Last week I went through the process of moving the backstay and traveler lines forward to my new steering station.  This week I show the final moc up changes to the pod.  Then building it from Bruynzeel Okume Lloyd’s registered 9mm plywood. This plywood is amazing material.  It is light, waterproof, and very strong.  All of the Santa Cruz boat buildlers used Bruynzeel Okume plywood for their interior structure with great success.  I find it the perfect choice for the core of the pod. I used epoxy and bonded the core and glassed over the inside with nice stitched bi-axle…

Launch season is approaching fast and items are getting checked off the work list.  This week is the first part of a three part series, on modifying the cockpit from a fully crewed layout to a singlehanded layout.  This is close to my heart since my passion is shorthanded fast sailing. The Archambault 31 was offered in the Transquadra version, which had some of the modifications I am doing, and some I am not.  But I am also adding a few of my own touches. When I build custom parts in the shop it is rare that I will draw…

This week we have a cool piece of gear to install on the cockpit sole for the main sheet, a Ropeye Pro Loop.  What a well thought out, easy to install piece of hardware with amazing load carrying capacity. I felt this was the perfect application for this loop.  In a later episode we will also be installing smaller Ropeye loops down below. If you ever thought of using this product, watch the video and see how easy it is to install.  And as always thanks for checking out my weekly show, In The Boat Shop. Sign up for my…

Lets dive right in and finish off the repair we started last week.  This week I will remove the vacuum bag, fair the repair, gel coat the repair, then finish it off. I hope this fast method overview for repairing a hole in your cockpit is helpful.  If you ever have any questions please leave them here or send me an email.  Always happy to help. Sign up for my blog and In The Boat Shop Vimeo Channel to receive weekly updates. Enjoy the video

I removed two speakers, shore power plug, and moved the VHF remote. So I had a few holes in the cockpit to fix. This is my method for fixing these holes in a 1/8” thick-cored laminate. Hold on for the ride I run though this quickly. The repair is a two-part video. This week I prep the hole, glass the hole, and vacuum bag the glass. Next week I fair the surface and then give it a smooth gel coat finish to match the cockpit sidewalls. I use a quality vinyl ester resin with nice stitched biax +/- 45 degree…

Last week I installed the Solbian Flex solar panels on Kincora. This week is part 2 where I wire the panels. The Flex panels have an option where you can have the wires come out the bottom of the panel. I love this option, it keeps the deck clean and less chance of wires being damaged. I also went for a Genasun charge controllers for each panel. With one controller on three panels, if one is shaded you loose efficiency of the other two. With a controller on each panel and one is shaded the other two are still efficient.…

Solar is no longer in the future it is here, and an excellent way to power your boat.  I have been installing solar panels on my boats for the last ten years.  The improvements in the last 5 years have been dramatic. I use quality products sold by Ocean Planet Energy on my last two boats and have been extremely happy with the results.  I am using Solbian SP (high output) flex panels on Kincora, with Genasun charge controllers, and an Oasis Firefly battery. This setup has amazing output and is designed for the marine environment. Just look at the…

Rudders on boats are our steering wheels, without them we are in trouble and need to have special skills to steer. So each season when I haul my boat, a full inspection of the steering system is on my list. This off season while replacing the rudder bearings on my Archambault 31 after feeling rudder shimmy downwind, (Episode 1, Replacing JP3 Rudder Bearings) I noticed rust at the top of the rudder next to the rudder shaft. This is a warning and needs to be addressed right away. Follow my step-by-step inspection and repair of the rusted area on top…