Scarf alingments?

[Oyster]

Originally Posted by alan white

I'd be careful about a 145 sq ft sail area. My 15 footer has 155 but weighs like a Herreshoff 12 1/2 footer--- full keel with lead ballast.
My plan, however, is to reduce the main to about 110. I've recently added a 30 sq ft jib and once the main is downsized, i'll add a 30 sq ft mizzen. That makes 170 total but with a lot of reefing options, and chiefly a choice between main only or jib and jigger, which is ideal, and even after that, a single reef with the main back up and I can handle anything that's thrown at me.
The problem (and I'm now expreiencing this) is that sailing alone, 155 sq ft is a lot of sail to manage when it pipes up. Reefing a main is not as simple as striking a sail like a jib or a mizzen. What's at risk is your spars and sails.
My feeling is, if you like a good ghoster (which mine definitely is), it's a good idea to work out a reliable and easy reefing schedule, one that can be handled in any condition alone.
If you like a lot of canvas, and its a fractional sloop, make sure you've got a very good reefing setup.
And if you use luan, boil a piece first and see what happens.

Alan

This is an interesting read. Do you have a full sized shot of your boat? Thanks

[dsuursoo]

something i've learned from building bows for archery:

glue on a roughed surface has no more bonding strength than glue on a smooth surface. there's no increase in surface area when you rough it up first, as far as the adhesive is concerned.

far better is to create a sawtoothed tool that makes a set of grooves in each side of the joint, so they fit perfectly together. you can more than double your surface area, and have a significantly stronger peice of wood.

just my experience.

[PAR]

Actually tests have clearly shown that gluing, regardless of the type used, is much better (stronger glue line), if the parts being joined have shaved faces. The only cutting tools that will do this are the hand planes and the scraper.

It's actually quite simple if you magnify the ends you're gluing and have a look. With rotary cut tools, the tubules (wooden cellular structure) are torn apart, ragged and smashed, from the violence of the usually carbide tipped blade, swinging through it at high speed. With reciprocating tools the same is true.

With a shearing tool, used slowly, like a hand plane or scraper (assuming a sharp blade), the tubules are cut cleanly, leaving their exposed ends to receive what ever glue to apply. The smashed and torn tubules don't accept much if any glue, therefore no penetration into the wood's cellular structure.

Epoxy on the other hand requires a rough surface to work. It must have a gap, a place where the epoxy can live. If the parts fit precisely, the glue can be easily oozed out when pressure is applied, destroying the effectiveness of the joint. I design all epoxy joints with a 1/16" gap. This insures the goo can't squeeze out. I just hung a set of side deck beams, each epoxied to the sheer clamp and coming carlin. They were cut 1/8" short and placed in position with 1/16" spacers (popsicle sticks), until the epoxy kicked off. The spacers where then sanded flush and all looks perfect for paint.

[dsuursoo]

that's actually what i'm talking about. it's tough to describe in print, but you draw the tool down the face to be glued, much like a comb. the set of grooves you make, when joined to a matching glued surface, increases the surface area total. increasing surface area=more glued surface=greater bonding strength. the same applies to epoxy, it just takes a different tool. something that makes grooves shaped more like gear teeth would do nicely(leaves gaps, with some points of contact.

it's actually a really neat trick, and easy to make. give it a swing.

[mongo75]

Hey Bhfom- Why Are You Ending Every Sentence With A !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Lol

[BHOFM]

Originally Posted by mongo75

Hey Bhfom- Why Are You Ending Every Sentence With A !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Lol

It is a bad habit I picked up from some one that ends all
theirs with "!!". Besides, some end with "?".

[TeddyDiver]

Habit maybe but not so bad..........................

[mongo75]

I've got worse habits myself hehe