Slightly Barbaric's first sail!

My dot needs to change colors!

Just under a year after construction began, Slightly Barbaric goes for its first sail! On friday, I dragged my roommates and girlfriend out on the water with winds blowing in the upper teens and gusting to the mid twenties. After getting everything rigged at the dock we seeked shelter from the wind behind an island and raised the jib. Spent a few mintues getting everything under control and settled in and then we raised the main. There was plenty of power reaching back and forth and quickly learned that the boat is very tender. It sure was a blast!

There is still some work that needs to be done (recutting the main and possibly the jib, figuring out better leads, adjusting the tiller, and attaching the keel to the boat more firmly) but it feels great to get out on the water! The boat feels more like a dingy than a keel boat and was very quick as expected. I can't wait to get everything figured out and get the boat tuned up. More pictures to follow!

Taking a Break

Well the Navy has sent me to New London, CT for a couple months and I decided to leave the boat and her parts down in Charleston. Before I left, I finished glassing, priming and painting the exterior. I still have a little reinforcement glassing as well as installation of the hardware and fittings to go on the hull. My next task when I return to Charleston will be to pour the bulb and finish the mast and rigging. If anyone is in the New England area and needs any help with their project I would be willing to help when I can.

Getting Closer

Well I figured I would try to list the projects that I have left before the boat is sailable.

The biggest and item to go is the keel. I have just about finished shaping the wood and hope to begin the glassing process this weekend. The biggest dilemma that I am facing is the keel bulb. Tim R. has offered to pour a bulb for me but I might have to wait longer than I would like. If anyone wants to pour a bulb with me (I have never done anything like this) near the Charleston area or if anyone has a bulb they might be willing to part with let me know.

The keel box has somewhat been waiting on the keel to progress as well. Instead of a sleeve, I am creating a box and will have fittings on the keel that will slide into the box when the keel is down. This was suggested to me, instead of the sleeve, b/c of the ability to adjust the cant or twist after installation. As well as the ease of construction and manufacturing.

The mast is probably the next project that I need to start tackling. I have a DM-4 section from Dwyer. Thank you Joe from totalxs for sharing your notes and drawings of your rig with me. I still need to order hardware for the mast (chain plates, stem fitting, spreaders, sheaves, ect.) Does anyone know of a good place to buy some of those pieces? I am also looking for the rudder gudeons.

I still have several little glassing and cleaning up jobs to go as well but I can knock a couple of those out every couple of weeks I will be happy.

Once I am about finished with the keel and rudder I plan to prime the deck, install the deck hardware and sail the boat. I figure once I get sailing I can change things and try to optimize the boat. I just want to get it out on the water sooner than later.

Paul

Its Been a While

Progress certainly did slow down but I have been chipping away small projects slowly over the past couple of months (even though I have been off the radar). My actual goal was to have the fewest blog posting to make the project appear to be quick and simple. Its hard for me to work on it where I live so I usually take it to various friend's driveways on the weekend.

I have just about finished all the glassing topside and the deck is about ready to be primed and painted. I need to finish the keel and keel box so I can install that and finish up that task. The rudder is pretty much complete except for primer, paint, and hardware installation. I have not really had any progress with the mast besides having a blank section.

I am thinking about splashing the boat and checking to ensure that there are no leaks and that the glass/epoxy has sealed the wood in the up coming weekend. Its a bitter sweet joy beginning to reach the end of the project. I will be glad to be done with the construction and time commitment but I am sure I will miss working with the epoxy and fiberglass.

It's been a quick couple of days

Time seems to be flying by quicker than I would like right now.

I got into town late Sunday night so I got somewhat of a late start on Monday. I began by cleaning up the garage and my work spaces. It was like Christmas opening up all the packages that I had ordered. I waited around all day for the wood to show up and no luck. I guess I would have to wait till Tuesday to begin all the fun stuff.

I woke up Tuesday and decided to call the freight company to see when they were planning on delivering the package. Well bad news ensued and they informed me they lost the crate. I decided not to waste another day and went to the lumber yard and purchased some douglas fir planks for the rudder and the keel. One of the guys from school had suggested that instead of doing the foils as one piece create two halves and then epoxy them together with a layer or two of carbon/glass between them. So I designed, using 1" thickness (chord strips), NACA 0010 (rudder) and NACA 0012 (keel) foils. They only had 1"x6" so I had to recalculate my strip size and related thicknesses. I spent the afternoon with the table saw and cut out 66 strips of wood which I would become the keel and rudder. I spent the evening gluing the rudder strips together using epoxy mixed with colloidal silica waiting on my wood to be found.

I woke up Wednesday to good news....the wood had been found and it was scheduled to be delivered by early afternoon. I continued gluing the keel strips together the rest of the morning. The rest of the day I unloaded and organized my wood and glued the lengths of plywood which would become the hull shell together.

Thursday I finished cradle began to lay the lengths of wood in place. I spent the afternoon drilling holes and zip tying the pieces together. I hastily used 1/2 inch pvc as suggested in the construction guide only to realize Thursday night that if I wanted to tap the seams that all the pvc would have to be removed.

Friday I worked on removing all the pvc piping and redoing all the zip ties. Once I finished that I used the 4" bi-axial tape to tape the seams between the zip ties. I decided that I did not want to leave the zip ties in. I also worked on fairing out the rudder halves.

Today I covered all the seams in a continuous strip of bi-axial tape after filling in all the zip tie holes with thickened epoxy. I also glassed the internal parts of the rudder halves with 4 oz fiberglass. I coated the inside of the hull with two coats of epoxy as a sealant.

Tomorrow I plan to sand the inside and begin to fit the frames into place. I also would like to add the third and final layer of sealant epoxy.

Construction will begin on Monday

Well it has been a couple months since I began ordering components for hull #286 and the time has come to begin construction. The stars have aligned and I am off from work for the next four weeks and I plan to do as much work as possible to get the boat as close to completed as possible. My experience level is low but I have done my homework and I have studied the construction process. I am sure I will run into a few road bumps along the way but I feel as though I am well prepared.

I just finished four years of education and military training at the United States Naval Academy. I studied Naval Architecture and sailed on the Offshore Sailing Team. Thank you to all of those who have pointed me in right direction on this project.

The boat will be mostly constructed in Houston, TX but will ultimately reside in Charleston, SC following the end of summer. I have friends and family who will be helping.