Geoff's Outrigger - 'Shan Skailyn'

Boom Jaws and Varnish

2012-01-21T15:56:00.000+10:00

OK... Whew! I can rest now knowing that Shan Skailyn's bamboo spars have at least one coat of varnish on them before I leave them sitting there for 6 months.

Also, here are the pix of the boom jaws which are now complete other than a few holes for lashing the sail and downhaul, etc.

Bamboo mast / luff spar

2012-01-14T17:23:00.000+10:00

Interspersed with some other 'chores' in preparation for our return to the US, I managed to squeeze in a bit of time today on Shan Skailyn's spars. The rig is going to be a stub mast configuration. The stub mast is solid wood, and the other spars are bamboo. I've been hoping to get at least one coat of varnish on the spars before leaving them so the bugs don't eat them while we're away.

Today, I glued up the boom jaws (pix forthcoming - probably after boom jaws completed) and I also put some finishing touches on the luff spar. Since I want to be able to drop the whole thing at a moment's notice if things get hairy, I wanted some kind of quick releasing joint/mast step. I got this idea somewhere online... I think Gary D. mentioned it somewhere on his blog. Here you see the step assembly all together. Gary mentioned that this was the original universal joint that windsurfers used to use. The rope that passes through the step (located at deck level) will be tied off on a cleat (or maybe even a cam cleat for quicker release potential). Then the other side of the rope will have a loop tied in it, both to keep it from pulling through the mast base and also to secure the boom downhaul to. In this setup the mast base pivots freely in it's little socket joint / step. The luff spar is held upright by a halyard running through the top of the stub mast.

Today, besides gluing up the boom jaws, I applied the fiberglass wraps around the ends of the luff spar to help prevent splitting. I also had to doctor up a split about four fifths of the way up. I think it must have split when it was originally cut and fell. The split was there when my friend brought it up. This was such a nice piece of bamboo compared to the others I had available to me that I decided to take a chance and try to fix it. So today I pried the split open a bit, loaded it with thickened epoxy, even used a hypodermic needle to inject epoxy into the narrower parts. I then covered the split with a piece of fiberglass (see pic). I'm sure hoping this will hold up well for me. Anyone out there ever tried repairing a split in bamboo before? Any luck? I'd love to get your input. I'm wondering if I should also put several full wraps of fiberglass on there too, or was what I did enough?

Tadaa... Finished paint job

2011-12-31T14:29:00.000+10:00

Our family took this whole week off after Christmas... well mostly off. Still had some little work things that came up but all in all it was a decent week off. So I managed to get Shan Skailyn's hull, iakos and ama completely painted! The paint job is finally done!!! That was a huge job!
So check it out! Shan Skailyn in all her slightly gaudy, painted glory! Our two older girls and some visiting friends were quite excited to play with 'Rusty' the tree kangaroo in the boat.

Even though I just used exterior acrylic paint, I'm thinking that with the 4 coats of primer and at least 3 top coats (the red needed more to keep the primer from showing through) that the paint job ought to hold up a good long time. I sanded in between all the primer coats (not the top coats) which helped produce a nice smooth finish overall.
One little tip for any other would be boat painters out there. If you're not using masking tape and still wanting some fairly clean lines in your paint job, use a little edge painter like the one I used. I actually had masking tape but on the pieces I tested it on it just was leaving a ton of hard to remove junk and the adhesive was just too strong. I was worried it was going to remove paint. So I first opted to hand paint the lines in using some little artist paint brushes we had on hand. S-L-O-W! Also, the lines were still too ragged for my taste. That's when I rummaged through my supply cabinet and found that I had this little edge painter. It's just a flat pad, with lots of short, soft bristles and a little grip on the backside. It's made for painting right up into corners with no mess and no masking. I decided to try it and was blown away by how smoothly it lays down paint... no bubbles, hardly any streaks... just smooth. It also makes it so much easier to paint a nice clean straight edge. Everything about this little device really made it the perfect applicator for the whole paint job (except for filleted corners). So I used it for everything once I discovered I had it. Can I say again that this thing laid down a super clear coat? Better than any roller or paintbrush I've ever used. I think a sprayer probably would have done better, but for the low budget people, this thing is a treat! Get one for your boat!

Total weight so far

2011-12-19T16:39:00.000+10:00

OK, so yesterday afternoon on a whim, I decided I'd weigh everything up that I have done so far... or nearly complete. Right now is probably a great point to weigh a bunch of these things since all the fiberglass is done and the first coats of paint are on and dry already. Very little weight will be added later with the exception of some little bits of hardware here and there. So without further adieu here are the weights of individual parts:

Hull fore section 22 kg
Hull mid section 24 kg
Hull aft section 21 kg
Both crossbeams 15 kg (7.5 kg/ea)
Assembled ama 14 kg
Leeboard 6.5 kg
Rudder assembly 2.5 kg
Roughed out stub mast 7 kg
----------------------------------------------
TOTAL 112 kg (246.9 lbs)

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2011-12-18T20:56:00.001+10:00

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2011-12-18T20:56:00.000+10:00

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Primer all done

2011-12-18T13:07:00.000+10:00

Okay, let's try this email thing again. For some reason it seems incapable of delivering an email with its attachments. This is the message that was supposed to go with the last two pix.

Got Shan Skailyn's iakos (crossbeams) and both ama sections (the outrigger float) painted with primer today. Not just one coat, but three... all in one slam bam morning working in the warm sun. The stuff was drying fast enough that once I finished putting a coat on the other pieces, the first piece was ready to sand and coat again. So just busted it all out today. Next step will be to put the top coat on everything.

At little odd times here and there through the week I managed to put the strip of fiberglass over the keel line of the ama as well as the reinforcing wraps around the end of the crossbeams where the ama struts mount and exert lots of forces that threaten splitting the beams.

Really the only thing left to paint will be the motor mounting bracket which I have yet to build. For the motor mount, I'm seriously thinking about deviating a bit from Gary's plans and lashing the thing on the crossbeam, rather than using a bolting assembly. I figure if I modify the design just a touch so that the sides, instead of just resting flat under the crossbeam, are built up a couple inches higher and then given cutouts into which the the crossbeam sits snugly, then some nice tight lashing should hold the thing quite well. Can anyone with experience tell me if this is folly? After assembling Shan Skailyn the other day and seeing just how amazingly strong those lashings are, I figure with the proper modifications the motor mount could be installed the same way (still using Gary's recommending anti-torqueing line of course).

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2011-12-18T03:18:00.000+10:00

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Seeing it all come together

2011-12-10T08:04:00.000+10:00

We have the pleasure of a visit from our helicopter pilot, Mike, and his family this weekend. Coming in with them and with the helicopter today we got our supplies in... including our mail... which also includes the hex nuts that I've been anxiously awaiting for the bolts to connect the hull pieces together. I can finally assemble the hull!

Mike and I spent the afternoon putting all of Shan Skailyn's pieces together to see just how everything is looking so far. Such an awesome feeling to see all that come together!

Everything fit the way it was supposed to. That's a good sign! I was surprised at how strong those lashings actually are, joining the iakos (cross beams) to the hull. One helpful piece of information for anyone ordering parts for a similar project is that each lashing point on the iako to hull connection takes about 9 feet of small diameter rope. In my ignorance, I had only planned and purchased enough for one meter on each lashing point. By the time we had joined everything together, including the ama to iako connections, I had very little left of the mere 65 feet of rope I had purchased. Gonna have to buy more.

There was a lot of interest generated among our kids and the many Mibu kids that were up playing in the area as they saw this oddball project come together in this place with nowhere to sail!

Mike and I also took this chance to talk about how things will have to work out when the helicopter that you see in the background carries all this 12 miles out to the coast sometime next year for its maiden voyage.

Keep on priming

2011-12-07T17:46:00.000+10:00

Just another weekend of applying primer coat after primer coat after primer coat. You forget how much work painting is! Painting, anxiously waiting and checking for it to dry, then sanding, and going through the whole process again... and again.

As of now, I've got 4 good coats of primer on the aft section of the hull with only 3 so far on the fore and mid sections. I'm debating whether or not 3 coats of primer is enough. First off, I'm tired of applying the stuff. Second, 3 heavy coats seems like it might just be enough. Especially considering that I've got at least 2 gloss top coat that will be going on later. BUT since this is just lowly acrylic house paint, I do want to make sure I'm applying the necessary amount to hold up a good long time. Is three coats of primer and 2 coats of gloss top coat enough for a boat that will always be out of the water when not in use?

Small Details

2011-11-28T18:02:00.000+10:00

Here are the pix of the leeboard brackets. Note the plural. And note the fact that these are not per Gary's book. In talking with Gary over email he recommended trying a mere timber stiffener rather than the bracket he shows plans for in his book. The timber stiffener starts at the gunwale and goes all the way down to the chine. Each piece is glued and screwed with 8 screws. It was simpler and made lots of sense. I also wanted the option to shift the CLR of the hull a bit as I gain a feel for how Shan Skailyn tacks. So Gary also recommended putting two leeboard locations about 300mm apart. With the swing of the leeboard, there's actually quite a bit of shifting of the CLR that can now happen. You might notice that above each bolt hole I plugged another hole. I was over eager to drill! I decided later (again, due to Gary's recommendations) that the leeboard needed to be a few inches lower. Easy fix.

Then in the other picture you'll see the finished mast step. Nothing fancy there. Just a single piece of wood with a square cutout to fit the base of the stub mast. The really nasty dark stuff on the inside of the hull with the mast step is much worse than it looks. Just a result of doctoring up an overly dark photo. The stub mast is another thing that's been slowly coming along. Nothing worth taking pictures of yet. Actually I wish I'd taken a picture of the original piece of timber for before and after comparison pix. Oh well. Er, wait a minute, I think I did some time ago.

Get 'yer primer on

2011-11-28T14:10:00.000+10:00

Didn't have a lot of time to work on Shan Skailyn this weekend. BUT, I did manage to get the first two coats of primer on the aft section of the hull. In preparation for painting I had some little details to finish out, which I did. The leeboard mounting bracket is on and the holes are drilled, the mast step is located and fastened in place (pix forthcoming). At this point, other than some more sanding and scraping I'm ready to really push forward with painting everything.

Had a major disappointment yesterday afternoon when I put the second coat of primer on (planning 4 coats of primer by the way). Not 10 minutes after I had applied the second coat and things were looking really nice, a HUGE storm blew in. The rain was extreme and the wind as well. It managed to blow both rain and mud all the way underneath my house, soaking a bunch of my plywood and my freshly painted hull. Not only was the new paint now diluted and dripping down the sides, but the paint that remained had lots of junk embedded in it! Ughhh! As of this morning, not a huge deal. Everything dried OK and after taking a scraper gently over the affected surface and a quick touch up with sandpaper we're sitting at a nice 1-1/2 coats of primer on this hull section.

Also, up till this point I've not been super happy with any of the bamboo that I've had available for my spars. One of my friends mentioned a piece he'd cut recently which sounded like it'd work. He brought that up on Friday. It's a keeper! The dimensions at the base and head are just right. It's got a nice taper. It's thick walled and has an ever so slight curve up toward the head. So we got all the skin scraped off and I'm currently drying it. Also drilled some teeny tiny little holes just above all the lower nodes to drain out the water that collects in there and slows down the drying process.

Iakos (crossbeams)

2011-11-21T18:25:00.000+10:00

Here are the finished iakos. My apologies for not getting pix of the process of making them. I went with the hollow box beam design. I'm really glad I did. They seem really lightweight. I increased the overall width and height dimensions by 10% from the solid wood version per Gary's advice and that of others as well. Oh yeah, still have to put a fiberglass wrap around the end where the ama attaches to keep from splitting.

A word of advice... if you're limited to buying JUST the 6 sheets of plywood recommended in Gary's book, make sure you maintain as much of the waste as possible! Don't be liberal if you rough cut things first. I just BARELY had enough plywood to build these iakos. I had to piece things together a little bit on the second one. Other than some small pieces of plywood it is ALL GONE now. Kudos to Gary for laying things out so efficiently in the plans in his book.

Ama Complete! (well, nearly)

2011-11-21T17:48:00.000+10:00

I finished Shan Skailyn's ama this weekend! Also finished the iakos (crossbeams). Ama pix in this post. Iakos will be in another since our email system seems more likely to butch things up with more attachments.

For the ama, I went with Gary's advice and filled them with styrofoam. Don't ask where we got that much styrofoam out in the middle of the bush... we just have it. I filled each section to the max. Will help me feel better about any potential leaks sprung while enjoying God's great big ocean!

The stitch and tape job (oh, that reminds me, I've yet to 'tape' the whole keel joint) went well. Never done that before. Definitely takes some fussing with to get things right though. I'm also really pleased with how the ama struts turned out. I was wondering if I might screw something up there. But everything fit and my double and triple checks reveal that all is well. Pretty sure I got all my angles right too. Nothing backwards or otherwise messed up. Whew!

Not a whole lot else to say except, "Bring on the paint!" Realistically, it'll be a couple more weekends before I get to that as there is a lot of preparatory stuff that needs to happen first (ie. fairing and sanding the fiberglass bottoms and then sanding the entire hull).

Beginnings of iakos and ama

2011-11-18T07:07:00.000+10:00

Lots of little details that need working on lately. Most of my efforts last weekend went into the ama and the iakos. Along with those, I've also been working on the solid wood stub mast as well as it's mast step (the step with the square hole). Next to that you'll see the mast step for the luff spar (the step with the round dish carved into it. Saw the idea for that one mentioned somewhere by Gary on his website. This seems like a reasonably simple way to make a universal joint for the luff spar when you don't have access to windsurfing supplies. The base of the spar, which will have a rope passing through it, will sit in the cup, with the rope passing through that. With the rope pulled and fastened tightly on the other end, it will provide a great universal joint. And it should be easy and quick to drop the sail if needed. Just loosen the halyard and the rope passing through this mast step and the whole thing comes down.

Should be ready to finish gluing up the ama and the second iako this weekend sometime.

All done glassing

2011-11-09T05:48:00.000+10:00

(Ah the joys of email from the bush over HF radio... sorry this post was screwed up again. Here's the text that belongs with the last two pix)

Not a whole lot of progress this last weekend. Just a few hours on Saturday then less than an hour Sunday afternoon. But it was enough time to finish glassing the bottom of the two end sections. Looking good! For some reason, I feel a major milestone has been passed now.

I used less epoxy on the end sections than I anticipated. One thing that made a big difference was that I used a different squeegee; one with a rubber piece on it. The last one I had used was just a soft plastic. I also tried the squeegee on the 2nd and 3rd coats of epoxy as well. Worked pretty nice for the flat bottom. Using thinner coats of epoxy got me a lot more print through of the weave (see picture), but it all scrapes down smooth without cutting into the glass, so it must be just enough. All in all, the total epoxy used for both end sections was exactly what it took to just do the middle section; five 5 oz dixie cups full.

Other than that I was able to take the scraper (just using a utility knife blade) to the middle section. All's nice and fair and smooth now! As I was scraping I realized that I may have put the 2nd and 3rd coats on a bit thick. I'll save the final sanding until just prior to painting.

Oh yeah, and I was able to finish getting everything ready to glue up my hollow box beam iakos. All the station blocks are screwed in place for clamping it into it's curved shape. All the wood is cut and just sitting, waiting to be glued.

Next step is getting my solid wood stub mast ready, including the mast step and collar. After that, I think I'll be ready to start prepping the hull for painting!

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2011-11-09T05:19:00.001+10:00

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Beginner's experience with fiberglass

2011-11-01T11:47:00.000+10:00

I finally deemed the hull ready to fiberglass this weekend. Being my first time ever working with fiberglass I've been nervous about it. I've gathered tons of online material about fiberglass for offline reading in the bush. I've asked a number of questions to glean from Gary D's many years of experience too. He, by far, has the most simplistic, least wasteful, least time consuming method I've come across so far. So I made that first step into the unknown on Saturday morning and fiberglassed the middle section.

I went with Gary's advice about the squeegee. Worked great. Poured the stuff on, starting the center of the hull and then squeegeed it around. Then I followed up with the brush. I'm overlapping the fiberglass 2" up the side of the hull. Squeegeeing didn't work too well on that part. Went with the brush. I also went with Gary's suggestion to try to get all three coats done in one full day, applying subsequent coats prior to the previous one fully curing. We're quite cool here in Mibu. So in order to get the temps to a point where things would cure fast enough to get all three coats on in a day, I started off in the morning by putting the hull out in the earliest sun light available, to warm it up a bit. I also warmed up the resin by putting the epoxy containers in warm water 1/2 hour before getting started. When ready, I moved the warmed hull indoors where the sun quickly warms things because of the corrugated tin roofing. I figured this whole process would have the hull actually cooling down rather than heating up as the resin cured, so as to not make bubbles from air expansion. OK, so done wetting by 9am. No bubbles to speak of and ready for second coat by 11am. Cloudy day, cooling off again around noon, so next round not ready till 2pm. There you have it... all three coats in one day.

All in all, the whole process worked like a charm. This morning, I'm seeing a very clear lay up where all the detail of the wood is visible. Not that clarity matters since I'm painting over it, but hey, it's nice to know I can do it in case I ever want to build another boat someday. However, I can see the cloth on close inspection (see pic). Yet the detail of the wood is nicely seen.

OK, let's talk quantities here; For the middle section (largest surface area to cover) I used a total of 5 dixie cups full of resin. I'm talking about the little 5 oz kids cups here. The initial wetting of the glass used 3. Actually I mixed up three and only used about 2.25 of them. The rest got 're-allocated' to strengthening joints, filling gaps and shaping out the very front end of the foredecks around the stem. Back to numbers... The subsequent coats of epoxy each took significantly less epoxy to fill the weave, each one taking exactly one 5 oz dixie cup full. All in all, glassing the bottom of the middle section of Shan Skailyn took only 25 oz of resin, or about .7 liters. Again, that number is skewed a bit because I made about 3/4 dixie cup too much for wetting out the cloth. So it really should have only taken about 21-22 oz total. I would imagine that each end section would be about two-thirds of the surface area of the middle section, thus using that much less resin on each one.

At this point, I'm a lot less worried that I'll have to buy more resin. I think I'll have enough to squeeze by, especially if I'm careful with the glassing of the end sections. I've been paying careful attention to measuring my resin up to this point, using large syringes to measure out my quantities. Once I got an idea of how much resin is needed for glue, I've been able to use it with very little waste. Being careful with the measurements like that is paying dividends now as it looks like I'll be able to make this thing using 3.75 liters of epoxy (about a gallon) per Gary's recommendations in his book.

Hull weight... so far

2011-10-25T18:48:00.000+10:00

OK, took a few minutes today during lunch to weigh up the individual hull sections as they are right now. Other than the mast step, glass and paint, there really isn't much that will add significant weight at this point. So these numbers are probably pretty close to what she'll end up weighing.

Fore section - 19.5 kgs (~ 43 lbs)
Mid section - 21.5 kgs (~ 47.5 lbs)
Aft section - 19 kgs (~ 41.5 lbs)

TOTAL 60 kgs (~ 132.5 lbs)

That's not too bad, is it? Considering what's left (sail, rigging, ama, hollow beam iakos, etc) I would guess loosely that I'll easily tack on another 40 kgs. That would put the completed Shan Skailyn at around 100kgs (~ 220 lbs). But that's just guessing there.

Hull nearly completed

2011-10-25T06:10:00.000+10:00

(Once again, our fantastic system for emails managed to destroy my original email message, breaking it into pieces and unable to put it together again. Here's the text that was supposed to accompany those last 4 pix.)

I ended up working through the weekend this week. So I treated myself to a day off today (Monday) with the aim of playing with the kids and working on Shan Skailyn.

I thought the cutting and installation of the seats was going to be quicker. But that's about all I completed today. Still good though. Another great step toward getting her done. I also installed the filler strip over the gunwales to bring everything level with the seats. Once the epoxy is cured I'll use the router to clean up the edges (I glued everything slightly oversized) and sand it down.

For the strip over the gunwales I chose to go with a hardwood, thinking it would eventually save on wear and tear over the other option which would have been to use scraps of the 1/4" plywood that is left over. Also, when it comes to lashing the iakos over the gunwale when set up as a 16 footer, I would imagine I'll be happy it's all hardwood there. I noticed on Gary's boat that he has little metal covers over that area, I would imagine for the same reason.

Also, maybe I'm just a dunce and couldn't figure it out from the plans, but the three seats that Gary's plans show on the plywood cut outs don't seem like enough to take care of the needs of the 24' version he shows in the drawings. So what I opted for was to take the foremost seat (the one the mast passes through) as well as the aft most seat and make them out of some 3/4" ply I had sitting around. I dado'd the edges so they are recessed down and are level with the rest of the seats at 1/4" above the gunwale. I would imagine this setup is going to work quite well, though I'm sure I am paying a bit more price in weight.

Speaking of weight, I can't wait to see how much the entire hull weighs. Probably need to wait until it's all glassed and painted first. But knowing me, I probably won't be able to wait that long. Will weigh them soon I'm sure.

One more little tidbit that might be helpful for any other boatbuilders-to-be out there. If you're planning on using the bronze ring shank nails, you'll want about 900 of them just to be sure. I've kept running out because I shorted myself early on. By the time I'm all done, I'll probably have used at least 700. But I wish I'd put twice as many in certain areas along the chine and gunwales. I think I over-skimped there putting a paltry 1 nail per foot... sorry, I can't remember what all I ordered or I'd have a more accurate number.

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2011-10-25T05:51:00.003+10:00

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2011-10-25T05:51:00.000+10:00

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Checking alignment

2011-10-18T18:16:00.000+10:00

My very close friend, Sesi, and I were working together on translation yesterday and decided we needed to take 15 minutes during lunch to bolt Shan Skailyn's newly glued up hull pieces together to see how they're all fitting. Sesi has a great interest in seeing Shan Skailyn come together because he's planning on going with us on its maiden voyage. My two older daughters couldn't resist the urge to get in this boat that daddy was assembling in the yard

I'm a bit frustrated that the wrong hex nuts were sent with my bolts. All I can do now is put the bolts through and clamp the thing together across the top of the bulkheads. Definitely don't want to do any moving around of the hull when it's together like that or the strain is likely to break something. I want my bolts! Next chance to get the right nuts won't be till after the new year sometime, as late as Feb or March when we go back to the US for the delivery of the new member of our family.

But I'm happy to say that all the joints are lined up nearly perfect. There will be very little, if any, sanding and filling to match the joints up.

Glued up hull

2011-10-17T06:41:00.000+10:00

(You'll have to pardon the last couple posts. Our email system tends to mess things up frequently. Unfortunately I can't get online to fix it either! So here's the text that was supposed to go with the pix)

I managed to get a really good amount done on Shan Skailyn yesterday. All three hull pieces are now glued up, including the bottom panels. I filleted all around the watertight bulkheads. I installed both false stem pieces. Then on one of the end hull sections I managed to sink all the bronze nail heads, fill with epoxy paste, shape the stem (probably will need to work it a bit more so it's not so rectangular looking), sand down excess filling over the nail heads and put a 1/4" round over all around the bottom for when I eventually glass the bottom. Oh yeah, I also put a couple quick, heavy coats of varnish on the inside of the watertight compartment. And one more thing, I made the pattern for the covering over the watertight compartment. WHEW!

I still need to put all the sections together and fair it up, but if my dry fit test was any indication there shouldn't be much that needs to happen there. Unfortunately that will probably just have to wait till next weekend. I'm just out of time this weekend.

I'm quite pleased with how it's all coming together. Unbelievable how much work all this is! But it's going to be so much fun to take the family out on over the years when we're out in town on our breaks.

In other news, we found out recently that we're getting a surprise visit by the stork sometime late April! Our fourth child! Pretty exciting stuff! It does mean a change of plans though. Since Shannon has complicated pregnancies and deliveries and since here in Papua New Guinea there really aren't adequate medical facilities to handle things, we're going to be returning back to the states sometime early next year for about 4 months to have the baby. Not sure what this will do to Shan Skailyn's maiden voyage, but I'm sure it will knock it back a little bit. Anyway, there will be a pause in my posting about that time.

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2011-10-17T05:24:00.001+10:00

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Finished leeboard and rudder

2011-10-15T15:33:00.000+10:00

Here's the pix of the finished leeboard and rudder. Not a whole lot else to say. I would like an opinion on my rudder hinge (whatever that thing is called). Is the way I have it set up going to be alright with the forces that it will encounter? I'm just a touch concerned that the little 'tongues' that are holding the pin just may want to tear.

Bob from Arkansas, any thoughts on that?

Response to comment

2011-10-15T08:32:00.000+10:00

Hey Bob from Arkansas, great info! Thanks a ton! A blacksmith, eh? I've been emailing Gary on occasion with my questions. Yes, he's always great to respond with helpful info. I'm trying not to bug him too much though! But he does seem happy to help when he can.

I'm curious what the wall thickness of the bamboo you use is. We've got some stuff here that is really thick walled. It's usually dried in the sun and doesn't crack unless you leave it out for a year or so. When it's dry, it's extremely lightweight and more rigid than an equal size diameter hardwood timber. The stuff I have drying now is just a bit bigger diameter than Gary recommends in his book (that should answer your other question about the book or the plans, BTW) but I'm thinking I'm going to give it a try anyway.

Stay tuned. I've had a busy week so haven't had the time to take and post pix of my final rudder and leeboard. I'm really pleased with how the rudder assembly turned out. It's got nice smooth action with just a small tolerance, seems like it's going to be really strong, and looks halfway decent. I sure used up some of my saw blades and drill bits cutting and shaping that stuff though! Wish I'd known about the cold chisel thing back then!

So, you're a blacksmith, eh? I'll have to keep you in mind sometime with some of the other practical projects I that are so inevitable around here.

Hey, any idea how I can drill a small hole through the end of a 1/4" diameter stainless steel shaft? I want to put cotter pin through it, but have only managed to bind up and break my small drill bits. Any ideas? I first hammered the end flat to make it a bit easier to drill through. Helped, but still no go! That's hard stuff!

(You'll have to pardon my method of responding here. No internet from out here in the bush. But I can generate new posts via email. So welcome to my way of responding to comments!)

Response to comment

2011-10-14T15:32:00.000+10:00

So, you're a blacksmith, eh? I'll have to keep you in mind sometime with some of the other practical projects I that are so inevitable around here.

(You'll have to pardon my method of responding here. No internet from out here in the bush. But I can generate new posts via email. So welcome to my way of responding to comments!)

Hull Assembly

2011-10-08T17:19:00.000+10:00

This weekend, I was able to finish the dry assembly of the entire Shan Skailyn hull. Then I double checked how it would all fit together with the bolt hole alignment. Had to clamp it after passing the bolts through due to a mix up in my hardware order. Got the right bolts this time, but the wrong hex nuts. All clamped together, everything is good and true. Everything is square with less than 2mm difference between diagonal measurements. That shouldn't cause any problems right?

I know I've already said this, but 24' is one big canoe! You don't realize it till it's together! I'm starting to wonder how I'm going to have to rearrange things when I'm working on it as one entire hull.

After checking it all, I managed to glue up both end sections. I might manage to be able to fillet the watertight bulkheads in place if I have a bit more time tomorrow afternoon (sunday).

Oh yeah, I got the sixth and final coat of varnish on her leeboard and rudder. Decided to go with what may be overkill with 5 thick coats (sanded in between each coat) and 1 thin final coat. I don't know of any 'spar' varnish available in country here, so I'm just using the next best thing; exterior varnish. Hopefully the many coats with a good sanding between each coat will give me a nice long lasting protective coat. That pretty much finishes things up on the leeboard and rudder now. Hardware is all done. Woodwork and finish is all done. Pix forthcoming.

Strange Trimaran in Madang, PNG

2011-10-03T20:52:00.000+10:00

I've had the pleasure of being able to go out with one of my buddies here in Madang, fishing on his motorboat. Went out Friday afternoon and saw this boat out there. I didn't have my camera with me so couldn't take any pictures of it. Went out fishing again today and brought my camera. I've never really seen anything like this. Not that I'm mister experience when it comes to anything on the sea. In fact, quite the opposite. Maybe this kind of thing is really common and I'm just too ignorant to have ever noticed. What is it?

It has two amas. The amas are made of bamboo lashed together. It looks as if there is actually a lower ama (see picture) and an upper ama. The lower one looks like just a single piece of bamboo maybe. It's suspended below the much beefier main ama. I would guess that this is so that the main ama isn't always creating so much drag in the water; the lower, simpler ama giving just a touch of stability to the ship until it needs more. Not sure though. Note too the curvature of the ama. Though not as easily visible on the other side, they both have about the same curvature built in.

Then on the iakos (they're huge!) are stored a bunch of these little wooden boats. Even these little wooden boats are a style that looks different than anything I've ever seen before.

This boat just sticks out as different... and it's an outrigger (though not a sailing boat) and so I thought I'd post some pix here and see if anyone has ever seen or knows about anything like this? What is the purpose of this boat with all it's little boats?

The other picture was just a nice shot I got of some kids out on the family dugout.

Just a few more days until we go back into the bush. We've been out way too long. As well as looking forward to seeing my friends and talking about some exciting things regarding the church in Mibu, I'm looking forward to getting some little bits of time here and there to work on Shan Skailyn.

Paddles from the best... I think

2011-09-24T12:48:00.000+10:00

Recently when we were in Wewak, in the Sepik region, I was able to find out that if you want a paddle made, the best people by far to have make them are the Iwam people. They're river dwellers and seem to be well known for their skills on the water... and for their paddle making. An expat friend of mine happened to have a paddle (see pic) made by the Iwam and I was impressed with it's light weight and strength. So I decided that rather than making the paddles myself, maybe I'd try to see if we couldn't find someone from the Iwam who would be willing to do the job for me. My expat friend made the arrangements sometime after we left. I wasn't able to make the arrangements myself because these folks don't make it out to town often. It's mere chance that you see someone from that area. As it happens, the day after me and my family flew to Madang, my friend saw someone he knew from Iwam. He agreed on a fair price for the paddles and will make them and bring them to Wewak sometime.

So sometime in the near future (maybe next few months) I should be the proud owner of 4 paddles for Shan Skailyn that look a bit like the one in the picture. One difference I was told about is that they typically make the end of the blade taper out with a longer (but still flattened) point. The paddle in this pic was modified by it's current owner. I might modify it a bit too maybe by wrapping the ends of the blades with fiberglass to keep from splitting, and then putting 4-5 coats of varnish on them.

No sails yet

2011-09-16T08:45:00.000+10:00

Well our little excursion to the beach for swimming on Sunday produced very little in the way of outriggers. I did manage to make it over to the village that was right near where we were swimming. However it seemed that everyone was out on their canoes already. I wandered around the beach a bit and did manage to find a couple outriggers, but no owner. Everyone was gone.

I'm starting to think that my chances of getting a good look at a traditional sailing outrigger here in Wewak are pretty slim at this point. The workshop has us pretty busy. I do spot many a sailor from afar though, from where we're staying. We have a nice view of the ocean from up on the hillside. The silhouetted figure in the small picture is about all I can capture with my telephoto lens. Oh well. Maybe this weekend.

Wishful Thinking in Wewak

2011-09-10T14:06:00.000+10:00

My family recently had to travel to the town of Wewak, in the Sepik region of Papua New Guinea) for a translation workshop. I've been so busy with the workshop, going Monday through Saturday for two weeks, that I've not really had a chance to go to the beach or any villages to check things out. I'm really interested in looking at their different outrigger canoes. And get this... many of them have sails here! I would like to see the different ways they rig theirs and maybe make myself a wontok (friend) who wants to take me out on a ride with him. But for now, I'm constrained, due to the busy-ness of the translation workshop, to just enjoying the ocean view from the hillside that we're located on.

I've seen some traditional outriggers out there and it looks like the majority of them are using polytarp for their sail material. But it's just far enough away that I can't really see details, even with binoculars. I also saw this painting in one of our offices, done by a local artist named Nanias Maira. The painting depicts the look of the local sailing outriggers.

We're planning a time to go to the beach this Sunday morning. I've heard there's a nearby village to where we're going that has a bunch of canoes. Maybe that will be my chance to check some out and get some pix... and maybe... just maybe catch me a little ride.

Standing by...

2011-09-02T17:06:00.000+10:00

You may have noticed that I've not posted anything for a couple weeks here. We recently left our bush location for some language and translation workshops in town. Won't be back into Mibu for another 4 weeks still. Meanwhile, all of Shan Skailyn's materials simply wait.

I did, however, manage to finish one of the drawings of what her paint job may eventually look like. I'm going to buy the needed paint while we're out here.

BTW, the outline is scanned from Gary Dierking's book and photoshopped. I then printed it and then colored it in by hand.

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2011-08-17T23:23:00.000+10:00

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Doodlin'

2011-08-17T14:42:00.000+10:00

(Sorry, this might be a bit confusing, but the picture that was the last post and the text from this post were both supposed to be ONE post! Our email system does that to me sometimes. Wreaks all kinds of havoc. So here's the text that should have come with the picture.)

Over the last few nights, while my wife, Shannon, and I were watching some pre-recorded episodes of Criminal Minds (that's what we do in the evenings here in the bush!), I was doodling away at some design possibilities for Shan Skailyn's eventual paint job. All three incorporate a design that is used as a primary element, in one variation or another, in just about all the Mibu people's carvings. Since I live and work with these folks and feel a part of the community in many ways, I wanted to include artistic features unique to their identity. So here are my sketched out ideas. I'm thinking of just staining and varnishing the gunwale a dark color. One of my friends here, Lookas, is going to carve the pattern (very light relief carving) of the design seen on the lower of the two pictures here all along the gunwale. I'll then stain the whole thing, do a whitewash to fill the carving with some white for contrast and then varnish over the whole thing... the gunwale, that is.

I'm open to any comments as to what paint design appeals the most? My personal favorite so far is the bottom one. It's possible I could get some other ideas before actually painting Shan Skailyn since that time is obviously a long way off. But for now, the bottom one seems the best to me.

Getting the dry run out of my system

2011-08-14T17:10:00.000+10:00

OK, I know I just posted something today about the hardware I worked on yesterday (sat). BUT, after we hiked back up from the church meeting this morning, I had a little bit of spare time. The idea of having all the pieces for the hull ready to assemble, but holding off because of a shortage of nails is driving me nuts. Next best thing... do the dry run to make sure everything is going to fit right and to make sure all is good and square. Didn't take long at all (about 1/2 hour) and was totally worth it! Nice to see some fruit from my labors instead of all these small pieces. This is it, Shan Skailyn's hull coming together! I had my friend Trip (pronounced 'Tree') help me with bending the stern together. For now, I'm happy to see it held together just with screws. Actually had my family come down to check out the momentous occasion! Trip's wife, Jepit, was watching (and laughing) through the whole process too. Trip and Jepit have never seen anything like this built before so it's fascinating to them! Fun to watch them watching and hear their comments throughout!

So I measured all the angles and distances and everything is totally square! Whew!

Oh yeah, I also put an initial coat of varnish on the rudder and leeboard yesterday.

Hardware finished

2011-08-14T14:14:00.000+10:00

Not the prettiest things in the world, but I finally got all the metal hardware done that Shan Skailyn is going to need. One is the 6-1/4" diameter aluminum reinforcing plate for the leeboard. The welded nut was done by a friend of mine stateside some months ago and then sent to me here in Papua New Guinea. Then the other piece of hardware other is the rudder hardware. Even though the rudder hardware isn't super pretty, it's got real smooth action when mounted. I know, I know... $20 could have gotten me some proper rudder hardware, but at this point I'm needing to avoid any more spending where possible. Can't wait to see how it all works!

Bamboo spars

2011-08-13T17:56:00.000+10:00

Well, over this last week my bamboo 'order' started trickling in a piece at a time. I asked one of my friends here in Mibu, whose name is Sesi, who's wanting to make a little cash, to bring me some variations of bamboo so I can dry it and see what's going to work best for my spars. All the bamboo he brought was of the variety they call 'bovat' here; a very thick walled type of bamboo that when dry is extremely strong. I also had him bring a couple pieces of straight solid timber as well just to be sure. What has been brought up so far looks like it's going to do the trick! I think I'm going to use the solid timber for the stub mast. Then for my luff spar and boom I'll use bamboo. Reason for using the solid timber for the stub mast is because of future considerations. Should I ever have to replace it, I think trying to find an exact matching piece of bamboo would be very difficult. But working a solid piece of timber to fit the mast step is easier. I also think the forces on around the mast step might risk splitting bamboo.

Anyway, everything is quite straight. There are a couple minor bends in the bamboo. So I am experimenting (see pic with red straps). I am bending the bamboo just a little bit beyond the shape I want it to be, hoping that once dry in a couple months, it will maintain that form. If not, the bends are minor enough that it's no big deal. I had to do this with two of the pieces that were brought up. One of the other pieces was cut a couple months ago and submerged in a fish pond for a couple weeks. Sesi then dried it before bringing it up. It's quite a bit bigger than the specified size. But it is soooo light weight and much stronger than the solid wood piece that was brought up of equal diameter!

I experimented on a couple pieces with curing over a fire. I wasn't too pleased with the results... at least on this kind of bamboo. It took a really long time just to do one little section and the look wasn't nice. I think maybe the thickness of the walls makes it tougher to do this on. I originally tried it over my gas grill, but it just wasn't doing the trick so we made a quick bonfire and used that. But like I said, just wasn't happy with the results. Maybe I was doing things wrong? I think from here on out I'm going to stand the stuff up to dry and fill the topmost segment with some potent bug spray which is supposed to then seep down through the circulatory system before it dries.

As far as a final coating, I'm going to have to settle for some light sanding and varnishing. I tested this out over a month ago on a scrap piece. gave the surface a light sanding, then cleaned it with acetone, then applied a single coat of varnish. After it dried, I just left it out on the grass in the rain and sun. There's not a bit of it so far that is coming off. That little section of bamboo is looking very good actually.

I would appreciate all the thoughts and advice on using bamboo as I can get. I've had some great comments in the past about fire curing. Not sure why that's not working well for me.

Just Plane Fun

2011-08-07T18:03:00.000+10:00

Planing, planing, and more planing. That's pretty much all I've done during the little bits of time I spent working on Shan Skailyn this weekend. Well, that and shaping with a rasp and belt sander. Oh yeah, and I worked a bit more on the rudder hardware.

Since the hull is on standby until I get more of my ring shank nails, I'm working on the many other small things that will undoubtedly encompass many of the required hours to get Shan Skailyn ready to sail.

What I was planing so much was the leeboard and the rudder. They've been completed shaped at this point and I'm quite happy with how they turned out. It was surprisingly difficult to give them the right shape. I drew out the profile first and cut it out of a template so that I could lay it over the curved face to compare with and shave off where needed. Finished things out with the rasp and belt sander. Pretty much all that's needed now is a good once over with some 120 grit and they'll be ready to have 5 or so coats of polyurethane. In case anyone is curious about the weight of the leeboard (remember my concern in the last post?) it's down to just 5.8 kgs (12.8 lbs). Still kind of heavy in my estimation, but I think we're going to leave it. If, when Shan Skailyn is completed, it seems some weight needs to be dropped, then I'll just have to make a new one someday.

The rudder hardware is coming along nicely. I'm getting my stainless from an old washing machine tub. It's been rather hard to cut! I've also had difficulty bending the pieces exactly as I want too. So far I've got one piece completed, another one partially bent and two others to shape up a bit more before bending to their final shape. Bolt holes will come later. I figured it would be difficult to bend everything with precision, so it didn't make much sense to try to drill those first and go through the heartache of not having them line up later. Glad I made that decision. It would have happened just as I suspected.

Oh yeah, one sad piece of info to add... I broke my only bandsaw blade. Yes, let the tears flow. Will have to work on getting a new one here somehow in the coming months.

Beginnings of leeboard and rudder

2011-08-01T07:51:00.000+10:00

I didn't get a whole lot of time this weekend to work on Shan Skailyn. I'm out of 3/4" ring nails at this point. So I'm waiting for more of those so I can start assembling the hull which sits, just about ready for that next step.

Instead I started working on some of the other parts. I cut and laminated the timber for both the rudder and the leeboard. Got both of those planed down to thickness, and even managed to cut out the blank for the leeboard. Regarding the leeboard, I'm a bit concerned about the weight. I imagine that it undergoes a fair bit of stress, so I used a fairly strong wood that also ends up being a bit heavy. Actually, when I laminated it, I alternated between the heavier wood and a lighter wood in an attempt to cut down on the weight. Anyway, what I've ended up with after I've planed it down to thickness, cut out the blank, and not having yet shaped it, is a leeboard that weighs just over 7 kgs (about 15.5 lbs). Isn't that weight a bit excessive for a leeboard? Seems heavy to me. I would guess about 3-5 more pounds will be taken off once it is all shaped. Based on knowledgeable feedback, I may just have to re-make it with lighter timber.

I also began cutting up my sheet of stainless steel into pieces to use for the rudder hardware. That is some hard stuff to cut! I broke my last sawzall blade for cutting metal. So then I switched to my skil saw with a metal blade. I did manage to barely finish cutting my pieces before the last of the blade was worn down. Hopefully I can manage to avoid any major mistakes with these. I have nothing left to cut new pieces with! It's tin snips and grinders and files from here on out. Once I finish cutting these, I'll have to find a way to bend them all with a fair bit of precision so that all the holes for the through bolts (for securing to both the rudder and kick up assembly) as well as the holes for the hinge pin match up. If I end up not finding a way to bend them that precisely, then the other option would be to bend them before drilling the holes, then put a scrap piece of lumber between the bent 'flaps' and then drill through all of it at the same time.

Bulkheads, Perimeters and more

2011-07-27T13:38:00.000+10:00

(I sent this before, but something with our email server messed up the message... so posting again here)

Another productive weekend. Not a lot of time, just a few hours overall, but got a lot done on Shan Skailyn in the time that I did have. Last week, I did manage to squeeze in little bits of time for gluing here and there, to keep the process going. Again, 15 minutes one day, 20 minutes another... it all adds up.

So this weekend I was ready to finish cutting the station 1 bulkhead perimeters. I did manage to finish gluing up all the perimeters as well. I ran out of my 3/4" brass ring nails before I could finish gluing up the station 1 perimeters so I had to settle for using my brad gun. I'm hoping to get more nails within the next couple months when I can then reinforce these perimeters with them. The struggle for me, is going to be NOT going ahead and gluing the hull together. It's a major milestone! Can't wait to begin to see Shan Skailyn's form emerge from all this work! And the only thing holding me back is not being able to reinforce my bulkhead perimeters! Ugghhh! There is plenty of other stuff I can do in the meantime, like working on the hardware, or gluing up timber for the kick up rudder and/or leeboard, building the motor mount bracket, etc.

One goofy problem I had, from which I hope someone else can learn, is when I was drilling my 5/16" bolt holes through the station 2 bulkheads, I ran into an easily avoidable problem. I kept hitting nails with my drill bit! Now when I was nailing the perimeters on, I thought briefly, "What if I put these nails right where the bolt holes are supposed to go... Eh, what are the chances!?" Well as it turns out, the chances are pretty good! About half of the holes I drilled happened to intersect with some part of the ring nails! Wasn't too terrible, except it messed up my nice precision point drill bit. I did manage to make do pretty well though. Once I heard the familiar nick-nick-nick of the bit hitting metal, I backed off. Then I came back with a harder drill bit to slowly cut the rest of the way through the nail, making a clean hole. One of the holes, however, had something go wrong. All I can figure is that a piece of the nail came out, swirled about in the hole like shrapnel and opened up the hole considerably. I don't think it's going to be a huge problem. But I am thinking about maybe filling with epoxy and re-drilling that one. The inside of the hole is all 'fuzzy' since it wasn't actually cleanly drilled. What's the lesson learned? Mark your hole placements before you drive your nails! Chances are good you're going to put one right where you need to drill!

One other problem I realized this weekend. I messed up on the measurements of the bolts for connecting the bulkheads. They're too short! Had to order more. Now I have to find an inexpensive way to get them over here in the next couple months... along with more brass ring nails.

At this point, my focus is going to be to continue finish getting everything ready to get glued. Not quite there yet. But I did manage to get the notches for the chines cut out of the bulkhead bottom edges (see pix). Got all the bulkhead sides planed and matching very closely to each other. Need to round a few edges here and there, mark up the sides for the station placements, cut the miter on the chines at the stern and bow, along with some other smallish tasks. Once everything is ready, I need to wait for my nails which I probably won't see till September. Can't just go to home depot and buy stuff out here!

As I mentioned before, I've got some of my own hardware I'm going to have to fashion. One is, per Gary's plan, I need to make the leeboard 'plate' out of 1/8" out of aluminum (or 'aluminium' if you're Aussie!). The other thing that I just figured I could make easily enough is the hinged rudder brackets; the brackets on which the rudder pivots for steering. We have an old, broken washing machine tub made of stainless steel. I did manage to cut a sheet of this stainless steel off the tub this weekend. It's from this sheet that I'm planning on cutting and forming the brackets. Need to draw up plans for those and get cutting and shaping. Tin snips and a collection of files, along with various drill bits will be my tools of choice for the brackets.

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2011-07-26T19:20:00.002+10:00

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2011-07-26T19:20:00.001+10:00

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2011-07-26T19:20:00.000+10:00

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The Hull Story

2011-07-17T17:01:00.000+10:00

On Saturday I was able to put several more hours into Shan Skailyn's hull. Things are definitely progressing along. But it's little bits at a time. One thing I'm reminded of is just how much work goes into all the cutting, planing, and preparation for a project like this, before you start putting anything together. I've done carpentry on and off for years and I always have to be reminded of that in each project I do!

So this weekend, I continued gluing more of the gunwales and chines onto the sides. Most people think of Papua New Guinea and think 'hot and humid'. But we're up high in the mountains, about 12 miles off the coast. Our weather here is cold, down in the low 50's in the morning and evening. Maybe tipping into the low 80's on nice days. Lately though, we've been in the 70's during the day. All that to say, I've learned that epoxy is going to take a LONG time to cure in these temps. It's taking about 24 hours to harden enough where I can barely push my fingernail into it. Then another day before it's fully hardened. Apparently gluing stuff together is going to take a while since I'm limited on clamps. I think once I'm done with the chines and gunwales though (only enough clamps to glue up 2 long pieces at a time) then things will probably pick up a bit. So far, I've managed to finish both sides for the middle section and I just finished gluing up the last of the chines and gunwales on one of the end pieces this morning. Usually only takes about 20-30 minutes of work to glue up two pieces, so maybe I can piece the rest of it together sometime during the week. Time will tell. I have a busy work week planned this week.

I cut all the pieces for the bulkhead perimeters. All that's left to cut is the lengths, angles and curves for the two station 1 perimeters (see pic). All the perimeters were cut from scrap pieces of tongue and groove flooring. It all worked out really well. I also managed to get station 3 (from Gary's Wa'apa plans) all glued up (see pic). I think for gluing my bulkhead perimeters, I'm going to take the easy way and use my brad nailer to get everything solid in place. Then I'll come back around with my bronze ring nails for the real support.

Also cut my stems. However, I realized that I put the 10 degree taper the wrong way; going narrower than the planned 3/4" width at the bottom; The wrong way! Debating whether or not I should recut those. Will that small thing make a big difference? It'll make the bow and stern narrower by a little more than 1/4". Maybe that'll be a good thing. Any thoughts? Any reason that that much of a difference in the stem width (at the bottom end) would cause serious problems? All I can think of is that the wood might split when I nail it. If anyone knows better, I'd appreciate some feedback here.

Sails Away

2011-07-16T17:41:00.000+10:00

Well maybe I ought to save that subject title for Shan Skailyn's maiden voyage. Oh well.

So this is what a couple weeks of piddling (10 minutes here, 20 minutes there, another 15 minutes there, plus a couple larger blocks of time on the weekend) can accomplish. I've managed to finish sewing up Shan Skailyn's poly tarp sail. Feels pretty good to actually get something completed! It's all sewn with polyester thread. I got the grommets from duckworks and am really happy with the quality. They're heavy duty and installed just as easy as could be.

My sail follows the plan for the 24' Wa'apa tacking sail in Gary Dierking's book.

I also worked some today (Saturday) on the hull. Pictures forthcoming...

Response to comments

2011-07-12T15:00:00.000+10:00

Hey DaveP, once again, thanks a ton for your input!

I'll have to try the coffee grinder on the sawdust. In order to keep the dust as fine as possible, I've been using stuff from my sander. It's not as fine as flour, but much more fine than what the saws produce.

So now, I'm wondering if I should do anything to 'fix' what I have already glued, or just leave it. I would think that I don't want to take chances with the chines or gunwales coming loose at any time. So far, I've only glued (and nailed with bronze ring nails) the 2 chines on the middle section sides, and one of the gunwales on one of the middle section sides. It's not too far down the road so as to be unsalvageable. I'm wondering how I could 'test' to see how things are going to hold. As far as solutions, I would imagine that the one least prone to cause irreparable damage while still doing the job well, will be to reinforce more with nails and then fillet those joints. I'm planning on fiberglassing the bottom with a 2-3" overlap, so that will help quite a bit too. Maybe some bonded screws toward the ends of the gunwale, closer to where all the stress will be from the iakos? Any other thoughts for making sure my boat doesn't fall apart on me out at sea?

Then obviously for the rest of my joints, I think I'll take your advice to make sure I get good adhesion. Good thing I asked!

Epoxy thickener

2011-07-11T21:25:00.000+10:00

I glued up a few of the chines and gunwales this weekend. Went alright. But I've been using sawdust from my sander to thicken the epoxy. I don't like the way it thickens it; not for gluing at least. I suspect the wood is 'drinking' up the epoxy and forcing me to use more than is necessary. I don't have any other 'thickener' available and wondering if anyone has any ideas or experience using other household materials to thicken epoxy? I was wondering if flour would work. No stores out here in the middle of the jungle! Thoughts? Anyone?

Response to comment

2011-07-10T15:04:00.000+10:00

DaveP, thanks a TON for your comments regarding bamboo and the construction method of your iakos. Extremely helpful. Since I've got plenty of time to wait, I'm planning on doing some tests on the particular type of bamboo that I'm planning on using here. I'll do one piece with fire, I'll leave one bare, I'll clean one with acetone before varnishing, and I'll sand and varnish another piece. I'll try to do that soon. When they're done, I'll leave them out in the rain and sun to see what happens to them over the next half year or so.

I'm planning on having my stub mast made out of wood and my luff spar and boom out of bamboo. I do have the option to use solid wood spars all around. There are tons of spindly, strong, lightweight woods around here that are straight as an arrow. The Mibu people harvest them all the time to make their ridge poles in their huts. However, I think the type of bamboo I'm looking at surpasses in both strength and lightness of weight. I also like the look. I just don't want to mess with having to custom make the step for the fixed mast should the bamboo ever have to be replaced. I'm thinking I want to make sure the mast only ever has to be done once.

The more I go along, the more I'm thinking how much I like the idea of making the hollow box frame iakos. I'd love to see a picture of what you've done. If you can manage to get a pic and message under 80kb email me a pic sometime. geoff_husa(at)ntmdotorg. The size restriction is because I pull all my emails over HF radio. It's SLOW and quite limited.

(You'll have to pardon my method of responding here. No internet from out here in the bush. But I can generate new posts via email. So welcome to my way of responding to comments!)

2011_07_4855.jpeg

2011-07-04T05:04:00.000+10:00

The attached file was originally sent with another message.

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Sawdust-n-Sails

2011-07-03T19:20:00.000+10:00

Yesterday, I was able to spend nearly the full day working on Shan Skailyn. Shannon (my wife) and the kids were all busy with other stuff and gone much of the day. Only restrictions had to do with baby Abigail and her naps. No tools during naps!

So I finished cutting and planing the chines and the last little bit on the gunwales. I sorted through a bunch of other lumber and pulled out what I'll be using for the bulkhead perimeters, stems, seat supports and the like. Will be using a bunch of cutoff pieces from when we installed our floor. It's all 3/4" x 4" mixed hardwood tongue and groove flooring cutoffs, including stuff like kwila (ironwood), mahogany, and other standard hardwoods found here in Papua New Guinea. I tried to divvy them up so that the hardest stuff (ie. kwila) is to be used for the ama struts and the sides of the bulkhead perimeters where the bolts will be passing through. Then I'll want the lighter weight stuff to be used in all the other places.

Still haven't determined what I'll use for the iakos. Actually contemplating using bamboo, but I remember reading that Gary Dierking's concern with using those is that unless a way is found to provide structural support at the lashing points, that may be a major weakness. The walls of bamboo can be prone to crushing under such strain as the iakos experience. Will have to think about that and also experiment with bending the bamboo. I'm perfectly happy to do the either the laminated solid iakos or the hollow box frame construction like in Gary's book, but it seems that bamboo would be the lightest option if it would be strong enough at the lashing points and formable enough to get the downward curve at the ends.

I also managed yesterday afternoon to cut the sail out of my tarp material. Moved all the furniture out of the living area in our house. The kids were around then and thought it was a blast! So we laid out the sail, cut it, and even sewed the leech seam as well as a single dart in the foot and one in the tack (for the equivalent of the broad seam).

One thing I'm very concerned about at this point, and would LOVE to get some feedback on before proceeding any further) is whether or not sewing is the best option on this tarp. This polytarp is not of the woven variety. It's a solid piece of plastic. Same material, just not woven. Well my fear has been that sewing the unwoven stuff would actually serve only to act as a perforation line, making for a weak spot in the sail where it will be likely to tear. Well on my test pieces, I'm finding that to be true. It takes quite a bit of pulling to make it happen, but it does tear right along the stitches. It does require strong pulling for it to tear, but it always tears along the stitch. One thing I'm thinking about (assuming I decide to keep this material for the sail) is taping over all the seams as a backup, using either duct tape or packing tape. But I really would like for this sail to look nice if possible. Any ideas or thoughts out there? I need some help figuring out what the best long term solution will be here! If you have thoughts, post your comments!

Response to comment

2011-07-02T06:45:00.000+10:00

DaveP, in your comments about curing bamboo you said, "don't be tempted to do any sanding, scraping." I'm curious if you happen to know why you shouldn't sand or scrape that outer layer? I've heard that before, but never heard why. It seems like a number of people out there do sand it off and then put varnish over it. But none of them ever mention how long their bamboo spars last. What's the importance of that outer 'skin'?

(You'll have to pardon my method of responding here. No internet from out here in the bush. But I can generate new posts via email. So welcome to my way of responding to comments!)

Beginnings from the bush

2011-06-25T18:37:00.000+10:00

Back in the bush now.

This was the first weekend to attempt some work on Shan Skailyn. Altogether about 3 hours worth. I'm using a bunch of lumber that has been here since we originally built our house back in 2004. It's all rough cut stuff and looks all moldy and mildewy from years of sitting under the house on a storage rack. So the first step needed is to plane it down. Found a couple pieces of what is called 'ton' (sounds like 'tone' in Pidgin English - the national trade language of Papua New Guinea). One thing I've learned about ton is that it's very prone to dry rot. 25 minutes of planing these pieces reveals that they are totally unusable; full of dry rot. Might make some good firewood or something.

I actually have a few pieces of teak, but not enough to use for the gunwales as I would have wanted. Probably a good thing because that stuff gums up my saw and planer blades pretty bad.

So I dug through and found some other lumber that might work for the gunwales. Fairly heavy and tight grained stuff. NO DRY ROT!!! In Pidgin they call it 'galip' (pronounced 'ga-leep'). Not sure what we know it to be in English. It's a bit like mahogany though. I wonder if it's the same. It seems too heavy and a fair bit more dense. Anyone out there happen to know what this might be? It would be nice to know. Gary D., you seem to have had some experience with PNG lumber. If you're reading this, any idea what 'galip' wood is? It grows on the coast. It has nuts that the people eat.

Anyway, I planed it down and cut all the pieces for the gunwales, which I want to be a stronger variety of wood than the chines. As far as the chines are concerned, I'm hoping to cut those maybe next weekend.

Other than that, I spent a bit of time sharpening my hand planes, organizing my shop a bit in preparation for this 'little' weekend hobby, and chatted with some of my Mibu friends that were in the area and wanting to hang out a bit. I almost always stop work to spend time chatting with them!

WIth just about 20 minutes left available to work, I decided I'd start planing the edges of my plywood, which I had only rough cut when we were out in town recently. I had cut all the matching pieces at the same time so that they matched exactly. Did the same with the edge planing, checking with a combo square as I went along. Since any mismatches will come together creating a warped hull, perfection is important here more than almost anywhere else.

Oh yeah... also found out that my bamboo has been cut (I hired a friend who wanted a little work) and is currently soaking in the river. Should be just a matter of weeks before I see it and can judge whether or not it will work for me.

In this picture, you see the four pieces of 6mm plywood that will make up the sides of the two end sections of Gary's Wa'apa design. In the foreground is what will eventually be the stern and the bow of the canoe. I've put a screw through each end of all four pieces to hold them together so I can plane all four edges to a perfect match.

Bamboo

2011-06-22T04:14:00.000+10:00

I've been looking into how best to coat my bamboo spars when they're ready. The advice one can find online ranges from passing through fire, scraping the outer layer off, sanding, varnish, glassing, and on and on and on it goes. Hmmm, what's the best?

I've heard that the outer layer of bamboo resists adherence to it. Any thoughts out there?

Found some folks that may know... the Texas Bamboo Society (Do they grow bamboo in Texas???). They're saying definitely do not take that outer layer off, but didn't say why. All the bamboo that they are knowledgeable about (they're not sure about the varieties available to me here in Papua New Guinea) have a waxy substance on the surface. So when you varnish, it ends up scaling off over time. They do recommend heat curing. Hmmm. I'll have to experiment. I'll also have to try acetone and see what that does for adhesion. Wouldn't that break down the oils/waxes pretty well?

Hoping to get a couple spars soaking submerged in water for a few weeks to de-starch the things here soon.

Any thoughts or advice out there about just how to treat my bamboo would be much appreciated. Surely there's some experienced users out there? Anyone have any luck with their coatings lasting a long time? Did you scrape? Sand? Remove much of the nodes? Leave them?

FYI, the kind of bamboo available to me that seems most likely to do the trick is a very thick walled bamboo that the Mibu people call 'bovat'. Down at the base it's so thick walled that there is nearly no opening at all. It dries lightweight and is extremely strong. A 1-1/2" dia piece with a wall thickness of maybe 1/4" spanning 6 feet will hold my body weight (190 lbs) and then some with only about an inch of flex. I'm planning on using Gary's recommended size (around 3 inch dia) and going for thicker walled stuff.

My coast... Rai Coast

2011-06-15T11:36:00.000+10:00

Left the coastal town of Madang yesterday. Flew up to Goroka, in the highlands. The flight in our little cessna 206 took us by the path of Shan Skailyn's intended maiden voyage. I fly over this area somewhat frequently. Anymore I'm looking for where the villages are where we might find a place to stay overnight should the trip require it. Lots of little villages along the way. Culturally here, people are very hospitable and I have no doubt that it would be easy for us to find places to bed up for the night.

Anyway, I took the opportunity to photograph the longest length of the coast (which is called 'Rai Coast') which I'm hoping to sail one day, if and when I can finish building Shan Skailyn.

BTW, where my family and I live is out toward the horizon in the first picture. From the coast out there, go up up up into the steep mountains. We're so high up in the mountains that our weather is actually cool most of the time. Imagine that in a country known for it's HOT tropical climate. It's total bush out there too. No roads. No airstrips. Only way in our out is by helicopter or a loooooong treacherous hike! That's where most of Shan Skailyn's construction is going to happen over the next year or so.

The last picture is typical of the many islands and tons of coral found in these crystal blue waters around Madang, Papua New Guinea. Often times the coral is just a couple feet under the surface of the water, full of color and life. Sweet! Can't wait to be cruising these areas in my own sailing outrigger someday!

Tryin' Trad

2011-06-12T10:36:00.000+10:00

Someone I know out in Madang has a dugout canoe (red/green canoe in photo) that was made by some of the local folks of the Tagog settlement. I wanted to see what a completely traditional style canoe felt like so I got permission to take it out with my daughters. The first thing I noticed is that this canoe seems to glide more smoothly than the fiberglass sea kayak I took out several months back, and much better than the homemade canoe from one of our previous posts. Nice.

As we went out along the coast and passed a couple villages, as would be expected, the people there seem pleased (and much more conversational) when seeing us expats cruising along in one of their traditional canoes. Reminds me that while Shan Skailyn's design may not have the traditional Papua New Guinea coastal look, I want to be sure to add as many elements to her design that people here can relate to. Whether it be her art, a bit of carving, and even maximizing the use of obviously local materials, it all adds up to the total of something that, rather than alienating, will actually connect with the local culture.

Maybe I can ask one of my Mibu friends to carve one of his distinct patterns along the gunwale. Lots of potential options to consider.

All cut up

2011-06-08T19:19:00.001+10:00

Finished cutting the rest of the plywood pieces today. Not much to say about that except that's all I can do for now till I get back into Mibu where we live and have all the rest of my lumber available to work with.

Work commences!

2011-06-07T19:13:00.000+10:00

I decided to go with the 5 ply common grad plywood that was available in town. Bought it. Brought it back to where we're staying for break. I have to get the pieces small enough to get on the plane to take it all back into the bush. So I went ahead and started laying out the pattern on the ply and cutting parts for the boat. The work went really fast. Still really happy with what I'm seeing in the plywood. No gaps to be seen anywhere in any of the plies. Today I got all the sides cut. The thing that stood out to me as I butted them all together to see how they look, was just how LONG this canoe really is!

Out for a spin on a homemade canoe

2011-06-06T13:49:00.000+10:00

Took my girls out for a little ride in a friend's homemade canoe yesterday. Out to a little island for fun on the beach. Good to try out the feel of a flat bottomed canoe on the water with the waves and other factors. Helps me imagine how Shan Skailyn might differ and how she'll be on the water. Wish I had a bunch of different canoes to try out!

Gearing up

2011-06-05T20:03:00.003+10:00

Up until now, all I've been able to do so far is think and plan for the building of Shan Skailyn. Living in the bush for most of the year gives me very few opportunities to gather needed materials. I've pored over Gary Dierking's Outrigger Sailing Canoe book. I've got many of the details stored away in my head now as I've gone over and over how I want to build. I've got a list of items I'm going to need. I intended to prepare some materials from the lumber I currently have in Mibu (where we live in the bush) but diesel fuel was sent in mistakenly on our last helicopter run, rather than petrol. So no generator, no power, no power tools.

We're out in Madang now for a couple weeks. I've been shopping around in town mainly for marine plywood. Nobody has it. Agmark said they could order it from Lae. Placed the order. Then a couple days later said that even out of Lae they're not going to be able to get it. Now having to look at other options. Either what they call 'proof' ply or 'common' ply. The common stuff looks nice. The 6mm sheets are 5 ply. Both sides of the ply are nice and clean. But they say it will fall apart if exposed too much to water. Then their 'proof' ply is said to be for exterior applications with some exposure to moisture. Bad thing about this ply wood is that it's only 3 ply. And even worse, it's got a super thick middle ply with very thin outer ply. Any thoughts out there about what I should choose between these two?

Also bought some Akzo Nobel Epiglass epoxy resin. Whew! That was the expensive part of the boat. I'm looking for advice/thoughts regarding the possibility of thinning the epoxy (with acetone cause it's cheap) and then giving all the plywood a good once over so it soaks into the wood and dries, possibly making it stand up better to moisture in the future. Planning on glassing the bottom and then coating the rest of the hull with un-thinned epoxy before painting.

Got some 6oz fiberglass cloth, SS blocks, rope, etc on the way from the states in our co-workers' luggage. They'll be arriving in country on the 9th here.

Oh yeah. I found a large 24'x18' polytarp in town too. It's kind of a strange material, but seems just as strong as the recommended reinforced stuff. Interesting thing about this polytarp material is that it's not woven. It's all one solid piece. Doesn't stretch like the weaker, woven stuff. Seems about the same stretchiness as the reinforced stuff. Hoping it will work for my sail. It's got UV protection. There are no seams on it, just one big piece of tarp. So I'm thinking it ought to work well. But what do I know. I've never sailed before. Just going on comparing to the reinforced stuff.

So gearing up here... Sure would be good to get thoughts on anything here, especially that plywood and epoxy. Gotta make a final decision on that one here soon.