New boat! And a few projects to go with.

[Michael Beckman]

Well, I just purchased James McMullen's Umiak Angyapik. I have a few pictures here (http://picasaweb.google.com/Stuparman/Angyapik?authkey=NIUd7-F26Uc#). I don't have a lot to do, so I hope to be on the water within a month or so. Its still pretty cold anyway, so no need to rush on that end.

I'm looking for some advice on how I can do these projects on a budget. I plan to start talking to a few friends in the area to see if I can get any lumber for a low cost. Heres a list of things to do, in no particular order:


Build two oars. Looking for advice on what I should use for lumber, and where to buy it in either Jefferson or Kitsap counties.
Replace oarlock mount with one designed for thole pins, turn thole pins on lathe. I've got a small stash of various hardwoods available for this, hopefully enough locust to do the job, if not, plenty of purple heart.
Build a yard and boom for the lugsail. Potentially use spruce poles I cut down last spring, if not, same deal as the oars.
Add side benchs, probably out of fir? Not sure where to get that either.

So, in summary, where can I find suitable lumber that doesn't cost much? After that, the hunt begins for safety gear. I really need to find another job, so I can afford to cruise all summer.

Oh, and I need to paint my registration numbers on. This is mostly a question for James. What was the boat painted with, and what should I use to paint onto it?

I'll be sure to update when I get some projects going. And I'll probably have plenty of questions along the way.

-Michael

[David G]

Mr. Beckman,

What a lovely denouement to your quest. I'm sure you'll get lots of lovely hours of use with this nifty boat. Congratulations!


Mr. McMullen,

A blessing on your house.


"Riches may enable us to confer favors, but to confer them with propriety and grace requires a something that riches cannot give" -- Charles Caleb Colton

[TimH]

send Bob Smalser an email. He isnt far.

[Yeadon]

Congratulations, Michael. Great boat. See you at the show in Port Townsend next fall.

There's an umiak down at CWB. They pretty much used dimensional lumber for the whole thing. Cheap 2x4s tied together. What about using some 2x6s cut to shape for your side benches?

[BETTY-B]

Right on, Michael!

The new lumber yard on the right on the way out of PT had some fir and nice spruce a few months back at some real reasonable prices. You might get lucky finding some planking shorts of larch around Thompsons for your benches at real reasonable rates as well.

And check the beach! I just talked to a friend as he was going through Cattle Pass a few hours ago. He had just done the run from Port Hadlock. Trees in the water everywhere! The floods have washed an awful lot of trees down the rivers. I wsih I had BETTY going right now, I'd like to get some of those myself.

It'll be sweet to see you out there, Man! Good job...

DAN

[Michael Beckman]

New lumber yard? Can't say I know where that is. In the immediate area I know of Hadlock Building Supply, Carls, and Edensaw. I'll have to pay attention next time I'm driving to PT. Unusual for a new business to pop up.

[James McMullen]

Glad she's in good hands, Michael. As far as applying hull numbers to the skin, I think it would be very much in keeping with the creative yet ever so practical spirit of the Yupik Eskimos who invented her type to simply draw them on and color them in with a sharpie marker. Mmmmmm. . . .flexible!

[glennmajestic]

try used lumber yards we have a good one on vancouver island called demexx tha has lots of old but very inexpensive materials you may have something like that down there!

[Yeadon]

If you make it down to Seattle, go take a look at Second Use Building Materials (http://www.seconduse.com/) in South Seattle. There's always an interesting selection of salvaged building materials. For instance, a while back, they had all the old wooden bleacher benches from Roosevelt High School. I believe they were fir, and once ran through a planer would've been perfect.

You'll also find salvaged structural beams. And there's lots of various sticks of oak, fir, cedar, hemlock, etc.

Here's a search of their inventory. (http://www.seconduse.com/inventory/list.php?cPath=72)

[JimD]

Classy little boat :)

http://lh4.ggpht.com/_4gPfG4jYHQk/SWQnTWDC_3I/AAAAAAAAJS8/RUwKmjfVyDE/s512/P1060978.JPG

[Michael Beckman]

Well, I've got oars and spars lined up, so I'm set there. Looks like all I need to do now is start finding safety gear. Which, unfortunately, can seldom be found in the forest..

In other news, I've started helping to build a boat with a high school group locally. The final (4th) plywood plank was put on yesterday, so its on to the interior soon. I'll post pictures and more information on that in a new thread next week.

I also helped put the schooner Adventuress back in the water today, though I forgot my camera.. Oh well, plenty of pictures of her outta the water already.

So yeah, my life has suddenly become all nautical again.

[Plumbtex]

WOW,
Michael, I'm both happy for and envious of, you:
Young and unencumbered with a great boat in one of the most beautiful spots in the country, plus a whole world of people rooting for you... Sweet.
Squeeze every bit of joy from this time and take (and post) lots of pictures.
I hope that this is just the opening salvo in a barrage of good fortune for you, and vicariously, the rest of the forum.

PS what kind of gear are you looking for?

[Michael Beckman]

I'll throw together a quick list of stuff required by law which I don't yet have.



One Type IV (throwable) USCG–approved PFD
Nav lights.. preferably a green/red combo and a white. Looking at the law though, I only technically need one white light as I'm under 23'
A blowable horn.
Flares/smoke signals

So not a lot technically required. Onto the stuff that I will be looking for after the legal stuff is acquired.



Handheld VHF
Hand bearing compass
A chart of the San Juans. I might go pick up one of those nifty waterproof ones at the kayaking shop.
Radar reflector
Eventually I hope to buy a few exposure suits for longer trips(Alaska would be fun..)


But basically I'll get the minimum stuff for now, I'll be needing most of my money for foodstuffs. Luckily I already have all the needed camping/cooking gear. If anyone has anything lying around, shoot me a PM and we can talk payment and whatnot. I don't have a very thick wallet at the moment though, so I may have to hold off for a month or two while I find work.

Also, thanks to everyone for your kind words. It continues to amaze me how kind the members of this community are. Well, as long as we stay out of the bilge.. ;)

-Michael

[BETTY-B]

Unless the laws have changed, I dont believe you need anything but PFDs, Michael. Unless you are out at night...

I've got an extra flare gun kit around somewhere if you want it.

Hmmm..... Maybe I'm wrong. I have a bunch of this stuff for you though. I'll look around.

[C. Ross]

Congratulations Michael! That boat has found the right new owner. What's your first destination?

[Woxbox]

Wow -- I see a hundred adventures just waiting to happen.

[Michael Beckman]

Unless the laws have changed, I dont believe you need anything but PFDs, Michael. Unless you are out at night...

I've got an extra flare gun kit around somewhere if you want it.

Hmmm..... Maybe I'm wrong. I have a bunch of this stuff for you though. I'll look around.

http://www.boat-ed.com/wa/handbook/chcklst.htm

I guess I'd fit under human powered, so I would need PFDs, horn, distress signals, and a lantern/flashlight to get by on the minimum. On the other hand, it doesn't hurt to have a full set of safety gear on an extended voyage.

Thats got the full list of stuff. I plan on going to Canada, so I want to make sure I don't have any trouble anywhere. The flare gun kit sounds great. Are you around PT at all anymore, or fully back to Seattle?

[Michael Beckman]

Congratulations Michael! That boat has found the right new owner. What's your first destination?

Probably Marrowstone Island for the first overnight. Theres a nice little water access only state park on the south end of the island. After that, I'm not sure yet. I'm hoping to tag along with the longboat Townshend for a week in May, not sure where they're headed yet. I also hope to go to the Pacific Challenge, which is a big longboat competition/gathering. That'll be in Anacortes this year, so perhaps a trip up the inside of Whidbey would be apropriate.

How far I go depends on how much food I can afford. So hopefully I can find another job soon.

-Michael

[BETTY-B]

I'm in Seattle right now, but planning on getting there soon as possible.

There's two throwable PFDs under the console in my skiff you can go grab anytime. I have plenty of those around.

Like most people here, I have tons of boat stuff all over the place. Things I'm pretty sure I have for you, but need to verify:

Handheld air horn.
San Juan charts.
A flare gun kit.

Anybody else have anything? I would be glad to transport stuff from Seattle if anyone from there has anything.

[Michael Beckman]

Oh, I just remembered another thing I'm missing. Fenders! Though I hope to avoid docks for the most part, 2-3 fenders should keep the boat safe there. James was telling me that one large fender is useful for hauling the boat up the beach also, so I'm on the look out for one of those also. I need to head into PT to check the marine exchange for that sorta stuff soon.

Dan, that sounds excellent. I'll definitely owe you a favor or five. Perhaps a sail this summer? It would be fun to organize a rendezvous sometime this summer. Betty-B would make a good mothership for the small boaters around.

[BETTY-B]

it's no sweat, Michael.

Ahhhh....summer. I wish a plan like that was happening in the morning.

[adampet]

Micheal,
look into a set of the flashlight like, clamp on Nav lights that they sell for inflatables. I've got a set for the various human powered craft I own. They are cheap. Sort of like this.
http://store.hamiltonmarine.com/prodimg/AQS-23100.JPG

Adam

[Michael Beckman]

Yep, thats the style.

Project for today is setting my truck up for towing.

[Yeadon]

That's a good looking light. I use a kayak light tied to a halyard that you can run up and down the mast. Gives a nice bright beacon up top of the sail. I also carry a flashlight to illuminate the sail.

http://media.rei.com/media/212955.jpg
(I take the suction cup off to run it up the mast.)

[Michael Beckman]

The suction cup is so you can carry them on your forehead, freeing hands for other items.

[paladin]

Any second use lumber you find like stair tread stock is high quality fir, turn it on the flat side and slice it off with a saw, then bend it slightly with a gap between the pieces for your benches. It reduces weight, won't hold water. I have spruce oars but they are too long to ship I think. Radar reflector is easy, make one...cut strips of aluminum foil about 1/8th inch wide, cut pieces 1.5 inches and 3 inches long, like lotsa Christmas tree tinsel, put it in a quart plastic soda bottle, all you can randomly stuff in but not compressed, stick on the lid and hang it to the mast with a string.....works better than the expensive ones.
On the other stuff, when you have a list, send it to me by private mail and I'll check and see what's left. I know I just shipped my last radio, although I may have a slightly used small handheld model VHF.....

late post.....If you are going to make or refinish a pair of oars, I have an unopened container of CPES and a small quantity of MAS low viscosity epoxy. You can use it to coat the aors, then cover the CPES with the low viscosity epoxy, then UV varnish. I may even have a small can of Captains varnish that will fit in the box......and a surform plane if you need it...just yell and I'll ship it....will need a snail mail address....

[Michael Beckman]

Thanks for the advice and offer. That solves the radar reflector easily enough. I should be set as far as oars and finish goes, I have all the ingredients for a good boat sauce. I need to find my gear list, it doesn't seem to be in the boat stuff file.

The more I think about it, the more I realize I'm very close to having everything needed. If all continues at this rate I should be rowing around Mystery Bay by February.

[paladin]

Michael....do you have a wet suit and booties.....how tall are you?

[Michael Beckman]

Yep, got a wetsuit and boots a few years ago. Hopefully I won't be doing much capsizing though. I'm 5'8" and pretty skinny.

[Yeadon]

Radar reflector is easy, make one...cut strips of aluminum foil about 1/8th inch wide, cut pieces 1.5 inches and 3 inches long, like lotsa Christmas tree tinsel, put it in a quart plastic soda bottle, all you can randomly stuff in but not compressed, stick on the lid and hang it to the mast with a string.....works better than the expensive ones.


Great tip. I'm guessing you've used this setup before, and had feedback that it was working?

Do you think that a mast that's only 12 feet or so will be able to lift that reflector up high enough to really be effective?

[Michael Beckman]

I've contacted traffic control while out in the fog with a radar reflector up, and they saw us clearly. I'll have to do the same with this type sometime.

[Yeadon]

The idea is just so simple it might work. I've worried about this, but then, I'm a worrier of things like this.

[Michael Beckman]

Just sail in front of a container ship, and hail them on VHF.

"Hey, can you see me?"



I was going to put a sound effect here, but I'm not sure what the sound of a ship crushing a pea pod would be.

Of course.. you could test those new handles out at the same time.

[Yeadon]

"Dammit. Gurgle gurgle."

[Captain Intrepid]

You should be able to knock up a radar reflector in no time with a pair of aviation shears, some sheet aluminum and some pop rivets, or if you'd prefer, wood covered with aluminum foil. The pop bottle and aluminum foil method very well could work, but I'd rather have something I knew the radar response coverage for.

[Michael Beckman]

Well, I'm set up for trailering now, and should be working on oars soon. Getting close to time to break out the camera and add something of interest to this thread.

[Yeadon]

Now we're getting somewhere.

Where do you think you'll launch?

[Michael Beckman]

First time? Mystery Bay, Marrowstone Island. Nice and protected.. not too deep, most directions lead to shore. Lots of moored boats to climb onto if the worst should happen. My favorite place for trial and error.

After that, I'll probably launch in PT, or I'll try to brave the sand dune(the port calls it a boat ramp) in Port Hadlock. Unlikely to trailer much farther than that. Rowing/sailing is more fun, and I have the time.

[Yeadon]

Mystery Bay is a great place for a first dip. All roads lead to land.

Discovery Bay is probably my favorite spot up there. You put in at Gardiner, pound against the surf out toward Protection Island and the Straight, then scream back to shore.

How heavy is your boat?

[Michael Beckman]

Light. 300-350 pounds. 3-4 people make lifting it easy.

I thought you didn't leave city limits?

[Yeadon]

Not without the boat hooked up to the truck.

[Michael Beckman]

Ah, good plan.

Lake Union was too crazy for my tastes. Never been on Washington though.

[bamamick]

Silly question from someone who has never seen such a boat: what do you steer it with when sailing?

My eyes aren't good and I don't have my glasses here, but I don't see anything to support a rudder unless it's a steering oar kind of thing. Neat boat, though. Really interesting construction. Hearty congratulations, Michael. And of course, you live in the perfect place for such a thing, though I agree it seems to me that Lake Union would get kind of hairy come nice weather.

Mickey Lake

[Michael Beckman]

Silly question from someone who has never seen such a boat: what do you steer it with when sailing?

My eyes aren't good and I don't have my glasses here, but I don't see anything to support a rudder unless it's a steering oar kind of thing. Neat boat, though. Really interesting construction. Hearty congratulations, Michael. And of course, you live in the perfect place for such a thing, though I agree it seems to me that Lake Union would get kind of hairy come nice weather.

Mickey Lake

Regular rudder. Theres two eyebolts on the stern filled with epoxy then drilled out to accept the rudder. Push pull steering, or a normal tiller.