Halyard Shackles

I have wanted to add shackles to my halyards for a long time.  I am hoping this will speed up and simplify the process of rigging and launching the boat.  Now that I finally have purchased some hardware, I am not sure I really want to go this route.  It doesn't really take all that long to tie a bowline after all!  Here is a brief recap of my hardware shopping.

I looked at many of the shackle options at West Marine, both in the store and in their catalog.  I am still in shock at what good stainless steel hardware costs!  The cheapest "economy" shackle at West marine is about $16 for bronze, and a bit more for stainless.  The really nice ones are at least $35 each.  That just seems a bit much for two clips on the end of a rope for my little boat.  So I went shopping on eBay to see what I could find.

I found a seller on eBay (marine_hardware) that listed small shackles at 2 for $13, with a "Make Offer" option.  I offered $10 for 2, and won the bid.  Two weeks later I now have the shackles in hand.  I have not tried them on the boat yet, but as I manipulate them in the living room it is obvious that they don't match the quality of the West Marine hardware.  Not even close.  I had to sand off a burr that I repeatedly stabbed my finger with, and the bail hinge is pretty loose.  The bail does not always line up with the pin when closing the shackle.  I think they will serve the intended purpose, but they are not as good as the economy shackles and I can see a possible upgrade in my future.

The proper way to put a shackle on a line is with a splice.  I thought that splicing double braided line would be easy.  Well, think again.  It is not hard, just complicated.  I watched some videos and read a few articles, then decided that for now I would tie a knot!  I did add some cheap thimbles to help prevent wear and tear on the lines.  I went for the galvanized thimble rather than the stainless ones.  I will update you later on how it all turns out.  My attempts to save money might not pay off like I had hoped!

Refinishing the Brightwork

The West Wight Potter does not have a lot of exposed wood.  Different production years included more wood parts at times.  On my 1980 Potter 15 I only have 4 pieces of brightwork, plus a companionway door, wood tiller, and some wood parts in the rudder.

This year the small parts are getting refinished with Deks Olje two part finish.  I received two cans (one of each part) as a hand-me-down gift from my father.

I removed the parts from the boat so that I could work indoors and avoid getting any varnish on the fiberglass.  The handles are from the cabin top.  The two small blocks are the brackets for the bottom of the companionway door.

The parts were first sanded lightly, then coated with as many coats of Deks Olje #1 as I could put on in one evening.  The instructions tell you to keep putting it on about every 15 minutes until it stops absorbing, then wipe off the excess.

After step 1 dries completely (about a week) I began coating with Deks Olje #2 (Gloss Finish).  The picture here was taken after the first coat of #2 was applied.  I will continue to apply one coat each day for the next few days and then the parts will be ready to install in about a week.

Re-installing the Keel

Two of us went in together to get our keels galvanized in order to save a little money.  The keels for two Potter 15's together weighed 134 pounds.  That still got us into the galvanizer at the minimum $100 charge.  So with tax the galvanizing cost each of us $54.50.  I thought that was a great bargain.

As I noted in an earlier post, I took my keel to a friend for sandblasting.  I invested between $20 and $30 in sand, and another $10 to buy lunch for my friend.  The other keel in this adventure went to a professional for sandblasting and the bill for that was $95.

The hot dip galvanizing process caused some accumulation of zinc in the holes where the line and pulley attach.  The zinc is pretty soft, so it was very easy to dress out the holes with a round file and then polish the edges smooth with a little sandpaper.  

I invited the same friend who helped remove the keel to come back and help re-install it.  I was under the boat when it came out, so I didn't get to see all the secret gyrations he had to do to get it out.  After a little head scratching, it went right in.  We dropped it in vertically then rotated the top forward until it rested against the pin.  We then continued to rotate the top of the keel forward until the keel was seated on the pivot pin.  All that is left now is to install the pulley and the new line.

We noticed a couple of differences between my keel from 1980 and the newer keel from the late 90's.  The shape is basically the same, but the newer keel swing arm attached a little differently.  The different attachment point means that the keel well slot can be 2 or 3 inches higher above the waterline.  That sounds like a great safety enhancement.  

Another key difference is the shape of the slot that holds the keel on the pivot pin.  My keel has a "J" shaped slot.  To get the keel off the pin you had to push up and back.  Unfortunately, this is the same motion one might experience if the keel hits bottom.  I have heard sad stories about keels bouncing off the pin.  The newer keel has a "T" shaped slot.  This makes the keel harder to take off, both accidentally and on purpose.  Both of these improvements seem to be intentional efforts on the part of the engineers at International Marine to make the Potter 15 safer and more seaworthy.

Working on the keel: Sandblasting

Here is an update on my work on the West Wight Potter 15 #1036.  As you can see in the last post we managed to get the boat off the trailer and up on blocks.  The keel came out with a little help from a friend, and this weekend I took it over to another friend for sand blasting.  If you ever need to do something like this, here is a hint that might help you.  Sign makers often have a sand blaster for making sand blasted signs!  That was the case with my friend Walker.  He runs a small sign shop out of his home and was happy to lend a hand with the keel refinishing project.

I am taking advantage having the boat off the trailer in another way too.  I am replacing all the parts that contact the boat.  That means a new winch, new rollers, and new bunk covers.  I remember last year I crawled under the trailer for most of a day and rewired it and replaced all the lights.  Then the next time I launched the boat I could see all my work from above, and thought it would be so much easier to do that if there was no boat on the trailer!  

I bought some keel rollers at West Marine for $10 each, but then saw a similar roller at Cabela's for $5.  Cabela's also has good prices on bunk carpet and winches.  The carpet at Cabela's was about half the price as West Marine.  And when it came time to pick out a winch, I was able to get one at Cabela's for less than $40 that more than doubled my pulling capacity.

So the next step in the spring re-fit is to get the keel to the galvanizer in Ballard, then re-assemble it all when the keel is finished.  I may be adding guide posts to the trailer.  I would like to mount the tail lights up high so that the salt water will not be able to get to them.  My waterproof lights I bought last year lasted less than one season before the salt water ate away the electrodes in the fixture.  I am glad I bought the extended warranty.  Too bad it doesn't come with free installation!

Removing the Keel from a Potter 15

Today we removed the keel from the Potter 15.  It was a bit more difficult that I had hoped, but not really all that hard.  I had hoped I could just slide the boat back on the trailer and then lower the keel enough to get it out.  But the rollers on the trailer were so stiff that the boat would not budge!  I knew I needed new rollers and new bunk carpeting, so I decided to try and get the boat off the trailer.  This will give me a chance to work on the trailer while I am waiting for the keel to get back from the galvanizer.

Step One:  Lower the trailer tongue and block up the back of the boat.  When you raise the tongue back up, the back of the boat will be off the trailer.

Step Two:  Raise the tongue high and block up the front of the boat, leaving room for the trailer to get out.  After you slide out the trailer, add some more blocks and support for the boat so that it is secure.

Step Three:  Position one person inside the boat, and one person under the boat.  Lower the keel until it touches the ground, then disconnect the line and hardware.  Together you can lift the keel off the pin, and pull it up and forward inside the cabin.  It weighs about 80 pounds, and in the confines of the Potter 15 cabin it is a bit tricky.  I left that up to a young friend with a strong back (thanks David).

The next step will be to take the keel to the galvanizer in Ballard.  They will strip off all the old coatings in an acid bath and then hot-dip galvanize it.  I am estimating it will cost about $75 for the process if I can talk one or two more people into taking theirs in at the same time.  

Back to Book Work

After a long break, I am getting back to work on the text of my book about making Stirling Engines. I am happy to say that the end is in sight.  And I am enthused again about the new concepts that are used in these engines.  The first of the three designs has been up and functional for a long time. The second and third engines are almost ready for their testing.  The big tasks that remain to get this project ready for press is to finish up the sections of the book that deal with the step by step assembly instructions, and to finish the assembly and testing of the last two engines.

The thing that makes this project so special is that the reader will be able to assemble a low temperature differential (LTD) Stirling Engine that will run from the heat of the hand, and the project can be completed with common hand and power tools.  A machine shop is not required.

These engines run with a 20 degree temperature differential.  That means that if your hand is 90 degrees or warmer, and the room is 70 or below, the engine will work from the heat of your hand.  They also have very impressive performance in direct sunlight.

I am not sure if I still have a publication deal for the book or not.  My long break from writing may make it necessary for me to find another publisher.  One way or the other I hope to get this information out there for the Stirling Engine community to enjoy.

I want to thank all those who have been enjoying and commenting on the YouTube videos.  I have had the chance to help out a few builders and answer some interesting questions as a result of those videos.

Take care!

Jim

Pen Making 2008

My focus always seems to move in the fall from sailing to wood working. This year has been just like that. I have turned about 20 pens so far this fall, and I would like to do maybe another dozen before Christmas. They are a great fund raiser for my shop. I always manage to sell a few to friends, and the rest make great gifts.

Most of the pens I make are based on the Comfort Pen kit from Penn State Industries. I like them for several reasons. The design is very forgiving. I don't have to worry about getting diameters exact. And if the barrels end up a little short, they still work fine. After all the prep work I can turn and finish a Comfort Pen in about 10 minutes. The prep work, however, takes a long time.

This year I have branched into a new kit. It is called a Designer pen. It makes a larger pen that is very nice looking. This particular kit requires greater attention to detail as there are several cuts and diameters that must be done with precision. The top and bottom barrels are different lengths, and the outer diameters are different also. There is a tenon joint that must be turned onto the upper barrel. That process requires me to stop the lathe repeatedly to take measurements. I may get faster as I get more practice, but right now the process takes at least twice as long as it does to make the Comfort pen. The results are pretty impressive and I might be able to sell these for twice as much!

I finish my pens by sanding to 400 grit, then polishing to 2000 with EEE Ultrashine. The finish I use is Shellawax Cream. It is a mixture of shellac and carnauba wax. I apply it to the spinning pen parts with a paper towel. The friction causes enough heat to melt the wax and cure the shellac. According to the instructions, it penetrates the surface of the wood rather than coating it. And that seems to be true. The shine of the Shellawax is only slightly more shinny than the wood that you put it on. So if the wood is not glossy smooth before you apply the Shellawax, it will not be shinny when you are done. If the wood is not well polished the Shellawax finish will become dull when the pen is handled. It is also true that it will not hold a high gloss shine on porous wood.

It appears that Shellawax has been reformulated since I bought it last. The first batch I got was smooth and creamy. The one that just arrived was filled with granulated wax, some of it in lumps. I sent a message back to Pen State Industries, but they so far have not replied. The good news is that it still works. The granulated wax still melts and provides a nice polish.

I experienced a couple of failures in my recent round of pen making. I don't know if it is good news or bad, but I now think they were all errors on my part.

The first problem I had was a batch of epoxy that did not set up. I initially thought that I just had some old epoxy. It was the 5 minute variety. It seemed to be setting up, but when I started trimming the blanks I noticed that the tubes were moving. The wood blanks were my favorite wood too! I have just a few scraps of it left. Many years ago I salvaged some olive wood from the burn pile on the family ranch. It is a very highly figured wood and it has sentimental value.

I logged on to the pen making group at Yahoo Groups and asked if anyone knew how to get epoxy off when it doesn't set up. I was able to learn that it probably didn't work because it was mixed with too much hardener. One must be careful to make sure you always are mixing equal amounts of both parts of the epoxy! The online discussion also recommended using acetone to remove the gooey glue. I soaked the parts in the acetone (aka: nail polish remover) and I was able to disassemble the tubes from the wood blanks. The glue then became hard when exposed to the air. I don't know yet if I will be able to salvage the wood blanks, but I am going to try.

The second problem I had was with the new Designer pen kit. I managed to get 3 or 4 of them together without incident. Then for some unknown reason I could not get the ink cartridge to go into the barrel (after pressing in the mechanism). I had no idea what was going on. I thought maybe I had some glue in there that had gotten loose and got in the way.

I poked a length of wire through the pen barrel and it went right through. But still the ink cartridge would not go in! I created a tool that I thought I could use to pull the pen mechanism out of the barrel, and that didn't work. I gently gripped the mechanism with pliers and tried to pull it out, it would not budge. At this point I knew I was going to have to sacrifice the mechanism to get the pen apart. I kept increasing the carnage until I was finally drilling out the old mechanism. When I finally got most of it out I turned the pen barrel over, and out falls the little rubber cap that comes on the end of the ink cartridge! Wow, I felt stupid. In my rush to assemble the pen I neglected to take the rubber cap off the cartridge and I managed to cram it into the pen barrel where it made a nice effective plug.

The good news is that my surgery was successful. I was able to drill out the old mechanism and remove the problem. I replaced it with a new one and reassembled the pen. No harm, no foul. And now I have a good start on a collection of spare parts. If you do this hobby long enough, you will eventually have some wood that self destructs on the lathe, or pencil mechanisms that fail, or just some days when you don't pay enough attention and you get to invent new errors like I do! So the spare parts are not such a bad idea. (In therapy they call that a "re-frame"!)