A new machine! - Sailrite LSZ-1

A different type of machine, but a new one nevertheless.

A few years ago, my mother-in-law gave me her old sewing machine - a Singer 723k that was probably made in about 1960.  This machine's first project was building a set of signal flags ...  a kit that my wife bought me for Christmas from Sailrite.  That got me started on sewing and making things for the boat, such as a boat cover for my former Stuart JC9 sailing dinghy that I no longer own.

I then started to take old sails into tote bags using a design inspired from Sailrite's YouTube channel.  This led my friend Janet to offer me a better machine, an industrial Brother Exedra B40.  The commercial machine needed 220v power so I purchased a Reliable 110v replacement motor, and the machine has been impressive.  However, it's biggest shortcomings were twofold - it was not a walking foot machine (required for consistent stitching in heavy materials), and it only sewed straight stitch.  I really needed a new machine. 

Having become a big fan of Sailrite, I had been watching this machine for a few years now.  Finally, I decided to take the plunge on an LSZ-1 package.  They were having a 10% off sale, which was enough for me to go ahead and order one.

It arrived yesterday, and has just about the best packaging I have ever seen in a product.  The setup instructions were clear, and they even included a DVD to back up the instructions.  Everything was there including a spool of V-92 thread.  I actually used it last night to finish a tote back I had started with the Brother.  I sure do like having zig-zag stitching in my arsenal.

Stay tuned to this site for more project posting.  I have a backlog including tote bags to see at a craft fair, new sheet bags for the Catalina, a cover for my generator, and some more sail repairs.  

Rhodes Kingfisher - mains'l insignia

An original sail that appears to have been shortened.  The logo can be used as a template.

I traced the old logo onto a scrap piece of sailcloth with a pencil and cut it out with scissors and a sharp razor blade.

The template was traced onto the back of black Contender Insignia Sailcloth and cut out with scissors (a blade would have been better).

Logos cut out.  One is a mirror image of the other for each side of the sail.

I used the old sail for approximate measurements, removed the paper backing to reveal the adhesive and applied it to the sail.

Scratch made letters also on Contender sailcloth.

Numbers applied.

Rhodes Kingfisher - First Sail

Well, this past Saturday (8/30/15), I had the opportunity to sail this little craft for the first time.  I was able to get a small trailer from a fellow sailor at the Massabesic Yacht Club that fits perfectly.  I only had to adjust the bow mount and it doesn't even need a winch.   When I launched the boat, it just floated off.  When I retrieve the boat after sailing, I just pulled it up by the bow line.  

(As a reminder, we are NOT allowed to get our feet in the water at Massabesic Lake since it is a reservoir for Manchester, NH)

The mast crutch was made out of a scrap 2x6.  I put two bent bolts that go into the rudder mount.  Everything was strapped down with ratchet straps.  The whole thing is fairly light so it tows easily with my wife's 2007 Honda CR-V.  

On arriving at the Yacht Club, a friend came over and helped me step the mast.  It is light enough to step yourself but an extra set of hands is always welcome.  Once stepped, I attached the two shrouds and forestay.   I also made sure I put the windex, jib and main halyards on the mast BEFORE stepping it.

I then launched the boat, and rigged it in the water from the dock.  I think the whole operation took maybe 20 minutes.  (Derigging was equally as easy).  One must remember to drop down the center board before sailing off and raising it before pulling it back out.

From these pictures, you can see I sailed it away from the dock in very light air.  Fortunately, as you can see in the bottom picture, there was a line of air farther out from the mooring field, so I could get the boat moving some.  

It was a blast to sail.  Being used to sailing a Catalina 22, I was reminded how responsive (and tippy!) a small dinghy can be.  I kept her pointed up the whole time (a good thing) but felt very safe in her.

The only complaints are the jib and jib sheets.  The jib luff cannot be tightened - it is either too long or is stretched.  I may make another jib for it out of a scrap sail over the winter.  The cleats for the jib sheets are a little iffy with holding the trim under load.  I'd rather have cam cleats and may raid my Catalina for a few that are not being used, or just buy new ones.  Fortunately, parts for a dinghy are inexpensive when compared to my Catalina which in turn is cheap compared to a 40 footer :-)

As a 6' 1" 200 lb. 50-year old, I spent most of my time sitting or kneeling on the floor of the cockpit.  That's not going to work for too long.  So, I am already planning on adding two benches (my early version of the Kingfisher does not have the seats that newer ones have - see other pictures).  I will make these out of wood - preferably something classy looking.  

Other improvements I think I'll consider are:

- painting the topsides, inside of the cockpit and all the blue.

- adding a boot stripe and maybe painting the bottom a different color (maybe even use VC17 although I don't intend on ever leaving it in the water)

- Give her a name - I'm thinking of "Barchetta", which is Italian for "little boat".  No, I'm not painting her red - don't ask Rush fans :-)

(Update 9/4...  My friend and fellow sailor Wally V (Hunter 23 "Freebird") came out on the club launch and took this picture of me under sail :-)

Rhodes Kingfisher - positive floation

There is a good bit of the original positive floatation still in the boat under the stern seat and under the bow.  But I did remove some and wanted to add more.  I have had considerable luck with using swim noodles in the past with my Mariner and decided to do the same here.

My wife got them for $1.00 each at the Dollar Store or Target.  I got 16 of them and put 8 in the bow and 8 in the stern.  I bundled 4 together with duct tape.  They are out of the way and should not interfere with any gear while sailing.

In this picture, you can also see my high-tech bailer made out of a detergent container.  I am trying to keep this on the cheap.

Rhodes Kingfisher - dolly and assembly

After flipping it over after the paint dried for a few days, I installed the rudder gudgeon mount permanently.  I used stainless steel 1/4"x20 bolts with nylock nuts and washers - all left over from another project.  Each was sealed with butyl tape.  Using 8 bolts is probably overkill but it sure beats the rotted piece of wood that was there when I picked up the boat.

I also removed and reinstalled the cleats for the jib sheets, backing them with 1/2" starboard plates - also overkill but that's how I roll.

Finally I replaced the two pad eyes on the top of the transom where the traveller will connect.  (See a future post on rigging).

The rudder mounted right up and looks great.  I did drill a hole in the bottom pintle, and have a cotter pin attached with a cable as a safety measure so I don't lose this rudder, which is pretty-much irreplaceable.  

I reinstalled a new bow eye - and spliced a nice painter from what I think is an old luff rope from a donated sail for my sail bag projects.  

The dolly was made from a kayak dolly, along with some PVC pipe, scraps of wood and Azec, and the rollers I scavanged from the scrap trailer.  I found the rubber bow piece at Bass Pro Shops.  The dolly works great to move the boat around...  but, I'm not happy with it.  When I pull the boat on the dolly up on my utility trailer, it sits very high and transport will be a pain.  I think I'll revert to a small boat trailer.  One of my fellow Massabesic Yacht Club sailors may have a small trailer to sell me.  That will be my preferred method.

She's looking good.  I love the blue color and it reminds me of one of my first sailboats - a 1968 O'Day Mariner with the same colors.  I can see the resemblance - of course both were designed by Phillip Rhodes :-)

Next year, I may repair some cracks in the blue and repaint the entire top of the boat, along with doing the bilge in gray bilge paint.  

Rhodes Kingfisher - Painting the hull

When I got this boat, remember that I paid exactly $0.00 for it.  The only stipulation was that I had to take the rotted trailer too, which I ended up cutting up and giving to a guy for scrap.  I was able to recycle a few rollers from it though (more on that later).

The hull, while in good shape structurally, was in pretty bad shape gelcoat-wise.  There were chips and repairs all over it.  It would float, but it was not pretty.  

Last year, I sanded the bottom of my Catalina 22 "Blue Skies", and painted it with much success.  I followed suit with this boat.  I sanded the hull down with a random orbit sander with 80-grit disks.  I also filled in the holes with West System epoxy and filler and sanded that smooth too.

Then I followed with 4 coats of Interlux 2000, alternating gray and white.  However, fearing that the gray would show, I did two coats of gray, followed by two coats of white.  This is a two-part paint and was applied with a roller.  

I did sand a little (wet sanded with 220 grit) between the coats to remove any imperfections and drips.  

I'm happy with the results.  There is a little orange peel in it.  If I keep this boat (which I do plan on doing), I will probably wet-sand above the water line and paint it with an Interlux top-side paint, and I'll probably hit the bottom with Interlux VC17M, which I painted my Catalina bottom with.

I'll probably do the bottom paint when I refinish the keel on the Catalina, and if I have any left over after the keel and the Kingfisher, I'll hit the bottom of my Dyer Dhow midget dinghy too.

Rhodes Kingfisher - Rudder Mounting Repair

The rudder was mounted to a rotted piece of red wood that looks like it was an afterthought.  I had a scrap piece of delrin that was exactly the size I wanted.  I mounted the old hardware to this using new screws countersinking the nuts in the back.  It is attached here to the boat with long 1/4" x 20 stainless steel bolts.  There will be 8 total but I only put three for this picture as a test fit.  Very happy with the way this turned out.  I do need to figure out a way to pin in the rudder so it does not come off while sailing - probably will drill a hole and use a cotter pin.   

Rhodes Kingfisher - Rigging

Before rigging the boat, I gave the sails a good lookover to see if there were any rips and tears...  there were none.  The sails were fairly clean although there is one rust stain on the main.  The battens were in very good shape but I added tell tales to the main (shown below) and jib (red and green on port and starboard sides).  The main tell tales were made from scratch from blue ripstop nylon.  

My boat has no id plate on it so I have no idea what the hull number is.  So, I made one up (year of my birth) and scratch made the numbers using Challenge Insignia cloth from Sailrite.   When I installed number on another sail, I saved the backing paper to use them as a pattern for new numbers.   This 6 and 5 were actually a 9 and 5 from a sail bag I made for Wally and Dena (Hunter 23 #1159).  

I rigged the boat and raised the sails - very happy with the way this looks.   I had to scrounge around in my ample supply of lines and fittings for new halyards, sheets and a few other things, but she is pretty much ready to sail once I paint the hull and mount the rudder (and figure out a way to get her to the lake using my utility trailer).  

She is fairly light and can be rolled onto her side by just grabbing the mast and pulling it down.  The center board can be easily raised and lowered in this way to clean it up.

Rhodes Kingfisher - a new boat is added to the fleet.

Last weekend, I saw an index card on the bulletin board at the Massabesic Yacht Club for a free sailing dinghy.  Since I am always looking for a new project (like I have nothing else to do), I called the number and it was still available.  Within 24 hours, I had it home.

I had no idea what it was.  There was no number plates, or even a logo on the sail.  It was complete with rudder, centerboard, mast, boom, sails (jib and main) and all rigging.  Missing was the mainsheet but other than that it was complete.

I spent several hours scouring the Internet looking for something close, and stumbled upon pictures of a Rhodes Kingfisher.  I measured the LOA and beam and it matched the specifications for the Kingfisher as did the mast, boom, and mainsail measurements.  

Some work that will be required:

1.  The lifting eye on the bow was loose, and some surgery revealed that the wood behind it was long since rotted away.  I cut that out (see photo below) and am filling it with thickened epoxy and a starboard backer plate.  

2.  The entire hull will need to be painted.  But I already have Interlux 2000 on hand so that will seal it and paint it white and it should be good to go.

3.  The rudder pintles were attached to a piece of wood that was rotted.  I removed it and will be replacing it with a delrin board (similar to starboard or even a cutting board).  

4.  I'll need new halyards, a traveller line, and mainsheet.  Fortunately, my vast collection of line I've accumulated has exactly what I need so no cost there.  

5.  I'm going to build a dolly out of PVC pipe so I can transport it using my utility trailer.  

Tippecanoe T27 RC Sailboat - Maiden Voyage

The maiden voyage of "The Flying Wasp".

Filmed at the Massabesic Yacht Club on April 26, 2015, the day after "Dock In".  This technically was the first boat to sail at the club this season :-)

Cobra Tool Kit #2

Cobra Tool Kit #1

I wanted to put together a tool kit for my Cobra (actually a Factory Five Roadster replica of a 1965 AC Cobra).  Real kits are rare, expensive, and not very useful.  I decided on a few tools I might need including a breaker bar, 13/16" socket (for both spark plugs and lug nuts), vice grips, slotted and phillips screw drivers, adjustable wrench, and box wrenches of 3/8", 7/16", 1/2", and 9/16".  A separate project will be to have a case with an extra belt, tape, duct tape, a jack, and a flat repair can.  

I had an old military surplus case laying around that I sacrificed to get the heavy canvas and binding from.  

I am using my Brother Exedra E-40 Industrial machine to build this.  The thread is V-92 green thread.  

Initial layout of the tools

First pocket for the breaker bar

Next set of pockets for an adjustable wrench, and the 9/16" and 1/2" box wrenches.

Tippecanoe T27 RC Sailboat Build #11

I purchased the wall hanger from Tippecanoe and was very happy with how this looks hanging on the wall.  It is up for display for all to see as they come to my home :-)

It looks like I painted only half the keel and rudder red but that is just a shadow - the bottom, keel and rudder are red, and the hull is navy blue.  The deck is varnished wood.  

Note the masthead streamer - I made this myself out of 3/4 oz. spinnaker cloth (use it for a lot of projects on my big sailboats).  

Tippecanoe T27 RC Sailboat Build #10

Final assembly - transom lettering

I wanted to enhance the mahogany transom by putting on a high-quality gold lettering.  I found a place online called www.doityourselflettering.com that allows you to design your lettering, choose fonts and effects, size it, and you get your lettering in the mail a few days later.  This ended up costing less than $10 (they sent me 3 of them in case I screwed it up!).  I was originally going to try and hand paint them but this obviously looks a lot better.

For those who care where the name came from, watch the movie "Caddyshack" some time and you'll see :-)

The lettering came with clear directions.  This is exactly how I installed the lettering on my real boat :-)

"I christen thee 'The Flying Wasp'"

Very classy looking in dark blue with a red bottom.  

Stern view

Bow view

Close up of keel, rigging, cockpit cover.