SmallCraftAdvisor.com

SCAMP Build in Kansas Index!

anchoring, 22
anchor mount, 3, 4, 16
anchor rode storage, 10, 12, 16
Apostle Islands trip report, 20
bailer installation, 5, 6
B3 mounted compass, 1
B3 Russell Brown style hatches, 1, 6, 7, 11
bow stem rub rail, 7
capsize testing, 16, 17, 18, 19, 22, 23
centerboard and rudder, 1, 24, 25
centerboard gasket, 9
centerboard pin system, 1, 5
centerboard trunk cap hold down, 2
cleat backing plates, 3
cleat risers (cabin top), 11, 12
cuddy interior lights, 2, 22
cushions (seat), 14
graphite epoxy coating, 8, 9
hiking strap, 25
Lake Ouachita trip report, 24
Lake Ouachita second trip report, 25, 26
mast boot, 15
mast construction, 13
mast crutch, 16
masthead light, 22
painting, 10, 11
portlight rings, 3
reefing set-up, 24
re-entry slings, 18, 19
rigging details, 21, 22
rigging the boat for sailing/trailering, 23
righting lines (for capsize/turtle), 17, 18, 19
rudder head construction, 3
sea anchor/drogue, 16, 22
sail bundle bag, 15
sail bundle bungee, 15, 16
seat hatch reinforcements, 2
skegs, 6, 7, 8
sole hatch reinforcements, 2
tent, 4, 9, 10, 13, 14
thwarts, 12, 16, 25
tiller, 3, 24
trailer, 15
turning boat over, 5
waterline, 3



Hi all!

Last summer (one year ago) I started building a SCAMP. I have gotten so much helpful info from this message board, I thought I would share progress with my own build...


First challenges:

Getting the kit from the curb to my garage on a 105 F day, racing against a thunderstorm. Solution: lots of trips and lots of sweat. I thoroughly bonded with the kit.

and...

Deciding how to proceed in a 19'x11' garage with a dirt floor - I put down plastic and built a platform out of 2"x6"s (4'x16') to screw the jig to, so everything stays level. In the space, there is about 2 feet on either side and a few feet in front and behind. It's cozy but works!

First bit of progress: B3 hatches. I tried a couple of plastic hatches, but they both leaked when closed (water was poured onto the back of the hatch doors while horizontal on the countertop to test). So, I decided to make my own Russell Brown style hatches, with 316 stainless piano hinge and slightly recessed Delrin turn-dogs.

Stiffeners made from kit scraps (6 and 9 mm glued together) and the cutouts from the openings made the doors.

Making a routing template/jig was too overwhelming for me, so I freehanded the routing job.
All glued up...

Finishing hatch doors - drill/fill/drill holes for the hinges and stiffeners for the backs:
Later on...leak test successful! (I used "D" cross-section shaped gasket with adhesive back for the seal which seems to work fine...
I realized the Ritchey compass I bought (to mount on B3) has a slot in the front which leads to an open back where wires come out. If submerged, water would pour right through there. I just went to all that trouble to make water resistant hatches, so I decided to seal that compass up too. Scuffed up the inside, then packing tape on the back - poured 1/4" of graphite/epoxy in like a cup to close it off.

Then on to the foils. Cast lead into a plywood mold (respirator worn) and then glued into the halves...

Centerboard: 10.5 lbs of lead for each halve - the cavity in each have was 8-9 mm deep

Rudder: 1.25 lbs per halve, 8 mm deep

Then glued and fiberglassed

Very nice work Eric. Keep up the posts and the narrative.

Thanks Brent! At some point, maybe I'll catch up to the present. I have really enjoyed your posts and blogs.

Don't worry little buddy!

It's a couple of months into the build and I am trying to be disciplined about taking care of details first before the boat starts going together (epoxy coating, hatches, foils) but it's hard to be patient...starting to dry-fit boat parts was pretty exciting:
The kit appears to be cut so accurately and fits together so well.

I wish I spent a more time making sure everything was lined up, level and square (thinking through how things will be affected down the road) - but, despite my errors, the kit still seems to be coming together just fine.

I also wished I had done the mast box on the bench beforehand (looks like that's how it's done in SCAMP camps), but the filleting and fiberglassing in the dark skinny place is done.

At this point I spent some time thinking about:

whether to seal or not to seal up B7...
I chose to seal it up to create more air chambers accessed with 6" armstrong seat hatches (although, I thought for a while about using those spaces between B7 and B8 to hold anchor rode).

How to finish inside storage/air chambers...
I finished with epoxy tinted with white pigment (no paint).
How to install the centerboard pin...
I like the approach Howard Rice described with access in the water ballast tank, so tried something like that...

I used the same 1/2" bronze drain plug used for the water ballast tank drain. I drilled and tapped the end of the pin, screwed a bolt in the end (epoxied it too for good measure), and drilled a hole in the drain plug to accommodate the bolt end when the plug is tightened down.

I can pinch the bolt that sticks out with my fingers and pull the pin out. But the first couple of times it got really stuck in there. Threading a wing nut on the end of the bolt and tightening against the drain flange works like an extraction tool, and the pin pops right out, even if it's binding up. there is about an 1/8" of side-to-side pin-play when the drain plug is tightened down. A stainless washer is glued to the wood cap at the other end to keep the pin from wearing on the wood.

Eric, I love your center board/pin with removal option. This is a very clever design. Thank you so much for sharing!

Sure. Thanks! It's great to have a place to share this stuff.