IOM sailboat build

New Sails

2011-03-06T19:17:00.004-06:00

I have a new A set of sails and working on building a new set of B sails too. My original set A sails were really bad! Baggy, too full and just ugly.

2011 Alama Classic IOM Regatta

2011-03-06T19:13:00.000-06:00

ALAMO CLASSIC IOM REGATTA

2010-02-24T05:54:00.002-06:00

The Pirates of Woodlawn hosted the IOM Alamo Classic Regatta this past weekend and I made the 8 hour drive together with Hew to sail in this one day event. I am glad that I did, as it was a fantastic time! The atmosphere was very relaxed but yet the sailing was very competitive. Historically the club has made this regatta a fun regatta, with the fleet split into 2 fleets, a gold fleet for the more experienced skippers and a silver fleet for the less experienced. Both fleets shared the same start and course and the RD and his assistant had the fun in separating out the finishes to reflect each fleet.

I sailed ‘OK’ in this regatta, making every one of the 17 starts and finishing every race, which says a lot for the quality of the build of my VEKTOR. The boat remained dry, with no leaks until the wind picked up and then I think the tape on the bow sections may have leaked a small amount. I am glad that Hew and I were able to fix the leak in my mast tube before the regatta. I am also thankful that he was able to mend my mainsail as it looked much better than it did last week.

The final results showed me in 7th place in the Silver Fleet after 17 races, this was a fleet of 10 boats, so I did not do too well, but considering the number of times I sailed the IOM I am satisfied with this result. I have lots of room for improvement. Hew sailed well and ended up the winner of the Gold Fleet. I guess the VEKTOR hull design is not a bad one; but I honestly think that the hull design is not as critical as the skill of the driver in tuning the boat and sails, getting a good start and sailing well – at least at my level of competence.

Below you will see some posted pictures. Many of these photos I borrowed from Bill Smith, a member of Team Houston. Bill rode out with his club, not to sail but to take photos and learn more about the IOM fleet. Here is a link to Bill Smith’s website, where he posted a ton of great photos - :

http://flyinbill.com/AlamoClassicIOM2010/index.html

The Woodlawn Sail Club has posted some photos and a write-up on their website –:

http://www.woodlawnsailingclub.org/

I am looking forward to racing this boat and to improving my position in the fleet.

Pictures from the Alamo Classic IOM Regatta

2010-02-24T05:30:00.006-06:00

Approaching the finish line

Finishing a race

About to round the leeward mark

After rounding the leeward mark and beating towards the finish line

A typical crowded start, with 20 boats what else would you expect?

Not a bad start

Pre-start manuevering

Near the leeward mark

The fleet on the beach prior to racing

#91

Going to the weather mark

A nice shot of the fleet after a start

The 1st weather leg

Soon after a start sequence

Alamo Classic IOM Regatta

2010-02-19T06:06:00.003-06:00

I am leaving today for San Antonio, TX to sail in my 1st IOM regatta! The Pirates of Woodlawn are hosting their famous ALAMO CLASSIC IOM REGATTA on Saturday, February 20th and it looks like there will be 20 boats on the starting line. Head Pirate, Capt Jack, advises that he will have to fleets, a gold fleet for more experienced skippers and a silver fleet for those with less experience. The silver fleet should have some tight racing, as a few of us hackers from the Victoria Fleet will be battling it out with our IOMs.

This past week I found the leak that has been haunting me since the 1st time she hit the water. It seems the mast tube was leaking like a sieve! I went to Hew's shop and we put some thickened epoxy in the mast tube and sealed up the leak. We (Hew) also looked at my 'A' mainsail and decided it would look better if it was trimmed a bit. We took the sail off the rig and then pulled off the luff tape and re-cut the luff and then reinstalled the sail. It definitely looks much better now.

I will post more during or after the weekend.

More pictures of Boat covers

2010-02-12T11:06:00.002-06:00

Notice the detail - embroidered number and 'fuzzy' material of inside lining of bag.

A pocket is sewn into the cover to hold the rudder, the nylon webbing straps are in the right location to be balanced when carrying the keel bag.

Pictures of Boat Covers

2010-02-12T10:50:00.005-06:00

The inside of the boat bag is some type of fuzzy cloth to protect the hull.

Notice the detail - my sail number embroidered in the cover and the handy carry straps.

Here are both the hull bag and the keel bag.

Boat Cover and Keel Blade Cover

2010-02-12T10:13:00.003-06:00

I finally received the boat cover and keel blade cover from WINDWARD R/C ( http://www.windwardrc.com/ ) and they are FANTASTIC! I will get some photos of these items soon, in case any of you want to see what they are all about before you buy these for your IOM.

Final Accounting

2009-12-31T17:29:00.002-06:00

In the post below you will find the final accounting of this project. Please keep in mind that his is the cost to build my boat, with all three (3) rigs, A, B & C, back up servos, a sailbox and some other bits and peices that may be considered luxuries by others.

I will modify the list somewhat to show what can omitted, if you just want to get an idea on the bare minimum to take a hull and deck and build it with the A rig.

2009-12-31T17:21:00.001-06:00

New Receiver & Radio

2009-12-31T06:03:00.004-06:00

My DX6i radio came in yesterday together with the new Marine MR3000 receiver. I went to the boat yard and we programmed the radio and linked the receiver. This new receiver has 2 antennae and one is about 8 inches long and the other 13 inches. After putting the Rx in the pot, I pushed the long antenna out the whole where the servo wires are fed and we ran it forward up to the servo mount. The other antenna we ran out a small whole in the back of the pot and let it hang in the stern of the boat. We dipped the exposed ends of the antennae with silicon to protect them from water and subsequent possible corrosion.

We also installed the the plastic clips that hold the rigs securely in place and installed some tie downs to better secure the rigs in the boat box. I sanded on the outside of the box and dusted it off. I will put on a second coat of the polyurethane this afternoon. Then i have to install a carrying handle, or 2. As noted we put in slots to hold the rudder and the keel and the box will have a different balance point if the box is loaded with the keel and rudder than if it doesn't.

We are also looking for a source for a good hasp/latch to hold the box together when it is closed.

I will get some pictures today of the items noted above and will post them.

Hope to get the hull cover and keel cover soon that I ordered from Windward Sailing. When these come in I will certainly post some pictures.

Adrian's Sail Box

2009-12-30T07:47:00.002-06:00

Here are some photos of Adrian's sail box that he sent to me to give some ideas for handling the interior of my sail box.

ALMOST FINISHED

2009-12-26T07:31:00.002-06:00

Well, did an inventory of what still need to be completed with this boat and it seems I am almost done with this boat and project.

1 - I need to order some blocks to better engineer the bungee that holds the tension on the sheeting system.
2 - Check final weight of keel and hull to ensure all is in order, I may have to add weights to the B and C rigs to make the whole boat, rig come to minimum weight if it comes in less.
3 - Complete sail box. I ordered some clips from West Marine that will hold the rigs in place, and then need to figure out a way to secure rigs on place using rubber bands, bungee cord, hooks and eyes etc.
4 - Get the rigs measured in and the hull.
5 - I did order a hull cover and a keel cover from Chuck LeMahieu of Richardson, TX (his website is listed as a link on this blog)
6 - I also ordered a new DX6i radio with the new marine receiver MR3000

This was a great project, although it took much longer than I expected, but at the end of the day, I built this boat with my own two hands! I do not know if the boat will be competitive or not, but I feel it is the sailor who is good, not necessarily the boat.

Sail Box

2009-12-26T07:21:00.004-06:00

SAIL BOX with slots fitted to hold Keel and rudder

Worked on the sail box some more on Wednesday together with Al and Collin. We looked at some photos of Adrian's sail box and decided to put in a slot to hold the keel and rudder securely. I still need to find some clasps to hold the box closed securely and a carry handle.

Sail box view of the inside before 3rd panel installed

Panel for 'C' rig and the 'B' rig on the back panel. Also slots for keel and rudder

Here you can see the 'A' rig on the inside of the front panel and the 'C' rig located on the inside panel and the 'B' rig on the back panel as well as the keel and rudder.

Below - you can see this with the inside panel closed and only the 'A' rig accessible.

Sail Box and other Items

2009-12-22T03:41:00.002-06:00

Last night I had a few hours to myself so I went to the boat loft and put a coat of sealant on the inside of the sail box. I am not sure when I will have the time to work on the box again as extremely busy with work.

I also bought some permatex silicon and used it to attach the bow bumper to the stem. I will see how this stuff holds up, this is the stuff that the guys in Vancouver use.

It was also discovered that the bungee I was using to keep tension on the sheeting system broke and figured this was due to how it was run, too much friction in one location. I will have to figure out a way to rig this bungee.

I also got some wire so I can hard wire the on/off switch and the new batteries arrived.

Sailing Picture

2009-12-07T11:23:00.002-06:00

Al took this photo with his new camera. Here the #91 is ahead of Adrians #55 - Both Vektor hulls.

Al's NOUX plug

2009-12-01T07:52:00.003-06:00

Al is making mould of a NOUX, here is the plug that he will make the mould from.

Sail Box (Continued)

2009-12-01T07:40:00.003-06:00

Sail box before slicing in half

Sail box after cutting in half

Sail box with piano hinge installed

Yesterday we cut the sail box on half lengthwise to make two halves. I then installed the piano hinge. Today I will put a coat of polyurethane on the inside of the box and then this afternoon we will do some work on the inside. This box will hold all three rigs so an extra panel will be installed on the inside with another piano hinge for holding the C rig. Stay tuned for more pictures on this project.

More pictures from Sunday sailing

2009-12-01T07:30:00.003-06:00

Al's Noux (#14)
Adrians VEKTOR (#55)

Sailing!

2009-11-30T11:10:00.001-06:00

Dave's VEKTOR

The #91 under sail

Main sail Cunningham

2009-11-30T11:06:00.002-06:00

'A' Rig cunningham

'C' rig cunningham

'A' rig cunningham

Jib down haul

2009-11-30T11:02:00.002-06:00

Here are a few shots of how I rigged the Jib down haul on this boat.

Sail box

2009-11-30T10:50:00.005-06:00

Here are two photos of the sail box I have been working on. The design is the same as Al's, and it will hold all three rigs. More details to follow once I make more headway on this project.

PVC boat stand

2009-11-30T10:47:00.003-06:00

Here are a couple of shots of the PVC boat stand I put together. You will not a 'T' coming off the bas of the legs, this is to support the keel, putting the boat at angle of heel to see the shape of the sails better.

Video

2009-11-28T07:41:00.002-06:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gty-9h3L5qo&feature=channel

The above link to youtube shows the veiw from onboard Dave's boat. Hew has a small video camera that we tape on to a boat.

Boat stand and sail box

2009-11-28T07:06:00.002-06:00

Yesterday I went to the boat loft and built a boat stand out of PVC pipe and started to build my sail box. I will post pictures later this weekend.

The boat stand is made from 1/2 inch PVC pipe and some elbows and a couple of 'T' fittings. I used some type of rubber shelf liner for the 'hammock' that supports the hull. This cost less than $10.00 to make.

The sail box is made from 1/4 inch plywood and 1 x 6 poplar boards and 2 piano hinges at 6 foot length each. This box will hold all three rigs. I will post more details of the box and some photos later this weekend.

Today I will continue to work on the sail box and try to knock out some of the other items on my list of things to complete to finalize this boat.

Sunday we are planning on sailing IOM's at the lake front.

A-Rig Cunningham

2009-11-24T20:14:00.003-06:00

Today I put the Cunningham ring on the mast of the A-Rig. In order to do this I had to take the boom off and then remove the spreaders so i could take the mast apart at the joint. I slide the mast out of the sail hoops and then put the ring on the mast below the white stripe and above the gooseneck. I used some CA to hold it in place. I also had to reattach the head of the main to the top of the mast, it was set too low before. After doing this Adrian showed up to the boat loft and soon after Dave also arrived. I put the rig back to together and installed sliding hooks for the adjustments to the Cunningham, these are the sliding hooks that are used for the the sheet attachments, they require an Allen wrench to tighten and loosen, but i think i prefer this method over the bowsie I was using before. I also replaced the bowsie on the Job Boom for the down haul with one of these sliding hooks. Like a big dummy, I forgot to put on draft stripes on the main! Will try to get to this this weekend.

I need to do all of the above to the B-rig too!

I am hoping I won't have to work this weekend and I can build my sail box. Ordered the clips to hold the masts from West Marine and they should be here next week. The sail box will hold all three rigs.

Pictures from sailing Sunday, November 22, 2009

2009-11-22T17:36:00.001-06:00

VEKTOR - #91

VEKTOR 91 crossing the stern of Mike's own design 'GOLLYWOMPUS'

VEKTOR 91 & 66 around the mark, GOLLYWOMPUS in the middle

Batteries

2009-11-22T17:13:00.002-06:00

I order 4 sets of batteries from all-battery.com this evening. These are 6 volts, 2000 mAh NiMH for $8.99 each!

We sailed this morning at the lakefront and she did OK, but she did better after Hew tuned the boat a bit. 'They' let me win the last race so I will have to come out again real soon!

Made a list of things to do to in order to complete the boat once and for all.

1) Finish the C rig - Connect Jib to mast
1) Wire switch and make all electrical connections
2) Install mast ring and re-run cunninghams on both the A rig and the B rig, using hooks and track-slides instead of bowsies
3) Put draft stripes on all 3 mains
4) Re-run downhauls on all three jibs - remove bowsies and use hooks/track-slides
5) Make a boat stand out of PVC piping
6) Build a sail box to hold all three rigs
7) Build a box to hold the hull, with places to secure the rudder and keel/bulb

Now Al is making a mold of the NOUX II and i am sure one of these days i will want to build one of those just so i can keep up with the fleet!

C rig

2009-10-10T09:53:00.003-05:00

I almost finished completing the C rig this morning. I did however attach the mainsail to the mast and boom. I need to connect the wire headstay to the mast, but require a second set of hands to do this properly. This will have to wait until Al gets back from racing Victoria's in San Antonio.

Thursday I drilled out 2 more holes in the lead bulb in order to reduce the weight of the keel/bulb. These holes were filled with Styrofoam peanuts and then epoxied over. This morning I sanded off the excess epoxy. The keel/blade now just needs the 'once over' from Al and then some touch up paint and final sanding and polishing.

Dave ordered some more parts from Mid-west Model Yachting and I ordered some extra parts and pieces for the boat. The order should be here next week. I ordered some bowsies, some silicon drain plugs, block to replace the one I 'borrowed' from Al and the auto ease Cunningham rings. I also order extra boom slides with hooks that i will use for my downhauls. I think I prefer this method over a bowsie as it is easier to adjust, just requiring an allen wrench.

BOW BUMPER & SILICON DRAIN PLUG

2009-10-10T09:44:00.004-05:00

Home made silicon drain plug

Bow bumper mold on the bow of the boat

Bow bumper stuck in the mold.

Untrimmed bow bumber out of the mold.

Bow bumper attached to the boat.

I went by the boat yard this morning and checked on the silicon bow bumper made yesterday. It had set up and as i tried to pull the mold off the boat, the bumper came off inside the mold. I pulled the mold off, cleaned up the edges and then mixed up a small amount of the A & B silicon material to smear on the both the stem of the boat and on the bumper itself. I then attached the bumper to the boat and taped it in place. I hope this will hold the bumper securely to the boat.

I also made a drain plug from the pink silicon stuff and this pulled out of its mold pretty good, as you can see from the photos.

Re doing the silicon bow bumper

2009-10-09T13:17:00.003-05:00

Smooth-On "Dragon Skin" two part silicon product.
Material mixed up with a few drops of pink added.

The pink silicon in the mold on the boat.

I went to New Orleans today to pick up some of the silicon product used to make the bow bumper. Then went by the boat yard and mixed up some of this stuff and added a few drops of pink and then poured it in to the mold. I also made an attempt to make a colored drain plug too, will see how this turns out tomorrow.

Finding the leak - Part II

2009-10-08T20:38:00.001-05:00

The epoxy set up that we used to fill in the area at the top of the keel trunk overnight. Before i re drilled the hole for the keel bot to exit the keel truck, I decided to test the keel truck again with some air pressure. Low and behold! Another air leak was noted in about the same area as the one we thought we plugged last night. Anyway, mixed up some more 5 minute epoxy, thinned it with acetone and then poured it into the keel trunk. I will test it again tomorrow and see it if this cures the leak. Finger crossed!

Bow Bumper

2009-10-08T20:36:00.003-05:00

Well, seems the bow bumper material (A & B) were not compatable. Ended up making some pink mush. I cleaned it all up this afternoon and found a source for this moldable silicon across the lake in New Orleans and i will pick some up tomorrow. I will make the bow bumper on Friday.

Finding the leak

2009-10-07T21:35:00.002-05:00

Al and i did some investigating this evening and we think we found where the water was entering the hull. It is on the keel box, near the deck, or so we think. I mixed up some 5 minute epoxy and placed it carefully in this area. Hopefully this is the leak and we fixed it. Will find out next time I take her sailing.

I ahve also done some homework on batteries. I think I will go with a NiMH 2300 millamp battery packs. I found them at All-Batteries dot com for about $9 each. These are 6 volt batteries and i can also use them on my Victoria.

Bow Bumper

2009-10-07T21:32:00.002-05:00

Tonight we tried to make the silicon bow bumper. Hew had some 2 part silocn and a mold from his VEKTOR. I mixed it up added a few drops of the pink paint and then poured it in the mold. I will check on it tomorrow, it should be set up by then.

Some of Hew's Photos

2009-10-06T21:45:00.003-05:00

Sailing Tonight

2009-10-06T20:51:00.002-05:00

Al, Hew and I ventured to the lakefront tonight and got in a few hours of sailing. I have a lot to learn about sailing this boat. An IOM is much different than the Victoria, the other class boat that we sail.

The wind was light so no water was taken over the bow, but yet she took on some water. I will need to find where the water is coming in, probably on the keel trunk, and then come up with a fix.

Also found a few other items that need attention. I still need to complete installing the C sails on the C rig. That shoudl not take too long.

Eventually I will need to come up with a way to cart all of this gear around in the back of a truck.

Hew took some more photos tonight and I hope he posts them soon to his flicker account as the boat looked fantastic in the sunshine! It is very crisp, with white against the pink. The pink certainly does have some shine to it too!

I am very pleased with how this project turned out.

B Rig

2009-10-05T06:28:00.002-05:00

After the attempt at sea trials on Sunday, I went back to work on completing the B rig. It was raining and too windy to sail with the A rig and the Saints we playing. Al has the boat loft wired for cable TV! I completed putting together the B rig after I drained the water out of the hull from the sea trails. After draining and mopping the water out the hull, I wiped down the keel/bulb and rudder and the rest of the boat.

I got to say, I think she looks real nice out in the water.

Sea Trials?

2009-10-05T06:17:00.003-05:00

Well an attempt was made on Sunday to take her out for sea trials. The weather was lousy and the wind was up to 12 to 15 or better, near the top of the A rig range. At the time all I had completed was the a rig! With Al, Hew and Dave there to watch, the pink boat was launched! It was not a successful sail, as the wind was strong, I did not have my shrouds tight and the pot was not sealed up. Needless to say the hull was full of water when she got back to the dock. Hew sailed his boat with the B rig effortlessly! Not a drop of water in his Vektor! Anyway, the rain was fast approaching so I packed it up and went back to the boat loft to continue the work on the other sails/rigs. Hew took some fantastic photos of this outing and posted them on his flickr site. The link is below.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/hew_hamilton/sets/72157622515167832/

I also borrowed a few of his shots and posted them here. together with some other shots.

More shots of the hull

2009-10-03T21:45:00.002-05:00

Here she is on the scale. Looks like the keel/bulb is about 6 grams too heavy. I hope sanding and polishing the paint will reduce the weight these 6 grams. According to class rules, the keel/bulb shall not exceed 2500 grams.

I think the boat in sailing condition will be a tad heavy, class rules specify a minimum weight of 4000 grams. I think she will weigh in at 4160 grams. I will eventually get lighter batteries and this should help get it down to minimum weight.

Stepping the mast and bending on the sails

2009-10-03T21:41:00.003-05:00

WOW! Finally got the sails bent on the rig and attached to the servos. Tomorrow she will go on her maiden voyage!

Keel/bulb and rudder painted white

2009-10-03T21:38:00.003-05:00

Here are a few shots of the rudder and keel/bulb painted white. I used an appliance type epoxy paint for these 2 items for the durability of this paint. I hope it will help protect this items from dings and dents. We will see

Miainsail Headboard Swivel

2009-10-03T21:34:00.002-05:00

Here I had to fabricate the headboard swivel for the mainsail. Took a stainless rod and pushed through the hole in the mast head fitting and then put a series of bends in the rod to hold the sail. You will see this better when i take some photos of the sails bent on the rigs.

Cockpit

2009-10-03T21:31:00.003-05:00

Here are a few shots of how the cockpit is rigged. You can see the pot in the cockpit, this si where the batteries and the reciever will go and they will remain dry, I hope!

Sail Servo and running rigging

2009-10-03T21:27:00.002-05:00

Here are some shots of the Sail Servo showing how it is rigged.

More work completed

2009-10-03T09:07:00.002-05:00

More work continued last night at the boat yard.

Battens – Some time ago Al had some epoxy missed up and some leftover pieces of carbon fiber so he made some small sheets of carbon that I cut a few strips to make the battens for the sails. Last night I cut a few of these strips and applied to the leach of the sails using the double sided tape. I capped the ends of the battens off with small pieces of pink sticky back.

I also put on some draft stripes while the sails are not mounted to the rig.

A small, final amount of filling and sanding on the keel/bulb and then we moved it and the rudder outside so I could spray some appliance paint on them. I chose this paint as it is pretty durable and it can be sanded and shined up pretty well. It also should offer some protection from any incidental bumps of these appendages.

Finally last night we temporarily installed Al’s receiver so we could set up the sheeting system and see how the running of these lines would work. Glad we did! The original plan was to run some of the bungee cord through a series of blocks but we found out that due to some of the angles, the bungee cord did not run smooth. We ended up doing some modifications and used a short piece of bungee cord that only runs through one block and we used string for the balance. I get 11 inches of travel from the sheeting system which should be more than sufficient.

We also found out that the sail servos need to be programmed to give me 180 degrees of travel. This was accomplished by using Al’s Hi-Tech Servo Programmer that he recently purchased.
Today I hope to get enough work done that she will be able to launch her on Sunday.

I will bring my radio and receiver down today to set the end points of the sail servo. I also need to make up at least the ‘A’ rig in order to sail Sunday. I will need to connect the sails to the rig, which seems simple, but i still need to cut the lower ends of the shrouds and backstays and put a thimble in and then crimp them. Then a fitting will need to be made that will hold the head of the main to the top of the mast, allowing it to swivel as the sails go in and out.

We did not properly wire the boat for the electronics, as I will need to get another type of battery for this boat and connections. Eventually I will get the new DX radio for this boat.

I am very excited about being this close to launching this boat and sailing her!

Photos will be taken today and posted later.

Sewing the seams on the "C" rig

2009-09-28T21:18:00.000-05:00

Finishing up the sails

2009-09-28T21:15:00.002-05:00

Tonight I finished up working on the sails. I put grommets on the sails and i also used a sewing machine to sail the seams on the "C" rig sails.

Installing Deck Hardware

2009-09-23T21:50:00.002-05:00

Tonight it rained so we did not sail Victorias, instead I went to the boat yard and did some work on the IOM. I installed the rudder servo and the carbon push rod and a trim piece. I also installed the sail servo and the servo arm. A double cheek block was installed on the sail arm. A block was installed in the forward end of the cockpit for the main sheet and another block inside the forward part of the hull for the bungee cord tensioner to go through. A few holes were drilled into the forward cockpit bulkhead, two for the fairleads for both the sheet and the bungee cord tensioner and another holes was drilled for the ON/OFF switch. Again, the goal is to get this boat in the water soon so i can make it to the Region 5 Regatta in Dallas at the end of October.

More photos of the sails

2009-09-12T17:21:00.001-05:00

"C" Rig sails made

2009-09-12T17:11:00.003-05:00

"C" JIB
"C" Mainsail

Laying out the panels for the "C" Mainsail

Today I finished up making the sails for all three rigs. Almost! I still need to punch holes and put grommets on the tack, clew and head as well as the holes along the luff of the mains for attaching to the masts. Here are some more photos showing the sails with numbers, logo and USA.

More photos of sails

2009-09-11T20:10:00.001-05:00

More photos of the sails being constructed

2009-09-11T20:07:00.002-05:00

"A" Jib

"B" Main

2009-09-10T22:19:00.001-05:00

FINISHED 'A' JIB (without sail number and grommets)

STICKYBACK FOR THE CORNER REINFORCEMENTS

Making Sails!

2009-09-10T22:10:00.003-05:00

SAIL BOARD

PANELS CUT OUT

Tonight I started the tedious process of building sails. I ordered my sail cloth from Midwest Model Yachting and got it in the mail a few weeks ago. I was fortunate that Al has boards made with the template for the panels for all three sets of sails. So I unrolled some sail material and cut it then put it on the sail block and stuck it together. It seems easy, and it is very easy with Al's help, but to do this on your own may be a bit trying.

Ended up putting the panels together for the jibs and mains for the A rig and the B rig. We finished up the night by cutting the A jib to shape, putting the corner reinforcing patches on and then putting the luff wire and the luff tape on. I still need to put my sail number on this sail and then punch some grommets in it for the clew, tack and the head. Tomorrow I hope to put my sail number on this sail and then to continue work on the B jib. It is tedious work but i hope to get her sailing before too much longer as I want to take the boat to Dallas in November for the Region 5 Championship Regatta to debut this boat.

Sanded on Keel

2009-08-22T17:53:00.003-05:00

Today I sanded the extra epoxy off the keel bulb and then primed it, added some bondo filler and sanded it more. In fact, did this a series fo times. Hopefully I will get the final paint on it this week. I think I am going to use an appliance type epoxy paint. It has a very durable finish.

My sail cloth should be here this coming week too. I ordered from Midwest Model Yachting 10 ft of 1.4 mil mylar material and 10 ft of the 2.0 mil mylar material. I understand this should be enough material for me to make 2 sets of A sails and 2 sets of B sails. Al has some cloth I can use for my C rig. The sail cloth cost $27.00 with shipping.

Took keel/bulb out of the jig tonight

2009-08-19T21:14:00.002-05:00

We took the keel and the bulb out of the jig tonight. I have a few photos here. I also realized it was i tad too heavy, so i drill some holes in the the lead to lighten it and then filled with epoxy and i will sand and finihs next week when i get home.

Attaching the bulb to the blade

2009-08-18T21:43:00.001-05:00

Here are a few more shots of the bulb and the blade.

Attaching keel bulb to the keel blade

2009-08-18T21:39:00.005-05:00

Today i had the chance to do some more work on the IOM. Al and I aligned the keel blade to the hull and the bulb. I will write more about this later, but here are a few photos.

Sanding and polishing

2009-05-12T18:27:00.003-05:00

IOM Sailing

2009-04-27T06:51:00.003-05:00

We went out to our pond on Sunday to try to sail our Victoria's but the wind was more suited for IOMs. I had the chance to sail Al's KITE and Hew's VEKTOR. What fun! Had the B-rigs on and still did some nose diving going down wind. Here a few photos. Below are a few close up shots of Hew's VEKTOR

Bulb

2009-04-26T08:10:00.002-05:00

Some how the tip of the trailing point of the bulb got bent last night. We will have to figure out a way to straighten it up.

Installing Keel Blade

2009-04-26T08:01:00.003-05:00

After fixing the keel blade so it fits properly in the keel box we lined up the location from the plans the center of gravity for the bulb and the location on the blade where it is to be located. We realized the slot on the bulb needed to be longer so here i am drilling it out to extend the slot in the bulb. eventually the bulb will be pinned to the keel blade and epoxied in place. Some holes were drilled into the bulb to reduce the weight. The bulb and the keel can not weigh more than 2500 grams. I had to reduce it by 60 grams or more to make it work. This weight reduction will have to be done again after it is epoxied together, but hopefully only a small amount of lead will need to be removed.

Fairleads

2009-04-26T07:53:00.004-05:00

Fairleads for the Jib sheet were made out of stainless steel wire, bent and then installed through small holes drilled into the deck and bent back under the deck. These 'tabs' will be epoxied next time some is mixed up to secure these fairleads. The blue tape was used to protect the finish on the deck. A wire was also bent and installed on the cockpit coaming to prevent the mast ram from falling out. You can see it in the photo, but the mast ram is not installed yet.

Rudder installation

2009-04-26T07:45:00.002-05:00

Yesterday we installed the rudder tube in the hull and then cut the rudder shaft to fit as well as grinding down a flat spot on the shaft for the set screw to hit.

Resumed Construction

2009-04-25T22:57:00.002-05:00

After a long absence from the boat yard due to work and a bit of personal travel, I finally got some time in the boat yard today. We fixed the keel blade situation and some other work. I will update and post pictures tomorrow. She is coming along and i hope to have her in the water soon.

Fitting the keel blade

2009-03-24T06:59:00.003-05:00

Had some trouble fitting the keel blade to the keel trunk. Hew came over last night and helped Al & I work on this problem. Seems some how that something inside the trunk is not allowing the keel blade to fit properly. We sanded and filed the blade and we could not get it to fit properly, it rocked back and forth.

Eventually we mixed up some thickened epoxy and put it at the top of the keel truck, after wrapping the keel blade with plastic wrap so it won't stick.

Stay tuned tomorrow to see if this fix works!

Here are a few pictures of the keel blade in the truck on the hull.

A, B & C rigs

2009-03-24T06:52:00.003-05:00

I installed the gooseneck fittings on the A & B rigs yesterday, also cutting the masts to the proper length. The sides of the gooseneck fitting had to be cut on both sides for the mast ram to fit properly.

The mast head fitting, with cap, crane and shrouds shown being attached.

The gooseneck fittings attached to the masts, you can see the notch cut for the mast ram to fit.

All three rigs next to each other - you can note the difference in size for each rig.

Gooseneck fittings

2009-03-23T07:42:00.002-05:00

On Sunday, I put attached the gooseneck fitting to the C rig and measured and cut the base of the mast to have the desired length of the mast. I can use the same measurements on the B and A rigs. Attaching the gooseneck fitting involved measuring the location of the boom from the lower ring on the mast and then aligning the fitting so it is @ 90 degrees from the shroud holes so the boom will be centered fore and aft on the mast. I will take some photos of the C rig later this week and post. The A rig uses a spreader, so this was also constructed.

We also put the keel blade into the hull and sanded it down to fit, as some clear coat was over sprayed into the keel slot and caused the fit to be a bit tight.

The eye bolts for the jib attachment points were installed and i also installed the eyes for the shroud attachment point and the back stay attachment. The aft turning block was also installed.

This week I will complete rigging the shrouds and back stay on the B rig. I will also install the gooseneck fittings on the A and B rig. I will also do some final fitting of the keel blade into the slot and then put some paint on the keel blade and the rudder. For the keel blade and the rudder I will use some appliance paint, as it should cover in fewer coats than if I painted it white and then put clear coat on it. It is best to minimize any added thickness to the keel and rudder foil shape.

The boat is coming along real fast now! I have to think about where to install the fair leads in the cockpit where the control line exit into the cockpit. A turning block needs to be installed at the forward end of the cockpit and this needs to be thought out so the lines do not hit the boom vang. The lead bulb will need to be attached to the keel blade, and the keel blade cut to length. Sails need to be made too. Most of the remaining items to complete the boat are tedious and time consuming, but i hope to have her in the water by May 1st, all going well.

Building the masts

2009-03-23T07:32:00.002-05:00

While the clear coat is setting up, I started building the masts. There are 3 sets of rigs for this class boat, an A rig, a B rig and a C rig for different wind ranges.

The rigs are made of 12mm aluminum tubes and need holes drilled in them for the shrouds, the head stay attachment and adjustment holes for the jib halyard. I drilled these holes on Saturday and went through 2 drill bits as the aluminum dulls the drill bit very fast. Drilling all of these holes is not as easy as it looks, I marked the holes 1st with a pencil on some blue tape. The holes were then scored with an Exacto knife to make a point for the drill bit to start.

I also ran the shrouds and back stay on the A rig with un-coated 60 pound test stainless steel leader wire. I ran out of this wire so I have to buy some more to finish rigging the B rig. I used some 90 pound test un-coated stainless steel wire for the C rig - I want this rig to be pretty strong.

Clear coat on the deck

2009-03-23T07:28:00.002-05:00

Saturday was also a good day for applying clear coat - So after the white pain on the deck set up, a few coats of clear coat was sprayed on the deck.

Painting the deck white

2009-03-23T07:22:00.003-05:00

After the clear coat on the hull set, I taped up the edge of the hull/deck so I could spray the white paint on the deck. You will note 'plugs' in the predrilled holes for the shroud attachement, backstay and turning block, also a plug in the mainsheet tube. This is to prevent excess paint from getting into these holes.

I used a blow dryer to help the paint dry between coats of white paint. I put on about 6 coats of white paint, it covered the grey primer real even.

Here is the hull with 6 coats of white and the tape still on.

Scotch

2009-03-23T07:19:00.000-05:00

Scotch has been a great help during the project!

Hull with Clear Coat

2009-03-23T07:17:00.003-05:00

Here are two shots of the hull after I finished spraying on the clear coat.

Clear Coating the hull

2009-03-23T07:09:00.006-05:00

On Friday I finally had the time and the weather was right for spraying on a coat of Clear coat on the hull. Below is a photo of the hull prior to the clear coat being applied.

Below, I am spraying the clear coat on the hull. With Al's guidance I think my 1st time spraying this product came out pretty well! I only had two places where the clear coat ran. I have a lot of sanding to do to smooth the hull nice and shiny so these drips or runs will be sanded down.

Clear Coat!

2009-03-20T19:34:00.002-05:00

Well, after another series of out of town jobs I finally got a chance this afternoon to spray on some clear coat! I got home this afternoon from a gig in Mobile and called Al to see if he would be around to help me put some clear coat on the hull. He was available and so we did! I will get around to posting some photos later this weekend. She looks real good, the pink really sparkles in the sun! On Saturday I will paint the deck of the boat and the rudder and the keel blade. In the afternoon I should be able to spray some clear coat on the deck. After this gets accomplished I need to build my masts and sails. Install my deck hardware and then mount the keel bulb to the blade. Then I should be ready for sea trials! Stay tuned!

Travelling

2009-03-03T10:25:00.002-06:00

I have been travelling lately, just got home Seward, Alaska yesterday afternoon and leaving today to Port Arthur, TX. Hope to get some time on the IOM build next week. I need to clear coat the hull and paint the rudder and keel and deck and clear coat same.

Hull painted

2009-02-15T23:10:00.003-06:00

Here are some photos of the final paint job on the hull. When the weather presents a good day for outside spraying I will put some automotive clear coat on the hull to protect the paint. Being water based paint, it is pretty fragile at the moment. After the clear coat goes on I can then paint the cockpit and the deck. I still have much to do on the boat, but very happy to have some paint on her. I need to drill a hole for the rudder tube, drill a hole for the keel bolt as well as drilling holes for various fairleads and a deck block. I have to make my rigs and sails and then work on connecting the lead bulb to the keel. The keel and the rudder also need to be painted. WOW! I have a lot of work remaining on the boat, but so far it has been a very satisfying project. I need to thank Al, Hew and Dave for all of their help, advice, assistance so far in this project. THANKS GUYS!

Oh yeah, my choice of color? "Porn Star Pink" - the the link below to the website of auto air colors. These paints go on easy, but are water based so a clear is required to protect the paint job. If I had goofed, it would have been relatively easy to wash the old paint off and start over. This paint can not be sanded between coats or after a coat prior to clear coating.

http://www.autoaircolors.com/products/paint/series4500/series4500_frames.html

Color on the hull

2009-02-15T23:02:00.003-06:00

Here is the 1st coat of the color paint on the hull. It is a 'sparklescent' color from autoaircolors.com. It is supposed to sparkle when the sun hits it. Prior to painting the color on the hull, Hew suggested we sand down the 'tape line' from when we taped the hull to reference the blue paint. Hew took some 380 grit wet sand paper and v e r y lightly he sanded this small ridge down. After talking with Dave today, he said looking back at it, we never should have laid the tape down. It may have been better to just paint the whole hull blue, then taped off the stripe, then spray the white. This would have eliminated the lip of paint from the tape and would have maybe helped the white lay down more even. It took many coats of the white to cover where the blue and the gray primer met. Arm chair quarterbacking? Naw, just a lesson for next time using these paints.

Covering up the white bottom and blue boot stripe

2009-02-15T22:58:00.003-06:00

Here is Hew and Al helping me to cover the white bottom and the blue boot stripe. We would have used regular newspaper, but Al learned from experience that the ink in the newsprint will bleed over to the white paint and ruin the white paint. Luckily he had some blank blueprint type paper that we used to cover the white hull.

White paint on the hull

2009-02-15T22:53:00.003-06:00

Here I am with a blow dryer blowing some hot air on the fresh paint. The paint I am using is water based, so the coats can go down pretty quickly, one after another. It is a good idea to dry the paint before putting on the next coat, so the blow dryer was used to speed the drying process up a little. After many coats I finally got the results i was looking for.

Blue Boot Stripe - II

2009-02-15T22:42:00.002-06:00

Here you can see the yellow tape we laid on the hull near the waterline. This will be the blue boot stripe. It was difficult to get the tape to lay down with a nice curve and remain on the water line. We took a laser level and set it up on a bench across from the hull and we then 'leveled' the boat so the line hit the bow at the water line and at the stern at the waterline, or maybe it would be better to say where the design water line is supposed to be. Anyway, with the room dark, so the laser beam was more visible I used small tabs of blue painters tape and marked the laser line every couple of inches or so. The lights were then turned back on and Dave helped me to lay this yellow tape so one edge hits these small bits if blue tape used to mark the line. After a few 'do-overs' we get the line to look right, with no obvious sharp curves or bends. We then did the same procedure for the other side. After both sides were done we then looked at both sides together to see how they looked. It looked fined and I then proceeded with the white paint.

Blue Boot Stripe

2009-02-15T22:35:00.003-06:00

I decided to make the paint scheme a bit difficult for the 1st time painter (me). Al and Dave helped me to figure out how to do this. I put on some painters tape on the hull in an area where was we did not want to continue with the blue stripe paint, as a reference line. I sprayed the hull from one side of the painters tape to the other side, completely covering the bottom of the hull in blue.

Hull faired, primed and ready for final paint!

2009-02-15T22:27:00.002-06:00

Well, I spent some time on Friday sanding down some Bondo and filling some dings and dents in the hull, trying to get it ready for final paint. Saturday I took the hull by Hew's shop for his 'once-over'. Hew helped me fill in a few more low spots on the cockpit and helped me touch up a few areas on the bow. Finally the hull is ready for paint!

Hull pictures

2009-02-13T06:58:00.000-06:00

Hull prior to priming

After priming

Thursday - February 12th update

2009-02-13T06:48:00.000-06:00

Thursday I purchased my paint for the boat – I went with the AUTO AIR COLORS (autoaircolors.com). This is the brand that Hew and some of the others used to paint their boats.

I sanded the epoxy that oozed out of the hull deck joint last night and put a coat of primer on the hull and the rudder. I then put some more filler in some of the chips and while sanding the hull deck joint on the port bow section I noted a good size hollow that needed to be filled. I mixed up some Bondo and smeared it on this area after sanding the primer off and exposing the fiberglass. Unfortunately when I mixed the Bondo I did not add enough hardener and the end result after about an hour was still unset. I scraped this Bondo off and cleaned up the hull with some acetone to remove the remaining film of unset Bondo. I added some more hardener to the Bondo and re-smeared in on the hull. This time the Bondo set too soon and I did not get a good finish. Looks like more sanding for me and probably some more filling to fix this botch. Needless to say I am not too happy with my boat building skills the past week. Hopefully things will turn around and I can get the hull smooth and ready for final paint before I head out of town again.

After I get her painted I will drill the holes for my sheets rudder tube and keel bolt. I will also install the fairleads on deck for the jib sheets, another turning block on deck.

I also will be making sails; I have watched Al make quite a few sails the past few years, both Victoria sails and IOM sails. I am sure it is not an easy thing to do, but watching Al, he makes it looks pretty simple.

Fixed the Hull/Deck Joint

2009-02-11T20:31:00.003-06:00

Today I went by Hew's shop and he helped me to fix the hull/deck joint. We pulled the deck off from the hull from the chain plates forward, working a razor blade to open it up all the way. We then took some sandpaper and roughed up both edges to be reconnected. Hew then mixed up some 30 minute epoxy and he carefully put it in the joint. We then taped the deck down to the hull and let it sit. Hew also took some bondo and filled and faired a spot on each side of the hull.

I then went over to the boat yard @ Al's and I cut some fiberglass cloth to lay up under the chain plates to connect the hull to the deck in this area. I mixed up some epoxy and put some in a syringe to use later with the cloth. The balance of the epoxy was mixed with some adhesive filler and made paste like. I put this thickened epoxy inside the hull mashing it to the deck under the chain plates. I then cut the cut fiberglass cloth and tabbed the deck to the hull. After the cloth was in place I then took the syringe of regular epoxy and squirted it on the cloth. Taking my finger and a plastic straw I wetted the cloth and then set the boat upside down to dry.

I also made a table top boat stand to hold the boat while working on a table or the tailgate of a truck. It will hold the boat with out rudder or keel.

Should be buying paint tomorrow and hope to get her painted up over the weekend.

Set Back

2009-02-10T20:46:00.002-06:00

I had a small set back on the Vektor this afternoon. Seems when I was sanding the primer/filler and handling the boat the deck came adrift from the hull in the area from the shroud attachment point forward for about 3 inches (to the center of the access hole).

Luckily Al was there to stop me from tossing the whole thing in the trash and he suggested I put some Z epoxy thickened with some adhesive filler into the opened seam. I did this and then taped it down. Will check on it tomorrow morning. Al then asked if I had tied the hull together with the deck in the area of the shrouds with glass, to which I did not! So, tomorrow I will cut some fiberglass cloth to tie the areas together and mix up some thickened epoxy to put in this area, with boat on her side so let gravity do its job. The after this thickened stuff is in place I will come back and tab the hull to the deck with the fiberglass cloth and some regular epoxy.

And to think I was getting ready to buy my paint and thought that I may even be able to paint her this weekend.

RUDDER

2009-02-08T20:36:00.002-06:00

I removed the rudder from the mold this afternoon. I think it came out good, but I will wait to see what the experts have to say.

Back in the barn for the night

2009-02-07T20:56:00.003-06:00

I put the primed hull back in the barn for the night. Tomorrow i will sand the high spots down and prime again. I will also take some filler to fill in the pin holes and some dents that are visible with the coat of primer. I need to go by and pick out the color of my hull soon. After i get some more priming/sanding done i will then drill holes for the fairleads and another turning block. I have a lot of work left in installing lead bulb to the keel, making rigs, building sails, working on the rudder and making a boat sand out of PVC piping. It seems the stuff the requires thought and more thought are still ahead of me. So far this project has been very satisfying and i could not have done it with out the help of Al and Hew.

Primed Hull

2009-02-07T20:54:00.001-06:00

Here are a few shots of the hull with its first few coats of primer.

Getting ready to prime the hull!

2009-02-07T20:50:00.003-06:00

WHOO HOO! The boat is set up for priming!

Mast ram

2009-02-07T20:45:00.003-06:00

Here is the mast ram. It comes as a complete circle, but with the dremel I cut half of the circle off to make it work better against the mast. You will be able to see this better when a rig is on the boat.

Booms

2009-02-07T20:43:00.002-06:00

Here the job booms and the main booms with hardware installed. There are three rigs for this boat, therefore 3 sets of booms.

Rudder

2009-02-07T20:35:00.003-06:00

The rudder was laid up in the mold again, and some wetted fiberglass cloth was twisted up to stiffen the rudder. Some epoxy mixed with adhesive was made thick and with a syringe was squirted along the edges. The molds were then stuck together and clamped tight. I will see how the rudder turns out tomorrow ABOVE - rudder post (stainless steel rod, bent to better hold in the rudder) affixed to half of the molded rudder.

BELOW - you can bearly see the twisted wetted fiberglass cloth that will add stiffness to the rudder.

ABOVE - A better shot of the bend in the rudder shaft and the epoxy used to hold it together.

BELOW - Both halves, before joining and clamping.

Rudder servo

2009-02-07T20:31:00.003-06:00

Here you can see the rudder servo and the hatch cut into the deck for access to this servo.

Main sheet post

2009-02-07T20:25:00.004-06:00

Above shows the main sheet tube attached to the hull, the rudder servo mount is directly aft of the post.

Below shows the main sheet post where it protrudes through the deck. Eventually it will be cut down some, but for now i am keeping it at this length. The epoxy around the edges was sanded smooth.

Mast tube - cut off and sanded down

2009-02-07T20:17:00.003-06:00

Here is the mast tube after the epoxy hardened. The exposed piece will be cut off with the cutting wheel of the dremel and the the tube sanded flush and smooth to the deck.

The picture above shows the base of the mast tube, affixed to the hull.

Below shows the tube after it was cut above the cockpit and sanded a bit.

The photo below shows the mast tube sanded flush with the deck.

Rudder

2009-02-06T21:32:00.002-06:00

I am going to use the mold that Al made for a rudder.

Here i am cutting out some scraps of fiberglass cloth that I will use for the rudder.

I put some mold release on the molds and after it dried i laid down a layer of the fiberglass cloth and wetted it out. I put three layers of cloth on each side of the rudder mold.

Tomorrow i will pull these rudder halves out of the mold sand /cut the edges and then put a stainless steel post on one side for the rudder post. Some epoxy will be mixed up and then the 2 halves will be epoxied together. The rudder should come out faired with minimal amount of work required to have it ready for use.