Hello folks,
Fada was launched early May.
Taken off the water late October for the winter.
Rowed for 194.54km, 45h53m.
Here are some points that may be useful to you.
Kind regards.
T
To prevent the sliding seat from overshooting the ends of the rails.
Two loop of cord, one port side, the other on starboard.
The cord captures the two axles of the seat, then passes via the two holes (the holes for the t-bolts fixing the rail).
The loop is sized so that it comes tight when the seat _approaches_ the end of range on the rails, Such that all the stretch in the loop is maxed out when the seat is _at_ the end of range.
The loop size is adjusted using the hybrid bowLine/sheetBend knot.
Geometry is important! This works because the centres point between the two t-bolt slots is directly below the centre point of the rail.
Port and Starboard because when the seat is at end of range the loop is under a little bit of tension, pulling on one side od the seat. If only one loop, then this unbalanced tension will distort the seat over time.
Fixing the drop in sliding seat.
I built acording to the instructions, so two fixings (stainless steel bolt and wing-nut) are required. Out of prudence I carry three. When not in use I stow all three attached to the drop in mechanism. When in use, two will fix the drop in mechanism to the floor of the cockpit pit, the third will remain stowed.
Regarding the bracket fixed to the floor of the cockpit, here I deviated from instructions. I made it large enough to have a _snug_ fit to the drop in, to prevent an unwanted left-right movement.
Cargo Tie Down Points.
I don't have evidence there are a benefit. However I derive peace of mind knowing a cargo will remain low and centered no matter now bumpy the sea state.
Prevent hatch lid blowing away. Tendered. With a black plastic quick release buckle.
Vulnerable Points at Bow and Stern.
Lesson Number One: Paint is not impact protection (Obvious).
Lesson Number Two: Stick-on keel was partially successful. It can't cope with the small radius (<30mm) bends.
Lesson Number Three: A bent-to-fit stainless steel rub rail is the best option so far. However, on my next build, I'll prepare a flat landing area for the rub rail, rather than have it teetering on the beautifully rounded leading edge of the stem.
@Kellan Hatch
Many thanks Keelan. I've advanced the idea a little bit more. I created that flat area for the rub rail to settle on. After removing paint and sanding I built up a flat area with epoxy+micro.
Intent-
I laid down a strip of glass fibre right underneath the entire length of the rub rail, immersed in the wet epoxy, to tie the two pieces, the port-side epoxy and the starboard-side epoxy, together. I had a fear that the first impact would knock a ‘giant toenail clipping’ shaped piece of epoxy off my boat. Fingers crossed the fibre will keep it all tied together.
The implementation looks like this.
Obviously the fairing and painting is the next task, but first I have a choice to make. The stainless steel rub rail has adhered in place to the boat.
Q1 – Do I break this adhesion and prime+paint all surfaces, then replace the rub rail – or – do I leave the rub rail adhered in place and prime+paint only the surfaces that I have access to? My priority is to protect the plywood from salt water ingress.
@ Keelan – you’ve built a few boats, what do you think?
@ Colin – You’ve a big bundle of expertise, what do you think?
Thanks very much in advance guys,
Cheers,
Tony
