Sea Sled madness. It’s in my brain.

Woodenboat sept/oct 92, I think. Maybe 91. A couple issues of Boatbuilder magazine had Dave Gerr's articles. Beyond that I don't know. They were the big thing from about 1915 to 1930. But the odd shape was very expensive to build back then, and the Depression knocked them on the head. So really old magazines for sure. And Popular Mechanics in the 50s.

 

And that old sled: look at the shape of her foredeck. Beautiful. Lot of boat for 2 guys to ride in though. Going around 50 knots in the picture. OrloIII had a pair of 300 hp inboards, with immense surface piercing propellors just on stubs right out of the bottom edge of her transom. Fast as heck forward, and a limping dog in reverse.

 

Maybe 1955-57 mags, too. I'll do some looking next week. I have some of them as well.

The collection goes back to wartime.

It was owned by Mertens who wanted to get rid of it all and I paid like $300 freight for the pallet.

 

That's a hell of a collection!

 

Any update on the build big brother?

 

Nothing new. I'm coating the rest of the inside with epoxy and cabosil to make an even surface free of voids, so I can finish glassing the inside.

 

That's progress!

 

Hell yes it is, keep that head down and keep on trucking. Every year, somebody wins the Boston Marathon. Nobody has ever won it by making 26 giant leaps. Every single winner has made countless little incremental steps that added up to victory.

 

Sunny day! Tent is open, letting out some humidity.

 

Blowing off some steam!

 

A bit of carpentry to take a break from epoxy. 2x4 side decks in way of the wheelhouse. 2x8 forward by the cockpit, up to the ram. 2x8 will shape down some, tomorrow. Planer and sander work.

 

Will the 2" deep side decks effectively form the gunwhales / rubbing strakes now, or will you perhaps make them deeper?

And re how there is a horizontal 'step' where they butt on to the ram, will this have (eg) a triangular fairing piece on the outboard side of the ram on each side?
Or will the 2 x 8 be tapered down to meet the ram?

 

The 2x8 will be planed to match the curve of the hull side, then radiused along all edges for continuous glass outside to inside. Inner edge of the forward side deck I plan to leave straight. A small aesthetic sacrifice in favor of uninterrupted wood grain strength. It transfers impact loads from the ram all the way to the stern. I dont know if it's clear in the pics, but the 2x4 side deck carries foreword 2' under the larger side deck, so there's a huge contact area to transfer force by shear.

 

Get yourself a longboard. Buy some 36 grit floor papers from HD and cut the board to fit. I put some HD wooden table legs about 6"? Long on each end. I think the board is 18"x2-2.5" wide. After some planing, run the longboard up and down the gunnel[sic] on a 45 degree angle out forward in aft. Consider drainage away from versus into the boat.

 

Yes, those side decks are dead flat. That's easiest to build, and strongest, but I can put some camber on them without much strength loss.