Buccaneer 24 Builders Forum

It's time to put the inner stay chainplate reinforcements on my cabin sides and I'm not sure of the angle they need to be. The plans don't say. does anyone have a buc they could look at to tell me the angle? Also the angle of the outboard chainplates on the amas needs to be determined. I'd like to have them such that it would be a straight pull and not try to twist the chainplates.

 

Freddy, is there a reason you can't lay a protractor on the plans to get the angles ?

 

Freddy, R.R. hit it.
Protractor and page 5 of the plans.

 

Just wasn't sure if the angles on the plans were accurate or not. Protractor it is.

 

Well, a huge storm came through this morning with 80mph winds and tossed my amas around a bit. So looks like I've got some rework to do on them. I've got cracks where the sides meet the deck, so I'm thinking I'm going to round them off more so hopefully not having as sharp of an angle will give them more strength and make them less likely to crack at that joint. Wouldn't a larger radius be stronger? Opinions?

 

Freddy, the larger your radius the more you eat into the stringers and weaken the edge however there are ways to fix that. If you haven't got the Gougeon book download it for free here.

http://www.westsystem.com/ss/assets/HowTo-Publications/GougeonBook 061205.pdf

Read chapter 24 on hard chine construction and look at the various chine treatments on page 284 top right. As a variation on the fibreglass tape method you could put on a largish radius and overlap the side and deck glass within the radius, however my inclination is to stick to the plans !

 

Just a note: Torturing the plywood for the roof is a *****.

 

This is probably a dumb question, as most of mine lately have been. I have never owned a boat with a sliding hatch, so I was wondering if the rails are supposed to be straight, or should they followmthe contour of the roof. On the buc three is a curve front to back. You buc owners out there, how is yours done?

 

If the rails are straight the hatch has to be straight, if the rails follow the curve (evenly) then so does the hatch. All curves must maintain the same radius it can't tighten or flatten out or it will bind. Keeping both straight is easiest. But if you want the lowest possible profile then follow the curve.

 

Freddy, go and look at a few trailer sailors to get different ideas on how to go about it, I have manufactures in my area so I would look at buying a set of mouldings to morph in but I'm guessing in Kansas you may not have that option but looking at some existing boats may give you some direction.

 

hatch slides

All the B-24s I have seen, and most wooden boats, use straight hatch/slides, as it is by far the easiest. On my 33, the forward ends are built up enough to keep the track straight. I have seen some fiberglass boats built with curved tracks and hatches, but they usually had a VERY loose fit to make it work. Many designs of hatches leak "some", in some position of heel and or pitch, and most dump some water in the cabin when they are slid open while wet. I would try to copy a well proven design and consider using a set of "production" tracks and maybe the whole hatch assembly. A fiberglass hatch will probably be heavier than a wooden one you can build, but ANY water that gets below in a small cabin is a problem. Various designs of hoods, covers and dodgers all help to keep the elements out.
PS: the "stock", well executed design on my 33 leaks! Just saying
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Can someone post a good clear picture of the shape of the bottom of the ama's for me?
More of a completed upside down ama would be perfect.

 

Find posts in this thread by lgenova, there are frame photos and float photos though not upside down.

 

Another dumb question. I mocked up the jib track and winch placement, and it seems that if I put the jib track down low on the side of the cabin, that the jib sheet, having to wrap around the inboard side of the drum, will rub the cabin side. The starboard side, wrapping around the outside will not. Am I doing something wrong? Also, I was contemplating mounting the winches on the cabin top. It seems like there it wouod be harder to singlehand, because of having to let go of the tiller to adjust jib sheets. Advice, please.

 

Bottoms and winches

tooclose, this is a stock float.
Fred, winches are often mounted at different angles, although it is not usually very noticeable. The genoa winches on my 33 are tilted just enough to keep the leads fair. Sometimes it works better to add a foot block to turn the sheet, more production boats use foot blocks but done correctly angling the winches works great with less friction. I make angled pads by mounting a tilted plastic container and filling it part way up with a thickened epoxy mix. Whipped cream containers are about the right size for small winches, Quick, light and easy, and they come out so smooth that they hardly need sanding. The whipped cream is pretty tasty too
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