Building New Dorades (Updated 4 Apr—Project Complete

[John Stone]

I have known for a long time that I needed to replace the dorade boxes on the Far Reach. During the boat rebuild I was on a budget so I had to decide how to spend the money, where to save, and when to live to fight another day.

The original boxes where in bad shape. I cobbled them together as best I could, cleaned them up, and varnished them. While I had no trouble maintaining the bowsprit, coamings, or winch bases the dorade boxes were another story. Despite an aggressive varnish maintenance plan, the varnished failed while I was sailing in the West Indies. So, I just painted them white in the Virgin Islands and put it in my list of projects for later.

The original design is OK but not great. First, the beveled slope on the front of the box has a nice refined look but it requires the opening ferrule (the down tube that penetrates the cabin top) to be cut down excessively on the forward side to allow room for the beveled front to slope back. This is form over function. Not a fan of it. The sloped front also makes it impossible to have a tidy finish to the bedding compound on the inside front of the dorade. The new boxes will be square which is how Olin Stephens designed them. I think they will look very nice on a Cape Dory. If in doubt take a look at Olin Stephens magnificent 52’ yawl Dorade (which gave the innovative box its name). As a side note, Dorade, built in 1929 won the Burmuda Race in 1930 and the TransLant I’m 1932. She is still sailing and being raced. A few years ago she won the TransPac for the second time, the first time having been in 1935. Should I mention she was, and still is, steered with a tiller?

Second, the method of construction while adequate can be improved upon by minimizing end grain exposure. End grain is an avenue for water/moisture to gain access into the cell fiber of the wood. Checking usually occurs on the end grain if left exposed. If the wood is varnished it’s not a problem but since I intend to leave them bare, protecting the end grain is important. Plus, a well built box just looks nicer.

Additionally, since the dorades will be left bare, epoxy is not the best adhesive. The only 100 percent waterproof adhesive is resorcinol. For resorcinol to work properly the joinery has to be tight and assembling the boxes with dados, etc creates better surfaces for gluing. Dados are not difficult to cut but they do take some special tools.

Below are a couple pictures. The first is the molded riser the dorade is secured to. You can clearly see the opening ferrule shortened dramatically on the font side to accommodate the sloped back box. I covered the opening with plastic and tape while the boxes are removed.

The second photo is the box joints being test fitted. Notice the dado joints. Because the deck is crowned I will take the boxes to the boat, after they are glued up and “scribe” them so I can cut the edges. That will allow the box es to be mounted with the top level to the water. The third picture is the old box next to the new box. I’ll also cut end pieces on the top lid so there is minimal end grain exposed there as well.

I’ll add more to this thread as I get further along. I’ll also write a complete “how to” on my website when the project is complete with a bunch of photos and a more detailed write up.

[Jim Walsh]

Should I mention she was, and still is, steered with a tiller?

Should I mention she had a 40HP Perkins diesel auxiliary?

Nice "improved" dorade you're constructing, John. Undoubtedly it'll be in a class of its own when completed. Have you acquired a bronze cowl vent? It took me a few years to luck onto a pre-loved one. Not an easy item to locate and the new ones are very pricey.

[John Stone]

Should I mention she had a 40HP Perkins diesel auxiliary?

She does at that! But she did not originally have a diesel or any auxiliary power. The Stephens sailed her engine free. I think the second or third owner installed an engine, but I'm not sure. Interestingly, during her most recent restoration the current owner wrote that he considered returning her to her original configuration--no inboard--but ultimately decided against it. Of course, back in the early 30s most yacht clubs had launces to serve as tenders to help maneuver boats into slips or even on and off moorings. Also, many yacht clubs had warping buoys. I could sure use one of those where I presently keep the Far Reach. Alas, I fear I am alone in that view . . . .

I have not had the good fortune of finding bronze or copper cow vents. They are lovely but wow are they expensive. However, I did have a great friend make a generous gift to me of four used soft vents (two 4" vents and two 3" vents) with threaded bronze inserts and bronze flange bases. So, I'll install the 4" cowls in the main dorade boxes and retro fit the 3" vent into the dorade box I mounted on the fantail during the rebuild. So, I'll be rid of those leaky plastic bases and flanges on the nicro cowl vents. It's too bad they don't still offer the bronze and hard rubber combination. Seems like it would be much more affordable and practical than one or the other.

[John Stone]

Glued and clamped. I’ll leave them clamped for 24 hours. Then, start on the lids.

[rorik]

John,

Have you seen the vents at Port Townsend Foundry?

http://www.porttownsendfoundry.com/vents

[John Stone]

Have you seen the vents at Port Townsend Foundry?

Hahahahaha. Trick question right?

[rorik]

Well, you weren't completely clear on the point of "not seeing" vs. "not seeing what you could afford"…. so just thought I'd make sure.
I'd love to have Pete's products on Mathilda. It's very nicely made, but it is pricey.

[John Stone]

PTF is at the top of the the pyramid in terms of quality. And they are good people too. Pete and Cathy have been good to me. Pete guided me through the building of the pattern and core box for the casting of our gammon iron. It saved me a bundle of money. PTF cast our cranze iron, sprit sh’rd tangs, dinghy chocks, and boom gallows. All beautiful pieces of hardware. But, I had budgeted for all that stuff. Im always looking for worthy alternatives to just spending another “boat unit”. They would look great on the FR but I can’t justify it.

I plan on sailing back to the West Indies this winter. I have to think the consignment shops will have a lot of nice hardware for sale. I will have my eyes open for sure.

[Sea Hunt Video]

John S.:

There is a store in Fort Lauderdale called "Sailorman". It is sort of in between a marine supply store and a marine flea market. Their website is: http://sailorman.com/sitemap/

If you search Mr. Google you can find a lot of interior photos of the store/flea market.

They sometimes have hidden gems. I did a quick search for bronze cow vents but came up negative. I am not very good with computer stuff however. You may have better luck just calling them and asking if they have what you are looking for.

Of course, I assume your area of NC has one or more similar marine flea market(s).

I can't afford bronze vents. I was looking at ones from Marinco. They look pretty good.

http://www.marinco.com/en/search?keyword=cow+vent

[John Stone]

Copy all Roberto. Over the years I have found some wonderful used hardware at consignment shops. Case in point...I picked up our Edson bronze Model 117 gallon a stroke manual bilge pump from a consignment shop in Texas. It had never been used. Cost a couple hundred dollars. I think it’s about $1200 New. So you are right.

At the moment I am saving for a new whisker pole. I am not happy with the old push-pin forespar pole. This year I already added four new Bronze ST Lewmars and LED lights. I budgeted for them. The stays’l sheet winches were a “nice to have” but the primaries were in bad shape so they were a “must have.” Bronze cowl vents will have to be a lucky find. They are way down at the bottom of the list. The combo rubber/bronze in the photo above seem very nice to me. I am happy to have them.

[John Stone]

I unclamped the boxes today and started work on the dorade lids. The most common way to build the lids is to to either cut the top flush with all the sides and glue and scew them to the box sides (the way they were originally built) or to use lexan for the lids. I have seen lexan lids and they look good. They also let some light in to the head via the opening ferrule. But, I don’t think they would look as seamless on the Far Reach as on a stock Cape Dory. They have a modern look and FR looks, to me anyway, like a more traditional boat.

The problem with just cutting the lid from teak is the end grain is exposed and that can lead to wood grain checking if left bare, which is what Inintend to do. So, by gluing in small end grain caps with resorcinol the grain checking will be prevented. Normally you can’t glue across the end grain as It will result in a cracked glue joint. But, with a small dimension it is not normally a problem. The box sides are all quartersawn. I did not have enough quartersawn teak for the lids. Quartersawn wood has less movement so that would be the best way to go. We will see what happens.

I cut a 3/16” wide strip of teak then cut 45° bevels on the ends. I laid those over the ends and marked the area to remove with my knife. A sharp edge is more accurate than a pencil. I used a router with an upper guide bearing to remove most of the wood. I finessed the ends with a sharp chisel. Once the end pieces fit tight I glued them with resorcinol and clamped them tight.

The lids will be secured with four bronze wood screws so it can be easily removed.

[Frenchy]

Very nice, John. You have a patience and commitment to quality work that's hard to find. I'm thinking you made some
kind of a template to clamp to the teak for accurate glue joints. I don't think resorcinal is used much these days, but
I remember my old Lightning mast, glued up in 1946, was still good into the 1990's. Regards, Jean

[John Stone]

Thanks Jean. I really enjoy learning how to make exactly what I want. Before I started the rebuild in 2009 I did not have much skill. And, I am still learning everyday. There seems to be no end to learning how to design, mill, shape, and join wood.

Regard the end-grain cap, I basically clamped a piece of hard wood across the teak lid top right to the edge of the scribed line. I used a Bosch trim router with a straight bit and a top mounted guide bearing that rode along the clamped wood. Pretty simple. Just requires precision clamping and a little finesse with the router to work with the grain of the wood. No room for error.

Then I clamped the lid vertically in a wood vise and chiseled the 45° bevels very carefully holding a block of wood against the side of the lid to avoid tear out which is essential when working across the grain. I kept gently removing wood till the end-cap fit tightly.

I’ll post some more pictures in a couple days.

[John Stone]

After the resorcinol cured I removed the lids from the clamps and sanded them smooth. Next, I installed #8x1 1/4” flathead fasteners through the end pieces and into the sides of the dorade boxes as added insurance. In other words the boxes are glued and screwed together. I counter-sunk the screws and then installed teak plugs. I chiseled them off flush this morning and sanded them smooth as well.

I also took an additional step not part of the original CD box design. I installed a small 1 3/4” deep teak divider in the box. The divider prevents spray or rain water from being blown down the cowl and across the inside of the box into the opening of the outlet ferrule (downtube) and consequently into the interior of the boat. Olin Stephens’ original design has the two tubes overlapping so there is no direct line of sight path between them. The base of the cowls don’t extend down into the box far enough to prevent line of sight migration of water. But, the divider block accomplishes the same thing. This is a small but important step in making our dorades better than the original construction by Cape Dory. It is an easy mod to retrofit if you would like to improve the original box.

The next step is scribing the boxes to fit the crowned deck.

[John Stone]

This afternoon I took the dorade boxes down to the Far Reach to scribe them to fit the crown of the cabin top. Scribing just means to draw a line, usually with a compass, using the actual place the part will reside as a template or guide. The lines (or marks as it were) inform you where to cut so the fit is just right. The key to scribbing is to never change the orientation of the compass once you start making the mark.

To scribe the box I set it in place and used door-shim wedges to prop the box up so the top was level. Then I set the compass to span the gap on the end wedges up and carefully pulled the compass around the box. Now, if I do it right when I cut along the line with my jig saw the box should drop right into place and fit perfect. I’ll radius the inside edges of the box so they will fit the molded concave fiberglass edge of the dorade riser. There will be a little filing work required no doubt but it should be fairly straight forward. But, more on that with the next post.