slockhart's blog

In this post you will see that I have begun glassing the bottom of the Corsair 13.  As I stated in earlier posts, I initially used 8" tape on all of the outer seams.  Afterwards, I proceded to cutthe hole on the bottom for the daggerboard. 

Because of the cold weather and many other distractions, I haven't been able to devote as much time lately as I would have liked.  However, I am back to work again and this past weekend I was able to complete the application of fiberglass cloth on the entire hull of the boat.  In the pictures that I have attached, you will see photos taken from different angles depicting the completion of the first coat of epoxy. So far I am very pleased with my joints and especially the bow joint. At the bottom of the bow stem you will probably notice that the epoxy is a little thicker.  I actually mixed up a batch of epoxy and thickened it so that I could shape the area where the bow joint and the bottom of the boat meet.  This extended the length of the bow point by about 1.5" from the point of the bow down to the front point of the bottom panels.

Well after a couple of months of inactivity, I have gotten back to work!  Last week I finished the gunwales and trim.  The attached photos will better explain. Photo# 089 shows that I used five .5" strips of pine for the gunwales in addition to the .25" marine plywood.  On the outside, I used another .25" peice of pine trim along with a piece of .75" molding (rub rail).  The rubrail was installed in peices since the trim only came in 10' and 8' lengths.

I have begun installing the gunwales on each side of the boat.  Currently, I have not downloaded all of the pictures from my camera but the attached photos will show my progress so far.  These gunwales are made of 1/2" X 3/4" strips of pine.  I bought the strips at Lowe's and used them simply to save on the time and effort involved in ripping a board on the table saw.  These pieces,  even though they are about $3-4 each, are nice and smooth and provide good flexibility in the construction of the gunwales. I used 4 strips on the inside.

Prior to their installation I cut 14 braces (7 for each side of the boat) that the gunwales will rest on (see photo 024).  These braces were installed about 13-15" apart and are attached to the inside of the boat with epoxy and on the outside I use 2 brass screws ( 1" #8 size screws).  Yesterday I did a little sanding and I think I will be very pleased with the smoothness and final look of the finished gunwales.  By the way---I plan to leave the gunwales in wood finish while the rest of the boat will be painted.

Over the past weekend I built the daggerboard box.  This box is constructed of 1/2" plywood with 1.5" fur spacers.  I used the fur because it was some of the better pieces of scrap wood I had laying around.  As recommended by several other builders, I built the box 1/2 at a time so that I could use epoxy and fiberglass tape on the inside.  Hopefully this will prevent any moisture issues in the future, not to mention reducing the chaffing /abrasions.

Also in the photos, you may be able to see that I used a little trim on the bottom edge of the box, as well as the top edge.  The bottom trim was done simply to give me more surface for the epoxy to bond with the bottom of the boat.  The top trim was used so that I would also have a little more surface area to epoxy a a piece of plywood trim along the top.  This gives the box a little "neater" or "finished" appearance by covering the edge of the fur spacers.

I have finally decided on what I will use for flotation.   In photos 167-170 you will see that I decided to use milk jugs and various plastic containers (obviously with the lids still on). 

I also changed my mind about the storage beneath the seats of the boat. As you can see in  a couple of the photos, I decided to eliminate the two front storage hatches and I epoxied them closed.  This allowed me to place the plastic containers in 4 of the sections below the seats.  Even though I coated the interior framing and sidewalls under the seats, the elimination of the 2 forward hatches will minimize the likelihood of additional water getting below the seats, not to mention increase the flotation.  As you can see, the hatches were cut fairly large & I will have sufficient room to store life jackets, lines, etc. underneath the seats.

Also during the last week I installed the first 1/2" X 3/4" strip of wood trim on the top of the side walls.  On the outside of the sidewall I have initially placed a 1/4" X 1" piece of trim.  Eventually I will place a piece of molding on top of that piece of trim to serve as a rub rail. Inside of the sidewall I will laminate at least four strips of 1/2" X 3/4" wood trim.  I can't remmber what that part of the boat is called but it should be of sufficient width for any block & hardware installation.  I have clamped a few of the pices in place and I think I will be pleased with the final look.  Those photos will come in a later post.

 This weekend I will attempt to complete the daggerboard box / case.  My goal is to get this boat in the water by the first weekend in October!

It has been a couple of weeks since my last post and unfortunately I haven't made as much progress as I had hoped.  I have spent considerable time trying to decide whether to build the mast or buy one. I have also been looking for hardware such as the gudgeons and pintles and other things.  I found a nice little consignment shop in Oriental, NC and they have all kinds of used hardware, sails, etc.  Howver they did not have sails to fit my boat, the Corsair 13.  But as luck would have it, my trip to Oriental turned out to be very productive when I found an old boat yard near New Bern.  In the boat yard was 2 day sailers and the owner has told me to "help myself" on any hardware, etc.  He also has a mast that I think will work perfect for my boat....I am going to pick it up this weekend so we will see what happens.

I have bounced around on the construction of my boat---mainly because I have spent a lot of time thinking about storage issues and my floatation.  The attached photos depict the construction of the dagger board which is made from 3 pieces of 1/2" marine plywood laminated with epoxy.  I use 80-grit sandpaper on a belt sander to shape the daggerboard. Photo # 152 shows the daggerboard approximately 80% finished & prior to the application of epoxy and glass tape on the front and rear edges.  Photo #160 depicts the daggerboard just prior to epoxy and glass.  I am currently waiting to apply the final coat of epoxy and will finish the sanding soon. 

As you can see in photos 130 & 131, I changed my mind and decided to have 2 storage areas under each of the seats.  I have now secured the seat side panels to the support frames and they are now permanent.  I still haven't completely decided what I will do for flotation but right now I am considering using a bunch of empty 20 oz. water bottles and several empty 1/2 gallon milk jugs.  I will most likely secure these in place with water resistant spray foam ("great stuff") which is sold at Walmart or Lowe's.

I have also begun to construct the deck plate that will form the bow of the boat.  As you may recall in an earlier post, I had to add about 3.5" to the width of frame "B".  This caused a drastic change in the way the deck plate would fit the hull of the boat.  Therefore, I decided to cut a 3.5" inch strip of marine plywood (which is what I am using for the rest of the boat) and laminate it between the two deck plate halves. See photos 125 & 132.  I still have to laminate / secure the the point of the deck plate and will probably do that this weekend. 

In photos 127, 128, & 129 you can see where I have attached cleats on frames "A" & "B".  This is obviously where the deck will be secured to the frames.  I still have to secure cleats along the inside edge of the hull.  Right now my plan is to seal the most forward area of the bow.  I was considering more dry storage, but I've almost determined that I should have sufficient storage under the seats and between frames "A" & "B".  I will be using some flotation in the front compartment but not sure how much at this point.. 

I have decided to use only two storage compartments, one on each side of the seat side panels.  In the attached photos you can see that the access ports were cut in the middle of each side panel. The remaining compartments under the seats will consist of flotation. I decided to make the access to the storage on the seat side panels to reduce the amount of water that may enter the compartment from splash. 

In this blog entry I have included photos of the support cleats for the seat tops and sides.  For the cleats I used some scrap treated fence boards that a neighbor gave me after recently having a fence installed.  These cleats measure 5/8" thick and approximately 3" long and 2.25" wide.  I recall the plans actually recommending 3/4" thickness, but I had this scrap wood on hand and it was already treated.  I compensated for the thickness by installing a few extra pieces and increasing the width of each, which allows more surface area to be epoxied.

In the attached photos you will see where I have begun the installation of the seat supports.  This has been quite time consuming because a lot of trial and error fitting & trimming was done to get the seat tops to match the contour of the sides of the boat.  Rememebr---I had to add about 3" to the width @ panel "B" in order to get an acceptable hull shape.