New Cape Henry 21 Launch in Australia

Ron Jesche in Adelaide, South Australia, has launched the newest build to our Cape Henry 21 design. Ron is a professional boatbuilder and owner of Stainless Boatworks. He produces high quality custom metal hardware for both power and sailing boats.

Ron bought the plans to build for his own use and has made a beautiful job of the build. He has enjoyed working with our well-detailed drawings so, part-way through the project, he took on the agency to sell our designs and plywood kits in Australia. He exhibited his nearly-complete boat at a local boat festival where it attracted considerable attention.

"Sealion" is finished in a very pretty blue, with cream decks. She was launched on Christmas Eve and went for her first sail on Christmas Day. Ron is delighted with the performance and good manners of his Christmas present to himself. His wife also enjoyed sailing on "Sealion" and feels safe on her, an important element of family boat enjoyment.

Ron's photos show what a great job he did of the build.

Nicely-detailed joinery for a pretty interior.

The work of a craftsman who is jusifiably proud of what he has produced.

Ron Jesche exhibiting "Sealion" at the boat festival.

Jon installed a small inboard diesel motor, tucked under the front of the cockpit.

Launch day, nearly ready to go sailing.

First sailing photos. Ron reported that she topped out at 5.8 knots in a 10 knot breeze.

Romping along under full cutter rig.

Ron's comments after sailing "Sealion"? What a great boat. Under 10 knots as we left and she sailed beautifully with jib and main, great steerage and control downwind in very light wind. As the wind picked up she accelerated beautifully. I am absolutely thrilled with this little boat, and can't wait to get out again tomorrow. I can't get over how well she sails. She heaves to very nicely also,and nicely mannered on all points of sail. 

Ron Jesche is well-qualified to represent us in Australia. He has general boatbuilding experience and also personal experience of building one of our most popular small cruisers, good qualities for advising potential builders about the build process and the quality of the designs that he represents. He can also supply kits for most of our plywood designs. Contact Ron via his website at Stainless Boatworks.

To date we have sold more than 100 sets of plans for the Cape Henry 21. To see our range of boat designs, go to our desktop website or our mobile website.

Finishing Details in Sportfisherman Cockpit

Kevin Agee has has been working on bringing the surface finishes in the cockpit up to a high standard and is nearly ready for the prime coats that will receive the final finish coat. Lots of fairing and sanding involved, worth the effort in achieving a quality boat. The flush deck hatches have been completed, aside from routing as needed for the flush hinges and catches, then painting and fitting the compressible seals that will make them watertight.

Meanwhile I was busy at the aft end of the cockpit, cutting the scuppers to drain water from the cockpit. These openings fit very neatly between the top of the deck in the cockpit and the underside of the wings each side of the outboard motor bracket, at the outer corners of the transom. With that work completed, I have started on the base structure that will support the insulated fish box that will span most of the width of the cockpit against the transom.

Completed covers for the flush hatches in the cockpit sole. Those aren't handles in the middle of each cover, they are stiffeners to reduce flexing underfoot.

Final layer of high build epoxy on the hull, waiting to be sanded.

The orange colour is a guide coat of food colouring in solvent, applied by cloth. Sanding off this very thin coat high-lights any dents or holes that need filling because they remain orange in an otherwise white surface. The flush cockpit hatch covers are in position but not installed, to reduce our chances of falling into the openings.

Inside view of the start of the cockpit scuppers, cut with a 76mm (3") diameter holesaw.

Same stage, viewed from outside. The trim-tab actuator will fit between the scupper and the side of the outboard motor bracket.

Completed scupper, from inside.

Same stage, from outside. The scuppers fit in neatly below the wings of the outboard motor bracket and will be almost invisible from outside.

Roughing-in the base under the insulated fish box. The fish box will span the unpainted width of the transom, flanked by lockers with hinged doors for access to the valves below. The outer ends are open for water flow to the scuppers, which will be hidden in the toe-kick recess below the fish box.

By next weekend Kevin will have completed the sanding. I will finish roughing-in the fish box, then we will move on to the foredeck and sidedeck construction.

This boat won't go onto our website until this prototype is near to completion. Until then, see our other designs on our desktop website or our mobile website.

Finishing the 26ft Sportfisherman Cockpit

My previous post about Kevin Agee's 26ft Sportfisherman project showed the support structure of the foredeck, dry-fitted for a test fit. Then the timber members were removed and set aside to be glued in later. This was to make it easier to finish the inside of the cuddy cabin, without drawing blood from our scalps.

Kevin is working toward a high-quality standard of finish, as good as he can manage as an amateur builder. Over all of the fibreglassed and sand-papered interior surfaces of the cockpit and cuddy cabin he has sprayed two coats of high-build epoxy, followed by two coats of fairing compound applied by roller. Most of this fairing layer has been sanded off and will be covered by sprayed high-build epoxy, then finishing coats.

Cuddy Cabin with the fairing layer being sanded. The white spots are the high-build epoxy layer showing through as an indication that the sanding has gone as far as needed to fair the surface with minimal thickness of fairing.

These are the curly maple foredeck stringers and fiddles for the cuddy cabin seats, epoxy-coated and waiting to be glued in then varnished.

Insides of hull sides with fairing layer sanded (light brown) and low spots filled (dark brown), ready for final sanding. The plywood cutouts for the hatch openings were loosely in place to keep us from falling through the openings. Now they have been removed for trimming to size, then addition of the perimeter framing. 

Parts for the flush cockpit hatches. The plywood cutouts have been trimmed to give 5mm (3/16") clearance all around. The perimeter frames have halved joints on the corners, cut on a table saw. The stiffeners have been cut to fit clear of the gutters into which these hatch covers will fit.

The cover on the left has the perimeter frame and stiffener in the positions where they will be glued. After gluing, the sharp edges will be rounded off and a drip groove will be cut into the lower face, all to be done with a router.

This design is not yet on our website, I want to get this prototype nearer to completion so that any adjustments that we make during the build can be incorporated into the final drawings before I make them available for sale.