Tom's FS14

[thb]

Hi David,

The u-bolts are bottomed out on the bunk brackets at the back and still can not get the rollers to contact. The missed photo
at the forward bunk attachment has some downward adjustment capability but it still was not enough to allow that roller to contact the keel. I had those bunk brackets as low as they would go and the bunks were not hitting the hull up front but the keel was hitting the rubber bumper on the frame between the mid roller and forward roller. Hitting it real hard so I jacked up the bunks and got bunks to fit nicely on the hull and that gave me clearance on the rubber bumper.

If I got rid of the u-bolts and drilled holes and thru bolted the roller brackets, I could probably get them higher. Also same thing with the bunk brackets if attached with thru bolts then they could come down a little bit but then fender clearance might be an issue.

What you said makes sense on the winch attachment. However, the winch really needs to be moved even higher to get a better straight pull on the boat. As it sits now the bow strap is still angled upward from the winch which makes the boat pull down when tightened up rather than making the boat pull forward. I already raised the winch about 4 or 5 inches to try to improve this but still not ideal.

My bow eye is too high and the bow shape of the fs14 make for some wierd geometry. I sure aint going to move the bow eye so I will have to live with what I have. I am sure I can improve things as I get all these trailer adjustments made.

Send me an e-mail with your address and I will mail you a stop bracket. 1/4-20 thread??

Regards
Tom in Steinhatchee

[Seadation]

Hello Tom,

Well, you obviously know what your doing. I didn't notice the pic I was referring to was the bow...oops As usual, my advise is off-topic and not much use. My boat must have 'settled' some in the past month cuz I had to push reallllly hard to get it to glide off the trailer. So, I raised the rear keel roller the last little bit it would go up. It was a really rainy day here in Apalach bay probably like over in Steinhatchee.

The stop bracket that came with my store-bought stake out anchor does NOT have a 'flat' for the screw to engage. But that is a good idea. Now that I've thought more about it, you want the thing held up there only to keep it from touching the bottom while running the boat...so marking the stick with a small 'flat' or dab of paint would be a good idea. Once you put the anchor down the clamp thingy stays loose and slides around. It can't fall off at that point because it is trapped on the stick between the bracket and the handle.

Email sent.

/david

[JCordray]

Your boat looks great!

Other than that, I've got no suggestions for you.

Sorry!

[thb]

Hi David,

Please don't be embarrassed for offering me advice. I appreciated all your inputs and they make me think of other ways to skin this cat. I went ahead and raised the bow winch bracket last night about 6 more inches and wo la, I now have a straight pull on the bow eye. The winch strap runs underneath the winch stop roller also.

Your problem of hard to get off the trailer is why I am not a fan of bunk carpet. I have 4 bunks on my flats boat and it was a real bear to push off the trailer due to adhesion to the carpet. I put white nylon ( or whatever plastic ) bunk glides on all 4 bunk boards several years ago. Now even on unimproved low sloping boat ramp I can push her off. On good slope concrete ramp, I can back her off with the motor or easily push her off. Better have a bow rope on her when you unhook the trailer strap as they can slide off on their own with these bunk glides.

I am going to try this boat with only the carpet and getting the rollers to contact and roll and then decide if I need glides. With 4 or 5 coats of epoxy graphite on the bottom, I am not worried about the glides damaging anything. If you need another set of bunks let me know as I have good supply of home sawn 2x6 cypress right now. A few more cypress logs to saw so I can make any size board you need.

Regards
Tom in Steinhatchee

[Seadation]

Thanks Tom. If I ever get some time, I 'll drag my cargo trailer down your way and BUY some cypress lumber from you. I like to use it for building adirondack chairs, etc. My last 500 bf batch has been used up. Then the boat project took over. I would like to build SOMETHING next...the SUP is looking like the likely candidate at the moment. I'd like to commit to building the ST21 but space for that build is the major issue. I'm looking for some cheap, close-by, warehouse space where I could have a 'boat building shop.' ANd, things at work are such that I shouldn't commit to any 1-2 year projects until they stabilize.

Raining here at SGI.

/david

[thb]

Hi David,

SGI sounds like neat place and I have never been there. Are you scalloping up there or just fishing.

I bought the ST21 plans when they first came out and have a older Kubota 3 cyc diesel which needs to be marinized. My next build however is the XF20. I am the third owner of this precut kit and am committed to doing this boat which should be perfect for up here. I will sell all my factory built boats when I get the xf20 done.

500 BF is a lot of lumber. Dont think I have that much in the logs I have left. We did a saw job this week of 2x4 and 4x4 in cypress and it was 2 really nice logs to yield about 200 bf. I do have 2 short logs of 6 to 7 ft which I could cut into 1 by material if those lengths work for you. 16 inch and 12 in diameter logs so they are nice ones.

The stop block is in the mail.

Got the trailer tweaked some more today by drilling 4 new holes in each of the two cross members and mounted the center mid roller high enough to take some weight off the bunks. The aft roller still does not contact as the boat is too far forward on the trailer and there is no skeg back near the transom. The skeg should contact this roller once she starts coming back on the trailer during launch.

Interesting was fact that magic tilt did not spray the holes they drilled for the two center rollers when they added the rollers for my requirements. I would have thought they would have sprayed the holes with some galvanizing paint before they mounted these two rollers. Cutting corners I guess but I am going to let my dealer know so they can pass along to majic tilt.

Ready for launch early next week.

Regards
Tom in Steinhatchee

[SeeRockCity]

Hey Tom,

Beautiful work. I realize it's a couple years old, but I really just wanted to thank you for this thread.

As a newbie who has just received a set of FS14 plans, this thread is really helpful, particularly in topside layout, because of the care you've taken to detail your steps and take pictures of the process. While there are several fantastic FS14 build threads here, yours was particularly helpful and it's easy to see that you've had a lot of time to think about what kinds of practical features make the biggest difference when spending a day on a small boat.

Thanks Tom. My boat might be a carbon copy of yours.