Completion of the hull is a milestone in any boat building project, but while many think of it as half way, those who have done much of it will be hard to convince that it's a full third. In a sailboat I think of the parts as Hull, Fittings,and Rig.

The first photo today is one of Catspaw at Coal Harbour on the north end of Vancouver Island, where I had my shop. I have inserted it here to show the placement of the motor. Again Catspaw is the economy model of these two and you can see that she sports an outboard motor on a custom mount on the rudder. This was plenty of power and could be tipped up out of the water for no drag when sailing but it did have an interesting effect on rudder balance.

 

This is the high end model with an inboard saildrive version of pretty much the same motor. It was a beautiful, quiet power plant but the fact that it was inboard and gasoline powered meant that I had a thick stack of "safety regulations" that had to be satisfied. That added a lot of work.

 

This is the centerboard in glue-up. It was designed to pivot at the lower forward corner and incorporated about 20 pounds of lead to help it drop. It was eventually shaped to a foil for the part that extended below the keel and was then skinned, like everything else, with 'glass cloth and epoxy. With the board up these boats draw only 16" but when the board is down it increases the draft to 4' 8".

 

When this photo was taken the hull had been moved into the "heated shop" and painted with "Midnight Green" Endura. Here the rudder has been shaped and awaits painting and installation. I know that this was about Christmas time because I remember taking this rudder home and using it as an extra coffee table for a party we were throwing. It was a big hit. My first "art furniture" perhaps. 

 

Next up is the fresh water tank. It's often hard to get a tank to fit well in the odd shaped spaces afforded by small boats and I've found it frustrating and expensive working with welders to get complex shapes just right. Consequently a lot of my tanks, both water and fuel were made out of plywood and epoxy. This one will fit forward under the vee berth and yes it does get a top. The filler is at the back and the drain is at the front. The box shape at the back fits over the end of the mast step.

 

This is the transom with the rudder gudgeons and pintles being fitted. They are cast aluminium bronze and were made from patterns that I designed and made specifically for this boat. You can also see the position of the saildrive leg here.

 

This last shot is a custom anchor / rode box that I designed for Catspaw. It served to keep the anchor secure, the wet rode outside the cabin, and it stiffened the foredeck sufficiently to allow me to take a pass on the deck beams. That made for more room and a cleaner appearance inside.

 

These are obviously only a few of the many bits and pieces involved in outfitting these two but they are included here because, well, they're the things I have pictures of.

For info about any of the other fittings, just ask and I'll fill you in as best I can.

Thanks for checking in.

Tomorrow finished shots and some under sail.

Thanks again

Paul