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 Posted on January 14th,2012One more on checks I turned up during our clean-out. Here is the check I wrote to the late Harold “Dynamite” Payson for the building manual for my first boat,the Gloucester Light Dory. Pretty momentous purchase right there.
If anyone is looking to build this great boat,Payson’s book is invaluable. Just get it. You won’t regret it.  Posted on November 24th,2011
My first step was last night. I unscrewed the “sheer clamps”and the pulled off the skin. What I found was a bit distressing,if not wholly unexpected:there has been water trapped beneath the skin and the frame doing what water will do. So this leaves me with the question of how to proceed from here,as I have to approach this project with an additional variable. Factors I am thinking about are:
A bit of a quandary,eh? My current thinking is to unlash the frame,coat every inside surface with the same two-part polyurethane that coats the skin,partially relash,add foam to fill the inside,and reskin the ama. My guess is that this approach leaves some vulnerability to water damage,but hopefully holds it off a good bit. Any other ideas or approaches you all would recommend? Please comment below. Many thanks, Posted on November 17th,2011
I had a couple management meetings this week that provided for doodling space. I have been thinking about a larger skin-on-frame craft ad that led me to umiaks. The name then came to me and so a boat needed to come of it:an umiak-construction hull with lines and rig evoking that classiest of classics,the Friendship sloop. Fun to noddle on. Posted on October 26th,2011On Sunday afternoon I took AL DEMANY CHIMAN out for probably the last time this season. It was a stunning Fall day and there were only a few other folks out with me on the Patuxent River. There were some birds about and a couple fish jumping,but,for the most part,things were quiet and autumnal. As I put the boat back on the car and drove home I reflected on what a great boating season it has been. The story of the season was obviously AL DEMANY CHIMAN. This was her first full season in existence and she gave me all I had hoped she would. From the first paddles in May,she continued to prove light and easy to transport. She took the whole family out and did fine (except for the part where we all leaned to starboard) and even carried my boss and colleagues. From there she carried me and five days gear around Muscongus Bay,ME in what will go down as one of my great voyages. This is the adventure she was built for,whether I had articulated it or not,and she served me fabulously. The heat of summer and my desire to complete the sailing rig slowed us some,but when September arrived,AL DEMANY CHIMAN became my social yacht. I had some great outings with friends and,a couple times,with friends and sons. She proved a great draw and a fun boat for talking or for fishing. Throughout all these interactions,I was thrilled with the reception AL DEMANY CHIMAN got. I have been so touched by the clearly sincere compliments she has received. People have been drawn to her and it has been thrilling to see and hear. It will now be a long wait for the Spring… Posted on October 25th,2011
As I work away on refinements to the sailing rig for my skin-on-frame outrigger sailing canoe AL DEMANY CHIMAN,I wanted to show off a few more details of the rig as it is. I posted a variant of this view before,but I think this is a better picture. It gives a sense of the overall layout and the different rig elements. Here is the steer oar and its chalk. This set-up worked reasonably well,though I might eventually want to put some weight on blade end.
This view shows the hiking plank and mainsheet leads.
Finally,some detail on the finished blocks,which I hand made from paduak.
I can’t wait to get her going again next season. Posted on October 1st,2011
She’s all ready for show… Category:1A. Skin-on-frame Outrigger Canoe (2010),1D. Fusion of Tradition Boats,2A. Canoes &Kayaks,2B. Day Sailers,3. Boatbuilding |  Tags:chesapeake bay maritime mus.,great design,lateen rig,mid-atlantic small craft festival,outrigger canoe,sailing canoe,skin on frame |  One comment |  Trackback this Post Posted on September 30th,2011For the next 24-odd hours Chine bLog is reporting LIVE from the 2011 Mid-Atlantic Small Craft Festival at the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum in St. Michael’s,MD. As I type on my smart phone,a lovely folk trio is playing in the background while folks eat and mingle. A whole fleet of amazing boats is already here,and I’ll be sharing some in the AM. The biggest news,from our perspective,is that the skin-on-frame outrigger canoe AL DEMANY CHIMAN finally got under sail today. That was the afternoon’s goal and we got it done. As you may recall,“DEMANY”means “sail”,so she has fully taken her name. Results? Well,winds were light,but we completed several tacks and had no catastrophic issues. That said,we have some work to do. The leeboard is not behaving well at all and was minimally useful. Design flaw there. The configuration of steering vs. sheet will also take some getting used to. All told,though,we’ll call it a success. Stay tuned… [UPDATE] The sailing rig did not fair so well during the blustery next day. While still on land showing off her rig,the yard snapped (building flaw) and the mast partner lashing failed (design flaw). Neither was catastrophic,but we’ll need to deal with these issues before we get back on the water under sail. A guy who was next to the rig when it broke looked at me like my brother just died and said a sincere “I’m sorry.”It was a bummer,yes,but I regard the whole boat as an experiment and a learning experience,particularly the sailing rig. I will learn from this and fix the issues and we will be back. This boat CAN sail –we proved that. Posted on September 22nd,2011
I finished up the spars for the sailing rig on my skin-on-frame outrigger canoe,AL DEMANY CHIMAN today. That meant setting the sail for the first time. Some kinks to work out,but good progress. Posted on September 1st,2011So much for being more active with Chine bLog this year…but again,my absence often means there is interesting content. I have,indeed,delved into the sailing rig for my skin-on-frame outrigger canoe,AL DEMANY CHIMAN,and have made good progress in recent weeks after stalling for a while. A tour of recent work,if I may:
Finally. there is the sail itself. I have the spars a good way along,and for kicks –and measurement –I laid everything out on the front lawn the other day. This shot from an upstairs window gives a sense of what it will look like ( if one was a fish 5 feet to port and 10 feet under water behind a screen window). All things considered,I am pretty happy with the recent work and feel optimistic again about getting a sail in before the season closes. Up next,building my own blocks… Posted on July 24th,2011
Semi-momentus occasion here at Chine bLog HQ this AM as our Peace Canoe PEACE OF THE PUZZLE shipped out for good. She will be headed for safekeeping with our friends at the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum awaiting their fundraising auction in the fall. She will then be sold to raise funds for the Museum. A good cause,and they are probably better at selling her than I have proven myself to be. My private sale efforts proved futile,I imagine due to the ole’economy Its always sad to move on a boat you built,but I confess I never fell in love with this one,mostly due to its impracticality. She wil be a wonderful boat for someone,and I wish her well. May she have a long and happy life. | ||
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You can see that dark area where the oil I put on the bow piece didn’t help (or wasn’t enough). The part above that was quite wet,and that is from rain somehow getting in (or,forbid,leftover from a month ago –shudder). The line where the skin met the bow piece is distressingly evident,though this is more mildew. The bigger issue here is that the two planks that make up that piece have separated (note the slight hitch in the “sheerline”). The afte end is better off,but has a few issues of it’s own. 
I have finished sanding the leeboard (
It clamps onto the gunwale with the board itself on a bolt so it can pivot. I will put leather around the inside faces and will pin the pieces together with some brass rod (under current plan). It is made from laminated offcuts of the white oak ribs. Lord,my Scottish New Englander ancestors must be proud. 
The same oak offcuts went into making the bracket for the steer oar,which will be lashed to a peg on the aft bulkhead. This is about good to go. I like how it came out,although,for its size,it is easily the heaviest thing on the boat. The oar itself is a bit farther out,though I did get assembled at a macro level. Deep Chine bLog fans may 
