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Drew Britten's avatar

For the stich-and-glue construction method, buy a pair of safety wire twisting pliers and your wrists will thank you. Designed for installing safety wire through bolt nuts in high vibration areas, they are perfect for tightening up the copper wire "stitches" that temporarily hold the hull panels together. Just clamp the jaws onto the wire ends and pull on the base. The pull makes the pliers spin effortlessly, which twists the loop as tight as you need. Be gentle. The mechanical advantage of the design can tear right through the plywood if you pull too hard or fast.

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Joshua Colvin's avatar

Wow! Have never seen that tool. Very nice. Here is a video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MPy0JzpZuvY

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Drew Britten's avatar

And you can find them for less than $20. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09DCM1CX7/

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David Peebles's avatar

I think it is CLC who first specified copper wire for stitch and glue, and I've always assumed its because they want you to leave the wires in place before taping the seam on the inside. They say to grind off the protruding wire ends on the outside, and shove the inside loop into the Vee of the inside chine or other joint. When I have built Pygmy boats (at least 3), the kits supply soft iron wire, which you remove after the seam epoxy has cured. I prefer this method because it leaves a smoother joint, and doesn't require grinding off the wire. You simply pull it out. If it should not yield easily, a few seconds' heating with a soldering iron makes it super easy to pull the wire out. Almost all of them come out easily even without heat. Wires left in the joint contribute exactly zero to the seam strength, and just make for a lumpy, ugly joint if left in place.

I agree the wire twisting tool (which I have seen in catalogs many times over the years) looks like a neat tool. I would certainly get one if I planned to build any more boats.

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Joshua Colvin's avatar

We've been using zip/cable ties on smaller builds instead of wire and it works great.

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John Nystrom's avatar

Not to mention over twisting and breaking the wire.

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Denis Wang's avatar

I always tell crew or guests on multiday cruises beforehand that all upcoming land-based appointments are null and void once we leave the dock. This ensures that there will be no arguments or disagreements that compromise the safety of the crew or the boat due to the need to travel during potentially dangerous weather or sea conditions. Makes cruising more relaxed, fun, and safe. Though one needs to be sure to have enough food and brew aboard.

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Eric Russell's avatar

In the process of developing the modified table of offsets for the Whitehall, I found myself translating the feet--inches--eighths into millimeters and, because the person in charge of the building is not comfortable with metric, back into adjusted feet--inches--thousandths of an inch. [The reason for using thousandths is that eighths come out in thousandths.] Rather than forcing the measurements to the nearest eighth, this should eliminate some of the fudging in fairing the lines for construction. Personally, I believe metric is simpler. There are plenty of metric or combined metric/inch measuring tapes available. [In case you are wondering, the boat is based on figure 72 in American Small Sailing Craft.]

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Jonathan Lewis's avatar

If you have a drinking water system to winterize, use cheap vodka instead of the pink stuff. You can use your mouth to suck it through the hoses without any worries about swallowing the liquid. Just don’t get carried away.

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Joshua Colvin's avatar

What if you have a tendency to get carried away?

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RonB.'s avatar

If you trailer and launch at a ramp often consider putting a ball on the front of your vehicle. Makes the backing down process ridiculously easy. In terms of how to actually do this, it very vehicle specific.

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Shawn Payment's avatar

For small craft expedition sailing, I routinely carry about a 50’ hank of small diameter dyneema or similar non-stretch line. There’s almost nothing I can’t fix with a sharp knife and a bit of line. I’ve replaced a stay, tied on a broken ama, splinted a paddle, yada, yada, yada. A bit of line and a few well tied knots can make the difference between success and failure.

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Joshua Colvin's avatar

So true.

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Rob Kunzig 57's avatar

in my day, same thought but it was parachute cord - always had 6' of it - still do!

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Kent B Lewis's avatar

Capn Jack said always take two hats, you can imagine why.

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Shawn Payment's avatar

That goes for just about everything. “Two is one, and one is none.”

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Shawn Payment's avatar

Thanks for the hat!

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Joshua Colvin's avatar

You bet! Make us proud.

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John Nystrom's avatar

Shinto Saw Rasp has become a 'must have' tool. It can quickly shape and remove material from wood, plastic, even softer metals. Bought mine years ago from Duckworks BBS.

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Denis Wang's avatar

My boating adage to live by: Prepare for the worst and the best will take care of itself.

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Gwendal's avatar

Using flexible polyethylene tubtrugs buckets for my anchor rode. Made in Spain they have great handles to tie off the end of the line or to close the opening of the bucket so the rode does not fall out. The other bonus is it makes stowing it away securely easier in an open boat. Finally the flexible nature of the bucket ensures that the paint on the boat is not chipped. They are available at Lee Valley and I’m sure elsewhere.

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Joshua Colvin's avatar

Great idea. I've always liked the flat-back buckets on boats, but they aren't as flexible or versatile as yours.

Tubtrugs: https://redgorillausa.com/products/tubtrugs-original-25-liter

Flat back: https://www.statelinetack.com/item/duraflex-flat-back-bucket-20-qt/SLT310286/

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Joshua Colvin's avatar

Congrats to Shawn Payment on winning the random drawing for the free hat! Thanks to everyone for participating—some good ideas!

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