Richard Rayner's Shop Hints

1. Glue mixing containers: empty beer cans - cut the top half off with a knife. You just need to ensure that you include all the stuff from the deep channel round the bottom in the mixing process. If anyone doesn't know how to make an empty beer can, I may be able to help.

2. Glue application: Glad make a Snaplock bag in a "Snack" size. Put your glue in there, seal the top, and cut a corner off. Then use it like a cake icer ... applies a lovely clean bead, and you don't even get sticky fingers. Just throw it out afterwards; they're cheap as.

3. I'm having great success using greaseproof paper to mark out my panels it's heavy enough and stable enough to do a very accurate job. With plenty of masking tape to hold it in place while I mark things out and make notes, I've found it accurate enough on even the mopst complicated panels (The botton forward ones) that I've been able to cut with only 15mm total
width allowance for final tuning.

4. re epoxy glue: the best - cheapest, nontoxic, readily available - cleaner for fingers and equipment after epoxy is cider vinegar. Actually, most vinegars are pretty good, but I find cider vin. the best. It's great. Another totally effective and less toxic substance is that water-based brush and roller cleaner you buy at paint shops ... does a great job.

5. Best way to fit the stainless tube that the centreboard swings on is to drill the hole a bit oversize (the 20mm 10G tube John specifies doesn't exist anyway, according to Mico). Wrap the tube in a single tight layer of Gladwrap and chock it in place with sliversof wood till it's exactly square athwartships, and horizontal. Then pack thick epoxy round the edges and wait till hard. Tap the tube out, remove the Glad wrap, and you'll have a perfect fit.

6. Also, if I was doing it again, I'd cut the 20mm doubler strips on the sides and bottom of the transom so that they overlapped the transom about 10mm and could be easily faired back to make a tidy fit with the planks.

7. Things to watch with older sets of Navigator plans:

a. The transom - the top datum line in the plans is 687 above the W/L, rather than 632.

b. The seat supports on the centrecase, which are 20 mm too high, as is the seat support on the #5 bulkhead (a real pain to find this out after the whole thing's glued and screwed from the inside, and assembled).

c. The stem ... if you follow John's plans exactly, you end up with a stem which, once the planks are on, is 51mm wide, with vertical slots in it.

d. Bulkhead #6 ... the shape above the seat supports involves a downward kink in the two top stringers of 15mm or more. This last could be my error, but if it is I can't spot it.