Preview: How to Build a Caledonia Yawl, Part 40 – Installing the Hardware
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December 22, 2014
Email this Video to a FriendCleats, oarlocks and a few more final bits of hardware as we draw close to finishing up our Caledonia Yawl.
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21 Responses So Far to “How to Build a Caledonia Yawl, Part 40 – Installing the Hardware”
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Dean Fletcher says:
Beautiful build and quite traditional until the fitting rigging stage. I personally would have manufactured wooden cleats rather than those horrible galvy rust streakers. All that work then those things?
Cheers
Jim Kramer says:
Thanks Geoff.
Jim Kramer says:
Geoff,
Did you drill the holes in the pintle arms?
Jim
Geoff Kerr says:
The WC pintles I used in this project come predrilled with 3/16″ ish holes. A related aside: Bob LaVertue/Springfield Fan Centerboard Company who made the gudgeons used here is now making a beautifully matched pintle specifically for the Caledonia. They are appropriately expensive ($300+ for the 4 piece set) and worth every penny. His phone in Ludlow, MA is 413 547 8364.
Daniel Simonds says:
Does anyone know whether this source is still valid. I found one old-looking reference online. Planning to try the telephone number in the morning?
Any other recommendations for suitable gudgeons?
Steve Stone says:
Hi Daniel. I just saw a post from Geoff on Instagram touting this hardware, so it should still be good. Please let us know via a “contact us” email if you can’t get to them.
Geoff Kerr says:
Daniel, I just received two sets of hardware from Bob. He’s still active, just likes to business by phone. 413 547 8364. Lv a msg and he will return your call.
Daniel Simonds says:
Thanks. I just left him a voicemail. Will let you know how it works out.
Daniel Simonds says:
For anyone interested, I purchased – and just received – a set of hardware from Bob LaVertue. They aren’t cheap, but very well made and a good value in my judgement. Bob is easy to do business with. Just give him a call at the number above.
joe brikha says:
Mr. Kerr, such wonderful workmanship all around but with a boat so beautiful, I wish you used shop-made hardwood cleats instead of galvanized steel. They could be strong enough yet compliment this exquisite creation.
Geoff Kerr says:
Hardware choices for a given project always require a balance of time, money, aesthetics, and function. My own “Ned Ludd” sports a lovely large hardwood cleat for anchoring and mooring. Sometimes good, cheap and available is the right choice.
Scott Hiltunen says:
Hello Geoff,
Glad to have all of this good information as I continue to build my own Caledonia.I met you a few years ago at the Woodenboat Show in Mystic Conn. Iain was there as well and gave a nice presentation about some of his work and travels.
Thanks for all the help.
Scott Hiltunen
Bill Rutherford says:
And the last digit in Bob LaVertue’s phone number, I believe, is a “4”.
Ask him about his power dory “Thumper”. Starts both in forward and reverse…
Great series. Thanks, Bill
Stewart Lee says:
All right, here’s a pintle question…
I’ve been looking for the Wilcox and Crittendon 1-1/2 pintles, and they are few and far between. To begin with Wilcox and Crittendon now seems to be a part of the Thetford corporation, and they mainly make marine toilets.
I found the Fisheries Supply website, with an unbelieveable price of $10.27 apiece. Unfortunately, the page also says that they are out of stock and that the manufacturer has stopped making them. (http://www.fisheriessupply.com/wilcox-crittenden-w-c-37636)
The only site I was able to find that had them was Hamilton Marine, with a price tag of $69.99 apiece. There was also a note that there are 322 left in stock.
(http://store.hamiltonmarine.com/browse.cfm/pintle-bronze-1-1-2-use-with-462-gudgeon-136009-/4,9225.html)
The difference between $20.50 a pair and $140.00 a pair is… shall we say, a remarkable $119.50.
Geoff, do you happen to have a source with a better price, or do you have a secret cache that you are willing to sell from?
By the way, I can’t tell you how sorry I am that this series is coming to an end. I’ve enjoyed it very much, and learned such a lot! Thanks!
Stewart Lee says:
Ah, for an edit button! I was wrong about the Fisheries Supply pintle. It’s not the Wilcox-Crittendon one, and in fact it’s a gudgeon. I’ll be wiping the egg of my face for a while. Sheesh!
Geoff Kerr says:
Hamilton Marine is where I get them. If you think they are expensive, try making them yourself. It is my understanding that HM bought all of the WC inventory when they closed.
Stewart Lee says:
Yeah, I did some real research and right now there’s a pair WC pintles from Hamilton Marine sitting on my desk. Like I said, I wish there was an edit button so I didn’t sound like such an idiot. Sorry about that, Geoff.
Larry Cheek says:
When I built my first daysailer I assumed the pintles would happily ride within their gudgeons forever, held there by—I don’t know, The Magic Force? I learned on only the second outing that this force did not exist, when a bit of bouncy water popped the rudder assembly right out. I am very happy that no one happened to be nearby with a GoPro to make a video of me hanging over the transom, struggling to reinstall the rudder while the breeze blew us around like a bug in a Maytag.
Good chandleries have a simple solution in the form of a thin, bendable stainless steel tab that mounts above one of the pintle/gudgeon assemblies. It costs a couple of bucks and works perfectly.
Geoff Kerr says:
The rudder head is so massive on this design that gravity seems to prevail. I lost Ned’s rudder once while beached, when a massive boat wake lifted it off and it floated away. Mercifully a nice man in a sportfishing boat picked it up out in the ocean and cruised in the inlet ’til he saw a matching paint job. I was happily and obliviously sunning and building castles with my kids. Maybe a leash or tether would be wise, and I have installed the spring clip you describe on some projects.
James Reinhard says:
What alloy are the square drive screws and through bolts? The galvanized is a nice workmanlike touch.
Geoff Kerr says:
The fasteners are silicon bronze…standard marine fasteners, available from Jamestown and Hamilton and lots of other places I’m sure.