Another Coquina

[Reynard38]

Must be on my end. I can't see any of the new pics I've posted using the IMG code.

[Fitz]

Right click on your picture in Photobucket.

Copy the URL from the Properties box.

Come back to WoodenBoat Forum.

In the Reply box, look for the tool showing a Tree in a Picture Frame. Click on that.

Click on "URL" Tab. Paste URL. Uncheck the box that says, "Retrieve remote file..."

[Reynard38]

Bulkhead is Epoxied in.

[Rob Hazard]

Reynard, maybe I missed an earlier post, but why does the grain on your transom run vertically? I have never seen that before.

[Reynard38]

Nope, it's horizontal. I made up the transom of 2 layers of cypress. I ran the grain the normal direction where you'll see it (wet side) and vertical on the inside where it will be hidden by the deck. I figured this will result in a more stable, stronger transom.

[Sailor]

Excellent answer. I like that. Makes sense to my none NA mind. I wonder what the NAs will say......

[Reynard38]

Got the idea from the guys that cold mold. They always run the successive layers 90 degrees to each other. Figured it made sense structurally. I laminated the blank with epoxy before cutting the transom.
As the outer layer is made up of 3 pieces of cypress I didn't want to put the splined joints between the boards under too much load. This was a good way to reinforce those joints.

[Reynard38]

I did some organizing oaf pictures in my Photobucket account which inadvertently changed the links to most of my pics here.
Heres a link to all the pics so far. When I time I'll get this sorted out.

http://i172.photobucket.com/albums/w...rd38/Coquina17

[Reynard38]

Picked the interior color. Kirby's #31 putty semi gloss. Still wet in the pic.

[Rob Hazard]

Great color!

What goes on the outside?

[Reynard38]

A dark green. Possibly Kirby's bottle green. The stem, shearstrake and transom will be finished bright.

[Sailor]

Keep plugging away at her, we'll all be ready to view the launch pics in a month or so!

[Reynard38]

A bit t of order, but Mick Herron took this after he gave me a hand taking the Coquina outside for it's amine removal wash.

[Reynard38]

Another angle

[Reynard38]

Got half the interior painted with the first coat of color. Laid out 2 of the ribs to see what it'll look like.

[Rob Hazard]

I've said it before and I'll say it again, Coquina is the prettiest boat Nat Herreshoff ever designed! I never tire of looking at her. Keep up the good work!

[John Meachen]

I've said it before and I'll say it again, Coquina is the prettiest boat Nat Herreshoff ever designed! I never tire of looking at her. Keep up the good work!

It would be quite enjoyable to browse through all of NGH's designs with a view to finding an alternative with which to continue the debate.One thing which is beyond contention is that we are witnessing the creation of a very attractive boat.Launch photographs eagerly awaited.

[Reynard38]

It would be quite enjoyable to browse through all of NGH's designs with a view to finding an alternative with which to continue the debate.One thing which is beyond contention is that we are witnessing the creation of a very attractive boat.Launch photographs eagerly awaited.

Thank you John.

I can only do so much scraping and sanding in a day. Had to make something with the old Northfield bandsaw.
Cut and tapered the centerboard.

[Reynard38]

I'm putting off the scraping and sanding of the interior even more. Built the centerboard box.



Black locust for the bed logs and head posts. All screwed with SB and epoxied. Should be plenty strong.

[Ed Armstrong]

I understand your reluctance to finishing scraping & sanding the interior. It was my least favorite part of building my Acorn. Your Coquina is looking great!

[Sailor]

That's pretty much why I haven't finished my redbird yet. It's painstaking work sanding the inside. Outside is not super fun but the inside.... It's torture.

[davebrown]

In the other eight boats I have built, the tedium of scraping and sanding is where I really fell short of what the designs might have demanded. I'm thinking of hiring a couple of high school kids to work a Saturday or two and hand sand. I'm already looking at my next two builds, and if I get too distracted by that I will wind up with a Coquina with a workboat finish.

[Rob Hazard]

The interior sanding is, indeed, a tedious step. Be thankful that she's only a 17' boat! I assume you're using a heat gun and a set of sharp scrapers, though, which will get you 80% of the way there. The hardest part for me was up near the mainmast step. Otherwise I tried different patterns of attack. Sometimes I would follow one seam the whole length of the boat, sometimes I would concentrate in one area. Sometimes I'd open a beer and just gaze at the lovely hull...
You'll get there!

[Reynard38]

I did use a heat gun and scrapers to get the the big stuff off. Now it's down to the fine finish stage. Law of diminishing returns!
I've painted 2 race cars, and a bunch of motorcycles and I'm being more picky about a wooden boat.
I have found that a 3x5 inch furniture scraper kept sharp works great at getting all the high spots in the epoxy. The primer takes care of the low spots.
The outside is easier. With the hull inverted your working down on a convex shape. However as I will be painting the outside above the waterline dark green I'll have to be even pickier about quality of finish.
Ironic that the best compliment you can get about the quality of finish of wooden boat is the question "is that fiberglass?"

[davebrown]

Dark green... I think you mentioned that before. I am thinking white waterline and below, with light grey main hull and red boostripe. Since I lost my shop and didn't know if I would acquire another on short notice, I used a standard shearstrake (I didn't mold). I will probably paint that red with a bright mahogany rub rail. I've given it some thought because I want it to look unique, but not gharish. The hull is enough--supermodels don't need makeup!

[Sailor]

They don't need clothes but we dress them up anyway! Don't take her sails away now! LOL

[Reynard38]

As long as it's an "antiquey" looking red I think that could look very nice.

[Rob Hazard]

I use standard flat furniture scrapers all the time at work, but inside a hull I prefer a paint scraper with a handle because it's easier on my achy old hands. The drill is the same, though; sharpen at the first sign of dullness.

[Reynard38]

Interior has it's first coat, and the centerboard trunk is coming along. I thought about using mahogany for the trunk cap, but decided to use it for the seats, and maybe the coaming. Found a nice straight grained section of locust for the cap that should really glow in the sun with 8 or so coats of epi on it.



Isn't bolted in yet, and I need to round off and sand the cap, but I think it'll look nice.

[Rob Hazard]

A couple things in that last photo have me curious. The first is that you appear to have tapered the top edge of your centerboard. That edge never leaves the trunk, even with the board all the way down, so there's no need for tapering there. In fact keeping it square edged would let it bear on the hull better and close the slot against water turbulence.

The other thing I noticed is that you have slotted the trunk cap only halfway forward. If you continue the slot the rest of the way forward you can then easily remove the board for maintenance by simply pulling the pin out. That can be handy if you ever find yourself using your centerboard as a "depth gauge".

Do you think you'll have her in the water this summer?

[Reynard38]

Got a little plane happy on that edge. I was planning on using some s glass and kevlar on the edges anyway, so I'll be building that top edge up. Good thing the board isn't finished bright.
As far asnthe cap goes I read a story about a swamped Coquina being very difficult to bail due to water coming in though the centerboard trunk. I wanted to make the slot smaller and make a fitted cap just in case.
I am not going to epoxy the trunk cap that you see in place. I will seal it it with 4200 and use SB screws so it can be removed should the board need to come out.

I still hope to launch her late this summer/early fall. Of course summer lasts a long time here in GA!

[Reynard38]

Had every intention of gluing in the trunk yesterday, but took the Whitehall to Carters Lake instead. Stopped for lunch on ani island and took this pic.

[Reynard38]

Rounded the edges of the trunk cap and did some finer sanding on it as well.

[Rob Hazard]

What a sweet little whitehall! Definitely a better use of the day than gluing boat parts! I took my Coquina for a sail on a local lake today. Alas, I had no camera. Not much wind, but at least I got on the water!

[Sailor]

I like it alot. When you're finished building her just swing on up here to NS and I'll take her off your hands. Gotta make room for the next build dontcha know?

[Reynard38]

There was a nice breeze on the lake the other day. I was wishing the Coquina was ready!
Took a good long look at the centerboard the other day. I will definitely reinforce the edges with glass, and Kevlar on the leading edge.
Does the board need any reinforcing where the 3/8" pin goes through? Seems like this is a high stress/wear area.

[Rob Hazard]

When I bored mine I drilled oversize first and filled the hole with thickened epoxy, then drilled it again. I used 1/2" SB rod, because that's what I had on hand. I added a strip of Garapa to the leading edge using a clothespin joint. I'm not sure if that was the best wood to use there, but it glues well and if I wear it out I'll do it again someday with Black Locust.

[Binnacle Bat]

While the pivot pin gets some wear, and needs reinforcing, the greatest forces are generated when driving to windward hard. The the windward side of the bottom of the CB truck is the fulcrum, the board below the keel is one load, and the bearing point of the upper end of the board against the trunk is the other load.

[Rob Hazard]

Agreed, Binnacle.
The pivot pin does not carry the main loads of sailing the boat. Those are absorbed mostly by the trunk and its connection to the hull. I just figured that since the pin would be carrying a good deal of the board's weight as well as the stress of hitting bottom on occasion, that it would be worth protecting against wear and water intrusion.

[Reynard38]

Glued the trunk in tonight. Used thickened epoxy and 18 SB screws. In think that should hold it!
Once this cures I can get back to the interior paint, floors and sole beams. I'll be picking up some Atlantic white cedar for the floorboards soon.
Guess I'd better order the hardware from Reineck soon. Sails too.

[Reynard38]

Still needs another coat of paint on the interior,but I laid the finished ribs in to see how things will look.

[SScoville]

Looks fantastic. What type of wood did you use for the sheer strake?

[Reynard38]

Looks fantastic. What type of wood did you use for the sheer strake?

Thanks, it's cypress. I'm trying to use as many local woods and mills as possible.

[Reynard38]

Got my Atlantic white cedar for the floorboards.

[Sailor]

Nice.

[Reynard38]

Why the heck are they called floors anyway?



They are enjoyable to make though.

[Reynard38]

I ran out of screws to attach the ribs, so I decided to cut some locust for the sole beams. Once done I thought I might as well cut the locust for the breast hook.



Got a little help from our boxer.

Once I cut out a good piece with proper grain orientation I figured what the heck, let's make a beast hook.



It was little tricky to clamp up...

[Reynard38]

Turned out nice. Didn't get the camera quite centered, but the laser, level and plumb bob confirm the mast saddle is in the correct spot.

This was a fun part to make. Now on to the last of the ribs, floors and sole beams as soon as those SB screws arrive.

[m2c1Iw]

Nice, dumb question how and why do you employ the laser.

Oh and I have severe bandsaw envy.

Cheers
Mike

[Reynard38]

I used the laser to confirm the plumb bob was centered relative tothe boat. I centered the laser and then hung the plumb bob so that the laser was centered on it from tip and along the string. This way I was confident I had the initial cut in the breast hook in the correct location.