Oooh, so Friday (ok, I didn't post this Friday - child no.2 was ill), the plans arrived.
The plans consist of 2 things, the A2 paper plans and the building manual. For now, its the building manual that interests me, because I want to have as much of it in my head as possible. I bought a book written by Chris Kulczycki (who used to own CLC) and it includes basic plans for the Chesapeak 16LT, 17 and 17LT already, so I have already seen a lot of the info in the plans, but I'm glad I have both - they naturally overlap, but the book covers more general parts of the subject as well, so the combination of the two is quite handy. For example, the book assumes you know less about epoxy than the plans (I know nothing beyond what I've read so far). Anyway, the book is good, practical, and I devoured it within 2 nights of receiving it.
I haven't mentioned this yet, but there's gonna be a slight delay before actual construction begins, as one of the things we want to do is to rebuild the garage. Our garage has been annoying us since we first moved in, as it leaks like a sieve (rusty tools, grr) and as it has a transparent corrugated roof and is small, its an oven in summer. Anyway, for a few reasons, we're rebuilding it, but that gives me a little time (the architect comes tomorrow, we're not gonna be faffing for months!) to digest these 'ere plans.
I'm kind of glad I have this time whilst the garage work starts, because one thing I've seen in several places now, and one thing I'm also not good at, is fully planning before I start. By actually being forced to sit with plans and unable to start, I'm really getting my head into them.
When I first got my head into the idea of building a boat, I found a blog (linked on the side bar) called the Unlikely Boat builder - currently he's sailing his boat back home, but I caught the blog as it was starting, and followed his journey through building his dinghy, Cabin Boy. One thing that stood out to me was to make mistakes slowly - this is something I intend to do. In part, this is not reaching for the quick power tool, not because it won't do the job, but because you might need that time to decide if you should actually be doing a particular task in the first place before you make that stupid cut in the wood! It is making sure you've double-checked everything and that you pause to question, if something isn't lining up or fitting properly, why that might be before you reach for the hammer! Anyway, lets hope that I can maintain this ideal in my head or you'll know doubt see me eating my words a few articles from now!
I've also ebayed for some spring clamps (it looks like I'll need one or two...) so I now have 10 spring clamps for a tenner - not bad! I think I'm mostly there on the other tools I need, the one exception being an orbital sander. Of course, if I'm going to be buying a sander (and the pocketship, if not the chesapeak needs LOTS of sanding) then I'm toying with the idea of a wet+dry vacuum to keep the dust down. This might pay back in time as well as health benefits, but a decent sander + vacuum wouldn't be cheap. One thought was that, as mentioned, no.2 child was ill last week (Grandma got decorated) and we had to borrow a vacuum to clean the carpet (this isn't the first time) - I reckon thats an interesting double-life for any wet+dry vac, boatbuilding and..., well, lets stop there :).
Tuesday 22 June 2010
Tuesday 15 June 2010
Starting out!
Ok - here goes!
So this is interesting - I'm setting up a new blog (something I've not done before). I always swore to myself that despite working in the IT industry for a number of years, I wouldn't set up a blog and add to the general detritus of the internet unless and until I had something to talk about. Hopefully, having kept that promise to myself thus far, this new blog will have something to say!
So what is this all about? As I've said, I've been working with computers for many years, and built countless numbers of them for myself, friends, relatives, etc. I've built shelves, some basic furniture and turned my hand to a reasonable number of around-the-house DIY projects, but had a growing craving to have a crack at something a bit more challenging - something I could point at and be proud of. Equally I guess, something non-IT related - something "real". Working at an IT company, I'm surrounded by people who are experts in some very technical areas, but can be impractical to the point of being unable to wire an electrical plug - I've always prided myself on having some in more practical interests (as well as some admittedly geeky ones!)
I've been around sailing for most of my life - I learned to sail when I was about 10 on the Norfolk Broads, somewhere I love to be. I've taught and sailed on dinghies and yachts, but sailing a traditional gaff-rigged cruiser on the Broads (especially given at times you are a 30ft boat on a 50ft river) is something special.
Choosing to build a boat has been somewhat a journey for me - I've become quite keen on the concept of a "trailer-sailor". A trailer-sailor, as its name suggests, is a boat that can be sailed, but is small enough to trail. This term appears to be bent a great deal depending on who you talk to - anywhere from a rowing boat to a 28ft boat being pulled by a serious 4x4, but I guess my definition is somewhere in the middle: A boat with a cabin, but small enough to be pulled behind a sensible car. I'm thinking along the lines of something that the children could enjoy when they're older for creek-crawling camping trips where they can hide below with colouring books and sleep, but not so big and grand it has to live in a marina.
I'll admit to a few false starts in this vision. I was swayed by the (somewhat plastic) charms of the MacGregor 26 (you'll also note it doesn't really fit my criteria above). Its an interesting design, a water-ballasted boat, weighing little on your trailer, but heavy when sailing. The downside is the compromises involved - a flat underside to enable high-speed planing under engine, a water tank in the bilges (which in turn forces higher cabin sides and freeboard) and a lacklustre rig. To some extent, a jack of all trades, master of none. In truth, absolutely all boats have compromises in their design, but understanding what they are is important so that you can decide if they suit your style of sailing. The MacGregor is too large a boat for me to trailer, and the ability to plane under engine doesn't interest me, giving me an unnecessary compromise in sailing potential for a flat bottom which will likely slam in a seaway.
I also looked at the miriad choices of other trailer sailor designs - dehler 21, cornish crabber, sailfish 18, parker 21, red fox, tide 28, etc. Whilst I didn't have any particular problem with any of them, the overall choice is baffling. What was also bothering me is that I'd read in my sailing magazine a good article on towing boats, and one of the first things you'll find is that what you are towing should not be more than 85% of the weight of the towing vehicle. That in itself limits what I can pull to 1100 kgs (including gear and anything else on board the boat when towing) - I decided to look at something smaller.
I'd always loved gaff-rig boats, though I've only seen them in Norfolk or down in Cornwall (I'm in Hampshire). I started to look round the internet and came across what I can now describe as a dream boat for me. Its noticeably smaller than the designs mentioned above, but easier to tow. At not much larger than a dinghy, it was the PocketShip that caught my eye. The idea of building a boat myself really appeals because I will have total ownership of the boat and understand a lot more (I'm not daft enough to say "everything") about it when sailing. I would have something that I can look at and be proud of, a lovely gaff-rigged boat which I can single hand, take the children out in (even let them sail on sensible days as the forces in the rig aren't prohibitive) as well as bobbing up rivers and teaching them to fish.
I guess I'm also savvy enough to know not to be swept off by a dream. If this is going to happen, I want to make sure its not going to become an expensive garage-filler that I'm not completing. I'm obviously conscious of the fact I have a young family, and I want to be sure I have the time, the skills, the drive and enthusiasm and that I'm not going to be banking on time I don't have to achieve this. To this end, I've decided to build a "test project" first. The PocketShip is designed and sold as a kit from clcboats.com, who primarily make Kayaks. As I like kayakking, and a kayak doesn't take up a lot of room, this intruiged me, and allowed me to try out a clcboat design to gauge how likely it was I could take on something larger.
This blog therefore is a diary of (hopefully) 2 projects - Chesapeak 16 Kayak and a PocketShip! I've just ordered the plans for the Kayak from Fyneboats who resell CLC designs and kits in the UK. I've decided to try and build the kayak from plans, though at this stage I think the time-saving element of buying a pre-cut kit for the pocketship appeals -one I'll mull over I guess.
So this is interesting - I'm setting up a new blog (something I've not done before). I always swore to myself that despite working in the IT industry for a number of years, I wouldn't set up a blog and add to the general detritus of the internet unless and until I had something to talk about. Hopefully, having kept that promise to myself thus far, this new blog will have something to say!
So what is this all about? As I've said, I've been working with computers for many years, and built countless numbers of them for myself, friends, relatives, etc. I've built shelves, some basic furniture and turned my hand to a reasonable number of around-the-house DIY projects, but had a growing craving to have a crack at something a bit more challenging - something I could point at and be proud of. Equally I guess, something non-IT related - something "real". Working at an IT company, I'm surrounded by people who are experts in some very technical areas, but can be impractical to the point of being unable to wire an electrical plug - I've always prided myself on having some in more practical interests (as well as some admittedly geeky ones!)
I've been around sailing for most of my life - I learned to sail when I was about 10 on the Norfolk Broads, somewhere I love to be. I've taught and sailed on dinghies and yachts, but sailing a traditional gaff-rigged cruiser on the Broads (especially given at times you are a 30ft boat on a 50ft river) is something special.
Choosing to build a boat has been somewhat a journey for me - I've become quite keen on the concept of a "trailer-sailor". A trailer-sailor, as its name suggests, is a boat that can be sailed, but is small enough to trail. This term appears to be bent a great deal depending on who you talk to - anywhere from a rowing boat to a 28ft boat being pulled by a serious 4x4, but I guess my definition is somewhere in the middle: A boat with a cabin, but small enough to be pulled behind a sensible car. I'm thinking along the lines of something that the children could enjoy when they're older for creek-crawling camping trips where they can hide below with colouring books and sleep, but not so big and grand it has to live in a marina.
I'll admit to a few false starts in this vision. I was swayed by the (somewhat plastic) charms of the MacGregor 26 (you'll also note it doesn't really fit my criteria above). Its an interesting design, a water-ballasted boat, weighing little on your trailer, but heavy when sailing. The downside is the compromises involved - a flat underside to enable high-speed planing under engine, a water tank in the bilges (which in turn forces higher cabin sides and freeboard) and a lacklustre rig. To some extent, a jack of all trades, master of none. In truth, absolutely all boats have compromises in their design, but understanding what they are is important so that you can decide if they suit your style of sailing. The MacGregor is too large a boat for me to trailer, and the ability to plane under engine doesn't interest me, giving me an unnecessary compromise in sailing potential for a flat bottom which will likely slam in a seaway.
I also looked at the miriad choices of other trailer sailor designs - dehler 21, cornish crabber, sailfish 18, parker 21, red fox, tide 28, etc. Whilst I didn't have any particular problem with any of them, the overall choice is baffling. What was also bothering me is that I'd read in my sailing magazine a good article on towing boats, and one of the first things you'll find is that what you are towing should not be more than 85% of the weight of the towing vehicle. That in itself limits what I can pull to 1100 kgs (including gear and anything else on board the boat when towing) - I decided to look at something smaller.
I'd always loved gaff-rig boats, though I've only seen them in Norfolk or down in Cornwall (I'm in Hampshire). I started to look round the internet and came across what I can now describe as a dream boat for me. Its noticeably smaller than the designs mentioned above, but easier to tow. At not much larger than a dinghy, it was the PocketShip that caught my eye. The idea of building a boat myself really appeals because I will have total ownership of the boat and understand a lot more (I'm not daft enough to say "everything") about it when sailing. I would have something that I can look at and be proud of, a lovely gaff-rigged boat which I can single hand, take the children out in (even let them sail on sensible days as the forces in the rig aren't prohibitive) as well as bobbing up rivers and teaching them to fish.
I guess I'm also savvy enough to know not to be swept off by a dream. If this is going to happen, I want to make sure its not going to become an expensive garage-filler that I'm not completing. I'm obviously conscious of the fact I have a young family, and I want to be sure I have the time, the skills, the drive and enthusiasm and that I'm not going to be banking on time I don't have to achieve this. To this end, I've decided to build a "test project" first. The PocketShip is designed and sold as a kit from clcboats.com, who primarily make Kayaks. As I like kayakking, and a kayak doesn't take up a lot of room, this intruiged me, and allowed me to try out a clcboat design to gauge how likely it was I could take on something larger.
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| Photo from Wooden Boat Magazine |
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