The "NANCY G" a surfboat /lifeboat to motorsailer conversion build in progress

A sharper appendage entry also has another side effect - it can cause the appendage to stall easily. This is why aircraft wings and sailboat fins are usually quite rounded over along the leading edge. This rounded edge delays separation and "eases" flow entry to the appendage shape, as it's forced to flow around it. I'll bet that leading edge was intentionally designed, to permit heaving too in much rougher conditions, than a more refined, possibly sharper edge. The sea state this design would need to be most effective, would be the least desirable time, to have an appendage prone to stalling. Fortunately, you're not looking to head out in force 8 and building winds, just to test your metal, so you'll probably never know. I can say this knowing that Nancy would physically pull body parts off your sorry butt, to reinforce the lack of common sense such acts often display. Your a lucky man in that one my friend, even if she does do a partial dismemberment on you, every so often.

 

Ha Ha -- The old boy was not so drastic as to create an actual sharp edge -- there's enough of those in residence to cause one eye to stay open at night Remember I have no four legged protectors. Good design advise sticks to me like po po to a wool blanket and I do recall the very lessons of your post. Basically I should have said to create a" less blunt" entry -- remains as origional 2 1/2 in. wide at the stem base but got it tapered down from 9 to 6 in. back at station 4, which is also the location of the lower leading edge of the fin. That 9 in. to 9 1/2 in width on the origional was designed as a sleigh to run up a sand or pebble beach fully loaded with supplies at low to half tide. Supplies were unloaded and stored above high tide before she was afloat again. Come to think of it a vessel with those capabilities is probably worth more on the open market to certain individuals as is. MMmmm, Na --
Just received a phone call -- my sandpaper has arrived -- back to the salt mines, --- Or should I say warm salt mines a I lit the fire in the old iron dragon early this morning.

 

No body should have a shop as clean as that . . . it's just wrong, sort of like trusting a skinny cook or a demure hooker.

 

If you look carefully hung just behing the big. galv. turnbuckles you'll see a frying pan. Well that my man is an old military heavy duty stamped out piece of kit from the Uncle Sams Army -- one of the best trout, mackeral, and smelt frying pans this side of the moon. Beats the hell out of those cast iron jobbies everyone brags about. We do have some great fryups on that old stove. --- Loves that old shop, keeps her organized and clean I does By, never know when she might have to become home
Bloody snowing here now about 2 in. of the white stuff on the ground -- AAaaahhhhhh .

 

Well got a bit of sanding completed on the tapered section today. First attempt at using the traditionally automotive in line strip sander for boat work. I was very happy with it --don't know why I never thought of it before as I have ample hours of practise on four wheel rusted chariots of love. Like all power sanders contact pressure is the key. Possibly more so on this powerful air driven unit. I.E. Just enough contact pressure to keep the tool in full contact with the work surface. Let the tool do the work, better cutting action with less paper clogging. Sort of let it float. Normally I'd hand sand with long and longer boards resulting in arms like Charley Atlas on completion of a build. Regardless one can never totally escape hand sanding, power tools for the course work followed with hand sanding for that professional finish. Tools of the trade today were, Power Sander, Hand Sanding Block, Dust Brush, Big 4in. Dust Vacuum, and most important , Dust Mask. All in All it was a good day.

 

The right tool for the right job. I think you taught me that mate she is looking very good.

 

And I thank you sir-- are you still on dry land, no doubt you're into expanding the electronic navagation techniques where ever you are. I was going to give you a call yesterday but a last minute request from across the pond dragged me into the forest until dark to check on a new survey line. I was so dam cold when I got home (chill factor -29 along the ocean) it froze my thinking brain. Ya she is coming along great -- got the taper section mostly complete --only to put the cap on it and then onto prefabbing the fin and skeg. I bought a couple of new toys to make work easier. That autobody in line sander sure does the job. I also bought a heavy duty air hammer/chizel to knock off those epoxy/sand composite rubbing strakes. Gave it a trial go and it also does the job. Next tool is a (flexicat) longboard sander. Having problems searching down a Canadian dealer. The closest one so far is in Rockport Maine. Just across the border but always a hassle with duties, gst, freight, handling fees, and christ knows what else gouge charges between the transport companies and the Canadian tax system. Just remembered I have a cousin and a close friend/B&Bguest in Rockport --problem may be solved. Ok old man if you happen to get over this way there's always a couple of cold cold brew in the shop. Here's hoping this cold snap peters out soon, too cold to get the shop heated up ---Geo.

 

Don't bother with the FlexCat George. Once at this stage, you can take an in line sander or big, electric 1/3'rd or 1/2 sheet sander and modify it to do just as good a job, without spending hundreds on a FlexCat. It's been cold down here too, we almost got into the 40's a couple of nights ago, for about an hour. Winter sucks.

 

Down in the 40's F for about an hour or so-- We hit an artic cold front thats been hanging around for over a week at between 0 to 6F but an almost constant wind chill factor of -20F. If I lit a fire in the shop at 8 in the morning it would take until 3 in the afternoon to work comfortable in bibs and a wool sweater. So on these days I don't waste wood, however i'm happy to say we normally only get this a couple weeks over the winter.
Regarding the flexicat -- I was thinking it might come in handy. When I knock off those strakes (black outlines 1/2" H x 2" wide along the hull) it pulls off the gelcoat plus some glass fiber strands with it. The result is I will have to fill and sand almost the entire hull. Very similar to repairing a mild case of blisters. I really would like to try one before buying because as you say they are dam expensive. Maybe it's best I try my regular sanders first. I have a good selection, a 17"X21/4"automotive in line (longboard type), two 5" Porter Cable RO's , One 6" Porter Cable RO, One 6" Metabo RO, (fantastic machine, the best 6" RO I have ever used). So wanna come up to the cold country and do some sanding --

 

I thought you were going to leave those big *** (technical term) rubs on the hull shell. If you are going to remove them, wholesale fairing will be required, but I haven't had much need for those FlexCats. Glue a 7" sanding disk to a piece of 1/8" plywood, cut to the size of a full sheets of sand paper. Round the corners with at least a 2" radius and spray mount the paper to it. This will quickly knock the highs down, while effectively bridging the lows. It's a rough tool, but with some practice (you'll get plenty) you can do a pretty fair job of it. You can't avoid the long board, but this can cut substantially into the elbow torture time.

The hull will look and sail better as a result of their removal, but a lot of work. Have fun.

 

Every time I walked past them, they bugged the hell out of me. Some where back in this thread I posted, something to the effect " If you're not happy with it --do something about it" Well i'm taking my own as well as others (not mentioning names) advise . Yup they're nothing but 1 to 1 1/2 knots of drag --like 6 months of seaweed on a clipper. So off they come providing me with 1 month of loving, filling, sanding, and finish. Anyone envious of this is welcome to come and partake. I'll provide the beer

 

Would it be easier to take a router set at 7/16" depth or a planer and cut the strakes off rather than pulling them off? It might go easier on the underlying surface and save some time in the long run. Just a thought. Have to be careful of fasteners though. The remaining 1/16" of the strake will be a lot easier to sand without needing to repair the underlying gelcoat divots.

 

How I wish I could Hoyt but that epoxy sand composition is possibly as hard as tungsten bits. Certainly would create fireworks

 

Oh! I didn't realize the strakes were made of such a nasty composite. I guess patching the divots will take less time after all. Can you work them off by "walking" wedges from end to end?

 

Ya that wedge would be an industrial air chizel banging away at 2000, one inch strokes per minute propelled by 90 to 100 psi attacking the side edge. It pops a 3 to 4 inch piece off which goes flying thru the air. Reminds me of napping flint with a 100lb. hammer stone . My plan is to go at it say 1/2 hr. each day. I have discovered the only way to keep my patience on long tedious miserable jobs is to break up the work into short periods over a longer time. I play a game with my old brain in that if it agrees to spend a short time on the miserable work it will get the reward of a longer time on the nice work. Ha Ha --I didn't realize until my older years how easy it was to pull the wool over my own eyes. . Possibly something Nancy knew 30 yrs. ago and never told me