On Target, On Time

How My Mast Was Built

 It was a good day! The biggest bugaboo that has plagued me, the mast, was sorted with some help from a friend. So as you saw earlier up the blog the mast was stuck. Very, very stuck. Lifting my boat off the trailer and jumping up and down stuck. Today the The Typesetter came over with a bag of tools and we sorted it out. Well he did, I took pictures and worked on other boat projects. Turns out the fiberglass wrap that had been put over the mast had bubbled and that was the  reason for the sticking. So out came a rasp and he set to work. After a bit we tried the mast. Still took a strap to get it out. So there was more rasping and we tried again. Still stuck. I told TT to go after it with the plane. I wanted to see wood chips. Lots of them. I'd rather too much then too little. Wood chips were asked for and wood chips came!

The Typesetter at Work

 And it was done. It goes in easy and comes out without a strap. So it's just all the other projects I have to do, the biggest being getting the boat rigged. BUT I know what I'm doing at this point so I'm not as worried about it. The simplification of the lines will help a lot. Moving from the pivot to the drop in will take some figuring but I'm sure it's no big deal.  I'll do my best to get photos as we rig so I can sort of explain my process. 

 The other attempted project was installing a used base mount VHF. I've wanted one for a while and took a shot at a used one. It received great but failed to transmit. This is after TWO extra holes in the roof of my boat trying to get the antenna mounted. But I'm a 2nd Class Boat Builder so it took thickened epoxy and we'll paint over it. Oh and sanding. But that's for later. At this point the wiring is in place I just need to buy a new radio. So that'll be post launch. 

 The boat is not looking her best. But she will be come Wild Horse Regatta weekend. That will be her 2nd debut and her Sweet Sixteen. Really looking forward to the aesthetic touches I have planned for her. The Princess of Flathead Lake will look even more wonderful. 

 But it's rain the next two days so a small break to catch up on some other work. We're far closer then we were and I'm feeling good.

Bow Flag Holder Mounted, CBA Burgee

One Piece at a Time II

The video is from March, 2021

Just a quick note that work continues at a fair pace. I have a second hand marine VHF radio I'm working to install and I'm about seventy percent done with that project. That will allow me to monitor both the race and and 16 when I need to. And I've always wanted one in the boat. Just take a bit more wiring and drilling a hole for the antenna. My handheld works all the time and will keep a charge all week so the draw from the base should be minimal .  

 The mast continues to vex me. I cut some blocks for the base to keep it from dropping all the way down but that didn't work. I have picked up a pretty good way to get it unstuck though. But it still needs a bit of shaping to really be safe. I was thinking of putting the pin back in and giving up but I really like how she sails with a more vertical mast. The Typesetter was over today and we stared at the plans. As designed she's got a touch of rake but the bottom of the mast requires a step to do so. I'm thinking the original builder just took the bottom four inches off when we put it on a pin. It'll take a bit of fiddling but we'll get it done. 

 When I got the boat the lazy jacks did double duty as a sort of topping lift but the light and stretchy line used wasn't up to the task. I've added a dedicated topping lift and no longer need to adjust the jacks from the deck. I see how many have them permanently fixed at the mast and I've decided that's what I want to do. I got inspiration on how I want to from the Ayers Pond Catboat Essential video series. It's just small boat jacks so no need to go crazy. This also feeds my mantra of simplicity for the vessel. I'll have one less line heading forward and up that I need to worry about. I've already made the luff line set it and forget it on the mast, eliminating it's adjustability aft and it's corresponding line.  When it's all done I should have from port to starboard, topping lift, second reef luff, first reef luff, throat halyard, peak halyard. We'll see if the reef lines stay. I'm thinking of going back to an all boom set up. 

 Got the house battery  in and the electrics all work. As of this moment I'm fully prepared for my USCGA safety inspection I have scheduled for later this week. Save for 2022 I've managed it almost every year with this boat. It's a simple and easy way pre-season to ensure that your boat is ready to go. I highly suggest you schedule one today, it's free.

 Lots of little projects getting done. And a lot of little projects left to go. I'm on my own this week, The Lady is on a work trip so it's just me and the boat. I'm fine with that at this point as I have so much to do. But it's all fifteen minute jobs that will be done in good time I'm sure.  

It's a 10-24 Boat

Some Michalak Boats at Rend Messabout. Photo by Joe Stromski

 It would be amiss of me to not mention Kat Boat's 16th Birthday on the 12th of June. Happy Birthday Kat Boat! With that out of the way it's been busy around here. The boat was moved from the Dayton Yacht Harbor back to my home for work. We love having the boat at the yard but the fact is that having easy access to water and power makes some projects so much easier. With that in mind we put half a pump of grease in each trailer hub, added some magnetic lights, and hit the road south. This was the first and longest journey since last spring when the boat was moved to the yard. We took stops every twenty miles at first but the tires were fine and the bearings sone cold. We have  a new towing vehicle with half the cylinders so we were bit leery but other then getting slightly better gas milage we towed the sawtooth profile at 65mph without issue. Unlike our previous Suburban which towed the thousand pounds of boat and trailer at highway speed without complaint, the Equinox ensures i know where every slow lane is on the entire 91.4 mile journey north. And we use use every single one. 

New and Shiny Up Top, Old and Busted Below

 When we first got Kat Boat there was a rush of new parts and fasteners. There were a variety of decisions made when the vessel was originally constructed that I may have disagreed with.  For the use she got it was a good choice at the time. There were also decisions made when the boat made it to our fleet that maybe could have been handled better as well. Today we look back on those decisions, give them grace, and try and improve upon them. The above is an excellent example of renewing things. Thankfully I sail in freshwater so my hardware doesn't rust rust but as you see it does wear. I haven't replaced my tiller hardware since I got the boat and it appeared it was time. Now I would have preferred stainless but I think that simply buying new in this case is enough. It's not expensive and I'll get five more years out of the new set.  We also are in the process of replacing star drive deck screws, driven in by a madman who thought it was the cats meow at that fevered moment, with stainless steel wood screws from Duckworks. 

 I've decided that the work will progress one system at a time. This keeps it from becoming overwhelming and gives a focus to the work. As it's summer and I must do my boat work outside my MS doesn't allow me to work well in the heat. That's sailing time. So my time is limited and it needs to be productive. So the first system we're working on is first is the mainsheet. When the boat arrived she has Racelite 1/4" blocks. The system we use is from the tiller up to the boom, then forward and a double purchase there. So four blocks in total. The line was originally the kind used for equine work but it was tacky with age so we replaced it with three strand utility line.  I've never been satisfied with the small blocks. The drag was pretty high and it took a bit for the rig to respond. Things improved slightly with the replacement of the aft boom block with a larger ratcheting black. I got the idea from the Katie M. and Left Coast Charters. But while it was an improvement I knew the only to really get it right was to replace all the blocks.  So that's what I've done. These are Racelite 7/16ths blocks that match the old ones but will allow far less friction hopefully resulting in a snappier action and better response overall. 

 As faithful readers will no doubt recall I've been messing with giving my boat a forestay for a while now. Catboats have a forestay, from 12' Beetles to 23' party cats they all support the mast from the front. Now it should be noted that the FatCat 2 doesn't share the same hull as a traditional New England catboat. Her bow is out of the water and she carriers her buoyancy slightly forward of midships but lacks the support a Cape Cod style hull gives the cat rigged gaff sail. She's also under canvased even with my slightly larger sail. According to Fenwick Williams, who is said to have designed more catboats then just about anybody, "Another rough rule obtained from practice says that an area of 80 percent the square of the length will give quite good results." (F. Williams, The Cat Boat Book, p32) That works out to 180sqft. Which would require much larger spars overall and quite frankly I don't think it would work all that well with so little wetted surface in the water. But I digress. I've never been a fan of the unsupported mast with that much sail hanging off the back. For lack of a better reason it just didn't look right to my eyes.  After bending two different stout eyebolts I've settled on a tang to attach the forestay at the mast. However at the angle it was hung there was interference with the gaff jaws., which were also different from plan. The Typesetter had the idea of a standoff to change the angle and distance of the forestay. Today I wanged© it together out of a piece he so kindly cut out for me. It's rough and needs paint but we'll cross that bridge a bit later. I'm pleased to say it's not going anywhere being through bolted. We'll know right quick if it worked or not but I have a good feeling about it. 

 And that's about as far as I'm getting today. The boat needs washing and at a minimum and maybe some paint here and there. And I have my USCGA Safety inspection scheduled for the Thursday before we launch but everything I need to be ready is on that list so easy enough to get done. The list of get them done's is long but doable a few hours a day. And that really what this type of work is. Just a few hours everyday and you'll see your results. 

 Oh about the title. Most of the projects today centered around what has become the standard size of fastener in the boat. The 10-24 machine screw with a Phillips head from 1 1/4" up to 5". Normally comes with washers and nylocks. 

Boat Work 2024 Begins

 

Kat and Her Boat

 Ah spring, when a young persons fancy turns to boating.  Work is hard and heavy on Kat Boat this spring. With the boat in the yard work has to be better planned and executed due to it being an hour and a half from the old boat yard, which was my house. First thing up this year was getting the mast pulled.  Faithful readers will know of the Sandell Tabernacle my boat came with. An ingenious device that allowed the raising and lowering of the mast while on the trailer with ease.  As a yard boat these days the setup was not as desired. The fact is the mast was never as straight without being in the bottom of the step as designed and a catboat wants a straight mast. And with the mast being hollow it was easy enough to swing it up and plant it in the step. We sailed like that for the majority of the last season and the boat behaved very well. Slightly better I think then before.  Sail peaked higher, lifted the boom that extra bit and wanted to go to weather more readily and closer to the wind. It was great. And at the end of the last season we tried pulling the mast for winter. And tried again. And again. It was indeed quite stuck.

  But this season we are at a boat yard. With a mast crane. A few half hitches later we were in business. The strain was put on. And then a little more. Then a few more half hitches. The bow started coming off the trailer. The lead yard hand jumped lightly on the cabin top. And the mast popped free.  It was an interesting forty five seconds, that's for sure. We are making sure to ensure this won't happen again before the mast goes back up.

When in Doubt Add More Force

 Last year in a blinding rainstorm I discovered that my cabin hatch was not in fact waterproof. And the dripping water was a rather large annoyance. So one of the projects this spring has been fiberglassing the hatch. It's amazing how well a random orbital sander will clean up the job. It's far from perfect but I am a 2nd Class Boat Builder. That is to say I'm not afeared of epoxy and I know enough to get myself if not into trouble a job done. We await the possibility of painting later this week and we'll see if it worked. We hate to lose the look of the natural wood but it's worth not worrying about keeping the water on the outside of the boat. 

Will Look Good With Paint

 And what of the Whoa Nellie you ask? Well we got the skeg on and we've got a few little things to tidy up on the bottom, then paint and flip. The changes we're working on are making the side decks 6" as per the Beetlecat that inspired it. We also got rid of the rear "seat" as full hull lounging room is desirable. Sliding around the bottom is a key component to the sailing I think. We're hoping to splash before September and get a sail or two in this year.

Always Impressed With Her Lines

 And now it's little things. The work on Kat Boat this summer is being broken into two parts: The Making It Work part and the Making It Pretty part. Goal now is to get the vessel sailing. Then in July we'll haul it and take it up to the old boat yard and make it pretty.  The hope is by our Wild Horse Island Regatta she'll be looking find and hopefully be able to be used as our committee boat. The lady will appreciate the ability to take a Kat Nap during the proceedings.  We hope to launch the week I right this but the weather may not cooperate. No harm done there, it's simply another week to get the boat ready and we'll launch the weekend of our yacht club opener.  It's going to be a great year.

Starting To Look Like My Boat Again