CVRDA

Canvas-reinforced phenolic is available in the US under the trade name "Garolite." I ordered some yesterday from McMaster-Carr. They have lots of other neat materials and parts on their website. http://www.mcmaster.com/ Material Garolite Garolite Material Grade CE Garolite Backing Plain Ba...

I mostly completed the gluing jig last night, but still need to do some sanding. Tonight it is too cold to work in my drafty, unheated garage (42 deg F, with F 5 wind all day). BTW, the stationary power tools on hand are a late 1950s Shopsmith with 4" jointer, Shopsmith bandsaw of the same vint...

This boom is mostly spruce, with a section of hardwood scarfed onto the forward end. I've heard there was a problem with all-spruce booms breaking, so the manufacturers added the hardwood piece. I think it is ash, which is noted for its combined strength and flexibility.

Thanks, Brian. That's way cool stuff. I have stocked up on epoxy and made a jig for scarfing the boom parts. Apparently white oak has a reputation for not bonding reliably with epoxy. So, it's back to the sawmill for a piece of ash. Then I need to make another jig for gluing everything together.

Does anybody know a US source for Tufnol? I went to the local sawmill today and picked up a nice clear white oak board. One of my coworkers is going to help make a replacement for the hardwood section of the boom and epoxy it in place. We will use small dowel pins to keep the scarfed pieces from sli...

The sheet blocks on my boom appear to be Tufnol and stainless steel. They were made in Denmark by Borsen.

Plastic camshaft gears? I once had a Renault R-10, and there was some "creative" engineering on that car. I never completely trusted 3 lug nuts to keep the wheels attached.

Thanks, everyone. This is very helpful advice.

Does epoxy stick to Tufnol? It won't adhere to most slippery plastics (HDPE, polypropylene).

On old OK's or Finns some people used Tuphnol strips or dometimes brass or stainless steel to protect the boom in the mortise/ gooseneck zone, along with a primitive vang made with a solid Tuphnol wedge un a thick stainless steel band that was forced in place by a block / purchase arrangement , wit...

Garry R, "if epoxy had been available when the boats were being built they would have used it." Of course you are correct. "In an area like this where there is wear and abrasion the epoxy with microfibres should do the trick." Are you saying I can just rebuild the worn areas with...

Last summer I became the owner of an old (mid- to late-1960s?) Finn dinghy with a fiberglass hull and wooden spars. Elvstrom Finn made by Bermuda Plastics, US 547. This is my first "real" sailboat after a couple years of attempting to sail a Grumman aluminum canoe. What an amazing differen...