Preview: How to Build a Caledonia Yawl, Part 39 – Fitting Out the Interior

19 Responses So Far to “How to Build a Caledonia Yawl, Part 39 – Fitting Out the Interior”

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  Howard Webb says:

  I recently purchased a Caledonia Yawl. Recently on a 4 hour sail I took on a lot of water. Inspection reveled that the keel bolt is full threads and movement of the keel and the sharp threads ate the wood to the point where it leaked quite a lot. I am in the process of building bronze bushings to go in the wood and keel. The the new SS bolt does not have threads on the area going through the bushings. That being said. My keel is not centered and the sides of the box is 1/2 marine plywood. That may not be an issue on a standard build, however I would recommend bushings and no threads in the working area.

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  David Robbie says:

  Will there be a non-skid put down on the floorboards? They look very slippery with the gloss paint.

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    Geoff Kerr says:

    I have never put non-skid on the floorboards, but as your very own boatbuilder that is certainly a choice you could make. These days I routinely finish them with Watco Teak Oil, which ends up being quite naturally non-skiddish. There is not a lot of room for running around anyway, so I am generally crouched over and holding on to a seat or the rail as I move about.

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    Steve Stone says:

    Having spent a few years in Oklahoma, I can speak to your question of what an Okie friend called “gription”. After a couple days out cruising later in the season, the boat sorta turns into an extension of my feet, like a big surfboard spinning underneath me, and I find myself stepping from floorboard to seat to mast partner and maybe even one foot on a rail (while at anchor).

    It’s very different at the beginning of the season. I dropped the boat overboard yesterday and took her to a quite cove in the warm sun to get her all rigged up. I was so wobbly I could hardly stand up without falling over grabbing something. By the end of the rigging up and getting everything just right, I noticed that my sea legs were half way back, so I hung out and did some walking around the boat to get them all the way back. Amazing how fast that happens. Complete clutz unable to stand up to moving about the boat like a chimpanzee. I wonder how much of that came while I wasn’t thinking about it and the motor skills could bypass the mind?

    Back to the point — the paint is Interlux Brightside, and after a couple seasons I tried putting Interlux’s non-skid powder on the floorboards with another coat or two of paint, and it worked extremely well. Very glad with the result and footing is more confident. Geoff’s suggestion of oiling would be just right too, and if you prefer painted surface, the non-skid worked great. I’m thinking of doing it to the seats and mast partners as well.

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  Gordon Heggie says:

  Hi Geoff,
  I am near to completing a C.Y. In Melbourne.
  Have watched and re-watched your videos and have found them inspirational as well as educational. I think I can credit you with my ability to get the job finished in the next month or so and get sailing for the Southern Hemisphere summer.
  Interested in this thread as I am unsure what to do about side benches but I think now I can do them flush with the thwart.
  Cheers
  Gordon

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  Frank Hruby says:

  Thanks, Geoff.

  I noticed a design detail difference in your benches which are supported only by the

  another custom builder has a build blog on the Caledonia and he shows Knees being used to butress the benches at the thwarts:

  http://www.grapeviewpointboatworks.com/caledonia13.html

  That builder writes “We have made a few patterns for the wood thwart knees, and finally settled on a shape that doesn’t intrude quite as much as Iain’s, but still has the required strength.”

  Is elimination of the bench knees an option given by Iain, or a detail you devised? I much prefer the cleaner and more open look of your build. I would like to propose one more bench option. With over-lapping cleats epoxied and bolted to the bottom ends of the side benches, it should be feasible to locate the benches flush with the thwarts rather than mounting the benches offset and under them.

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    Geoff Kerr says:

    These questions fall into the category of the joys of building your own boat, don’t they? They are the type of issues that are routinely raised in discussions between a client and a builder, and then sometimes including the designer too.

    I have done the thwarts several different ways over the years. Iain’s plans call for substantial laminated hanging knees. They take up a large amount of seating area, and I consider them vestigial in a glued plywood boat. I do these when a customer insists. For several boats I used custom bent SS straps as knees. My own boat has these. I’ve decided they function primarily as convenient tie down points for gear and fenders. I’ve built several boats with no knees at all, and it seems to be just fine. My theory is that the immense cross-grain strength of the plywood planking and the large glue joint area of the cleats simply doesn’t require spreading the load to the rails. Let me state that this is probably a question for the designer, not a builder…

    I have hung the side benches flush on cleats as you describe on several boats, and do it as an option when requested by the client. It is perfectly sound, may well look better, takes a lot more time to fit, paint, etc. and doesn’t really feel any different on your bum.

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    Steve Stone says:

    I must admit that I thought a lot about this particular configuration on OCH’s Caledonia before she was built. Having sailed her a lot now, I don’t recall ever feeling the 5/8″ difference in level of the thwarts and the side benches. It seems that the butt has a special way of malleable adaption while the mind is occupied on pleasure.

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  Stewart Lee says:

  Geoff, how much buoyancy would you recommend using in an open Caledonia Yawl like this?

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    Steve Stone says:

    Hi Stewart. Geoff shows the flotation he uses in his Caledonia in this video:
    Outfitting a Small Sailboat with Geoff Kerr

    And you’ll see alternate uses for flotation in this video:
    Boat Handling for Beach Cruising – Anchoring, Beaching, Rigging an Outhaul & Boat Knots

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  Tobias Edler says:

  Hi Geoff,

  is there a reason to hang the sidebenches rather than putting them on top of the thwarts? Because that way, the fasteners would only have to stop then from slipping around and not cary all the weight.

  I really like this series, just rewarched the episodes on spars before starting to repair the boom of my “Schwertzugvogel”

  Regards from Germany,
  Tobias

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    Geoff Kerr says:

    The side benches started out hanging just because that is the way Iain drew them. A few customers have asked to have them mounted flush, and I’ve done that for them, using plywood butt blocks at the joints. I would hesitate to mount them on top of the thwarts just because that corner is where I like to sit. I also suspect hanging them is more attractive. Your point about less stress on the fasteners is well taken.

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  Paige McIntire says:

  Ha!

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  Tom Bolko says:

  Geoff. You certainly earn your money. The final product looks great. Question?? How will you be finishing the exterior of the drain plug. I have recently cut the hole for the garboard drain plug on my John Brooks, Ellen. Wiser for me to use the less expensive brass tube and rubber stopper or the drain plug you were using.
  Tom Bolko

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    Geoff Kerr says:

    An issue to consider when choosing a drain fitting is the thickness of the hull at the chosen location. Some hulls are so thin it is hard to set screws. I have usually seen the tube and rubber plug fittings in thick transoms, but that doesn’t mean they wouldn’t work elsewhere. The garboard drain fitting I use doesn’t require anything to finish off the exterior…once the hole is super epoxy sealed, and the fitting itself is bedded when installed you are all set. It is just proud of the hull surface, but in an absolutely innocuous location.

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  Stewart Lee says:

  Geoff, couldn’t you put a copper sleeve inside the trunk to save the centerboard from being chewed up by the threads of the bolt, or is this not an issue?

  I’m really learning a tremendous amount from this series. Thank you!

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    Geoff Kerr says:

    A sleeve is certainly an option. The soliid epoxy “bushing” I poured in the CB at the pivot is meant to take care of this.

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  Joel Aosved says:

  Thanks, Geoff. I’ve enjoyed the whole series, especially picking up little tricks here and there. The flashlight is brilliant. – Joel

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    Geoff Kerr says:

    Or at least, bright….