A couple of notes for thought.

[monsters inc]

I managed to get out on the local lake for a sail yesterday. This was the second time I was on the water with the boat. A couple of issues arose as we spent an afternoon in the sun. The boat loves to go down wind. I didn’t put up a spin, but the main and headsail worked well enough. Trying to make any angles going back up wind was tough. Definitely going to work on that before racing. The GNAV is not a huge asset in sail shape, and I will likely rig a simple vang instead. Much simpler and doesn’t screw up the bottom of the main. Also the GNAV doesn’t make hoisting easy, nor dousing the main. It interferes with flaking the sail if you want to tie it with sail ties. My keel slides are snug side to side, but when we pounded into some big wake from wake surfer boats, there was a pendulum effect of the bulb going for and aft. So a set of shims and a better keel retainer system to the hull with permanent fasteners is on the drawing boards now. Lastly when it came time to take the boat out of the water on the trailer, i forgot to remove the rudder first. I used J24 hardware and the rudder was undamaged other than a scrape on the bottom. However the transom took the hit, and delaminated about 12 inches either side of the center line. Not terrible, but if i were building again, i would start with 1 inch marine ply, instead of laminating 2 pieces of 1/4 inch and doubling for the rudder mount and outboard mounts. I hope this finds all of you well, and gives a bit of insight into the boat. Cheers , Mike. Hull 239.

[admin]

Excellent report, Mike, and thanks for it!

I'm glad you can actually get out on the water, we'd be fined 500 bucks plus here in the People's Republic of Maryland.

OK, one hundred percent honesty? Last time I yanked the boat I STUPIDLY forgot to remove the little false keel I use for moving the boat around under power. It's just a little bead-board thing I insert for being able to steer the boat, otherwise a boat with a bottom this flat will just skate without a skeg.

So I was hauling on the winch and things seemed "wrong," way too hard to turn the winch handle and then I pulled even harder on it to the point where it would not move, and I said to myself "WTF?" and went to investigate and gull-darnit, there it was, a bogered-up hunk of bead-board in a completely stressed keel box and I had to back off the winch and extract some mashed up wood and I figure any amount of leakage I ALREADY HAD from the keel box has just gotten worse with this huge, very stupid FUCK UP.

So, in any case, hope you can fix things up ASAP and a follow up observation: your recommendation for a thicker spec of the transom is spot on! Sometime soon I'll dig out and post the photos of the delamination my transom has developed over the past 3-4 years. I think the area is prone to stresses that exceed the two 6mm ply laminate's structural capacity....but I'm not an engineer and don't usually play one on TunaVision.

Please excuse the profanity, but this level of brainlessness is best expressed in 4-letter words....

[monsters inc]

If us non engineer type don’t make the mistake reporting , how can the species evolve? I jest a little but man I wish hindsight was easier/ cheaper/ better. I am laughing now, I guess!

[monsters inc]

I got a chance to cut the damage out of my stern today. The bottom of the transom glue joint was pretty dry. It was one of the first joints i did after zip tying the hull together. The cloth taping probably was not the best either. But.. the plywood delaminated over 2 12inch areas, not where it was reinforced with doublers. If i had done a better job on the transom joint at the bottom i may not have had so much damage from the rudder hitting the boat launch. A new transom panel will be fitted to the rearmost bulkhead, i can post pictures if anyone is interested. M

[monsters inc]

Here are a few shots of the transom that I delaminated , and the replacement parts.

[monsters inc]

The new transom splice

[monsters inc]

Transom in place and new deck closer , and access port for rudder.

[monsters inc]

Deck access repair

[monsters inc]

I still have to tape the seams inside and out but should be on the water again soon!

[admin]

Interesting! I had some transom delam, too. I just did a temporary, cosmetically awful repair job, wrapping some 4" biaxial around the top to beef up the attachment and stop water penetration. Luckily it had not gotten soggy.

But I would urge future builders to think about a beefier transom built. Mine takes a lot of the load from the main and also the outboard.

[monsters inc]

If I could have had the cockpit deck off , I would build in a couple of knees along the transom. However i didn’t have any problems until I dragged the rudder on the boat ramp, so hopefully this repair will stand up!

[monsters inc]

I figured I would update my repair progress. It went well , although took longer than I had planned. The new transom is 1” thick , laminated from left over marine ply. The deck top is 3/4 “ set down between the stringers that support my deck, all the transom and stringer joints received 6 inch glass tape . There was no easy way to do this , and I wish I had done this before the deck went on . Upside down through an 12 inch access hole with a mirror is a bit hard on the shoulders... After the top deck access went on , taping was finished and the outside was filleted and glass laid over the new repair. Blending the edges in to the old glass, and coating with West 420 barrier , clean out the tapped holes, and holes for 1/4 “ rudder bolts, it's ready for paint. Hoping to get it back to sailing soon. I still have to lock the keel in place , and I think stainless pins through the top of the foil should keep the weight from moving back and forth when the boat hits chop or wakes. I am going to use a conventional boom vang instead of the GNAV as well. Simplicity to rig, and operate as well as less stress on the mast. Hopefully you are all well, and have full sails , cheers, Mike

[admin]

Thanks for the follow-up! Gotta say, it sounds like when you do a repair, you do it RIGHT! Congrats on what sounds like a long, painful process. Funny because our house had some termite damage, and I spent this weekend sistering-in some new floor joists through the same kind of access hole you've described. My shoulders took the brunt of it.

[monsters inc]

Regarding Brightside fire red. Do yourself a favour and prime your whole repair with a solid colour. I have done 4 coats now, and I can still see through the red. It’s like painting with ink!