Building the CoPogy 18

[AJZimm]

Looks great Alex! I still have to catch up on my mowing now that it's dry, but then I can play with the boats again a bit. What did you use to get your varnish into the StopLoss Bags? I just got some, too.

I am using the stop loss bags now too, what a great idea. They come with a rubber funnel Hugh, it fits over a quart can and onto the bag. After filling let the varnish on the funnel dry and peel it off.

Edit: From Duckworks they came with the funnel, maybe now you have to order it separately: https://duckworks.com/stop-loss-bags/

A heads up to anyone using StopLoss bags: Epiphanes varnish comes in a can that's slightly smaller diameter than most quart cans. The funnel can slip off and that can result in a real mess. Yeah, it happened to me. So be careful when "pumping' the funnel to facilitate transfer. A large hose clamp comes in handy.

Jeff

The bags I bought, from Lee Valley Tools, did not automatically come with a funnel but do have a short length of tube that fits over the opening of the bag. I bought a $3 plastic funnel at the Home Depot paint department with a tip small enough to fit into the tube. Worked well with no leaks.

I cleaned the funnel with paint thinner. Never occurred to me to let the varnish dry and peel it off, although the funnel I have might be too stiff for that.

[AJZimm]

Yeah, you really get somethere.
I like those big windows at the cabin.
Cheers
Max

Thanks Max. I had been following your build with great interest. I picked up several tips from you but I don't aspire to your wonderful level of craftsmanship and finish - I'm too impatient. Mine will look more like a work boat. I have been telling people it is a 5.5 metre boat - 5.5 metres long and it will look good from 5.5 metres away.

I agree about the windows. I knew from the plans they would add light, but once the pilothouse roof went on and I sat inside, I got a very visceral sense of how much light and view there will be. On a dull rainy day, it will not feel claustrophobic to be down below.

[IanMilne]

Great progress, Alex!
Those StopLoss bags look like a good idea, to stop the varnish turning to jelly! I haven't come across them here.
Ian

[AJZimm]

Great progress, Alex!
Those StopLoss bags look like a good idea, to stop the varnish turning to jelly! I haven't come across them here.
Ian

Thanks Ian.

I am also using them for small cans of enamel paint, too, and they seem to work just as well.

[AJZimm]

Been neglecting to post updates as the boat nears completion, or at least as completion is in sight on the horizon. I find I haven’t taken as many pictures of the progress, but here are a few of the rudder construction from a few days ago.

First shaping of the rudder blade to foil profile:


Fairing epoxy applied to deal with all the little tear-outs and imperfections:


Epoxy coated underneath (not shown), primer applied and then sanded:


Paint applied to the inside of the rudder cheeks and tiller dado cut-out, before I glue them together:

[AJZimm]

More progress pictures:

I incorporated a grab rail into the main hatch runners in order to leave room for the solar PV panels. The wiring for the panels will enter the forward face of the pilothouse, tucked up underneath the overhang, so it won’t be too intrusively visible, I hope, as well as protected from direct rain and spray.


I made a Maurice Griffiths-style double forward hatch coaming. Perhaps overkill for a boat that will only see coastal cruising, but I don’t want it to leak.


Not attached yet, but this portlight will be installed in the forward hatch cover to provide some light up there. Kind of heavy but very shippy looking:


Rudder blade with 2 coats of paint:

[jpatrick]

It's all looking very nice, Alex. I continue to be impressed with your well thought out solutions.

Jeff

[AJZimm]

It's all looking very nice, Alex. I continue to be impressed with your well thought out solutions.

Jeff

Thanks Jeff.

I am a little concerned with the visual impact of the height of that grab rail above the hatch runners, but I think if I paint the lower, runner part the same colour as the roof and finish the rail part with Deks Olje, it won't appear so tall. Also, the solar panels will distract the eye somewhat, I hope.

[Hugh MacD]

Alex, Having frequently seen 3-6' chop in the Straits I don't think your hatch design is overkill by any means. I'd suspect when things get that ugly you'll be ducking in to a nice hidey-hole, but when caught out it'll keep your bunk dry for when you do make that shelter and are ready for some rest

[stromborg]

I built an MG-style hatch too, it isn't very often that Marianita gets water (spray really) over the bow but the hatch works well keeping out rain while letting in air. The only real downside is the "gutter" is a dirt magnet.

[IanMilne]

Ditto for Stromborg's. It's a good hatch.
Ian

[AJZimm]

Alex, Having frequently seen 3-6' chop in the Straits I don't think your hatch design is overkill by any means. I'd suspect when things get that ugly you'll be ducking in to a nice hidey-hole, but when caught out it'll keep your bunk dry for when you do make that shelter and are ready for some rest

Good point, Hugh.

My judgment of when to go and when to stay is far from perfect, and of course sometimes conditions do change quickly without adequate warning from the weather gurus. .

[AJZimm]

I built an MG-style hatch too, it isn't very often that Marianita gets water (spray really) over the bow but the hatch works well keeping out rain while letting in air. The only real downside is the "gutter" is a dirt magnet.

Ditto for Stromborg's. It's a good hatch.
Ian

Thanks for the confirmation, guys. Good tip on paying attention to keeping the gutter clean. If it won't drain because it is clogged, that kind of defeats the purpose.

[AJZimm]

Sometimes you have to get creative on how to do a particular task. In this case, I puzzled for quite a while as to how to clamp down the toe rail that I wanted to glue to the deck edge. The deck of this stitch and glue boat is fairly thin, only 6mm (1/4”) ply, not really enough to hold screws without backers. I didn’t really want to add backing the whole length of the deck, as I would have the same clamping issue, but on the inside, and of course screws would mean that many more penetrations through the deck.

I eventually came up with this scheme, which worked well. I made a bunch of wood blocks with cut-outs the same width and height as the toe rail and temporarily glued them down with hot-melt glue. The surfaces next to the rail are covering in plastic packing tape to keep the epoxy from sticking. As the deck has some vertical curvature fore and aft as well as the horizontal curvature, the blocks held them down as well as along to the deck edge.




In a few places I needed very thin wedges and weights to ensure the rails were tight to the deck. I also needed a horizontal wedge in one place to ensure the rail followed the deck. Should have made one more block for that spot.

The blocks come off easily with a sharp sideways whack with a hammer, leaving the glue and a bit of wood behind. The heat gun and scraper then makes short work of the glue.

The actual toe rail wood is leftover D. Fir battens I had made up for lining off planks on a previous build. They turned out to be close enough to what I had in mind for dimensions that I used them as-is. Just sanded them and eased the edges.

[WI-Tom]

Alex,

I'm not commenting much here, but I'm following along with great interest. Thanks again for posting. Looks like it's going to be a neat neat boat.

Tom

[Dave Lesser]

Looks great, Alex. Innovative as always. Those handrails are gonna be your best friends.

Dave

[AJZimm]

Alex,

I'm not commenting much here, but I'm following along with great interest. Thanks again for posting. Looks like it's going to be a neat neat boat.

Tom

I hope so, Tom.

Looks great, Alex. Innovative as always. Those handrails are gonna be your best friends.

Dave

That's what I figured, Dave, especially as I have decided to belay the halyards at the mast, at least for now, which means I have to go forward of the pilothouse to raise, lower and reef the main.


In other news, I just learned that the boat has been accepted to take part in the Port Townsend Wooden Boat Festival in September. For anyone that will be there, you will be able to see the boat afloat on the dock then. I'll also be making a presentation on the Sunday morning.

[Hugh MacD]

Wish we could be at PT this year, but it's not in the cards. Too much happening and it's all hinging on finishing this:
20220722_075936[1].jpg

[Bruce Bateau]

I look forward to seeing you and the boat there. I'm also doing a Saturday morning storytelling show on the adventure stage. Do stop by.

[AJZimm]

Wish we could be at PT this year, but it's not in the cards. Too much happening and it's all hinging on finishing this:
20220722_075936[1].jpg

Maybe next year.

Funny looking boat, Hugh. Not very hydrodynamic and portholes are too big, but I see it has concrete ballast.

[AJZimm]

I look forward to seeing you and the boat there. I'm also doing a Saturday morning storytelling show on the adventure stage. Do stop by.

Will definitely come to hear your presentation and say hello and catch up.

[AJZimm]

I am always caught off guard by how much time the final painting of the boat takes. The weather these last few days has been ideal for that work, cool-ish in the mornings so the paint goes on well and hot later on so it dries and hardens quickly. I have somewhat paused the fabrication and installation of the last few bits to focus on painting.

Here is the current state of progress on the painting. The top strake of the hull is done, as is the raised topside strake. Pilothouse roof is done, although the sides of the PH will likely need another coat. Transom needs another coat, too. Not shown are rudder and rudderhead, which are also done. Deck still to do, obviously. After that, the toe rail and cockpit coamings will be painted a sort-of wood looking colour.

[WI-Tom]

Looks like a boat!

Tom

[AJZimm]

Looks like a boat!

Tom

Shocking, ain't it!

[Mike.Higgins.94301]

Looking forward to seeing you and your elegant boat in Port Townsend. Will she arrive on her own bottom?

[Woxbox]

She looks great.

[timo4352]

The paint really starts to show the finished product.

[rgthom]

Wonderful! She looks like a big 18' boat now outside the garage. I love the Tad Roberts pilothouse, it is going to be comfy in there out of the weather.

-Rick

[WI-Tom]

Wonderful! She looks like a big 18' boat now outside the garage. I love the Tad Roberts pilothouse, it is going to be comfy in there out of the weather.

-Rick

Depends on how many bookshelves Alex is planning to install!

Tom

[AJZimm]

Looking forward to seeing you and your elegant boat in Port Townsend. Will she arrive on her own bottom?

That's the plan, Mike. Just now looking into the requirements for entry of pleasure boats into the US for cruising. It's been a very long time since I've skippered a boat entering US waters (pre-internet in fact) and I'm trying to get up to speed. My boat is properly registered in Canada and I've downloaded the CBP Roam app and filled in my information. Now it appears that I report my arrival in the app when I get to US waters and apply for a cruising permit at the same time.

[AJZimm]

She looks great.

Thanks Dave!

The paint really starts to show the finished product.

It does. I had visualized it pretty well, but seeing the actual paint really does make it seem more real.

Wonderful! She looks like a big 18' boat now outside the garage. I love the Tad Roberts pilothouse, it is going to be comfy in there out of the weather.

-Rick

Thanks Rick. Funny you should mention how it looks like a bigger boat. When I picked up the sails from the sailmaker, he told me that the young guy he had assigned the work to came to him a couple of times to check that the dimensions on the drawing were correct, because he kept thinking it was a bigger boat than it is.

Depends on how many bookshelves Alex is planning to install!

Tom

Tom, I have in fact started to think about some kind of shelf arrangement for chart and guide book storage. The trick will be to avoid loading up the boat with as much as it would actually be able to carry. There is a lot of interior volume for a boat this long. I could easily imagine chucking everything in, to the point where the boat would be down on her designed waterline a few inches. Which is why I have bought only a folding plastic kitchen sink.

[Dave Lesser]

It's been a very long time since I've skippered a boat entering US waters.

Happy to supply a character reference for what that's worth.

The boat looks terrific!

[AJZimm]

Happy to supply a character reference for what that's worth.

The boat looks terrific!

Thanks Dave! The paint job may not withstand really close scrutiny, but the story I tell myself is that this boat has work boat heritage, therefore yacht-level finishes are not appropriate.

Didn't see anywhere that US CBP pays any attention to character references, but if they do, I'll call on you for sure!

[stromborg]

There is a Customs Office out on Point Hudson if they want more than notification from an app. I would think there is a bit of traffic coming in from Victoria...but even as a natural-born citizen of this country I always feel a bit nervous coming home from abroad.

That is turning into a very handsome boat, looking forward to seeing her in September.

[Andrew Donald]

Looks fantastic Alex even if it’s only a work boat finish. Lucky you stood back a bit to take photos Should be a stand out at the boat show, good luck. That cockpit is twice the size of some 35’ rs