Skyla Brianne's Forecastle Project

[Flitch]

Hey Guys,
The snow isn't falling yet in this part of Canada but the cold has forced me inside of my 40' workboat where I have been working on my forecastle or stateroom or V-berth or whatever it is that I should be calling it. I gutted out the old bunks and head and am working my way back with Western Red Cedar floors, clear VG larch on the sides and bird's eye pine cabinetry.
Check it out!
http://flickr.com/photos/kootenayman/sets/72157602329819251/

Flitch

[JimD]

That should keep you busy for a while. What part of Canada?

[Flitch]

Nelson BC (West Kootenay)

[JimD]

Let's see if we can attract a little more interest. Pictures usually do it around here:

http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b7cf00b3127cceb146208eaecb00000026100CbOGrVu4cMS

http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b7cf00b3127cceb146208caec900000026100CbOGrVu4cMS

http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b7cf00b3127cceb14620852ff000000026100CbOGrVu4cMS

http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b7cf00b3127cceb1462082aec700000026100CbOGrVu4cMS

[Flitch]

Thanks Jim... someday when I have 13,000 posts, I'll figure out how to put the pics from Flickr.com right on my posts like you do!
Flitch

PS before the colder weather, I managed to get the whole hull and all decks sanded to clean wood and about 10% coated in CPES. I replaced the deadwood on the bottom of the keel and then I ended up going inside where I am having a great time!

[N. J. Harris]

Red Cedar floors! How come? I mean, it's rot resistant and all that, but isn't it a little soft for that kind of thing?

[JimD]

Thanks Jim... someday when I have 13,000 posts, I'll figure out how to put the pics from Flickr.com right on my posts like you do!
Flitch


I'm not quite sure how to take that :D. ...to post your pics I went to your flickr account, saved the pics to my pc hard drive and then re-uploaded them to my Shutterfly account, copied and pasted them to here.

So things aren't going quite as quickly as you had at first hoped. That has a familiar ring to it. You're going to have one heck of a nice cruiser when you're done, though. :)

[jerry bark]

Flitch,

i think you have a great boat there, stick with it!

i look forward to seeing it floating again.
jerry

[BETTY-B]

What did you do with the old head? You can very easily get them working as new again. As well as get new leather flap kits.
I've tried(and thrown away) every kind of head and nothing is more satisfying than the solid bronze, always working, old school ones.

[Flitch]

N.J.
I went with the cedar floor because it is the best specie at my disposal as far as rot resitance and it sits just above the concrete in my bilge. I have scads of 3" VG larch and fir but am using that on my ceiling. I work in a sawmill and get the guys at the planer to pull me birds' eye pine from lodgepole as it develops. As for the hardness of cedar vs fir, larch etc, by the time I put my bunk in, there won't be a heck of a lot of floor space anyway.
Betty-B, I put the old head in the boat shed until I decide what to do with it... I could put it back in my engine room if I really wanted to but am thinking I can do without it... Didn't want a hastle if I ever get inspected by Fisheries and Oceans.

Flitch

[Concordia...41]

One word:

WOW!

[ron ll]

Great boat! Very similar to mine. We should talk. "Snoose" is also a double-ender, altho 37' built in 1943 on Shaw Island. A couple of years ago I dismantled the entire foc'sle (two stacked bunks, impossible to get into, less than 6' long) back to the ceiling and built a v-berth and an enclosed head compartment with integral shower. Its tight, but functions fine. Some pics (sorry no interiors) at:

www.ronlloyd.com/oddstuff/profile.jpg

See also /starbord.jpg, /narrow.jpg, /sling.jpg, /sinbad.jpg, /stern.jpg

Isn't Nelson B.C. that georgeous town built on steep hills above a lake? Was there a few years ago and loved it. (Steve Martin's "Roxanne" was filmed there I believe.) I assume you will be trucking Skyla Brianne to the saltchuck?

[MRJarret]

Hey Flitch,
Great vessel!!
Is it unusual to have bilge stringers attached to the stem?
Michael

[J. A.Tones]

Flitch - I was looking at your photos of the project and they left me wondering exactly what all you did to the hull/planking as far as caulking is concerned. Does she have cotton/oakum caulking and if so did you "tighten" it up before you applied the 5200 or is the 5200 acting as a seam filler as well as "caulking"? Just wondering as I am almost to the point of re-caulking the seams on Penta and would like more info on what you did. Sure looks great whatever your process was!!
John Tones "Penta"
Sidney, BC

[Flitch]

Hey Ron, Nice boat, your "Snoose". Would love to see some interior shots. I remember the joys of trying to get into the top bunk never mind back out... I am planning on a single bunk about yay high about 80 inches long with clear vg larch lining the interior... brass lamps and lots of shelving and drawers.
Oh and yes Roxanne was filmed here.. can't imagine a nicer place to live in the world. Oh and nope.. no more salt water for her, the Skyla Brianne will be returning to Kootenay Lake where she is very happy.
Flitch

[Flitch]

Hey John,
Interesting that you should ask about planks and seams... it generally sets off a small war on here with the purists, some of whom actually own a boat and others who want to, chanting about red lead and seam compound... then you have the guys in the other corner ranting about epoxy and poly-this and poly-that... I went with the quiet guys who slipped me private messages saying to go with your gut, your budget and what is available to you... I have two buckets of red lead and am yet to find a boat shop on the west coast which stocks interlux seam compound... I tried some gap window glazing and didn't like it... But I met enough guys who used CPES and 3M 4200 to think about it... and to date I have only tightened up a bit of my caulking, reefed and reamed the seams and tried out a few test sections. Spring will find me with a final decision and my opinion is that every lesson is a good lesson so if I make a mistake and have to redo something it will only mean I learned something.
All that being said, keep an eye on my flickr account:
http://flickr.com/photos/kootenayman/collections/72157602409081941/
and I will add the dialog as I go.
Flitch

[Flitch]

Despite the cold, 11 F (-12 C) and the snow warning, I did a full days work on the Skyla Brianne's forecastle today. Managed to line my starboard side ceiling with the most beautiful VG larch you ever did see and I put my new furnace in.
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2164/2079671312_3104c622a4.jpg?v=0

I am using up some clear WR cedar on the wall between the engine room and the V-berth.

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2065/2078883349_85fca53d5f.jpg?v=0

The stovepipe doesn't come out in the ideal spot but the alternative was to run it about 9' over and 10' up and at $45 per 22" length, I decided to live with the tripping hazard...
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2155/2079670644_6509787a51.jpg?v=0

I should have the heat on in the next week or so!

Flitch

[dirtsailor]

I had that same Dickinson on my last boat, great little stove, in fact I wished I had kept it! I had to install one of their Barometric dampers though to keep it from back drafting to much. I do see more of an issue than a trip hazard though with your location of the cap. Assuming that it is on the fore deck, you are risking taking on large amounts of water, assuming you are going to use the boat other than on the hard. Any spray you take, and heaven forbid you dip a load of green water:eek: is going to go right on in there. During the winter I had to put a bucket over mine to keep sideways rain from coming in. Another issue is that cap is gonna get really hot when the stove is in use. Something your not going to want to land on if you do trip over it. Just some thoughts.

[Flitch]

Thanks Dirtsailor,
I pondered this issue for many a night and resolved them as follows:
1. The former thought isn't as big a concern because I run her on Kootenay Lake, especially on the west arm, and it's mirror-like most of the time and even the worst of storms produces only a 12" swell so the only water I have ever encountered across the fore deck has been rain.
2. The latter thought is a big concern if I have kids on board so I resolved not to run the front Dickinson when kids come out.. I hope to get in the habit of coming and going from the cabin door on the port side and thus avoid the tripping hazard as much as possible... the alternative was running stainless steel stovepipe at $45 a 22" length all the way back to the back of the engine house and then up a good 8' or so.
I bought a barometric damper ($89) but since the pipe is only about 38" with the cap, I decided to try it without it and if I need to use it, I can install it later... I hope to have her fired up by this weekend if I can get the diesel pump installed and the 12v DC wired to it as well as the fan on the unit.
Flitch
PS Here's a pic of my Dickinson stove/oven that I will be putting in the galley.
http://flickr.com/photos/kootenayman/2087405237/in/set-72157603376674894/