Lofting the Brewer catboat

[Jim Ledger]

Hi Jim. Any chance you could provide an audio clip of that Sabb idling away? What a little gem.

Let's not flip ahead to another chapter, Doc, all in good time.

We can, however, avail ourselves to the deep well that is Youtube, as these engines are not uncommon and attract a certain following. I have two of them, the one in the boat and another in the shed, both only run on the test bed.

[Jim Ledger]

Here's the same engine wide open. It sounds different in the boat, running under load and bolted to proper engine beds.

There's no transmission in this engine. There is a clutch but it's rarely used. The variable pitch prop does all the shifting and putting the propeller in neutral at idle usually does away the need to disengage the prop. There's a two-to-one reduction that is accomplished by a gear on the crankshaft turning two planetary gears and a ring gear on the output side.

[DoctorB]

mmmmmm, music. Thanks for that.

[Jim Ledger]

mmmmmm, music. Thanks for that.

You're welcome, Doctor.


I'm on hiatus for a few more weeks while I finish some work on the house.

Some of you might recall my radiant heat project, which is now running happily beneath our quite warm feet. One of the side benefits of the effort was the removal of all the hydronic baseboard units from the entire house. Naturally, this was done as soon as possible, two years ago, in fact. However, this left unfinished stripes along the bottoms of a many walls. Sometime, between then and now I acquired sufficient one-by-sixes, base cap and quarter round, primed the lot and then shifted them from here to there on a monthly basis.

Things might have gone along just fine, there was a kind of balance, the job was in the pipeline, I coulda strung it out if I'd kept my wits. But, no, like I don't know better, I did an easy one. It was right out in the open, a four footer, all I wanted was a pat on the head.

Now, two bedrooms have been completely emptied and projects half done these past ten years are coming due. It's not that I wanted to put them off, but once they backwatered I didn't give them much thought.

This is how it started; maybe a dozen years ago, who's counting, I removed all of our closets, all three of them. In order to gain a few square feet of space I eliminated the stud framed walls of the old closets and replaced them with plywood cabinetry and painted paneling. The cabinets contained drawers on the bottom, hanging space and shelves up high. As the ceilings were ten feet high there was a lot of storage space that could be accessed.

The cabinets were installed to a point where they were somewhat functional, doors not fitted, prime paint but no top coat, drawer fronts in a stack inside. Then real work gets in the way, the family fills the closets because that's what they do, and the project becomes moribund. Any further work requires a major domestic upheaval.

Well, I've droned on just about enough, there's sandpaper waiting and Durhams goddam Water Putty and that last piece of quarter round. Here's a picture of one of my cabinets, this one's done...





Here's another room with the doors just fitted and hung, instead of leaning against the closet wall. There's a deep space behind that will be all cabinet, but that's a project for another day, for now it'll be a closet pole and a few shelves.





I'll be back building the catboat shortly and I'll see you all then. There's just a couple more loose ends need tying up...

Jim

[Tom Wilkinson]

I can’t relate to this kind of approach at all... not one bit...

Ha!!

[Rich Jones]

It's a curse isn't it? Having the skills to build a fine boat but also the skills to renovate a house.
The latter sure clutters up accomplishing the former.
I feel your pain.

Beautiful work all around.

[Canoeyawl]

Do the drawers double as stairs to reach the top of the ten foot tall closets?

[rkymtnsailor]

Don't worry Jim, we're patiently waitiing with baited breath to see the results... and when you get done please come over and give me a hand with 10 doors that need a cherry finish, hardware and installation that I've successfully ignored in the garage for about 8 years or so and promised myself I'd get done this summer.

Almost all the boats are put away for the season (except mine) so I don't have an excuse anymore (until Thursday when the ski area opens)

[Jim Ledger]

I can’t relate to this kind of approach at all... not one bit...

Ha!!

Sure you can, Tom, let's not pretend.

It's a curse isn't it? Having the skills to build a fine boat but also the skills to renovate a house.
The latter sure clutters up accomplishing the former.
I feel your pain.

Beautiful work all around.

Thanks, Rich. A lot of folks should count themselves fortunate in their absolute lack of useful ability, or their ability to keep their mouth shut if they can do so much as drive a nail without injury. Lemme ask, as a general question...do you drive home on a Friday with your toolbox in the trunk? Does your weekend so resemble your week as to be interchangeable? Can you think up more work sitting on the couch for fifteen minutes than can be accomplished in five years? Does it ever occur to you to hire a painter of plumber? In the unlikely event, are you better equipped to do the job than the fellow who shows up and you end up lending him your tools, and you just know you're gonna redo the job anyway as soon as he's gone?

Anyya this sound the least familiar?

Do the drawers double as stairs to reach the top of the ten foot tall closets?

Yes, they certainly do, Jake, although we do have to bring in the medium step ladder to reach the top shelf.

Don't worry Jim, we're patiently waitiing with baited breath to see the results... and when you get done please come over and give me a hand with 10 doors that need a cherry finish, hardware and installation that I've successfully ignored in the garage for about 8 years or so and promised myself I'd get done this summer.

Almost all the boats are put away for the season (except mine) so I don't have an excuse anymore (until Thursday when the ski area opens)

So, it's skiing is it then? That must be nice. I made the doors for my house as well. Wait, I tell a lie, I made the interior doors, you can see one of them elbowing into the photo above. What I need to do is to make the exterior doors, a project long on the list. I've got some nice thick mahogany boards up in the rack just waiting for the big day. Problem is, making doors is such a pleasant task that it gets put aside in favor of more onerous work. That job's like dessert to me, and how can you have your pudding if you don't eat your meat?


Well, the sky's lightening, where'd I leave my sandpaper. See y'all.

Jim

[hawkeye54]

Glass doorknobs on the bedroom doors (second picture - post #6059 ) ? - I had a similar task, Jim, with the last house - closets, baseboards, staircase, carpeting, in a 1903 farmhouse - similar doors / same knobs and locksets. Paid work has a way of pushing 'home stuff' way to the back of the 'to-do' list, no? Even your work on the house is 'finestkind'



Regards,

Rick

[The Jeff]

A lot of folks should count themselves fortunate in their absolute lack of useful ability, or their ability to keep their mouth shut if they can do so much as drive a nail without injury. Lemme ask, as a general question...do you drive home on a Friday with your toolbox in the trunk? Does your weekend so resemble your week as to be interchangeable? Can you think up more work sitting on the couch for fifteen minutes than can be accomplished in five years? Does it ever occur to you to hire a painter of plumber? In the unlikely event, are you better equipped to do the job than the fellow who shows up and you end up lending him your tools, and you just know you're gonna redo the job anyway as soon as he's gone?

Oof... truer words have never been spoken! I've gotten into the habit of taking my tool bucket with me whenever we visit my wife's family. Something always needs fixing and I quickly got sick of rummaging through a shoebox of miscellaneous Chinesium tools. There's something deeply satisfying about having a well stocked tool box with everything in its place!

[Jim Ledger]

[/COLOR]

Oof... truer words have never been spoken! I've gotten into the habit of taking my tool bucket with me whenever we visit my wife's family. Something always needs fixing and I quickly got sick of rummaging through a shoebox of miscellaneous Chinesium tools. There's something deeply satisfying about having a well stocked tool box with everything in its place!

Hell, yeah, Jeff, I totally get that! Gimme something to do anyday, rather than have to sit around somebody's coffee table. Cut the bottom of your door, no problem, adjust your kitchen doors, gimme a screwdriver. Every time I go to the doctor, and I'm a regular, I wish I had brought a phillips head screwdriver with me. After the waiting room, when they stick you in the exam room for another twenty minutes there's always cabinets with the doors askew, the hinges need adjusting. Be something to do rather than drumming on my knees.

[Jim Ledger]

Glass doorknobs on the bedroom doors (second picture - post #6059 ) ? - I had a similar task, Jim, with the last house - closets, baseboards, staircase, carpeting, in a 1903 farmhouse - similar doors / same knobs and locksets. Paid work has a way of pushing 'home stuff' way to the back of the 'to-do' list, no? Even your work on the house is 'finestkind'



Regards,

Rick

Yup, Rick, paying work takes precedence over everything. As soon as the contract is signed the clock is ticking.

Old houses are difficult to work on, much like boats, with their non-conventional construction and their capacity to surprise when you start digging in. Those doorknobs and mortice locks are the originals, however, I'm scouting Ebay for something to match for the new closet doors.


Here's part of my dining room. Nothing you can see is original except the doorknobs although some of the trim details were duplicated. The coffered ceiling was done three years ago, maybe four. It was a major upheaval because the entire ceiling was replaced. there was an unobstructed view of the underside of the roof for a while while new framing went in. At the time the walls were skim coated, but they have yet to be painted. You can see the escutcheon on the lamp chain hanging down ready for the paintbrush. No point fixing it as I'll have to loosen it again. Thing is, it's difficult to pick colors. I've recently found a source of my favorite oil paint, because it's not easy to find anymore. This opens up the possibility of painting the woodwork on the ceiling, but this needs to be done in the spring or fall when the windows can be opened and fans placed to blow out the fumes. The household upheaval is considerable. It's gonna look good though.

Jim

[Rich Jones]

[QUOTE=Jim Ledger;6304652]Sure you can, Tom, let's not pretend.






Thanks, Rich. A lot of folks should count themselves fortunate in their absolute lack of useful ability, or their ability to keep their mouth shut if they can do so much as drive a nail without injury. Lemme ask, as a general question...do you drive home on a Friday with your toolbox in the trunk? Does your weekend so resemble your week as to be interchangeable? Can you think up more work sitting on the couch for fifteen minutes than can be accomplished in five years? Does it ever occur to you to hire a painter of plumber? In the unlikely event, are you better equipped to do the job than the fellow who shows up and you end up lending him your tools, and you just know you're gonna redo the job anyway as soon as he's gone?

Anyya this sound the least familiar?


It all sounds very familiar!!
Sometimes I think that the reason my wife married me is because I was a carpenter. All she has to do is make a suggestion and I've got my tools out, banging away on whatever project she's dreamed up. I retired ten years ago yet still put on my carpenter jeans every morning. I am slowing down on the big projects, though, due to arthritis in my spine. I'm actually hiring someone to put in a skylight, something I've done dozens of times in my career. It's driving me nuts that I can't do it anymore. Also, for the first time in my life, I hired a painter to re-stain my log home this summer.

[hawkeye54]

Jim, early on in my 'stewardship' of the farmhouse, my wife decided to replace the tight L-shaped stairway with an original-looking one with oak treads. When we tore down the stairs, we found that the original roof peak support was an entire tree trunk (running from cellar floor to roof underside ) from which the first remodeler had cut the center 8 feet, and not replaced any support. The second floor had sagged 3 inches, and had to be jacked up and braced. Yup, I know a bit about old house maintenance..

[chas]

"Thing is, it's difficult to pick colors. I've recently found a source of my favorite oil paint, because it's not easy to find anymore. This opens up the possibility of painting the woodwork on the ceiling, but this needs to be done in the spring or fall when the windows can be opened and fans placed to blow out the fumes. The household upheaval is considerable. It's gonna look good though."

This is indicative of a definite bias. I'm a waterborne-leaning type when it comes to household finishes, being pushed there first with the requirements of the R2000 Program but coming to accept the simplicity of application and gradual improvements to the product. I avoid the upheaval by pleading to be colour-blind.

Tks for the update, I keep watching for new planks. / Jim

[Slacko]

I won't allow tradesmen in the house.
I can't stand the way they will destroy something that will take 3 hours (for someone else) to rectify to save themselves 5 minutes of work.
I see this on commercial jobs all the time.

[hawkeye54]

^ I think, Slacko, what you are referencing is (our) 'Pride of Workmanship' , bleeding over into the observed efforts of others.





Rick

[willin woodworks]

I only hire plumbers and electricians. And only guys that I have worked with in the past or come VERY highly recommended by someone Ive worked with and trust.

Even then I rough in as much as I can first. I'm just not keen under lying under counters to hook up sinks....although I'll scooch into the smallest recess on the boat given half a chance!

I know enough to run wire from point A to point B but the hook up at the panel is best left to the pros.

I hate painting but I hate painters and their half assed approach to everything even more; and then I have to go back and touch up their work anyway.

End of rant....

[Jim Ledger]

It all sounds very familiar!!
Sometimes I think that the reason my wife married me is because I was a carpenter. All she has to do is make a suggestion and I've got my tools out, banging away on whatever project she's dreamed up. I retired ten years ago yet still put on my carpenter jeans every morning. I am slowing down on the big projects, though, due to arthritis in my spine. I'm actually hiring someone to put in a skylight, something I've done dozens of times in my career. It's driving me nuts that I can't do it anymore. Also, for the first time in my life, I hired a painter to re-stain my log home this summer.

I'm sorry to hear about your health issues, Rich. I hope you find some relief and it doesn't slow you down too much. Prolly a good thing you got most of the heavy lifting out of the way already and can concentrate on the finer things.

Jim, early on in my 'stewardship' of the farmhouse, my wife decided to replace the tight L-shaped stairway with an original-looking one with oak treads. When we tore down the stairs, we found that the original roof peak support was an entire tree trunk (running from cellar floor to roof underside ) from which the first remodeler had cut the center 8 feet, and not replaced any support. The second floor had sagged 3 inches, and had to be jacked up and braced. Yup, I know a bit about old house maintenance..

I've seen a few things similar, Rick, joists made of round timber adzed off on the top only, salt hay insulation, old houses with older beams repurposed. Fascinating stuff. It's kinda sad to see some of it get ripped out and replaced with new construction.

This is indicative of a definite bias. I'm a waterborne-leaning type when it comes to household finishes, being pushed there first with the requirements of the R2000 Program but coming to accept the simplicity of application and gradual improvements to the product. I avoid the upheaval by pleading to be colour-blind.

Tks for the update, I keep watching for new planks. / Jim

The new planks will be along shortly, Jim. It's good work for the cold months, keeps you moving.

For boat work and interior trim I have yet to find a waterborne paint that will brush out like oil and provide the same scuff and dirt resistance. What I like is the length of time the paint can be worked before it drags. I find this essential when painting things like paneled doors where you have to paint the rails first and then come back to paint the stiles.

I won't allow tradesmen in the house.
I can't stand the way they will destroy something that will take 3 hours (for someone else) to rectify to save themselves 5 minutes of work.
I see this on commercial jobs all the time.

Granite countertop guys are the worst. One time I had to spend an entire day trying to fix a run of cabinets because they jammed the top so hard it racked the whole run. These were inset door cabinets, butt hinges, top of the line stuff and not one door would open. It was lucky I could get them right without dismantling the lot.

I get really stressed having anybody working in my own house, can't wait for them to leave.

^ I think, Slacko, what you are referencing is (our) 'Pride of Workmanship' , bleeding over into the observed efforts of others.

Yup, you're setting yourself up for disappointment there, Rick.


Be back soon...

Jim

[hawkeye54]

Yup, it got so bad that I had to ship tools UPS, and fly out to California to fix stuff that contractors 'did', but never came back to fix at my Father-in-law's house.




Rick

[Paul Pless]

has it really been seventy days???

[hawkeye54]

I guess I was the previous poster, Paul - thanks for bringing this up to the first page .


Rick

[rkymtnsailor]

Hey Jim,

Happy New Year! What's cookin with the boat???

[Jim Ledger]

Hey y'all. We'll be building the catboat again shortly. I'm currently putting the finishing touches on a couple of housy projects, or would be, but somebody around here keeps moving the goalposts. No worries there, though, I'm banking boatbuilding capital that will be insure a nice uninterrupted stint making long shavings.

In the way of keeping the embers glowing, I am polishing up those bronze block shells, the ones we cast last summer. There's a bucketfull of the damn things and they all need shaving down. Some's lighter than others, you see, so they all have to be ground and shaved to a uniform thinness.

Soon,

Jim

[Brian Palmer]

In the way of keeping the embers glowing, I am polishing up those bronze block shells, the ones we cast last summer. There's a bucketfull of the damn things and they all need shaving down. Some's lighter than others, you see, so they all have to be ground and shaved to a uniform thinness.

Soon,

Jim

Good to hear things are well. There are some youngsters in Sequim, Washington with the right skill set to help you out with the polishing, Jim, if you need it.

[Jim Ledger]

Good to hear things are well. There are some youngsters in Sequim, Washington with the right skill set to help you out with the polishing, Jim, if you need it.

All's well, Brian, and those shells are lighter by a number of grams. But that's a story for another day.

Let us today examine the bridge deck with the intention to put things right.

We have two structural athwartship beans. The forward beam notches over the centerboard case and provides an excellent foundation for the cockpit bulkhead. The after beam is supported by a couple of posts that also support the cockpit deck. Both of these beams terminate on the sheer clamp and are bolted to the clamp using welded bronze brackets.

The current assignment is to add some support between the beams for the plywood skin. To this end I've milled a number of pieces of Locust wood, seen here. These pieces will fit into mortices cut into each beam

Nine pieces, eighteen mortices, plus four more for two wide bits, one port, the other stbd.

The wide pieces will provide good fastening for the inside coaming.

[hawkeye54]

Good to see you posting again, Jim !! - As always, very nice work . . . .





Rick

[Jim Ledger]

Good to see you posting again, Jim !! - As always, very nice work . . . .


Rick

Thanks, Rick, it's good to have something to post once again.

Jim

[gregleetaylor]

Looking cozy and stout Jim!

What are those large and small tools aside the box cutter please? Should I be using them on my boat too?

[Jim Ledger]

Looking cozy and stout Jim!

What are those large and small tools aside the box cutter please? Should I be using them on my boat too?

Hi, Greg.

Those are adjustable squares, and if you don't have one you should get one. They are quite useful beyond the ninety and forty-five square function. You can use them as a marking gauge for drawing lines parallel to an edge, or, as I'm doing here, as depth gauges. Each one records a different depth of the mortice so I know when to stop cutting.

Here's a workshop hint... swipe the end of the square with a magic marker and then drop it into the mortice and move it around. The ink will transfer to the high spots that need more cutting.
.
Jim

[amish rob]

Hi, Greg.

Those are adjustable squares, and if you don't have one you should get one. They are quite useful beyond the ninety and forty-five square function. You can use them as a marking gauge for drawing lines parallel to an edge, or, as I'm doing here, as depth gauges. Each one records a different depth of the mortice so I know when to stop cutting.

Here's a workshop hint... swipe the end of the square with a magic marker and then drop it into the mortice and move it around. The ink will transfer to the high spots that need more cutting.
.
Jim

And, make damned sure that little knurled hand screw is actually cranked down, so the blade doesn’t slip.

What?! Someone needs to tell them how NOT to do things.

[Breakaway]

Beautiful, crisp work.

Thanks for sharing, Jim.

Kevin

[BBSebens]

Hi, Greg.

Those are adjustable squares, and if you don't have one you should get one. They are quite useful beyond the ninety and forty-five square function. You can use them as a marking gauge for drawing lines parallel to an edge, or, as I'm doing here, as depth gauges. Each one records a different depth of the mortice so I know when to stop cutting.

Here's a workshop hint... swipe the end of the square with a magic marker and then drop it into the mortice and move it around. The ink will transfer to the high spots that need more cutting.
.
Jim

And, make damned sure that little knurled hand screw is actually cranked down, so the blade doesn’t slip.

What?! Someone needs to tell them how NOT to do things.

I believe they are often sold as "combination squares". And while you're buying tools, may as well get a few different sizes. Some of them some with a little pin in the end of the frame for scribing a line. Very versatile tool.

[gregleetaylor]

Jim, Rob & Ben:

I must apologise. I intended some humor as boats DONT HAVE right angles or (45's). I admit to having some 90's and 45's in my build and have even cut a very few mortices but nothing NEAR a Ledger fit!!! Still, it's aways good to get shop tips and I learned a bunch here so thanks. Now, where did I put my carlin strecher..?