Shan Skailyn's New Motor Bracket / Rudder Mount

It's been a whlie since I've posted anything to Shan Skailyn's blog! We're gearing up for a 2 week vacation in Madang here soon. Last time we took Shan Skailyn out I went through and noted a number of things that either need replacing or repairing. Most notably was the motor bracket / rudder mount. I knew when I first built that bracket that it would need replacing sooner than later. I had used cheap plywood from home depot in the US. Just needed to get it done. The plywood was starting to delaminate pretty badly!

So I ordered a 1/3 sheet of proper marine grade plywood out of Australia and had it flown up on one of our mission's regular flights from Cairns. Then I set about remaking the bracket. I worked hard to be sure that all the joints were as perfect as possible and that everything fit nicely. The whole thing is also reinforced with stainless screws. I dry fit it all together before gluing.

The glue up, which should have been pretty straight forward ended up being a huge pain in the rear! I bought this Selleys Fibreglass Fix kit. Just a head's up… stay away from this stuff! First off I didn't realize it was polyester resin when I bought it. I thought it was just plain epoxy resin. I double checked when I opened it and begin to mix. The smell was a lot different than I was used to with the epoxy I'd used in the past. Anyway, I mixed it all according to instructions, thickened it with sanded wood dust and glued up the bracket. Setting time was supposed to be 20 minutes. 24 hours later, I realized that this stuff wasn't setting at all. Still goopy as ever. So I figured perhaps I didn't mix it thoroughly enough. Took the whole motor bracket apart, scraped off all the old stuff, cleaned it up with acetone, dried it, sanded, and set about regluing. This time I double checked the instructions, added a few extra drops of hardener to be sure, thickened with diatomaceous earth and reglued. Prior to thickening I took a dab out and put it aside on a piece of wood so as to guage how it's setting. 24 hours later still nothing… 48 hours later still nothing… nearly 6 days later, I finally gave up. The stuff was just soaking into the wood but was not setting at all! Neither was the little test piece I'd set aside prior to thickening. So, I took it all apart again, scraped, cleaned, dried and sanded. I ended up finding some epoxy glue laying around (the kind in the double syringe) and used that this time. I would have no time for thickening because this stuff sets in 5 minutes! So I had to mix small batches and move quickly! That one little kit was the perfect amount for the job and I'm glad to see it set! I'm slightly concerned that perhaps the wood still had some uncured polyester resin on it and keep the epoxy from bonding fully. I did clean it thoroughly with acetone though prior to gluing. Went over it 4x to be sure to get as much of that nasty polyester off of there as possible.

I painted the bracket green because I had no other paint in here. It doesn't match the boat at all. But no matter. When we go out to town I'll buy a bit of paint and have it mixed to match the brown trim of the boat. Note how I moved away from my slight modification of Gary D's motor bracket design. It now has been made almost nearly according to his specifications which means I needed to fashion up a couple of thick stainless brackets to mount the bracket on the rear iako. Once again I cannibalized some of my co-worker's old washing machine tub for these. I followed Gary's lead in gluing some rubber on the side that will be pressing on the iako in order to prevent excess wear and tear on the beam.

Other stuff that needed some attention was remaking all the rubber lashing for attaching bamboo polas, creating some larger diameter washers for the ama bolts where they connect the two ama pieces together. I've noticed that because of the relatively small size of the current washers, the pressure has impressed the washers into the wood a little deeper than I am comfortable with. I wanted to spread out the force a bit more there. I also had one of my paddles, the handle of which delaminated way back when. Finally fixed that. Also, I made some storage sheaths to aid in the ease of putting the rigging, and iakos up into storage. Now instead of trying to wrap it all after I've hoisted it all up under the eaves of the workshop, I can put each piece into it's respective sheath, then just put it up there and forget it. Should be much easier. Then finally, when we get out to Madang, one of the first things I'll have to do direct on the hull is repair a bit of the fore seat on the mid-section of the hull. Someone apparently (maybe me???) used it as a handle and I'm seeing the plywood seat has lifted a bit off the cross beam to which it is glued. So I'm going to need to glue and screw that down and add a bit of reinforcement as well.

Oh yeah, I also bought a block/cleat combo in hopes that I can rig something up to improve the downhaul. Right now, it's a pain as I have to push down on the boom jaws while pulling the downhaul line taught, then somehow maintain it while tying a quick release knot. Usually I'm doing that little adjustment while under sail because I either didn't tighten enough during initial setting the sail, or that little quick release knot likes to slip. I'm thinking if I can rig this block/cleat combo up right, it ought to make tightening the luff of the sail a cinch! Will post pix if and when I get that figured out. Hoping I don't need more hardware to make it happen.

Memorial in Wab

After a year away from our home in the Mibu tribe in Papua New Guinea, we're back! I've not had a chance to get down to Madang to see how Shan Skailyn fares, but I'm assuming all is well since it is put away safely on top of a container under the cover of a tin roof, and wrapped in a tarp.

This might not be the most exciting post, but I thought I'd share something my co-worker sent me when he was traveling through the area that we'd launched the boat from (Wab) on the Rai Coast. He noticed a memorial that had been built, and upon checking it out, realized that it was a memorial of our having brought the boat down there! They used the piece that I'd fashioned as a 'tail' for the canoe so that it would point forward in flight as it was slung under the helicopter. The depiction of the boat is really cool looking!

I remember when we were making our way up the coast, many people recalled a voyage made by another expat paddling a canoe from several years prior. The locals really remember this stuff!

For those who know better... yes, the cargo cult mentality that is so prevalent here is what motivated the building of this thing. While I really dig the logo, the thought of this being a cargo cult thing makes my heart sink just a bit.

Shan Skailyn Video

I was finally able to upload a quick video with some clips from my latest adventures on Shan Skailyn.  One thing I'd love to get comments on is regarding the flexing of the mast. I've never noticed before, but watching this video (looking down the mast) you can see the mast (luff spar) flexing at the attachment point where it is hoisted up against the stub mast. Is that a normal amount of flex, or is it excessive. Keep in mind it's about 15-20 knot wind where it's flexing like that.

In this video, I show a timelapse of the boat assembly after getting out of storage, then a quick shot of how nice the new rollers on the trailer are working, before getting to the actual sailing. Oh, and you can see how the unfolding of the crossbeam/ama hinges works when putting it in the water. Back up on the trailer is the same in reverse.

Enjoy!


Sailin' Shan Skailyn II from geoff husa on Vimeo.

Good Sailing in Madang

We recently were able to get down to Madang and get Shan Skailyn out on the water for the first time in about 10 months! We really enjoyed being able to put him to good use every single day, both paddling (with the kiddos), and sailing. Most days, Shan Skailyn was in use from just after lunch (when the tide came in, allowing us to launch) right up until dusk where there would be just enough time to get it back on the trailer, back to the house, and rinsed off and ready for the next day.

Speaking of getting Shan Skailyn in and out of the water, you may remember I mentioned last time (10 months ago or so) that I ordered some hardware to put some rollers on the trailer to ease loading and unloading as well as reduce wear and tear to the bottom of the boat being caused by sliding it on and off mere carpet covered steel square stock. Having prepared the rollers ahead of time, I was ready to install immediately on arrival. And was I ever pleased with the results! Shan Skailyn now rolls off and back on to the trailer with such ease! In addition, when it was finally time to disassemble and pack it back up in storage, there was very little wear to the paint on the bottom. In the past I had always needed to put a few touch up coats of paint on the bottom every time we were packing it up. No more!

Now for the fun stuff… the sailing! The conditions were a little bit more windy than I've experienced in the past. I mean it's usually good, but a bit lacking in the thrill department. This time had a bit more excitement to speak of with stronger, gustier winds, and more rolling swells. I had the pleasure of having a new acquaintance who happens to be a sailor from New Zealand accompany me one day. He gave me a few insights about reading the wind. Not earth shattering stuff, but every little thing counts! Watching the water and waves for wind speed and direction. I definitely could stand to read up on that stuff more. Anyone got some good online resources for this? So the exciting stuff starts happening with winds about 20 knots. I guess that's when you start seeing little whitecaps. Most days weren't quite that, but maybe 10-15 knots. The last day though I went out in consistent 20 knots and it was A W E S O M E !!!!!! I've never handled Shan Skailyn on my own going that fast. The only time it may have been going faster was on day 6 of our maiden voyage when we got caught in some nasties out a bit further away from land.

But this time was just me and I ventured a bit further up the coast than I usually do. I had this little voice in my head reminding me, despite my nervousness, that this is the last day I won't get to take Shan Skailyn for a ride for 18+ months. (I'll get to the 18 months thing in a bit.) I wanted to push things beyond my comfort level today. Even in our little bay, still inside the shelter of the many little islands around us it was blowing pretty nice, guessing maybe 15 knots. Today's goal… I wanted to sail to a nearby resort, grab a brewsky at their little seaside restaurant, and sail back. Things were looking good so far. Now looking at my track below (sailed from circled area with goal to make it to starred area), I know that there might be the experienced sailors wondering why I'm not going out beyond the shelter of the islands. I know you lose the wind (or it gets unpredictable) behind the islands. But honestly, that's my favorite part, cruising over the shallow coral, seeing and talking to the people living on those islands. They almost always live on the sheltered side. I love that stuff. OK, ok ok… I'm a bit of a puss too. I still don't like feeling exposed out there. Plus there's no breakers to worry about. So back to my story… after I passed behind that first island there, that's where the wind was really nice and strong. I was able to maintain a fast port tack the whole way out NEARLY to the resort I'd hoped to get to (Jais Aben). This stretch was the fastest I have ever single handedly. Unfortunately I do not own a gps so cannot give you speeds. But suffice to say I was moving pretty good. I got some decent gopro video of it, which hopefully I'll be uploading soon!

I had a great time cruising by folks on their outriggers and even a number of people out swimming around the coral reef spear fishing or otherwise hunting their meals around their island homes.

As I made the last open stretch before reaching Jais Aben, the winds continued to get stronger, and at this point the waves were piling up and starting to take the form that looked like they'd start breaking soon. It made me pretty nervous about being out there. Also, I noticed the last approach, just before the protected bay of the resort, had a lot of big breakers. I just didn't see a clear way through it. Looking at going out around the outside of the last little island there didn't look too great either. Everything was getting rougher. I had two choices before me, it seemed. Either finish my trip to the resort, then hang out and hope things calmed down a bit, or tuck tail and head back. I chose not to brave going near those breakers. If there's one thing I've learned that scares me, it's that you may think you're steering clear of those things, but before you know it, you're right upon them. It's kind of scary how they sneak up on you. I suppose that's why it's probably safer to stay further away from the coast when sailing. So I wussed out and headed back. Yeah, I gotta live with that for the next 18+ months till I get another chance to get out there. But still, this was a fun ride!

Going back took me quite a bit longer than I'd expected. I pretty much followed the same route, albeit with many many more tacks as I was beating up wind especially on the first 1/4 of the return. At one point, I was having such a difficult time making progress (because the area between the island and the mainland I was trying to pass through was too narrow to effectivly tack, especially with how the wind was funneled through that channel) that I thought I was going to have to go out into the bigger waves out around the unprotected side of the island. I had an audience here too, watching this stupid white man in his sailboat struggling to get back where he came from! They'd seen me scream through the area, only to see me piddle my way back… almost unsuccessfully. Till a brief gust from another direction allowed me to point up, pick up speed and get just to the point where I could squeak out of there. Now I was good.

The rest of the way back was fairly easy going, and felt like I was riding a roller coaster going up and down on thsoe waves like that. When all was said and done, getting out (almost) to my destination took me about 25 minutes, and getting back took me almost an hour. What a fun ride though. It felt good, though kept me on my toes. Still wondering if I could have navigated the rest of the way to the resort. I'm sure I would have been fine. I'll have to try it again next time.

Speaking of next time, we're planning on returning to the US, to my home state of Arizona, for a year, starting in February. Once we return to Papua New Guinea in Feb of 2017, it'll be at least 6 months before we are able to get down to Madang again. Kind of sad about that. Hopefully I've cleaned up and stored Shan Skailyn well and it'll still be in great shape when we get back.

Meanwhile, hold on a bit and I'll work on getting a short video of my sailing adventures uploaded for your viewing pleasure.

This is a LONG overdue video upload from 2013. It's the only footage of Shan Skailyn's 7 day maiden voyage... the very end of it as we passed through Madang harbor and then later as we arrived at our intended destination. My camera was stolen, along with all the photos and video footage of the trip. But my friend drove out to Madang to capture some of this with his phone, and then later captured our arrival. I made the video soon after, but never uploaded it because we didn't have internet at the time. I'd since forgotten. Hence the late post!


Shan Skailyn arrival.mp4 from geoff husa on Vimeo.
This is a quick little snippet documenting our arrival after Shan Skailyn's 7 day maiden voyage 90 miles up the north coast of Papua New Guinea, from Saidor to Madang (March 2013). This is a boat I made from one of Gary Dierking's designs (the Wa'apa). It was a long, rough voyage with winds and currents working against us most of the way. My camera was stolen the last night, which is why this is the only footage of the entire trip! Thankful for my friend who drove out to Madang, to catch some footage with his phone from coastwatchers point and then from his house where we ended our voyage.

After more than 15 months, our family was finally able to get back out to Madang for a break. Of course, Shan Skailyn was out of storage and put to good use immediately. The seas were mostly flat and winds mild. But there were enough days with decent and even slightly stronger wind to get out there and have some fun. I compiled some video footage here.

This time out, I feel I was able to get my confidence up handling the boat by myself in some stronger, gustier winds. I'm feeling ready to start venturing out further next time, outside the relative safety of our little bay and the shelter of all the little islands. I'd love to start taking Shan Skailyn to some different nearby areas. There's even a little resort nearby (Jais Aben) I could sail to, enjoy a lunch, and sail back. How great would that be?!


Sailin' Shan Skailyn from geoff husa on Vimeo.

A note on a few things: If you remember, I chose to use bamboo for the spars, a decision I wasn't super confident on originally but tried just to see what would happen and how they would hold up. These spars have now been in use for about 2 years and have been through a lot, especially on the maiden voyage up the coast. Now, even after sitting in hot storage for over 15 months, they've held up very well. No bugs have gotten to them, I see no sign of deterioration, and that split that I repaired in initial construction has held up wonderfully. For any of you builders out there, I would highly recommend the use of bamboo if you have access to it.

I'm really pleased with how the rest of the hull and other elements have held up over time. I haven't had to do any fiberglass repairs yet on the bottom, though I do touch up the paint every time I'm packing Shan Skailyn up to put away again. Most of the need for touch up of paint though is my trailer. Seems that pulling Shan Skailyn up over carpet wears that paint right off.

To fix this I've ordered some flat rollers and steel rod to install on Shan Skailyn's trailer. Each flat roller is 2.5" diameter and rubber. The plan is to cut the rollers into 3" or 4" lengths and span them across as evenly as possible in four places in the lower half of the trailer where most of the boat weight sits, especially when hauling out of the water. I'm hoping the rubber and the quantity of the rollers will be an even enough distribution of weight to not risk damage to the boat. Hopefully it will reduce the need to retouch paint all the time too. And finally, I'm really hoping it will make it easier to get the thing up on the trailer by myself. Right now, I can do it, but it's quite difficult.

Oh, and I glued some heavy duty protective rubber pieces, right where the crossbeams lash to the hull. Sorry, I forgot to take pictures! I find that the crossbeams continually wear away at least at the paint there, and even a bit into the plywood. I am hoping the rubber will keep that from happening. I'm not sure what the stuff is called, but it's the stuff that is glued to the leading edge of cessna wings to protect from flying debris on grass airstrips. I got some old stuff from some airplane mechanics I know.

I am continually concerned about termites. Right now the boat is stored up on top of a 20' shipping container, directly under a roof. Termites are a real problem in Papua New Guinea and they've been known to build their little tunnels up the side of any material to reach some wood they're after. I dread coming out next time and finding such a mud tunnel leading up the side of the container to Shan Skailyn. I'm not sure what else I can do to prevent it either. If anyone has any ideas, I'm all ears! So far, I've ordered some diatomaceous earth to dust around the boat and on top of the container. I've read that's quite effective for most bugs including termites, as long as the dust stays dry. However, I'm not entirely convinced that DE would stop a mud tunnel.

Anyway, enjoy the video. 

Sailing in Madang

Shan Skailyn has been the source of immeasurable fun for our family over this last week. This is the first we've been able to really use the boat since its maiden voyage back in March. It was even more easy to use after the trailer was built. It's so much easier to get the boat into and out of the water now! We've gone out paddling with the kids just about every day, going out to one of the many little islands sprinkled around these clear blue waters. It's been fun for kids when we pull up to a small beach and play and swim for a bit. Our girls have made quick friends with the locals who are often out swimming and who gravitate to us when they see us pulling up.

I must retract my previous comment about Shan Skailyn not being a good paddling canoe at all. It certainly has its quirks, but with a little more experience after this week, I've found that it takes understanding the conditions that affect steerage under paddle power to get things to work right. Weight distribution is a big one. Too much fore or aft can make a big difference, as does the way the wind plays off the hull. Whichever end of the hull is sticking up more out of the water is going to get blown. And if the wind is strong enough, paddling with a brailed sail is nearly impossible as it constantly wants to turn the boat backwards. It's similar, though maybe not as bad with the sail just open and weathercocking.

In the past, I've always alternated between paddling and the steering oar, paddling and then using the oar to correct our direction. Not too bad, but seems clumsy. But yesterday I played with some slightly different paddling strokes that resulted in much easier maintenance of direction. I'd like to experiment with this more to see if it works in various conditions. I think I may have hit on something here that can reduce the need for the oar. The short of it though is that I'm encouraged about the paddle-ability of Shan Skailyn now.

I started leaving Shan Skailyn in the water, anchored in the little bay each day. That makes it easier to go out on a whim for whatever amount of time works for our family. On Friday alone I went out 3 times! Twice sailing and once paddling with the kids. Friday produced some excitement on the sailing front as it was the first time out totally on my own. I've been anxious to see how I can handle all that needs doing when there is nobody else to help. I certainly have to learn a few things and get a routine down to make it happen smoother.

For example, on Friday I went out in the afternoon in a stiff wind. Paddling out of our shallow little bay into the strong wind proved exhausting. This was before I learned I could improve my technique some. Once out, I really struggled getting the sail raised in that wind before the boat would get completely turned around and threaten overturning. I finally managed, though I was so tired afterward that I wondered if I had anything in me left to sail with. Perseverence paid off though because the wind was strong enough to get me cruising pretty good out there. Shan Skailyn was moving at the more exciting speeds and producing some spray off the bow of the ama and around the leeboard and rudder at times. It felt good to feel like things were under control as I captained all by myself.

I was feeling confident enough by the weekend to take my whole family (except our 17 mo old son, Ethan) out for their first time sailing. The wind was disappointingly mild, being just enough to get us moving a bit, but achingly slow. Still my wife, Shannon and our three girls enjoyed it quite a bit. And prior to taking the whole family out, I took my middle daughter out on her own. She had the thrill of seeing a school of fish jumping out of the water in large groups. She thought that was the greatest thing! Both of our oldest girls keep wanting to just jump in the water out in the middle of the sea there. It strikes me how brave they are as I was always scared to be in deep water like that when I was young. In fact, I still don't like it even though I realize my fears are mostly unreasonable.

After sailing with the whole family we pulled up to a nearby beach, anchored the boat just offshore and just swam around in the shallow water. I tried leaving the sail up and just let it weather cock under anchor. I saw that as the boat would sway back and forth, as it would swing starboard the wind would catch the sail and before the sail had a chance to really luff, the boat would begin moving forward. Then it would catch the anchor line again, whip back around and begin to swing to starboard again for another round. I'm trying to figure out the easiest ways to do things without all the extra work of brailing every time. The thing would lurch forward fast enough, moving 10-15 feet at a lurch, that I worried it would hit one of the kids in the head or something as they swam around. So probably not a good idea for the future. Brailing it will be.

Earlier in the week I took a couple of my friends out sailing (the only pictures I get of myself sailing). Again the conditions were pretty mild with just a few short lived breezes strong enough to get us up and going.

As time goes on I hope to seek more adventure and explore around the many coves and sheltered island beaches all around us. There are probably hundreds of little islands around here with 15 miles of us! It's beautiful and the local folks are usually friendly and happy to make friends and talk about boats and their life on the water.

I've got one more day before I have to start packing Shan Skailyn up here. I'll have some minor repairs (mostly painting) and small improvements I'd like to make before packing away. Due to logistics and the possibility of no available guesthousing out here in Madang for a while, it's looking like it could be another year before we can come back out and make use of our family canoe. The thought of packing it away is sad, but it does make the times we do get to come out here and use it all the more sweet.

By the way, isn't it nice to finally have some real pictures posted!