| 02 Feb 12. Why No Updates?
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We have had and are having, family obligations, that have
cut in to the time available to work on the boat. At this point we hope to
be able to launch sometime mid summer. (most likely the 1st 115°
day)
Our neighborhood association took exception
to having the boat in the driveway. So we had to move it. The boat is at a
friends shop among other project boats. I have been working on a lot of
the rigging, splicing eyes in the the ends of lines, deck hardware layout
and other small odds and ends. Also removed the bump-in to Wendys' office
and returned the wall back to normal.
See
Jan Pix. |
| 28 Oct 11. Flying Boat.
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The boat is on the trailer! Got every setup in the
driveway and street. The crane showed up about 1/2 hour early and took
less then 20 minutes to setup, pick up boat and tear down. Then cleaned up
the garage a bit tore down the building cradle then set the keel in it's
bearings.
See Oct Pix. |
| 24 Oct 11 Trailer wiring!
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So I wire the trailer using the industry standard and
colors, seal all connections, and cover with heat shrink. Plug it in to
the truck and nothing is working right. I check the truck connector and it
is all good. I get out a battery and jumper it to the 7-way plug on the
trailer, everything is wrong. I know I matched all the colors when I
spliced the plug on. I get out the the diagram that came with the plug and
find that for the 6-way plugs, they follow the standard colors, but for
the 7-way plugs they just randomly mixed them up. ARG! So I cut off the
heat shrink, unseal the harness and resplice the wires. Why have standards
if your not going to use them? I'll get off my soapbox now. Thanks. |
| 24 Oct 11 Trailer is assembled and
licensed.
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After some set backs and logistical problems the trailer
is all assembled and I took it to the DMV for inspection & licensing.
Other then then usual wait at DMV all went well and I came home with the
trailer titled and licensed.
See Oct Pix. |
| !4 Oct 11 Trailer back from galvanizing.
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After a wait for paperwork to get fixed, I picked up the
trailer from the galvanizer today. Cost less then quoted so can't complain
much. |
| 07 Oct 11 Trailer off to be galvanized.
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Worked on the bow stop ladder, fenders and brackets, front
wheel axle and mast holder. Then drilled all the holes for the light and
keel rest. Out came the angle grinder and I rounded off all the sharp
edges. Loaded all the parts in the truck and loaded on the trailer and
took it to be galvanized. |
| 01 Oct 11 Got some wheels under it!
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Have spent the last 2 weeks cutting various bits of steel
and welding same to trailer. And other then the incident with the burning
bush all has been going well. We also have received our sails! A big
thanks to Jan & Hunter and the crew at Schurr Sails on the great job! We
also have 3400 hours in the project so far.
See Oct Pix |
| 17 Sep 11. More welding.
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Cut the steel for the bow stop mast and welded it
together. |
| 16 Sep 11. Mainsail!
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Got a picture of our mainsail from our sailmaker, Schurr
Sails. The pile of red on the right is our spinnaker. |
| 12 Sep 11 Hot, Hot, Hot!
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It's been the hottest summer in Phoenix on record and the
hottest August. This summer we had 33 days with temps over 110°F.
People joked that it's easy to weld in that heat, just set the parts in
the driveway, set the welding rod in place & go inside. Come out an hour
later and it's welded. Build the supports for the cradles, and engineered
a jack system to raise and lower the cradles for working on the boat.
Also the sails are being made by Schurr Sails
and are close to being completed.
See
Sep Pix. |
| 29 Aug 11 Mast Measure.
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Measured mast for the sail maker today.
See Aug Pix |
| 26 Jul 11. Looking like a trailer.
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The main frame is welded together. Started by notching the
side rails and bending to fit. Welded all the cross beams in place. Cut
the coupler tube and its' cross beam and bend section reinforcements.
Welded those parts in place. Picked up the frame and turned it over to
weld on the under side.
See Jul Pix. |
| 23 Jul 11. Welding!
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Drilled holes in the crossbeams for brake lines and
wiring. Cut the upright lower tubes for the cradles and the reinforced
section for the top of the tubes. Got out the welder and relearned how to
MIG weld. Started by welding on the reinforcements to the top of the lower
tubes. I had decided that these are not that critical and would be a good
place to practice. By the 2nd tube, I was welding fairly well. |
| 18 Jul 11. Cutting steel.
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Got out the chop saw and started cutting the steel for the
trailer. Got the cross beams and supports for the keel and box cut. |
| 12 Jul 11. Trailer is under the boat.
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Some assembly required.
All the steel I'll need to build the trailer was delivered today. I
should now have all the parts for the trailer. Moved all the steel in
under the boat, hopefully in the order I'll need it. Time to get cutting
and welding.
See Jul Pix. |
| 31 May 11. Our J/24 has sold!
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Our J/24, Bad Idea, at her new home at the Ft Worth Boat Club.
They say the two best days in the life of a boat owner, is the day you buy
the boat and the day you sell it. After selling Bad Idea I can now say
they are wrong. We have had such good times, met such great people, had
wonderful crew and fabulous competitors pushing us to do our best, it is
with mixed emotions that we turned her over to her new owner. Fair winds
Bad Idea.
|
| 16 May 11. Spider Web?
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Got the clutches in for both the keel canting control and
for the running backstays. Ran the control line thru the blocks.
See May Pix. |
| 25 Apr 11. Keel Canting Control.
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Figured out where I wanted the stoppers for the Keel
control. Had to make some backing plates, epoxy them in place, drill
the holes and make a ferule for where the line enters the inside of the
boat.
See Apr Pix. |
| 21 Apr 11 J/24 Stuff.
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This spring We won our club's fleet series
races in our J/24. With last falls series win, we will represent our fleet
(PHRF Spin) in the club championship. Wendy & I decided to celebrate by
spending the night on the boat. A great sail, good dinner at the new
marina and a nice night out on the boat. The next morning as we were
trying to unstuck the anchor the motor mount broke! As in off! With the
motor attached, still running! I had one hand on the motor at the time,
picture a very big hand mixer, until I could grab the kill lanyard and
stop it. Luckily we did not lose the motor because we needed it to get
back as there was no wind. That's the new motor bracket in the picture to
the left. |
| 26 Mar 11. Orange!
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The keel bulb halves have been faired and a
couple coats of the orange bottom paint put on. Also made up an spectra
webbing boot for the end of the bow sprit and lashed it in place.
See Mar Pix. |
| 07 Mar 11. Flying lead.
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Got the rough fairing of the bulb done and a
good match of the halves. Then picked up the lead with an engine hoist and
put them on the workmates for the majority of the fairing. Easer to sand
when there not on the floor. Got the 1st coat of compond on just in time
for the weather to turn cold and it took over a week to set up. Got that
sanded off today and the next coat on.
See Mar Pix. |
| 26 Oct 10. Long drill bit.
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Had to get a long drill bit to drill the holes
in the keel strut and ream the predrilled holes in the lead for the bolts.
After drilling all the holes I pulled out the strut and bolted the halves
together and started fairing the bulb. If you thought fairing the hull was
fun, wait until you fair lead.
We will be in Newport RI for the Mini Class North America meeting on
Nov 6th. If your in the area be sure to stop by. |
| 12 Oct 10. Bulb fitted
together.
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So I got the bulb halves all set up and then
realized I had not fitted the slots to the ribs on the keel strut. Many
hours of filing later I got one side done. Then had to down jack and flip
the other half over and do the same with it. So today I got every thing
set up again (see picture below) and placed the two halves together and
worked the keel strut in place.
If you've wondered what I have been doing the last couple of months and
why no updates? Well I have reached the next step in my project and need
the funds to purchase trailer parts and sails. I have been going over the
J/24 and fixing it up to sell. If anyone out there knows of anyone looking
for a good J/24 send them to this link. Thanks.
See Oct Pix. |
| 23 Aug 10. Got the lead out.
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Cut stainless steel all-thread to make the
bolts to tie the lead bulb halves together and tie into the keel strut.
Set up the 2 halves of the bulb to fit the keel strut to the bulb. Managed
to get one braced on the skateboard and the other high enough off the
floor to slide the other under it, with out dropping it on my fingers or
toes.
See Aug Pix. |
| 10 Aug 10. Where's the boatshop?
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Between having to work the overnight shift and
taking vacation time, not much has been done this past couple of months.
After prying the truck out of the garage and setting the boatshop back up,
we are slowing getting back to work. Now were was I? |
| 08 Jun 10. Paint the pole red.
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Primer painted and final paint coated the
jockey poles this past week. While watching the paint dry, I installed the
sheaves in both ends of the boom and lashed on the the mainsheet block and
traveler blocks to the car.
See Jun Pix |
| 23 May 10. More rotisserie
carbon.
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Got out the rotisserie and sanded the jockey
poles in prep for paint. |
| 17 May 10. Spreader stuff.
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Have been working on the spreaders. Put on a
couple of coats of clear coat and then fitted the inboard ends on to the
mast tangs. This was a pain as the tangs were already drilled and I had to
line up the new holes.
See May Pix. |
| 15 Apr 10 Tax Day
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Got the Porti-a-Potie in. Finished with the
floorboards and cooler/step. Worked on putting a hinge in the inboard end
of the bowsprit.
See Apr Pix. |
| 13 Mar 10. More odds & ends.
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So I got the mast wiring completed, crimped on
the pins on the wires and inserted them in the connector then mounted the
connector. Worked on the supports for the head base and epoxied the cooler
base in place, then got a coat of epoxy on all that. Finished with filing
off the lifeline tabs off the bow rail and then gave the rail a coat of
paint. |
| 11 Mar 10. Stuffing the Mast.
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I have been working in what little free time
I've had on the base for the cooler and porta-pottie. Today I put a coat
of epoxy on most of the parts. Then I took all the bits of blue foam that
I had cut out and stuffed it in the mast. I cut the holes for the mast
wires and put the connector on the antenna cable.
See Mar Pix. |
| 13 Feb 10. A pile of rope.
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We got most of our running rigging and the
solar panel mount this week from our friends at
Third Coast
Composites.
So I have been climbing in and out of the boat for the past 2 years by
stepping on an overturned milk crate, with the plan that the cooler would
go there. So I put the cooler in place and realized that I will need to
make a platform for it to sit on. So it's time to break out the saw,
scraps of plywood and get creative. I also worked on a fix for the Windex.
I pounded off the fitting from the rod and epoxied it to a piece of carbon
fiber rod I had left from the keel lay-up. Not only is it longer but it
weighs 4.2 grams less.
See Feb Pix. |
| 01 Feb 10. Has it
been a month?
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Since the last update? It's been a busy month,
but not so on the boat. I did manage to find time to run the mast wires
and anchor them at the top. I then attached the all the stuff ( nav lt,
strobe lt, windex, vhf ant, wind sensors ) to the top of the mast and
hooked up the wires. All went well until I stuck the windex in place and
found that it would not clear the strobe light. I had made sure it would
clear the antenna, but forgot how high the strobe sticks up.
See Jan Pix. |
