Ulua Launch and up next:Wooden Surfboards

The Ulua was launched over the holidays, and has been great fun to paddle. I still need to finish the mast step and rudder, but it is finally out of the garage!

Next up after some honey do items are checked off the list is a couple of these:

"Free" Sunfish found a new home

Craigslist and days off don't mix. Normally when I see a post for a free boat, I can safely ignore it due to workday responsibilities. Not this time. The "free" Sunfish is all there, I've even had it out for a sail. In my oh-so-abundant spare time I just need to patch a bunch of holes, re-do the foam inside, paint it and patch the sails. No problem! 

Ulua leeboard guard

I had the day to myself with mommy and baby gone to Mommycon. She said there was no one dressed as a super hero so I'm not sure how good of a Con it was. 

I had noticed in the trial run that the leeboard really bent a lot in the mount, and needed to figure out a light way to stiffen it used before I could finally varnish the hull and get it outside to clear the shop for the last few sailing bits.

My original mounting location was above the seat bracket, just below the gunnel. I was never happy with the hole placement, and wanted to use aluminum angle as described in Gary's book, but already had my seat brackets and couldn't fit the angle above it. I decided to mount the new bracket under the seat and fill the old hole. I also wanted 3 mounting whiles so I could move the board around to mess CLR but ended up with just 2. 

Once I had the bracket I drilled the 1/2" holes then mounted it under the seat bracket. I used those holes to mark centers, then drilled over size to 1" so I could fill with thickened epoxy and re drill to 1/2" to help seal the hole and prevent rot. Every step at this point is 3-4 little things, each prepping for the next. This is why sailing bits take so long! 

It was my first time working with aluminum, and it wasn't so bad! I misaligned the second mounting hole for the leeboard bolt, but I decided to move froward anyway as it is really only ascetic and both are covered by the board in use. Learning each time I work on something, and getting better. I strive to do my best, but I kinda like the little flaws too because I remember what was going on when I worked on that piece, kinda like a tattoo I guess.

I cut down a couple cutting boards to use as wear guards and to shim the leeboard even with the gunnel. This was a lot of fun and will add a bit more wearing surface to keep the board from twisting on its mount while on the trimaran tack. The boards cut easily and formed to the shape of the hull giving me a nice 1/2" plate. Still need to do finish trimming (you can see my marks to round the bottom corners) and counter sink the mounting bolts. I drilled all those oversize too in the hull to fill and redrill later.

Then I sanded. And sanded. And sanded. I've used the boat a few times already even though I hadn't sealed some of the mahogany. I had to clean all that up. My final fill coat outside was very rough on the port side, lots of orange peel. I've recently thought it may be better to paint the hull so I can use fairing compound on the outside. I still may because sanding the Orange peel took me down to the weave in a few places I wasn't careful with.

Nibbling away at some pieces on the Ulua

I was able to do some glassing on the safety ama, as well as get the iako finally coated with some epoxy. Lots of little things left at this point- rigging and foils still left to go. And finishing, lots more sanding and then the varnish and painting.

 I like to hit a few things when I have the epoxy out. In the background you can see: the motor/rudder mount, iakos, and precariously at an angle my birdsmouth SUP paddle prototype - this is the 4th time I've broken the blade, so I guess I should finally glass it. The shaft itself is light and strong though! Next one I will work on making pretty and smooth.

 I glassed the safety ama one half at a time, using painters tape to give me a clean line on each side. the next day I just ran a sharp knife down the line and peeled up the tape.

Sometimes I get funny looks when I go back into the house covered in sawdust...

Holidaze

Wooden boat building is therapeutic to me. We had some folks from all over in town during the holidays and managed to get out into the garage a bit among all the hub bub.

It was our 5 year anniversary, so it was nice to have my groomsmen there for a birthday/anniversary get together.

Here are some order images of the stuff that got worked on since the last time I posted.

Johnson shaped a really nice safety ama, which I just finished glassing. as well as did some clean up and painting on my original rush job ama. My buddy Chad did a ton of sanding too! Way too much beer was consumed - Florida Beer Company is 10 minutes away offers pony kegs of great bear for $45! And Bugnutty Brewing is 10 minutes in the other direction :)

There were plenty of onlookers as well. Some not so impressed.

EasyB Cedar Strip Canoe

Another one from the archives of the defunct flsail.com

I had a good time building this design from plans from one of my favorite sites, Duckworks.

They even posted a little article I put together about it, which was pretty neat.

Still use the heck out of this little boat, great for a quick paddle down a river or in calm water.

Islands 17

Craigs List is very tempting at times. That is what I tell myself when I look at the small sailboat now parked next to my house. I've had her out a few times, including an inaugural camping trip. Lots of fun, better now that she has a new mainsail and jib. The 30 year old rags that came with it had put in good service, but it was time. The new sails cost almost as much as the boat, but bring a lot of safety and enjoyment.

The Islands 17 is pretty much a replica of the Tanzer 16. I am taking a number of queues from that class and associated sites. When I ordered new sails from JSI, I just sent them the measurements from the Tanzer 16 class. They fit and fill perfectly.

Most of the projects for this boat will be focused on the trailer so it can be moved safely.

The current must have list for the boat includes:
Rebuild kickup rudder head
refinish/replace teak centerboard cover
refinish/replace stern hatch
mount and wire battery for trolling motor
add cleats for docking
paint (pure vanity but would look nice)
new running rigging

This boat may be a good choice for an Everglades Challenge in the future.  These things aren't needed for casual day sailing, in fact they would just add to setup time. For the EC though I think they are key.
Reefing rigging
Topping lift
mast slide gate
lazy jacks
running lights
oar locks? or scull?
lifting floorboard or similar in forward section around centerboard for storage/sleeping platform