Come to the 2005
Sucia Small Boat Rendezvous!

Some of the small craft from the 2004 rendezvous.
(John Kohnen photo - click to enlarge)

On the weekend of July 9 & 10, 2005, small boat enthusiasts will be gathering at Sucia Island State Park in the U.S. San Juan Islands. The purpose of the rendezvous is to meet other small boaters and their families and enjoy a relaxed weekend messing around with boats.

There are no restrictions on boats or materials. Last year, about half the boats were wood and half were fibreglass, some were homebuilt and some were production boats.

For more information, go to https://members.shaw.ca/jamie.orr/

or email Jamie Orr - You can also reach him at:

3332 Painter Road,
Victoria BC, V9C 2H9
Canada
Phone 250 478 5338

Chuck,

I just happened upon those photos on a web site:

https://gdch.org/havinga/badday.htm

My link was from here: https://volokh.com/

Apparently there is fakery involved:

https://www.snopes.com/photos/accident/crane.asp

Peter Vanderwaart

Hi, Chuck and Sandra. A belated happy new year.
This fall, I found out that the canoe described in my book and that I built 16 years ago is still going strong. No leaks, no touch-ups. The photographs were made last fall.

During the winter the canoe was stored under the porch. Going now in its 12th year above life expectancy. Not bad for a $200 job. I boasted about it on the sailing-canoes group of Yahoo.
Sheers and chines. Barend

Tsunami Stuff

Just picked this up off the net - these folks are on a sailboat doing a circumnavigation - they were anchored off Phi Phi Don - an island in Thailand - and have some very interesting pictures of the first wave from the viewpoint of off shore.

Some interesting first person accounts also, but no "disaster victims" pictures like we've seen on the news.

https://www.yachtaragorn.com/Thailand.htm

Best,

Leo Hill

5th January : tomorrow for me in Norway, maybe today in America ! And I had to write about the Norwegian lifeboat URÆD which beached in Glouchester, near Boston, exactly one hundred years ago! My documentation is from many articles from the Ålesund newspaper Sunnmørsposten. Anyway, just a word for the centennial, it is better than nothing.

7th August, 1904, Ole Brude left Ålesund, which was in reconstruction, mainly in Jugendstyl or Art Nouveau (with massive help from Wilhem der Zwei and Germany), after a terrible burning in January, with 3 courageous friends: Iver Thoresen, Lars Martin Salthammer and Karl Thomas Hagevik Johansen. Some days before their departure, the 27th July, the "Norge", a Norwegian immigrant ship on the way to America, hit the lonely rock Rockall, losing 600 of the 738 on board. The boat was pushed on the shore in Gloucester after many days of winter storms, and the crew was very tired and their friendship wounded. (In 1960, the boat was still parked outside in an American shipyard, but I cannot find this article!)

This tragedy, with so many losing their lives at sea, got Ole Brude thinking about a little lifeboat which could be installed on each merchant ship without a problem. The Brudeegget, "captain Brudes Egg", was an 18 foot long egg-shaped prototype of a sailing lifeboat built by Ole Brude (24) who wished to test her and also win a million francs at the World Exposition in Saint-Louis, a sum he needed to start an industrial production and save several lives with this model he dreamed to see on all the merchant ships.

Twenty models of a 14 feet long Brudeegget were built in Bergen after this trip. For many reasons, it was not a success-story.

Brude lived in Minnesota in his youth, and died in Washington State in 1949. He never married, and had no children. Two sisters, Clarice Staff and Dorothy Brugge, came to Ålesund from Minnesota in August 2004 to open the exposition about the odyssey of their grandfather's cousin. I read this morning in Sunnmorsposten (the paper in Alesund), that a group led by the writer Ole Ellefsen is actually in Gloucester (north of Boston) for the 100th year of the beaching. They will meet the lord mayor (?) John Bell, and a Brudes fan in Gloucester, Peter Wolfskehl.

"URÆD" is a new book (December) written by Ole M. Ellefsen, edited by Ålesund Museum. 172 pages with a lot of illustrations. A sister ship is sailing in Ålesund, built recently in aluminum by the local society UNDERTUN.

I have not the book, I have never seen the new model, and I cannot send a picture of the boat, because I know nothing about the internet system, and my son, a specialist self-skilled, is on the way to Phuket (Thailand) with a group of Swedish friends. My son's girlfriend's brother, Bjorn, was out at sea on the morning of the tsunami, leading a group of divers when the waves came, and they felt them, but without problem. The wave killed many of his friends living in the village and his restaurant was destroyed. And do you know where Bjorn was on 11th September 2001? In his flat (high) in Manhattan where he also had a restaurant which was closed not so long after, but he is proud for his food and drink-supply to the firemen in action.
Duckworks magazine needs a better journalist than me, but I am just starting my American career.!

Yves le Scour
Tynes
N 6230 Sykkylven (Norway)
ylescour@hotmail.com

A large cat just motoring away from anchorage off Thailand as Tsunami has just passed underneath.
Chris Ostlind

Chuck,
If you have a minute to look at Fishyfish, there is a real pretty Tolman
that was just added. If you haven't seen it, it as at:

https://www.fishyfish.com/roberts/index.html

Most of the builders at the Tolman Yahoo group think that is a pretty good example of a Tolman Jumbo. You can tease Jim Ward and tell him his readers are expecting similar.

Frank Talbot

To whom it may concern:

I am looking for an Australian vessel called ‘Blue Laguna’ or ‘Blue Lagooner’. It supposedly is a ketch but now it could be a schooner.

She is roughly 38 – 45 ft, she is totally wooden all over, has 2 wooden masts, a bowsprit, roughly 6 brass portholes along the hull in a blue stripe that runs the whole length of the hull. She was in excellent condition and is roughly 40 to 60 years old. The cabin is a creamy colour and besides the blue stripe in the hull the rest of the vessel is white.

The name is on the stern with ‘Australia’ written underneath.

I am pretty positive the name is ‘Blue Laguna’ or ‘Blue Lagooner’ but I could be wrong & she could have a name change by now in time. I am 100% positive the vessel has Australia written on the stern. The stern goes in on a 45 degree angle.

I am looking for help in finding this vessel or anyone or any company / business that has come into contact with this vessel at anytime either 50 years ago or today.

This vessel has been kept in an excellent condition right up until it was last seen in New Zealand waters in January 1998.

I need the help of yachting experts/ builders that have great knowledge on wooden ketches & schooners, as this vessel is an Australian vintage beauty but sadly part of a New Zealand tragedy involving 2 missing New Zealanders.

I am researching / investigating this crime and I urgently need the help of some Australians that may know of this vessel or could help out some way.

If you can’t help with any knowledge even just telling your colleagues and friends as this vessel has been around for 40 to 60 years. Some-one must know of this vessel some-where at some-time some-how.

I’m pretty sure this vessel could have been used in illegal activities in the late 1990’s.

I AM ENCLOSING IN THE ATTACHMENT A PICTURE OF THE VESSEL – THIS PICTURE IS NOT A PHOTOGRAPH BUT A COMPUTERISED CREATION OF WHAT THIS VESSEL LOOKS LIKE-IT’S MOST CLOSE LIKENESS. The rigging and rope designs could be removed nowdays.

Who I am: I am party to a team of professionals seeking information regarding an unsolved crime and you have my complete assurance that my inquiry is legitimate regards to my research.

If there is any information you can impart to me it will be greatly appreciated. If you have any knowledge at all on this vessel we will acknowledge ourselves to you in due course.

As a part of this investigation any information you give me and how I receive it will be strictly confidential and will be treated in a professional manner at all times.

Thanks for reading this,
Kind Regards

Nicole
nicole_jonesmajor_@hotmail.com

OK, where are the fair weather whiners now? In looking at this guy, you can see why the Vikings were such studs on the high seas. It's his mental image of what works. He's sold on the potential of his life, not his limitations.

Chris Ostlind

https://www.webbo.dyndns.org/sailing/winter/

Over the top

https://www.big-boys.com/articles/whaleandkayak.html

Ooops... Snopes strikes again:

https://www.snopes.com/photos/animals/kayak.asp

Now this is the ticket if you want to retire and cruise the nation's byways. Look at their other vehicles while you're there

Chris Ostlind

http ://www.terrawind.com/terrawind.htm

FLEXIBLE EPOXIES

By Paul Oman
copyright 12/04

LET'S START OFF WITH HOLIDAY GREETINGS TO ALL OF YOU! THIS IS THE TIME TO COUNT OUR BLESSINGS AND GOOD FORTUNE, TO GIVE OTHERS THE BENEFIT OF THE DOUBT, AND THE REMEMBER THAT AS HUMANS WE ALL MAKE MISTAKES AND SOMETIMES DO THE LEAST LOGICAL THING.....

Epoxies tend to form a brittle, plastic like mass. This is good for boatbuilding and many repair projects - people want rigid boats and solid repairs. But in some situations where there is sudden shock, movement, flexing, or large amounts of expansion and contraction, a flexible coating can mean the difference between a coating failure (cracking or 'popping' off) and a successful project. This problem is best illustrated with wood and epoxy. Wood expands and contracts with moisture content while epoxy and most other materials expand and contract with temperature. Put epoxy on one side of a piece of wood in a damp environment and the two materials could be fighting each other..... Another example, giant metal water tanks. One day they are full of tons and tons of water and the next they are empty with air temperatures inside the tank of over 100 degrees. That can mean lots of 'movement' (expansion and contraction) on the sides of the tank - it needs a coating that can 'move' with the metal.

By their nature epoxies are brittle. Some epoxies are more brittle than others and flexibilizers and plastizers can be added to epoxies to improve their flexibility. Generally hard brittle surfaces have the best abrasion resistance while more flexible surfaces have better impact (or shock) resistance.

I do crude flex testing in two ways. I make small cubes or cylinders of epoxy and hit them with hammer or squeeze them in a vise. The really brittle ones turn to dust or break into a great many pieces. Less brittle ones will break into 2 or 3 or so pieces. I also apply the epoxy to a sheet of wax paper and let it cure. I then peel the epoxy off the wax paper and bend it. At some point it will snap and break. Note that epoxies many feel cured in a day or so, but take days (a week or longer) to fully cure so don't perform these tests right away. Give it a week or so before testing. Ditto for adhesion - you can probably pull off your epoxy/fiberglass repair the next day - don't! Give it time to bond....

For boatbuilding you want a rigid epoxy, but still not super brittle (our old Basic No Blush Version 1 was too brittle) that that is 'shatters' upon impact. Epoxy paints are about the same. Some give is nice but not too much. In other cases, such as the examples listed above, a lot of give is needed to prevent failure. In some cases a very rigid epoxy repair putty is a good thing, in other cases one with more give, sort of like a 'silicon caulking' is better.

HOW TO MAKE A FLEXIBLE EPOXY YOURSELF

Solvents such as acetone and MEK are often added to epoxies for several reasons: to extend pot life, lower viscosity (especially if spraying the epoxy), improve epoxy penetration (such as into wood - i.e. making a penetrating epoxy). Certainly some of the the solvent evaporates away but a lot of it gets trapped in the epoxy matrix. The end result is that solvent thinned epoxies tend to cure into a rubber (or at least flexible) state. Experts warn that over time (months or years) the solvents may finally work their way out of the epoxy and the epoxy may regain its brittleness. I have never been organized enough to test this (and I suppose temperature makes a big difference too as would the thickness of the epoxy).

We also sell a very unique product called TA 661 which will add flex to an epoxy. TA 661 feels like baby oil and is non evaporating. We sell it as a slow acting cleaner (solventless solvent????) for removing uncured epoxy or semi cured epoxy from tools etc. If troweling down epoxy/sand deck surfaces, it keeps the epoxy from sticking to the trowel. It will also blister and lift dried varnish and enamel paint (overnight or in a day or so). Anyway, a tiny amount of it mixed into an epoxy will also give it plenty of flex.

FLEXIBLE EPOXIES AND OTHER 'FLEX' COATINGS FROM PROGRESSIVE EPOXY POLYMERS

Note the most epoxies in general have a flex ('elongation') of about 4-8%.....

Our Coal Tar epoxy, like most coal tar epoxies, has an elongation in the range of 20-30%. Although still common, coal tar epoxies have fallen out of favor. Coat tar epoxy can be hard to recoat after it has weathered, it is smelly, and there are health concerns over the coal tar additive.

Our CM 15 epoxy is a general purpose epoxy paint with lots of flex, ideal for boat decks and wood surfaces. Also a really long pot life.

Our Crack Coat epoxy is also unique. We formulated it to fix leaks in cool, damp basement walls and floors. It is a bit too thick to brush on but certainly too thin to be called a putty. It is perhaps more of a gel. Anyway, thickeners can be added to it to make it more putty like without messing up its flexibility. It also works well as a bedding compound or caulking compound on dry or submerged surfaces.

As already mentioned above, our TA 661 is a convenient additive for adding some flex to any epoxy product.

Our 621 Epoxy Adhesive, which we have on clearance (11/26/04 - we are selling out, only small amounts left in stock - not a fast moving product) - has the most amount of flex (about 100%) and was designed originally for joints in concrete floors. It sort of looks and acts like Elmer's glue.

NON EPOXY FLEX COATINGS

Liquid Co-polymer Rubber paint - The next generation of coatings, this a snowy white mat/satin rubber paint that actually sticks to wax paper and retains all the movement of the wax paper. Originally was designed as a roof sealer. Color white only.

Co-polymer Rubber Deck - the same co-polymer as above, but with rubber grit in it for a professional looking, completely flexible, non-skid surface. White only.

COLD WEATHER EPOXIES
It's winter here in the Northeast! - boatbuilders should use our LTC 38 low temperature marine resin for winter projects. Contractors use our Corro Coat FC 2100 FAST for outdoor projects. Our '10 minute underwater' epoxy paste, Quick Fix 2300, has 'normal' potlife and working times when used in cold weather.

PAUL OMAN Progressive Epoxy Polymers, Inc.
Frog Pond Hollow - 48 Wildwood Dr
Pittsfield NH 03263
10-4 Monday-Thur EST 603-435-7199
VISA/MC/Discover/Paypal
info@epoxyproducts.com
https://www.epoxyproducts.com
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USCG Auxiliary Asks America's Boaters
to Make Two New Year's Resolutions

The U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary is asking boaters to make a pair of New Year's resolutions.

"The first of these is simple and is the most important thing you can do on a boat that may save lives," says Dean Payne, Commander of Flotilla 37, which serves the Mississippi Gulf Coast.

That first resolution is "I promise never to get underway before everyone onboard has on a properly fastened lifejacket."

Statistics prove that those on a boat are eight times more likely to live and be rescued if they fall overboard and have on a lifejacket compared to those that are not wearing a personal flotation device.

Payne says the second resolution is also simple and can save time, embarassment and money. It is a pledge to get a free courtesy vessel examination in 2005.

The Coast Guard Auxiliary does free vessel examinations to insure boats are in compliance with all federal and state regulations. "This could save you money as some insurance companies will give you a discount on your insurance if your boat has passed a Vessel Safety Check," explains Payne.

"It could also save you time in finding out what is required for equipment on your boat and the embarrassment of being stopped without having the proper equipment onboard."

The Auxiliary every year conducts more than 100,000 Vessel Safety Checks in the United States. More information about Vessel Safety Checks can be found on the internet at www.safetyseal.net or by contacting one's local Flotilla, which can be found by either visiting the USCG Auxiliary at www.cgaux.org or by contacting the nearest Coast Guard unit.

The United States Coast Guard Auxiliary is composed of uniformed, non-military volunteer civilians who assist the Coast Guard in all of its varied missions, except for military and direct law enforcement. These men and women can be found on the nation's waterways, in the air, in classrooms and on the dock, performing Maritime Domain Awareness patrols, safety patrols, vessel safety checks and public education.

The United States Coast Guard Auxiliary was founded in 1939 by an Act of Congress as the U.S. Coast Guard Reserve and re-designated as the Auxiliary in 1941. Its 35,000 members donate millions of hours annually in support of Coast Guard missions.