Scamp Build in Kansas!

The place to discuss SCAMP (Small Craft Advisor Magazine Project), our 11' 11" micro minicruiser.

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ericleif
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Re: Scamp Build in Kansas!

Post by ericleif »

While at it, I noticed the rudder downhaul had worn a groove through the paint, epoxy/graphite and into the glass under that. With some cutting and bending, I quickly made a little rub guard out of that same Ikea plastic, roughed up the plastic and paint surface with sand paper and glued it on with Gorilla glue. That should do it:
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IKEA waste bucket:
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Another area that chafed down to the wood: the oars when stored behind the seat back - probably more from long hours on the road then from sailing - but I like everything in place, ready to go (and I keep the oars tethered to the boat too). So, more plastic and Gorilla glue, and some leather took care of those spots, hopefully long term:
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ericleif
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Re: Scamp Build in Kansas!

Post by ericleif »

I made thwarts I'm really happy with - one for mainsheet cleat and one for a rowing seat. I like to slide them back and forth into different positions when cruising, and if there is any dirt under there (especially sand - even just a couple of grains), it just tears up the paint job on the cleats they sit on (sand is so destructive!). So I scraped and sanded off the paint in a strip, between pieces of tape:
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and epoxied some strips of Dynel there as sacrificial rub resistance. I'm mixing white pigment with the epoxy, so that should hopefully give it a bit of UV resistance. Works great:
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ericleif
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Re: Scamp Build in Kansas!

Post by ericleif »

On to the centerboard. At least four or five times so far, when doing capsize tests, or accidentally running the centerboard aground in shallow water, the CB uphaul line gets pushed out of its hole and the slack drops off the corner block, despite the fairlead around the corner. I never notice until I try to raise the centerboard only to discover the uphaul wrapped around the corner, off the block with the sharp edge of the block slicing through the uphaul line cover, and the line gouging the corner. So I did two things. Replaced the uphaul line, and made this mod to the block with some leftover stainless steel:
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It goes on the block like this and should prevent it from happening in the first place:
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That makes me happy!

While the CB was out, I noticed the bushings where loose. I epoxied them back, but this time, aside from roughing up the surface of the sintered bronze, I drilled little shallow dimples into the outside of the bushings so the epoxy would hold better:
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Cure epoxy, cure! I wanna go sailing!

And...I notice that my halyard, specifically the loop of halyard that goes around the mast (like parrel beads), was melted on the inside from friction. I replaced that loop with a loop of 1/4 spectra line and now raising the sail is much smoother! Simple pleasures.
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Last edited by ericleif on Wed May 29, 2019 10:58 pm, edited 1 time in total.
ericleif
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Re: Scamp Build in Kansas!

Post by ericleif »

Lastly, I finally got around to making a hiking strap with some high strength polyester webbing. It’s hard to tell from the pic, but an additional bungee cord keeps it taught and it sits a couple of inches off the floor, and can be clipped on or taken off easily.
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Trying it out (better than hooking my feet around the main sheet thwart!):
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Carsten
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Re: Scamp Build in Kansas!

Post by Carsten »

Hello, a lot of time has passed.
Surely you have experienced a lot again with your SCAMP.

An impressive number of 15.3181 People have read your post.I think we would all be very happy if you would continue to report.
I look forward to hearing from you in the future.
Greetings from Germany
Last edited by Carsten on Sat Sep 19, 2020 4:51 am, edited 1 time in total.
ericleif
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Re: Scamp Build in Kansas!

Post by ericleif »

Hi Carsten! Sure. It's been a while since I've posted. I haven't done much to the boat - just little tweaks. I feel like it's really dialed in. Every time I go out, I am amazed at how well it moves through the water, and how comfortable it is for little sailer. When there are other bigger sailboats on the water, I try to catch them. Sometimes I do! What an amazing craft.

I am not a fan of crowds and it seems like the boat ramp parking lots are always filled (bass boats mostly). The boat ramps themselves can be chaotic bottlenecks, even in these days - maybe because of these days. So I wait for unappealing weather. Cold, rain, wind. Perfect!

Yesterday was actually pretty warm for late October in Kansas. A brief warm spell into the eighties (29 C), but windy. The weather forecast said gusts up to 40 mph. I got out a little later in the day - I must have missed that wind. My little Kestral wind meter said 18 mph gusting to 30. Lots of whitecaps. I was the only car in the lot and the only boat on the water aside from the kite boarders and wind surfers that come out on the windy days. But they stay close to shore. I go as far away as I can. I love being alone on the water.

I set out from the dock into a headwind, double reefed. That was fine for a while but I got antsy, shook out a reef, got up on the rail, hooked my feet under the hiking strap, and tried to keep SCAMP upright on a close reach. She plowed through the chop.

I love swimming off the boat in the middle of the lake. I lower the sail, throw out my sea drogue and jump in! And I like cold water too, but I must be getting less tolerant. Yesterday I thought of striping off my wetsuit and lowering into the 58 deg. water, but it was. just. too. cold.

Lately I've only been going out in the later afternoons. It's just too nice sailing into the night. I can't resist. Last night I sailed the 4 miles back to my car by moonlight on a broad reach, surging along with the dark waves at 5 kts. while lighting flickered in a distant storm. Magical.

When I got near the dock I had a moment of panic. I was heading in, maybe 50 feet away and straining to see, but couldn't make out the ramp. The lightning in the distance was making me edgy. I was sailing by feel, trailing my hand in the water to gauge my speed, waves to beam jerking the boat side to side. Suddenly a cold front moved in - there was a blast of cold wind and a sharp change of direction that caught me by surprise. At that moment, a car turned the corner and all I could see were its high beams in a field of blackness. Everything felt out of control. For a second I thought, this isn't going to work. Then I took a breath, collected myself, and edged my way in between two docks. The temperature dropped back down almost 40 deg over the next few hours.

Anyway, a great day in SCAMP!

I dug up some pics from last year:

I love trailing my feet in the water!
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Pickle
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Re: Scamp Build in Kansas!

Post by Pickle »

What a beautiful build!
I’ve greatly enjoyed the whole thread and look forward to more cruise reports.
Cheers,
Nick
Last edited by Pickle on Wed May 19, 2021 4:58 am, edited 3 times in total.
ericleif
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Posts: 209
Joined: Sat Aug 13, 2016 8:19 am

Re: Scamp Build in Kansas!

Post by ericleif »

Hello SCAMPers! I took another trip last winter and wrote up a quick report to post here, but am just now getting around to posting it so it’s a bit dated…

Lake Ouachita 2020 Trip Report!!!

I just went on another great journey a few weeks ago with my SCAMP. I spent 5 days in Arkansas eating, sleeping and doing most other things on my little boat while exploring Lake Ouachita a bit more. I like coming to this place. It’s only 7 hours away, feels remote and a little rugged with hundreds of islands, the water is crystal clear, and it tends to be a bit warmer than Kansas in December. More than anything else, it was just nice during these days of being cooped up to have a change of scenery. I’m so grateful I could go. Here is a trip report with lots of pics incase you SCAMP-thusiasts are interested:

First off, it was cold. I knew it would be cold...I knew that. What does it mean to know something? Anyway, it was &@*%ing cold. I left on a cold morning in the 30’s.

I had just greased my trailer hubs, made sure the tires were inflated, car in good shape, trailer in good shape. I wanted to minimize the chance of having to make contact with anyone else during the trip.

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Here’s my giant, red, toy boat ready to go. There’s not much I do to prep my boat for long drives, other than adding a sail cover to the sail bundle to keep things tidy.

I did not want to go. I always feel that way before a trip. I’m a dramatic person, and I usually have to force myself. And I had lots of reasons not to go, the pandemic, the cold, unfinished work. Those were my concerns this time. Those are all pretty reasonable concerns I think.

Anyway, I ate in my car and peed in a bottle on the way down. The drive went smoothly and I arrived in the afternoon at Crystal Springs boat ramp to a mostly empty lot. My gear and food was already packed in the boat so rigging just took a few minutes and then, to my surprise, I found myself walking away from my car towards my boat with butterflies in my stomach. It’s happening now. I’m doing this.

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Then I’m in and I’m off! 15 minutes later...I’m still next to the boat ramp. There’s no wind. This lake in my experience is not a good sailing lake. I was mentally prepared for that this time and happily broke out the oars and sail-rowed through the narrow 4-mile mountain channel that empties into the main body of the lake. I anchored just inside the mouth of that channel as the sun was setting, two anchors to keep me in place in a little cove.

Looking back up the arm (I came from between those mountains):

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Last edited by ericleif on Mon Sep 13, 2021 8:04 pm, edited 4 times in total.
ericleif
Major Contributor
Posts: 209
Joined: Sat Aug 13, 2016 8:19 am

Re: Scamp Build in Kansas!

Post by ericleif »

Looking forward into the lake:

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And the little cove:

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The dark and the cold quickly settled in. I considered a swim, but the water (in the 50’s) and my steamy breath lit by my headlamp convinced me to focus on setting up my tent, making dinner, and snuggling in for the night. SCAMP is a pretty snuggly boat.

Cooking ramen (one pack of spicy ramen + sesame oil, one egg mixed in, bacon bits, and Parmesan cheese - it’s not bad!)
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ericleif
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Re: Scamp Build in Kansas!

Post by ericleif »

Getting cozy:
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And my new favorite piece of gear. This piece of 2” house insulation foam is an absolute game changer - it’s sooo comfy to lean against this! This elevated my camp-aboard experience to a whole new level of comfort. I’m serious!
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Day 2. Skies cleared. Slept in. Some steamy coffee, a trail bar and I’m off to enter the big lake. There was enough wind to make steady progress as long as I avoided the island’s wind shadows. This lake goes on almost as far as you can see and the only signs of human activity I saw that day were an anchored house boat, a sailboat off in the distance, and some contrails in the sky. Wind filled in to 10-12 kts. I skirted around some islands, got into the most open part of the lake, and made my way to a big island with lots of little caves and coves around it. Temps got into the high forties, then low fifties but with the wind, I just couldn’t get warm so added my wetsuit and dry top for a comfortable rest of the sail that day.

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