Recent posts

#81

TSBB General Talk / Almost-A-SCAMP Progress Report...

Last post by Charles Brennan - Feb 27, 2026, 05:44 PM

Here's why you NEVER, EVER, throw anything away, during a boat build.
Remember this bench seat template, from June of '24? 
I was forced to scan the plans into a computer, scale up the drawing, then print out pages and Scotch tape them all together, since my partial SCAMP kit purchase did not include the bench seats.
(Or several other components, for that matter!) 
Plus, as it turns out, I totally Suck!!      At lofting. 
You cannot view this attachment.

I needed a template to cut out the EVA (Expanded Vinyl Acetate) foam bench seats and decking, for the boat.
Good thing I had saved that bench seat template!! 
You cannot view this attachment.

First thing to do, was to get all the foam pieces put out in the Sun to warm up and lay flat, after having been rolled up in boxes, for over 8 months.
You cannot view this attachment.
Thank goodness for lead scuba diving weights; the unsung heroes of this whole project!! 

Traced the template onto the foam, (and with much trepidation!)    cut it out.
You cannot view this attachment.

I needn't have worried . . . .
You cannot view this attachment.
It fit just fine.  (Starboard side.)

Center board cover laying on its side.
You cannot view this attachment.

Holes for hatches roughly cut out. This was necessary, because I kept leaning on places where there wasn't any plywood! 
You cannot view this attachment.

Got the port side installed, along with the lazarette.  Those bench/lazarette gaps are there on purpose, for water drainage channels and will actually be widened a little, later on.
You cannot view this attachment.
Notice the spaces on either side of the cockpit sole, also for water drainage.

Later on, I did make good on my threat to widen the lazarette drainage channels. 
You cannot view this attachment.

Got the filler boards locker covered and also the veranda flooring done, up forward.
You cannot view this attachment.
That dowel was used to apply rolling pressure, to stick down the EVA foam and prevent any air bubbles.

All that's left to do, is the foot well cover.
You cannot view this attachment.

And now, all the EVA foam is DOWN!! 
That foam decking is a great relief, to aging knee cartilage.
At my age, kneeling or crawling around on epoxied plywood is painful, otherwise. 
Being a non-slip surface, it is equally useful, to help preserve aging hip bones!! 
You cannot view this attachment.
Also, it greatly toned down that: "Geeze!! I think I built a Banana, instead of a Boat!"    vibe, that I had with the all-Hatteras Cream colored, cockpit and coamings.

I've still got a LOT of trimming to do, but I couldn't resist sticking in all ten hatches, just to see how they're going to look. 
You cannot view this attachment.
Getting those hatches from temporary to finished, is going to take at least a day, maybe two. 
(Said the Eternal Optimist, on the eve of yet another massive cold snap.) 
EDIT: Yeah, it took two days. 

Yup.
Massive cold snap, the very next day.
Forced to stay inside, all that day.    Even though I live in north central Florida now, my bones still feel like they live in SOUTH Florida!! 
While casting about for something to do,  I made a line to go from the throat of the yard, in order to make it easier to attach to the halyard, as part of the rigging.
I bet I looked at the Gig Harbor Boat Works SCAMP rigging video, about a bazillion times, all while shaking my head at all the wasted motion and movement. 
You guys DO know you're going to have the exact same issues, the very NEXT time you have to rig the boat for sailing, Right?!? 
You cannot view this attachment.
Why is there a sailmaker thimble on one eye and none, on the other? 
The "soft" eye will be lashed to the throat end of the yard permanently, and the thimble side is what the halyard snap shackle will be hooking onto, all the time.
(Hey, Spot!! Still think I was kidding, about the "surprising complexity" of a balanced lug rig??!!??) 

A big problem (for me, anyway) was figuring out how to center the Armstrong hatches so that I could cut out around them, in the EVA foam decking. 
After all, you don't want a quarter-inch reveal on one side of a hole, and over an inch of reveal on the other side of a hole, when the hatch is open.
(BTW: Thanks for putting me onto these, Doug!    HATE  the threaded-in kinds of deck flanges and lids, that jam up on most any warm day, or some other provocation!!)   
I also wanted about ½-inch of reveal all around them, to make it easier to get the hatches on and off.
My solution, was to cut slots into the traced-out cardboard templates.
You cannot view this attachment.
Astute observers may note that the Armstrong hatch arms are backwards from stock hatches, in that the arm ends usually face toward the deck.
This is primarily because they are designed for much thinner fiberglass boat decks.
Since I had plywood doublers under all my hatches, it made them far thicker than typical fiberglass boats, so the stock fit was extremely close and difficult to get the hatches in and out, easily.
By popping off the C-clips and reversing the arms and then reassembling them, it gives me a lot more space and flexibility in use. 

With the tabs bent up, I could measure the spacing to the edge equidistantly, which would give me side-to-side and up-and-down symmetry.
You cannot view this attachment.
Then, when everything was centered, I could fold the tabs back down and trace around the circular template,

Guess it worked!! 
Hatch installation was not without its challenges, though.
There was NO way to get my regular box cutter in behind the coaming (or even hold it, back in there),  so I had to . . .  uhh . . . .  improvise. 
You cannot view this attachment.
(Pic taken, after all the blood spots were washed off the decking!) 
Just like Captain Jack Aubrey, there's nearly enough of my blood in this boat, I could almost claim it as a relative!! 

This particular hatch is for the ballast tank, and any overflow water during filling, needs to be able to drain easily into the foot well, so it was necessary to cut in a large drainage channel.
You cannot view this attachment.

I was concerned about just simply tracing around the rectangular hatches, for fear that I might end up with one side exposed and the other side over-lapped. 
So I used a pair of scratch awls, to align the hatch with the existing hatch mounting holes.
(The holes I made over 19 months ago, so I could have exactly these reference holes, at this point in time, for this reason. It's called: Attention to Detail and Planning Ahead.) 
You cannot view this attachment.

The whole purpose of this exercise, is to get the hatches a little more flush, for more comfortable seating.
The hatch flange is roughly the same thickness, as the EVA foam, so unlike the Armstrong hatches, a zero-reveal outline was a priority.
You cannot view this attachment.

Bedding tape was added all around the mounting flange . . . . .
You cannot view this attachment.

And here's the hatch installed and screwed down. 
Check the 3 screws at the rear of the hatch; they took longer to do than did the other 7 screws combined, since the lid wouldn't go all the way up, because of the coaming.
You cannot view this attachment.
Came out just as I had hoped.
I took a fond, loving look, at the last time the inside of that locker ever again, would be that clean, or that pristine . . . . . .
Hey!    I've SEEN the inside of my boat lockers!! 

Enjoyed it, while it lasted and then popped the hatch cover back on.
You cannot view this attachment.
(BTW: How about that even hatch reveal?!?) 

Decided to tie the ballast drain plugs to the hatches, with a lanyard. 
That way, if I ever drop a plug it won't be bouncing around loose, inside a ballast tank that's maybe full of ice-cold sea water! 
Almost used a black lanyard, then realized the folly of a black line in a black ballast tank and went with something more easily visible.
I bought a used hatch (the top one) at a marine flea market for $5 bucks, in case you're wondering why the clamp arm is yellow and old -looking.
You cannot view this attachment.
I regard water ballast as necessary, to the safe operation of the boat.
In the event of a capsize or other misfortune, if the ballast hatch cover were somehow to be lost over-board, the boat's stability could be compromised.
(Not a Good Thing, in inclement weather.)
So I consider a spare hatch and plug as a critical boat spares component, to be kept aboard at all times.

Finished out the day, installing the remainder of the boat cover bungee cord tie-downs; fore . . . .
You cannot view this attachment.

Aft . . . . . .
You cannot view this attachment.

And stern.
You cannot view this attachment.
I had really been sweating getting the flooring down, neatly and correctly,    and all the hatches installed and I'm very glad, all that's now behind me. 
Next big task is re-working the Bimini top and framing, followed by (FINALLY!!)    mast, spars, and sail rigging!! 
I'm really on a roll, now!! 

Charles Brennan

#82

West Wight Potter Yachts / Re: Splish splash in Richmond,...

Last post by Tbrock - Feb 27, 2026, 02:59 PM

See you there at 09:00

#83

TSBB General Talk / Re: Almost-A-SCAMP Progress Re...

Last post by Riley Smith - Feb 26, 2026, 02:03 PM

Yes, they hold the rig up on my boat too, which is a big help much of the time and keeps you from having to use the topping lift. Very handy on a very small boat.

#84

Tales and Trip Reports / River's End

Last post by Riley Smith - Feb 26, 2026, 12:44 AM

You cannot view this attachment.



The old Labrot House looks out on the end of the Pascagoula River at that strip of marsh grass. Everything south is salt, and lots of it, unbroken to the Yucatan, save for Horn Island. This place is more salt than fresh, although half a mile away near US 90, it begins to be more fresh than salt. The river is large and unimpeded and traverses a strip of wilderness for many miles until it runs into the coastal cities and a large estuary. Remote in very many places, wild and dangerous, and mostly jungle and water. The Pascagoula itself is formed by two other rivers, the Leaf and Chickasawhay that drain most of the Pine Belt.
 Below I-10 there are few trees anymore on the random spits of semi-solid ground that makes up the swamp. Once long ago there were cypress there but salt water intrusion from digging channels, and pollution from a paper mill killed most of them a long time ago. But I did notice on a recent trip the young cypress were beginning to move further down the river and there is hope one day the river will have them again. They grow so slowly and have to find a safe place for a very long time. There are a few oaks on sand bars, and even some small cypress still hanging on. The river is a hard mistress as far as habitat goes, because it changes and moves around. I remember one flood around 1974 or thereabouts put water over MS 613, which has never happened since.

And so it ends here at this strip of grass (for the western most channel of the river).

You cannot view this attachment.

The western most channel runs just inside the grass toward the SW and there are bars and hazards galore, not to mention dangerous weather and sudden and severe storms. Here the cormorants are flying the channel toward the fishing grounds to the west. The lines in the water delineate the channel. Fishing below the birds is a standard tactic and I love to see terns hovering. The channel there is pretty deep, although I can't say how deep in feet, and a highway to the west and south. It is very difficult to travel east from this spot due to oyster reefs, bars, shallow water, military installations, and all the other dangers of water on the edge of the gulf. The commercial channel of the river to the east is dredged very deep and aircraft carrier sized ships move around there. The dolphins are frequently sighted plying those waters below the birds, although there is an underwater bar in the foreground.

You cannot view this attachment.


 And one summer night Sonya and I took the boat a couple of miles west to fish a pier, and there were THOUSANDS of redfish in there. Every single one we caught was just a smidgeon too small and they carry a hefty fine, so we came home empty handed, dirty and stinky, and tired from fighting fish all night. It was a blast!

#85

TSBB General Talk / Re: Almost-A-SCAMP Progress Re...

Last post by Doug SC - Feb 24, 2026, 09:10 PM

I love having the lazy jacks on my Scamp. They catch and contain the yard and boom both. You don't want to deal with a yard swing one way and the boom another. I can also lift the yard and boom with my lazy jacks.

#86

TSBB General Talk / Re: Almost-A-SCAMP Progress Re...

Last post by Spot - Feb 24, 2026, 07:30 PM

Charles, Charles, my dear Charles...
That sail obviously has 3 reefs. The JIFFY lines are only hooked to TWO of them.
 
(still trying to figure out where the nettles are...)

Thanks for the additional explanations. Carry on, your plan is sound!

#87

TSBB General Talk / Re: Almost-A-SCAMP Progress Re...

Last post by Charles Brennan - Feb 24, 2026, 01:23 PM

Spot, Your query:

How much more complicated are you thinking of making this CB?

Let me count the ways!! 
For one thing, that pic only has two reefs and I need 3 reefs. 
You cannot view this attachment.
Compare the SCAMP to a standard (i.e. Urchin sized) sloop.
On a light winds day, you swap the jib out for a genoa or a drifter/reacher.
On a moderate winds day you go out with your main and your jib.
On a strong winds day, you take in a reef in the main, and leave the jib.
In even stronger winds, you drop the jib and take in another reef in the main.
In Small Craft Conditions, you keep in all the main reefs and put up the storm jib and HEAD FOR PORT, with all due haste!!   

The Windrose 18 has roughly 150 Sq ft of main and jib.
The SCAMP, at 2/3rds the length of a Windrose 18, has 2/3rds the sail area, (100 sq ft) so far so good, EXCEPT it has only 1/3rd the displacement of a Windrose. (500 lb vs 1500 lb.)
IMHO, that makes the SCAMP a little over-canvassed.
As proof, consider if the Windrose sail area was suddenly tripled, compared to her displacement: That would be a whopping 450 sq ft of sail area!! 

So another way to think of SCAMP canvassing, is that a very light winds day on the Windrose (with main and genoa), is like running the SCAMP with no reefs.
A moderate winds day on a Windrose (main and jib) is equivalent to using a single reef on a SCAMP.
A strong winds day on a Windrose with a jib and a main sail reef, is like a double reef on a  SCAMP.
And a stronger winds day on the Windrose with storm jib and two main sail reefs, is like the 3rd reef on a SCAMP.
And in Small Craft Conditions for the SCAMP, you drop the sail entirely and limp in, on bare poles!! 
I NEED those reefs!!  ALL OF THEM!! 

Take another look, at the two reefing locations on the pic you posted:
The forward reef tie-off points are forward of the mast and a bit of a reach, IMHO.
(Especially, when you should have reefed, 15 minutes ago.) 
The aft reef tie-off points are led well forward, in fact, right over the guy's head, which should be good, no? 
Yes, EXCEPT!! I am going to have a Bimini top that precludes reaching anything except at the very aft end, or the very front end, of the cockpit.
To that end, I am going with single-line reefing, with the reef terminations aft of the mast and ahead of the front of the Bimini top. 
I have to have a Bimini top, in order to minimize how many melanomas, my dermatologist keeps having to cut off of me! 
That guy's got 4 pad-eyes, where I'm going to have 9 cheek blocks.

Check the lazy jacks; they go through a pad-eye at each end and are fixed in place.
I'm going to have a tent and may need to move the aft end of the boom, upward. I intend to have some fender snap hooks mounted on the bottom of the boom, with an extra one aft of the aft lazy jack, so I can move the lazy jack loop even further (on the third fender hook) aft, to raise the boom.

Look at the small length of line wrapped around the mast and going down about a foot in front of the boom.
That was originally a boom lift, only used for holding the boom off the deck for rigging, and largely superseded by the lazy jacks.  But it does nothing for holding the boom close against the mast on starboard tacks.
All the SCAMP brethren have taken a page from Michael Storer and used a line clipped to the boom on a pad-eye forward, led aft around the mast and cleated off to a clam cleat on the boom, both holding the boom close to the mast, but also controlling the amount of fore and aft boom position, for race tuning.

And I haven't even GOTTEN to the out haul, or the sail tie arrangement I've envisioned, since as you recently pointed out in another post, I explain things with too many words! 
But that should give you some idea of the challenges I am facing, with rigging.

Is your hull/sail #3?

Yes, this is hull/sail #3.
Built up to a SCAMP camp level by Howard Rice, (basically, an empty hull) which he donated to the Sheboygan Yacht Club, for a project that failed to materialize and was finally acquired by me, in December, 2023.

PS If it were mine, I'd be test sailing before lazy jacks and jiffy reefing,

Respectfully, disagree. I am prepared to face all the rigging challenges, drive-way sailing with the sail up, in front of my house.  We've had plenty of winds to test things with, lately!! 

Hope this clarifies,
Charles Brennan

#88

TSBB General Talk / Re: Almost-A-SCAMP Progress Re...

Last post by Spot - Feb 24, 2026, 07:44 AM

How much more complicated are you thinking of making this CB?
 
Is your hull/sail #3?

PS If it were mine, I'd be test sailing before lazy jacks and jiffy reefing, mainly because I am impatient and because I don't have any other boats with lazy jacks or jiffy reefing.

#89

West Wight Potter Yachts / Splish splash in Richmond, CA ...

Last post by gwhiz - Feb 23, 2026, 10:48 PM

Tony and his P19 "Swell Intentions" are meeting me at Marina Bay launch about 9 AM this Saturday (Feb 28). Posting this and then booking a berth for Saturday night.

We were there a couple of weeks ago for the official club tune-up event and, on Sunday, we had our first go at circumna—, circumnav—, uh, going around Angel Island.

We were led by Sharon and David in their M15 (Junco) and joined by GeorgeW in his Sparrow 16 (Betty Sparrow).

Happy to have company if anyone wants to join. I believe and hope that we're taking PhilM out to dinner—he's just back from Lake Pleasant, AZ—if anyone wants to join for the terrestrial part of the weekend.

-Gary

#90

TSBB General Talk / Re: Almost-A-SCAMP Progress Re...

Last post by Charles Brennan - Feb 23, 2026, 10:06 PM

Dale, Thank you for your kind words.
It is ABSOLUTELY my intention to bring the boat to the Cedar Key Small Boat Meet this year, (May 1st - 3rd, although Saturday, is the really big day) even if I have to ROW it the mile over to Atsena Otie Key!! 
I still have tons of tasks to accomplish at this point, primarily some extensive Bimini top modifications.

And I haven't even started on the rigging yet, beyond getting the mast and spars built and painted.
The SCAMP's balanced lug rig is a surprisingly complex system (at least, it is the way I'm doing it!) and will take some effort.  And even with such a clear goal in sight, I am not compromising any step in the process.
It will take as long as it takes, and that's all there is to it.

Hope to see you there,
Charles Brennan