Nano is getting shape!
I’ve just got updates from Seahopper boatyard building my Nano - she is getting shapes!
I hope they manage to finish before New Year and we will avoid problems at boarders - now when UK is leaving EU.
Table installed. Fo'c'sle rebuild - demolition
I met Lennart today, to share my experiences with keel bolts change. Lennart is about to start this job on Andrina, his Laurinkoster. I hope he will not get into troubles I was in!
After he left I brought on board cabin table which I finished assembling last night. Hanged it and tested for stiffness. Much better! Although not “stenhård” it’s steady enough to do the trick. Maybe I’ll reinforce it further with some kind of pillar going to the cabin top but for now I’m glad how it all went. The only movement under force is now only due to wood flexing - after all it is a heavy table hanging on quite long arm. It must have been made of concrete to not move at all.
It was raining cats&dogs today so my plan was simply to install the table and just gather thoughts on coming work for this season. I knew that the biggest thing will be rebuilding fo’c’sle and I was not in the mood to start it at all. It might be the lamp’s warmth and light which got me inspired so instead of just sitting and planning I went straight into doing it.
Removed most plywood berth structures - few old brass screws did not want to get out but otherwise I could unscrew most with a bit of patience.
The whole thing with berths in fore part of the boat was mostly marketing trick back in the days. If the boat could sleep more people it was generally better received by potential buyers, even if these additional berths in fo’c’sle were totally impractical and awkward to use. I tried hard to find any meaning to keep them on my boat but in the end I got tired of being constantly annoyed by unpracticality of this part of my boat: going here while sailing or on anchor was always a pain - not only the deck is low here but it’s too narrow and impossible to turn around due to these berths. We never sail with crew bigger than three, in fact I mostly sail alone. Having five berths on 28 feet boat is unnecessary in my view. Even my small daughter does not want to sleep there - she prefers pilot berth closer to us, in the main cabin.
Using toilet in this configuration was also a pain in the ass (literally) - maybe people in 50’ had smaller butts but we can hardly sit down there and do the job, not to mention cleaning afterwards. And going backwards when one leaves fo’c’sle - no way you can turn around there - with heavy anchor or 20 litres of water is never a joy.
Once I removed plywood rests the area became totally different - so much space was hidden and not used!
I haven’t yet decided if I will leave or remove short berth on port side - it houses a big drawer which I use for storing tools and it’s in a decent shape. My plan is to use port side to store Nano under deck. Starboard side will have toilet and storage bags mounted. I also need to remove and close hull openings left after marine toilet.
It took a good amount of time to remove all these old plywood bits, glued and screwed together in strange ways. Some of that I will reuse, there are also bits of real mahogany among the pile which I definitely want to save. Pile of rests sit on the deck for now.
As a side note: I brought one of my pressurised kerosene lamps with me, to add some warmth into the cabin in this November’s wet darkness. It proved to be a real game changer! It’s bright light, huge amount of instant warmth and comforting hiss has made me want to stay longer and work more on this project.
I chose to take my most battered lamp - Optimus 200 from early ‘40.
It had better days - when I bought it, as a spare parts donor , it looked as if Wehrmacht run over it with their tanks. I decided to bring it back to life, instead of using as spare parts. It still looks battered but is very reliable and gives a ton of light. The only drawback - apart from its look - is the noise from the old installation. But it works and will not attract attention of any unwanted visitor during the winter.
Back home I lighted similar kerosene lamp and my boat’s oil lamp, for comparison.
The difference in light output vs size is astonishing! My small Optimus 930 giving 300 CP is way brighter than DHR oil lamp. Heat production is more or less the same. The advantages of oil lamp, on the other side, is that they are totally silent and burn less dramatically. They are also less sensitive for shocks while kerosene lamp, with it’s fragile mantle, must be handled carefully.
I think there will be place for both of them on board during next season.
Cabin table rebuild
I was not totally satisfied with the effect of table rebuild.
The whole purpose was to make it rock-solid. After removing wobbly brass legs and hanging it on the bulkhead it became much better but still we needed to be careful and not use the table as a support while sailing. It was still a bit unstable although it was now quite OK to have meals on it (and not ending below it in bilge!).
I knew I needed to do something about it and now, once I have it in my workshop, it was time to finish the job.
The construction allows the top part to slide on rails, to adjust table position. This joint on otherwise thin plywood is a main source of instability. I wanted to keep the original possibility of sliding but make it more beefy and robust. Using original part I cut thicker plywood and transferred mounting holes, to avoid making new holes in mahogany frame I made last year.
With thicker plywood the brass rails cannot reach their positions so I needed to cut grooves on both sides of new component.
As nothing on my boat is straight or equidistant I draw exact lines where components will interface. Cutting with guided circle-saw is the easiest way to go here.
Cleaning with a chisel and voila!
Traced exact position of table support bottom part.
Sanded and degreased faces to be glued and then taped their vicinity before next, messy part: epoxy gluing. Bronze screws will keep all in position and add even more strength.
Even though this will be hardly ever visible I detest unfinished plywood edges so I fitted walnut list to the visible face, with copper nails.
And now for the messy part - epoxy thickened with filleting blend. Strong and resembles dark mahogany.
Tightening screws caused nice, even epoxy squeeze-out, assuring that joint is properly wetted.
After cleanup and masking tape removal all that is left is a nice, clean joint with moderate fillet.
All left to cure. Next step, after epoxy sets, will be to seal the new component with 2-3 layers of epoxy. That will darken it and blend with the rest of the assembly.
I rise temperature in my workshop with kerosene lamps - to increase process speed.
While at it I decided to clean brass frames. Although it’s a bit of a pity to remove the patina the rails were also covered with old varnish and all sorts of gunk accumulated over these years. Cleaned to bare brass - will oxidise in one season but should look cleaner than they were.
Temperature in the workshop got too high to continue so I took my favourite Optimus lamp and went for a walk into the night. Maybe Mr Postman left something for us?
Once epoxy was cured I stained the new part to match surrounding wood. Epoxy coating followed.
Kerosene lamps keep process temperature at the right level.
Next morning, when coating was cured, I assembled the table. I’m about to meet Lennart in the boatyard today so I take this opportunity to work a bit on Meritaten.
Brass rails screwed with new, bronze screws. Silicone bronze is maybe an overkill here but this is what I have. I try not to use brass screws as much as possible - they loose their strength after 20 years and often are impossible to remove.
To maintain shiny look on brass rails I coated them with camellia oil which I use also on my iron tools. It protects against corrosion very effectively and is easy to use.
Nano takes over after Glypto
As I mentioned in another post - I’ve decided to retire my 100-years old dinghy Glypto.
I need a boat which I can rely on and which matches better our moderate-sized sailboat Meritaten.
My ideal boat would be big enough to carry me with 2 passengers, would not leak, would row nicely, would be light enough to be carried onboard (ideally stored under deck) and should be beautiful to match Meritaten!
These requirements sound like I would need a rubber inflatable but it does not meet two key requirements: inflatables are ugly as hell and rowing them any longer distance is a curse.
What I need is a foldable, wooden boat.
I’ve experimented with Origami and Fliptail boats from Woodenwidget: bought plans for both boats and studied them. Especially Fliptail looked promising but it did not tick all the points on my list.
Instead I’ve decided to bite the bullet and order the REAL THING: Seahopper!
This boat is a benchmark for all foldable boats out there. And it’s been made since before I was born - proven design, refined over many years. It’s almost the same icon as another British foldable & genius design: Brompton bike.
I use my Brompton since many years and I can only say good things about it. It’s this bike which convinced me to order my new boat at Seahopper.
Steven, who owns the boatyard, has just sent me the first picture of my boat being built - her name plate.
I’ve called her Nano - matching her tiny size and as a nod to my first sailing experiences gathered on a fleet of boats all carrying these engineering names: Femto, Kilo, Piko, Micro.
It’s still some weeks before Nano is finished and shipped. Steven promised to send me pictures of her being built - I’ll post them once I get them!
Glypto retires
I’ve decided to retire my old Glypto.
More about it here.