Building Oonagh

Today I replaced the single bow eye with double-ended lifting eyes to alleviate the problem of the davit cable rubbing on the front of the boat. By installing a double-ended bow-eye, I have a tow ring in the front and a lifting eye inside the boat.

September 5, 2021 – I took the boat out this afternoon in a steady 8-knot breeze and it handled very well. I wanted to see how well she could go upwind and decided to chase down a small sloop that was about 1 mile to windward and seemingly not making as much progress as it… Continue reading Upwind sailing is good

There was a very light breeze today and predicted storms the next two days, so I decided to go out today and test the new mast step and mast partner as well as the new drain plug in the bottom of the boat. I didn’t take any photos and only a short video. The boat… Continue reading Shakedown Cruise

The final coats of paint are cured and the hatches re-attached and the boat is ready to go back in the water. Thunderstorms this afternoon, so I will have to wait for a better day for a shakedown cruise.

8/9/21 – After letting the plywood dry out over the weekend I cut away some of the splintered plywood and assessed the situation. There will be 5 parts to the repair that will need to be done in steps while the epoxy dries. Repair the cracks in the joint between the frame and seat top.… Continue reading Repairs

8-6-21 – While sailing downwind in about 6-8 knots of wind the mast partner parted ways with the boat and mast and sails tumbled over the side. Understandably, I was too busy to take any photos until I got back to the dock. The mast partner completely delaminated and ripped out of the boat. Once… Continue reading Disaster

8-5-21 – I have been sailing my 30′ sloop Evergreen for 27 years but have never had much experience with dingy sailing, so I really didn’t know what to expect. I rolled the boat down to the water’s edge and launched her after a quick christening ceremony with my sweetheart Cindy and my new boat… Continue reading Sailing Cindy

8-5-21 – I finally finished with the details of the boat and I can roll it out of the garage and work on the sails. I didn’t take any pictures of the process of lashing the sail to the boom and gaff, but here is the finished product. The halyard and mainsheet lines are smaller… Continue reading Stepping the Mast & Bending the Sails

6/16/21 – Today I started prepping for painting. I sanded all the filled areas and put on a coat of EZprime. I also primed the Daggerboard, the Tiller cheeks, and the Daggerboard slot filler. Hopefully, I can start painting tomorrow. 6/17/21 – I put on the first coat of Epithanes monourethane Cream. 6/17/21 – I… Continue reading Painting & Varnishing

6/8/21 – Now that the rudder is in place, I can begin the work of making the tiller. I started with a block of African Mahogany the approximate length and width of the tiller template. I traced the outline of the tiller onto the mahogany and then cut it out with the jigsaw. After cutting… Continue reading Tiller & Daggerboard

6/6/21 – The rudder is close to 1″ thick and I opted for Stainless Steel hardware that came with 7/8″ Pintles that would only require minor chiseling to fit. First, I mounted the Gudgeons at the two locations that have interior support. The lower gudgeon is backed up by the mahogany block that ties the… Continue reading Gudgeons & Pintles

5/14/21 – While waiting on more EasyPoxy primer to be delivered, I decided to go shopping for the Douglas Fir for the Spars. I was able to get a couple of 2x4x12’s for the mast and a couple of 2x8x10’s for the other two spars. The selection was meager and I got the last two… Continue reading Spars

5/3/21 – Now comes the hard part. Sanding, priming, sanding, fairing, sanding, and then painting. I spent a couple of hours today just sanding and didn’t seem to make much progress. Partly, that is because I was doing it by hand to keep the dust down as I am still putting a clear coat of… Continue reading Interior Finishing

5/2/21 – The daggerboard trunk is an integral part of the center partition. As I focus on finishing the daggerboard trunk, I will recap some of the work done so far. 4/9/21 – I did some prep work on the daggerboard trunk. To make sure I install the trunk exactly perpendicular to the 3/4″ hole… Continue reading Daggerboard Trunk

4/28/2021 – Today I am back to work on the mast step. Before I get to that, I should recap the work done so far on the mast step and partner. The work on the partner was integral to building the bow compartments. 4/12/21 – Still working on the bow seats & supports. The mast… Continue reading Mast Step & Partner

4/19/21 – Today, I worked on the bow transom and knees. It turned out to be a lot more complicated than I imagined because of all the steps to make the knees. My first step was to clamp a batten to the bow so I could cut it into a fair curve. The next step… Continue reading Transoms, Knees & Inwales

4/6/21 – Still puzzling over how to hold both partitions in place while gluing. Using station #6 from the mold, I can hold 1 partition in exactly the right place. How to get the second partition to stay in the right place is a puzzle. I used the daggerboard trunk as a spacer, but the… Continue reading Partitions, Daggerboard Trunk & Mast Partner

3-29-21 – Now that the boat is right-side up I can begin working on the interior. However, before I start adding stuff, I need to do some cleanup on the interior while it is unobstructed with bulkheads. First on the list is leveling the boat, both longitudinally and side to side. This will be necessary… Continue reading Preparing the Inner Hull

All of the exterior construction on the hull is complete. The bottom of the boat is much easier to work on while it is on the mold, so I plan to fair the hull and add one or two coats of primer before taking it off the mold. The first step is to mix a… Continue reading Fairing the Hull

My shorter screws for the guards will not arrive until Thursday, so I decided to move on to work on the outer keel and skeg. The keel has been screwed down but not glued, so I disassembled it and put unthickened epoxy on the mahogany. Then I applied thickened epoxy to the dynel on the… Continue reading Keel and Skeg