M A R L I N B R E E - BUILD-IT-YOURSELF B O A T T I P S Boating gear, equipment, and innovations for small sailboats Free --- for fun: Build your own toy paper boat Great on-the-water kid's activity on a nice calm day.

Boat tips
and techniques

*Transom flapper to keep water out *Double gudgeons for strength *Double ring hatch lock *Design a proper bow stem * Scoop transom addition

Persistence's transom drains have rubber flappers, which prevent large waves from entering.
This is very handy, the author found, when dealing with following seas and he does not want to get his feet wet.

Two oversized gudgeons near the waterline, as well as one higher up on the transom, secure Persistence's outboard rudder. The small stainless steel piece above the gudgeons is the rudder hold down which keeps the top of the pintale from riding up and out of the gudgeons.

Persistence's wooden hatch has a breakwater forward of it and a sloped forward edge so that waves overrunning the boat will press down on the hatch, shutting more firmly closed. Note teak hand-holds on either side.

Persistence has a custom-built bowstem designed by the author and is a one-piece design that wraps over the bow and down the stem. A CDI roller furler handles the roller furling jib, controlled from the cockpit. The stainless steel lifelines wraps down from the bow stancheons and end near the bowstem for strength.

Note the two ring bolts (upper left) that lock the hatch, and, the green cloth that protects the instruments. The flap lifts up and is fastened by a twist fasteneer atop the cabin top.

Two cycle
layup tips

Two-cycle outboards, such as my Nissan 5 hp., have an enviable reputation of being reliable and long-lived. A few steps will help them remain faithful.

Here's what I do:

1/ When I get Persistence ready to haul out, as I pull into dock and have the boat secured, I simply reach back to the outboard's fuel connection and unsnap it. It comes off readily.

Then I let the engine run out of fuel, which happens in a few minutes, usually, at idle, while I do other things getting ready to trailer the boat.

I feel letting the engine run itself out of gas is an important step in engine maintenance because it allows the two-cycle engine to clean the carb of fuel so there's no gas in the engine to slowly dry up and create gum or deposits during the long months of storage.

2/ When I get my boat out, I take off the engine and store it in a cool, dry place, and upright. Usually, this is in my workshop where I can later change the lower unit's oil and change the sparkplug. Since plugs are cheap, and, my engine uses only one, I always start the season with a fresh plug.

3/ The gas supply is critical, and, I get rid of the "old" gas by mixing it in small quantities with other gasoline engines, including my 4 x 4. Next season, when I go out on the water, I'll be heading out with the comfort of knowing that there'll be no old gas gumming up my carb, since I will have fresh, and, freshly mixed with the correct oil to gas ratio.

4/ Though most boaters usually use "regular" gas, I step up one category to get a higher octane ratio, which I feel makes the little engine run a little better (or at least it sounds better). Besides, since I burn so little gas each season the few cents a gallon difference between grades don't make that much difference.

5/ I take off the gas containers and store them inside. I also store the boat, comfortably fitted in its full-length topside cover, in an inside storage place for the winter. In Minnesota that's been the Minnesota State Fairgrounds (usually the horse barn) for the past decade or so. I've tried leaving Persistence outside for the winter, but the ice and snow generally have a way of finding themselves under a covered boat and these are destructive to a varnished wooden boat. So at the end of the season, Persistence goes away to safe, and dry, indoor storage.

Getting Persistence
ready for fall layup

Each season, the battle to keep up an aging composite hull continues.

That's the bad news: you do have to work on it.

The good news is that an epoxy/wood hull is probably the longest-lasting hull available anywhere, or so I've heard.

1/ This year, I'll be revarnishing the hull. It's all bright finished, and, like a good piece of sporting equipment, it takes its share of bumps and bruises coming alongside a dock. Usually, I wet sand the hull first, then apply the varnish with a WEST System roller, starting in the aft section and working forward. To prevent drips below the waterline, I mask this off with 3M's blue masking tape. For the strokes, I roll the first of the varnish up and down, starting in the center of the area to be varnished. That way, I am really spreading the varnish. I usually only do a few feet of hull at a time before I go over it all with a foam brush to smooth out the varnish (and watch for any drips).

2/ Clean up waterline. Last year, I repainted the waterline a Bristol Beige, to match the mast, which I had also just repainted (a large job, by the way, that required taking the mast down to bare metal.) I usually get to the clean up shortly after I haul the hull in mid-October, so that the waterline gunk is still moist and can easily be wiped off with a large sponge.

3/ Clean the bottom by washing it off with a sponge and pail of water. This is not my favorite area of work, and, is messy, but the VC-17 will stay a lot cleaner for next season if you do a light little wash up and wipe up of lake scum. I'll recoat again with VC- 17 in a season or two.

More work ahead as I get to it.

--marlin

A storm trial
of an engine

Excerpt from Wake of the Green Storm

Persistence did a dangerous dip to leeward, hung down on her rail for a moment -- and finally turned.

We were facing the wind. The sail rattled on the mast, and, the boat afelt terribly unstable underneath me.

On hand on the tiller, I reached back and gave the outboard full throttle and locked it there.

Power. I simply had to have more power in the teeth of the storm. The engine would just have to take it.

The little Nissan bellowed and dug in. The boat bounced up and down careening sideways. Sometimes the prop was in the water; sometimes it was out. The engine revved unmercifuly and screamed.

We were gaining.

Boating Books

Bold Sea Stories

21 inspiring and true boating stories to thrill you, lift your spirits, and, now and then, leave you with no dry eyes. Award winners!

Boat Log & Record

Here's a Free Spring get-ready-for-the-water Checklist and Guide. See why the Boat Log & Record has become the perfect small craft record keeper for thoughtful skippers. Copyable and good for two years!

Broken Seas

Dead on the Wind

Wake of the Green Storm

xxxx

In the Teeth of the Northeaster

Call of the North Wind

Alone Against the Atlantic

BUILD-IT-YOURSELF
B O A T T I P S
Boating gear, equipment, and innovations for small sailboats
Free --- for fun: Build your own
toy paper boat
Great on-the-water kid's activity on a nice calm day.

At twenty feet length overall, Persistence is not a very large boat, but she has had some very big adventures (See Bold Sea Stories, Wake of the Green Storm, Broken Seas in Books). The author feels a well-built, well-equipped and well-sailed small boat can do some competent cruising, even on open waters and heavy seas.

Persistence is equipped with solar panels (forward) that have provided enough electricity for months of cruising. A sea hood (under author's right elbow) protects the sliding hatch cover from heavy seas in storms and also provides a base for the hatchway dodger (see Das Boot). All sail control lines lead aft to the cockpit for singlehanded sailing.

Note the cockpit dodger (dark green, atop cabin), with side flaps unsnapped, for a warm day. More details on the author's custom-built (by himself) in Das Boot (click on above tile).

Note mid-cockpit sheeting, which allows the author to tweak the mainsail as needed with Harken windward sheeting. From the portside seating (the author is right handed), he can control both jib sheet lines (the starboard sheet runs around the winch and to a cleat in front of the author). The jib roller furler's line, the mainsail's halyard and downhaul are on the portside cabin top for easy reach. The centerboard's pennant (not shown) also runs to a cleat in front of the author. To reef the main, the boat has a slab reefing controlled by a line (aft), individual reefing ties, and, a hook on the forward of the boom, which the author can reach by moving forward and standing atop the centerboard trunk inside the cabin, reachable through the open companionway hatch.

Aft section shot shows handy layout of author's boat, with 5 hp Nissan two-cycle and tiller easily within reach. What looks like a holder for the boom (beside author) is actually for the mast when trailering, and, is a handy way to brace yourself while under sail. The knotmeter and depthsounder (cabin, to starboard) are protected under a flap of cloth which is closed when the instruments are not in use. Note that the author uses both the tiller and the engine when maneuvering in close quarters. He unlocks the engine and swivels it in unison with the rudder for outstanding boat handling coming into dock (here) or in extreme windy conditions in harbor.

Looking for a handy place to mount that hard-to-read GPS unit? I've located mine beside the traveler. It's handy, readable, out of the way, and demountable. Note the custom-designed tiller (the author fitted it to his grip) and the seat back to portside aft.

A full cover designed by the author fits atop the small sailboat. It includes a handy boom tent covering the cockpit, a transparent opening for the front hatch, open portlights (smoked dark acrylic), and a plastic cover lets light in through a deck prism. The cover is secure and has withstood many Lake Superior storms while at anchor or tied up at a pier and is a pleasant below-decks experience.

Free Plans:
kid's toy PAPER SAILBOAT

Kids can make a paper boat in just a few minutes in the cockpit or the cabin of your boat. The tiny sailboats handle well (provided you sail them downwind) and they race! On a calm day, put them alongside your boat, in a bathtub or a puddle, and watch them go. To enlarge the pix, just click on them. You can build a small fleet and race them!

2/ It's easy enough to do. Click on the illustrations to enlarge them. Just keep folding and follow the instructions. See how the sail emerges. More fun.

3/ Now get your racer ready for the water. Be certain to give your boat's bottom a bend to create a slightly sharpened bow (the pointy end.) You can add cockpit coamings. You can draw in a little sailor, too, if you'd like along with a wheel to steer the boat. Don't hold back on the colorings. This boat was designed for kids to make in the back seat of a car during a trip to the marina or in the cockpit or cabin of a boat and to sail later.

These step-by-step illustrations on how to make a paper sailboat are from The Kid's Travel Fun Book: Draw. Make Stuff Play games. Have fun for hours. (Revised and Updated Second Edition) The text and illustrations are copyrighted by Marlin Bree and Loris Bree.

BUILD-IT-YOURSELF B O A T T I P S Boating gear, equipment, and innovations for small sailboats Free --- for fun: Build your owntoy paper boat Great on-the-water kid's activity on a nice calm day.

Free Plans: kid's toy PAPER SAILBOAT

BUILD-IT-YOURSELF
B O A T T I P S
Boating gear, equipment, and innovations for small sailboats
Free --- for fun: Build your own
toy paper boat
Great on-the-water kid's activity on a nice calm day.

Free Plans:
kid's toy PAPER SAILBOAT