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I just finished a Calendar Islands 16, and I can vouch for the quality of Clint's kits. When my build was underway (documented in this forum) he was building hull #1 of the 18 in his shop. It's a...

Finally, a weather window. I was able to sail Helga B for about 90 minutes before the wind died. Thunderstorm later in the day kept me from getting out later.

A few small issues to sort out...

She's all set for launch again. The repair work was less involved then I thought. Just some sanding and paint after clearing out the trunk.

Next several days look very unsettled, I'm...

G10 needs to be painted... that caught my eye. On my CIY16 I have the G10 posted but left them unpainted. Will it deteriorate from UV?

A pic from the first (non)sail...er...row, just to prove she floats!
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First lake trial today... the rowing went great, she really cruises. 9'2" oars are just perfect. They fit in the boat well and are very easy to row. Longer is not needed.

I had to use what...

Well the origin of the missing lacing cord ends up being covid related. Because I ordered my sails from Clint during the pandemic, he was unable to get his usual sail maker (RSS) to make and ship...

No worries! I need to do some other "shopping" there too!

A bit of a setback... when going through my ropes I discovered that I have no lacing cord to lace the sails. Day trip to Hamilton Marine today to remedy. Elsa rain coming tomorrow to further delay...

That piece of noodle is barely sitting on the end of the boomkin. It makes it look about 18"longer than it really is.

After our delayed independence day picnic, I recruited several friends of strong body to assist in carrying Helga B out so that I may do final fitting of mast steps and partners. After securing her...

Good point! (But I would still like to be better at finish coats of varnish! )

Thanks Jeff, Assuming this lettering won't be durable, I'll re-letter with paint next year using your process.

Varnish. I'm starting to hate the stuff, at least on (near) vertical surfaces. I think I've varnished the transom interior with at least 8 coats, due to finish issues such as runs, sags, etc. I'm...

An excellent suggestion! And Thank You!

Sadly, no, but close! Update following...

Yes, it's vinyl. My wife made these with her cricut machine using Outdoor vinyl lettering. We're not sure how durable it will be, and I tested vanishing over it, but it didn't adhere. ...

After about 50 name flips from my original ideas I've settled on a name for her:

https://photos.smugmug.com/Calendar-island-yawl-boat-build/i-5wFfM6D/0/7cc9ef2e/XL/IMG_20210625_134131-XL.jpg
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Thank you. Interior wood will stay bright, at least for this season. I hate to mess with success.

Boat (just) fits through the doors with about 3" to spare without flipping on its side. The...

my stongback was far enough off the floor that I could easily slide my robust body under it. Even with that squeeze out cleaning was challenging at times, especially in the bow and at the base of...

There are a few things I learned about using the satin additive that are, in retrospect, common sense. But if you don't plan ahead (I didn't) you can get caught in some interesting challenges. ...

Looking good Dale. Time for the strongback work!

The challenges associated with posting when off the grid are slowly being reduced. We have a new cellular wifi system with a much better and more affordable data plan.

Since the last update...

Dale: It feels so good to be at the end of the process, as you move along and things come together it becomes surreal. I need to catch up with your thread, will do so soon.

After all of the prep work plus organizing the work area, putting tools and supplies away, etc etc. I moved on to the first coat of interior EZP and then was able to apply 3 coats of varnish to the...

Camp: Open
Opening Chores: Complete
CIY16: Off the trailer, on the cradles and ready for finishing. Taping off the interior is complete along with the exterior planks below the sheer.

It's...

Thank you Dale!

Big day today. I'm packing up the tools and supplies to begin prep for the trek up to Maine. We plan to be up there sometime around May 20th, which means I'll be back at finishing the CIY by the...

What system are you using? For my CIY16 mast, I used a little more than a half quart of resin and half that much hardener using System 3. I used slow hardener as weather was warm and I needed the...

So onward it is.

With my newfound "expertise" :arg in lacing leather in hand, I progressed to a couple of other smaller projects:

First, some protection for the mizzen where it passes...

One thought I had was that if you have some flexibility to move/position the keel rollers, you could position the rollers directly under bulkheads where the roller won't impinge on the hull.
...

Dale,

The link I included did specify to wet the leather first, but the duckworks instructions didn't - so I went with the DW recommendation. I think when I do the spar I will definitely wet...

Responses in line above.

Yes this is what I did (and documented in my thread). Although I didn't go 1/2" thick on the pad... rather I filed down the plug as far as possible to minimize the size of the pad. Once you epoxy...

I used epoxy, and I'm certain the oar joints are solid.

I have a can sitting on the shelf waiting for it to be warm enough to apply to my interior surfaces. If it truly does make a harder finished surface I may apply another coat to the boat exterior as...

Now where did we leave off? Oh yes, oars. After a few snowstorms, a rash of honey-dos, some audio equipment repair and the like, I'm back, and the oars are complete.

There are a few things that...

Bookmarked this thread - thanks much Tom for the questions and for everyone else for their comments, experience and generous offerings.

As a person with "tens of hours in a sailboat" ;) that is...

Hey Bernie. A little learning curve with the draw knife, but it sure made quick work of the preliminary shaping. As I got better I was able to do some of the finer cutting as well.

I did notice...

Hey Dale.

You will love the CIY 16 build experience. I can't say enough good things about the completeness of Clint's kits, and his support is totally awesome. As a first time builder I...

Well these oars are certainly getting finished at a snail's pace...

But hey, it's winter, so I'm all about taking my time.

Next I finished shaping the second oar shaft.
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Continuing with the shaft work, I completed the first blade with primary shaping. I'm really happy with the result. Photos show the unshaped second oar for comparison.
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Onward.

The next task I tackled was to prepare the sapele paddle blade ends. I cut tongues on the ends of the blades, and a corresponding groove into my sapele pieces, then epoxied them onto the...

Not really. I went off some shapes and dimensions I found on the internet, sort of melded together into what you see. The shaft shape and dimension came from RichW's excellent thread here on making...

Of course! Duh. That was a brain fart.

The work plods on.

I removed the clamps today to start working on the oar blades. I spent all day, and got 1 blade to be the general shape I intend to finish with. I'm hoping blade 2 is a...

Thank you Ken! Yes PANIC had really set in. Of course a littany of four letter gems came spewing out when I realized what I had done. Fortunately the spousal unit was not within earshot.

I'm...

David,

I share your motivation issues, I think weather, short days, Covid nonsense all conspire to keep us from moving forward. I'm wrestling with oar making right now, and it takes a lot to get...

PANIC!!!!

Before we get to that, I was able to get a first pass on the grips completed. They are within .02" dimensionally, but still need a bit more sanding to feel "round". Close right now...

Another closer look at the blade blanks.

https://photos.smugmug.com/Calendar-island-yawl-boat-build/i-qmnswN7/0/1ffb772a/X2/IMG_20201228_160427-X2.jpg

A quick look at the scarf after cleanup as...