The wrath of winter

St. Johns has some spectacular views, and among them is out around the battery area towards the harbor entrance. Earlier this calender year a fierce winter storm battered the shoreline of this area and I went out as the sun rose after the storm. There was some serious damage to the local wharves and supports under the shed that are right over the ocean, but the sheds stood firm.

However last night another winter storm with a stronger storm surge and same wind direction battered the now weakened sheds and wharves that remained. What you see below is before last nights storm and after.

Looking out the harbor entrance after storm #1 in January

After last nights storm in same area. The damaged wharf is now completely gone and so is the supports under the shed. Debris from the other damaged sheds and wharves float near by. (This image taken from local news site)

Looking into the harbor at the twine loft after first storm in January. A damaged wharf pushed over 50ft from its original position.

After last nights storm and high winds. Note the height of the storm surge is still apparent. The first floor has collapsed and mostly washed away. the damaged wharf is completely gone. (This picture taken from local news site) This shed stood against the sea for over 60 years, now no more.

It's sad to see some of these old historical buildings be claimed by the sea, They don't have the fancy moldings or were owned by wealthy fish merchants that St. Johns is known for, but they stored fishing gear for generations of hard working fisher people who are now becoming as rare as the sheds themselves. At least I got some pictures before it disappeared completely.

Chuck Box finish

(Edited)
Back to the Chuck Box. This crate will be hauled around Newfoundland next summer and tossed upon the rocks and beaches to serve up meals fit for a king (Provided he has a cast iron stomach) With the parts all glued and varnish applied the hinges and other components were installed using rivets instead of screws.The Latch bolt fits into a hole in the underside of the top.I didn't like where the original latch was installed and it works better in this spot. The shelves had the brackets riveted on as well.This is what fits inside the Chuck box, all the necessary gear for short trips to a remote cove or a weekend.
More gear can be stored in the box, this is just what the normal load will be. The side shelves remove and are stored inside. The shelves will serve as a work space while cooking and eating area once done. Everything packs inside neatly with room to spare. Fully loaded, the chuck box weighs in at just under 47 lb. A shoulder strap makes it a little easier to carry by myself if the need ever arises.

I have attached the basic plan for anyone who would dare build it. It's basic but beats cooking right off the beach and I don't have to wonder what I left home on the counter anymore.

Frank Cashin, boatbuilder

I met Frank Cashin a few weeks ago through a mutual friend. (Maxwell Patten) and He gave us a tour of his boat shop in Mount Pearl. Frank is one of those craftsman who makes nearly as many tools as he buys. He's in the beginning stages of building his own wooden sailboat designed by Paul Cartside from BC. The plans are on the wall and he's laying out the lines and lofting the frames. Jessie is a 15ft long centerboard sloop with 2 layers of planking. It has beautiful lines and will be completely built in traditional fashion with belaying pins and cast brass fittings. He even plans to make "dead eyes" for the shrouds instead of turnbuckles.

The Ducks on the floor were cast by him and has adjustments on the ends for the hold down pins. As I said he makes as much as he buys.

We discussed at length the fun of building you own boat and what places he intends to visit once he's finished building. He fully plans to sleep aboard and have a boom tent to keep off the rain. It will be quite a site to see both our boats sailing into a small harbor for the night. I'd rather see a dozen but 2 will do for now.

I'll be dropping in on him from time to time and marvel at his progress. He's retired so it won't be long before he's got frames stacked in the corner of his shop.

Chuck Box construction

Refer to previous post regarding the chuck box and its intended use.

The Christmas holiday gave me enough spare time to start building the chuck box for Pikake. The plans have been drawn up as much as I dared and there was bound to be some changes made along the way. I picked up some wood from a local building supply store for the construction of the chuck box with a gift card I received from my brother for Christmas. The ¼” plywood left over from the boat build was not suitable for this so 5/16” ply was used for a majority of the box. ½” birch ply was used for the top, doors and small support areas. 1/8” merianti plywood was used for the drawer’s sides and the drawer support. Its A mish mash of wood sizes but no big deal, whatever is lying around and suits the task. All the parts were cut to size with small adjustments for the revised thickness.

A rim of pine was glued to the underside of the top as a joint section for the back and sides. The rest was glued and tacked together with brad nails until the epoxy kicked off.

The drawer bottoms and ends were constructed of 3/8” thick pine and the merianti glued to it.
The front doors which still are not ideal, opens like a cabinet hinged from the sides. The shelves and inside parts were also held by brad nails until the epoxy set and a fillet of glue epoxy was added to the sides for strength since there were no supports under or behind the plywood pieces. This was done to keep the weight down as much as possible while still keeping it strong enough to sit on or heaven forbid, drop. The epoxy was left to cure.
End pieces were cut out for where the rope handles pass through.

More to come...

They come for the whales

Newfoundland is known for its icebergs and for it’s whales, particularly the humpbacks. For the tourists who come here I can only imagine they are somewhat sceptical that they will see whales if they go on a whale watching boat tour. It’s not like they’re in a small area, or that we have a small coastline (28,956 km to be exact) But I can assure you, There are whales around here, and plenty of them. For those who live in Newfoundland and work or play on the ocean, whale sightings are like moose sightings, common place to the point of nonchalance. It’s generally only the close encounters that get the mention in conversation. “Out fishing today, some whales came close so we took some time to pet them”, That sort of thing. I have seen several species of whales in my life but I still get a thrill when I see any in their natural environment. Greg Smith sent my brother these photos of a couple of Humpback whales playing last August near his home in Trinity Bay.

wave for the camera

The main thing is to remember to bring the camera in the first place and second... batteries.

Gaff Jaws

The gaff jaws that I hurriedly made for Pikake served their purpose, but I failed to realize until after installation that the angle of my gaff was steeper than I planned and built. The main haul up block at the throat was too close to the mast and the screw that passed through the gaff to attach the sail from underneath was also striking the mast causing premature wear. Since my mast gets treated with great reverence, I needed to make changes to my gaff jaws set up. John Welsford sent me a couple of ideas on how to make a suitable set of gaff jaws and one in particular is pretty easy to build. The plans I had purchased for the Pathfinder had included the gaff jaws plans, but since I deviated and didn’t make my mast, boom and gaff from aluminum tube (As per plan), I had to come up with something else.

The new gaff jaws will let me raise the sail easier and the peak will go to the proper angle allowing for better sail shape. I had noticed in pictures taken of Pikake that there was a wrinkle from the end of the boom at the foot up diagonally up to the base of the gaff (not enough peak hauled up)

This will be no longer an issue with the new jaws.

That is a New year project.

The Chuck Box

I’ve finally reinstalled my door to the workroom and put up the wall board. Other household chores now demand my attention as well but in the back of my mind is the chuck box, my boat kitchen. I’ve began some initial design sketches and after a while had to pause and figure out the box’s exact purpose. Most chuck boxes are large wooden boxes with configurations so a person can stand at the box with attached legs and cook their meals. They are also the sort to be carried by two people to a vehicle. There are many styles that can be found on the web, and they are well designed for the purpose their intended, however... Mine is a little different. I need my chuck box to be suited for use on Pikake or other small boat.

What it needs to do;

·Compact in height in order to fit under the deck, and be able to set up in the boat.

· Light enough for me to lift it over the side of my boat and hand off to a shipmate.

· Able to carry all the equipment needed for a camp kitchen such as the stove, dinnerware, utensils, pots/pans and cleaning gear.

· Able to have shelves fold out or attach to sides and serve as a small table.

· Rubber feet to prevent box from sliding on a wet surface.

· Weather resistant, not necessarily water proof.

The design has gone through some changes already with the removal of pockets for attachable legs. Whether on the boat or beach, having the box at a standing working height is not a necessity for me, as long as it’s not right on the ground. This saves weight and some space. One of my most important decisions was to use my trusty ole fuel powered Colman stove. I had thought of getting a new propane stove, but I really, REALLY dislike those disposable propane cylinders and their cost vs cans of fuel is high. (Just a personal thing) Sure I have to fill and pump up the pressure in order to light my stove, but it’s reliable and I know how much cooking time I have left. This stove was my starting point in the box design. Other design points included space for my kettle, pot kit and dinnerware set, all to accommodate the needs of 4+ people. The rest of the space is for everything else that can squeeze in.
Bear in mind that this box is built to suit my needs and may not at all suit other sailor/campers. It is also sized to fit under the deck my Pathfinder.

The first models changed from a large size to a smaller more compact design once I decided what would go inside the box.

I had intended to have the front and top cover to open up like a mechanics tool chest. And use the opened configuration to make a rain shelter to cover the top section where the stove sits. But knowing weather being as it is, a gust of wind would make short work of a nice wooden lid like that.

Once a general layout was figured out, how it all would fit together was the next step. What gets notched, what gets reinforcing blocks if any, and how it opens.... I don’t particularly like the way it opens but it’s all I can think up right now.

This design has again changed to a 2 drawer model since Less drawers means less weight and more can go in the larger ones. I'm still not happy with the front door arrangement but I'll figure something out.