Hi, all. I have the hull for a Snark Sunchaser and I am trying to turn
it back into a sailing boat. The foreman at my shop just sold me the
sail and spars for a Sunfish for $10.00 (!!!) that could be easily
adapted to the boat (I still need a mast - $85 from the factory). I
also need a rudder and dagger-board, which are $175 and $100,
respectively, if I were to buy them. Marine plywood isn't cheap,
either. I already have 3 quarter-sheets of regular 5/8" thick plywood
laying around the garage. Is there any practical way I can make this
stuff work, at a lower cost than buying from the manufacturer or buying
marine wood? Or is there something else equally cheap that would work?
I am on a VERY tight budget!

Exterior plywood will work just fine. To test what you have, heat a small
piece in boiling water on the stove for ten minutes or so. If it
delaminates, keep it away from the boat.
wrote in message
oups.com...
Hi, all. I have the hull for a Snark Sunchaser and I am trying to turn
it back into a sailing boat. The foreman at my shop just sold me the
sail and spars for a Sunfish for $10.00 (!!!) that could be easily
adapted to the boat (I still need a mast - $85 from the factory). I
also need a rudder and dagger-board, which are $175 and $100,
respectively, if I were to buy them. Marine plywood isn't cheap,
either. I already have 3 quarter-sheets of regular 5/8" thick plywood
laying around the garage. Is there any practical way I can make this
stuff work, at a lower cost than buying from the manufacturer or buying
marine wood? Or is there something else equally cheap that would work?
I am on a VERY tight budget!

Hell, I used exterior 1/2" ply. I filled any edge voids with wood putty and
then put 4 or 5 coats of polyurethane on. It isn't like it's going to be in
the water for any long periods of time... Just store it in a dry place.

Ed

--
When replying via email, replace spam with speak in the address.
"Mike Gardner" wrote in message
...
In article ,
"Dave W" wrote:

Exterior plywood will work just fine. To test what you have, heat a
small
piece in boiling water on the stove for ten minutes or so. If it
delaminates, keep it away from the boat.
wrote in message
oups.com...
Hi, all. I have the hull for a Snark Sunchaser and I am trying to turn
it back into a sailing boat. The foreman at my shop just sold me the
sail and spars for a Sunfish for $10.00 (!!!) that could be easily
adapted to the boat (I still need a mast - $85 from the factory). I
also need a rudder and dagger-board, which are $175 and $100,
respectively, if I were to buy them. Marine plywood isn't cheap,
either. I already have 3 quarter-sheets of regular 5/8" thick plywood
laying around the garage. Is there any practical way I can make this
stuff work, at a lower cost than buying from the manufacturer or buying
marine wood? Or is there something else equally cheap that would work?
I am on a VERY tight budget!


I built a "dagger board" for my snark sunflower out of the best
exterior grade I could find in central illinois - found something with 5
plies in half inch ( sized used on the sunflower). I then put two coats
of epoxy on it. Worked fine.

--
Though posted through facilities afforded by UIUC, though my employer,
this post and the opinions herein are mine alone and have nothing
whatsoever to do with my position or my employer.

Well Scout,

The only difference between marine and exterior is that there are no
voids allowed in the core of marine. Think of how much that will mean
in this application.

For a mast,
Buy a piece of AL tube (.060 wall will do). Make and hammer wood plugs
in both ends and the pick one end to drill through sideways to run in an
eyebolt to hold the halyard block.

Good Luck

Matt Colie


wrote:
Hi, all. I have the hull for a Snark Sunchaser and I am trying to turn
it back into a sailing boat. The foreman at my shop just sold me the
sail and spars for a Sunfish for $10.00 (!!!) that could be easily
adapted to the boat (I still need a mast - $85 from the factory). I
also need a rudder and dagger-board, which are $175 and $100,
respectively, if I were to buy them. Marine plywood isn't cheap,
either. I already have 3 quarter-sheets of regular 5/8" thick plywood
laying around the garage. Is there any practical way I can make this
stuff work, at a lower cost than buying from the manufacturer or buying
marine wood? Or is there something else equally cheap that would work?
I am on a VERY tight budget!

Now, it looks like CPES is somewhat expensive. Might it be somewhat
cheaper, and work just as well, to buy a fiberglass mat-and-resin kit
from the local auto parts store and put one or two layers of glass over
the plywood?

Also, the factory rudder is a kickup design. Should I go ahead and
attempt this, or should I keep it simple? Any good sources for design
ideas for eithe fixed or kickup rudders?

wrote in message
ups.com...

Now, it looks like CPES is somewhat expensive. Might it be somewhat
cheaper, and work just as well, to buy a fiberglass mat-and-resin kit
from the local auto parts store and put one or two layers of glass over
the plywood?

That won't work. The auto part muck is polyester and mat, which does not
stick to wood. It might look like it does, but a baby could peel it off....

Meindert

The factory rudder is a kickup design. Should I go ahead and
attempt this, or should I keep it simple? Any good sources for design
ideas for either fixed or kickup rudders?

There's a couple of different ways to make a kick-up rudder. The most
common is to use a case with the rudder on a pivot in the middle. There's a
couple of pictures of one I built at
http://www.floatingbear.ca/MiniCupModifications.htm. You may also want to
check out Jim Michelak's free online newsletters for more ideas -
http://homepages.apci.net/~michalak/

BTW - I've used barn-boards (1 X 12 pine) that is easily available to me as
rudders and daggerboards and they've been inexpensive and worked well.

--
Andrew Butchart


wrote in message
oups.com...



The factory rudder is a kickup design. Should I go ahead and
attempt this, or should I keep it simple? Any good sources for design
ideas for either fixed or kickup rudders?

Andrew Butchart wrote:
There's a couple of different ways to make a kick-up rudder. The most
common is to use a case with the rudder on a pivot in the middle. There's a
couple of pictures of one I built at
http://www.floatingbear.ca/MiniCupModifications.htm. You may also want to
check out Jim Michelak's free online newsletters for more ideas -
http://homepages.apci.net/~michalak/

BTW - I've used barn-boards (1 X 12 pine) that is easily available to me as
rudders and daggerboards and they've been inexpensive and worked well.

--
Andrew Butchart



Now, that looks like a fairly simple design. What did you use for the
sides of the rudder box? Luan, or marine plywood? Or something else?
And what did you finish the wood with? Also, what would make an
inexpensive substitute for a hockey stick for a tiller? Does it have to
be hardwood, or would more of the "barn board" work? And what did you
use for hinges? It looks like the hinge hookups on the Snark are two
metal tabs with holes drilled through them vertically, like one long
pin (or 2 short ones) is supposed to drop through them. Thanks!

For a mast,
Buy a piece of AL tube (.060 wall will do). Make and hammer wood plugs
in both ends and the pick one end to drill through sideways to run in an
eyebolt to hold the halyard block.

Not having much luck finding anybody who has 2-3/8" diameter aluminum
tubing in 12' lengths. It seems to jump from 2" to 2-1/2" to 3" every
place I've checked so far. Do you know of anyone who would have it in
that diameter and length, who would charge well under $85 for it (if
I'm going to pay that much, even including shipping, I may as well buy
the factory part).