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Thursday, October 27, 2005

Rudder Again

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Today a weather record for the warmest day in October for London and the south east was broken. Taking advantage of the situation I applied...
Sunday, October 23, 2005

The Mast 9

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Surprise, surprise ……… I thought I had applied the last coat of epoxy to the upper part of the mast, but when I examined it yesterday aftern...
Friday, October 21, 2005

The Mast 8

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In deference to my wife, I removed the mast from the hall that links our front door with the kitchen. For the last week it has resided in a...
Thursday, October 20, 2005

The Mast 7

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Building a Paradox micro-sailboat requires many applications of epoxy, because almost everything that needs joining is welded together with ...
Wednesday, October 19, 2005

The Mast 6

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The mast has taken on its final shape, apart from the area around the base, which will provide some latitude when it comes to matching the m...
Monday, October 17, 2005

The Mast 5

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I made good progress with the mast today by fitting an all round white masthead light and its flex. I also glued the front piece between th...
Sunday, October 16, 2005

The Mast 4

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Yesterday I did a bit more shaping of the mast, and cut the slot for the main halyard sheave. I’ll build the all round masthead light into t...
Wednesday, October 12, 2005

The Mast 3

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A couple of days ago I fiddled around with the front piece of the mast to make it fit snugly within the side pieces. Since then I’ve not do...
Friday, October 07, 2005

The Mast 2

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Instead of inserting the end plugs into the top and bottom of the mast, I decided it would be better to glue them into position when fixing ...
Thursday, October 06, 2005

The Mast

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I’ve been able to find a few hours for working on the Douglas fir mast. On Wednesday I shaped the front and back pieces, making them almo...
Friday, September 30, 2005

10 Little Pigs – what next?

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I’ve now completed the initial batch of 10 lead ballast pigs, each weighing about 11.5 kilos; that leaves me with a choice as to what I shou...
Thursday, September 29, 2005

Seventh Pig

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I had a surprise while heating lead for the seventh pig, when a hole suddenly appeared in the much used saucepan and lead poured onto the co...
Tuesday, September 27, 2005

Sixth Pig etc

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My prognostications about having to buy at least another two bread pans for moulds may prove pessimistic, as I've now made six lead ball...
Saturday, September 24, 2005

Third Pig

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With the aid of a new burner powered by a 907 cartridge of Calor Gaz it only took an hour to melt and cast a pig of lead weighing about 12 k...
Friday, September 23, 2005

Slow Progress

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Yesterday I only managed to produce one lead ballast pig, but not after a struggle, because the wind and ambient temperature conspired toget...
Tuesday, September 20, 2005

Rudder, Stock and Lead Pig

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Apart from drilling the holes for the bolt holding the rudder in place and finishing them to prevent water ingress, I’ve almost completed th...
Saturday, September 17, 2005

Rudder and Stock Saga

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After adding more tape around the edges of both the stock and rudder I gave them a day to harden; then I smoothed uneven surfaces with a cou...
Thursday, September 15, 2005

Rudder and Stock Again

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When I started making the rudder and stock I did not realize how much work would be needed to complete them. Shaping them from plywood took...
Monday, September 12, 2005

Special Sander and Glassing the Rudder

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In the building manual produced by Don Elliott for the Paradox there are instructions for making a sander from plywood; it uses 3 inch wide ...
Saturday, September 10, 2005

Lead Weight & Special Tool

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Yesterday I smoothed the lead in the rudder by using a course file and sandpaper; then I filled any irregularities with thickened epoxy. A ...