Mike's First in Glass Iceboat

" First in Glass"

This webpage will be dedicated to my "First in Glass" J14 build.
Keep watching this page. When I start the build this summer this page will be updated.

Comments and discussions welcome on the J14 message board

You can see the boat in person at the Elk Lake Iceboat Party in Elk Rapids, Michigan March 6th and 7th 2010
Sailing Lake Ronkonkoma for the 2nd time in the new boat

January 12, 2010 Sailing from Mike Acebo on Vimeo.

It's done and here is it's first sail.
...First sail of a new one of a kind NIDA CORE J14 Iceboat. This movie is of first set-up and sail. Boat performed as hoped with no adjustments needed. Very fun day on Long Island to start the sailing season. Feel a touch of flu or something so I should avoid work tomorrow, don't want to get anyone sick!...Mike

First Sail, J14 #242, Lake Ronkonkoma, NY from Mike Acebo on Vimeo.

January 5th 2009

December 27th 2009

Here is a photo of our "plank press".
Sure does make gluing a plank up easy. I made up a conventional ash skin, poplar core 11' plank. It has nice spring to it unlike the stiff plank on #21. Now I can compare the two.

December 19th 2009

Getting close now

November 26th 2009

Sheet control bridge glued into cockpit, cockpit faired for finish, ALEXSEAL SUEDE coating sprayed into cockpit by Bill (Brewer Yacht Yard Painter) Recycling Sitka Spruce from an old mast for a new plank. A boat showed up at the yard with a broken mast, we happen to have an old one that will work and are fitting it out for him, happened to be too long, the cut-off just worked out to be 11'6" long, just right for an 11' plank. Sometimes things do go your way! Click the thumbnails to view each photo larger

HAPPY THANKSGIVING ALL!

November 17th 2009

Here are a few pre-deck photos. I now have the deck on and am fairing making ready for paint. The sheet block carrier is made up. Moving along well. With everything together including spring board the hull is weighing in at 80 lbs or so. I can pick it up and carry it by myself. #21 hull. springboard weighs 112 lbs +/-. Looks like I might make my 30 lb hull weight savings that I was looking for.
Click any of the thumbnails for a larger view

October 21st 2009

Finally getting back on track but not sure what track that might be. Henry is working on the sail, I'm building on the go. The hull is still a full composite. A few pieces of NIDA CORE with wood skins instead of fiberglass but still composite. The deck will be a fiberglass, carbon fiber sheet laminated on a masonite mock deck and glued in place and trimmed. The mainsheet bridge is next. Springboard is Sitka Spruce but will be disguised as carbon fiber. Plank looks like it might be a 12' hollow spruce with ash skins, also disguised as carbon fiber. Carbon fiber mast and composite boom. All finish to be ALEXSEAL Yacht Paint, epoxy primer, two stage metallic (color?) with clear coat over carbon surfaces.
We'll have to see how this boat goes before any of you try this at home.

Henry Bossett sail plan (Outlaw Sail somewhere between a J14 and JX)

Steering Setup/Hockey pucks on carbon fiber tubes

Steering Tube/Arm/Pushrods

Captive Springboard Nuts

Cockpit Side Rails Installed, Nida Core/Plywood

Carbon Fiber Deck Removed From Masonite Mold

Center Web CoverBoard, Nida Core/Plywood Laminate (New Springboard Way Up Front)

September 16th 2009

Progress continues,
Underground steering system, NIDA CORE mast step area, fiberglass angle for Spring Board mounts. Nose Block and cap piece coming soon. Sheet Block holder will follow.

Steering setup

Springboard mounting bulkhead

Steering set up with mast step blocking

Midships equipment

August 15th 2009

Cutting and fitting some bulkheads after finishing the bottom corner fillets with carbon tape. Mast step build coming next and steering post arrangement. Still not much weight. Looks like everything will come out of two sheets of Nida Core except for the deck.

Bulkheads

Cockpit

July 24th 2009

Some new hardware arrives today from Steve at Northwind Iceboats.
Doug at Sarns Hardware is putting some other parts together.

July 17th 2009

The basic hull is nice and fair with gentle curves if built to Jack's drawings

Shell

July 16th 2009

Glued the hull together today. Since we are testing I used WEST SYSTEM Six10 Adhesive. Two part thickened epoxy that is pumped out of a caulking gun through a "maze" type nozzle which mixes the two parts to a ready to use gap-filling epoxy. Panels glued and clamped around temporary plywood bulkheads. Joint fillets will be added with some reinforcement at the seams.

West 610

Panels

Applying Glue

Clamping

Clamped, Glued around temporary bulkheads

July 9th 2009

Seat Back cut to fit today. Ready to start making up some interior guts. All parts are dry fit now ready for glue. At this point the interior could be built just as the plans show and a very nice boat would be done. But as I've digressed this far I guess I will probably continue with more strange material from the stockpile. Keep checking in as the fun begins.

July 7th 2009

The sides and bottom have been made up. The seat back will go on the jig next and start making up bulkheads. The Fein Multi Master makes short work of cutting fiberglass skins.

Side to bottom joint