Re: Chebacco mizzen sizing, and cold-molding.
Richard:
My mizzen usually does an okay job of keeping me head to wind, it's
when I pull on the clew reef line that we start to sail around (I've
found it helps to pull down the tack reef first.) However, I had a
problem one day this summer when there were four adults on board,
all in the cockpit. I think the weight cocked up the bow and made
it catch the wind more than usual. On the plus side, there were
lots of hands to keep us head to wind with the engine.
I've had to reef on my last three outings, the only problem was with
four aboard. The usual crew is two.
If you're only a few degrees off, put the tiller over opposite to
the direction you'd think. You're sailing backwards by now, and the
rudder will pull the stern into line -- you can help by pulling the
mizzen to the side opposite the rudder if things are really stubborn.
Fraser:
Paul Gartside agrees with you. He has criticized strip planking for
the reason you quote (planks show through) and advocates a couple of
layers of veneer over the strips instead of glass cloth. Have a
look at his website sometime -- some beautiful deep keeled cutters
there.
Cheers,
Jamie
My mizzen usually does an okay job of keeping me head to wind, it's
when I pull on the clew reef line that we start to sail around (I've
found it helps to pull down the tack reef first.) However, I had a
problem one day this summer when there were four adults on board,
all in the cockpit. I think the weight cocked up the bow and made
it catch the wind more than usual. On the plus side, there were
lots of hands to keep us head to wind with the engine.
I've had to reef on my last three outings, the only problem was with
four aboard. The usual crew is two.
If you're only a few degrees off, put the tiller over opposite to
the direction you'd think. You're sailing backwards by now, and the
rudder will pull the stern into line -- you can help by pulling the
mizzen to the side opposite the rudder if things are really stubborn.
Fraser:
Paul Gartside agrees with you. He has criticized strip planking for
the reason you quote (planks show through) and advocates a couple of
layers of veneer over the strips instead of glass cloth. Have a
look at his website sometime -- some beautiful deep keeled cutters
there.
Cheers,
Jamie
--- In bolger@y..., Fraser Howell <fraser.howell@n...> wrote:
> On my chebacco, I find the mizzen holds the bow fairly close to the
> wind, wavering 10 or 15 degrees either side, not too much that I
cannot
> put in a reef. I don't lower the main any more than is needed to
reach
> the reef points. All told it takes about 10 minutes, five of those
> minutes sitting in the cockpit, convincing myself that things
aren't
> going to getter better by themselves.
>
> I sort of cold-molded. 3/4 in pine strips fore and aft and 1/8 in
veneer
> at right angles. I didn't know better. I should not have put the
veneers
> on at 90 deg. Every year a few glue lines appear between the
veneers in
> the forward third of the boat. The veneers don't leave the hull,
the
> paint at the glue line shows a "hairline" crack I spend a couple
of
> days most springs sanding away the visible glue lines, depressing
them
> enough to put on a 1 in width of glass in epoxy. So far that has
worked.
> Eventually, I will probably have repaired all of the forward glue
lines.
> It is late this summer, and I can only find three short ones.
>
> The veneers are ash. Cut oversize from the log with a bandsaw
mill, then
> thickness planed. I could not drive staples through that %$*@#
ash. Way
> too hard. Drilled and screwed, screws backed out, holes filled.
For a
> while I thought that I should have sheathed the pine in a thick
cloth
> and forget the veneer. There is a larger boat nearby that was
built that
> way, and now it shows "print through" from 50 ft., that is the
> individual fore and aft strips are visible. I guess the veneers is
> superior. To do it again I would use thin plywood instead of a
hardwood,
> and put them on at an angle, 45 or 60 deg to the fore and aft
strips.
> I'd go with staples I could leave in, and use a compressor to
staple the
> veneers with enough force to leave the staple depressed to less
than
> flush.
>
> Regards from Halifax
>
> Fraser Howell
On my chebacco, I find the mizzen holds the bow fairly close to the
wind, wavering 10 or 15 degrees either side, not too much that I cannot
put in a reef. I don't lower the main any more than is needed to reach
the reef points. All told it takes about 10 minutes, five of those
minutes sitting in the cockpit, convincing myself that things aren't
going to getter better by themselves.
I sort of cold-molded. 3/4 in pine strips fore and aft and 1/8 in veneer
at right angles. I didn't know better. I should not have put the veneers
on at 90 deg. Every year a few glue lines appear between the veneers in
the forward third of the boat. The veneers don't leave the hull, the
paint at the glue line shows a "hairline" crack I spend a couple of
days most springs sanding away the visible glue lines, depressing them
enough to put on a 1 in width of glass in epoxy. So far that has worked.
Eventually, I will probably have repaired all of the forward glue lines.
It is late this summer, and I can only find three short ones.
The veneers are ash. Cut oversize from the log with a bandsaw mill, then
thickness planed. I could not drive staples through that %$*@# ash. Way
too hard. Drilled and screwed, screws backed out, holes filled. For a
while I thought that I should have sheathed the pine in a thick cloth
and forget the veneer. There is a larger boat nearby that was built that
way, and now it shows "print through" from 50 ft., that is the
individual fore and aft strips are visible. I guess the veneers is
superior. To do it again I would use thin plywood instead of a hardwood,
and put them on at an angle, 45 or 60 deg to the fore and aft strips.
I'd go with staples I could leave in, and use a compressor to staple the
veneers with enough force to leave the staple depressed to less than
flush.
Regards from Halifax
Fraser Howell
wind, wavering 10 or 15 degrees either side, not too much that I cannot
put in a reef. I don't lower the main any more than is needed to reach
the reef points. All told it takes about 10 minutes, five of those
minutes sitting in the cockpit, convincing myself that things aren't
going to getter better by themselves.
I sort of cold-molded. 3/4 in pine strips fore and aft and 1/8 in veneer
at right angles. I didn't know better. I should not have put the veneers
on at 90 deg. Every year a few glue lines appear between the veneers in
the forward third of the boat. The veneers don't leave the hull, the
paint at the glue line shows a "hairline" crack I spend a couple of
days most springs sanding away the visible glue lines, depressing them
enough to put on a 1 in width of glass in epoxy. So far that has worked.
Eventually, I will probably have repaired all of the forward glue lines.
It is late this summer, and I can only find three short ones.
The veneers are ash. Cut oversize from the log with a bandsaw mill, then
thickness planed. I could not drive staples through that %$*@# ash. Way
too hard. Drilled and screwed, screws backed out, holes filled. For a
while I thought that I should have sheathed the pine in a thick cloth
and forget the veneer. There is a larger boat nearby that was built that
way, and now it shows "print through" from 50 ft., that is the
individual fore and aft strips are visible. I guess the veneers is
superior. To do it again I would use thin plywood instead of a hardwood,
and put them on at an angle, 45 or 60 deg to the fore and aft strips.
I'd go with staples I could leave in, and use a compressor to staple the
veneers with enough force to leave the staple depressed to less than
flush.
Regards from Halifax
Fraser Howell