OD18 - NH

[Coach]

My comment on bow light is I wish I went with shark eyes.
I have the Accon Pop-up bow light and it looks great but because of my bow rise was not real visible from a distance.
My buddy was on the dock one night in Maine and said he could follow my track while I cruised the shoreline from my stern light but never really saw my bow light until I was very close to returning. Had I installed the sharkeyes they would have been seen better from a distance.

For me it's fine. I will always be a day fisher. Nighttime cruises will be just for fun while on vaca once or twice a year.

[Fair WX Pilot]

What about high on the console? I'd want them as far from salt spray as I can get them, sealed or not.

Good to see you are still working on this boat; I haven't checked it in a while.

Hi, I am still considering putting a T-Top on the console so am concerned that it may block the lights. Otherwise a great idea. Work stopped play for a while but back at it now . Thanks.

[Fair WX Pilot]

The reason I went with shark eyes is I don't see them and they don't light up the deck when running at night, making it easier to see where I'm going.

Thanks Cape Man, that's exactly the advice I needed. Shark eyes it is.

[Fair WX Pilot]

Nice work! I like shark eyes as well.
I used these on my son’s fs18. Reasonably priced, not bulky, best quality, great product.
The whitecap adapter plate illustrates difference in size.

http://www.livorsi.com/catalog/led.htm

Thanks, I like the units you linked to but they are $300 with shipping. I guess I didn't expect that as I paid way less for the ones on my airplane wings. For that price I would expect them to do the navigating for me Looks like I'm going to have to save up a little.

[Fair WX Pilot]

Nice work! I like shark eyes as well.
I used these on my son’s fs18. Reasonably priced, not bulky, best quality, great product.
The whitecap adapter plate illustrates difference in size.

http://www.livorsi.com/catalog/led.htm

Those look great. I like lights outside the boat to keep the inside dark like cape man said. All the exterior lights I found needed to be mounted parallel to centerline so I took a bunch of time to make a little pocket for mine. Those ones you linked the lights are parallel to centerline when the housing is mounted on the curve near the bow. Would have saved me some time.

I like the way you did yours Joe, very aggressive looking. I am trying to keep more traditional lines and have been thinking on how to keep the lights along the center line like you did. More tea and thinking time needed.

[Fair WX Pilot]

My comment on bow light is I wish I went with shark eyes.
I have the Accon Pop-up bow light and it looks great but because of my bow rise was not real visible from a distance.
My buddy was on the dock one night in Maine and said he could follow my track while I cruised the shoreline from my stern light but never really saw my bow light until I was very close to returning. Had I installed the sharkeyes they would have been seen better from a distance.

For me it's fine. I will always be a day fisher. Nighttime cruises will be just for fun while on vaca once or twice a year.

Thanks Coach, a very good point. My bow is higher than most OD-18's by an intentional extra 2" so it will mask the light from the front even more. Certainly another good reason for shark eyes. Shame as I love the look of the pop up bow light. If I go for 1nm visibility lights as apposed to 2nm visibility lights the price comes way down. Going to do some more thinking as I only legally need the 1nm ones.

[Fair WX Pilot]

Started disassembling the front deck to work on the components and put in the butt blocks. The lines along the top and bottom of the deck seem to slope off towards the bow. This optical illusion is playing havoc with my mind which is only firing on a couple of cylinders at the best of times .



To keep what's left of my sanity I decided to build a jig to help cut the butt blocks. They all need to have a different angle on them to take into account the compound shape of the bow and have a level top to mate with the deck.





I have been gluing together scrap 1/2" offcuts to make the 1" butt blocks. I think ply will be more resilient to a damp atmosphere inside the lockers than the pine called for in the plans. In hind sight I should have done this under the deck as well.


I used the jig and a bevel gauge to transfer the angle of each block to the saw. I found blocks of 7" long was the maximum I could get and still follow the curve of the hull.



Measured each block one at a time and it all seems to have come together ok. I did a quick level check and the top edges are flat. I will prime and install them tomorrow with a little luck. Still looks like its dipping down to me .

[cape man]

It's an allusion. Awesome!

[gstanfield]

Beautiful work! I just read through the entire thread and can’t wait for more. I mean, using a mill to drill outboard mounting holes, using 1-2-3 blocks for marking edges, etc. I love it. As a former pilot and current machinist this build just makes me happy.

Side note: Don’t expect this kinda work on my builds! One thing I enjoy about woodworking is being able to relax and stop thinking “in tens” (ten thousandths of an inch)


Keep it up!
George

[glossieblack]

Lovely clean precision work.