Commander 147

[Commander 147]

I plan to use an 8 or 9 foot long Genoa track myself on the toe rail and that was another of the considerations for doing this project. And while we are talking headsail tracks, how long is the jib track you installed? I plan to do one like that and any feedback on how long yours was and how it is working for you would be helpful.

As far as this putty goes, it gets very hard. It should work exactly as I wanted it to in the genoa track area giving a solid surface to bolt through. It is pretty much exactly what you were thinking of using a polyester resin with a thickening agent (microballons and fumed silica) that is already premixed. All you have to do is add the MEKP to activate it and go.

I should warn you that the fumes are pretty bad. Even with a fan blowing in from the companionway and another blowing out from the forward hatch while I worked in the v-birth area and me wearing a mask that is designed for paint fumes I still ended up with a headache that I blame on the fumes at the end of a 5 hour day of using this stuff. The shelter Destiny is under is wide open on one end and 6 foot by 6 foot canopied opening on the other. But it still probably helped to hold fumes around the boat more than if it was in the wide open air.

[Commander 147]

away for a short time from the toe rail project and towards finishing up the all mahogany tiller. Yesterday we had another 70 plus degree day so I cut out of work a little early so I could take advantage of the warm air to glue up my all mahogany tiller. Then today the temperature after work was below 60 degrees so I did not want to chance the putty not setting up so instead I finished making the tiller.

All went well until I was using a router bit to put a radius in the edges of the tiller and I had a blow out. See the first picture below.

But if you were to hold the tiller in your hands and look at it you would never know it was there unless I showed you what to look for. The second tiller shows the salvaged tiller and the original one I made.

[ebb]

Jerry,
Making a second tiller is one thing I have thought of doing, and may still, because I like your idea of an all mahogany tiller.

I would make the bending/clamping form flat on a table.
I would use thinner laminations, as thin as 5/32"
I'd glue a number of veneers together - 9 - 12
- maybe not all at the same time
- maybe two or three separate glue ups to keep the bent wood stress small.
- take the tiller out of clamps when set - trim to its final length
- and work the desired taper into it. Not sure I would taper just the bottom, but that would be simplest.
Because the bottom laminations are theoretically in compression and not likely to splinter.

Then I would put it back in the form and glue a final strip or two on the bottom and on the top if necessary that would become the finished dimensions.
That way there would be no runout of tapered veneers. Which the H&L tillers all have, and aesthetically imco is this method's glaring feathering of glue line and veneer on the bottom of the lamination.
Being one beautiful color the tiller could look like a single piece.
And the grain would run full without runout on both top and bottom.

Thinner lams theoretically produce less stress in the bent composite.
Two or three wet and set glue-ups. would produce a tame tiller especially in the outside lamination that has most of the tension.
Less likely to let go and pop a splinter when finishing.
Miore glue lines, if it's the right glue, could arguably make a stronger tiller.
Haven't seen anybody do a tiller this way. With mahogany I'd probably use resorcinol.

If I ever get to it, I'll give that a try.
We should always carry a spare.
That would be the nifty two-tone H&L I have now.

[Commander 147]

Not sure it would work with my design unless I eliminated the knob on the bottom side of the tiller. I need all of the laminations to get the height for the knob. And that is also why almost my entire taper is on the bottom. This leaves the top piece almost intact and continuous.

As I was typing that it occurred to me I could just glue a couple of pieces to the end of the bottom afterwards to make my knob.


I do have one bottom strip that dies out completely and a second one that comes close which leaves the very obvious glue line from the resorcinol on the bottom which you can see in the picture below.


I also agree with the thinner strips thought. I honestly think I could have made mine thinner than I did which was 1/4". But when I did my test clamp up everything seemed to work OK so I went with it. But thinner strips would have created less stress just more glue lines.