My "Blondie" Dinghy. Design by John bell

Hey guys! This is my first post!

I have taken on a dinghy stitch and glue project, and I'm doing it in my apartment! Craazy I know. I would love some feedback.

Anyway I have two videos up, please take a look!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gpa8Bgb1OGs&feature=youtu.be

Thanks in advance!


-T

 

Comment:1 You are overbuilding the boat.
2. The boat will not necessarily be more stable when it is heavier.
3. You are a big guy and you are building a very small boat. Do not expect it to work well or be safe when you, your wife, and a small motor are in the boat.
4. The thing that you might stick out the front of the boat is called a bow sprit not a boom. The jib is not a jib sheet. The rope that controls the jib is the jib sheet. and the rope that controls the main is the mainsheet.
5. you are building a boat in your apartment so it is understood that the size you can build is limited. This one is too small for what you seem to expect from it. (refer to #3)

6. keep building, you are almost there. Post more pix when you can.

 

Hey Messabout.

Thank you for posting your concerns, and helping with some of the terminology.

I think it's easy to be ambitious with the first boat. I'm sure you have built lots of boats. I'm just excited to learn the basics on a small boat, so when I build a bigger boat I won't make as many mistakes.

I'm posting videos every week, put I'll try to post pictures of the entire project when I finish.

 

Do not let my critique dissuade you from doing what you are doing. Myonly intent is to disabuse you of some of the faulty assumptions that are easy enough to embrace. .... The little boat has a limited capacity if it is to be at least reasonably safe. Use it for what it's capabilities allow. It will be a great beginning. You can build a bigger boat at some time in the future.

You should be warned that building one boat often leads to the necessity of building another one and........ another.

 

Critique = more knowledge

I'm afraid of catching the boat building bug. I'll take me time to set up a good maker space for it. It's also really hard to find materials out here, but step by step.
I've been working on this dinghy off and on for about 5 months now. I look forward to posting some sailing pictures in the future. In the meantime I'll try to lose a few pounds myself.

 

I have a client in Tokyo and he initially reported having some difficulty finding materials, until he went down to the harbor and made some friends. I'm not sure how much beer might have been involved with this exercise, but it has seemed to pay off.

Boat building in general is about problem solving and engineering on the fly. You will run into countless issues and problems that need to be solved, during the build. Some will require inventive cursing, maybe making a special tool that is just used once to fix an issue, while others might ask for inventive actuarial and procedural skills.

Lastly, you're building a boat in your apartment, no need to worry about catching the boat building bug, you're clearly already afflicted. There's no real cure other than to build more. Yes, this is a disappointing diagnosis, but reality often is unexpected and difficult to predict. Prepare your family and friends, for what's about to come and pad your wallet, as it'll be tested occasionally too.

 

Maybe you're right.

Thanks for the encouragement! I just found a company that ships Marine grade epoxy out here for a reasonable price. That was a huge victory for me!
My wife's family are fishermen so I'll just have to start asking them questions. I'm tired of going to my local hobby store and or home center to only be stared at with horror. "You're building a boat? Why not just buy one?" Alas, not everyone understands us boat building enthusiasts.

 

Most recent update. March 3rd 2017

Here you go: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ou_e_vY-_xw

I'm sure you guys could give me tons of filleting advice.

 

Don't follow all of the advice found in that video, as I see several things I wouldn't do, starting with his fillet mix. Simply put, lots of mistakes, some of which he admits to on the video. If you look at his fillets, you can see he'll make a career out of smoothing these things up, which isn't necessary if appropriate procedures are followed.

 

I came to this forum for constructive feedback on my boat project. I don't care about hearing about all my mistakes, I know I make a ton of them, I'm a beginner. I care about furthering my knowledge. So please abide by that rule, and understand this thread isn't a place to leave negative comments without thorough explanation of how you would do it. Thanks.

 

I didn't realize this was your video, so accept my apologies and we can move onto some of the issues I saw (if you'd like).

Before I get into these, log onto systemthree.com and download their free "Epoxy Book", then go to westsystem.com and download their free "user's guides". Additionally at West System's site, their boatbuilding handbook is a big reference. My site also has a modest amount of information, as well.

More than anything else, epoxy work (laminating, gluing, bonding, etc.) is mostly about procedures. With some practice and experence, you'll develop your own and this permits consistent results. Of course, there are some guidelines that can help you avoid the usual novice user issues, that all of us have had to contend with at some point. In other words, we've all "smoked a pot" of goo, in our escapades with epoxy. My last "mistake" was applying a truly fine, uniform layer of goo, over a well sanded and prepped piece of mahogany, just to realize, the nearly perfect sheen, was 2 parts resin and one part resin. Damn . . .

 

No worries, I know you come from a place of experience. I just want to learn and get better. My second fillet looks 30 times better already, so I know it's important to follow the procedure. I know I'll make tons of mistakes, but that's the beauty of boat building eh?

Thanks for the resources!

 

Id love to see her finished...fancy floating her up to my way in Kobe?

 

You could easily come see her yourself. Himeji is not too far from you.

I won't be sailing until May though. Are you working as a boat builder in Kobe? Do you have any recommendations for
where I can get boat building materials from? I've had to have all my epoxy and fittings shipped from the States via Amazon and other companies.

 

I don't get to Himeji very much, even thought it's close by.

Im a naval architect - not a builder.

Sourcing quality materials is very difficult in Japan. The ones that are here, are 99.99% Japanese and any imported stuff is even more expensive than the Japanese stuff; they don't like competition from overseas!

What materials in particular are you after though..?