Trailer Hitch

April 29, 2011
I had the trailer hitch installed on my Escape today--it cost me almost as much for the hitch as it did for the trailer.  Building a boat is turning into a big money pit. I have to buy things that I didn't really think about when I started this project.   It took two days to get it installed. Yesterday Paul attached the hitch to the car and today he did the wiring.  Anyway, I'm glad that is done because once I paint the dory, I want to be able to use it.

Spray painting the flotation blocks

I had to weight down the newspaper with sticks to keep the paper from blowing around and sticking to the blocks while I was trying to paint them.

April 30, 2011
It's finally getting warm enough to do some painting--although not real warm since today is only 55 degrees.  Anyway, on my way back from the recycling center I stopped in at the hardware store in town and bought a can of flat black spray paint.  It turned out to be a good stop because when I got to the register, they had me draw a number out of a box.  I got 5% off for customer appreciation day.  When I got home I set up the flotation blocks on newspaper outside. There was a light breeze so I had to clamp down the newspaper in order to keep in on the table I was using.  I sanded the flotation blocks in order for the paint to stick to the epoxy and then sprayed them.

 

 

Spray painting the flotation blocks.

Cutting daggerboard slot in hull

April 25, 2011
We flipped the dory over, and I read over the directions to cut the slot in the bottom of the hull for the daggerboard.  Since I could see the screws that were holding the daggerboard trunk in place, I use a 5/8" drill bit and drilled a hole in the middle between two screws.  When I looked at the hole from underneath, I was relieved to see that although I was much closer to the side of the trunk than I thought I would be, I had done no damage. Then using a router with a trim bit, I cut out the slot.  The wheel on the bit could just follow the sides of the trunk.  I was a little concerned about the ends because the trunk is slanted and there was nothing for the wheel to press against. However, it seems like it came out OK. I switched bits and rounded off the edges of the slot. Again, the little wheel on the rounding bit could just follow the sides of the trunk.  In a very short time, this little nerve racking step was done.

To finish it up, I mixed epoxy to paint the exposed edges of the plywood and then used thickened epoxy to fill in the countersunk screws.

Cutting the slot with a trim bit on the router.

The little wheel on the router could follow the sides of the trunk, and it was all over very quickly.

Using a rounding bit, I went over the slot again to finish the job.

I added fillets to the inside of the forward support for the sliding seat.

Since I was mixing epoxy anyway, I put another coat on the flotation blocks.  With thickened epoxy it put fillets in the small piece that will support one end of the sliding seat.  I had previously put fillets in the plywood piece that will support the other end of the seat.

Finishing aft thwart installation

April 24, 2011

To finish the installation of the aft thwart bolts, I centered the thwart over the bulkhead, laid a scrap piece of plywood on the thwart, and then hit it with a rubber mallet.  The wood of the thwart is soft enough that I had a nice impression of the bolt on the underside of the thwart.  Using a bit that was slightly larger (3/8") than the bolt,  I drilled a hole through it.  I repeated this procedure on the other side of the thwart and was pleased when the thwart fit easily over the bolts and I could tighten it down with the threaded knobs.  I was rather dreading this step because if I messed it up, I didn't have any wood to make a new thwart.  Anyway, I'm relieved to have this step done and can move on.

The aft thwart is finished and ready for epoxy and varnish.

Putting in bolts for aft thwart

April 23, 2011
Yesterday I started sanding the inside of the dory.  According to the manual, every inch needs to be sanded to a cloudy gray in order for the varnish to stick to it. Today, I continued sanding, but also decided to put in the bolts in the aft bulkhead.  This thwart is designed to be removable to make it easier to row.  The bolt is a lag screw on one end and a machine screw on the other.  One end is embedded in the bulkhead and the other is used for a threaded knob to make it easy to put the thwart on and off.  Once I finally found a 5/16" drill bit, I drilled a hole in the bulkhead, and then used the syringe to fill the hole with plain epoxy and screwed the lag screw end into the bulkhead.  I did the same thing on the other end of the bulkhead. 

A 5/16" hole is drilled into the rear bulkhead.

The hole is filled with unthickened epoxy and the bolt screwed in place.

Buying a trailer

April 18, 2011
Each step brings me closer to the day that I can put the dory in the water and I've been thinking about how I'm going to move it.  At first I thought I could just put it on a roof rack but every time we flip it, it gets heavier, and I don't think that solution will work.  I've been looking at trailers and hated to spend another $1,000+ for the trailer that CLC recommends.  I called the marina in town and they recommended a light weight Karavan galvanized trailer, which was a couple hundred dollars less. While I was thinking about that possibility I found a used one on Craigslist a couple days ago.  The fellow called me back today and said that if I wanted it I needed to come today because he was going to bring it to a dealer to sell it. He said he would even knock $50 off his asking price to make it worth my while to come get it.  Tim agreed to lend me his truck and I went to Derry, NH to get it.   Not that I know much about the subject, but it looked good to me.  It was a small 2010 Karavan just like what I was thinking about buying.  I was impressed that it was  light weight and all galvanized construction, even the wheels. The fellow helped me hook it up and I drove it home.  I even stopped in Keene on the way and used it to bring home the vinyl siding we ordered for the house. 

Unfortunately, backing up a trailer is much more difficult than it looks.  I spent about half an hour trying to back it into the yard.  Tim's truck finally gave up, overheated, and blew out bunch of antifreeze.  That was the end of that maneuvering--I stopped and just let the truck cool off over night.  The next morning, I filled the radiator and brought the truck back, and left the trailer where it was for now.

I think it is light enough that I should be able to tow it with my car.  With Tim's truck, I didn't even know it was there.

Shaping and sanding stern seat

April 17, 2011
I sanded and rounded off the boards for the stern seat and sanded all the thwarts to get them ready for epoxy and varnish.  I rounded off both the top and bottom of the front edge of the seat and the top and bottom of the sides where they touched the hull.  The rounding here seemed to make them fit better with the curve of the hull.  Because the manual did not say anything about gluing the pieces together to make one big seat, I've left them separate for now.

I rounded off both the top and bottom of the front edge of the stern seat as well the sides.

 I also sanded all the thwarts again to smooth them out and get them ready to glue the flotation blocks to the bottom of them.

Cut out the foam to put under the stern seat

I cut out three pieces of foam to fit under the seat.

April 9, 2011 Put another coat of epoxy on the flotation blocks, and put epoxy on the wood supports for the thwarts.  Also, I cut out three pieces of foam to fit under the stern seat.  It was such an odd shape, I couldn't make them fit as tight as I wanted with the piece of foam that I had left.

Shaping flotation blocks

Flotation blocks are shaped and have their first coat of epoxy.

With the orbital sander, I smoothed and shaped the flotation blocks and then put on the first coat of epoxy.  I used a router to put a chamfer or beveled edge where it will fit under the thwart.  I think I need to do the same with the thwart.  As with the rest of the dory, the manual calls for three coats of epoxy and then painting the blocks.  Unfortunately I forgot about the triangles of foam that I need to put under the stern seat, and didn't have it ready to epoxy.  I also forgot to put epoxy on the small wooden support blocks for the thwarts--will have to get them when I do the next coat of epoxy.

Gluing the flotation block pairs

April 3, 2011
Since I was out of foam insulation I thought I was stuck.  I thought it would take only one 2'x8' sheet but I needed a little more.  Fortunately, I discovered that I had some pieces in the attic that I could use. I cut out the blocks around the mast step and then glued all the pairs together.  The manual says to glue strips of foam together first and then cut them out, which is probably a better way to go. I have them roughly cut out but will still need to shape them a little more, and then sand them and put epoxy on them.  Since I had only four clamps that were big enough, I squeezed them all together at the same time.  I'm a little concerned about the blocks that I had to cut in half to go around the daggerboard trunk because I'm not sure I have enough pressure on them. 

Gluing all the blocks at the same time was the only way I make use of the few clamps that I had.

Floatation blocks

April 1, 2011
We're getting a heavy, wet snow today, which makes it a good day for boat building. I worked on the foam flotation blocks that will be glued under the thwarts. I wish I had thought to trace the bulkheads before I started--it would have been so easy to get the correct shape for the blocks if I had a pattern.  Instead, I took a piece of newspaper and traced the shape of the bulkhead, cut it out and then transferred it to a piece of cardboard.  After cutting out the cardboard, I had a rough pattern that I could transfer to the 2" rigid foam insulation board that I bought to make the blocks. 

Cardboard pattern to make the flotation block for thwart 2.

I had a little detour while cutting out the blocks.  The insulation comes in a sheet 2'x8'x2" and I needed to cut it into a six inch strip for the flotation blocks. After cutting two strips, my table saw wasn't working right.  I discovered that the pulleys had slid sideways on their shafts and that the one under the table was bent.  It must have rubbed against one of the bolts supporting the table saw.  Anyway, I made a trip to the hardware store in town and bought a new pulley.  Fortunately, I was able to find the woodruff key in the sawdust under table and put everything back together.

Of course, each bulkhead is a different size. I was able to use my cardboard pattern for thwart 2 but had to adjust the length for thwart 3.  For thwart 1 I had to abandon it completely and had to figure out the new shape and size.  Because of the sailing parts for my dory I had also work around the mast step and dagger board trunk to shape the flotation blocks.

Rough cut foam flotation block

Fitting and shaping the flotation blocks to the bulkhead.

Checking to make sure the flotation blocks will fit under the thwart.