TJ's V10

[terrulian]

Yup. No problem. Cracker Larry is made of braver stuff but anyway the scaredy-cat method worked.
Now tape up the interior, then flip and attend to that mess on the bow before taping the exterior.

[Cracker Larry]

Cracker Larry is made of braver stuff but anyway the scaredy-cat method worked.

No braver, just been there and done that and know the strength of epoxy and tape It's a lot stronger than a bolt and cable ties.

[terrulian]

I ran into a little puzzle. The beam on the V10 is 4'6". I want to transport it in a Ford E250, and the entry at the back doors is 4'6-1/2" giving a clearance of .5". But as this will at times be used as a tender, I want to have a rub rail of rope or rubber to avoid dinging up my topsides, so I needed a little more clearance to accommodate that. (Even with fenders there will be times the dinghy contacts the hull, at least with my level of seamanship.) Jacques suggested replacing the designed rub rail with a sheer clamp, which would subtract 1.5" from the beam, just what was needed. Theoretically, problem solved. But for whatever reason, once the boat was assembled the beam measured about 4'5-3/4" which meant that adding the rubber rail was going to make it wider than what I needed to fit in the van by about 1/2-3/4" without any clearance.

So I'm solving this at the risk of being drummed out of the corps. I shaved the widest frame by about, say, 1/4" on each side. I really hated to do that but on the other hand I didn't like the idea of spending another $500 plus on a rack and some kind of system to get it on top of the van, which is a long ways up. It's still tight and I really won't know if it fits in the doors until I try it.

The appearance of the sheer, which to my eye is perfect as designed, seems to be very little affected, but it is hard to tell and there may be a subliminal aesthetic cost. I'm hoping I don't get too many demerits for this blasphemy.

Otherwise, the inside is taped and, so far, things are moving along with no major train wrecks.

[Noles309]

Would you be able to tilt it on angle a bit just to get the widest part through the door?

[terrulian]

There is a bed in the back of the van so there's a limit on how much I can tilt it. But of course this may be necessary and I am hoping it will accommodate the boat. I'd like to think it will. I've tried every measurement and even thought of making a mock-up in cardboard but haven't done that yet.

[terrulian]

I've been delayed awhile because after a race that we always lose, we found a bit of water trickling into our little Catalina 22. I'm not an expert, but it occurred to me that over a period of time, water entering the boat from the bottom up may create a....problem. So we had to pull the boat out and, hopefully, resolve the issue.
Anyway, I got the interior taped and the frames in and am anxious to turn it over and see what kind of mess I'm presented with where the goop escaped the seams. Not worried, though.
I was quite amused to find a post from Jacques in response to some impressive photos of a builder's project. He said that the sort of precision displayed was not really required (in other words, while nice, was overkill), and Jacques didn't want to intimidate potential customers by giving the impression that this level of skill was necessary...and I'm thinking, NO PROBLEM, Jacques, I've got you covered. Anyway, although I've never built a boat I've done a bit of work with epoxy and glass and goop and know that it is ludicrously forgiving (except for the truly boneheaded mistakes that await me) and so I hope to provide proof that even an idiot like me can be successful.
The perspective on the picture below makes the stern look way wider than it is and the boat looks a little cockeyed. Not sure why that is; I'm no better photographer than boatbuilder. But the diagonals are true, the stem is straight, and the lines are correct and very pleasing in person. You'll just have to trust me on this.

[selever]

Jacques didn't want to intimidate potential customers by giving the impression that this level of skill was necessary...and I'm thinking, NO PROBLEM, Jacques, I've got you covered.

Haha! Well -- it looks nice so far!

[terrulian]

Got the outside seams taped and today I glued on the skeg. Since it gets so skinny at the forward end I wanted to ensure it would be straight, so I clamped a 1x1 to it while the goop kicks. The vertical board keeps it upright and centered. Waiting to see if this worked.

[terrulian]

It came out straight enough. Again, it's a little straighter than it looks because of foreshortening or some other optical distortion that is above my pay grade. A straightedge confirms it.


Here it is glassed in with a bit of goop on the bottom to fair things just a pinch, which I'll sand and then put down a layer of glass over the whole bottom.

[ks8]

Nice. Looks mighty strong.