building a paradox sailboat

At the outset you, dear reader, need to know that if you want a slavish account of building an exact replica of Matt Layden’s original Paradox you should read no further. My view is that this boat is heavily over engineered and modern epoxy techniques mean that much can be safely changed. That is not to say that it must, or should, be changed. Just that it is my amateur’s opinion that it will not be any lesser a boat if it is. It is also my opinion, validated by experience, that the following information will be a great help to the tyro builder, but to this information you must add self belief. You can build a Paradox. I have, nearly :0)

I like books; used along with the internet you can find most answers to almost any question. For everything that you need to know about epoxy resin look at the manufacturers leaflets and web pages. The West System leaflet is excellent but the product made me vomit. I switched to UK Epoxies in Manchester which has no apparent ill effects on me and is cheaper. There is another advantage that Rob Hewitt, the MD, is only a phone call away and cheerfully answers questions. That is worth something considering that epoxy is expensive and a Paradox needs a lot of it.

For modern boat building techniques I found the following books very useful: Backyard Boatbuilder by John Welsford, A Manual of Modern Small Plywood Boat Construction Techniques by Paul Fisher of Selway Fisher Design, Ultralight Boatbuilding by Thomas J Hill, Instant Boats by Harold Payson and last (I wish I’d had this one early on) Boatbuilding for Beginners and Beyond by Jim Michalak. Much of what is in these books is repeated in the others but they are all written in clear English with good illustrations. They are good reads as well. If you can only afford one, buy the Michalak book. You do not need a specific Paradox manual.

Finally, use the pictures of Paradoxes that available in the group and on various web pages such as Al Law’s, Bill Sergeants and Dave and Mindy Bolduc’s and email the owners. An unfailingly helpful bunch. Thank you, thank you and thanks again.

This was my first boat build and I regard myself as a mediocre to moderate woodworker. I’d much rather use a dowel joint than cut a mortise and tenon, and I haven’t cut a dovetail since I made my toolbox 20 years ago. Biscuits and glue do just as good a job. I do have a good selection of tools because buying tools and cleaning up old ones appeals to me.

Many of my clamps are rescued wrecks from car boot sales that have responded to heat and hammering to put them back into shape. You can’t have enough clamps and if you google you will find ways to make your own.

I prefer plastic handled chisels because you can use just about anything as a mallet. I often see them at car boots and look out for the Stanley and Marples makes with blue handles. It doesn’t matter if the blade is short or has been used as a paint can opener and stirrer. They clean up easily and sharpen very well. The steel is good quality. You could make this boat with just an half inch chisel.

For striking chisels (wood, plastic or rubber mallet preferred) and bronze ring nails a good carpenter’s claw hammer is needed. Any other woodworking hammer is too light for driving the ring nails.

A drill and selection of bits for predrilling nail and screw holes.

My most recent saw is a Japanese style pull saw from B&Q. Plastic handle, about £9 and works wonderfully. No effort at all on fine cutting.

I use hardpoint panel and cross cut saws because saw sharpening is tedious. I do sharpen saws occasionally, but only as a way of setting myself a task that stops me strangling the kids. I like the Stanley Jet Cut in the short blade lengths and use a fine tooth (11 TPI) for across the grain and a coarse tooth (6 TPI) for down the grain. When the blade is getting blunt I relegate the saw to rough cutting like plasterboard and ash blocks. After that I throw them away. It takes eons to blunt them on plywood.

Having said all that I cut with a power saw where possible. I find jigsaws useless because they wander and tear wood. The best blade for ply cutting has proved to be the one meant for cutting metal. I also have a table saw (not essential), a small, very old bandsaw (useful but not essential), and a portable circular saw (couldn’t work without it). The latter I use with 8’ or 4’ long guides (made from instructions in an old copy of Fine Woodworking) that I clamp to a plysheet and cut the sheet down to size across at least three sawhorses, but it will also cut freehand quite close to gradual curves. When cutting ply with a circular saw I usually do two cuts: the first only part way into the sheet and the second just through it. This method stops tearing of the surface veneer.

I’m using Stanley Junior plastic sawhorses nowadays. They come in pairs, often less than a tenner, and fold up out of the way. They are also reasonably tall so reduce back ache from stooping. I have six but two of them form an almost permanent support for a table top which helps keep my Black and Decker Workmate clear.

I bought the Workmate over 30 years ago and it cost more than a weeks wages at the time. I promised the wife countless shelves and cupboards but really bought because I hadn’t got anything to overhall my Honda 500/4 on. She eventually got the shelves and cupboards when Ikea opened. The Workmate is still a dependable tool.

I bought a Machine Mart special to work alongside it. It cost £20, isn’t as heavy as the B&D but does the job fine. It won’t last 30 years but then neither will I.

I have a carpenters bench but always use the two portable benches. I take them to the work, and the carpenters bench is always covered in stuff anyway.

I used a No. 5 plane for most general work, a No. 4 for final smoothing, a small block plane for end grain smoothing, and a cheap power plane as often as possible.

For marking out: pencil stubs (Ikea have hundreds of thousands of them) and coloured biros. I have a method for accurate marking out. First draw the line in pencil. If it’s wrong rub out and do it again. Still wrong? Do it in blue Biro. Wrong again? Do it in red Biro. Still wrong?? Plane off and start again in pencil.

A sliding bevel, a square (I’ve cut the blade on a cheap multi one down to 6” but a small metalworkers square works well), 5 metre metric tape, and a metre rule or straight edge are all very useful.

A router. Definitely not essential, but I love my little Bosch POF 500 and can always find something for it to do. Rounding over spar edges and deck edges comes to mind. It could be a good tool for scarfing with a jig. I also have an ELU set up in a table as a baby spindle moulder but rarely use it.

A belt sander takes a lot of the tedium out of sanding but you will end up finishing by hand. When buying sandpaper go to a painter and decorator trade counter. Wear old clothes. Buy the grades you need by the metre off the roll. When they tot it up and give you the price look shocked and in a querulous voice say, “Is that trade?” You may be surprised how much cheaper it can be. Pay cash and get a receipt to maintain the illusion. If they want proof of trade status (I’ve only been asked once) go home and knock up a letter head in Word. I once found a machine that did 50 business cards on the spot and I became a toy box manufacturer. Good for timber, decorating and metal working supply discounts!

A backing plate and sanding discs to fit an angle grinder is a powerful remover of epoxy drips, timber, clothing and flesh.

Epoxying Tools. All are available from UK Epoxies. The broad spatula is very useful as is the tool cleaning solvent. I didn’t find white vinegar very useful. I did come up with a super tool for filleting – the back of a spoon. A serving spoon for big fillets, a dessert spoon for medium fillets and a teaspoon for small fillets. They cost a few pence from the charity shops. Used with spittle they make lovely smooth fillets. If your spittle doesn’t work I can sell you mine, but it doesn’t come cheap.

Don’t bother with the pumps. My hardener pump got crystals in and I had to completely strip the bottom and redo it. It was like removing fudge, took nearly a week to get it all off and it cost me an extra £150. The bottom is where the dearest fibre mat goes. I was so fed up that I took a break for a few weeks. Read what Jim Michalak has to say on epoxying; it’ll save you a few bob on filling powders and a lot of aggro.

A gas heater. The smallest one from Machine Mart heats an enormous area very quickly. It is mainly useful when epoxying. There is a minimum temperature below which the epoxy won’t set. I wish that I’d had the heater at the first Christmas rather than the second. Best used in conjunction with a Carbon Monoxide monitor.

I have learnt as I went along, and I have made a lot of mistakes but they have all been easily corrected. We are dealing with wood and epoxy here and most of it will be at reasonably low levels of stress. Nothing that I have come across on the boat has to be close tolerance, cabinet maker standard. Have faith; you too can build a Paradox.

If I were doing it all again I would start with the mast, yard, boom, yuloh, rudder and the bits that go with them such as bottom pintle, tack strop and boom axle. These bits are all going to fit onto the finished hull and I have found it very frustrating having a finished hull sitting in the workshop while I make these.

All of them were easy excepting the mast which I couldn’t interpret from the plan. Don Elliott provided an exploded drawing which coupled with advice from Al Law made it all clear. I think that I could redraw it to make it clear. Once I understood the plan the build was easy. I have since seen a diagram of mast building as clear as Don’s and not dissimilar. As soon as I remember where I saw it I’ll put it here. There are two photos here : They show a mast in construction by Matt Layden. Gives a clearer idea of what the plan is trying to show.

Next make the deck beams followed by the bulkheads and build the vent box onto bulkhead 2 while it is on the bench. Al Law told me to do this and I didn’t. It is a right bugger trying to work on it in the confines of the hull. I made bulkhead 2 from one piece of ply and I made the hole in that bulkhead as big as possible to be able to get a Porta Potti through. It’ll save making a seat for a bucket or having a red ring around your bum.

I would glass in a bucket top and its lid on bulkhead 1 to give me a cheap, airtight seal but still allow access for when the eyebolt in the stem leaks.

Having now got a pile of bits stored around the house and workshop make the hull sides. The shape can be cut with a mixture of hand saw and portable circular saw. You might think here whether you require scarf joints. Personally, I now think that one of the butt joints to be found in the books already mentioned would do, and they are much easier to make.

A good idea is to now follow the instructions on drawing 6 of the plans. The construction sequence for the hull is given in some detail and works well. I had trouble with working out the bevels and eventually gave up on them. Thickened epoxy fills gaps, and big gaps can have wooden infills inserted along with the thickened epoxy. Panels cut undersize, or at the wrong angle, can be built back up with fresh wood. Panels cut oversize can be trimmed to fit and reduce the swearing that goes with cutting them undersize.

I made the stem to fit the panels while doing the dry fit. I tried making it first but the panels only touched it occasionally as I pulled them in. I obviously have a problem with angles. Maybe I’m an anglexic or an anglephile.

Nail scrap between the 4 by 4 parallel sleepers to ensure that they stay parallel. While my hull sides were bonding to the bulkheads my wife fell over a sleeper end. It was quite amusing until I found that it had moved and the hull sides ended up slightly out of true. Trimming with a plane fixed it.

At this stage it helps to make a trolley to move the hull around on. The 4 by 4’s can be used for this. Al Law bravely used a skateboard.

The Chine logs and sheerclamps are a swine to fit. I halved the width of my sheerclamps to make them more manageable, but how necessary are they? Next time I would leave them out and rely on stitch and glue for joining the bottom and deck to the sides and only nail along the line of the bulkheads. Also, the deck and sides, and the bottom to sides joints are further strengthened by turning the fibre glass sheathing over the joints.

The chine runners could be thought of as an external, shaped chine log. I made mine from blocks glued into place and finally shaped in situ.

On drawing 1 Matt has written that fastenings are intended as a permanent back up to glue bonds. From my reading, I don’t think that is necessary with modern epoxies but bronze nails are awfully boaty, aren’t they? Even under fibreglass and paint.

The 18mm ply for the bottom I found very difficult to get into shape. With Spanish windlasses and 4 by 2 props it looked like a Roman siege engine. I had visions of it springing apart and killing me. Thoughts of the wife enjoying the life insurance kept me just on the side of safety. There was enough tension about that one slip could have demolished much of our road with flying timber. Next time I would use two sheets of 9mm and stagger the joints, or I might just go to 12mm thick. There is high quality fibreglass and thickened epoxy going on the bottom as well.

The rear deck went on fine but the front didn’t. I cut it along the line of bulkhead 2 and did it in two parts. Much easier.

I should mention that before the decks go on is the best time to fit the flotation. It needs to be two inches thick and goes under the decks and down the sides. There is a lot written about what to use and what to avoid but in the end I chose standard 2” thick wall insulation sheets bought from Wickes (a mini version of Home Depot). I think that it is polystyrene. I’m told that it absorbs water but you can see it on beaches anywhere rubbed spherical and smooth by wave action, and still floating.

My worst case scenario is that I am coastal cruising 3 miles out to avoid some hazard, the weather changes and the boat fills with water. What do I want to happen?

Firstly, I want my auto inflating life jacket to inflate and I want to be wearing it. I want my spare life jacket to inflate and remain in the forward area where I will store it. I want the emergency services to hear my mayday on my waterproof handheld VHF radio and I want my pump to work, but if it is overwhelmed I want my boat to float with the decks level with the water at its lowest.

I will then sit in the boat clutching my bright orange waterproof grab bag containing those items dearest to me: picture of my dogs, energy bars, bottle of water, spare insulin, money and car keys. I would chuck out heavy stuff, excluding myself, and sit tight. I would fully expect to be rescued within an hour, or two. If the boat floats that long I’ll be happy.

I have held my polystyrene in place with deck clips and cord so that I can remove it to check the inner sides of the hull and the undersides of the decks. In the area between stem and bulkhead 1 I have added empty two litre soft drink bottles, secured in threes by duct tape, for extra flotation. Between bulkheads 2 and 4 I have put 6mm camping mat against the sides for insulation. I felt that the 2” foam took too much out of the capacity of the sidebins.

I think that it maybe possible to inflate a couple of tractor inner tubes inside the boat using the gas cylinders that paintball guns are fitted with. This is something that I intend to experiment with.

The hull is now pretty heavy but four people can turn it over using levers. My son can turn it from its side to its bottom all by himself. Of course he did it before I was ready to catch it on a second lever and it hit the concrete with an unpleasant bang. If it leaks when I launch in a couple of weeks it is down to him. On the other hand, if he makes it as a rock star, and supports me in the manner to which I’d like to be accustomed I will forgive him.

This is a good time to fit the seat, panels, floor and other internal bits. Electrics and instrument positioning is also good done now. There is a fair bit of room without the cabin on. If you didn’t fit the vent box when bulkhead 2 was on the bench join me and struggle.

I have abandoned the cabin plans. I had plenty of 12mm ply so I made the cabin sides and front from that. I wanted smaller windows so I routed out the shapes and have used 3mm Polycarbonate for the side windows and 6mm for the front. Polycarbonate cuts with an ordinary saw and shapes with sandpaper. I have polished the edges of the windows smooth with sandpaper on the assumption that a rough edge could give a starting point for a split. I don’t know how well founded that idea is.

I have a lift out rear window made from a piece of 6mm Polycarb. Quelle Horrors, but I have mounted an outboard. David Beards gave me the measurements to fit the outboard bracket free and gratis from his own transom. No copyright there, thanks David.

The idea of yulohing the Thames is enough to make me want to slit my wrists. Have you seen the video of Matt sculling? It is the mating dance of the crane done to Techno. I am, however, making a yuloh because Al says it is great for docking. I think that it lengthens your reach and you snag a bit of dock with it. I am using a piece of cheap pine planking found in a skip and a length of 2 by 2 shaped to a picture found on David Deedes web site. If it doesn’t work it’ll make a nice fire.

That is where I am now. I’m toying with idea of a convertible type top instead of the sliding roof. Lorry trailer curtain material is very hard wearing and waterproof and I like the idea of rolling the hood closed.

I hope that this helps somebody. If any of the builders would like to add to this let me know and maybe I will.

Cruising Forum

Famous boats, little cruiser, matt's boats.

More Pictures

Sketches by Don Elliott

Study Plans

LOA- 4.2m/ 13'-10" LWL-4.1m/ 13'-5" BEAM-1.23m/ 4' 1/2" DRAFT-0.23m/ 9" SAIL AREA-9.3 sqm/ 100sqFt DISP-640Kg/ 1410 lbs

Interesting Details 1. Chine Runners 2. 70 liters of fresh water ballast 3. Self righting 4. Positive bouyancy 5. All lines lead into cabin

Additional Information

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Jacques - Long Term Coastal Cruiser Sailboat Concept

Post by SP » Mon Apr 16, 2007 4:13 pm

Post by jacquesmm » Mon Apr 16, 2007 5:13 pm

Post by SP » Mon Apr 16, 2007 5:40 pm

jacquesmm wrote: Yes, I am interested in that type of project. Unless it is a dory style hull, a flat bottom boat is not the appropriate hull form for such a program. It looks easier to builder but it is not. It also pounds and slams, under way or on anchor. The slamming can be destructive = unsafe. I like the idea of a flush deck cockpit. This maximizes inside volume, eliminate the danger of cockpit flooding. makes for a stronger structure. Shallow draft is another point I like: a boat that does not resist the sea with a deep keel, is easy to tow, easy to maintain by beaching it and trailerable. Show me that you are serious by doing some home work. Here are questions you should answer: - What is your boat building budget? How much for the hull, how much for the equipment? - What should the cargo capacity of the boat? How much stores, how much water, how much personal effects? Try an itemized list like 1 gallon of water and 2 lbs of food per day for 2 months, plus XYZ fuel, safety gear, electronics, everything. Include ground tackle and some spares.

How much does it weigh??

Post by Justin Pipkorn » Tue Apr 17, 2007 1:14 am

Post by SP » Tue Apr 17, 2007 3:47 am

What should the cargo capacity of the boat? How much stores, how much water, how much personal effects? Try an itemized list like 1 gallon of water and 2 lbs of food per day for 2 months, plus XYZ fuel, safety gear, electronics, everything. Include ground tackle and some spares.

What is your boat building budget? How much for the hull, how much for the equipment?

Post by jacquesmm » Tue Apr 17, 2007 1:31 pm

SP wrote: With respect to having the inside helm capabilities........ I think it would be great to be able to sit on the small aft deck and sail the boat, stand or sit inside the cabin with the hatch open and sail or close the hatch and stay inside the cabin and sail the boat. This is how Swaggie is set up.

I think the design maximizes the cabin area in a small boat and gives you many comfort options depending on the weather and how you are feeling that day.

To accomplish this you would need a very simple sail design, like a balanced lug or junk sail to do this. You would give up a small amount of windward performance but gain in simplicity. Maybe there is a better way. I am sure if there is, Jacques and others more experienced will have ideas.

I like to be outside sailing just as much as anybody else but it would be nice to have the option of getting into the cabin and sail the boat if needed. I am thinking about rain during very cold climates.

I know it isn't a direct comparison but most cruising power boats are helmed from inside, under cover or have that option etc....

If you don't like the thought of sailing from the cabin then you could always stay on the aft deck the entire time. Put in a hatch on the deck for a small foot well. Personally, even if there was no inside helm I would still have a very small cockpit. What should the cargo capacity of the boat? How much stores, how much water, how much personal effects? Try an itemized list like 1 gallon of water and 2 lbs of food per day for 2 months, plus XYZ fuel, safety gear, electronics, everything. Include ground tackle and some spares.

At this time I am not planning on having any cooling/ice chest unless on a shorter cruise. For fixed gear I am thinking 200-300 lbs. This is one of those wild guesses. This would entail galley equipment of a small backpack stove, fuel, a couple plastic bowls/plates/silverware/cups, a small pressure cooker. Maybe an extra pot or pan. Portable, handheld, water desal pump that is only used when needed.

Repair equipment of extra blocks, lines, fiberglass repair/patch kit, some fastners, wire, fuses, some small extra engine parts (very limited), extra batteries for GPS, head lamp etc.... and some basic hand tools. I would bring a couple handheld GPS and VHF units, charts, LED headlamps, lifevests (and all other mandated safety gear)

A couple anchors, 10lb plus a larger 25lb anchor (that could be broken down for easier storage) with chain/lines. 5 gallons of fuel for the outboard. Min. amount of clothes needed (proper storm gear of course), sleeping bag and lets not forget a porta potty I am sure I am missing items. Two people - 300lbs This works for me and the wife. I am 6' tall but weight around 155-165lbs depending on how active I am at the time. I am thinking a total of around 650-800 lbs for food, water, fixed gear/equipment and people. What do you think? I think 600 lbs stores and gear. You forgot clothes, pharmacy, radio for the weather and probably other stuff. Let's say 1,000 lbs absolute minimum

Lets see, $3,000 for the hull (wood and epoxy). An additional $3,000 for everything else but not including a trailer or used outboard. Is this low?

Post by Evan_Gatehouse » Tue Apr 17, 2007 3:21 pm

Post by SP » Tue Apr 17, 2007 10:27 pm

Post by Evan_Gatehouse » Tue Apr 17, 2007 10:34 pm

Started organizing weight data today

Post by Justin Pipkorn » Tue Apr 17, 2007 10:49 pm

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I have been a recreational sailor for many years, with a particular interest in small sailing craft; therefore much of the content of my 'blog' will be related to this subject.

Wednesday, October 01, 2014

Builders and owners of paradox sailboats.

Don't forget Dave Skaife's Paradox in Hawaii https://daveskaife.wordpress.com/2014/08/06/why-i-chose-to-build-a-paradox-microcruiser/

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Larger Steel version of PARADOX

Discussion in ' Metal Boat Building ' started by ImaginaryNumber , Oct 6, 2015 .

ImaginaryNumber Imaginary Member

I like Matt Layden's sharpie PARADOX . But at 13'-10" it is pretty small. If one were to double its length, say, 30'+/-, could it be made of steel (or aluminum)? Or maybe the hull out of steel, with the deck and cabin of plywood/timber? Does anyone know of existing plans for a similar steel sharpie? http://www.microcruising.com/plans1.htm  

waikikin Senior Member

That's a pretty big scale up. only boat I can think of but not a sharpie but "similar" is a double chine Hartly "Silver Image" ..... you will enjoy the space... http://www.hartley-boats.com/30.html Jeff.  

LP Flying Boatman

Check out this thread: http://www.boatdesign.net/forums/sa...4ish-sailing-sharpie-34759-30.html#post752883 And then this website: http://issuu.com/bequia22 They are not steel designs, but but I'll bet they could be converted. They are very Paradoxy. I don't know if he sells his plans though.  

waikikin said: ↑ That's a pretty big scale up. only boat I can think of but not a sharpie but "similar" is a double chine Hartly "Silver Image" ..... you will enjoy the space... http://www.hartley-boats.com/30.html Jeff. Click to expand...

LP said: ↑ Check out this thread: http://www.boatdesign.net/forums/sa...4ish-sailing-sharpie-34759-30.html#post752883 And then this website: http://issuu.com/bequia22 They are not steel designs, but but I'll bet they could be converted. They are very Paradoxy. I don't know if he sells his plans though. Click to expand...

pdwiley Senior Member

ImaginaryNumber said: ↑ I like Matt Layden's sharpie PARADOX . But at 13'-10" it is pretty small. If one were to double its length, say, 30'+/-, could it be made of steel (or aluminum)? Or maybe the hull out of steel, with the deck and cabin of plywood/timber? Does anyone know of existing plans for a similar steel sharpie? Click to expand...

ImaginaryNumber said: ↑ Jeff, you're right, scaling PARADOX by over 100% and constructing with different materials can't really be called scaling. It's a new design, though perhaps inspired by the original design. Thanks for the Hartley link. The centerboard version comes closest to what I'm looking for -- which includes the ability to dry out upright. Though I wonder how stable it is balanced on such a small portion of the hull? Click to expand...

pdwiley said: ↑ Tom Colvin had a pile of steel sharpie designs over 30'. Since he died some months back I've no idea what ongoing plans availability is, though. PDW Click to expand...

Angélique aka Angel (only by name)

At the bottom of post #1 here some larger versions of Paradox, max 7 m (23') in plywood there, no plans available it says . .  

Angélique said: ↑ At the bottom of post #1 here some larger versions of Paradox, max 7 m (23') in plywood there, no plans available it says . . Click to expand...

ImaginaryNumber said: ↑ Alas, Colvin's web site is defunct. http://www.thomasecolvin.com/ But The Wayback Machine has archived his site here . Thomas talks about his views of sharpies here . Among other things he says: Because of their shoal draft, there is only about 4’ of headroom in a 32-footer, and it is difficult to achieve full headroom in lengths under 50’. ​ I wonder why he thinks sharpies are so sensitive to cabin height? At ~14' long, PARADOX has 3' of headroom. Scale that to a 32' long boat and you would have nearly 7' of headroom. And Phil Bolger's AS-29 has about 5-1/2' of headroom in the central cabin. So does Colvin know something that Bolger and Layden don't, or do Bolger and Layden know something that Colvin missed? Or is it me who's missing something... Here's Colvin's take on what material can be used for different sized sharpies: My wooden sharpies go up to 55’ in length. Aluminum sharpies are usually of the double-ended type from 30’ to 48’ on deck. The steel sharpies are from 32’ to 78’ on deck. Up to about 40’ in length, I build the sharpies upside down; for the larger sharpies, building right side up is easier. ​ Click to expand...

I think the main difference between the Colvin sharpies and the Bolger and Layden and Morejohn on sharpies inspired designs is that Colvin remains with low freeboard like the working sharpies, where low freeboard was a necessity for manually hauling nets over the edge of the board. Of course this difference has many consequences of all kind.  

ImaginaryNumber said: ↑ So others are looking at a larger PARADOX too. Click to expand...

ImaginaryNumber said: ↑ Angélique, are there shoal-draft steel sharpies from the Netherlands region? Click to expand...

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Angélique said: ↑ ...The one below looks also like a Matt Layden design to me and has a bow board + small chine runners... Click to expand...

Steel Bollard Weld Penetration

Rubberized coatings on a steel deck

Zinc spacing on steel hulls, steel deck patching.

Steel Sail Hull - Hidden Costs?

Bottom paint mysteriously flaking off steel boat

Fitting out a steel hull with wood?

Hot dip zinc gaalvanized steel boat

Can I adhesive plasma cut steel hull plates with methacrylate ?

1950's Era Steel Tugs

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Wednesday 13 April 2016

Popular building paradox sailboat, building paradox sailboat.

Paradox "little jim" - building a paradox, Welcome to my photo record of the building of my paradox cruiser little jim. paradox, designed by m att layden specifications.

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The US is building a pier off Gaza to bring in humanitarian aid. Here's how it would work

WASHINGTON — The U.S. and allies are scrambling to pull together a complex system that will move tons of humanitarian aid into Gaza by sea. Nearly two months after President Joe Biden gave the order, U.S. Army and Navy troops are assembling a large floating platform several miles off the Gaza coast that will be the launching pad for deliveries.

Building a chinese junk rigged Paradox sailboat

Building the hull.

4 comments:

Thank you for posting your build of the Paradox. Great pictures and explanations of each step of the process.

I have just received my plans and building manual for "Paradox". I am interested in "growing" the boat by 20% and powering with a Junk rig also. I am curious as to how you "grew" the plans. Was it a line by line effort? Thanks, Tim, Spring, TX

I am wondering the same thing.

Ooops! Looks like I have missed this one. I have multiplied every measurement on the drawing by 1.2. I calculated and wrote new measurements on the drawing, and it was easy to follow. But there was also new plywood consumption to be calculated before purchasing material. I believe, to optimize the consumption I used 3x12 instead of 2x18 for rudder. A little bit of creativity may be needed here.

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Army Begins Building Floating Aid Pier Off Gaza’s Coast, Pentagon Says

The structure is meant to allow humanitarian assistance to enter Gaza via the Mediterranean Sea, bypassing Israeli restrictions on land convoys.

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By Helene Cooper

Reporting from Washington

• April 25, 2024

Army engineers on Thursday began construction of a floating pier and causeway for humanitarian aid off the coast of Gaza, which, when completed, could help relief workers deliver as many as two million meals a day for the enclave’s residents, Defense Department officials said.

The construction on the “initial stages of the temporary pier and causeway at sea” means that the project’s timing is in line with what Pentagon officials had predicted, Maj. Gen. Patrick S. Ryder, the Defense Department’s press secretary, said. The construction is meant to allow humanitarian aid to bypass Israeli restrictions on land convoys into the besieged strip.

General Ryder said that defense officials expected the project, ordered up by President Biden early last month, to be completed early next month. The facility is meant to include an offshore platform to transfer aid from ships, and a floating pier to bring the aid to shore.

Aid organizations have welcomed the plan, which will be an addition to the airdrops of humanitarian supplies that the U.S. military has been conducting over Gaza. But aid workers say, and defense officials have acknowledged, that the maritime project is not an adequate substitute for land convoys. Such aid convoys fell sharply when the war began more than six months ago and have only partly recovered .

Some U.S. military officials have also privately expressed security concerns about the project, and General Ryder said that the military was looking into a mortar attack on Wednesday that caused minimal damage in the area where some pier work is supposed to be done. However, he said, U.S. forces had not started moving anything into the area at the time of the mortar attacks.

The floating pier is being built alongside an Army ship off the Gaza coast. Army ships are large, lumbering vessels, so they have armed escorts, particularly as they get within range of Gaza’s coast, defense officials have said.

The United Nations says famine is likely to set in within Gaza by the end of May.

Aid workers have described bottlenecks for aid at border crossings because of lengthy inspections of trucks, limited crossing hours and protests by Israelis, and they have highlighted the difficulty of distributing aid inside Gaza. Israeli officials have denied that they are hampering the flow of aid, saying the United Nations and aid groups are responsible for any backlogs.

Senior Biden administration and military officials detailed a complex plan in a Pentagon call with reporters on Thursday afternoon, explaining how the pier and causeway are being put together, and how it is supposed to work. Army engineers are constructing the facility aboard Navy ships in the eastern Mediterranean. One official said that the “at-sea assembly of key pieces” of the pier began on Thursday.

Biden officials are insistent that the Pentagon can carry out aid deliveries through the floating pier without putting American boots on the ground in Gaza. Officials described a complicated shuttle system, through which aid would be loaded onto Navy ships in Cyprus and transported to a causeway — a floating platform — at sea.

The Pentagon’s military acronym for the project is J-Lots, for Joint Logistics Over the Shore.

The causeway at sea is different from the floating pier where the aid will be offloaded into Gaza. An engineering unit with the Israeli military will anchor the floating pier to the Gaza shore, a senior military official told reporters in the Pentagon call.

Shuttle boats run by aid organizations, the United Nations or other countries are then expected to transport the aid to the floating pier, where it is to be loaded onto trucks driven by “a third party,” the official said. He declined to identify the third party.

The official said that Israel was dedicating a brigade to provide security for the American troops and aid workers working on the pier.

The operation is expected to bring in enough aid for around 90 trucks a day, a number that will increase to 150 trucks a day when the system reaches full operating capacity, the official said.

Helene Cooper is a Pentagon correspondent. She was previously an editor, diplomatic correspondent and White House correspondent. More about Helene Cooper

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Israeli negotiators, offering a hint of hope for negotiations over a cease-fire in Gaza, have reduced the number of hostages they want Hamas to release  during the first phase of a truce.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived in Jordan for his second stop on a Middle East tour  to meet with top officials to discuss the war between Israel and Hamas.

President Biden and his national security team see a narrow window to finally seal an agreement  that would at least temporarily halt the war in Gaza and possibly even end it for good, but their optimism has been dashed before.

Campus Protests in the U.S.: On quads and lawns from coast to coast, U.S. colleges are grappling with a groundswell of student activism  over Israel’s military campaign in Gaza. Administrators are having to make controversial decisions .

Cracking Down on Protests: Grief and rage over the Gaza war and Israel have led to demonstrations across the Arab world. Arrests suggest governments fear the outrage could boomerang .

Imagining Gaza’s Reconstruction: International development agencies have been meeting with Middle East business interests and urban planners to map out an economic future for the territory .

Showing Liberal Dismay: Representative Mark Pocan, the progressive Democrat from a rural, mostly white Wisconsin district, is determined to let President Biden know that it is not just young people of color who are concerned about the war .

7 more victims injured in Swan Boat Club crash sue driver, club

Seven other victims of the Swan Boat Club crash in Monroe County that left two children dead and nearly a dozen others injured have filed a civil lawsuit against the driver who crashed into the building, the boat club and the tavern where the driver was allegedly drinking at before the crash.

Denise Roberts, Martin Roberts, Patricia Raths, Alyssa Sigler, Lia Stith, Josh Stith and Kathy Stigler are the new additions in the lawsuit, an amended version of which was filed Monday in Monroe County Circuit Court. Mariah Dodds and her 11-year-old son filed a lawsuit April 22, two days after the fatal crash. Dodds' two children, 4-year-old Zayn Phillips and 8-year-old Alanah Phillips, were killed in the crash.

Raths, Alyssa Sigler, Lisa Sith, Josh Stith, Lia Stith and Kathy Sigler were seriously injured in the crash, according to the lawsuit.

The lawsuit names Marshella Chidester as a defendant. Chidester, 66, is accused of driving under the influence on April 20 and crashing her car into the Swan Boat Club in Monroe County during a children's birthday party.

Prosecutors said she drove through the side of the building and the vehicle flew 25 feet inside; her attorney contends Chidester may have had a seizure or a type of neuropathy that affected her.

Chidester, who served as commodore of the Swan Boat Club in 2017 and lives 200 yards from the club, has been charged with two counts of second-degree murder, two counts of operating under the influence of alcohol causing death and four counts of operating under the influence of alcohol causing serious injury. She faces up to life in prison if she's convicted.

More: Monroe Co. woman charged with murder in boat club crash that 'took those babies from us'

According to the civil lawsuit, one of the victims, Denise Roberts was standing with her back to the wall that Chidester's car came through. She heard a loud boom, which sounded like a bomb going off. The next thing she remembers was her husband, Martin Roberts, finding her and sitting her up on the floor. She suffered a traumatic brain injury and has back pain.

The lawsuit also contends Swan Boat Club "negligently constructed and maintained its building where the crash occurred," and constructed the building "in the roadway" without installing a guard rail, cement pole or other safety devices meant to keep a vehicle from crashing through the building.

The club also was in violation of building codes, had an unsafe parking lot and driveway and failed to inspect the area for hazards, dangers and improper conditions, according to the lawsuit.

The boat club did not answer the phone Tuesday, but has been posting on Facebook frequently about fundraisers to benefit the victims from the crash.

"We have no profound words that can heal us after the unimaginable tragedy that occurred yesterday April 20, 2024, at Swan Boat Club, only feelings," the club's board of directors wrote in a Facebook post on April 21. "Sadness, shock, frustration. We are a fellowship of people who band together when tragedy strikes. We need time to process the grief, support each other, support the families directly and indirectly involved, to be in each other’s company."

The lawsuit also names Verna's Tavern, which is the bar that allegedly served Chidester prior to the crash. Bar officials have not responded to requests for comment. 

Chidester's attorney, Bill Colovos, said last week that a search warrant of Verna's Tavern found Chidester only had one glass of wine and a bowl of chili for lunch from 11 a.m. to noon Saturday. He said police were too quick to blame the bar and name them to the media when they "didn't do anything wrong."

Colovos said Chidester has a history of having epileptic-type seizures in her legs that result in paralysis, but later said she had a type of neuropathy. She was treated for it the day of the crash, he said. He said Chidester does not remember entering the parking lot of the boat club or anything that happened leading up to the crash. He said she was invited to the birthday party by the person hosting it.

Monroe County Prosecutor Jeffrey Yorkey, meanwhile, has said there was no evidence Chidester had a seizure the day of the crash, as Colovos claimed. A “very long investigation,” including a breath test, indicated she was significantly over the legal limit, Yorkey said, but didn't specify the exact result.

Yorkey said friends and family told investigators Chidester has a “very severe substance abuse issue.”

The lawsuit also names Auto-Owners Insurance Company, who represents Denise Roberts; Progressive Marathon Insurance Company, which represents Lia Stith and Raths; and Allstate Insurance Company, which represents Alyssa Sigler and Josh Stith. It alleges the insurance companies either refused to pay or are expected to refuse to pay the plaintiffs injured in the crash all the benefits she should get for being uninsured or underinsured.

Chidester posted $1.5 million bail Thursday and has been released from the Monroe County Jail.

Raquel Smouthers, Lana and Zayn's aunt, said during Chidester's arraignment April 23 that even if Chidester was on medication or had medical issues, she should not have been driving.

“Nobody should ever have to go to a birthday party thinking they’re going to die,” Smouthers said.

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Building at end of Southern California pier catches fire, sending smoke billowing onto beach

OCEANSIDE, Calif. — A vacant restaurant at the end of a Southern California pier caught fire Thursday, sending smoke billowing into the sky onto the beach as firefighters battled the blaze from boats.

The pier in Oceanside, about 40 miles north of San Diego, stretches more than 1,900 feet, allowing visitors to walk out over the ocean waves.

“The Oceanside Fire Department is currently engaged in fighting a fire on the Oceanside Pier. We are asking all citizens to please stay away from the immediate area,” the department posted on the social platform X on Thursday afternoon.

The flames caught at a vacant restaurant at the end of the pier, the department said in a statement. The cause of the fire was not immediately known.

Historic wooden piers dot California’s coastline. Many have been  battered by intense storms  in recent years, requiring repairs and raising questions about the structures that have become a quintessential part of the coastal landscape.

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Never mind stop the boats: Sunak is using fear to build a life raft for himself. But the people will stop him

Asylum seekers are our neighbours, not political pawns for failing politicians. If MPs cannot resist the Rwanda plan, activists will

L aws that are unjust will inevitably be broken. Here is a basic reading of our history, and indeed how numerous rights and freedoms were secured in the first place. Ruled as we are by a desperate man lacking a moral compass, our sinking government has brought forward plans to detain asylum seekers across the UK in preparation for their deportation to Rwanda. After both the European court of human rights and the supreme court declared the government’s scheme unlawful – not least because Paul Kagame’s authoritarian regime could plausibly deport them to the country from which they fled – the government railroaded through legislation, absurdly declaring Rwanda to be safe. Here is the very definition of a law to be disrespected: one drawn up to override the courts and thus the separation of powers, to turn a lie into a legal fact, in support of an unworkable and immoral scheme that imposes pain on the traumatised purely to bolster a prime minister’s imploding administration.

Civil disobedience will take many forms. Asylum seekers will simply avoid reporting to the authorities, disappearing from the system altogether: indeed, the Home Office reports it cannot locate more than six in 10 migrants identified for deportation. But a network of activists across the country is poised to take action. We have lived through a decade of protests , speaking to a growing willingness to take to the streets to defy authority. Social media plays a pivotal role, not least when it comes to migrants’ rights: Anti Raids Network, for example, uses X to promote calls by local groups to mobilise activists to stop deportation raids. One such callout in Solihull yesterday asked for help stopping a deportation van: “There are unmarked enforcement vans in the car park, and we think these people could be at risk of being taken to detention.”

It’s an approach with proven success. Three years ago, hundreds of Glaswegians massed on Kenmure Street and freed two men who had been detained by UK immigration enforcement, chanting, “these are our neighbours, let them go” as they did so. It was in this spirit that the Glaswegian Scottish National party MP Anne McLaughlin drove to Easterhouse, on the city’s edges, yesterday, in response to a callout. “It’s the first of these roundups this time,” she tells me, “and I think it’s really important that people are there from the start, so that the Home Office know that, wherever they go, there’s crowd of people to resist what they’re doing.”

Civil disobedience, Savan Qadir from No Evictions Network, tells me, is about “responding to the circumstances proportionately”. If someone is arbitrarily detained, that is seen as kidnapping – “literally that person doesn’t even know where they’re going” – then nonviolent civil disobedience is used to disrupt it. But activists face no lack of challenges. Resources have been stretched by the sheer number of anti-migrant laws – not least the Illegal Migration Act, passed last year , which blocks people from claiming asylum if they arrive by an irregular route, regardless of the circumstances they have suffered. Laws clamping down on the right to protest have intentionally suffocated the ability to resist. That there are so many political mobilisations is a double-edged sword: the mass demonstrations against Israel’s unfolding genocide in Gaza both take up time for would-be activists, and also bring in new recruits awed by the experience of collective strength.

There’s also the less noisy, but practical work, too. Activists have to balance offering material support for those who are at risk of deportation, often without knowing it, without inadvertently causing panic among those who are not. Some migrant support groups set out stalls outside reporting centres, making sure that anyone who enters is given contact details so they can be offered support.

Many activists report frustrations, too, with mainstream refugee organisations, which have focused on providing services to those menaced by deportration, but which can do little when the law imposes blanket bans on asylum claims and prevents any legal appeals. But above all else, they’re filling a vacuum left by the Labour party. Few believe the latter has any serious plans to repeal Tory crackdowns on migrants and refugees; there is even the possibility of renewed punitive laws.

But there is a possibility for hope. Anti-migrant sentiment was far more pervasive a decade ago, whereas now – even with overall numbers of people arriving on British shores significantly higher – polling suggests immigration is only the fourth most important issue for voters, behind the cost of living crisis, NHS and the economy. Given that the Tories have no solutions to the first three – indeed, all have been worsened by their policies – it is unsurprising that they opt for the fourth, particularly appealing to a hardcore who have defected to Reform. “We know we are being played,” as Eiri Ohtani, director of Right to Remain, puts it. “We know we’re being used to hide the real issues by politicians.”

And this is why the core message Ohtani offers – “we need to normalise solidarity” – has so much potential. That means not simply looking at solidarity as an emergency action, such as stopping a deportation, but treating asylum seekers – and anyone else who is struggling, regardless of their immigration status – as fellow citizens in a local community who need our support. The failure of every flavour of Toryism in the last 14 years to do anything other than drag down living standards and trash the public realm is what leads Rishi Sunak to construct a life raft from the suffering of the most vulnerable. With the opposition missing in action, it falls to an army of activists to repel a Tory attempt to use the often deeply traumatised as electoral fodder. But the state of Britain is too abject, and attitudes towards those arriving here too improved, to save the Tories from impending electoral apocalypse. Never has “the cruelty is the point” been more apt as a phrase, but rarely has it been so doomed to failure as a strategy.

Owen Jones is a Guardian columnist

Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here .

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Woman charged with murder in crash that killed young brother and sister at birthday party

A Michigan woman has been arraigned on second-degree murder after prosecutors say she drunkenly crashed her SUV into a boat club that was hosting a birthday party, killing a boy and his sister.

Surveillance video from a Michigan home near where a suspected drunken driver slammed into a child’s weekend birthday party shows just how fast the driver was going before the crash happened. It also picks up the screaming and confusion afterward.

Authorities respond to the Swan Creek Boat Club after a driver crashed a vehicle through a building where a children’s birthday party was taking place, Saturday, April 20, 2024, in Berlin Township, Mich. (Kathleen Kildee/Detroit News via AP)

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This booking photo provided by the Monroe County, Mich., Sheriff’s Office shows Marshella Chidester. The Michigan woman was arraigned Tuesday, April 23, 2024, on second-degree murder and other charges after prosecutors say she drunkenly smashed her SUV into a boat club that was hosting a child’s birthday party, killing the 4-year-old birthday boy and his 8-year-old sister and injuring several other people. (Monroe County Sheriff’s Office via AP)

In this undated photo released by legal counsel, Mariah Dodds and her three children pose for a photo. Dodds and her children were attending a birthday party for another child at the Swan Boat Club on April 20, 2024. In the afternoon, Marshella Chidestar crashed her SUV through the wall of the club. Two of the children were killed and the third severely injured as well as Mariah. (Marko Law via AP)

This undated photo released by legal counsel shows Alanah, 8, daughter of Mariah Dodds. Dodds and her three children were attending a birthday party for another child at the Swan Boat Club on April 20, 2024. In the afternoon, Marshella Chidestar crashed her SUV through the wall of the club. Alanah Phillips and her brother Zayn Phillips, 4, were killed and the third severely injured as well as Mariah. (Marko Law via AP)

A Michigan woman was arraigned Tuesday on second-degree murder and other charges after prosecutors say she drunkenly crashed her SUV into a boat club that was hosting a child’s birthday party, killing a young brother and sister and injuring several other people.

Marshella Chidester, 66, did not enter a plea to the eight counts she faces in Saturday’s tragic crash at the Swan Boat Club in Monroe County, about 30 miles (48 kilometers) south of Detroit.

During a court hearing that was livestreamed, Chidester’s right arm was in a cast from just above the elbow to her fingers.

She has been jailed since the crash and the judge set her bond at the $1.5 million prosecutors requested after relatives of some of the victims asked him to set it at that level.

In arguing for the $1.5 million bond, prosecutor Jeff Yorkey told the court that Chidester has had substance abuse issues that were corroborated by her friends and family.

Defense attorney Bill Colovos asked the judge to set Chidester’s bond at $100,000. He said she only had a glass of wine and a bowl of chili four hours before the crash, and that she has suffered since November with “epileptic-type seizures in her legs.”

“This is not a monster, ” Colovos said. “It’s horrible what happened, but there are some things we don’t have control over.”

Colovos added that prior to Saturday’s crash, Chidester had no traffic tickets or police record.

Yorkey responded that there was no indication that Chidester suffered a seizure before the crash and that testing showed her blood alcohol level was “significantly over the legal limit.”

If Chidester posts bond, she will be required to forfeit her passport, have no alcohol, wear a tether and not drive. A probable cause conference has been scheduled for April 30 followed by a May 6 preliminary examination.

Chidester is a former commodore at the boat club, The Detroit News reported.

The crash killed 8-year-old Alanah Phillips and her 4-year-old brother, Zayn Phillips, the sheriff’s office said. Their mother, Mariah Dodds, and another sibling were among the injured.

The party was for the 3-year-old child of Dodds’ friend, according to a Detroit law firm representing Dodds’ family in a lawsuit against Chidester and the tavern where she reportedly was before the crash.

Dodds suffered broken ribs, a collapsed lung, cuts and bruises, according to the law firm. Her surviving son suffered broken legs, broken ribs and a fractured skull.

Raquel Smouthers told the court that she was at the party and witnessed the deaths of her nephew and niece.

“They were sitting at that table eating, and this woman crashed her car through this building destroying all of our lives,” a nearly inconsolable Smouthers said. “Nobody should ever have to go to a birthday party thinking that they’re gonna die.”

The boat club located off Swan Creek near Lake Erie is a membership-based organization that hosts holiday parties and other events, and provides docking space for members who own boats, according to its website. The club also advertises on social media that members can rent the clubhouse or pavilion for personal events including birthday parties.

This story was updated to correct that the children’s aunt’s name is Raquel Smouthers, not Smothers, and that the party was for a child of one of Mariah Dodds’ friends, not for Zayn.

Associated Press researcher Rhonda Shafner in New York contributed.