A Puzzle

Wow, I just noticed  it has been almost two weeks since I posted any thing. It has been that busy around here. In between BOOTS last month and going to Lake Eufaula this month, there has not been a lot of time to work on The Toy lately. The good news is progress has been slow but sure and we are ready to do a float test. Now what with her being made of foam and bottles, I am not the least bit worried that she won't float. I want to know where the water line is going to be for sure with  the  comparatively light load of only two or three adults on her before I say the bare boned first hull is finished and ready for the temporary  "final" cover of being fitted with the heavy duty tarp I broke down and got this month.
She is not as light as I had hoped , but she can be moved by two people as the guys and I can all three attest to. Taking her to get the weight of this first hull is definitely on the agenda. It has been getting a lot cooler so I moved her into the house to work on her again, It like like moving a 18 ft long and very skinny couch,. but it is doable. I was hoping one 10 ' x 20 ' heavy duty tarp would do but the circumference is just a bit to wide so, in between the left overs from the new tarp and the other I had purchased,  we will have plenty of tarp left over to make sails while we are experimenting with what we like before we spend the money on "real" sails.
Oh, before I forget, Eufaula was a bust as far as me getting any sailing done, but I did learn a lot. about Puddle ducks, sail size etc.
 
The junq rig sail that I was given is about 5x 16 so I am thinking that it is about right for The Toy but plan on keeping it reefed to about 50 square foot as a normal thing  for general practice while I am learning.
For the purpose of experimenting I  am using 1 1/2 inch PVC for a temporary mast and 1 1/4 inch for booms while I figure out how to get this sail rigged.  Needless to say it is going to be a FLAT WATER ONLY boat until I get different materials or am satisfied that the PVC can handle the stress. . (The guys are talking about building PD racers so I'm  thinking about letting them have the wood I bought a while back for mast. Two end to end with lap joints make just about the right size for a short mast to get them started with a lateen sail.) I'm thinking if the PVC is not strong enough and yes I have my questions about that, the local building supply store sales 1 5/16" round stock that fits inside the 1- 1/2 PVC quite nicely for reinforcement. I have a 20' joint of pipe.  I'm thinking  butt end two sticks of round with epoxy and water proof the wood by putting caps on the end. For convenience sake I'm thinking a screw on cap at  mast top. Yes, I am planing on using wood inserts to reinforce the PVC where hardware is attached. Found out the polyurethane idea is a complete bust but that's OK,  you live and learn.
 For the float test I have wrapped the hull up in a heavy duty tarp with duck tape. I thought about using the gorilla tape but since this is just an extremely temporary  set up just  to test water line, wasting the extra 7.00 a roll did not seem like a smart move. As soon as we get her back home all that tape is going in the trash so we can go onto the next step.

Yes it's as ugly as it can be and has more wrinkles then my great grandmothers brow.  Until I find out where the water line is I do not want to cut a brand new tarp. Once I find out if I am going to have to increase the height of the hulls and get it done on this first hull, then I'll cut the tarp to fit. Right now it is folded up on one side and looks pretty sad.
 I am planning on increasing the hulls depth  some to accommodate placing a strip of 2 x 4 length wise on top of  each hull to have something solid to fasten cleats and other items to as it becomes needed.
 
 I had the strangest thing happen at Eufaula. Someone commented that what I am doing scares them. I can't imagine why. It truly puzzles me.  The basic design is already tested on what I would imagine are millions of pontoons all over the world.  Seriously, if you look at a pontoon boat and this one, the similarities are astounding.  A pontoon usually has 2  large long rectangular pieces of square bottom foam  that are fastened to a deck with aluminum frames that go around or through the foam. This design has two long  triangular pieces of foam with the structural support going through the foam and coming up from that 4 inch PVC base to attach to the deck. 

While a pontoon is one large piece that you would not be disassembling to move,  The Toy is designed to be modular. Although the original goal of fitting on top of my car may or may not work out due to my car being a small Lumina, as it sits right now, I have been researching that issue and THINK I MAY have found the solution on instructables. It is as simple as extending the usable length of the car with a hitch extender which will work, some tie downs and a roof rack. I need to drive to Harbor freight get some parts, but that's not a problem. Until I get the parts all I have to do is take it slow the few miles out to the local lake and I'm good to go.

We finally got the hitch I bought checked. It will work I just need to get the bolts etc to install it.  I have been keeping my eye open for a light weight trailer I can modify to use but so far have not managed to get that part accomplished . Not having the hitch on puts a real cork in bringing a trailer home. LOL
The long term plan is get an extended van. The hulls will fit on top and I can set it up for long term camping. With a winch and the right rooftop rack, the hulls will go on top as slick as grease. Put a cargo extender on the hitch for the decks and other items that might not fit inside and I'll be all set up  for going where ever the sailing looks good.
 My son, who owns the digital camera, has promised he will get me the pics from BOOTS tomorrow. Here is hoping he does not get busy and  forget. I would like to see them myself.  Considering we are taking the camcorder to document the waterline test I think it will happen.


Went shopping for boat stuff. Bought a fluke anchor although I'm thinking I may want a mud anchor as well before things progress to far. Need to find out what the local lakes bottoms are for sure. Will be carrying 20 ft of 1/4 inch chain and have 75 ft of  1/4" anchor line. Yes, they are both over sized for this boat but I live in a small  town and you take what you can get. This should be more then enough for local area lakes since I am only planning on anchoring close to shore.  Got the hard ware to get the rudder(s) attached once I get it / them built. I found dock line and sheets at a really decent price at Lowe's, I think it was. Got at least part of the hardware for halyards etc. Still need to get or make cleats and more hardware. All in all, we are pretty close to being good to go on those areas.

One of the big questions is how to rig this Junk sail.  I am really leaning in favor of Junq rigs as a permanent fixture based on what I have read for ease of single handing. This particular sail was originally designed as a flat sail with curved battens.
Realizing there is this HUGE learning curve for me,  I did some searching online. It appears  the original Chinese junq sails were flat with flat battens, so I'm thinking  to go with that and see how I do at least for now.  For the purpose of learning how to rig this sail as well as play on flat water for a while. I'm thinking use some 3/4 inch PVC just to get out on the water and see if I can rig it right to actually sail. YES I plan to HUG THE SHORE LINE IN VERY LIGHT WINDS. If needed I'll insert wood doweling into the PVC for strength.

Why am I using so much PVC ? It's a LOT cheaper then wood for this stage of things and it does not need protecting from water. This means I get on the water faster.  To quote something I read online, It is about sailing not sawdust.  Once I get the experimental parts figured out  ( read that as figure out how I want to do parts of this,) I'll go to wood if the PVC does not work.. If I stick with the PVC I'm not out any money. If I go to just wood and can't find a buyer for the "used" PVC, I can always donate it to the Habitat for Humanity. resale store. Either way it is a win- win situation. Those do not happen very often.
All things considered and duly noted, life is good.

May your winds all be fair and your anchors firmly fastened.