Binnacle/wheel rough fit

Here is the rough-fit wheel and binnacle. The binnacle was made from locust that was cut on Tauno's property. 4 stainless threaded rods will pass through the binnacle and down though beams that support the cockpit floor. Tauno next will fabricate the top to include space for throttle/gearshift, bowthruster controls, gauges, and chart plotter. 

Photo Book

Check out our new photo book  link to the right or use this link.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/88424698@N06/

Bowsprit Heel, Gammon Iron

 Here you see the bowsprit heel that has been faired and stained. As you might recall from a previous post the heel will butt against the sampson posts.
You see the modification I made to the gammon iron below. We'll be moving this fitting to the bow. ( more precisely we will be using it as a gammon iron vs. a cranse- I think that is correct!) When it was in service on a friend's boat it was a few feet beyond the bow. This fitting had pulpit pipe supports on each side which will no longer work. I cut them both off and am beginning to refinish the fitting. I first use the grinder, then various grades of sandpaper with a random orbital sander, then use a high speed buffing wheel.  I use a double wheel, first tripoli, then rouge.

Turnbuckles,blocks, binnacle compass

 It has been a constant treasure hunt to find all of the rigging.  Ebay, Craigslist, Wickford Marine Consignment, Mystic Marine Consignment, Mystic Woodenboat Show were all regular sources for parts over the past few years. 

Rudder Finished

 My uncle was in a severe car accident the day after finishing the rudder. He never recovered.
As I previously mentioned, the rudder was made from locust that was cut on Tauno's property. Individual sections were epoxied around a stainless steel frame. We're close to installation. ( looking for a used stuffing box)

Stained Bulwarks and Stern rail

Bulwarks stained

We stained the bulwarks and rails. We're still waiting for warmer weather to finish priming and painting the hull.

We have come out of hibernation and started to gear up for the summer. Last year we primed the hull from rub rail to water line. We spent many days sanding last year in preparation for paint,stain and varnish this year. We finally have decided on a stain color for the rub rail which you see Tauno beginning to apply.

Bowsprit Fairing

Here I'm working on slight modifications to the bowsprit. The original bronze hardware will be relocated and the proximal end will be butting against sampson posts. A combination of chainsaw, power planer, grinder and palm sander makes quick work of the changes.

Phoenix Rising

Kevin lost some contents including genset, cushions etc. but Phoenix is back to sailing. I f Kevin allows I'll post all of the  gruesome details. ( Kevin's naming of the new boat after his first total loss has even more meaning now)

Sinking

Caused by probable tampering

To avoid any unnecessary trouble for our friend Kevin with authorities I will not comment on all of the events that led up to this situation. As I mentioned, his previous boat was lost on the rocksbut will partially live on in our spray. ( We have purchased many bronze parts, sails etc. from Kevin at bargain prices.)

Bowsprit fit and prep

As you may recall from a post a few years ago we purchased this bowsprit from an unfortunate sailor who's wooden boat broke loose from a mooring and ended up on the rocks near Wickford RI. We stripped it of all of its hardware and are fitting it to the spray. It's a perfect fit with hardware relocated-more later.

Bow thruster Tunnel Dry-fit

We purchased a 5' long tunnel from Defender. After cutting the scribed holes on each side Tauno made some slight adjustments to level the tube.  The specs call for 7.5" below water line ( we have almost 9" if the water line is accurate) Jamestown Distributors has some great videos on the whole process. (I would add that a shot of whiskey helps you with cutting two huge holes in your hull)

Spray from above

I was given some feedback by a blog follower that I should post another picture of the overall project. This picture was taken by using Tauno's  bucket lift. The boat was in a heeled position ( as mentioned in previous posts) to enable us to work on the bottom.
We completed caulking the deck last weekend. In the next week we will work on last minute detailed fairing of the hull from water-line to rub rail in preparation for priming.

We apologize

This may not be in the spirit of Joshua Slocum but we decided on a bow-thruster. Here you see a jig that we created based on a video from Jamestown Distributors ( we couldn't do this project without them). The jig slides in and out as it scribes a perfect ellipse for the thruster tunnel. I would also like to apologize  that we have been delinquent in placing new posts. ( By we I really mean "I") Projects last year that were not very interesting included finishing the deck caulking, and sanding the entire boat from stem to stern in preparation for painting this year. I'll be more active from now on.

Deck Caulking

We are using Teak Deck Systems caulk with the recommended 3m fine-line as a seam breaker. Tedious but not too difficult. We recently identified that the deck is made of Austrailian white beech. Commonly used as boat decking material due to the very light color which makes a cool deck when the summer sun is direct. We have about 8 hours work into it so far and have completed approximately 15% of the total.