<<<<< BUILDING THE GLOUCESTER GULL LIGHT DORY PART (10) >>>>>

As I have been laid low with Type A Flu, not a lot of progress has been made in the last couple of weeks. I am now on the mend and I have been able to install the centre frame upon which the main thwart will sit. It took a bit of time and a lot of patience to get the bevels and angles correct. I always dry fit before gluing / nailing / screwing things into place permanently - this is a good check, for once the glue sets, it's too late to change things !!!

Post Script - Intermission (2) (see previous post) went without a hitch. The drive belt between the Dynastart motor and the flywheel has been tightened and the motor is going again - Great !!

<<< BUILDING THE GLOUCESTER GULL LIGHT DORY - Intermission (1) >>>

While the building of the Dory continues, life and its demands continue and sometimes it simply becomes a situation of dropping the tools and dealing with what needs to be done.

On this occasion the Marina office emailed me with instructions, asking me to take 'Mariner' off her pile mooring and re-moor her in a berth in the town basin marina while dredging in the river around the pile moorings is completed. 

The day before the move I removed the permanent mooring lines and replaced them with quick release lines, ran the engine and generally tidied up. 

The next day we arrived (my friend Bernie and I) ready to chug up the river to the new temporary berth........... but the engine wouldn't start - all I got was a loud clicking sound coming from the starter motor - bugger - motor wouldn't even turn over. 

I rang Brian the Marina manager but he wasn't answering his phone.  (Brian has moved 'Mariner' before with his 5 meter RIB tied alongside). I got in the dinghy and sculled up to the Marina office pontoon looking for Brian. When I arrived I was hailed by my friend Tom who lives on his yacht close by. Tom offered to launch his small inflatable, tie it at the stern of Mariner and motor us up the river in the usual manner and I gladly accepted his offer.

 All went well until the outboard motor died halfway into the mission eliciting furtive pulls on the outboard starter rope and choice colourful (mainly purple) sailors' words of encouragement to the outboard motor. This flurry of activity got the outboard going again, but it stopped a couple more times before deciding to behave itself and fulfil its mission.

The rest of the journey went without a hitch and soon we were safely moored, sitting in the cockpit, in the sun, enjoying a beer. So, happily a run of unexpected events became an 'all's well that ends well' in terms of moving the boat.

Tom and I looked at the motor and Tom (The expert in matters of engines) saw that the belt from the starter motor to the flywheel was loose explaining why the engine wasn't turning over. 

Next week there will be 'Intermission 2' from Dory building as we go about fixing the problem - here's hoping it will be another 'all's well that ends well' !!!!

<<<<< BUILDING THE GLOUCESTER GULL LIGHT DORY PART (9) >>>>>

The Dory has been lifted off the molds and building jig. It was an easy lift as the Dory is surprisingly light - around 30 kg at this stage. The tombstone stern requires cutting down to its proper shape and size as does the stem, which will be cut off at the sheer.

Deconstructing the building jig marks the end of the hull stage of the build and it was good to get it out of the way. 

An athwartship brace helps to keep the shape until the major middle frame has been put in place. Here I am cleaning up the internal chines with a rebating plane.

All's shipshape and tidied up. It's a bit of a squeeze in the carport, but despite appearances there is enough room for me to work around the Dory (Just!). When required (and it's not raining) I can move the OK Dinghy out to give myself more room to work. 

The next stages in the build are tiding up the bow and stern, a central frame with its rowing thwart, fitting gunwales and inwales, constructing buoyancy chambers fore and aft, rowlock blocks, an adjustable rowing foot stop, various cleats and not forgetting a small keelson at the bottom aft end of the boat and fiber glassing the bottom. She will then be ready for coating with 'EverDure' wood preservative and final painting. 

<<<<< BUILDING THE GLOUCESTER GULL LIGHT DORY PART (8) >>>>>

I have dry fitted the gunwales a couple of times and found them a bit of a tough bend. Then I read the manual again ("When in doubt read the directions" is a universal statement of common sense widely ignored) and found that the bottom of the gunwales requires a thirty-degree bevel cut on the underside. So I gave one of my very helpful sailor mates a ring who has a table saw, tied the gunwales to the roof rack on my car and took them out to his place in the country. He is well set up with sheds and machine tools and stuff and helps me out from time to time. After half an hour cutting bevels on each of the gunwales and a 2-hour session shooting the breeze over a local bevy I returned to the Dory with a now near complete set of gunwales, With the timber removed with the 30-degree bevel cut I found the gunwales now bend around the sheer of the dory in a much, much easier manner. As I still have to plane a taper into the ends of the gunwales (which will further ease the required bending force) the final fitting, fastening and gluing job should now be a lot easier than I first thought it would be.

<<<<< BUILDING THE GLOUCESTER GULL LIGHT DORY PART (7) >>>>>

Stem laminated and shaped (second attempt).

Mistakes and setbacks are all part of the learning process. I had problems with the first set of stem laminations. In my first attempt I glued and secured them (see part 6) below) with temporary chip board screws, until the glue dried, which weren't of a strong enough gauge. When I came to take the screws out, four or more of the screws broke off. Shaping the stem with a hand plane and sandpaper is impossible with wood full of broken screws and as my attempts to remove the screws made a mess of the wood I cut my losses and totally removed the laminations. This means that all the work that you see in the last post (Part 6) has been to no avail at all. This sometimes happens in any project and is just part of the creative process. My second attempt has been a lot more successful and I am pleased with the results. 

<<<<< BUILDING THE GLOUCESTER GULL LIGHT DORY PART (6) >>>>>

I have not followed the building manuals advice exactly in regards to the stem, but I have followed the stem profile and the positioning of the stem relative to the building frame and mold stations. The reasons for not fully following the manual is that the plan is not clear regarding the stem and a bit confusing to me. Also I didn't want a "razor sharp" stem / cutwater, I wanted a tapered and rounded stem, which I feel is a lot more attractive. I built the taper into the stem when I was fairing the stem bevel. Doing this did alter very slightly the lay of the plywood sides but nothing of any consequence. In the photograph (above) I am laminating the first of two or possibly three laminations of a stem cap which I will round off to the taper already built into the stem.

The second stem cap lamination in place (glued, screwed with temporary screws and clamped) - and yep, a boat builder can't ever have enough clamps !

This photograph shows the thickness of the bottom panel (half inch thick) and the fastening screws at six inch centres. The 6mm side panels have also been secured with screws at four inch centers. The two different measurement systems (metric and imperial) are a function of the dory plans in imperial measurements (feet and inches) and the NZ metric system (plywood measured in millimetres). 

If you are reading this and contemplating building this dory don't be put off by my comments regarding the building manual, in all other respects the manual and its advice is excellent. Any difficulties once your shoulder is put to the wheel and a commitment made are readily solved with a little thought and patience.

 

<<<<< BUILDING THE GLOUCESTER GULL LIGHT DORY PART (5) >>>>>

Today I did a dry fit of the bottom panel (which is made up of two pieces of ply butted end to end). After cutting out the shape roughly with a jigsaw and hand saw (after scribing the shape with the ply laid on top of the dory) I screwed the panels temporarily (the forward panel 8 feet long, the one at the stern shorter) down onto the chines. I then proceeded to plane the panels first with a long plane, finishing with a small hand plane. The panels are now ready to be glued and screwed down to the chines permanently.

I had forgotten what hard work (brutal even) boat building is. At 75 years old, it's not exactly a struggle, but I do have to pace myself - here was me contemplating building a 123 foot Grand Banks fishing schooner before this coming Christmas from which to launch my dory so that I can go fishing for Cod on the Grand Banks off New Foundland (Something similar to the famous fishing schooner 'Bluenose', but I think I'll just settle for rowing the dory on Whangarei harbour. : > )

 It is pleasing to see the shape of the dory appearing. So far, she looks fine and fair with no distortions or flat spots. After gluing and fine fairing of the bottom panels at the chines the next jobs will be: fiber glassing the bottom panel, attaching a skeg at the stern and attaching the gunwales - then she will be ready to flip upright.

<<<<< BUILDING THE GLOUCESTER GULL LIGHT DORY PART (4) >>>>>

The side panels are now glued in place, and I have dry fitted one of the gunwales. I did this with the gunwale for my peace of mind even though it was a bit of a mission bending them around the molds. But thank goodness, despite the hard bend, this gunwale dry fit went reasonably quickly and smoothly. I will slightly taper the gunwales at both ends which will make them even easier to fit when the time comes. So, next job is leveling up the bottom of the chines, trimming the bottom of the plywood side panels where required and fitting the bottom panel.

<<<<< BUILDING THE GLOUCESTER GULL LIGHT DORY PART (3) >>>>>

The dory chines have been the most challenging part of the build so far. The building manual advises two reliable methods and strongly advises not to use another third unadvisable method. I used the strongly advised not to use method. Let me unpack that: Method 1 is to cut notches for the chines in the molds and install the chines when the plywood sides have been installed (Slipping the chines between the in-situ plywood and molds). Method 2 is not to use chines logs at all, simply use the stitch and glue method after the hull has been turned upright and tape the chines from the inside with double bias fiberglass tape and then cove the joint with thickened resin.

I cut the notches for the chine logs into the molds and tried to dry fit the three quarter by one and three quarter inch chines onto the frames. I found it impossible as the chines had to bend in two different directions - if I had forced the issue with G-clamps the chine logs would have broken. I don't know the nature of the wood that Harold 'Dynamite' Payson used as described in his manual but it must have been of a very soft and cooperative nature.

My work around was to cut the chines vertically and laminate them into place on the molds. I found even this a bit of a mission to get the chines to sit correctly and flush with the sides of the molds and bent correctly to the modest rocker of the dory's bottom shape.

If I was to build again I would cut each chine vertically (or horizontally) into three or even four pieces and laminate them together. Other builders of this dory may have had easy experiences with the chines but this hasn't been my experience.

Interestingly the issues with the chines is actually a metaphor for all boat building. It is all about problem solving, adaptation and finding work arounds if required. Also if (like my situation) you are working pretty much with only hand tools in a confined space (no band saw, table saw, etc) different ways of working have to be found.

These two photos (directly above and below) show some early dry fitting of the plywood side panels before the chines were laminated. 

l

The next stage in the build is to glue and nail the side panels to the laminated and correctly beveled chines, stem and transom. I am hoping that when it comes time to fit the gunwales to the sheer line it will be a easier operation than the chines have been - time will tell!

<<<<< BUILDING THE GLOUCESTER GULL LIGHT DORY PART (2) >>>>>

I was surprised that I had to shim the bottom of the building frame at both ends to get it absolutely level. Whatever you build on, don't assume that (in this case) a concrete floor is level. In the background to the left are the molds ready for placement on the building frame.

 

I attached the seven molds to crossbeams on top of the building frame. In retrospect I should have made the molds out of three quarter inch or one inch plywood rather than five eighths of an inch which has tended to flex and buckle a little bit for no apparent reason (it's not under any tension at this stage) - so I have had to cross brace some of the molds that have distorted a little bit. However, once I did the bracing, all the molds are now square and fair and ready to go.

A long flexible fairing batten was used to pick up the plotted marking points on the plywood. The black square is my foam rubber kneeling cushion which saved my knees. The two sheets of 8 x 4-foot 6mm (quarter inch) Gaboon plywood are resting on two sheets of thick construction ply (see next photo) which gave me something to nail the Gaboon to while I was doing the drafting.

Each side panel of the dory is in two parts. I cut each of the part panels out with a jigsaw and faired them up with a small hand plane. I then glued and screwed the two parts of each paneltogether with a 6mm, 4-inch wide plywood cleat. I then modified (reduced by 6mm) the central mold on each side where the cleats will lie when the side panels are attached.

The top of the stem is held in place by a large bolt onto the building frame and is awaiting beveling, which I did with a hand plane, checking the bevel regularly with the fairing batten pictured.

The transom was as tricky to align as the stem, but once in place it provides, in tandem with the stem, a strong anchor for the bending and fitting of the chines and side panels.

<<<<<< DORY - BUILDING THE GLOUCESTER LIGHT DORY (1 ) >>>>>>

Gloucester Gull Dory (Photo from the internet)

The Gloucester Light Dory (Also referred to as the Gloucester Gull Dory) was designed by the innovative American yacht designer Phil Bolger. Harold Payson popularized this Dory with his book 'How to Build The Gloucester Light Dory'. I have had Payson's book for years and have decided now is the time to build my own Dory. With arthritis affecting my left ankle and right knee to the point that long walks or running (what's that?) are distant memories I am going to add to my fitness kit of sailing my OK Dinghy and riding my Brompton folding bike by building a boat I can row - a Gloucester Gull Dory.

The first step is to read the manual. This is all that I have to go on - no full sized patterns or plans. But the book will do - but I need a magnifying glass, not just because of my age, but because some of the measurements are a bit blurry and hard to read.

I drafted the shape of each mold out onto half inch construction plywood. The first four molds are ready to go. I cut them out close to the drafted lines with a jigsaw and fine tuned the shapes with a small hand plane.......... to be continued - much more to come.

<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<< PROGRESS REPORT >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

                         Flash new Dometic methylated spirits stove complete with flash new kettle,              

In an earlier post titled "STILL AFLOAT" This is the list of jobs that I was working through and the current status of each job.

- An internal bow to stern clean. -  COMPLETED

- External repaint. ( DECKS, CABIN SIDES AND TOP, COCKPIT) - COMPLETED

- Installation of a new stove. COMPLETED

- Construction of a forward cabin door. COMPLETED

- The design and construction of a new spray dodger (new shape). IN PLANNING STAGE

- Installation of a new toilet. COMPLETED

- Installation of a solar panel and controller. COMPLETED

- Haul out and antifouling painting. COMPLETED 

- General motor maintenance (filters, new battery etc). COMPLETED 

Flash new toilet that has been recently installed.

As can be seen from the above list the only major job to complete is the spray dodger. I have the stainless steel dodger frames and fittings all ready to go but I am now thinking of constructing a solid timber / fiberglass spray dodger. Not, I hope some ugly boxy contraption, rather something that is aesthetically pleasing as well as being functional - So - watch this space.

 

<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<< SOLAR PANEL (2) >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

This is the other end of the solar panel installation. The solar panel controller is the digital display module with the blue facia. Basically, it controls the amount of charge going into the battery and prevents the battery from overcharging. The size of the solar panel is small (10 watts) so it is only a step above a trickle charge maintenance type set up. I have one battery which is the diesel engines crank or starter battery. The only other down stream consumer of battery power are the cabin and navigation lights and the Single Side Band Radio (of intermittent use). I don't run a fridge, freezer or any of the other whizz bang electronics such as a chart plotter or other electronic fan dangles that demand a continuous flow of electricity when underway. I work on the KISS principle - Keep, It, Simple, Stupid! - So simple it is and that's the way I like it.

<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<< SOLAR PANEL >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

A solar panel is something I should have installed years ago. I have been relying on periodically running the motor to keep the battery fully charged. This has had the advantage that the boat gets opened up and aired out while the engine and all the other routine checks (mooring lines etc) get done. The disadvantage is that if for some reason there are extended periods where the boat is not getting visited and / or used (overseas travel or any other reason) then battery life is shortened.... and batteries are expensive. So, when a friend who is a qualified electrician and electronics engineer offered me a solar cell he no longer had any use for (along with installation advice and help), I jumped at the offer. The photo shows the first stage which is the external mounting and installation. Mounting the solar cell and running the wires has called for careful planning and execution - especially keeping the whole system watertight. I have to admit I had to gulp hard a few times before drilling into the cabin top roof and other structural components The first half of the job is now complete. The next stage involves running the wiring back to the solar cell controller and then attaching the whole system to the boats battery ..... roll on stage two - watch this space  : > )

------------------------------------------ CLOSING THE DOOR --------------------------------------

After a few coats of mahogany stain and a wrestling match with a set of hinges who had far too many opinions of their own I have finally fitted the forward bulkhead door for the last time. It is now officially installed and I have danced a sailors hornpipe on the foredeck in celebration. The door is now closed on this topic.

-------------------------------------- A NEW DOOR -------------------------------------------

After much contemplation, measuring, constructing, fitting and general too-ing and fro-ing I have managed to build a robust door frame and door which gives the doorway a finished iook. All of this took me longer to construct than I thought it would, but the whole job is now almost complete. The door fits! it works! it looks good! it will give privacy to the toilet area and gives the main cabin a completed look. The door replaces a curtain.

To complete the job only requires some sanding, staining and varnishing before the final permanent hanging of the door on its hinges.

The most wonderous aspect of all of this activity up till now, is that I have managed to take the door to and from 'Mariner' in the dinghy without ending up in the tide! It has been at times a bit of a tricky balancing act.,,,,,,,,,,,,,, BUT! the door is now ashore being varnished - there is still time for a watery christening - yikes! I hope not!

OK TRAVELLER SERIES STUMP BAY TAUPO NORTH ISLAND NEW ZEALAND

The NZOKDA (New Zealand OK Dinghy Association) runs a 'Traveller' series at different venues around New Zealand. I attended my third in the series for this year and the most recent at Stump Bay, Turangi on the shores of Lake Taupo, North Island New Zealand. I can't capture the essence of the weekend any better than Rod Davis - former Olympic Medalist, Americas cup helmsman and OK Dinghy aficionado and enthusiast. I think he speaks for all those who attended what was a brilliant Kiwi sailing event: 

Turangi International Regatta Article by ‘Coach’ (Rod Davis)

More of a pilgrimage really, to Stump Bay, and Wally’s team of magical volunteers who simply make things happen when it comes to great regattas. 27 of the class faithful, from all across the land, made the journey to the mecca of grass roots OK sailing. Making it the biggest Turangi regatta ever, or at least in living memory. What sets this regatta apart from other regattas? Everything. Notice of race is four lines long. Sailing instructions, everything you need to know, courses, briefing and start times, etc, in just six lines. Not pages but SIX lines. The lack of ‘officialdom’ is one of grass roots sailing’s biggest attractions. 

Think of the fun where courses are set, races are run, no one complains, where everyone is more interested in having fun racing than worrying about being procedurally correct. Wally (commodore of Turangi Yacht Club) and his team have run this regatta for as long as I can remember and it’s a damn good thing too, as Stump bay in March can be challenging. Often the wind is very light, too light for most clubs to race. But not for Wally. If there is enough wind for the boats to move, we will start the race. Classic ‘Wally calls the tune, we do the dancing’. Never a complaint is heard because we embrace it. It’s a point of difference in regattas: when other clubs would sit on shore waiting, we are on the water racing. Also makes for the stuff of legends - last year Oscar won a race while drinking a beer! How good is that? Grass roots yachting fun.

Another calling that draws the crowds, almost everyone sleeps on the club grounds. Pitching tents, camper vans, or sleeping in the cars, we are all together living basic for two days, a great equaliser and glue to bond OK Dinghy sailors of wildly diverse backgrounds. From farmers to sailmakers, new sailors to the class, to veterans of decades of OK sailing. All as one team. After sailing, beers fire up the talks of sailing techniques. By the time of the fabulous BBQ (thank you Cowboy, Brenda and volunteers) the conversations moved to families and life, and later into the night, as late as you want to go, the chat comes around to ‘setting the world right’. (Who’s kept the notes on that again?) 

The class has grown from the old adolescent days of bon fires and burning boats (never OKs) to a calmer balance of cutting loose and reasonability. OK, that sets the scene, now to the racing. The thing about this regatta is don’t over think the tactics. There is bit of craziness in how the wind field comes down the race course. Sail in the ‘here and now’ is the best advice I can give. 

This year Stump Bay turned it on with 6-16 knots of wind. Champagne sailing as they say in press release,s but in this case it was for real. 27 boats and seven races that were just 30 minutes long meant lots of action across the fleet at each of the marks. Every one had races that went very well for them, and others that didn’t work out as well as they might have. Interestingly, the final points had almost every place within a couple of points of the sailor ahead or behind. Meaning no matter where you were in the fleet, every point, every place in each race mattered when the tally was totalled. As it should be in great racing. 

Steve McDowell resumed his winning ways with a strong performance winning three races and the regatta. He should have won a fourth race but fell out of his boat on the final tack to the finish. Maybe he did that to make us all feel better when we make big mistakes or capsize. Or maybe he is a mere mortal after all. Luke Gower’s guest appearance and brilliant sailing earned him a second, and your reporter here, another two points back in third. Steve and Sean Cleary both won the ‘Tiki’ for winning the last race of each day. Other notable performances - Simon Probert was on fire after getting his boat back from Jenny Craig 3kg lighter. Trent Pryce had finishes of 5, 5, & 7 showing form that paves the way to good things in the future. 

 Finished, packed up and driving home by two and home before dark. 

 The perfect regatta.

((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((( STILL AFLOAT )))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))

Shipmates, I haven't blogged for some time - suffice to say I have been very, very busy - A trip to the UK, racing my OK dinghy, building stuff (As us sailor / boat builders come boat renovators tend to do) and generally trying to make the most of life as the clock ticks down.

One of the projects I have been involved in has been the on going job of giving my yacht Mariner (above) some TLC which has included: 

 - An internal bow to stern clean.

- External repaint

- Installation of a new stove.

- Construction of a forward cabin door.

- The design and construction of a new spray dodger (new shape).

- Installation of a new toilet.

- Installation of a solar panel and controller.

- Haul out and antifouling painting completed.

- General motor maintenance (filters, new battery etc).

Most of the work has been completed but there are three jobs that are outstanding on this list which are the fabric for the new spray dodger armature, installation of the new door and the fitting of the solar panel and controller. 

All dressed up and ready to rock and roll.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> SAILING ON >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

 Sailing my OK 563

My OK Dinghy has been repaired for a while now and I am back sailing - but the drama continued - read on ............

.............Not long after getting the boat fixed the tow bar on my car collapsed as I arrived home when towing the boat. If it had collapsed on the highway there could have been a nasty accident. I now have a new and much stronger towbar and the wheels on the trailer have been moved forwards to obtain better weight balance. After the towbar collapsed without any injury to any road users I counted myself pretty lucky, so following tradition I immediately went out and bought a Lotto ticket - alas my luck didn't extend that far. Never mind, I am very grateful for serendipity falling where it did in the first instance!

This photo was taken yesterday at the OYC combined OK / Flying 15 Regatta weekend. Great event.

>>>>>>>>>>> A PICTURE IS WORTH A THOUSAND WORDS >>>>>>>>>>>

Albi the Laser sailor insisted he take a photograph of me beside my damaged boat. I was feeling a bit glum at the time which is a polite way of saying I was really, really fucked off. The sense of an historical photographic imperative that overcame him at the time has I guess preserved the moment and made it available for this blog post, so thanks Albi.