Sojourn, a Sjogin IIIa
2021
Time to get my head around the rigging. I'll be using 1/4" Endura 12 Dyneema for the standing rigging. I plan on using soft eyes for main shrouds and hard eyes (thimbles) for the mizzen.
Edit: Endura 12 was not a good choice for standing rigging, it continued to stretch. In 2022 changed to Marlow.
I've decided to go with bronze turnbuckles instead of lashings as there are 8 stays and this way seemed best/easiest?
The shiny bits are tangs and mizzen chainplates made from .2" 655 silicon bronze plate, drilled, then buffed with a Scotch deburring pad.
Learned how to brummel splice the Dyneema then leathered, baseball stitch, thanks to the late Brion Toss.
Brazing we will go! After taking classes at WoodenBoat School I made my first fixtures using an oxy/acetylene torch and silver solder. The small one was from pieces of scrap for practice then a test. As advertised the joint proved stronger then the material as I clamped it in a vice and pounded it with a hammer. The metal bent but the joint held. How does it do that?
Boom, bowsprit and mast, just about fitted out. The large turnbuckle for the furling gear made me remake the fitting on the top of the sprit. More practice with brazing.
The tangs on the mast are through bolted with 3/8" bronze rod and #12 bronze screws as are the cleats.
I plan on adding bee rails on the boom to aid in reefing but don't want to get ahead of myself. I should wait until the sail is on to see how the lines lie.
November 2021
22' 3". Even with 12 staves there is lot of hand-planing and sanding. 3 coats of epoxy and 6 varnish, so far.
On the right is Rivus's 16' mast. It was my first birdsmouth and it's not very pretty, but it is overbuilt and held up for 7 years, so far.
Cockpit sole made of cedar milled by my old Navy roommate's brother. He has a large farm about an hour north in Exeter and set up a sawmill to do something with all the trees on his property. They also brought down a truckload of butternut, not a boat building wood, but will find some use for it.
The seats are yellow birch, coaming black locust, quite a mix of woods.
October 2021
Splash day! Not the "official" launch, this was the long awaited leak and see how she floats test.
Sojourn passed on all counts. There was a drop, maybe two, of water on one keel boat, not enough to qualify as a real leak. The ePropulsion Spirit 1.0 Plus powered her to 5+ without making more than a whisper.
David, doing what he does, crunched stability numbers and while underway, calculated the HP and efficiency of the ePorpulsion. He was pleased with both results.
Whose idea was it to make a 12 stave birdsmouth mast? NM, I know who. After checking with local lumber yards and sawmills I couldn't find 22' lengths of DF so I used available VG DF staggered the scarfs to 23+'. They were then ripped to 1.11 widths from the Duckworks calculator.
After cutting the birdsmouths on the router table with a 60/30 bit, all 12 need to be tapered. The top 10' goes from 4.25" to 2" following a parabolic curve with only 3/16" reduction in the first 30"...not much too take off over 12 staves. I made a jig and started the taper with the power plane then finished with a hand plane.
Dry fitted on the building jig, tweaking the tapers to get to the final dimensions. The "bottom" of the mast will be the aft side and will be straight. This will be a sloppy challenge dealing with a lot of thickened epoxy.
Gluing up 3 at a time, keeping the amount of epoxy manageable, also easier to do solo. Core for the base is done, gluing up the blocking for fittings higher in the mast.
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September 2021
Gudgeons, at last! I was going to make them last year but the casting class at WoodenBoat School was cancelled because of Covid. After a couple of months of nice conversations with the Port Townsend Foundry, they said they could do them in a few weeks, I gave up. Pat Fanelli came to the rescue, made the patterns, and Chris Gamage, Rockland, Me, made these. They came out real nice, and after taking Erica Moody's metalworking class, I felt comfortable drilling them.
A concern with the mizzen arch design was would it allow enough tiller angle to be effective. With the rudder in place it shows a minimum of 30 degrees. I'll take it.
Getting the rudder hung I finally get to see the angle that the arch will allow
So now I get to work on the rudder, laminate and carve the tiller and the entire aft end, mounting the arch and finish the decking.
Not exciting, but essential, epoxy fillets around the coaming and cabin, also making transitions between the seams of Dynel.
Practicing with the metal bender, learning how to get the bends where I want them. Good news I figured it out, however after successfully bending 1/2" bronze rod I realized it was oversized for the mizzen arch and will downsize to 3/8". I'll find a use for the 1/2" somewhere.
The tiller was laminated with ash and walnut and is designed to fit between the relatively small space under that arch and clear the coaming.
August 2021
Sojourn sees the light of day, actually rain. David Wyman demonstrated his engineering skills as we managed to get the boat on the trailer.
Still lots to be done before there will be any sailing but it is mobile now.
One of the reasons we moved to Blue Hill was the proximity of WoodenBoat School where I took Erica Moody's metal working class, again. She helped me make this bowsprit fitting. 4 years ago she helped with a traveler for the melonseed.
Paul Gartside was also teaching a class that week and they both stopped by for boat talk and mussels.
July 2021
Floating dock! This should get us on the water more. It will be sitting on mud for a few hours a day, but having boats right there will be great.
Same day as the dock, Sojourn's trailer arrived. Local companies couldn't get parts because of Covid so I ordered from Triad Trailers in NC. It appears very well built and much larger than what I've owned before. While I'm anxious to see how the boat fits I will wait a bit before getting the boat on it as it will raise the boat almost 18" making getting in and out more of challenge.
June 2021
In place! Not perfect but no too bad either considering the degree of difficulty. Between dealing with the quirks of BL, shooting for 10 degree angle, curves, conical shape...lots of clamps and even more blue language..
'May 2021
Bowsprit, Sampson post and tabernacle in place
'
Took a break from stripping and re-varnishing Rivus and Dynel-ed the foredeck. Now on to cockpit coaming and more challenging wood working.
I knew the curved coaming would be a challenge since first viewing the plans. I milled a 1/2" x 6" plank of BL and since it didn't fit in my steam box I resorted to hot towels. With persuasion, it took the bend. In the back I'm training the other plank with wet towels and lead. Next up, real fun, getting the tight curvature at the aft end in place and match the planks.
Fun, not so. Took several attempts to get usable veneers (3/16") Tried hot towels, soaking, steaming, finally put them in a small pond and with a caul they took the bend.
April 2021
Dry fitting cabin parts giving Sojourn some personality. I didn't like my attempt to make gudgeons so I've asked Port Townsend Foundry to make them. without them installed there's only so much I can do at that end of the boat.
This mizzen step is a unique feature the Paul drew for Sjogin II. He calls for 1" pipe, I went for laminated Black Locust. My mentor, David Wyman, is concerned about the tiller angle. Until I get the rudder hung (waiting on gudgeons) I won't know for sure what angle I can get with this set up. Paul drew 30 degrees, David says 35 is optimal. Above that the rudder stalls.
March 2021
Continuing with spars, the gaff jaws required laminating, the others sawn, all BL. Then some varnish and leathering. I'm holding off leathering the gaff jaws until I see how they fit on the mast, might be tight. Of course I need to build the mast before I know.
February 2021
Not a lot of boat work done this winter. Made some parts in the new heated workshop. I'm still using Le Tonkinois for varnish. I discovered the hard way that they changed their formula and it now requires sanding between coats. Which explained the mottled finish I got w/o sanding.
Reworking the spars that I made the previous winter. If I go with the mizzen, these need to be cut down to fit. This is the main boom and gaff. Suppose I should make a mast sometime.
