Building the Atkin skiff "Cabin Boy"

[jalmberg]

If anyone is interested in the trials & tribulations of a first-time boat builder...

And only a first-time boat builder -- or a darn fool -- would try to cut the 'gains' on a lapstrake plank after fastening it to the building forms. But after forgetting to cut the gains on my first garboard, that's exactly what I had to do.

What are 'gains'? On a lapstrake boat, like the one below, the planks overlap for the full length of the boat, but overlap magically disappears at the stem (and sometimes at the transom).

There are several ways to perform this disappearing lap trick. I chose the method that looked the simplest to me: cutting a sloping rabbit along the edge of each plank...

Read complete blog post: Symmetry

Enjoy: John

[jalmberg]

Wow. After finally figuring out how to spile Cabin Boy's garboard plank, I figured it would be a snap to do the rest of the planks. After all, they were so simple, compared to the garboard.

Boy, was I wrong!

Read complete blog post: Over the Hump?

Enjoy: John

[Landlubber]

....you can start to appreciate why a Shipwright likes to get paid for what he does and knows......

[jalmberg]

Cabin Boy's build is now proceeding smoothly... I'm perfecting my planking technique, but nothing to exciting to report, so I thought I'd take a bit of a diversion...

While finishing up Cabin Boy, I'm also preparing for my 2000 mile voyage on the Blue Moon.

One piece of Blue Moon equipment that desperately needed replacement was the bunk cushion. The old one was grungy, damp, and well past it's due date. I chucked it onto the garbage pile while I was down in Florida, and thought I'd just buy a replacement.

That was until I got a quote for $450! No way I was going to plunk down a King's ransom for a bit of foam. Surely I could make one myself for less? And -- more importantly -- learn a valuable new skill...

Read complete blog post: Swedish Furled Foam

Enjoy: John

[jalmberg]

Originally Posted by Landlubber

....you can start to appreciate why a Shipwright likes to get paid for what he does and knows......

Definitely! Worth every penny.

[jalmberg]

As I've been planking Cabin Boy, I've been trying to figure out ways to make the job easier and faster. But I found it difficult (nay, impossible!) to do more than one plank per day.

The reason? Lots of steps. In fact, I counted 34 different steps per plank...

Read complete blog post: Planks and a Scarf

Enjoy: John

[jalmberg]

Cutting out and fastening Cabin Boy's bottom was easier than I expected. Using plywood, rather than the spiled cross planks that I'd planned on, saved a few days work, at least.

Since it's almost time to pull the boat off the forms and start working on the interior, I decided to drive up to the Maine Boat Builder's show in Portland, to steal some ideas from 'real' boat builders.

I'm glad I made the trip. Some great pics!

Read complete blog post:

The Unlikely Boat Builder: Ready to Flip

Enjoy: John

[jalmberg]

At this moment, I am blogging from the middle of the river that flows through Steinhatchee, FL. Helena and I have spent the last few days preparing the Blue Moon for its 2000 mile voyage from the West Coast of Florida, around the Keys, and up the east coast of the US, to New York.

Actually, I was focused on preparing the Blue Moon. Helena was focused on preparing me. We both must have done a pretty good job, because I'm tucked up in my comfy bunk (with my home made foam mattress), anchor light burning brightly from the mizzen mast, and -- miracle of miracles -- an Apple laptop connected to the Internet by a cell phone card, so I can blog all the way home.

My intention is to up anchor around 9:30 tomorrow morning, to catch the morning tide for a ride out into the Gulf of Mexico. But before I start talking about the Blue Moon, I'd better talk about Cabin Boy's launch...

Read complete blog post: Launch Day!

Enjoy!

[jalmberg]

For anyone interested in following the progress of a new, long distance cruiser, I've started blogging my cruise from the Big Bend area of Florida, down the Gulf of Mexico, through the Keys, and up the East Coast to New York...

* * *

About once a week, I look at a tool or a trick that seems totally cool and indispensable, and for that week, that tool seems to be the most important tool or trick for boat building.

Of course, none of these are 'the most important'. It would be hard to build a boat without many tools, including things as ordinary as a good paint brush. But I seem to be addicted to such facinations.

However, this week I realized what really is the most important factor for building a boat (or even for just owning one). That factor is a supportive, enthusiastic, and energetic partner...

Read complete blog post: Most Important Factor

Enjoy: John

[jalmberg]

While waiting for the antibiotics to work their magic on my poor battered shin, I have been working on my to-do list. Top on the list today was to mount sidelight boxes in the Blue Moon's shrouds.

Sidelights are the red and green running lights that sailboats must show at night. The Blue Moon came with tiny, electric sidelights, in the shape of a small plastic light that looked like it would be more in place on a kids bike than on a boat.

Even though these tiny lights were barely visible, they gulped enormous amounts of electricity from my solar-driven batteries. Taking another page from the Pardey's books, I long ago decided to use kerosene running lights.

Read complete blog post: Sidelights

Enjoy: John

[jalmberg]

Having completed some chores, like lashing my sidelight box into the rigging, it was definitely time to move on.

One problem: getting back up the Manatee River. When the wind has blown at all, it has blown straight down the river. Not only does this make it difficult to beat out of the river, it has made the anchorage darn uncomfortable at times...

Read complete blog post: On the ICW

Enjoy: John

[jalmberg]

Yesterday, it was finally time to leave Sarasota Bay and head south. Unfortunately, a southerly wind was blowing like stink, as they say. No matter, I thought, I'll just motor. That is why sailboats have reliable engines, and I finally have a reliable engine.

So I left my sail tied to the boom, powered up my engine, and headed south. The engine was reliable, and ran 100% better than before. As I've already said, before the rebuild, the engine had been unable to push the boat into any sort of strong headwind. It could now push us along at 3 knots against a 15 knot wind.

The engine was loyal. It was game. It ran and ran all day. But by the end of the day, I knew the strain had been unfair. It was too much for the little one cylinder 4 stroke. If I wanted it to last the rest of the journey, I was going to have to be fair with it...

Read complete blog post: The Boss

Enjoy: John

[jalmberg]

One interesting thing about cruising is that, on the one hand, you need to plan ahead, and on the other, you need to realize that hardly anything works out the way you planned it.

Gary Player used to say, "The harder I practice, the luckier I get." But I say, "The more I plan, the better I am at improvising."

Read complete blog post: Planning is Everything

Enjoy: John

[jalmberg]

They say you know when your vacation is long enough when you start thinking about work, again. My break away from the Blue Moon voyage must be almost up, because I am definitely thinking about her!

My new engine is on order and should be delivered on or about June 7th. It wasn't easy to choose one. Here's what I was hoping to get:

* at least 15 hp
* 25" shaft
* as high a gear ratio as possible (3:1)
* as big a prop as possible
* as light as possible
* as reliable as possible
* as fuel efficient as possible
* easy to find repair people (on east coast of US)

Dealers call this a 'sailboat' motor, or a 'high thrust' motor. It's designed not for speed, but for power. And since the Blue Moon displaces about 8,000 lbs, power is what's needed.

Unfortunately, no one makes an outboard that meets all these criteria....

Read complete blog post: Missing Her

Enjoy: John

[Landlubber]

... one pretty little darling yacht that......