Spars Part II

Next came the boom and I also needed to make a boat hook and oars for the dinghy.

The boom is solid for the weight and glued up in two halves of Sitka Spruce. No scarfs required, I had a length of Sitka long enough to make the 19ft boom

Making the round tapered boom is pretty straightforward. 

The boat hook tapered and  eight sided 

  The oars eight sided and ready for final shaping

Finished oars and boat hook

Spars Part I

It was a long winters work after launching the boat and my list of jobs on Astrid for the summer was long. Top priority was to get the spars built and to warm up I started with the bowsprit and boom. After a very long rainy winter we have had a great summer so the weather really co-operated with outside spar work.

The wood for the bowsprit is Douglas fir I have seasoned for about 10 years. I had spent a couple of days watching fir getting milled up before finding this piece of rift sawn tight grained clear fir. I was very careful air drying it and there was no cracks.

Tapered and eight sided with the cranze iron fitted.

 Shaping complete. The sections that have a brownish finish will be painted. The sealer I applied is varnish with turpentine with a splash of creosote

Dodger

Finally got to making the pram dodger this sumer. It took longer to sew than I anticipated with lots of fitting trails. All in all pleased with the outcome and really happy to see a bronze frame and not stainless. 

The attachment is with #10 round head bronze machine screws through a brass grommet in the canvas and into the cast diamonds that have a threaded hole. I posted those casting photos earlier. The result is a clean and unobtrusive attachment that will not break.

The dodger is tensioned with the  3/16" cord and to fold the dodger down and out of the way it is simply to undo those tension lashings.

Buhk Motor Installation

I thought I ought to post some photos of the 36hp Buhk  motor installation. To access I just lift off the companionway ladders and lift the engine box lid which folds back and hooks in place. The front and side drop boards lift away to give great access to the motor. It only takes a minute or two.

The equipment area is under the cockpit which is open to the port quarter storage area. Easy access and still lots of space for organized storage. On the bulkhead is mounted the exhaust, Racor fuel water separator and reservoir for the drip-less shaft seal. A 4in vent provides air to the bilge. A few computer fans keep air flowing and draw nothing and are quiet.

The electrical distribution panel and solar controller and Blue Seas Batter charger / ACR mounted on the forward bulkhead under the cockpit. Everything easy to see.

I did not like the looks of the plastic control panel that came with the motor. Buhk also wanted $1500 for their gauge panel so I made my own with the components from the stock panel and VDO gauges. I mounted it on the side of the engine box as you come down the companionway. Out of sight, out of the weather and certainly quick enough to start the motor when you need it.

Keeping warm in a cold winter

It has been quite a lousy winter here. Rain, snow, sleet and a damp bitter cold. That's the coast for you but I will take dry sunny -20C any day over this. So getting the heater finally running was on the top of the to-do list. I had the 5Gallon/20L aluminum tank made by Straight Metal and installed it on the bulkhead in the starboard lazarette locker. The kerosene is gravity fed to the heater. There is an inline filter below the shut off valve. 

The fill for the kerosene is in the lazarette propane locker. Made a small bronze L bracket for the fill.

The heater on it's first run. Have it pretty dialed in now and can run it on a low even blue flame. Pre-heat with alcohol and introduce the kerosene shortly after lighting. No fans or pumps, runs quiet and clean and warms up the boat really well. 

Managed to do a bit of sewing. Made the cockpit awning. Next jobs to finish are the dodger and dinghy. Time is tight right now with work but hopefully as spring gets here I can spend a bit of time getting to some of the unfinished jobs.