As the heat of the summer here dissipates, I have begun to focus on a few small projects to make sailing easier. One made the tiller push stick to tiller arm connection more rigid. I wasn’t happy with the rope connection. Perhaps I’ll post that solution later. Another task involved splicing anchor rode to chain for my 11# Lewmar claw (Bruce design) and a lighter 6# aluminum Danforth style anchor that will be kept in the aft lazarette for back up. Both have 10′ of chain spliced to quality 3/8″ twisted nylon.

The recent task I am most satisfied with is a mount for the compass my father gave me as a “well done” congratulatory gift. It is a Ritchie Tactical compass which is the perfect size for Una and much appreciated.

Ritchie Tactical Compass

Wanting to be able to use the compass with my kayaks. It had to be removeable. Positioning the compass where it could be left in place and offer good viewing from port and starboard didn’t prove possible. Centered on the thwart is ideal for sailing, but not for rowing. I considered mounting the bezel on a thin board held down with wing nuts or dogs. That proved too elaborate. A simpler and I believe more satisfactory answer was to trace the compass base on mini cell foam, cut out a puck using my small band saw ( I finally found a suitable use for it) and contact cement the foam to the base. A small 1″ wide channel was let into the foam for a tubular strap to pass through. Plastic buckles hold the works in place.

Pieces. Bezel detaches.

Puck glued in place.

Strapped under thwart. Very secure.

Once strapped down the mini cell grips the thwart. While not rigid, the whole rig sits tight and is relatively fixed. I’m looking forward to an in-the-water test.

Sunset colors. Barely a breath.

Ghosting toward Granby Street Bridge.

Boats can be very personal things. Some, of course, are utilitarian vehicles. A jon boat may perform with or without identity. (I do wonder if it might receive better care and attention if given a name.) Other boats are very much vessels for dreams and adventures. These become part of your life. Why else for eons have sailors referred to ships as “she”? 

So, after almost 11 months invested in this bateau, how can “she” go without a name? I half thought about reusing my recently sold Moth boat’s “Chica,” a short, cute, affectionate, and unassuming appellation for a sweet little boat. However, Chica was her own “person” and to reuse the name would betray memories with her. She was a lovely boat and part of her does in a sense live in this new boat. 

A pretty boat deserves a pretty name. Oughtred’s design has classic lines derived across centuries. Its ancestors sailed in waters from Norway to Denmark, Scotland to Ireland. This heritage prompted me to look for a Gaelic name. A simple name. A pretty name.

I began with “Oonagh” which is Scottish, Irish, or Gaelic. The spelling did not appear pretty and I was certain some would pronounce it “Oonagg”, not so lovely. Instead, I settled on the Latin variant, “Una” meaning “one, pure, holy”. Other meanings imply “unity and truth”. The Gaelic meaning even implies “hunger”. These deeper meanings may saddle the boat with too much. Of course people have to know them. I prefer the broader and more general meanings. 

Now I have a simple, pretty, and feminine boat. She’s very near completion. On the eve of her maiden, I give you …

Little remains to be done: One last trip to the hardware store remains for some stainless screws, the trailer has been fitted, and the interior parts are installed. We’re going sailing this week.

Bow shot.

Stern quarter.

Forward bulkhead and nestled oars blades. Not the oarlock detail. Not wanting to lose them overboard or have them rattle while hanging on chains against the hull, I yanked the core out of some paracord and put on a wood bead as a stop. The cord is sewn on the oarlock and is just long enough to allow the oarlock to rest on the seat brace. We’ll see how it works. Another option is to place a leather pocket or strap under the seat edge.

Got the crew in the driveway the other morning to flip the hull. Devising a mattress of old tires and moving quilts to roll the boat made me just nervous enough. Dropping the project at this stage would not be good.

Adding brass.

Mounting the brass really puts a finished look to the boat. It will be removed for one last (third) coat of paint. I may add some varnish on the interior as the chance of dust settling on the surface is reduced.

Bow stem bending.

Transom gudgeon.

End to be tapered.

Bow eye.

Bow stem conformed.

Bends in the brass were achieved by brute force, a smooth faced hammer, a woodworker’s vice, and blocks of hardwood. There is simply many test fittings and a tad sanding on the stem to get a good fit. You must be careful not to bend on one of the screw holes. There the half oval will fold (Ah, experience).

I will file round and tapered the few ends that are exposed.

Got the mizzen boom jaw leathered. I could have stitched the protection on, but elected to use copper tacks.

Jaw leather.

Great scissors.

When I bought extra thick leather for the oars, I grabbed these super scissors. Cuts leather like paper. Always helps to have the right tool. I still wish for a bandsaw.

Now there are no more pieces to fabricate. The last 2 knees have been installed, bunged, and shellac coated for varnish (and, of course, more varnish). Such is the state of the build. Paint is looking better and better as an alternative, but the additional coats of varnish just make the boat glow more. I’m shooting for 4-5 on everything for this go-round. It will be a short season, but I do plan on a good shake down into the Fall. I’ve had no intention of making a piece of furniture, but the floor boards have looked good stacked in the living room.

I’ve decided that many details simply can’t be resolved properly until the boat is sailed. One example is the working of the mainsheet. I question whether a 2 part system is adequate, but several sister boats use such. Not having miles of line in the cockpit is good, but is it adequate purchase as the breeze pipes up? This could aid in prompting a reef. We’ll see. So, I haven’t decided on a second block on the center case or a cleat.

A pair of knees ganged for rough belt sanding.

Plug cutting ash for knees and gunwales.

At this point, I’ve no insight or techniques to offer. My patience is being tried with all the finishing really. I’m ready to sail her. We’re almost there. A few more coats and we can flip, paint the bottom once more and install the rub strakes. So close …

Boomkin supported by screws on manning bench for varnishing.

Long shot. Floor boards resting.

Tinting the white interior paint with the hull green works to kill the brightness. I would rather have floors with an oiled finish, but I don’t think douglas fir is that wood. The local cypress was of poor quality and teak too dear at the moment.

Oars.

Aft deck. Painted underside of hatch.

There you have it. Another coat on the spars and we can leather where appropriate. We’re getting there (maybe sooner than expected). Stay tuned!

I met with some success this weekend.

1st: After attacking the warped centerboard with the heat gun and scraper, the board seemed to relax and straightened a bit. Some judicious clamping over a board and pouring boiling water on the concave side helped further. Finally, I set an old boat battery on the board while suspended at either end overnight. This action and drying brought it all back into alignment. With some sanding and glassing on both sides simultaneously, we are back on track.

Ugly, but corrected and straight.

2nd: ballast installation detail is worked out and 50% fabricated. I have six pieces of lead. In pairs, they are 15#, 17#, and 19#. I will have 6 spots around the center case for moving the extra weights fore and aft as required to place boat on its lines. Each piece of ballast was drilled with 2 holes to receive the brass toilet tank bolts which were cut to stay below the floor boards. A paddle bit and drill press made  a countersunk recess to keep the nuts and keeper washers low enough. The bolts went through a plywood backer plate glue to the bilge as reinforcement. I will epoxy the bolts to retard any corrosion save for the last 1/2″. I’ll use a piece of rubber rooking to separate the led from the plate once epoxied, primed and painted.

2 of what will be 3 ballast positions per side.

Blocks between ballast and logs were required as plates keep slipping downhill on wet epoxy.

Ballast plates and dreaded sanding begun.

3rd: The interior finishing began. After an epoxy coat, two coats of primer have been placed while sanding in between. We’ll let this sit for a couple days and then fine sand for the finish coats of paint which will be white tinted slightly with the hull “green” to be easier on the glare.

Primed minus ballast areas to be epoxied.

4th: I have the rig and control lines all figured out. I found myself mounting hardware after much study and then coming up with better ideas. So, I’ve a few holes to fill. Once the boat is complete (soon I hope), I’ll take more detailed photos. I expect to be done with painting the interior this week and be moving on to varnishing.

2nd down haul attachment point.

I still hate sanding. After this weekend, maybe more than before, but progress is evident and getting the rig solved was a boost to buckle down and hit the painting.

What do they say about the time required for the last 5% of a job? Well, I’m in the thick of it.

Both decks are on. Hatches are glassed inside and out (I feared stepping through the stripped maple).
In order to hide a lot of the hardware associated with the hatches, piano hinges are installed and a pull string secures the hatch through a grommet manufactured from a brass hose barb cut and chamfered. I prefer hardware store items over pricey boat store items.

Aft hatch and deck with secure line with cam cleat.

Gasket will be installed to underside of hatch.

Lashing line lead through eye and hole in bulkhead.

The mizzen mast deck collar and cleat bases are epoxied in place. The bases are echoes of the double ender.

Cleat base and collar before epoxy.

Main mast partners and foredeck coaming are now screwed and glued.

Coaming and partners.

Hatch with epoxy glass shine.

A 1″ drain is now in the bottom of the boat. This will aid in clean up after those future trips. A brass tube is epoxied through the bottom. Two different plugs were purchased. One is a compression lever. The other is a screw fitting. One will serve as a spare.

Drain plugs.