the boat), it might be a very good idea.

You still have to protect it from UV. I made the graphite/epoxy my last two coats. I believe if you look at the Kevlar/graphite rubbing strip kits on CLC's website there is a link to an instruction sheet--just leave out the Kevlar part.

Since I was using this mixture on the centerboard and inside the centerboard trunk I did not bother with UV protection. They should never see the light of day except in a capsize, and I'm hoping if that ever happens it will be for a very short time! Well, the centerboard will get a little sunlight when it is down, but I think several feet of water should be plenty of protection.

I gave the same treatment to the daggerboard and rudder on my Skerry, but in their case added a couple coats of varnish. Recently I got in a bit of a pickle where I could not get the boat headed into the wind quickly enough and the rudder rubbed on one of these stupid rough-concrete covered jetties we have in a local lake. I figured I would have to re-epoxy it where it rubbed, but when I got it home I could find no damage except for some of the varnish scraped away! That graphite is incredible stuff--very slippery and extremely tough.