A DIY article to check out...

Imagine 40% of Americans think this clown should be in office, some needful reading, and in the "Just another scam for witless boat owners" department...

 

48° North has an excellent article on DIYing a dodger using plexiglass that costs out somewhere short of $500. Considering that a Sailrite dodger kit and their dodger frame kit will cost you over $1600 or so, that amounts to a significant savings.

Of course, my go to method for dodgers is stitch and glue plywood construction which costs a whole lot less and is strong enough to stand on when the need arises. 

Still, the plexi dodger sure looks sweet and 48° North is free as always so well worth checking out.

Listening to Preoccupations

So it goes...

in defense of simple...

Looks like somebody did their math, what you might learn in church, and in the "Sounds about right" department...

I really don't get it.

Folks often ask me simple questions about boats, rigs, and refits but, apparently, desire complicated answers instead of simple ones.

Seriously, what's that all about? Now, as far as my desires for answers to problems I'll go with what's simple 99% of the time. Simple also tends to be easier as well as less expensive which sits quite well with the fact that I'm a fairly lazy and cheap fellow.

As far as I'm concerned overly complicated solutions to simple problems are just stop signs on the roads I like to travel. 

I rest my case.

Listening to Bite Me Bambi

So it goes...

Doing the math...

An important read, a point well made, and in the "Why isn't this idiot not in an orange jumpsuit already?"... 

So, I've been pricing out a build of a KD860 Open and, at first glance, it's a fairly depressing exercise. Nothing makes a forty year old classic plastic sailboat in need of an extreme refit look affordable like the cost of 60 odd sheets of marine ply and the epoxy and glass to cover it with.

Then again, the first budget for a new boat is always daunting and as Hunter S. Thompson said...

 "When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro." 

Still, I do have a cunning plan.

Listening to Making Movies

So it goes...

heresy continued...

A rather harsh reality, some depressing NASA data, and in the "Not your normal subway buskers" department...

Face it, when you think about it, just about all boat interior joinery is just building boxes.

Boxes are pretty simple to make and if you can't build a box, you're in some serious tyro territory.

Sure, you can make them a bit more complicated (dovetail joints, for instance) but with modern adhesives that's more of an aesthetic decision rather than a needful one.

Butt joints and modern adhesives work just fine. 

Back when I was doing interiors on the Bruce Bingham Flicka design, the interior assembly took three days. Add another couple of days to make the interior kit and we're talking a week of labor. 

I expect that if you hired a guy to do about the same amount of work in your kitchen at home, you'd think a week would be excessive. 

For home builders, as opposed to folks who cobble boats for a paycheck, the amount of time things take seems to adapt to the time available. While a production worker can build a nav table and surrounding shelves and suchlike in a day, the home builder can take months or even longer to build what is essentially just a few boxes. Add an inset compass rose to the table and it can take years.

Sure, there are any number of tricks one can use to make building boat interiors easier, as well as less expensive. In my case, I let Fred Bingham do most of my thinking for me. I've never come across a problem that "Practical Yacht Joinery" did not have an answer for.

But, I can hear you saying...

"Boats have curves and shapes that make it nearly impossible to make boat furniture!"

...and yes, dear reader, you'd be right that boats have shapes that confound even the most bespoke carpenter square. Luckily for us, there are inexpensive tools available that make even the most audacious compound curves fast and easy to deal with.

Having the right tools is a big help, but the real game changer is getting to know just how much labor goes into making that drawer or similar contrivance and adapting your work habits to exclude time spent on other stuff.

Listening to Ganstagrass

So it goes...

spouting heresy...

A cat story, something interesting about climate modeling, and some excellent advice where phones are concerned...

Here's a question: Why do so many people think building a cabinet on a boat is more complicated, takes longer, and is much more expensive than building a cabinet for your house?

Seriously, think about that for a bit.

I'll be back tomorrow with more on the subject...

Listening to KUTX

So it goes...