Skip to main content

T37 Nationals and some updates

Went to the T37 National Championships yesterday, Oct. 5th, 2013. Took my nieces so I couldn't stay too long though. 

There were some very nicely built boats. I took the opportunity to look at certain things that people have done to make their boats better and more unique. There were 27 boats in all and you could tell that people spent a lot of time custom building their boats. Lovely paint jobs, creative changes within the rules, etc... 

Today's tips: 

TIP 1:

UPDATE: If I were to build another boat, I would at this stage, after the hull has been glued up but the deck is still off, also sand down the fillets along the inside bottom of the boat. Sand just until nicely smooth and even and then give it a light clear coat of epoxy. It will look super clean and professional. Mine is OK but it could have been cleaned up more when I had the chance.

Also an update: Gluing in the rudder post and keel before gluing on the deck worked out wonderfully! Do it. Although I would be much, MUCH neater on my rudder post next time. It looks a bit sloppy. The picture below is before I added a crapton of thickened epoxy to build it up. If I had stopped at this point it would have looked fine (although I'm not sure it would have been strong enough).

I would be a bit cleaner with my keel installation too although it looks OK as is. Certainly better than I could have done had I put the deck on first.  

The instructions say to glue the deck on and then you'll later install the keel and rudder tube. It makes much more sense to glue in the keel and rudder post BEFORE gluing on the deck. It is SO much easier to do it that way and you'll make a much neater job using less epoxy. I emailed Will about this and apparently it is standard operating procedure for the T27 (his smaller kit). He says it's OK to do it this way so that's what I'm doing.









TIP 2:

UPDATE: This next tip worked very well too! When I installed the mast step in late October (see the related post) having the tube plugged like this was wonderful. I was able to leave the mast in all night long and have it exactly lined up. Well worth your time to do if you have a tiny bit of thickened epoxy at some point. 
 ___________
I'm planning ahead for my mast step installation. The instructions say to tape the mast and take tons of precautions so that you don't glue the mast into the mast step. My solution: When you have a small (and I mean tiny!) amount of thickened epoxy (still workable!) left from one of your glue-ups, take a little bit and make a small covering for the bottom of the mast step. Then when it's time to install the mast step you can leave the mast in the entire drying time for proper alignment without worrying about gluing it in place. 







The thickened epoxy goes into the end of the mast step to plug it. It is the smallest amount I could use and still cover the entire end so that during the installation of the mast step later on, no epoxy will get into the step and glue the mast. It doesn't go up the step more than an 1/8" at very most, probably less. Pretty cool huh?!

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Bought my T37 and Built a Custom Deck!

Hi! I purchased a Tippecanoe T37 RC Sailboat kit with the racing upgrade in September, 2013. In trying to research the best techniques for building a T37 online I came across some other people's building projects and a few chat sites. They were helpful but we can always use more ideas so I thought I'd start my own T37 build blog and see how it goes.  The instructions that come with kit are quite comprehensive, and there is even a webpage run by Tippecanoe that shows some of the assembly steps, so my focus will be on: 1.) Techniques that I found to be helpful, and 2.) Those times when I didn't follow the instructions and did things my own way.  STEP 1:  Buy a T37 kit Go to the Tippecanoe website and see what they have. I saw their display at the Port Townsend Wooden Boat Festival in September and was captivated. They have some smaller toy sailboats. Then they also have their more serious kits starting with the T27. They also have boats larger than the T37... T5...

Rig is up and she's ready to sail!

Spent all day today working on figuring out the boom attachments. One more trip to Bead World in Seattle. They have so much fun stuff! Found a perfect clip for the jib boom attachment. Looks better than a fishing snap-shackle thing. It swivels too. Finally settled on this system seen in the pictures below. Small metal key chain style rings, washer type O-rings, clasps, etc... Hopefully it will all work out well, but will most likely need some tweaking. Next weekend is the " Learn to Race Your T37 " clinic and I'm hoping they can help me with some ideas too. So after seven weeks here she is! This pic makes the varnish look good...  it's not Found this clip at Bead World in Seattle Hope you like it. Please let me know what you think. Maiden voyage tomorrow! I'll let you know how it goes.  =D Peace!

T37 RC Sailboat for Sale (and SAIL)!

Sold! Hopefully you racers in the Port Ludlow area will be seeing T37 2073 around at a few of your regattas soon. I wish her luck! Time to make room for my other hobbies, so while I hate to do it I must sell my original Tippecanoe T37 Racing RC Sailboat! Asking price: $875 or Best Offer .   A new T37 racing kit from Tippecanoe Boats is currently listed at $386, and a finished boat built by Tippecanoe will cost you $1425 ($1,560 plus tax) NOT including the racing upgrades. This boat is as high quality as a factory built boat but with the racing upgrades and with custom refinements. It weighs just over 4.5 lbs and has a custom fir & mahogany deck as well as many other custom features. Looks great and sails great. A completed boat by Tippecanoe will have a stock deck, stock rudder design, and will most likely show wood grain. This boat has a very expensive epoxy wood filler on the hull and is painted in durable epoxy paints. It has been raced and has had a few minor re...