Building A Westsail 42, Hull #60

Forward Portlights Dryfitted

2013-05-19T08:21:00.000-07:00

After cutting, fitting, epoxying and trimming the one inch coosa board spacers last week, I have been able to dry fit some of the portlights. These are the six lights in the forward salon, three each side. Most Westsail 42s have only three lights each side over the whole forward cabin trunk. We...

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Portlight And Steering Installation Has Begun

2013-05-11T06:58:00.000-07:00

These projects are ongoing for the next few weeks. Portlights We will be installing portlights from Newfound Metals all around the boat. I cutout a number of templates and jigs on the CNC machine, based on drawings from the NFM website. These to help spot, center, and cutout the cabin sides to...

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Steering Components Have Arrived

2013-04-26T07:44:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, the admiral came home from work with a heavy box of aluminum steering component bits. Shipped from Jefa in Denmark via PYI in Washington state. These are just the below-decks bits, which is what I need to proceed in the aft cabin. The pedestal and wheel style is undecided and will be...

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Portlight Templates

2013-04-24T07:02:00.000-07:00

In preparation for portlight installation, I made cutout templates on the CNC machine, based on drawings from the recently updated Newfound Metals Website. The springtime pressure wash of the deck and a dry weekend are prerequisites before installation can begin. I am also waiting on more...

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Other Boat Chores

2013-04-18T06:03:00.000-07:00

Spring is here. The winter cover of the small boat is slowly coming off piece by piece. With that is revealed all the maintenance chores. There are many varnish chores hiding underneath that cover This hawse pipe, problematic for many seasons, will finally get fixed. Electronics...

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Random Progress

2013-04-08T07:11:00.000-07:00

As with most weekends, the last two days saw lots of little progress with nothing really "finished" (what is that word anyway?)... V-Berth/Garage This area will be clad in plastic laminate, to stand up to the abuse of throwing bags of sails, dirty fenders, canvas bits, boat hooks, etc. Its sort...

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Cabinet Face Finish Test

2013-04-04T07:56:00.000-07:00

This is a mock-up of a cabinet face section intended to try out styles, woods, and construction techniques. The piece simulates a cupboard door. It is non-functional. There are no hinges, and the push-button latch is just the button only. Finished Mock-up As for the style: two wood...

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Plywood Kerf Test (CNC)

2013-03-30T19:31:00.000-07:00

Same piece, different method. I am using the CNC machine to cut everything here. This time with a better quality piece of plywood. The kerfs are cut with an eigth-inch spiral bit down to a depth of 11/16ths. On 3/4 inch plywood this leaves 1/16th inch material to hold everything together. Instead...

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Plywood Kerf Test (Table Saw)

2013-03-26T03:00:00.000-07:00

The interior design calls for a number of 4 inch radius vertical corners. The idea is to save your leg from getting gashed on a hard square corner edge when getting tossed in the boat. This means many of the plywood kick panels will need to be "kerfed" to enable the 4-inch radius bend. I have never...

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Tool Tune-up Time

2013-03-24T07:54:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was "tool tune-up" day in the shop. In addition to changing the blades on the new planer (the ones I ruined last weekend), the band saw was in need of much attention. Planer Blade Change Let start with the planer, as I have especially been curious of whats inside these...

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Steering: Design Update

2013-03-22T03:00:00.000-07:00

Ok, so the final design wasn't completely "final". Since that last post, we have simplified the design by removing one bevel box and adding a U-joint. This more evenly distributes the angles among the joints. It should provide for a smoother steering action. Also, removal of a bevel box and...

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Planing Wood

2013-03-18T07:58:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was "get to know your planer" Sunday. Scrap teak pulled from storage Among the many bits and pieces that came with the boat were old teak cabinet parts like drawer faces, drop boards and shelving. Ranging form 3/4 to an inch thick, all pieces were dirty, water stained and scratched....

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Main Compression Post

2013-03-15T06:50:00.001-07:00

This piece had been blocking progress on the forward salon flooring. This is a 3-inch diameter heavy gauge polished stainless steel post that sits between the deck and keel. The purpose is to bear the compression loads from the main mast directly above. Under the floor: keel step pad...

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Steering: Final Design

2013-03-12T06:18:00.001-07:00

It has been a while since the last mention of the boat's steering system. Final framing under the aft cabin berth has been waiting on the final design/fitting of the below-decks steering mechanics. I have putting this project off as long as I could. We have been comparing designs using a...

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Galley Stores

2013-03-09T07:44:00.000-08:00

Shelving has been fitted and painted in the area known as the "tunnel". I am calling this area "convertible storage" as we have had thoughts of putting a hanging locker, or even an appliance in here. That may or may not happen so for now it is designated as galley storage for dry/canned food...

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The Shop: Thickness Planer

2013-03-06T06:35:00.000-08:00

The shop prepares for the inevitability of woodworking as finish work creeps ever closer. The latest addition, a DeWalt DW735 thickness planer. Features 15 amp two speed motor handling widths up to 13 inches. Includes dust collection port. This lightly used unit was picked up locally for nearly...

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Dinette Table Lift Mechanism

2013-03-03T07:35:00.000-08:00

This is what being cooped up in the garage during long winter nights yields... I think I mentioned the design for this sometime ago in the blog. Over the last few months I had an experimental mockup setup in the garage, to determine feasibility. In particular, would the mechanics be enough to...

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V-Berth Interior Test

2013-02-24T07:52:00.000-08:00

This is a test of a finish approach for the V-Berth. In particular, cladding the hull sides over the insulation. I took a cheap neutral color sheet of plastic laminate and glued it to some doorskin. Then, from that cut three panels and affixed them to the hull sides using the pre-installed wooden...

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Green Monsters

2013-02-17T07:21:00.000-08:00

"Green Monsters" is the name given to these more powerful motors. I just finished swapping out the old motors on two of the three axes of the CNC table. With stronger holding torque these, hopefully, will eliminate the occasional 'slip' problems I had previously. Old motor left, "green monster"...

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Router Table Resurface is Done

2013-02-10T07:38:00.000-08:00

I finally installed the new router table surface that I had cut a couple months ago. Fitting the new vacuum plenum. The original surface was from when I built the machine. Its condition has been quite trashed from all the cutting, resulting in uneven Z heights, and therefore, uneven depths for...

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More Pocket Door Tests

2013-02-04T07:05:00.000-08:00

This time, the tests are to help get a feel for look. As in "how much exposed wood grain to we want?" Lots of dark wood, like teak, may cause the interior to feel like a dark cave. Here I replaced the test MDF pocket doors with Meranti faced plywood, which is a bit lighter than teak. Door...

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Lower Exhaust System

2013-01-27T06:40:00.000-08:00

The lower exhaust system is in! Center cockpit designed sailboats with auxiliary propulsion engines amidships tend to share a common design constraint. That is, how to lead mechanical bits aft without interfering with the aft cabin living spaces. Example bits are the engine exhaust and...

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Insulating The Garage

2013-01-19T18:54:00.000-08:00

Otherwise known as the v-berth. This is in the bow of the boat (pointy end), hence the shape of a 'V'. While it could sleep two people (uncomfortably) it will likely be storage for stuff like sails, fenders, coils of line, etc. Much like a nautical "garage". Looking forward. Hatches access the...

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Exhausting Little Stuff

2012-12-30T10:42:00.000-08:00

As usually happens this time of year, lots of work on little projects with nothing really to report on. I am still waiting for some parts to fully fit the exhaust system, but here is an update. This is the Vetus waterlift muffler strapped onto a small riser platform made of Coosa board. The...

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Raw Water Supply and Distribution

2012-12-12T03:00:00.000-08:00

This is the plumbing to manage seawater input from the thru-hull to sea-water consuming devices such as: Propulsion engine (cooling) domestic plumbing fittings Water maker Generator (cooling) I like the concept of a "sea chest" glassed into the hull, and have seen such installations on similar...

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