Just Ordered a Kit for a Passagemaker Dinghy

[montenido]

Happy,

It's funny, I had the court put in for my twin boys. They barely used it, as they became wrestlers. So I removed the 10' high fencing and it is now a big patio area. Building the dinghy is the most use this court has had since new.

Oh well.

Cheers, Bill

[HopCar]

Bill, you might give some thought to putting up a tent of some kind to give you some shelter from the sun and rain. I think it would make your life a lot easier.

[HappyMdRSailor]

Originally Posted by montenido

Happy,

It's funny, I had the court put in for my twin boys. They barely used it, as they became wrestlers. So I removed the 10' high fencing and it is now a big patio area. Building the dinghy is the most use this court has had since new.

Oh well.

Cheers, Bill

Those dang kids... Well... Sounds like they coulda got into worse hobbies!!!

I'm with Hoppy on the tent... ebay... $110=10x20 boat building shed complete with fancy New England boaty sheddy windows... free shipping...

White 10 x 20 PE Canopy Gazebo Party Tent with Sidewalls | eBay

[montenido]

Hello folks,

Here are a few more build pics. Today I installed the three additional side boards on each side, and tacked the front and rear transoms in. Take a look.

Cheers, Bill

[montenido]

Hey, I like the tent idea. I might go that way. BTW, the center bulkhead in the latest pictures is just sitting there, keeping the gunwales apart. It will be properly attached and positioned soon.

Cheers, Bill

[HopCar]

Looking Good Bill. Are the wire holes drilled for you in the kit?

[montenido]

Yes, the holes are pre-drilled, which is nice. The instructions tell how to drill the holes, so maybe the pre-drilling is new.

Cheers, Bill

[HappyMdRSailor]

Lookin' FANTASTIC!!!

Man you are gunna love this thing when she's done.... But... It's the build that makes this something to remember forever...

[montenido]

Hi everyone,

I have been working on the dinghy and have a few more pictures for you. The progress seems slow at this point because of all the stuff to do. Since my last post I have:

Filled all the exterior joints between the lapped boards, removed all the copper wires and filled the holes, laid a layer of cloth and epoxy over the bottom and first row of lap boards, turned the boat upright and removed all the seats and thwarts, laid a layer of cloth and epoxy over the inside floor and first row, filled all the wire holes, applied two coatings of epoxy over the entire interior, sealed the inside joints between the lapped boards, epoxied a backing plate in the bow for a tow ring, assembled the daggerboard trunk and attached it to the middle seat, and assembled the forward bulkheads, which will later allow the boat to be cut into two parts.

That's about it for now, but I am really having a blast building this thing.
I have included a few more pictures, but like I said, the progress doesn't really show all the work that is going on. Tomorrow I will install all the seats and bulkheads permanently. Then the boat gets flipped for two coats of epoxy on the outside. So far my wife is being pretty patient, but I can tell she wants her garage back.

Cheers, Bill

[klmmicro]

Sweet looking and great progress!

[Jman]

These kits are great, we finished ours a couple of years ago. We beefed up the two bulkheads where the finished boat is ultimately cut with solid 6" by 1/4" mahogany sorta angles to cover both joint holes a each side (4 holes), in addition to the blocks provided for the lower holes (routed those out to fit over the laminated pieces.

We then used eye bolts for the top two connecting bolts and built a bridle that then passes through the handle in the bow for to towing. We saw damage pictures from other owners where the aft of the bulkheads failed under towing, so our method theoretically picks up the whole load at the bulkheads. By essentially doubling the gluing surface it is much stronger.

We have routinely towed at 6.5+ knots in couple foot waves and had one downwind run in 5' following seas doing well over 8. No damage other than some chaff as the tow line exits the handle.

Make sure you create a filler piece for the daggerboard trunk. Massive amounts of come through here once up to planing speed. We tried leaving the board in, but the stress of the drag caused some cracking in the trunk.

You can see some details here http://tt-veria.blogspot.com/2010/02/big-push.html

[HopCar]

Bill, it's looking good. What's that thing in picture 4?

Jman, nice job!

[montenido]

Hopcar,

The thing in pic 4 is a piece of kevlar epoxy plate. I bought a big sheet of this a few years ago. It was originally used to line a bank vault. I cut it up to use as backing plates when I changed out all my thru-hulls. This is a scrap piece that is being epoxied on to the bow floor, where I will attach a towing eye. The backing plate will be hidden under the forward seat.

Also, I know that the finish probably looks a bit textured in the pics. This is normal, as it is textured prior to sanding, which will prep it for painting or varnish.

Cheers, Bill

[montenido]

Hi folks,

It has been a while since I last checked in. Ran out of epoxy resin and wanted to use the same stuff that came with the kit (MAS), as it is non-blushing, so you can apply it over cured epoxy without a lot of sanding.
Anyway, it two weeks to arrive, which slowed me down a bunch.

Today I installed the rear and forward seats. In the last week, I installed the rub-rails and oarlock risers using west systems epoxy, which I had laying around. So, I am virtually done with the build. Next comes lots of sanding, sawing the forward and aft sections apart, then painting the hull and interior, and lastly, installing access hatches in the forward and rear airtight compartments. Unfortunately, that will have to wait, as I am heading down to La Paz tomorrow for two weeks aboard Odyssey .

When I return, I plan on ordering the rest of the sailing hardware, and making my own sail from a Sailrite kit. Well, that is about it for now. Enjoy the pictures, and note all the leaves inside the boat. I am working under a huge oak tree and it is raining leaves and insects onto and into my new dinghy .

Cheers, Bill

[HopCar]

Bill, It's really beautiful. Nice job.
My boat has an oak tree overhanging it. The leaves drive me crazy, they leave brown stains on my fiberglass. Clorox will remove the stains.